False Angels, fallen devils

If accusations against him are to be believed, John Resado could have been our crusading angel, protecting us from those drug pushers. How hath the angels have fallen into the depths of the roots of the poisonous tree.

If accusations against him are just mere propaganda, Celso delos Angeles could have been our financial angel, helping us survive the effects of money problems and possibly help us fund the education of our kids. How hath the angels have fallen into the morass of greed and more greed.

If accusations against him are just mere disinformation, Joc-Joc Bolante would have helped feed millions of Filipinos. Those billion peso fertilizers could have fertilized the dry and flaking earth and it could have led to a sprouting of millions of plants and rice. How hath we suffered from angels who fell from heaven and cursed the earth that they walk upon.

These people are now being tried in those congressional hearings, yet they continue their lives without threat to their existence nor property.

These hearings are destroying the very foundations of government. The DOJ extortion case harms the confidence of the people in their justice system. While this latest pre-need scam, highlighted by the fall of Legacy Consolidated, shows how dirty this industry has become. The entire thing is like a dirty, filthy syndicated operation which hides behind the unmajesty of the law. Worse, we now know how dirty is the Central Bank is, if we are to believe Celso delos Angeles, the owner of Legacy, who is described as a "criminal genius" by one Congressman.

This criminal genius, if allowed to continue his nefarious deeds, might drag this government down with him. He's threatening to spill the beans to deflect the attention from him. It's a desperate move, the kind only jueteng lords do when faced with another, much bigger jueteng lord. He's blaming everybody except himself, that one distinguishable trademark of a person having a criminal mind.

And why do I say that these scams are destroying government itself? We may not see soldiers marching to overthrow Arroyo nor Communist rebels storming Malacanang tomorrow or in the next few days or weeks. What we are seeing is the slowly dissipating consumer trust and confidence not just with government agencies, but the entire financial system. This is alarming since this will lead to lesser financial transactions and lower inflow of funds, from private individual hands to banks.

A fully damaged financial industry will surely affect the entire economy. The banking industry is being bled dry. The more government misfeases or infeases, the worse this will become. Will fresh capital infusion do the trick? No. Not even a trillion pesos will ever regain trust.

Government should first jail this Celso delos Angeles to tell all the people that it means business. That this government is a fair and just one and those who err on the side of the law expects no less than death as punishment for their crimes.