The Village of the Damned---rich yet condemned

I remember how the board of that ultra exclusive subdivision rejected the membership application of superstar boxer Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao is a certified billionaire. The former pan de sal baker turned the world's best pound for pound boxer made his billions knocking out brash and sassy men in baggy shorts. It seems too easy, but ask the man, and his handlers, and they'll tell you that it is not as easy as it looks. Manny Pacquiao gave his all, even sacrificed his own life, just to earn those billions.

Pacquiao deserves being one of the country's most successful and when he bought that palatial home in our country's version of Beverly Hills 9210, he most certainly deserves membership. Unfortunately, our rich men think and still behave like their Spanish and American ancestors. Our rich men are still snobs.

I don't know how they welcomed Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged businesswoman being linked to the 10 billion high profile thievery at the House. Was she made a member of that ritzy, exclusive enclave of the rich? Probably. Napoles probably thought that she already had what it takes to become a member. She's a billionaire. She has a successful business. She has US properties, tons of cash in her personal vault and lots more deposited in several banks, not to mention, probably even stocks.

Most certainly, Napoles was accepted. And I think this is not surprising.

As they say, like minds attract. Who lives in those places except those who can stomach getting extra tons of cash from projects which perpetuate misery and poverty to their fellow men?

Who lives in those places except those who can swallow the fact that their companies charge extra from their Pinoy consumers and charge them even more for services which the hapless Pinoy consumer did not even use?

Who lives in those places except those whose ancestors took away and occupied hundreds of hectares of land from indigenous tribes and soaked their hands with their blood?

Who lives in those palatial houses except those blood thirsty hounds who smell blood and opportunity every single time hundreds die due to calamities caused by defective drainage systems, bad roads, etal?

Who lives in those empty pearly white mansions except those whose hearts are splashed with darkness by the cries of hundreds of young Filipinos working their mines and some, dying from hunger.

Worse, these people have the gall to require us to pay them homage, like semi-gods dominating a blighted land?

Napoles and her family can flaunt their wealth. General Carlos Garcia's hyperventilating son can flaunt his. Someday, somehow, the God of Justice will descend upon them and will cut their heads and display them on a plastic China-made plate.

Janet Napoles--Evidence of Pork Barrel Misuse Piling up

Janet Napoles, the businesswoman who is now being linked to the scandalous pork barrel fund misuse, is now in a deeper hole than before. Pieces of evidence have surfaced, linking her to the scheme of using Non-governmental organisations to procure the PDAF of several politicians, including high profile names as Bongbong Marcos, Lito Lapid, Juan Ponce Enrile and even Loren Legarda.

Efforts are being made to mitigate the effects of this controversy, but as it looks, this controversy will not die down soon. They are still names of politicians being exposed and now, even the name of Agriculture secretary Prospero Alcala is now being linked to the scam.

Alcala immediately tried to squelch the issue by saying that he has ordered the DBM to strike out the name of the DA in the procurement of PDAF. However, pieces of evidence presented by two whistleblowers before the investigating team of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) showed that indeed, there were deliberate moves which came from the DA to divert certain funds to NGOs controlled allegedly by Napoles.

Calls for the abolition of the pork barrel funds are rising. The Makabayan coalition is leading the charge for the abolishment of this fund which has been the cause of so much misery and criticism for several years now.