“Lent comes providentially to reawaken us, to shake us from our lethargy”. – Pope Francis
At this time of the year, we should be preparing for the Advent Season. But with what’s happening in the political arena and in our country, in general, it’s more like Lent than Advent.
Watching the different senate and congress hearings, plenary sessions and interviews is like watching a live Senakulo (dramatic depiction of the passion and death of Christ), with all the central characters present but with a twist.
These modern day Judases are clad in tailored suits and barong tagalogs, eloquent and parade themselves as public servants. During election campaigns, they vow to protect and serve the interests of the Filipinos, laying down programs and initiatives that are supposed to benefit their constituents. People believed, trusted and voted for them. Once elected, actual implementation of the promised projects came far in between, if not, none at all. They lobbied for those insertions, disguised as infrastructure funds for their districts. And now, the highest form of betrayal by these Judases had been exposed. They have been pocketing millions and billions of our taxpayers money through those insertions. They have reinvented PDAF. But this time, even bigger, wider and deeper in scope. These Judases, across the 3 branches of government, did not only betray us with a kiss… they “raped” the Filipino people.
Then we witnessed how these Judases turned Pontius Pilate. They were quick to “wash their hands” and deflect, shifting the blame to others. Everyone else is guilty except themselves. All these crimes were committed under their watch and amidst the glaring pieces of evidence, no one has claimed accountability to what has happened. From the chief executive to the legislators down to the department heads, everyone has excused themselves from any involvement. They had no knowledge, they were unaware, they were clueless, so they say. They even defended the legality of those “unethical” insertions. But Filipinos won’t be deceived anymore. No matter how well you sanitize and wash your hands, our “honorable” Pontius Pilates, we can smell the stinking smell on your hands.
The DPWH officials and contractors involved in this anomaly symbolize the Barabbas of today. They executed the actual crimes – bribery, substandard and ghost projects, money laundering, etc. They know that their actions are wrong and unlawful yet they have considered them as the norms. It’s not because they have no choice, it’s what their moral compass dictates. Their concept of right and wrong has been distorted for such a long time that they have already normalize and imbedded them into their system. They are not afraid of the law and of the possible consequences of their crimes because of their protectors and collaborators in high places. Hearing that anomalous transactions have been the “order of the day” in DPWH is just repulsive. But unlike Barabbas who was freed by the people, the Barabbases of today will surely see their day in jail.
From these Barabbases, we are still hoping to find a Dimas. Someone who is guilty of committing the crime but has shown genuine remorse and repentance. There are some personalities that have expressed their intentions to cooperate in exposing and bringing to justice the brains behind this modus operandi. But for now, their testimonials still lack credence and full disclosure. They have not fully repented so they will still not be in paradise.
The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, the Department of Justice, the Ombudsman and the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) are the modern day courts of Sanhedrin, of Pontius Pilate and of Herod Antipas. They have attempted and are still attempting to exact the truth from their witnesses and their accused but after weeks of interrogations, intimidations, and grandstanding, they’re still at a loss. Despite the several names implicated to this syndicated crime, no one has been brought to justice. Sadly, the integrity of these “courts” are slowly eroding in the eyes of the public. There have been a lot of questions and doubts whether they will be able to stand for the truth and justice that Filipinos deserve or will these “courts” be brought to silence.
But in all these political scandals and chaos, there are the Veronicas and Simons of Cyrene, proving that there are still good and upright people in governance. The likes of Secretary Vince Dizon, Baguio Mayor Benjie Magalong, Batangas Representative Leandro Leviste and Pasig Mayor Vico Sotto, are indeed breath of fresh air, in this toxic and corruption ridden Philippine government. They have witnessed the overwhelming corruption in the government that’s why in their small, humble but impactful ways, they are fighting it and introducing reforms. Making them as targets of “demolition job”. May their courage inspire more Veronicas and Simons of Cyrene to come forward and stand firm and fight for what is right.
The central figure in this “Senakulo” are the many Filipinos who had to suffer, carry the cross and be nailed on the cross, as results of the grand scale government corruption. While these corrupt officials and contractors and their families indulge and flex their lavish lifestyles, millions of Filipinos have lost lives, properties and jobs due to flooding. Millions of Filipino children have no access to education while those who have access to public schools lack teachers, functioning classrooms, and school materials. Millions of sick Filipinos just suffer and die quietly in their homes as they have no access to basic medical services. All these should have been the beneficiaries of those insertions. Instead, every day, millions of Filipinos are crucified to the cross of greed, corruption and inutility in government.
But all is not lost yet. There is still hope. With the right leaders, community involvement and policy reforms, we can still resurrect and bring back to life our beloved country, Philippines! It’s the Season of Advent, after all!
