AS he wraps up his last year in office, President Aquino could leave a legacy if he can put in jail those corrupt lawmakers and their cohorts involved in the pork barrel fund scandal.
Aquino run and won on an electoral promise of fighting poverty and corruption under his oft-repeated “Kung walang kurap, walang mahirap” slogan that many believe is nothing but an empty promise.
Alright, his administration succeeded in putting behind bars the big three – Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada and Ramon Revilla – who were charged with plunder for diverting huge funds to fake foundations created by detained Janet Napoles.
But that isn’t enough. President Aquino should run after the cohorts and minions of these corrupt lawmakers, including their spouses, congressional staff, and officers of these fake foundations and non-governmental organizations which connived to steal from the people.
Other than those lawmakers included in the second batch of corrupt lawmakers implicated in the fund scam, 49 other lawmakers allied to the Aquino administration were also implicated for channeling their congressional development funds to these fake groups.
Many good people I know are closely watching if the President, the titular head of the ruling Liberal Party, could really send to jail his allies in Congress or would simply shrug his head and let them go scot-free.
Corruption is happening right and left, and at times we witness the crime right before our noses. But the problem is that many are so afraid to blow the whistle for fear of their lives and that of their children and friends.
That is why we should support the whistle-blowers who put their safety on the line for the sake of fighting corruption, and we could only hope they are genuinely after the truth and not being used as pawns to political vendetta.
Last Friday, a new witness emerged to testify against a lawmaker linked to pork barrel scam. A certain Bernadette Ricalde implicated San Jose del Monte Rep. Arthur Robes in the anomalous use of his pork barrel to a fake group upon the instruction of the lawmaker’s wife.
According to news reports, Ricalde has alleged she was instructed by the lawmaker’s wife to look for a foundation, identified later as Sagip Buhay Foundation, to act as a conduit to their nefarious plan of stealing public funds intended for scholarship, burial and medical assistance.
Funds were released and went to the Robeses’ deep pockets at the expense of the poor beneficiaries. How tragic! We should never vote for candidates linked to the pork barrel scam and allow them perpetuate themselves in power, especially this coming elections. GLOCAL PINOY/FJ MAGLALANG
