The Degamo slay, like other high-profile cases or issues of national concern or interest, serves as a powerful magnet to politicians, government official and former public servants who, either want to rejoin the government or lay the foundation for a run in the next coming national and local elections. Who cannot resist the temptation in commenting, no matter how inane, irrelevant, dumb, ludicrou and nonsensical their narratives are on the subject matter, solely to have their names and faces flashed on the news? They inflict the public with their nauseating and shameless self-aggrandizement publicity-seeking stunts.

There is this public official who constantly intrudes into the official business of investigation by the law enforcement agencies, issuing statements foisting his theories of the Degamo murder, publicly calling out a lawmaker who is suspected being the brains behind it, to come home from abroad to report for work in Congress, when he easily, if he is so minded and sincere, and not grandstanding, could make a convenient private call to him instead. It has to be made before the mass media.

This same government official, despite the heavy responsibility imposed on his shoulder to shepherd the administration’s priority projects, apart from performing his own duty to help effect legislative measures that not only will accelerate economic growth and uplift the social standing of the poor majority of our people, has the vexing habit of joining every official foreign trip of the Chief Executive, when his job description doesn’t include that.

He even beats the Malacañang press office to issue press statements regarding the outcome or the success of every foreign travel. As if that is not enough, he makes it a point to accompany the President in all his official functions and social activities whether in Metro Manila or the provinces, making sure that when the camera flashes he is beside the former with his ear-to-ear grin.

Either this government functionary is competing with the popular and humble former special aide of the former President, who has since been elected to the Senate as a glorified factotum or he is eying the presidency come 2028, hence the need to be always in the news to acquire that victory formula of face and name recall.

Others too have joined the bandwagon of always expressing one’s views on every juicy and burning issues of the day for media exposure, obviously for present aspirations or future poll use.

Some lawmakers are frustrated with police investigators. They always want Congress to conduct investigations on any crime or irregularity or scandal that catches the nation’s attention, in aid of legislation (according to them), but in reality in aid of their re-election.

There is this other ex-government official who has the nasty and irritating habit of injecting his views on controversial or popular national topics, always projecting himself as knowledgeable, presenting himself as an expert on a subject of which he pretends to be one when he is not. The former government official is such a blabbermouth, described by many as the epitome of disloyalty and hypocrisy, and a rabid sycophant to whoever is in power. This charlatan is presently moving heaven and earth to be appointed and rejoin the government, which has become the milking cow of the corrupt.

Unfortunately for the non-discerning, bootlickers and unwanted characters abound in the social and political scene.