OPINION
‘Stop thieving… for now‘
It was not so much an admonition as an affirmation. That all this time, this administration, with its insatiable allies in Congress, had been embezzling money from government coffers.
From the fullness of the pocket, the mouth speaketh.
“Ihinto muna natin ang pagnanakaw,” President Bongbong Marcos intoned — and the nation was appalled. It was not so much an admonition as an affirmation. That all this time, this administration, with its insatiable allies in Congress, had been embezzling money from government coffers.
Roughly translated, for the sake of foreign lending institutions, Marcos was telling his minions to stop the stealing… in the meantime. This was echoed by his former secretary of Public Works and Highways, now head of the Department of Transportation, Vince Dizon. The President’s message was a collective call addressed to the hungry detergents in this corrupt administration.
Marcos could afford to say that in public without fear of recrimination. He has total control of Congress and a docile Armed Forces of the Philippines. Frankly, I am skeptical about the Supreme Court following its recent change in leadership. In the meantime, I am hopeful the High Court will continue to be independent, for it is the last bastion for curbing venality in the government bureaucracy.
Anyway, Marcos’ admonition did not come as a surprise. The National Treasury might be down to its last centavo. As the old adage goes: “You cannot squeeze blood from turnips.” But the hungry crocodiles are ready for another heist.
In the proposed national budget, billions have been allocated for projects that do not have programs of work. They expect the Bureau of Internal Revenue and the Bureau of Customs to deliver the collection goals. And who knows — if the tax revenue targets fall short, there are still tons of gold bullion in the central bank.
Already, Malacañang is not keeping secret its plan to sell government assets like the railways.
Recently, it announced that it will lease an estimated 150,000 hectares of forest land in the Davao Region. This is obviously to augment the shortfall in the P7.2-trillion General Appropriations Bill already passed by the House of Representatives. This does not include the billions of pesos in budget insertions that will be deliberated on during the bicameral committee session.
For us Davawenyos, particularly Davao City residents, let this be a warning. Our forests are our watersheds. The Davao City Water District, for example, derives its water supply from the surface water of the Tamugan and Panigan rivers and the underground water from the city’s vital aquifers.
The rivers and the aquifers are being recharged 24/7 by the protected watersheds on Mt. Tipolog, Talomo and the mountains east of Mt. Apo. These watersheds should not be compromised, and the No Development Ordinance of the city government should therefore be strictly enforced.
The watersheds give life to rivers, streams and aquifers and meaning to the city’s slogan “Life is here.” Let us therefore guard these with our lives.
The prime victims of all the shenanigans in the current administration are the Regional Development Councils, which have been bypassed by the Executive and Legislative branches.
Those road projects that lead to the Pacific Ocean, the Celebes Sea and Timbuktu are products of an insidious agenda aimed at getting a big chunk in kickbacks — like they got from the ghost flood control projects. This would not be possible if planning starts with the RDCs.
By the trend, the Marcos call to “moderate the greed” will fall on deaf ears.
With the economy in shambles and stagflation having set in, we have to brace for P22 per meal.
What is happening to our country?