Janet Napoles, Philippine Congress and The Pork Barrel Scam

Manila, Philippines — Janet Napoles is the center of billion pesos pork barrel scam.  As alleged by Benhur Luy, a whistle-blower, Napoles facilitated a scheme to launder pork barrel funds through her Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) company into the pockets of some lawmakers of Philippine Congress.

 

 

 

 

I think the scheme was supposed to be like this:  a lawmaker requests his or her pork barrel fund or in fancy name “Priority Development Assistance Fund” (PDAF) from Dept of Budget & Mngt (DBM);  then the fund is release through government agency like Dept of Agriculture to Janet Napoles’ NGO company, and finally she siphons it off to various humanitarian projects for the benefit Filipino people.

And supposedly the end result :  Poor Pinoys get 3-meal a day, lawmakers get re-elected, and Janet Napoles becomes a saint.

What a simple and noble scheme.  Perfect!

At least, that’s how I thought about it.  You know, I’m a dreamer.

However, there is a little problem.  Benhur Luy, the whistle-blower, has been trumpeting unpleasant sound.  The more I listen to it, the more my dream fades away to oblivion.

What then if he is a real messiah?

What?!  Holy Cow!!!   If he is indeed for real, then Janet Napoles and all the gangs are genius!  No doubt about it!  They made the whole scheme even simpler and pretty easy to process.  No projects! No people! No papers! No hassle!  So Freaking Simple!

Their smarty brains must have realized at the outset the complexity of humanitarian endeavor.  So Napoles and the gang resorted to a very simple scheme that I think it went like this:

1) Napoles received the PDAF or Pork Barrel or MONEY or BILLION PESOS;

2) She kept her modest 15% fee for NGO-stamped-forged-signature-papers;

3) Then she gave out the rest to the members of the gang: Lawmaker 50% and big & small fishes, distributed accordingly.

 

At least, that’s what I thought by now.  You know, I’m a dreamer. But I’m not the only one. I hope someday…

Of course, the dream holds if the whistle-blower was indeed saying the truth, as he alleged.  Or else, my dream would vanish like mist in the dawn.

 

Okay, for a time being, let’s forget this Janet Napoles and whoever those lawmakers.

Let’s focus on this people or tax payers’ money:  the Pork Barrel.

This pork barrel has been going on for I don’t know since when.  It is a fund allocated for lawmakers intended for their respective local district or community.   Traditionally, lawmakers, through pork barrel, would fund a community development program to enhance the living condition of their constituents.  The development program could be anything useful to community — building infrastructure such as bridge, road, school, etc., or any social system for the people, especially the poor and needy.  In short, pork barrel is money from the people and for the people.

The pork barrel idea is a noble cause.  Except when the disease of corruption creeps in within the people who manage the program.  Once corrupted, they would create a scheme subtle enough to slice a small portion of funds out of the program.  Yes, small.  So let’s say 10%.  This minor stealing is somewhat forgivable for there was a tangible accomplishment anyway.  A school was built; a road was newly paved, etc.  Everyone is happy.

The problem comes in when the disease becomes chronic.  Once chronic, the cancer of greediness flourishes and towers satisfaction.  At the peak of greediness, a sense of invincibility and arrogance eclipse the conscience of humanness.  Now instead of 10 percent, the corrupted minds contemplate another scheme for a much bigger stake.  Then even bigger, and bigger until they succumb to this idea — winner takes all.

The noble idea has died and rotten away.

 

Now back to Janet Napoles and the gangs.  If the alleged mega-corruption really took place, I feel sorry for them.

Well, it’s not about hell, purgatory, karma, cloud’s wrath, lightning, thunder, voodoo, releasing the kraken, or whatever.  It’s about justice.

I do believe Justice, yet blind and seems fragile, will always prevail in one form or another.

In fact, the Justice has already taken its leap.  The life of Janet Napoles is now in shambles.