At the rate this Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel) the popular P10 Billion scam progresses (or is it retrogressing?) could be a history repeating itself like that of President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos – on his over a billion plunder case during his 20-year presidency.  Almost after over 2 decades after he and the members of his family and certified cronies fled to other lands for fear of being lynched by angry Filipinos during the EDSA People Power Revolution, the case is still being heard and worse, the clan beneficiaries are back in our political realm, possibly laughing their hearts out at the inutility of our judicial system that are still being worked out, through their successfully winning elections.

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There are a lot of a group of well-heeled plunder manipulators in our midst who may be involved in the P10 Billion PDAF scam and have benefited from it, who now try to muddle this nauseating issue. Their objective probably is to create a polluted and chaotic situation in order that those primarily involved or who at this point in time are really the guiltiest will be relieved of their being the only focus in the here and now relative to this scam. The emerging lists being paraded by many personalities – known to Filipinos, are creating a serious boggling of their mind situation.
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Our people who were primarily robbed of their taxes paid in government that have become a viable source in this large-scale thievery by supposedly credible public servants (legislators/ and senators in particular) would like to see that this P’noy government itself should handle the investigation. This government is credible and at best has all the facilities, mechanisms, power and initiatives to come up with credible findings about this shameless scam. It has the Commission on Audit which determines how government finances are spent; we have the intelligence community which is capable of unearthing hidden wealth by the police and military establishment to include even hidden agenda of corrupt government officials in our civilian agencies. This intelligence group which formerly belongs to police and military establishments has also been employed now in civilian government agencies.
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In media interacting forum in broadcast channels we were able to monitor a discussion. They said that to investigate the Senators through the Blue Ribbon Committee of the Senate will arrive at a kind of doubtful findings. The committee to hear their peers about the scam will crate a problem. So there is a suggestion that government should create a fact-finding commission to hear these cases. The problem is the fact-finding commissions will still file the cases formally in court, after “years” of hearings. We suggest therefore that this issue should be handled solely by the Department of Justice. The DOJ is still a credible agency in the P’noy administration.
Come to think of it. Where is the Presidential Commission on Good Government?

Getting at least 10 points in the mobile application Flappy Bird is supposed to not create too much ruckus in a third world country. But here in the Philippines, it does. Who doesn’t have the app in their gadgets? We seem to have a knack in always being updated with the latest and the most talked about. I am not surprised because this is not a first; however, it is pretty much disappointing. This third world country, for crying out loud, has bigger problems to problem. We are surrounded by anomalies and risks of death but we are unreservedly lethargic of them. I believe our societal web is at the peak of its trying times. The media have not failed to report our despicable political system, and, Mother Nature has not failed to whip us with her fatal wrath, but, we still disregard them. Majority of us may still be ignorant of what is causing too much national deficiency and most of us may still be uneducated of the effects of our climate’s quantum leap. The public lacks enthusiasm for more significant issues. People are more concerned with entertainment and leisure, and hold back their interest when subject matters become less engaging. For example, the name Cedric Lee and Deniece Cornejo, former anonymous personalities, have now become household favorites. Even elementary pupils can tell a brief background of the issues that cling to Lee and Cornejo. They have become huge Youtube sensations with more than a million views and with more than one featured video in the site’s news feed. How about David Tan, the alleged big-time rice smuggler who is believed to have smuggled rice amounting to millions of pesos? Who knows him? Who knows his face? Who knows the outcome of his suspected stealing? He had his time in the front pages of premier newspapers yet my close friend, a college instructor, does not know him. More people are busy watching the CCTV footages and deciding whether Vhong Navarro is lying or not. But only a few would reread a post or a share regarding advancements for the fight against global warming. In truth, we should be most appreciative of any progress against global warming since we are one of the most affected countries. I can feel that the youth, the ones that should be more knowledgeable on earthly changes, are much more pre-occupied with trend and gossip. Ostensibly, a lot more netizens are concerned with app game scores rather than consequences that may arise should we pay no heed to climate change. I am not spoiling the fun, nor am I dejecting involvement in show business, entertainment and amusement. From time to time, it is very fine to divert our attention to pacific and relaxing things. The problem with today is that we have given the lion’s share of our consciousness to these shallow issues. Apathy towards socially relevant issues is like shunning our identity as Filipinoes and depriving our children of a livable future. I can only beg for everyone to realize the importance of social involvement, because the points that we harvest from doing so, may be more rewarding than the points we earn from tapping and sitting all day.