The ‘Pontius Pilates’ are destroying our country

According to the Vatican the top ten Catholic countries around the world are Brazil (172.2 million), Mexico (110.9), Philippines (83.6), USA (72.3), Italy (58.0), France (48.3), Colombia (45.3), Spain (43.3), Democratic Republic of Congo (43.2) and Argentina (40.8).  Yes, we are the third in the list and as of 2017 according to the Corruption Perception Index, we rank 69 amongst the most corrupt countries.

So, what is this all about? I am quite perplexed about the moral ground of our people. If we have so many Catholics around, shouldn’t this country have less corrupt people? It probably doesn’t follow.

Unfortunately, many of our Catholics have followed the path of ‘Pontius Pilate’ instead of Jesus. And most of them work in government just as Pontius Pilate was – “a shrewd politician and an opportunist”.

Let me tell you how our public officials work. First, they take advantage of the poor and the illiterate. Second, they steal not only from the tax-payers’ money but more so, by creating laws and local directives to collect more fees from the people for their interest and gain. Not to mention, exploiting the country’s natural resources (thinking they own it). Third, many officials will make life difficult for a citizen who does not give into their whim. Fourth, if the citizen continues to fight for their rights, some public officials end up killing those who go against them. I can go on and on and on but I’m pretty sure you already get my drift.

The Department of Environment and Natural Resources is in the hot seat right now because of the President’s directive on Boracay. Clearly the new DENR Secretary has no hand in the past. Everything happened under the very noses of the former DENR secretaries and the DENR officials within the department. Indeed, there are many hypocrites in this office just like the rest of the departments. I don’t trust many of them. The office should be cleansed of the many termites that gnaw its foundation.

Take for instance this DENR Director of Region III by the name of Francisco Milla who was being interviewed by Radio Agila about the alleged quarrying/ dredging issue in San Miguel, Zambales. Without blinking an eye this DENR official assured the public that the operations near Coconut Island have been stopped by a “cease and desist” order due to violations (no approved ECC, no area clearance from Mines and Geosciences Bureau and even the Ports Authority was surprise to find an existing jetty without an application and approval). But the local folks say otherwise, that at night the operations continue to go on. How true is this? They also said that the area has been close to the public by the Mayor – I wonder why.

I remember the Mayor telling me in a letter that they got several approvals from the DENR and the MGB. In fact, the regional and provincial DENR officials (including Director Milla himself) visited the site (showing an attached picture of their visit in the letter) to attest “the inspection yielded no objection” on the project with the Singaporean-based company. Now, what happened to this DENR official? Why did he turn the table suddenly on the Mayor? And why can he say that everything has been stopped when the local folk say otherwise? He seems to be confusing the public. As far as I’m concerned the local folk won’t lie because it is their community that is at stake.

Now, let’s go to Boracay. It has been decades since establishments were constructed on the island. Why does it seem that the DENR officials (not Secretary Cimatu) are washing their hands and putting all the blame on the local officials who are actually equally liable? Imagine there are only 118 out of 834 business establishments with permits to discharge wastewater, while 173 establishments are currently operating without environmental compliance certificates (ECCs). Why didn’t any DENR provincial, regional or national official question the irregularities before? Why only now when the President summoned them to do so?

Anyway, since the President is at it, Secretary Cimatu should require all DENR officials in the different regions to start showing the inventories of ECC permits of each establishment in their areas.

Ricardo Ramos, Director of Pilipinas Sandiwa Heritage Foundation, was the Chairman of Task Force Boracay in 1988. This task force was an inter-agency committee of the Department of Tourism at that time. In 2012, he wrote then President Aquino stating that: Boracay Island, the Premiere Tourist Destination of the Philippines, will be RUINED by year 2020 unless immediate measures are undertaken immediately. The present rate of environmental degradation over the past six years (2007-2012) points to the inevitable decay and destruction of what was then known as “Paradise Island.” Once the world-famous brand of “Boracay” is damaged or ruined, it would be an arduous task for the Philippines to redeem it.

The National Leadership must take over Boracay to save it from perdition as it was before prior to its devolution to the local government. National Government Agencies, such as the DILG, DENR, DoH, DoJ, DPWH and DOTC must take an active role and be at the helm of drastic action that must be implemented. A Presidential Task Force can be organized to address the urgent and important issues that are long-overdue confronting the Boracay Island Tourist Zone (BITZ).

He further wrote: A similar situation may happen when your late mother was unable to take action after she was warned by the NAPOCOR President that the mothballing of 620-MW Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) without replacing the lost capacity will lead to power outages that became the Power Crisis of early 1990s. What happened was for three years, the DENR sat down on the two applications of the two power plants to replace the lost capacity of the BNPP. The undersigned is the principal author of the study on the Power Crisis in the Philippines published in 1993, as commissioned by the Asia Foundation to our environmental group, the Environment Network Center, Inc. (ENCI).

The Supreme Court in its decision of 2006 has given the National Government ten years until 2016 to keep ownership of Boracay Island to address the issues therein – to correct and plan for the island’s sustainable development. It will end about the same time that your term of office as President will end in 30 June 2016. There are only three years left (2013-2015) and immediate action must commence by the First Quarter (Q1) of 2013.

So, what happened? The letter ended on deaf ears. President Noy didn’t take any action. None of his men lifted a finger either.

By the way, the Supreme Court in 2008 ruled that Boracay is a state-owned property and the only legitimate owner of a big chunk of the island is the Tirol family since the early 1900s. So, how did the others acquire land in Boracay? As Manila Times columnist, Roberto Tiglao put it: Boracay again is a classic case of a weak Philippine state losing control of land it is the supreme sovereign of, and allowing it to be ravaged both by uncaring local and foreign capitalists.

Now that the term of barangay officials may come to an end in May, you will see all the ‘Pontius Pilates’ doing what they have to do – corrupting the country to earn their keep for retirement or for the next elections! God help us!