We already wrote about the demise of the Bangsamoro Basic Law last December just before Christmas when the 16th Congress went on a recess. But then the Aquino regime dared once more to cajole his allies in Congress to see things his way, but alas, the truth has come out. President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino III is now officially a lame duck president. Well, the headline of the Philippine Star last Monday said it all when it screamed, “Palace accepts BBL’s doom!” The die is cast. The BBL is dead.
Now it can be told that the Aquino presidency is a total failure because the BBL was his administration’s backbone program, which all began on August 5, 2012 when Aquino held a secret meeting with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front Chairman Al Haj Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo, where a beaming PNoy claimed that this was “a great leap forward” in its effort to end the decades long conflict in the southern Philippines.
That meeting would have been fine for whatever it was worth, but PNoy was so elated with that meeting, he gave Al Haj Murad P5 million without consulting his advisers. He did not realize that giving money from the government coffers to people who are known as “enemies of the state” is called “aiding and abetting the enemy” and is against the Constitution. I suspect that this is one of the first criminal cases that the group of Dante Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption would file on the first day that Aquino steps down from Malacañang and becomes a civilian and therefore no longer immune from suits.
It just makes me wonder how much did the Philippine government spend for the BBL, its campaign, its propaganda preparation, where many in the media were paid to see things the way Aquino saw it. We have also heard the black propaganda that PNoy’s advisers cajoled the president that if he pulled this gag in Mindanao, he would win the Nobel Peace Prize. Well, it was a pipe dream then but today that dream has become wishful thinking. While we long for peace in Mindanao, the BBL was the wrong vehicle.
Above all, it is total lunacy to tell us Filipinos that signing a peace treaty with the MILF without including the MNLF would result to peace in Mindanao. This is not to mention the presence of many armed groups roaming around in Mindanao. First and foremost the New People’s Army, the Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters. This is the very reason of the failure of the BBL, as it was truly an empty promise by the Aquino administration.
With the BBL undelivered, Aquino’s five-years is considered meaningless. Add the fact that his campaign promise to enact the Freedom of Information Bill and the anti-dynasty bills were all hopes of the Filipino people who thought that by electing another Aquino into Malacañang, he would make things right, which is why many people were lured to the promise of Daang Matuwid, which in the end is a total failure.
I still remember the time right after the 2010 presidential elections when Aquino took over the presidency. People were saying that since Aquino is already rich, his government would weed out the corrupt with his Daang Matuwid program. Well the headline of the Inquirer last Monday was “Ombudsman: So many in government are corrupt.” So there goes that theory which has become nothing but a myth, that if the man on top is known to be honest, the rest of the government employees down the line would also become honest. This is not true.
That Inquirer story came from no less than Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales who said, “Corruption remains prevalent in the government.” She added that a total of 1,092 cases were filed last year and about 600 of them against Police officers. While I submit that the Office of the Ombudsman is overwhelmed but I dare say that the 1,092 cases were filed against ordinary government employees who are considered the small fish.
So Morales appealed to voters to choose candidates of integrity. Sure we want to do that but where is the big fish? There are 100 congressmen involved in the Priority Development Assistance Fund and the Development Assistance Program who are now running for re-election. Yet, only three senators are facing charges of corruption. Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, and Sen. Ramon Revilla for their role in the Janet Lim Napoles pork barrel scam.
But where are the other congressmen and senators involved in this scam?
Finally, let it be known that the people so very close to Aquino, like suspended Police Chief Alan Purisima, Department of Budget and Management Secretary Florencio Abad have criminal cases filed against them before the Office of the Ombudsman. So even if people still perceive Aquino as honest, we succumb to that old adage, “Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are!”
* * *
For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@mozcom.com. or vsbobita@gmail.com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.