It’s all about politics

ON DISTANT SHORE
By Val G. Abelgas

Alcala, Abad, Aquino

We could have heaved a sigh of relief after reading reports that the Ombudsman has finally filed graft and plunder charges against businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles, at least four senators, a few congressmen and some government and private individuals in connection with the P10-billion pork barrel scam that has haunted the country for almost a year now.

Finally, those who have been reported to have made a mockery of our laws, constitution and institutions will be made to pay for their misdeeds, and if not guilty, be given a chance to prove their innocence. Finally, the much ballyhooed “daang matuwid” has found its course and a genuine war against corruption is well on its way to victory.

But wait. Why do I feel something is wrong somewhere? That there is a ‘daang matuwid” for those who dare oppose the Aquino administration and a “daang baluktot” for those who are allies of Malacanang?

Why is it that after two pork barrel scam cases have been filed, we see mostly opposition politicians and only one administration ally in the list of the accused? Wasn’t it that both the lists of Napoles and primary witness Benhur Luy contain the names of scores of former and present senators and congressmen, including some of the most trusted Cabinet members of President Aquino?

A third batch was filed on Monday, but still no administration ally included. Surely, a few of those administration congressmen and senators implicated by both Napoles and Luy are as guilty as the four senators. Otherwise, why would Luy, who has submitted volumes of documents to the NBI, implicate them?

“Where’s Abad? Where’s Alcala?” Sen. Bong Revilla, one of three leading opposition senators in the first batch of pork cases, asked, referring to Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, both stalwarts of President Aquino’s Liberal Party.

It would seem from both the testimonies of Napoles and Luy that Abad and Alcala, who were Liberal Party congressmen before they were appointed heads of the two reportedly most corrupt-ridden departments, were among the biggest beneficiaries of the pork barrel scam. Napoles even explicitly stated that Abad was the one who gave him tips on how to get funds released from the Department of Budget through non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Alcala, on the other hand, was tagged by Napoles as having implemented several pork projects. And yet, both have been spared.

The only administration ally who has been named in the three criminal cases is Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) Director General Joel Villanueva, a former party-list congressman, who based on the list seems to be one of those who have benefitted the least (P1.3 million in pork barrel funds) and who seems to me the least guilty among those implicated, and can, therefore, be exonerated.

President Aquino has come under fire for his obviously “selective justice.”

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, which should be the most knowledgeable in terms of evidence and criminal justice, questioned the government’s “seemingly selective indictment of people linked to the pork barrel scam.”

“There seems to be a selective justice. We are all aware there are many people involved and yet only three are charged,” said IBP president Vicente Joyas. Honasan, an independent but tied to Enrile, has not been charged at the time.
Napoles named 20 senators and 100 congressmen in an affidavit submitted to the Justice Department, but so far, only the four opposition lawmakers have been charged.
“This government has to act fast in terms of cases involving its allies,” Independent minority bloc leader Rep. Francis Martin Romualdez said, stressing “there is an obvious campaign of political persecution against former members and allies of the previous administration.”
Manila Auxilliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the controversy should not be used as a political issue just meant to pin down members of the opposition. “It’s not just those in the opposition who were involved in the pork barrel issue, but also those who are allies. All those involved should be prosecuted, and not just a few should be brought down because of the issue,” Pabillo said.

And there lies the problem. It has all been about politics and political revenge.

Aquino’s double standard of justice has been evident from Day One when he persecuted Chief Justice Renato Corona, who presided over the Supreme Court that ruled that Hacienda Luisita, which is owned by the family of President Aquino, should be distributed to the farmers. While he now says that Abad and Alcala should be presumed innocent until proven guilty, Aquino repeatedly declared Corona guilty as hell in public forums long before the House of Representatives could indict Corona and the Senate could convict the Chief Justice.

Now, Aquino and his minions are targeting other allies of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and leaders of the opposition that challenged him in 2010 and would now oppose the Liberal Party in the 2016 presidential elections. Revilla had previously announced his candidacy for the presidency while Estrada has been touted as the running mate of Vice President Jojo Binay. Enrile is one of the opposition’s top leaders.

In have no qualms about these three senators being named accused in the pork barrel scam. Based on reports, they seem to be the biggest beneficiaries of this shameless scam. But why exclude the 16 other former and present senators and 120 former and present congressmen when the same set of evidence was presented against them by Luy and the other whistleblowers?

Why can’t Aquino just let investigators do their job? Would these investigators dare file cases against those the President had already publicly cleared? Why was it so easy to find evidence against the opposition politicians and so difficult to find one against Abad and company?

Why must politics always get in the way of justice?

(valabelgas@aol.com)