While most may agree that the Senate has the right to investigate the questionable wealth of Vice President Jejomar Binay, some wonder, however, if the Blue Ribbon Committee will still pursue its inquiry on the priority assistance development fund (PDAF) anomaly, where most of its members are involved.
Opposition Sen. JV Ejercito doubts if the said committee will still tackle the PDAF scam, now that it has its attention and that of the public focused on the Vice President.
Sen. Nancy Binay earlier said she is surprised at this point that only Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Bong Revilla Jr., and Jinggoy Estrada are facing charges of plunder despite over a dozen senators having been also named both by Janet Napoles and Benhur Luy to have allegedly received kickbacks from their respective pork barrels.
Other than Enrile, Estrada and Revilla, both Napoles and Luy named on their respective lists Senators Allan Peter Cayetano, Koko Pimentel, Gringo Honasan, Tito Sotto, and former senators Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, and Robert Barbers.
Key witness Luy mentioned Senate President Franklin Drilon on his files to have received commissions from his PDAF while Chiz Escudero’s name appeared in Napoles’ business transaction records.
I have no qualms if the Blue Ribbon investigate Binay on his hidden wealth, but it should also pursue and finish its investigation on its members that made millions out of the people’s money aside from Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla.
Political analysts believe that the Binay investigation is not only a political strategy but could also be a cover up for a much bigger and wider PDAF scandal case.
Ms. Bea Arellano, Chairman of Kalipunan ng Damayang Mahihirap (KADAMAY), agrees saying the PDAF and Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) issues are far more important than the Binay issue.
Is the P2 billion Binay allegedly pocketed bigger than the tens of billion of pesos that the lawmakers stole from the people?, Arellano asked during a radio interview.
* * *
Is going after the Vice President Binay’s wealth really far more important than looking for ways to ease poverty and create more jobs for the millions without work in this country? KADAMAY Chairperson Bea Arellano does not think so.
Arellano who heads a group of the underprivileged in the urban areas, says the government, particularly the legislative branch, should focus on ways to improve the lives of the poor in this country rather than waste its time in investigating corruption.
“There are a lot of people dying because of hunger, yet it seems that the priority of this administration is to go after corrupt officials,” Arellano lamented.
Bea clarified that they are not supporters of Binay but they believe that the Senate should just leave the investigation to the proper authorities, such as the Ombudsman and Sandiganbayan, in going after the VP.
She said both the executive and the legislative branches should put their heads together to find ways to alleviate the lives of the poor than finding corrupt officials at this time that make no sense.
She added, “We need more jobs, higher wages, and lower prices of commodities, which have been the problem of this country ever since that no president wanted to deal with.
Right on, Ms. Arellano!!!
etulfo2011@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment