Huwebes, Mayo 31, 2012

Corona Conviction is not a Deterrent to Corruption


PRESS STATEMENT
May 30, 2012
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)
Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM)
SANLAKAS

Corona Conviction is not a Deterrent to Corruption

Malacanang and its paid hacks in media are now making a mountain out of a molehill. They say that the conviction of Renato Corona by the impeachment court is a triumph of democracy and a cleansing of the bureaucracy. Nothing could be farther from the truth. 

The telenovela that was the impeachment of Corona ended with a predictable and lackluster climax, leaving the masses unentertained and not craving for more. The single and simplistic moral lesson of the story: “tell the truth in your SALN”. 

Despite the long proceedings, the Senate could only prove one fact: Corona did not properly disclose his dollar deposits in his SALN. Hence, its verdict rested on the sole issue of “non-disclosure”, covered by Article 2, which it raised to a “culpable violation of the Constitution”.

In so doing, the complaint, reduced to Articles 2, 3 and 7 during the deliberations, was further narrowed down to “non-disclosure” (Article 2, paragraph 2.2). It did not determine if such cash assets were ill-gotten or acquired illegally, leaving unanswered the people’s questions on “ill-gotten wealth”, “court decisions for sale”, “misconduct and corrupt practices”, etc., etc. The result was a “narrowing down” not to focus on more substantial issues; the case was watered down to insignificance. 

The respondent’s admission of non-disclosure was enough for the prosecution and the senator-judges to obtain a guilty verdict. They did not use Corona’s waiver of his dollar deposits to put such bank accounts under scrutiny. Hence, it is clear as daylight that the real intention of the impeachment court was not to expose and punish immoral conduct and corrupt practices in government but to merely remove Corona in the Supreme Court, to replace an Arroyo crony with an Aquino lackey in the judiciary.

If the impeachment court truly wanted to cleanse the bureaucracy, it should have let the sun shine in the dark and shadowy corridors of power. Let the people know how Corona acquired his millions of dollars; how Lucio Tan compelled the Court to flip-flop on the FASAP (Flight Attendants and Stewardesses Association of the Philippines) case; how much perks and privileges are given by PAL to members of the Supreme Court. 

But it did not; the impeachment court stopped in its tracks. It did not go beyond the question of non-disclosure. To the people, especially the workers and the poor, we believe that they did so because further investigation would reveal their modus operandi, the prevalent malpractice of officials in the bureaucracy who use their power and influence for economic and personal gain.

Miyerkules, Mayo 23, 2012

Disclose All or Resign All! Genuine Cleansing of the Bureaucracy not a Telenovela of Elite Infighting

PRESS STATEMENT
Mayo 23, 2012
Bukluran ng Manggagawang Pilipino (BMP)
Partido Lakas ng Masa (PLM)
Sanlakas

Disclose All or Resign All!
Genuine Cleansing of the Bureaucracy not a Telenovela of Elite Infighting 


We have said it before and we will say it again. Give the Filipino people a chance for real reforms and meaningful cleansing of the rotting bureaucracy.

The impeachment of Corona is not enough. The process is a spectator sport for the Filipino masses who are neither senator judges nor members of the prosecution and defense panels. More so, it is atelenovela of elite infighting being used by the Aquino regime to consolidate its control of the state and to advance its economic interests.

In impeachment proceedings, the masses are being induced to take sides between two oppressors. They are made to choose the lesser evil among rival camps of the ruling elite, which is nothing more than a choice between hell and purgatory.  By so doing, it fosters the illusion of democracy, of people’s participation in the affairs of the State.

But while the impeachment process is patently limited in its scope and objective and is being utilized by factions of the elite to pursue their self-serving economic and political agendas, it would inevitably open more meaningful questions. Its narrowness and limitation would provide exact arguments for the necessity of genuine and widespread reforms, and for other means of political activity that ensure public participation in the cleansing of the bureaucracy.

Hence, upon the opening of impeachment proceedings against Corona, we issued the “Disclose All” slogan, the demand for the full disclosure of all financial records and transactions by all government officials.

The beleaguered chief justice – who is more an astute politician than an honorable judge – knows this Achilles heel of the impeachment process. Hence, Corona is now piercing the veil of Noynoy’s anti-corruption pretense in order to save his skin as he challenges Senator Drilon and the 188 signatories of the impeachment case to “disclose all”. Truly, crooks know when to speak the truth to hide a lie.

We are neither “pro-Corona” nor “pro-Noynoy”. Both politicians are personifications of the social evil of a corrupt bureaucracy under an elite democracy. If government officials want to dispel public mistrust, they should let the sun shine into dark places. The broad masses of the people, not just the workers and the poor demand the public scrutiny of their private wealth.

If they could not “disclose all”, then they should all resign. And if the demand for “full disclosure” is continuously not met, the cry for “Resign All” would transform from an appeal for delicadeza into a call of action for their ouster. #