Corruption was the signature of the administration of Gloria
Macapagal-Arroyo.

This is why this representation shares the public disgust with the record of
orgiastic compensation, brazen manipulation of government agencies and funds
for political purposes, and massive waste of the people’s money detailed by
President Benigno Aquino III during his State of the Nation address on
Monday, July 26.

The public is still reeling from the presidential revelations about the
rotting of millions of sacks of imported rice in the warehouses of the
National Food Authority, the way that the Napocor was commanded to sell
electricity at a low price for electoral gain, and the amazing privileges
the board and top executives of the MWSS gave themselves.

However, I fully agree with my friend from Cavite, the Honorable Elpidio
Barzaga, when he says that President Aquino should not stop at MWSS because
there are other government-owed and -controlled corporations (GOCCs) and
government financial institutions (GFIs) that have arrogated more exorbitant
rewards for their directors. In this regard, let me just mention the
astronomical 500,000 peso monthly salary that the former head of the GSIS
gave himself and the only slightly less celestial salaries of the 48 vice
presidents that made up his court, a fact revealed a few days ago by
Ferdinand Gaite, the head of a public employees’ union.

But if the subordinates of the GMA administration behaved like pigs, kung
ang mga galamay ng narakaraang administrasyon ay kumilos parang bwaya, ito
ay dahil meron silang magandang halimbawa sa pangungurakot sa taas. They had
a good model at the top, and this was a model not only in corruption and
plunder but a model on how to behave with impunity and subvert democratic
institutions. The channeling of $105 million of the calamity fund to the
second district of Pampanga while starving other districts and provinces of
these resources, the $329 million NBN-ZTE scandal, the P728 million
fertilizer scam, the stealing of the 2004 presidential elections, the
glorification of the butcher Palparan as hundreds of activists and
journalists were killed or made to disappear, the coddling of warlords like
the Ampatuans in return for political favors.

The representative of the second district of Pampanga awaits prosecution for
these deeds, and hopefully this process gets underway soon so that she can
be transported from this august chamber to the New Bilibid Prison in
Muntinglupa, where she belongs.

On this occasion, let me quote the words of Cicero to that great subverter
of the institutions of ancient Rome, Catiline: "Quo usque tandem abutere
patientia nostra, Catilina." How much longer will you tax our patience,
Gloria.

Let me note here that the campaign against corruption in high places and low
cannot proceed without the successful impeachment of the current Ombudsman,
who serves as the first line of defense of the former president. The sooner
the current Ombudsman goes, the better for the country.

Walden Bello

Akbayan Rep. Walden Bello ready to face ethics complaint

August 9, 2010 at 3:31pm.

Akbayan Representative Walden Bello remains unfazed even as 12 members of
the mionority block in the House of Representatives announced their plans to
file an Ethics complaint against him for his privilege speech last Monday.

Consistent with his earlier pronouncements, Bello said he is willing to face
2^nd District of Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her
allies in the Ethics committee.

“I stand by the truthfulness of the allegations I made against Mrs. Arroyo
in my speech,” Bello responded to the pro-Arroyo minority block. “Titingnan
naming ang complaint at maghahandang humarap sa Ethics Committee.”

One of the staunchest critics of the Arroyo administration, Bello also
pointed out that the strategy used by Arroyo’s allies to shield the former
president from being made accountable to allegations of corruption and grave
abuse of power is “an old trick they played when they were the majority in 9
years worth of congresses under Arroyo.”

“Bago na ang administrasyon ngunit patuloy pa rin nilang ginangamit ang mga
teknikalidad upang pagtakpan ang katiwalian ng administrasyon ni Gng. Arroyo
at pigilan ang pagsisiwalat ng katotohanan,” Bello said.

According to Bello, the Congress should not lose sight of the higher ethical
question: tama bang maupo si Gng. Arroyo sa Kongreso sa kabila ng
pagwawaldas niya ng pera ng taong bayan at pag-aabuso nya sa kapangyarihan?

“It is not me who will be on trial in the Ethics Committee, it will be
Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo,” Bello continued, saying that Akbayan will even
use the Ethics Committee to further expose the anomalies of Mrs. Arroyo’s
administration.

“Handa akong humarap sa Ethics Committee, dapat maghanda rin si Gng.
Arroyong humarap sa taong bayan,” Bello concluded with a challenge to former
President.