Don’t stop believin’

Netnet Camomot .

THE best Christmas gift ever goes to former senator Bong Revilla who has been acquitted of plunder. When his co-accused former senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada in the pork barrel scam were allowed to post bail in 2015 and 2017, respectively, somehow the Pinoy knew an acquittal was possible for anyone of them.

Revilla’s former chief of staff Richard Cambe and alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles, however, have been found guilty and sentenced to reclusion perpetua.

Has the case stopped other wannabe scammers from scamming? Hmmm.

So, Revilla is back. And so is Sen. Sonny Trillanes now that the latter is in the news again—former Davao City vice mayor Paolo Duterte’s libel case against him has leveled up to an arrest warrant. And all along we thought that case would go pfft.

It seems like there’s no way but up also for the second district of Pampanga, which former President and incumbent House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo represents, now that it has a proposed P2.4-billion budget for next year. The humongous amount has inspired Malacanang to respond with some kind of, Paki-explain. Labyu.

House Majority Leader Rolando Andaya Jr.’s district in Camarines Sur will also have a large slice, with P1.9 billion of what Sen. Ping Lacson suspects as pork. Kaluoy na ba ni piggy oi. It ends up as lechon and ham for Christmas, and is the main word in what could be another pork barrel scam in the making, this time for 2019. Que horror!

And there’s more where that came from, with P16 billion to be allocated as assistance to local government units.

Yay! Election 2019 is obviously ilang tulog na lang.

Happy days are definitely here again for Arroyo who was also acquitted of plunder in 2016 for her alleged use, misuse and abuse of the P366-million fund from the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

Plunder sounds so common in Pinas, it doesn’t evoke a vehement reaction anymore from the Pinoy. And it’s not only because he’s too busy preparing for Christmas. Plunder is supposed to be not taken lightly, but here in Pinas, it’s threatening to become a common denominator among suspected politicians and their alleged cohorts.

Urban Dictionary defines plunder as “taking goods by force.”

The Pinoy may have to ask the ones accused of plunder if they do understand what that means, since Urban Dictionary has other plunder definitions which are not in any way connected with money or the national treasury. For example: “The act of stealing useless s**t that makes no sense to steal.” Oh. That still sounds like money.

If ever those previously accused of plunder will face the same charges again in the future, that’s a sign they have not understood what it means.

All these acquittals will embolden other politicians to join the fray, unmindful of the possibility of jail detention that can always be avoided through a hospital arrest which Arroyo was able to avail of, with much gratitude to her wheelchair and neck brace. At least, unlike the justification for the “freedom” of Enrile and former First Lady Imelda Marcos, Arroyo, 71, didn’t use old age as an excuse.

There will come a time when a Pinoy politician will be revered as a hero for not landing in jail. At least, he wasn’t detained. At least, he didn’t have to request for a hospital arrest. At least, he wasn’t found guilty. A rare find.

The ideal politician is the one who’s truly committed to serve the madlang pehpohl. Also a rare find.

We can dream—can’t we?—that Pampanga District 2’s P2.4 billion will not be used to build additional basketball courts for a barangay that already has one basketball court. But if this is one way for a district to produce basketball players for the University Athletic Association of the Philippines, the Philippine Basketball Association and the United States’ National Basketball Association, then, another basketball court won’t hurt the national budget at all. Hehe. Think of Sen. Manny Pacquiao’s story—surely there’s another Pinoy athlete waiting for his own big break.

It’s Ariel Pineda’s story, though, that “Crazy Rich Asians” director Jon M. Chu may turn into a movie. Pineda is currently Journey’s lead singer, discovered by the band’s guitarist Neal Schon via YouTube in 2007.

Well, YouTube is proving to be an effective medium for new discoveries and also for influencers with 7-year-old Ryan of Ryan ToysReview as its top earner for this year with $22 million!

Perhaps the Pinoy congressman can try that, too—earning moolah by reviewing toys, instead of spending billions of pesos of the national budget. “Don’t stop believin’,” as the Journey song goes.