Lawmaker, lawbreaker

Churchill Aguilar

IT could not be more ironic. The vehicle of a lawmaker and chairman of the city council’s environment committee was caught with illegal lumber somewhere in Medina last week. And for some heavenly reason, he was able to get his pick-up truck. Adding insult to injury, he had the nerve to show callousness and impunity when he himself took the vehicle from the police. And worst,  the police released the vehicle to the lawmaker! How’s that for a country ruled by law? Or is it more like “ruled by lawmakers?”

Some 138 lauan and magcono lumbers amounting to 711 board feet of protected hardwood species transported using the lawmaker’s pick-up truck heading to his hometown––the very lawmaker who was put in charge of protecting our environment. I mean if we try to hold the principle of innocence until proven guilty then perhaps there could be a valid and legal reason for the acquisition and the transport of such prohibited lumber but since there were no effort of showing any legal papers and retrieving the lumber by the time the arrest happened then we can presume that indeed they have no legal excuse. And if there would be documents that will surface later, the timing would already be questionable. Only an Oro lawmaker can do that. Or is it really only him?

The most recorded cases of graft and corruption from national to local were allegedly being committed by lawmakers. At least we have two senators behind bars, and a long list of congressmen who are being tried at the Sandiganbayan. A few even came from our region.

I was a great fan of Zaldy Ocon. He was a radio commentator. When he talks about issues, there are no holds barred. He strikes on people and issues bull’s eye-fearless and always at point blank. The likes of him gave people the ray of hope that the system can work with the right people.  That was precisely the reason why he won a seat at the local legislature. And then this happened.

News like this can make us ask: is there anyone left in there among our politicians who really walk their talk? The bickering between opposing lawmakers in the city council was one thing, but lawmakers breaking the law is totally way shocking.

All of us already know what is going to happen next. He can get away with this and he will get away with it just like the rest of them. But for us ordinary people, we get charged a thousand if we simply forgot to wear our helmet while driving a motorcycle or if we failed to use our seatbelts while driving a car. We could not even get away with simple jaywalking even if we did not know that such law exists because as they say “ignorance of the law excuses no one.” Yet here comes the chairman of the city council’s environment committee who may get away with breaking an environmental law (his truck was not impounded!). His worst excuse would have been his ignorance of such law––now that would be the greatest joke in our local politics.

I could not help but laugh about how funny this news is. But at the same time I am overwhelmed by alarm that the local politics in Oro has reached rock bottom and in a state of hopelessness.