Who will Filipinos believe more?

Batas Mauricio

WHO do you think our people will believe more on the issue of whether or not congressmen and senators who compose the Commission on Appointments were swayed with “lobby money” to reject the confirmation of former Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Gina Lopez?

We have President Duterte on the one hand saying lobby money “talked” so Gina would not be confirmed while commission members on the other hand are denying to high heavens they received anything to make them vote the way they voted.

The problem with congressmen and senators is that, the general perception against them has always been that they would grab any opportunity to make money using their lofty positions. They have not been known to uphold the interest of the country and the people. Duterte on the other hand enjoys the trust and confidence of millions of Filipinos, here and abroad, and so people easily believe whatever he is saying!

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The flak that is being thrown the way of Sen. Vicente Sotto III over his purported joke on Judy Taguiwalo’s being a single mother is totally unjustified. Whether Sotto knew it or not, his comment on the marital status of the incumbent secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development is a very valid point.

Indeed, it is to the best interest of both the government and the people that the personal and official backgrounds, and any other relevant information pertaining to anyone in government, must be made public, and be subject to inquiry. The intention is not to shame but to make sure that the official is fit and qualified to assume the duties and responsibilities of his office.

Concededly, many officials who have had a hand in running the government in this country have managed to hide vital information that would have been material in determining their fitness and qualification, to the detriment of public service. In most cases, many of those who have been elected or appointed to government positions managed to secure their positions even if there are big questions about their past.

This is the reason why right-thinking Filipinos should endeavor to educate our people about the rudiments of choosing our elected leaders, particularly those whose positions give them the authority to appoint people to sensitive and important offices. We should impress upon our people certain guidelines that should be used in electing officials.

The first of these guidelines is that, the people to be elected must have the Spirit of God in them, so that we can be sure they will not lie, cheat, or steal. The second is that they must be qualified and competent, and that they must truly hate dishonest gain. The third is that the elected leaders must agree to become “slaves” of the people, not the people’s “kings and queens” entitled to perks and privileges.

If we are to measure those who are in elected positions against these standards at this point, I will not be surprised if only a few would be found to be qualified. This is a sorry commentary not only on our leaders, but more on our people, who have allowed themselves to be unwitting tools for the scalawags, the misfits, the criminals and the immoral, to continue lording it over among us.

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I think it is totally incongruous that while President Duterte is living his life as president of this country in the simplest way possible, there are many in government who still insist on enjoying perks and privileges that politicians and officials of old have been used to, like for example the use of sirens and motorcycle policemen and police patrol cars to clear traffic for them.

The discredited Aquino government banned this particular perk by derisively referring to it as the “wang wang” mentality, and it worked during President Noynoy’s term. It is therefore nauseating to be witnessing an almost revengeful resurrection of this “wang wang” mentality during Duterte’s reign, where the campaign is to shun any display of abuse of official power.

I witnessed two examples of the return of this “wang wang” mentality just last Thursday night, May 4. The first happened while I was driving on a road where five to six police patrol cars snaked in between vehicles standing still because of heavy traffic, clearing the way for another car which obviously had a “VIP” passenger.

Later, five to six motorcycle policemen, with their signals light flashing and sirens wailing, cut through vehicles which were also stalled because of heavy traffic, stopping everyone.

It turned out that they were escorting a group of two or three vehicles whose signal lights were also flashing. The sight was indeed highly obnoxious, and I am sure many of those vehicles which were stopped alongside the car I was then driving were sharing the same thought that I had: “wang wang” has returned, but does Duterte know it?

It was at that point that I recalled, with much horror of course, that many vehicles sporting single digit plate numbers–particularly those carrying plate numbers with the number “8” to signify that they are owned by congressmen or members of the House of Representatives–not only have sprouted back like mushrooms after a slight rain, but have even demanded special treatment to enable them to cut through heavy traffic.

So, I repeat the question: does Duterte know that many of his officials and others from government are resorting to the use of “wang wang” once again to enable them to escape horrendous traffic situation ? Or, better yet, has Dutete authorized the return of this “wang wang” mentality?

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com