width=
- Advertisement -

Batas Mauricio

SOME Facebook account owners are asking: why are Philippine media entities not reporting on the people power-style protest actions that Malaysians have been doing for almost a week now, demanding the ouster of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak? Is Philippine media under instructions to be mum or silent about the Malaysian protests?

- Advertisement -

Or is someone in a very sensitive position in our country today does not want these protest actions against Razak publicized here for very important reasons? The fact is, Razak is being asked to step down from power on accusations that he stole some US$700 million from the Malaysian government, allegedly “to buy real estate properties” in the Philippines.

To buy real estate in the Philippines? That means, to buy lands here? What lands in the Philippines is Razak wanting to buy? And for what purpose? Is there any parcel of land in the Philippines that could be worth US$700 million, which is roughly about P35 billion (at an exchange rate of US$1 to P50)?

With this huge amount of money, Razak could already be buying the likes of Sabah and Mindanao, particularly those areas wanting to be included under the Bangsamoro entity. Well, will anyone please enlighten me, are Sabah and Mindanao for sale?

Let me quote here one Facebook account owner, Manny SD Lopez, who posted on Sept. 7, 2015 the following item on his wall: “Worst than plunder, the crime committed by the recipients of illegal Malaysian funds allegedly for the purpose of passing the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is treason of the worst kind.

“The illegal transfer of US$700 million to the personal bank accounts of… Razak has been traced in a private bank account in an offshore bank in British Virgin Islands. Subsequent transfers to other bank accounts have likewise been traced and identified and being followed-up.

“The identity of the donors and major recipients has been determined by international anti-corruption and anti-money laundering institutions, pending diplomatic protocol. It is but a matter of time before this verified information spreads in the international financial community and among world leaders.

“The shameless acts of corruption is being condemned in the streets of Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia. The admission of Razak that the money was used “to acquire real estate’ and subsequent insinuations of this being in Mindanao among his peers and the Malaysian press, demands an explanation from the recipient/s.

“President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III as the primary proponent pushing for the passage of the Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL) is alleged as the principal recipient of the illegal Malaysian fund. Treason in the highest order is the worst crime national leaders could commit against their own people!” I hope Malacanang comments on this.
••
Pardon my usually jaded view about anything that the Aquino government has done, is doing, and will be doing in the days to come, including its pursuit, at this late stage of its stay in Malacanang, of supposed “public-private-partnership projects” (PPP) worth P131 billion or so on transportation and power generation systems.

But the truth is that, I can’t find myself conforming to what it is doing, principally because there is always something incredible about its actions, belying claims that those actions are the result of “straight path governance”, and are instead really aimed at benefitting only friends and allies, and sidelining foes and opponents.

Take the case of the P131 billion projects. The first question about these projects is this: are these not “midnight deals,” firmed up while the Aquino administration is on its way out just a few months from now? Then, another question presents itself for resolution: will the new government in 2016 still honor these projects? The third question: why only now?

This third question––“why only now?”––raises the specter of the projects being timed and intended only for one specific purpose, and that is for the 2016 presidential elections. Is the Aquino government pursuing multi-billion peso-projects a few months before the elections, to prop up its candidates?

I remember, at the back of my mind, that there were projects undertaken by the Arroyo government in the waning months of its hold on power before 2010. One of these projects was the Manila North Rail Transit System, which envisioned a mass railway system from Balintawak in Quezon City, to Clark, Pampanga.

In fact, the structures for that railway system were already put in place, including the elevated tracks alongside MacArthur Highway from Metro Manila to Bulacan. Too, the squatters who have long resided in the path of the railway system were already evicted and thrown out.

Yet, when the Aquino government came, it stopped the project, alleging that it was attended with too much fraud and corruption, never mind if its predecessor had already sunk in hundreds of millions in it. Now, what is to prevent the incoming 2016 government from junking the P131 billion public-private-partnership projects of the Aquino government likewise?

This is the problem with leaders whose claims to “righteous, straight path” of governance constitute mere pretense. Because they are not sincere in pursuing righteousness in their discharge of their duties and responsibilities, they fall into the same trap of “selfighteousness”, committing the same sins that they have accused others with.

In Deuteronomy 28:15 and 29 of the Bible, there is in fact a warning from God: those who no longer listen to, and obey, Him open themselves up to the curses from God, and one of these curses is the curse of corrupt and plunderous leaders, with no one to rescue the beleaguered people from their corruption and plunder.

E-mail: batasmauricio@yahoo.com

Disclaimer

Mindanao Gold Star Daily holds the copyrights of all articles and photos in perpetuity. Any unauthorized reproduction in any platform, electronic and hardcopy, shall be liable for copyright infringement under the Intellectual Property Rights Law of the Philippines.

- Advertisement -