Corruption and democracy

January 10, 2008  --  Got something to say?
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Nestor MataBy Nestor Mata
MANILA Today, Filipino democracy is near collapse with the rampant political corruption in the Arroyos government eating away at public trust.

The latest Ulat ng Bayan, part of the series of public opinion surveys of the prestigious Pulse Asia, is proof positive: Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the most corrupt president in history in the perception of voting-age Filipinos all over the Philippines.

This accounts for the creakiness of our democracy under Glorias corruption-tainted regime in the last seven years since 2001, when she illegally seized the presidency from the legally-elected Joseph Erap Estrada.

No matter how loudly Glorias mouth-pieces howl to high heavens, as they are now frenetically doing about the finding of the public opinion survey, they will fail in their obvious efforts to cover up the inconvenient truth that Gloria is perceived by the people as most corrupt” of all presidents and that her government is tainted by official corruption.

This perception of Filipinos has been confirmed by the report of the Transparency International Corruption Perception Index. It ranked the Philippines as the 131st in the list of the most country in the whole world.

So, what are Glorias political lackeys and frenetic propagandists squawking about? Why are they apoplectic? Isnt it true that corruption is endemic in their government? Are they denying verifiable reports that Gloria and the First Spouse have been linked to corruption cases?

Obviously, they have forgotten, conveniently so, that they have been involved in malodorous deals such as the IMPSA deal, the overpriced Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard and the Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Pampanga, the Jose Pidal accounts and the US properties, the fertilizer fund scam, the NorthRail project, the NBN-ZYE deal, the jueteng collections. The Palace payola to a select group of congressmen , governors and other local government officials, the diversion of public funds during the questionable president elections in 2004, the notorious Hello Garci tapes and the cheating of the presidency from the popular movie idol Fernando Poe, Jr., and so on ad nauseam.

Oh yes, they say that the Pulse Asia survey dealt only with perceptions and that the results are far from reality, that it was commissioned by biased persons, and even blamed the militant media. Thats all hogwash!

Even if, as her image-makers say, Gloria Arroyo is not the Numero Uno in the list of corrupt presidents like Marcos, Estrada, Ramos and Cory Aquino, that does not refute the truth about corruption cases involving Gloria, that corruption is endemic, and that a great many, many rotten things have been going on without letup inside her government for years.

Indeed, the rampant corruption under Gloria Arroyos watch has been eating away at the public trust, as manifested in the innumerable street demonstrations which, sadly, were quelled by her military-police minions. Yes, she is worse than Marcos, Ramos, Estrada and Cory.

And whats so frightening of all is that the corruption, the stealing and the wheeling-dealings and the violations of the rule of law were committed in the last seven years, and that she still has two-and-a-half years of monkey-business to go until 2010!

Imagine what will still happen if concerned people from all sectors of society fail to act in time and raise
their collective voices to cry out Enough! Otherwise, we shall all witness our already creaking democracy collapse into a heap of dust.


Posted by News Team | Filed Under Nestor Mata 

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