Falling for Noynoy’s trap

Written by  Charlie V. Manalo

Philippine Tribune Online
Tuesday, 20 August 2013 08:00

(Let us not fall for Noynoy’s trap, if indeed this is one. For those who would join Monday’s rally, bring your banners, unfurl your streamers, bring your own sound systems and organize pocket rallies within the rally and denounce all other abusive practices under this administration.

If indeed there are no organizers in this rally as the organizers would like to project it, then no one would have to stop you.)

Whoever came up with the idea for the grand rally against the pork barrel on Monday, Aug. 26 must be a genius.

Take into considerations set for Monday’s supposedly non-partisan rally: (a) Wear white; (b) Don’t bring banners; (c) Don’t bring streamers; (d) Speeches will not be allowed; and (e) No programs will be held. The rally will just be some sort of a grand picnic silently denouncing the alleged pork barrel scam.

But isn’t it weird that conditions are being set even as it is being projected that there are no organizers for this rally and this will be “a spontaneous gathering of tax-paying people who are raging mad against the multibillion-peso pork scam?” Pretty clever huh!

Let us rewind a bit to the time before this alleged scam on the lawmakers’ priority development assistance fund exploded like a nuke. Back then, people were busy talking about the Inekon scandal supposedly involving presidential sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz and her husband Eldon.

People were also talking then about the worsening corruption over at the Bureau of Customs which Noynoy Aquino claimed had been costing the government P200 billion in lost revenue annually, and whose perpetrators are being protected by people close to him. With Noynoy already three years into office, the government could have lost over P600 billion in potential revenue from Customs alone, which is 60-fold over than the alleged P10 billion pork scam.

Back then, people were talking about the possible abuses with regard to the disbursement of the conditional cash transfer (CCT), the worsening human rights abuses under the Aquino regime and the mishandling of the Sabah issue which cost the lives of our Muslim brothers.

Thus, when Noynoy’s yellow media started baring the supposed pork scam, critics of the administration were quick to dismiss it as a diversionary tactic to cover up for more serious scandals this administration is facing.

In fact, some critics were even saying the pork scam exposé is part of a demolition job in preparation for the 2016 presidential elections given the fact that all those listed in the alleged scam are potential candidates for 2016 and their allies, prompting the opposition to decry the Commission on Audit’s strip-tease approach in its investigation, demanding the release of the state auditor’s full audit report to include the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) disbursement of the administration allies.

Initially, critics of the administration were wary of the government’s scheme to use the pork barrel issue to divert people’s attention from the administration’s own scandal including that of the presidential family.

Unfortunately, they seemingly were not able to resist the temptation of falling into Noynoy’s trap. As the yellow media started bloating the pork issue, these so-called critics started posting in the social media issues concerning the pork scam, lambasting at those allegedly involved, totally neglecting the other issues hounding the administration.

And a day after CoA again released its audit report on the PDAF disbursement which zeroed in only on the last two years of Arroyo administration but failed to include even a single year of the Aquino term, invitations for a grand rally were posted all over the social network, but which issue was limited only to the pork.

Ironically, administration critics easily fell for the ploy (if indeed it is), as they readily signified their intention to join the rally even if the issue was only limited to the pork, even if they are prohibited from voicing out other issues, bringing their streamers and banners. And even if the organizers are pretending there are no organizers at all.

In fact, one staunch Aquino critic even declared that it is just alright for the organizers to remain anonymous so that the administration would have a hard time tracking them. But why would the administration track the rally organizer or organizers if they would be doing them a favor by diverting public attention from their very own scandal? For all we know, this rally could have even been hatched by the administration.

Wasn’t this what we have been trying to avoid ever since? For the administration to use the pork issue to its advantage and take away the heat from its own scandal?

There’s nothing wrong in rising up in arms against the PDAF misuse. We need the issue investigated and punish all those involved. But we should also get to the bottom of the Inekon scandal, the corruption over at the Customs, the abusive ways of Land Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres and how she is able to get away from them all the time, the perceived corruption on the use of the CCT program, and other issues hounding this administration. Why limit the rally to a single issue?

Let us not fall for Noynoy’s trap, if indeed this is one. For those who would join Monday’s rally, bring your banners, unfurl your streamers, bring your own sound systems and organize pocket rallies within the rally and denounce all other abusive practices under this administration.

If indeed there are no organizers in this rally as the organizers would like to project it, then no one would have to stop you.

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