Triple blow on the stomach

By Belarmino Dabalos Saguing

Rome, Italy 17.10.2013

Concrete cracked like biscuit. No steel reinforcement

Philippines has suffered severe blows these past weeks. A grave politico-financial crisis caused by misuse of public funds, and two natural calamities: a typhoon and an earthquake.

These disasters that hit us like a blow on the stomach has separate and diverse causes. The first was caused by collusions between the political forces and the business entities, and the other two  was of natural causes.

What appears to be unconnected disasters are unified by the first. The nation was unprepared to face the natural clalmities because the funds that should have been used to prepare for natural calamities has been funneled in pork barrel which was disbursed to undeserving ngos and business firms.

Don’t let us be disoriented by the cosmetic announcements by the president and his cronies. The evidence of their criminal actions was well visible. Noboby could prevent the natural calamities from happening. It is forza maggiore.  But the devastations show clearly that public funds has been  misused. Roads that cracked liked biscuits, without even the steel reinforcement that should be there bat was not. Concrete paving of the road that are subquality. Funds they say that are lacking and the government could do nothing more than what they are doing now. That is a big lie. There was money and plenty of it, but they were in the wrong hands.

The critics of the system are not gloating at the victims of the natural calamities. It was the government that continue to insult the victims with their lies and cover-ups. There are the flood victims of the past typhoons that still has no access to the aids sent from around the country and from abroad, kept in guarded warehouses where the victims are not even allowed to approach, for whatever dark reasons.

The president, of late has announced that he will reconstruct the destroyed churches, but not the expected words of helping the victims. 

Of course! He want the churches rebuilt soonest! The province of Bohol is dependent on tourism for its economy! And that income means more money for the pork barrel that the president has been openly protecting! He want to protect the money first and the people’s welfare is just a second thought!  

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