Opposing Views

Reading the newspaper can be amusing, especially in the opinion pages where article content can show completely opposite views on an issue.

In today’s Philippine Star, columnist and former Senator Ernesto Maceda scores the President and his Cabinet members, particularly Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Secretary Dinky Soliman and Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) Secretary Rogelio Singson on their supposed inaction and insensitivity regarding the flooding situation in Cotabato.

Echoing Cotabato City Mayor Japal Guiani Jr.’s assertion that the President did not bring any aid to the flood victims, Maceda ends his column by saying, “another glaring example of an incompetent, slow-moving government who can’t get rid of water lilies fast.” Maceda, of course, is referring to the considerable growth of water lilies on the Rio Grande River which has contributed to the flooding in the area.

Before Maceda goes on his tirade against the Aquino government, he should probably take a look at his newspaper’s editorial, which focuses the blame more on local officials such as Guiani. As the editorial states, “a massive carpet of water lily does not appear overnight,” and questions the inability of local officials to have cleared the waterways of the water lilies on a regular basis. The editorial also observes that other communities such as Las Pinas and Pampanga have actually utilized the water lilies in cottage industries, so why couldn’t Cotabato officials have done the same?

I like the way the editorial concludes. It goes, “Those who don’t clean up their own backyard should not blame others for its consequences.”

It isn’t fair for Maceda to place the blame for the flood aid on the President, who isn’t supposed to micro-manage and provide quick fixes in situations such as these. The blame clearly lies with the local officials, who had failed to practice proper waste and flood management, and probably should be investigated on what they did with the funds allocated for such purposes.

Blocked

Maybe I should focus my writing on something else for a while.

Another week has gone by without any writing on my end, and I’m beginning to worry whether I’ve lost the passion for writing.

One of the problems has been time, there being too little of it. I’ve been immersed in a number of things, which, in turn, have kept me from the keyboard. However, I’m starting to get into the rhythm of the school year, so I should be able to find time to put my thoughts down.

Another problem is the lack of serious topics. For the past few years, I’ve kept my eye on the national scene, and have written at length on a number of issues, particularly the corruption of the previous administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Compared to rapacity of the Arroyos, the current government of President Noynoy Aquino has been pretty lightweight in terms of scandals. So far, the most serious scandals have been the Manila hostage crisis and the problems regarding the shooting buddies of the President, namely, Land Transportation Office (LTO) head Virginia Torres, and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno.

As for the President himself, the most serious charges would be his ill-timed purchase of a Porsche, and his apparent lack of action on important issues.

While I would agree with Conrado de Quiros when he wrote that President Aquino hasn’t done anything wrong or truly corrupt, the fact remains that President Aquino has been perceived to have done nothing substantial in his first year of office. The current flap with China over the Spratly Islands may be an opportunity for President Aquino to rise to the occasion and show his mettle, but I’m not really confident that he will. I’m hoping that he’ll prove me wrong.

The bottom line at this point is that I’m just not motivated to write about the Aquino government the way I was during the Arroyo administration, which may say something about my own biases. So far, the Aquino government hasn’t done anything the level of what Arroyo and her cronies did. If it does, and I’m hoping it won’t come to that, I’ll definitely be fired up to write about it here, but that time hasn’t come.

Maybe I’m just burned-out. After all, I have kept to this blog for seven years, and having written extensively about Philippine politics, maybe I’m just tired of seeing the same mistakes being committed over and over again. I wouldn’t be surprised to discover that I’d been repeating myself about the same issue over the past seven years. If such is the case, it’s time for a change.

For those who’ve been following my blog over the years, I can’t assure you that I’ll be writing more regularly from here on. It’s ironic, I know, considering the title of my blog. I’ll be doing some thinking, and maybe some brainstorming on topics that I’d like to write about. Hopefully, something positive will come of it, and I’ll be a better writer for it.

Appointing the Next Ombudsman: Attacking Justice Carpio-Morales

My first post in a while. I wanted to post something about Independence Day, but it isn't ready yet, and this was.

With the resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, the Judiciary and Bar Council (JBC) is now preparing to finalize the list it will submit to President Noynoy Aquino. Apparently, there is already a favorite in Supreme Court Associate Justice Conchita Carpio-Morales, who will be retiring on June 19, 2011. Predictably, those who fear her imminent appointment have already begun the process of questioning her capability to do the job.

Former President and Pampanga 2^nd District Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and former Justice Sectretary Raul Gonzalez have filed separate letters opposing Justice Carpio-Morales’ nomination to the JBC, questioning her “independence and impartiality”. To prove this, both Arroyo and Gonzalez said that, in every case involving Arroyo, Justice Carpio-Morales has supposedly voted consistently to investigate cases of graft and corruption against the Arroyo administration. The only reason why her views “did not generally prevail” is “because the Supreme Court is a collegiate court composed of a Chief Justice and 14 Associate Justices.” However, Arroyo continues, the “Ombudsman would be acting alone in the performance of his responsibilities,” so, it would mean that Justice Carpio-Morales would be free to act on cases against the Arroyo administration.

Gonzalez goes a little further in attacking Justice Carpio-Morales, by insinuating that her decisions are born of a sheep mentality, since, according to Gonzalez, Justice Carpio-Morales has consistently voted in tandem with her cousin, Associate Justice Antonio Carpio.

I find Arroyo’s and Gonzalez’s accusations and insinuations insulting to Justice Carpio-Morales. They imply that her decisions are made because of her bias against Arroyo, rather than out of a desire for justice and integrity in government. For me, Justice Carpio-Morales has been one of the bright lights of the Supreme Court, consistently deciding to have cases against the Arroyo administration investigated. In doing so, she has risen above the fact that Arroyo had appointed her, and has shown more independence and impartiality than majority of her colleagues, who have been perceived to vote as their patron wishes.

At the same time, who are Arroyo and Gonzalez to question Justice Carpio-Morales’ independence and impartiality? Arroyo, whose 9-year reign is so steeped in corruption that it threatens to rival that of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, and Gonzalez, who developed a reputation for being the worst Justice Secretary in Philippine history, lack the authority and credibility to assail Justice Carpio-Morales’ credentials. The same goes for Arroyo lapdogs such as Reps. Edcel Lagman, Milagros Magsaysay, and Danilo Suarez, who either kept their mouths shut at Arroyo’s corruption, or even actively participated in the plunder.

If one would question Justice Carpio-Morales’ independence and impartiality, it would be better to use the fact that she swore in President Noynoy Aquino, defying the tradition of the Chief Justice being the official to do so. The fact that she didn’t defer from this is, for me, a more compelling reason not to appoint her, rather than her voting record in the Supreme Court.

Another possible argument against her appointment is the fact that, once she retires from the Supreme Court, Justice Carpio-Morales will be 70 years old, and the grueling task of going after corrupt officials and pursuing cases against them may take a toll on her.

However, since I sincerely believe in Justice Carpio-Morales’ integrity and ability, perhaps, if appointed, she can help erase the stigma of Gutierrez’s dishonorable stint in the office, and reestablish the Ombudsman as a position of trust and honor.

Daily Musings Turns 7!

It was only after I put up my post on the Leviste escapade that I realized that my blog officially turns seven later this afternoon. Seven years of writing, and around 1,091 posts written thus far. While it's far from the daily posting that I had imagined when I first started writing, it's still a pretty impressive number.

Doing a quick scan of the posts, it's interesting to note how my posts moved from personal stuff, wherein I would narrate the events of the day, to comments on our society, whether political or cultural. While posting has been spotty as of recently, I'd like to think that I've tried to make sure that my thoughts are clearly stated and adequately supported, and that I've tried to make my writing as interesting as I could make it.

As I start my eighth year of blogging, I'd like to say thanks to all those who have followed me over the years, especially to those who have bothered to react in comment to what I have written. I don't really have any concrete plans for the coming year; I'll just continue to write about what interests me, particularly politics, Philippine society, culture. Do stay tuned, and keep on reading!

The Leviste Escapade: A Look at Philippine Prison Reform

Getting back into the swing of writing has been slow, but I think I'm getting there. I just have to make decisions about the topics I want to write, and make time to get my thoughts written down.

It's been an open secret that our prison system reflects our social hierarchy, wherein the rich can afford perks such as living out of jail, and even setting up their own businesses inside the jail itself, while the poor have to deal with cramped living spaces, and not being allowed to go out of the jail. One can probably still recall former Zamboanga representative and convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos and his tennis court.

This arrangement has been exposed to the public via the arrangement provided former Batangas governor and convicted killer Antonio Leviste, who was arrested as he was coming out of LPL Tower in Makati, when he was supposed to be serving a 6 to 12-year sentence for killing a close friend. It was discovered that Leviste was allowed to leave jail at least 4 times. What's worse is that he apparently sometimes brought two other inmates, one convicted for robbery and the other for rape, with him when he left the jail.

The Leviste case raised serious questions about our prison system, on whether proper security measures were being followed, and how much corruption has affected it. It has also caused the resignation of Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) director Ernesto Diokno, who, at first, said he was not to blame for Leviste's escapades, but later, filed his "irrevocable resignation", which the President accepted.

It's interesting to note that Diokno's resignation, tendered 12 days after the Leviste affair, is considered to be one of the fastest, in a country where public officials stubbornly cling to their posts in the face of public displeasure with their actions. It's still 12 days too long, considering that, before his resignation, Diokno was insisting that he was not to blame for the escapade, and tried to pass on the blame to the prison officials. However, Diokno cannot escape command responsibility, and the blame for the Leviste escapade falls on his shoulders. Still, he's better than most government officials, like DILG Undersecretary Rico Puno, who has stayed at his post despite being responsible for the hostage tragedy last year.

It's clear, as the Philippine Star noted yesterday, that prison reform is badly needed, and cannot be a hurried affair. It is something that the Department of Justice will have to seriously mull over, in order to correct the inequities in the system, to prevent a repeat of the Leviste caper.