A list written in water

Will we ever see the end and hear the truth about the pork barrel scam?

Everybody is talking about lists—one supposedly coming from alleged mastermind Janet Lim-Napoles submitted to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, another from her husband Jimmy coursed through former senator and current rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson, and still another courtesy of former illegal drugs whistle-blower Sandra Cam.

The different lists purportedly contain damning information about lawmakers and government officials, their staff, well-known media personalities and socialites who partied with congressmen and senators—all partakers of huge kickbacks from the legislative pork barrel.

Gikapoy na gyud kog paminaw aning pork barrel scam. Wa na gyuy kahumanan, ug nalubog nag maayo (I’m getting sick and tired listening to the pork barrel scam. It seems endless and has become muddled).

The cries of frustration are understandable but whether we like it or not, people need to stay focused. “Eyes on the ball,” not be distracted or be in a rush to believe what one likes to believe or accept as gospel truth of the disclosures of suspects wanting to be under the government’s Witness Protection Program.

Interestingly, while there is a lot of noise and media mileage generated by the purported lists, the Philippine Daily Inquirer has put out a series on the disclosures of whistle-blower Benhur Luy. The public should closely follow the Luy files because they jive with the report of the Commission on Audit.

In sum, the lists offered by Lacson and Cam, unless substantiated, are worthless.

In the province where I grew up ages ago, I remember waking up sometimes to a ruckus involving unpaid accounts in the neighborhood sari-sari store.

The scene is played out when someone fails to pay his account in the convenience store, where one usually buys on credit a ganta of rice, a bar of soap, a ladle of lard, an ounce of sugar and cans of sardines or corned beef. The list of utang (unpaid account) was usually written in an intermediate pad properly signed by the customer.

Oftentimes, the list becomes too long and a quarrel would ensue because the paper would become tattered by too much listing, making the entries difficult to recognize. The issue would then become a trending topic among neighborhood gossips and pressures the customer to look for a way to pay up.

Debt collection is as difficult then as it is now but back in the old days sari-sari store owners can only rely on the word of their neighbors. Otherwise, the neighborhood store owner considers the unpaid account written in water (listahan sa tubig). Meaning, it is worthless.

Lacson’s list includes the names of 12 current and former senators, 68 current and former congressmen and two key Cabinet officials. It may be written in water in the sense that he did not present proof to corroborate the charges, but people tend to believe it because Justice Secretary Leila de Lima refuses to divulge the tell-all affidavit of Janet Lim-Napoles. There is a perception that Malacañang is editing the Napoles list to protect Liberal Party allies.

Lacson’s disclosure has damaged Congress beyond repair. People have practically lost confidence in the institution. They think that all members of the Senate, not just Juan Ponce Enrile, Ramon “Bong” Revilla and Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada, benefited from the pork barrel scam. It will be difficult for incumbent senators Loren Legarda, Aquilino Pimentel III, Cynthia Villar (on account of former senator Manny Villar’s inclusion in Lacson’s list), Francis Escudero, Allan Peter Cayetano, Gregorio Honasan and Joseph “JV” Ejercito to overcome widespread public distrust of members of Congress.

That perception puts Ping Lacson in a good vantage position for 2016. Among senators past and present, he is the only one who did not accept pork barrel allocations. Is he trying to cultivate the image of a maverick politician who will go it alone in 2016?

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Followers of Sister Kay Gates, a healer and founder of the Arms of Jesus Ministry, will be glad to know that her book, “Our Journey to Jesus – Step by Step” is now on sale. I was invited to the book launch last Tuesday, on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima, at an uptown hotel where Sister Kay was warmly greeted by several priests and lay people who have worked with her in the Catholic renewal movement.

The book carries a “certification” by Cebu Archbishop Jose S. Palma by way of introducing the author to the public who might not know about her apostolic work in Cebu.

The book is reasonably priced at P300 per copy and is available at All Sons Inn in Echaves Street, Cebu City.

Look for Eduena Lopez.