After President Bongbong Marcos had exposed the massive flood control mess that bled the country’s coffers dry by new and old kleptocrats in government uniform, also known as “ the big fish”, a huge mea .culpa was expected from those already named behind the historical crime or recycled crime.
Instead of owning up the crime, or sin, if you will, most of those accused have since issued plain denials. They had nothing to do with it, despite the testimonies and affidavits , or they were just red herrings. Some even invoke heaven to prove their innocence.
Some of them even hired the best lawyers in town to prove their point. Of course, their lawyers know that a wholesale denial means wholesale lies.
To their credit, notwithstanding the billions they had allegedly amass as result of the unprecedented corruption in Philippine history, some owned up to their depraved sense of entitlement, perhaps as a sign of guilt or remorse, even remotely as a token of patriotism. Patriotism has been said to be the last refuge of a scoundrel. At least, they were turning noticeably from their despicable behavior.
In one sense, they are a modern day Zacchaeus. At least one or two in the Senate must have known about the Zaccheus story, namely Senators Joel Villanueva and Alan Peter Cayetano. The former is t he son of a minister and founder of a large religious denomination while the latter has been recorded to have called himself an ambassador of Christ.
As the Bible story goes, Zaccheus climbed a thorny sycamore tree because he was short, to catch a glimpse of a passing Jesus. To make the story shorter, a miracle happened in Zaccheus heart and mind. A chief tax collector, he was wealthy but looked upon as a traitor because he was serving a foreign country at the expense of his people. Not unlike some people who think that the West Philippine Sea is nearer to China than the Philippines .
Zaccheus promised to give half of what he had stolen from his people. Some of those who had owned up to stealing billions from the people promised to give some of it as part of a bargaining plea with the government in exchange for not being prosecuted later under the witness protection program.
The earlier threat by PBBM that he would send them to jail before Christmas must have done wonders. That was supposed to have happened in 2025. It’s now the season of flagellation, and the big fish are still on the loose. Instead of confession, many have fallen back to the old fashioned denials and getting the best lawyers in town to prove their innocence.
One suspected big fish has escaped the net, so to speak, and stealthily flown to a sunny place with a new visa and ensconced in a gated village for the rich and famous, somewhere in Portugal. As to the billions or trillions he has allegedly amassed from the flood control robbery projects, there is a new, incredible tale by the Marines, of all people.
Per the 18 Marines’ collective affidavit, “maletas” of cash were delivered to various public officials, including PBBM, before the wanted congressman sneaked out of the country. The Marines, whose individual identities are still being vetted are linked to a former congressman, a former president and a former lawyer/ally o f a former president under custody by the International Criminal Court at the Hague for crime against humanity.
By the way, the Marines’ affidavit was attested by a pastor and head of evangelical churches to prove the authenticity of the documents, not its content.
In Jesus’s time, affidavits were not required to prove the merit ,or lack of it ,of the charges against a person. The say so of the chief priest or his supporters was sufficient. Pilate decided Jesus’ innocence for lack of proof. The chief priest and his rabid supporters demanded that a thief and a rebel be set free at the expense of Christ.The mob prevailed and the rest is history, sweet or sad depending on which side of grace you believe.
Hopefully, someday. somehow the wanted congressman now awash in casn due to flood control projects anomalies will miraculously materialize like Jonah via a big fish on the shore beyond Chinas’s nine dash line. By that time, some senators should be convinced of our territorial integrity and not because some partisan mob or hegemon power say so.
The intelligence of a a crowd, it’s been said, is the square root of the number of people in it, Long time ago, the British philosopher John Stuart Mills warned against the danger of having low -level intelligence representatives in government.
A couple of days ago, an American senatorial hopeful was told to be crucified like Christ to prove his conversion. The senatorial aspirant was said to be living inconsistent with Christ’s teaching. Sen Cayetano and many who claim to be Christians will reject the idea as literal exigesis . To live is or like Christ, Paul exhorted the Philippians, Senators Cayetano and Villanueva should know that. Inconsistency is an issue Earlier in his letter, Paul address servants to understand kenosis, or emptying of self in serving others,They may not even believe in flagellation to atone for it as others still do.
On the other hand, like It or not, PBBM still has to make his promise to pursue justice in light of the flood control project corruption and other crimes against the people It is his solemn duty to render justice to all, big fish or not.
