God, country, family
When you take your oath as a public servant shouldn’t your priorities change? What should a public official serve first – country or family? I think the Binays got it all mixed up. Why are they all fighting to save their family?
The Binays have created a monster out of their cause last week. They brought out the worst in them for the public to talk about. “Arrogance” is the best description for them as expressed by Winnie Monsod last week. Who do they think they are? I guess when you rule for such a long, long time in a place (like Makati) it becomes “thy kingdom come” and everyone who benefits from them will always bow to them and say “thy will be done.”
I’ve heard several stories about their leadership from people in the streets. That yellow card of Makati is a passport to heaven but if you do not follow their rules and summons you’ll find yourself in hell. According to the grapevine, every barangay has a “Binay” group leader who has a list of everyone in the barangay. When the Binays need the people for a rally, they are called in two shifts (morning and night shift). During the shifts, their presence is important. They are given meals and then are paid (P300-500) after. They sign up in what they call a “payroll” list after receiving their ‘payola’. Of course, when confronted, no one will admit to all these stories because they are scared. If they don’t comply, their yellow cards, the Makati Health Plus card (that entitles beneficiaries to free outpatient consultations and subsidized in-patient care in the fields of surgery, paediatrics, obstetrics, ENT, Ophthalmology, dermatology and orthopaedics at the city-run Ospital ng Makati or OSMAK) will be taken away. Well, these are allegations spoken by the people of Makati. Are all these true?
Actually, many uninformed people of Makati think that every service given to them is directly from the Binays. Little do they know that those gifts or services come from the City of Makati, from the tax-payers.
If the Binay family and their supporters feel that they are above the law and want to wage a war with the Filipino people, they must realize that many would dearly accept the challenge. Something must be done to put a complete stop to the Binays’ insult on the democratic rights of the people for proper and honest governance. The Binay family has become a total embarrassment to the government and the country.
To a public servant, country comes first before family. I find it amusing to hear the VP in his recent tirade against the administration at the UNA proclamation last week say, “Una ang bayan! Una ang tao! Una ang
Pilipino! (The country first! The people first! The Filipino first!). How ironic! The scuffle that broke out after police tried to serve the Ombudsman suspension order for Makati Mayor Junjun Binay last week revealed the true character of VP Binay. What troubled me was the confrontation between the VP and Sr. Superintendent Elmer M. Jamias of the Southern Police District. The exchange of words initiated by the VP in a condemning manner was unbecoming of a vice president and a would-be presidential candidate. This also reminds me of the same arrogance shown by Mayor Junjun with the Dasmariñas Village security guards (sometime in 2013) when his car was stopped and he told them, “Don’t you know me?” If you think about it, I’ve seen many instances in television where Senator Nancy Binay and Congresswoman Abigail Binay also exude the same type of arrogance – all singing the same tune of protecting their family and questioning the law. Why do they feel such entitlement?
All these incidents are a preview to the type of president and first family we may have in this country come 2016 if Binay wins. A Catholic priest even said it is a “scary prospect.” Why? Simply because he is bound to continue the popular Filipino tradition of patronage politics.
Yes, if Binay wins, he will continue to defend his family, friends, and allies even when they break the law. The vicious cycle will never end. Just like all the ‘ trapos’ (traditional politicians) in the country. Family dynasties will reign. Corruption will not end. Our country will be eaten up by the buwayas – daddy buwaya,
mommy buwaya, baby buwayas – it’s all in the family. We’re doomed.
In our day and age, we must break this vicious political tradition and get a lone star who has not been eaten up yet by politics, power and greed.
* * * What happened to morality in this country? Morality is the distinction between right and wrong, good and bad behavior. It is living by the principles of honesty, integrity, honor, justice, and decency.
During Pope Francis’ visit this year, Filipinos from all walks of life, rich and poor, politicians, ordinary citizens showed immense passion as Christians. But do we really live a Christian way of life? I am raising this question because as a predominantly Christian nation, the morality standards show extreme neglect from the church, the parents and the government. There is a need to strengthen our moral fiber of which we truly lack.
Some moral issues in the country today are: terrorism, extra-judicial killings, child abuse, human trafficking, sexuality, pornography, environmental destruction, etc. Of course, topping the list is corruption by public officials.
Ethical governance is a big moral issue in our society today. The role of every government is to serve and protect its people and its sovereignity. There are only a few cities in this country that live up to good governance. The rest continue to make government a ‘family’ business as they continue to hold on to that power, ever possessive, never wanting to let go!
Our hard earned tax money is easily wasted away to fund corruption in all the sectors of government. The money that went into the PDAF, DAP, Malampaya Funds, the CCT, Agriculture funds to name a few could have been used to provide efficient services to the people.
Our politicians lack the moral conscience. All they want is to be catapulted to an office of power and might, where they can amass great wealth the easy way. This bunch of ‘hoodlums’ in the guise of good Samaritans couldn’t care less of the overall impact their actions have caused our nation. Sanamagan!