Don’t forget the PDAF scam
AN interesting development in the current effort to weed government of the corrupt is the decision of the Sandiganbayan to grant Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile’s request for hospital detention until he is fit to be transferred to a Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-administered facility. Enrile is facing plunder and graft charges in connection with the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scam.
Months ago, this would have been the subject of debate by a public wary of the antics of jailed government officials. The joke even before Enrile and Sens. Jose “Jinggoy” Estrada and Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. could be charged with plunder and arrested was that it wouldn’t take long before they would do a Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, which was to move around in a wheelchair.
The PDAF, though, is no longer the focus of attention of government critics but the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP). Besides, there is not much movement with the PDAF issue with the cases already in the courts. The PDAF has also been discussed to death. Thus, the mention of names like Enrile, Estrada and Revilla and Janet Lim-Napoles no longer creates a stir or evokes passion like in the past.
In a way, the hearings of the Senate Blue Ribbon subcommittee on allegations that the construction of the Makati City parking building is overpriced are attracting more attention because the personalities mentioned and the issues tackled are relatively new. Vice President Jejomar Binay is also a high-ranking government official.
But while the shift in focus by the public is understandable, that does not mean it should be accepted wholly. The danger there is when people lose perspective. Until it will be proven that DAP funds were misused, we can say that the pocketing of PDAF money is still the biggest scam involving government funds uncovered in recent history.
We should therefore not let the issue slip under the radar because it is when nobody is looking that the perpetrators are able to evade conviction. Our justice system is littered with major cases involving big fishes in politics that got dropped after years of being heard in court.
The cases against former first lady Imelda Marcos are one. It looks like the cases against the Ampatuans involved in the Maguindanao massacre years ago are headed that way, too. Are the PDAF cases next?