I would like see Janet Lim-Napoles, whistle-blowers, and all the legislators accused be given due process. Her, Benhur Luy, Merlina Sunas safety guaranteed to go through the trial process and make the parties responsible accountable.
Special treatment and threat to greater mass action
Yesterday morning, I overheard a radio interview (unsure what station it was) about a report coverage on the kind of quarters, food served, and other amenities provided for Napoles. They mentioned tweets about it being an over-kill. Then there was a radio phone-patch interview (can't recall the person's name now) who sounded like "threatening" the government for a greater mass action if the case will not be handled properly.
Maybe it is just me but I find threats as a form of intimidation that does not benefit anyone. If more, it turns off people who only wants to see this government proceed with proper action while actively listening to the people's concern.
Patience, Due Process, and Benefit of the Doubt
Listening to Professor Clarita Carlos interview last Saturday (Bottomline with Boy Abunda) made me realize the need to remain calm. I agree with her that the mishandling of PDAF by some of our lawmakers has made Filipinos expect less from persons in power.
The expose on how the parties involved benefited from it has pushed Filipinos to be furious and sensitive on how the government is handling the situation.
But I hope that we will also put value on the effort government is doing to address this. President Aquino indefinitely suspending the release of PDAF is a good start.
In due time, a new system is necessary where the people will benefit the most from it (and without giving any government official the opportunity to get a commission from it).
I also hope that the media will be cautious in stirring the emotions of people. At times, I felt like malice is being insinuated on how some of the media portrays Napoles manner of surrender and the actions taken by the government to guarantee her safety.
But like any case in court, there is due process that needs to be followed. I don't want to fall in a magician type of trick where the more you focus on one subject, the more you missed out. Never again.
The Napoles issue is an extra-ordinary case that directly reflects on how the people's money was handled in the past years. The lives of Napoloes, Luy, and Sunas are threatened at this time. The kind they have inflicted upon themselves because of the people's anger and those who benefited from greed of money.
Vigilant Filipino Netizens
The healthy exchange of opinions and ideas in social media, I hope, will continue and can lead to a hands-on generation of Filipinos who wants more progressive developments in the country.
A clean government. The one who will put the taxpayer's money into good use.
