The Philippine Experience

Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Arrogance = Stupidity

Sometimes being arrogant makes one look stupid. This is what just hapened to GMA's staunchest defender. Mike Defensor should have kept his back-channel talks where it be, at the back. But no, he had to brag about it. Unknowingly, he just proved the allegations of the opposition about bribes in exchange for "cooperation".

In a bid to undermine GMA's critics, he practically admitted how they are bribing the opposition and the administration's critics. We now know by his admission how the administration was able to herd the lower house into killing the impeachment last year. In an apparent bid to lure the opposition back to the administration's fold, he is dangling the opposition's pork barrel in exchange for their "cooperation".

Last year's impeachment led to a purge in the lower house wherein all congressmen who supported the impeachment either lost their juicy committee positions and their CDFs too. Defensor even came out and asked why give them their pork if they want the president impeached. (its mandated by law to give senators, congressmen and even municipalities their CDF and IRA allotments: stupid)

Defensor had bragged that they have attracted Emilia Boncodin back to the administration and had been appointed as team member in the government's Petron board of directors. Now he says that four more of the original Hyatt 10 are about to join them. He mockingly called the remaining five as the Hyatt 5.

He adds that Escudero, Pimentel and Jinggoy are also being targeted for reconciliation. The Daily Tribune discusses Defensor's other targets for his back-channel operations. But he denies all these efforts is in no way connected to the long line of impeachment cases GMA faces in the lower house.

Being boastful can really get you in trouble. He unwittingly admitted how they cloaked bribery in the name of reconciliation. And he unwitingly admitted how they violated the law by witholding the CDFs of the opposition. Is this the due process the administration often brags about? Is this the rule of law the administration hides behind? He must think that by using the word reconciliation, people will not look at it as bribery. Bribery can be anything, from money, gifts, to favors given to individuals in exchange for silence and cooperation.

I just wonder how much they will be handing out this time. They've drained the Fertilizer Fund, and succeeded in getting the budget re-enacted, a re-enacted budget by the way is one big pork barrel for GMA. Could it be the OWWA funds this time? Next year could be GSIS or SSS. So before anything goes awry again, the senate should be checking these funds the soonest possible time.

An ape will always be an ape even it wears a tuxedo and a braggart usually ends up a fool.

schumey
|12:54:00 AM|#