WHEN President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called for an investigation into the systemic government corruption perpetrated by his appointees and political allies, many were made to believe that days of crooks are numbered.
For one, the amount that was lost due to corruption is no laughing matter. No less than Public Works Secretary Vince Dizon admitted in a senate blue ribbon hearing that the squandered government funds in the last three years could have breached a whopping P1.4 trillion.
Just how significant could P1.4 trillion be? I did some research with the help of Google-hosted artificial intelligence and came up with an astounding discovery.
Based on recent Philippine hospital projects, P1.4 trillion is more than enough to defray the cost of constructing 1,798 localized hospitals on the assumption that each would cost P791.5 million. The Philippines has 82 provinces, 148 cities and 1,498 municipalities.
Based on the government price tag, P1.4 trillion can construct 560,000 classrooms at the rate of P2.5 million per classroom paid for by the government to favored contractors. But if we are to consider Angat Buhay to do the legwork, the government may only spend P862,500 per classroom. With P1.4 trillion, they can construct around 933,333 classrooms.
Google-hosted AI also claimed that such an amount can feed 115 million Filipinos four times a day (breakfast, lunch, snack and dinner) for an entire year.
The squandered funds could have been wisely spent to build 1.6 million low-cost housing units using P1.4 trillion.
But instead of serving its purpose, P1.4 trillion went straight to the pockets of politicians like former House Speaker Martin Romualdez, resigned partylist Congressman Rep. Zaldy Co and a bunch of minions at the House of Representatives.
With an entire nation venting ire on Romualdez and his minions, a man by the name of Antonio Trillanes claiming to be incorruptible came out to defend the crooks by trying to divert the issue to another senator who is not even on the list of legislators being investigated by the Independent Commission for Infrastructure.
For one, Trillanes isn’t clean as he claims to be. If my memory serves me right, the PNP Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) filed a criminal case (swindling) against Trillanes in 2019.
Swindling, a criminal offense under the Revised Penal Code, embarks on property, money, or goods that are unlawfully obtained through deceit, abuse of confidence, or fraudulent means. That’s tantamount to stealing.
From how it looks, Trillanes got himself a chunky deal. He could have been “commissioned” to take the role of an attack dog with a marching order to divert public attention on Romualdez and his minions.
For the longest time, Trillanes has been accustomed to making noise every time there’s an earth-shaking controversy involving politicians. And just like a jukebox, he stops playing at the end of the song.
For me, that’s weird because a genuine advocate doesn’t stop. Unless somebody made him stop. As to how much, only Trillanes would know.
We should not be swayed by efforts primarily designed to bury the issue of systemic corruption perpetrated by the President’s cousin. Let’s keep vigilance. Lest we forget “blood is thicker than water.”