How to Avoid Being Sucked Into the Confusing KurakotSerye

The ongoing spectacle in Senate and congressional hearings feels less like a pursuit of justice and more like a reality tv show that could well be titled Desperate Kawatans, or the Pinoy version of K-Drama, i.e., Kurakot Drama. Politicians, contractors, and agencies like the DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) and of hurl accusations at one another, each trying to appear cleaner than the rest while exposing the rot in the system. For the public, it’s infuriating, sickening, sometimes entertaining, and worse of all, numbing. We watch as billions of pesos of public money are discussed as casually as loose change, parang barya lang ang pinag-uusapan.

Is there a possible bright side to this zarzuela?

When the kurakot players themselves begin to eat each other alive, we are given a rare opportunity. The mudslinging pulls back the curtain and shows us how their rotten system works. The question is—will we seize this moment, or will we allow things to eventually settle back to business as usual?

Lessons from our recent past

February 1986 showed us that there’s a limit to the patience of the kindhearted and non-confrontational Pinoy. We have a saying that goes, “Kapag puno na ang salop, kinakalos!” This means that when you reach the limit of one’s patience, he can resort to extraordinary means such as violence to get rid of the oppressor, the vermin. Fortunately, the kindheartedness of the Filipino still prevailed back then as we were able to unite in a peaceful revolution in EDSA that ended the kleptocracy of Marcos Sr., the father of the current president.

In January 2001, we marched back to EDSA to say, “Cut!” to the excesses of the actor-turned president, the father of the incumbent senator who allegedly asked for 30% cut in the ongoing KurakotSerye.

In August 2013, the Million People March was done all over the country sparked by the pork barrel scam starred by Janet Lim Napoles with politician co-stars still roaming around the halls! Oh, by the way, in case you’ve forgotten, the alleged 30%-cut senator was convicted of bribery and was actually jailed in line with this scam. However, last year, the conviction was reversed. The pork barrel was abolished, but wait… (more on this later).

Earlier, in December 2011, we also managed to remove a corrupt Supreme Court Chief Justice through the difficult process of impeachment with the help of his SALN (Statement of Assets and Liabilities).

With all of the above, one wonders, “Why are we here again? Why is corruption back with a vengeance?”

Lessons from my recent gum inflammation

It seems totally unrelated but hear me out. A day before my birthday, I noticed that there was a small inflammation in a part of my lower gum. Because I really wanted to enjoy the private dining experience by Kasaa that my husband and sons arranged, I went to our neighborhood dentist for a consult. After checking my gum and giving me a prophylaxis, she prescribed an antibiotic for me to take three times a day for seven days. I am not a pill popper and my digestive system is quite sensitive to medicines. So, I suffered from tummy ache and LBM as my reaction to the meds. When I informed my dentist about it, she told me that we have to continue the antibiotic; otherwise, my situation will worsen. If I prematurely stop taking my antibiotic, the bacteria will take advantage of this opportunity to multiply and even mutate and become resistant to the medicine. It too will be back with a vengeance!

I can’t help but see the parallelism in the way we try to cure our country from corruption?

We had some wins in fighting corruption in the past, but we didn’t finish the entire dose! We stopped prematurely. PNoy’s kung walang corrupt walang mahirap was starting to take shape as he got rid of big fish kawatans, giving our economy decent GDP growth rates and earning us our first ever investment grade rating in the international world. But we were impatient and didn’t complete the full dose (it takes decades to get rid of kleptocracy). We bought into the lure of Change iScamming and also voted back known kawatans who are usually members of political dynasties! And like the menacing bacteria, corrupt politicians multiply and become resistant to audit and other measures for good governance; consequently, poisoning the entire society.

The pork barrel evolution

The old pork barrel or PDAF (Priority Development Assistance Fund) was declared unconstitutional and abolished in 2013. But just like an infection that was not totally cured by an antibiotic, it mutated and is now wreaking more havoc in society.

The pork barrel was a lump-sum fixed fund given to each lawmaker to spend. He needed to submit a list of projects to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) on how he will use the funds. This “post-enactment authority” (amount first before projects) was the key reason the Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional. 

So now, lawmakers are expected to propose projects first and it’s done during the budget deliberation phase in Congress. These projects are now included as “line items” in the General Appropriations Act (GAA), supposedly to make the projects more transparent.

That was the ideal but here’s the reality. The “Congressional insertions” have become their mutated bacteria.

The old pork barrel was a lump-sum separate from the detailed GAA, which made it easier to scrutinize. Now the Congressional insertions are within the GAA and literally buried in a massive, multi-volume document that is difficult for the public and even other government agencies to scrutinize. The most critical stage where these insertions are made is in the Bicameral Conference Committee composed of representatives from the Senate and House, largely held behind closed doors. That’s where the (black) magic happens!

In the old system, the link between the lawmaker and the pork-barrel funded project was relatively clear and the amount was fixed. The lawmaker would endorse the project to a specific agency or NGO, starred by Napoles back in the day. (By the way, she’s still in jail without the company of her co-star politicians. She was convicted as the “mastermind” of the scheme. “Duh!”)

With GAA insertions, the link is more subtle and the amount is no longer fixed. Lawmakers propose a project to an agency (the current favorite is DPWH), which will then include it in their budget proposal. That’s what you’re probably hearing now as defense from some of the accused, “Naka-line item sa GAA yan!”  If that project turns out to be a ghost project or overpriced, proving that the lawmaker was part of the conspiracy is much more challenging. The paper trail is less.

In other words, the mutated Congressional insertions have become more sophisticated and “resistant to antibiotic!”

As we continue to watch the hearings, let us not be confused by their theatrics and allow them to just jail some fall guys so they can go back to business as usual.Let us hold the line, stay the course in demanding accountability.

Huwag tayong bibitiw kahit masuya na tayo sa kakanood ng Kurakotserye!

ANNOUNCEMENT

1. Join me in this inspiring interview with Atty. Tony La Viña on cancer, courage, and country. Click here.

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This article is also published in FQMom.com