Si Senador Antonio Trillanes IV ay nakakalabas ng kanyang selda sa Custodial Center ng Camp Crame. Ito ang natural an maiisip ng kahit sinong nakabasa ng report sa Philippine Star noong Enero 17. Nakasaad sa report na mahigit kumulang P500,000 ang ginugol ng senador para sa pagbyahe sa loob ng Pilinas noong nakalipas na anim na buwan lamang. Base sa ulat, isa sa dalawang bagay lamang ang maiisip natin: una, nakakalabas nga si Trillanes mula sa Crame at nakakagala sa buong Pilipinas; pangalawa, ang pera na idineklarang ginamit sa pagbyahe ay na “divert” o intensyonal na inilihis upang tustusan ang ibang bagay.
Kung iisipin natin, nakakapagtakang ganun na lang kalaki ang nagastos sa pondo ng senador. May mga bagay na maaaring maglalaro sa isip ng taong bayan. Una, hindi kaila sa lahat na madaming sundalo at kasamahan niya na sumali sa OAKWOOD incident ang nawalan ng hanapbuhay at nasira ang buhay dahil sa pakikiisa sa kanynang interes na ngayon ay tila siya lang ang nakikinabang...Kaya naman hindi malayong mapaisip ang taongbayan... hindi kaya ginagamit na pangtustos at pambayad ng Senador ang pera ng taong bayan para sa mga kasamahan niya na marahil ay pinagkakautangan niya ng loob sa pagsama sa kanya sa Oakwood? Nakakakonsensiya nga naman na habang siya ay patuloy na sumasahod (P43,000 na buwanang sweldo maliban pa sa ibang benefits tulad ng staff allowance at ang pamosong pork barrel) sa gobyernong kanyang kinamuhian (na ngayon ay sinalihan din naman nya) ang iba namang sundalo ay naghihirap at walang hanapbuhay – Ilang sundalo ba ang kasalukuyang nakapiit ngayon at nagtitiis na walang mapakain sa kanilang pamilya? Pangalawa, maaaring ang pera ay itinago lamang at inilalaan sa planong pagtakbo ni General Danilo LIM sa 2010. Hindi ito malayong mangyari dahil sanggang dikit ang dalawa.
Nakakapagtaka din na ang dating maingay na senador ay biglang nananahimik ngayon. Kung dati ay madalas tayo makarinig ng mga plano ni Trillanes, ngayon ay walang kaimik-imik ang mambabatas lalo na kung ito ay patungkol sa mga nabitiwan niyang mga pangako. Ang binibida niyang 155 senate house bills na kaniyang inilagda ay hindi nararamdaman ng mga taong bayan kaya sa ngayon ay wala itong saysay para sa nakakarami. Mas marami sana ang makikinabang kung ang nagastos na malaking halaga sa pagbya-byahe ay nailaan na lamang sa mga proyekto para sa tao.
Nakakalungkot na mukhang tinalikuran na ng dating nanggagalaiti na senador ang kanyang mga pangako sa taong bayan at nasilaw na sa marangyang buhay.
Friday, January 30, 2009
THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY, SENATOR TRILLANES
How can a detained senator actually spend P500,000 in travel expenses in a span of six months? This is something that we should judiciously wonder about since taxpayers’ money was certainly used to finance this so-called “travels” of the neophyte lawmaker. I have nothing against Senator Trillanes since he was voted into office by the people and from what I’ve read and heard was still able to author 155 bills despite his incarceration at Camp Crame. However, one can’t help but be surprised by the difference of his travel costs and that of an old-timer senator like Joker Arroyo whom we all know is as hard-working in terms of making laws and who has been very humble about his past accomplishments unlike some of his colleagues.
The January 17 Philippine Star report regarding Trillanes’ expenses as officially cited by the Commission on Audit comes as a surprise since the detained lawmaker has been very tenacious in his anti-corruption crusade particularly against the Arroyo administration. As such, five hundred thousand pesos was really a lot of money wasted on local travels by someone who was not even allowed to travel or even step outside his cell at the Custodial Center of Camp Crame in Quezon City. Would it then be too much to assume that part of the solon’s allotted money were used as remuneration for some of his “comrade-in-arms” during 2003 Oakwoad mutiny who were unfortunate not to be elected as a senator and receive monthly salary of forty-three thousand pesos(P43,000.00) a month? This could happen and is not entirely implausible.
Ironically, I was one of the people who voted for Trillanes in 2007 and even applauded his golden promise prior his sweet victory which is to waive his pork barrel. But like any other sad story, it was the promise that was waived and not the pork barrel. Being a campaigner against corruption, we all expected Trillanes to be the most frugal among the other senators, but by the looks of the COA report we can now safely assume that the solon has long forgotten the value we Filipinos place on “palabra de honor”. The filed 155 bills will not erase the fact that P500,000 of taxpayers’ money was wasted on travels while another more or less P300,000 was needlessly wasted to finance meetings and conferences and extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses of Senator Trillanes and his throng of staff members. And, what is sad about the story is the fact that this happened in a span of only six months. I shudder to think what the expenses of the detained lawmaker would be in another six months.
The January 17 Philippine Star report regarding Trillanes’ expenses as officially cited by the Commission on Audit comes as a surprise since the detained lawmaker has been very tenacious in his anti-corruption crusade particularly against the Arroyo administration. As such, five hundred thousand pesos was really a lot of money wasted on local travels by someone who was not even allowed to travel or even step outside his cell at the Custodial Center of Camp Crame in Quezon City. Would it then be too much to assume that part of the solon’s allotted money were used as remuneration for some of his “comrade-in-arms” during 2003 Oakwoad mutiny who were unfortunate not to be elected as a senator and receive monthly salary of forty-three thousand pesos(P43,000.00) a month? This could happen and is not entirely implausible.
Ironically, I was one of the people who voted for Trillanes in 2007 and even applauded his golden promise prior his sweet victory which is to waive his pork barrel. But like any other sad story, it was the promise that was waived and not the pork barrel. Being a campaigner against corruption, we all expected Trillanes to be the most frugal among the other senators, but by the looks of the COA report we can now safely assume that the solon has long forgotten the value we Filipinos place on “palabra de honor”. The filed 155 bills will not erase the fact that P500,000 of taxpayers’ money was wasted on travels while another more or less P300,000 was needlessly wasted to finance meetings and conferences and extraordinary and miscellaneous expenses of Senator Trillanes and his throng of staff members. And, what is sad about the story is the fact that this happened in a span of only six months. I shudder to think what the expenses of the detained lawmaker would be in another six months.
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