Did Fr. Panlilio Do The Right Thing?
If I were Pampanga Governor Fr. Ed Panlilio, I would have done the same. Accept it, I mean.
I would not return the money. What for, so Malacañang can buy a more willing official? Or an innocent one? His revelation has been corroborated by Gov. Mendoza already, which makes it even more imperative to secure the moolah as hard evidence for future use.
What is P500,000, anyway. There's a lot more where it came from. Always available to spread this government's ugly disease to those who entered Congress with pure intentions, like those idealist neophyte congressmen and well-meaning party-list reps. One less enemy to do us damage, one small victory achieved, isn't it to our advantage?
Among Ed in my book did the most strategic act that had achieved more than if he had outright rejected it. First, he let those involved make fools of themselves for their insolence, lying out of their teeth in media, making their bribery accusers subject of ridicule. And just as the reckless bunch thought they had everything under wraps, here comes Among Ed making them look silly by speaking out and exposed the naked truth, more liars were unmasked, and their earlier denials had put them in an ugly and compromising situation. Now, who had the last laugh?
Secondly, he has now gotten the upper hand, he dictates the tempo of the game. The enemy is at best guessing his next moves so he must plan and play his best attack line at this time the opponents' defenses are weak. I would go with the suggestion to display it in a venue accessible to the public. I'd probably ask the foreign press to witness the unveiling. I would even go further by erecting a small monument that would remind all present and future generations of Filipinos (and the world) how one brazen attempt by a favored province mate and her ilk to conceal the truth, including a foolhardy scheme to buy the soul of a servant of God so that she survives the deafening angry calls for accountability and reforms. A few bundles of money which value is worth a hundredfold and adds more value over time if it were handled in a cleverly controlled manner. I'll bet you my noisy neighbor this effort will merit worldwide attention.
This is one opportunity I would not let pass. The beauty of this move is that the awareness of those who seek change for the right reasons have one standard by which to base their future actions on or it could influence others to become more creative when dealing with this beast called corruption and the beast's masters. We can encourage more honesty in our officials because they wouldn't know what we, prospective bribe receivers. have under our sleeves.
I may be overrating Panlilio, but in the wake of what he did, he has opened some minds and sprung some ideas out into the fore. For that alone, I don't regret being vocal about my support for the Governor.
Now, we envy Pampangeños even more.
Labels: Bribery, Fr. Ed Panlilio, Governor, Malacañang
posted by Tongue's Wrath @ 10/16/2007 07:03:00 AM
8 Comments:
On accepting, yes.
On the issue why the Church is accepting PAGCOR money, didnt the late Cardinal Sin say that even if the money came from the devil he will still accept it as it can still be used for good causes?
anthony,
Don't be misled by that logic. That Cardinal Sin IS the Church. What I know is the Church teaches us to avoid Sin.
Socrates Villegas and Gaudencio Rosales. GRRRR!
Among Ed did the right thing. Now even administration ally, Rep. Abante of Manila also claimed he received money. One by one, they are coming out of the shadow and into the light.
mschumey07,
Abante, like Fr. Panlilio, is a man of God. He is a preacher of the Protestants. But he didn't do it on his own initiative. Panlilio's act forced him to do the same as he would be giving his religion a black eye should he deny it at first and people found out later that he was lying.
Another opportunist suckered.
Gloria's Parallel Universe
* On Hunger: “Kasi iyun naman ang question ng hunger, do you miss one meal during the last three months? Pati naman ako, I’ve missed one meal in the last three months,” Gloria Arroyo said in an interview after a roundtable discussion on education and social services.
* On Human Rights:"The Philippines is the most democratic country in the region. We have championed that human rights be included in our ASEAN charter. We have no tolerance for human rights violations of any kind."
* On Extra-judicial Killings:"We deplore any and all killings of political activist and journalist. I have met personally with the journalism community and the same with the human rights activist, we share their outrage."
* On the Philippine Justice System: "We live by the rule of law. We abide by what the courts of the land decide. We must be a government that honors contracts and agreements that go through the required processes despite media attacks. And we must be a government that abides by what the courts of the land decide on matters of dispute."
* On Electoral Reforms:" We can disagree on political goals but never on the conduct of democratic elections. I ask Congress to fund poll watchdogs. And to enact a stronger law against election- related violence".
* On the Economy:"We have reached a new level of maturity and stability with some of the strongest macroeconomic fundamentals in 20 years. And I’m glad to see the rate of poverty is down, the rate of poverty is down, general poverty as well as what we have seen, extreme poverty. "
Equalizer,
I have always envied your collections. I'd like to see this particular one complete with the whole enchilada. How about Gloria's take on corruption, accountability, lying, political dynasty, etc.?
Can I suggest you hunt for the videos or even just the soundclips, put them all together and set it against The Platters' "Great Pretender" playing in the background. That would be one hell of an MTV, you'd strike gold in YouTube!
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