Janet Lim Napoles is now on the run. That makes her the perfect fall guy for the P10-billion “pork barrel scam” that is rocking the Philippines’ political establishment. A high-profile fugitive attracts all the attention and, not necessarily living up to the principle of scientific criminal investigation, all law enforcement resources. Never mind that the pork barrel “scam” is a product of a systemic issue of which Napoles (if the allegations are true) is but one cog in a vast kleptocratic clockwork, The deeply-institutionalised thievery that is Philippine-style pork barrel politics has the following key components in its gravy train:
The President of the Philippines – who formulates the National Budget and consistently includes the pork barrel as a significant chunk of it year in and year out.
Philippine Congress – the state body that, amazingly, approves the National Budget, a big chunk of which involves the very funds that end up in its members’ secret bank accounts.
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The Philippines’ financial system – a black-box conduit for mob funds that is hopelessly convoluted by archaic secrecy laws, lax and corrupt regulatory bodies, and tight family ties (many with links to the very law enforcement offices currently “investigating” this case) that greases the cogs.
Where does Napoles fit in the above?
Whatever the answer to that question is does not really matter. She is all but one item in what should be a long list of persons of interest in this case — perhaps one that includes bank executives, NGO managers and sponsors, senators and House representatives, and last but certainly not the least, President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III himself. The latter is where the buck stops as the old cliche goes. BS Aquino, after all, is the man who submits the National Budget proposal and, as such, is the ultimate originator of the pork barrel allocations to begin with. This is the very same man who back in 2010 prematurely trumpeted his place in history as the country’s unprecedented Corruption Killer. Midway through his term, one can say that President BS Aquino is certainly living up to his two-letter initials.
Either way Napoles is screwed. Her now being a fugitive makes her guilty as sin in the Court of Public Opinion. But if she had willingly submitted to the Philippines’ criminal justice system’s “due process” (a proven oxymoron in the Philippines looking back the last couple of years) she would’ve simply gotten a fair trial followed by a fair hanging. The very way with which the Department of Justice exhibited its goal to “arrest” Napoles is, itself, suspect. Why, after all, did a big fanfare-surrounded announcement of the issuance of this arrest warrant have to be made? It is hardly surprising under this light that Napoles had the time to make arrangements for her quick escape.
This is a country after all where crooks rely on family ties and the Philippines’ traditional feudal social infrastructure to remain above the law. Unfortunately, Filipinos’ small-minded approaches to “rooting out” corruption is hardly one that involves a systematic effort. It is based more on personalities — smear campaigns, publicity stunts, media placements, and good old-fashioned demagoguery to distract a famously daft Filipino public from the system of crime itself and focus, instead, on an arbitrary strawman. Unfortunately for Napoles, she is the Strawman of the Month.
Of course, this cat-and-mouse telenovela currently gripping the nation’s finest minds will not be complete without casting the Top Cat — Department of Justice Secretary Leila De Lima who is now in her moment. Tough luck for the country’s top copper. She has a boss who has his hands tied by family ties as her speckled record of trying to get her boss to walk the walk shows….
We were impressed at how [de Lima] pushed the administration to get to the bottom of how a fugitive senator was able to flee the country and then return with no known records whatsoever.
She also handled well the investigation into who really was to blame for the botched rescue operations during the Luneta hostage crisis three years ago. Her report was swift and unequivocal: several officials were in breach of their mandate, and they had to be made accountable.
Unfortunately, her boss, President Aquino, rebuffed her recommendations on both occasions. He quickly rekindled his friendship with the senator—the arrest warrant for whom was voided shortly after he resurfaced. There was no more discussion on why and how a lawmaker would even trifle with the legal and law enforcement systems for his personal benefit.
Similarly, the recommendations to sanction some of the President’s allies fell on deaf ears as they were given mere slaps on the wrist.
Is Napoles really the bad guy here? She is, perhaps, in her small way if the allegations are true. But the real BIG BAD GUY here is the person and his minions who have it entirely within their power to put an end to the disbursement of the Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) — the pork barrel that has become the whole singular point of Congressional politics.
Why is it that all the obvious solutions to Philippine wretchedness are not taken?
It is because Filipinos choose to dance to the tune of the powers-that-be and focus on small fish like Janet Lim Napoles rather than maintain a sniper-like focus on the real crooks that run the country.
benign0 is the Webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com.
it was nice of de lima and her keystone cops to give lim napoles a warning to escape, no doubt helped by her number 1 contributor bong revilla.
it now turns out bong revilla – who denied even knowing lim napoles – gave a billion peso to her ngi’s and that the business is run by napokes son and revillas son.
all politicians want napoles to escape and then no probe and no need for a lot of public huffing and puffing, private pissing and shitting in their pants, and legally a hot line to their lawyers.
napoles has enough fruends in malacanan, especially mar roxas.
The old saying in Texas Politics is, “If you cannot blind them (the people) with brilliance, then baffle them with bullshit”.
Big crime and criminals always use a “Cut-Out” or a middle person to channel the funds. In this case, it’s Napoles.
She is the sacrificial offering to the people who demand justice, while the big crime (P Trillions) escapes scrutiny.
No wonder Korina had a sympathetic interview with Janet Lim Napoles.
A malacanan stunt a la reyes brothers and all the rest who conveniently escape the country.
Maybe ex-fugitive lacson co-ordinated lim napoles escape. He has form and knowledge and likes to clean up aquinos shit.
De lima now clearly sides with the criminals. What a ridiculous person as DoJ secretary. Absolutely no integrity, or ability.
Atimonan massacre – another dead duck.
And in the ‘interview’ ( rather a rambling farce) with the inquirer published today janet lim napoles couldn’t remember the name of her coal company in indonesia that she says made all her money!
But also now claims to be very poor and completely innocent!
No wonder the napoles family motto is ‘ i couldn’t give a shit’.
They are clearly untouchable due to criminals in high places/malacanan protecting them, to save their own skins/exposure.
What shameless scum.
The values of the philippines – as also exhibited by the other current farce – sex for flight inquiry – is promulgating a barbaric country with no decency or self-respect and certainly no regard for the law or justice.
Filipinas are simply regarded as comfort women to be raped with impunity not just by the japanese but by filipinos and dfa officials, or trafficked by their compatriots as a human commodity.
Many congressmen, mayors all have had rape cases conveniently dropped, and even the girl who was raped inside malacanan by Pnoy’s PSG men last year suddenly disappeared.
Pnoy will be lying low as usual when leadership is needed and questions need to be answered.
Ms. Napoles is a dead woman walking. She should come out and tell all. Either she sings or not, a lot of people will want her dead. If she do not sing now, what she knows will always be the sword of Damocles for the Government people involved in the scam.
Not to defend BS, but is it possible that some influential people could be calling the shots and BS is actually just a puppet? I mean I don’t think he can be devious if his life depended on it.
He may have started out his term with good intentions but maybe right now he could be saying “WTF did I get myself into?”
Close ba kayo ni BS, Simpleton? You seem to know him like the palm of your hand!:D
We saw what Aquino can do if he wants something done, like in the case of CJ Corona. He threw everything at Corona, Ombudsman, Congress, Senate, Register of Deeds, media (i.e., Rappler, Raissa Robles) everything, even the kitchen sink, so to speak, as well as non-existent little ladies and mysterious messengers. PNoy embarrassed CJ at every instance. Spoke against Corona to the media. Do we see any effort now, like to review or halt the allocation of the pork barrel? Any statement?
Yes he threw everything at Corona, PUBLICLY.. the media is just a tool to manipulate public opinion and should not be taken at face value. I’m talking about the brains behind the scenes. BS is so incompetent it’s hard to think he himself came up with the idea of using all those resources to destroy Corona.
Don’t get me wrong this isn’t about defending BS. Never liked him, never will. I’m just thinking outside the box. Because if I’m right about this, then it won’t matter who the president will be. It could even be the messiah himself but they will still be dictated by more influential people. You have to consider that when the president’s term ends, whether he sleeps soundly during his remaining nights will depend on who he pleased during his term because there are other very powerful people who don’t really need the presidency to be influential but can use it to further their needs.
@nina, do you need to have this all explained to you? when you say Aquino ‘threw everything at CJ’,you fail to see the THREE things that did not happen:1)no jail time for the CROOK that bribed the ‘hoodlums-in-robes’ for flip-flopping on the PAL employee case(and they all lost their jobs!)2)the guy was never made to account for his un-explained wealth.3)no peso’s were ever returned.
Now, a little public shaming is all that is necessary for people to get ‘out-from-under’ and that should TELL YOU SOMETHING(Filipino pols have no shame is #1). if it doesn’t, I will not tell you what you should already know.
and seriously, if you can’t figure it out, you really should just throw yourself in front of a bus because there is no hope for you.
I also have the same idea, that was always my idea since 2010, that he’s a puppet. But a willing one.
Kakahiyang bansa.
Gawa na kayo ng article about cardinal tagle crying about this scam 😀
umiyak siya dahil walang sangkot sa allies ni Pnoy.pero kung mayfroon hindi siya iiyak,ilost my faith to some members of church
I respect that you still have faith to most since you only lost faith to some. But I lost faith in the church and to religion itself entirely.
I have seen many groups of brand new vehicles traveling in tandem, flying through Southern Luzon owned by? Wealthy people that look like tagay masters… so many of these types floating around, big money but butt dumb rich nobody’s. Who cares if she’s the fall guy, take one toy at a time from these burglars of public funds and there was mention that many of the Mayors never got their flooding funds, go figure our house was filled half way with water and we got nothing. Good thing she got her fair warning because I don’t think she would make it to trial, so many hands in that 10 billion Peso money pot. If change is to happen then then the next election will be about those pork barrel funds.
bulok,embarassing
I love that analysis. But alas, for our showbiz-obsessed public, they just lap up all the drama and never demand a systemic approach to corruption.
“Unfortunately, Filipinos’ small-minded approaches to “rooting out” corruption is hardly one that involves a systematic effort. It is based more on personalities — smear campaigns, publicity stunts, media placements, and good old-fashioned demagoguery to distract a famously daft Filipino public from the system of crime itself and focus, instead, on an arbitrary strawman.”
you do not even know what a ‘Strawman’ is, do you? nice try, well intentioned I am sure.
I really do want to point out what you are so obviously missing, and most people are missing as well.
I agree, Benjo, this scam is just a symptom of the underlying, MUCH LARGER problem. As long as the “Club for the Rich and/or Famous” is allowed to run the country as their Private Casino, the news will always be the same. The public gets caught up in the drama, and the problem is unresolved. How sad this is.
kung ako sakanya, maging whistle blower din sya. name names of the senators and congressmen. sila dapat ang managot. 70% or more percent ang share nila sa scam eh. haha
De lima shuts the pigsty gate after the porky pig has bolted.
Is de lima the criminals best friend or just sheer incompetent.
Perfect analogy. I love that now the onus and the risk is on the citizen .
The napoles debacle has exposed the legislators lies and hypocricy by their very own words.
Justification of pdaf – “local/pet projects” but noone ever publishes list of their pdaf projects
(That other crook nograles had it down to a fine art. Nograles of davao would take 90% of pdaf allocation and give 10% to projects, but only if his name appeared on exterior/public and therefore gave impression he funded whole project/many projects. He was a wholesale criminal like napoles.)
Reality as per Napoles saga comments – “my chief of staff allocates”
I dont know where my pdaf goes”
” never heard of that project”
“No, i dont follow up to see if the expenditure resulted in benefits”
And classic foot in mouth by estrada
” not lawmakers responsibility to check on pdaf expenditure”
So why have it moron
EXACTLY RIGHT, Libertas!! Lawmakers do not “control the funds”, they just get 70% kickback. I must admit, the scheme is BRILLIANT, nearly a perfect crime. Everyone gets “Plausible Deniability”.
Imagine what could be accomplished if 100% of the money was used for infrastructures that improve quality of life. WOW!!
I always found photos showing someone talking on a microphone kinda weird when used as a profile pic for Facebook.
kinda looks like a ‘NOB’ about to be….
AND…the ‘HOTTIES’ look good with them.
The philippines strategy on poverty. Steal from the poor and give to the corrupt, and don’t give a shit.
Some congressmen get 1 billion pesos in pork.
Some people get pork who are ‘ghost’ congressmen
Most are laughing all the way to the bank.( offshore naturally)
None will release pdaf expenditure or even saln’s – so much for rhetoric and postulating post corona.
Revilla, estrada and money launderer lapid top the list of the corrupt and also the biggest wasters with no contribution to the country. No surprise all has been/ wannabe actors with no interest in pokirics other than the money they can steal. Kick these shits/traitors out
A student society funds would be better managed. It is not just a joke. It is a shameful disgrace on corrupt politicians who do it ( all of senate and congress), the media who are complicit, pnoy for being an enabler, a total hypocrite and hiding as usual, the people who accept it, and the country for being so subservient, deceitful and pathetic.
no doubt napoles spent this week emptying her bank accounts/transferring abroad.
next de lima will think about freezing accounts.
too late idiot
I see the whole incident as a sham, a way to divert attention from the issues like even more corruption (especially yellow allies),unemployment, poverty and rise of hunger.
is this woman capable of ‘DETAINING’ a guy for 3 months? OH boy, something stinks in Manila and it ain’t just the bay. there are arrest warrants at all exits in the country and she is not going anywhere, unless she already left, gets help leaving OR is just plain fuckin dead!
would not want to be that woman, no no no no no!
Right again, Benjo. He was “DETAINED” until he got the deal he wanted for the laptop. Then he was allowed to “escape” to keep the story alive.
My guess is Napoles is a guest on a “Sacred Hacienda” until the smoke clears, then she will become a “suicide”. The Pork Barrel Game will end and another game will begin.
Good one.
Now, perhaps the underlying problem lies in the 87 Constitution. The President has fewer powers than the US President – he or she needs the PDAF to bribe the Senators and Congresscritters into doing what the President wants.
Hehehehe, the US President only WISHES he could bribe the opposition.
In the US, the opposition gets bribed by Big Banks, Big Oil and Big Drug Companies to oppose Obama.
The Philippines system is smoother and more civilized. The Big Companies bribe the Government Regulators with excess money made from public, and the Pork Barrel is funded from taxes paid by the public. Lawmakers get paid from both ends, very clever.
BS Aquino knows what is going on in the Congress and is part of the culture of corruption. Why? He has a huge PHP 1 trillion pork barrel. No auditing and no accounting. He has the power of the purse and controls the lower house and the senate. BS Aquino knows about the racket of Napoles through his administration allies in the legislature. Do not think that BS is entirely innocent. He is guilty as hell!
Pork barrel is truly systemic to a structure based on political patronage. We see the inherent limitations of Pinoy’s anti-corruption crusade. It is practically suicidal for a president to give up pork, arguably the main control of Malacanang over congress. Given the anger of the people against the pork barrel system, the various power groups would likely reach a compromise on “regulating pork”. Necessarily the main, immediate and most prominent target would be Janet Lim Napoles.
Napoles is not small fry. The accumulated cut from pork that she allegedly received from numerous lawmakers, over several years, totals to staggering amounts, aptly described by Sen. Miriam Santiago to be on the scale of plunder.
Among those who still believe in “daang matuwid”, they may hope that Napoles would bring down with her, her main sponsors — Enrile, Jinggoy, Revilla and Honasan and a number of other members of congress Unfortunately, this would be unlikely. The boat must not rock too much lest it overturns the political system.
Still demanding the abolition of the pork barrel system and fighting for it, is not an exercise in futility. Let reforms reach as far as possible, and weaken the system of political patronage.
Good points, David. This mess is what we can see and smell. Those who CONTROL the game allow us to see the small P 10 Billion scam, so they can obscure the bigger mess, the P Trillions stolen each year.
Suspiciously, Lawmakers seem TOO AGREEABLE in giving up the existing “Pork Barrel” System.
Greedy, corrupt people never change, they just change the game. There is a new scam coming and they want to clear the way for the “NEW GAME”.
Political Dynasties are always the winners coz they are the only players. The people always lose.
People must end the Political Dynasties Control. The people can use “Initiative and Referendum” to define and end Political Dynasties. It’s the only way to stop this economic insanity.
The Lawmakers that oppose the Initiative will reveal themselves as Corrupt and Self Interested.
Only way to win this game is kick out the Chinese they run the show here…and nobody of Philippine decent would run any branch of this country, change would really take place. The only reason the Chinese have stayed is that N Luzon is predominately Christian if it were all Muslim it would be an even bigger dump, trouble is the Chinese aren’t into infrastructure or human rights and the money they make is for China.
the bottom line is this…….voters should be educated about pork barrel,congress,the powers given to senators if elected……ito ang napala ngayun kasi maraming voters ang hindi marunong kumilatis sa iboboto.hayan tangagap ng tanggap ng kaunting inaabut tuwing eleksyon,heto ang resulta……ang nasa poder ay magnanakaw,corrupt at baboy…..ngayun maraming reklamu? ito ang inilagay sa pwesto kaya mag dusa kayu…..kahit na kmi ay nagdurusa din ngayun….ang mga nainvolve ngayun na mga senators ay hindi namin ya binoto…peru wala kaming magawa…….kaunti lang kmi……at the end of the day…dahil sa hindi tamang pagpili ng taong nasa poder….mananatili ang ganyang systema……araw2 ay nanganganak ang buwaya…….talagang kawawa tayung lahat…….
my work as a field interviewer before let me exposed to the actual realities of life…..there in the mountains and very depressed areas we encountered people who can not even take paracetamol, when in fact this only cost around 50cents….where are the hearts of these corrupt officials…maawa naman kayu sa mga kababayan natin…….
We all are aware that stealing from their pork barrel is continuously happening since we can all remember. It is very obvious. We all know how these politicians spends millions of pesos in their campaigns just to make sure they get elected for the position they are running for. For what? Because they want to serve their constituents? Bull SH_ _! We know what is happening but we just let it go. Why? Because we Filipinos are too busy working hard to bring food on our family’s table. We just simply ignore the issue. In reality, what can we do? We are helpless against the system. We only curse these politicians every time we see disasters hit us, like the frequent floods that could have been prevented if only an infrastructure has been funded correctly instead of funds being pocketed. I wish they can hear us every time we do that.
Why Janet Lim Napoles is the perfect fall-guy in the Philippines’ P10-bn pork barrel scam – aminin natin lahat, hindi natin magigiba mga senators at mambabatas- tanong lang, kaya ba natin silang IPAKULONG o FIRING SQUAD? ANG BATAS NG PILIPINAS AT PARA SA MAYAYAMAN AT MAPERA-KUNG PILIPINO KA ALAM MO YAN….
Refresh my memory. Isn’t plunder an offense punishable by death?
Death penalty? Abolished na po.
then reinstate.
Sadly, capital punishment is not around anymore. If it was, so many funeral parlors and memorial parks will be feasting.
kaya ang dapat: hindi lang dapat hulihin at ipakulong ang mga responsable s scam na ito.hindi lang dapat i-abolish ang PDAF. DAPAT na ring PALITAN ang ating KONSTITUSYON kung saan pino-protektahan ang mga ganid na mga mayayaman at mambabatas!!!
Very yes.Plunder is punishable by death but can be pardoned by a plunderer.
If pork barrel is abolished, then what alternative can you suggest?
what a dozy twat.
try thinking for once
Nah, the money will be sent to the LGUs. Congress will get it to the National Treasury.
In fact, you’re such a gullible real-life FOOL who knows NOTHING. More like a zombie.
Deal with it. 😛
Nakakahiya
Shame. nakakahiya ng sobra. Dapat death penalty ang bagay jan. Ang rami raming taong nagugutom tapos kukuwain mo lng nang ganyan. Kahit sila bumabayad ng buwis at nanay tatay kuya ate lahat kami bumabayad. tapos kala namin sa maayos mapupunta yan. Makagawa ng bahay, infrastructure at iba pa. Pero isang walang kwenta at demon na tao lng ang makikinabang. Sheeeeet. Kill her PLEASE.
http://xambayan.blogspot.com/2013/08/bakit-hindi-pa-napupulis-si-napoles.html
I see a very big problem here; those in the government; of whatever sector, take care of their own. They may once again just play with us; i.e. humor us with so-called investigations, that will take ages to resolve till we lose interest.
Excellent point…things take forever to get resolved here I know for sure the follow up will be vague at best and nothing done. There have been at least two foreigner deaths here that I have never heard a follow-up on this year alone. 1 Husband of US consulate stabbed to death by 4 young wealthy men, no follow-up by GMA news they broke this story and it was all over the news earlier this year, I’ve heard nothing. 2. A vet that was leg less and only married to a Philippina for 4 years got his head smashed in while they left him by himself at the house and they went to one of the pool resorts, they had the American man save his money for many months because he was supposed to be a new van the lady and vet stopped having sex 4 months before he was murdered, how convenient also the wife wanted his body cremated immediately there’s no proof and apparently no follow-up by GMA news on this also.
The biggest. Financial Terrorist in our homeland. What a SHAME.
You are such a commie.
it is simply and plainly dumb that someone out of the political arena should be charged with plunder