Pedestrian Observer GB: The politics of Quarry Plunder & Jueteng

First of a series…….

The Politics of Quarry Plunder & Jueteng as espoused by their messiah has consumed people in the Jueteng capital of the Philippines.

A certain “Ruffy Balboa” using an email address of storiesmaniladailieshatetoreport has been spamming netizens on the so-called “other side” of Among Ed. If you have not encountered it then don’t bother, I assure you its all garbage and I suspect it has something to do with quarry plunder and jueteng.

Leading the pack is the self-proclaimed “adviser” Federico Pascual with his bending over backwards advice to Among Ed in “working” the “existing” setup until it is “change”.

Indeed Among Ed Panlilio is a newbie in politics but does that mean immersing himself in the muck of corruption so he can run the provincial capitol “effectively”? Well, that’s exactly how this genius of a liepaper errr newspaper columnist Federico Pascual is yapping about, to quote:

SELF-INFLICTED: Most of his cabalen want Among Ed to succeed. But many of the problems hounding him are self-inflicted. And solutions are long in coming. He seems confused.

Complicating Among Ed's problems is his inability to work out a modus vivendi with other elective officials. He must remember that, like him, they also have their own direct mandate.

The governor cannot escape working with other elective officials -- the vice governor, the mayors, and members of the provincial board, etc. He cannot run the province by his lonesome.

Until the system is changed, he has to work with them as dictated by the setup.

“Brilliant” isn’t it? As in shinning lahar quarry thievery and buko (coconut) vendor turned millionaire now “kingmaker” except we have no clue how they got there because BIR, Injustice Department and other supposedly anti-corruption agencies does not have the balls to probe into the anomaly for fear of “violating” their “privacy”.

What exactly is the setup being referred here? Here is a quote from Mike Banos of American chronicle titled Among Ed: A shared Vision for National Building:

“After some time in office, I realized many barangay officials still don’t know what the Local Government Code (LGC) is, or what their Internal Revenue Allotment is,” Panlilio said during a private meeting with leaders of civil society held at a local restaurant last Monday, Jan. 7.

“The LGC is a beautiful code which allows the ordinary citizen to participate in nation building and social reformation,” he added.

He decried how many local government officials still wanted to make it appear that the barangays’ IRA were dole-outs from the LGU head’s largesse when it was rightfully the barangays’ to budget and spend as they saw fit.

Now, who is “CONFUSED” here? Is it Among Ed Panlilio or Pascual? It appears that the Pampanga Jueteng League ooops (Pascual acknowledge this in the same trash errr column as the jueteng influence) Mayors league led by allege anak ng jueteng (son of Jueteng) and presidential godson Dennis Pineda son of former Buko (coconut) vendor turned Millionaire husband to “kingmaker” Bong Pineda are upset due to Ed Panlilio’s enforcement of the Local Government Code (LGC). So now they are ganging up on Ed Panlilio because he has exposed their perverted governance of self-promotion treating people’s money as if their own to dispense like alms to barangays just by following LGC.

Is it not the elected officials mandate to adhere to the system and not the present “setup” or was it because Pascual in his perverted sense of “mandate” interprets the same as how the jueteng league of mayors does? C’mon Pascual you can’t just twist and insinuate the “negative” side without basis, this is just like a gossip session of Cobramen (illegal numbers game bet collector) and women lamenting their loss of income from illegal activities.

He advises the governor to work out a “modus vivendi” in short accommodate the thieves errrr the local officials that also has a direct mandate, another brilliant advise I should say. Now how in the name of cheating errr seating president will he do that? Panlilio and his staff enforce the present codes and laws so is this not a good basis for accommodation between disagreeing parties? Any agreement or accommodation must be legal and if the agreement meant committing a crime then it is unenforceable and non-binding. Should the governor not enforce the LGC as it exposes and shows the pathetic personality politics of traditional politicians playing god at the expense of the tax paying public?

Pascual laments the “undue influence” of civil society groups over the elected officials that has a direct mandate but from the looks of it how come many barangay officials are confused or did not realize what LGC meant for their jurisdiction. What have these jueteng league done to empower Barangays aside from the proliferation of cobramen and women congregating in their respective towns in their daily gossip session while collecting bets?

What is wrong with civil society taking an active role in governance? Is this not the essence of participatory democracy which we all aspire in building a strong republic not by pronouncement unlike that of the lady phone pal of garci? Hmmmmn, I wonder why he echoes the sentiments of the selected errr elected officials when they should welcome these initiatives instead of disparaging them?

I say Talangkaism (crab mentality) is alive and well in the minds of people with perverted concept of governance..... ok, who was saying that it is a sign of ATM Journalism? I did not say that but some of my gossip buddies of the Cobramen and women genre are insinuating that it is ATM Journalism and I could not tell one even if its like a snake biting me in the face. I am just so 'naive" when it comes to the present "setup" of governance especially how Pascual spells it out.

Let me end this with a quote from abengmalugud in his comment from the Campaign Supporting Good Governance:

a lot of filipinos don't realize that supporting good governance in pampanga means supporting good governance for the whole country... the claws of greed who try to do away with among ed in pampanga are the same claws that wield the power throughout the archipelago... do we really deserve one family, rather one person, to decide who and who will govern us... the family does not only control the 20 pampanga mayors... the family controls congressmen, senators, military men...the president... ergo the whole philippines... wake up philippines... if the same family succeeds in unseating the good governor, may god have mercy on us filipinos...

Continuation at series 2.....or jump to series 3 or series 4 the conclusion, Why & Who Wants Panlilio Staff Fired?

Subscribe in a reader