“These efforts to smear Senator de Lima are a strong indication that the charges against her arise from a political agenda.” –Vice President Leonor ‘Leni’ Robredo

In a 2014 column for The Manila Times, Yen Makabenta wrote, “If Hacienda Luisita was indeed a major factor behind Aquino’s push to impeach [Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona], it was arguably an even more compelling reason for Aquino’s relentless and non-stop campaign to indict [President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] on plunder and other charges.”
The column also cited an observation made of a young Benigno S. Aquino III from a psychologist, noting, “The hunger for revenge fed into the psycho-profile of the young Benigno Aquino III, provided by the Jesuit psychologist Fr. Jaime Bulatao, who observed PNoy’s evident obsession to punish all those who had done harm to his family” – a revealing look into the way his administration was run.
When the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) scandal hit in 2013, a number of individuals were named, from members of Aquino’s cabinet to senators to members of congress. Yet, in the end, the president, along with then-Justice Secretary Leila De Lima, only targeted three senators, Jinggoy Estrada, Ramon ‘Bong’ Revilla, Jr., and Juan Ponce Enrile.
As pointed out when the initial investigations opened, the administration appeared to be targeting only those in opposition parties, along with those being mentioned for possible 2016 runs.
One of the most blatant acts was the number of times Aquino kept trying to drag former Senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos, Jr. into the fray, yet nothing substantial ever came up linking him to the billion peso scam.
Everything seems to harken back to the observations made by Fr. Bulatao.
Former Budget Secretary Florencio Abad was said to be a mentor for Janet Lim-Napoles, the mastermind behind the scam; then-Secretary of Agriculture Proceso Alcala was named by The Daily Tribune and Senator Panfilo Lacson; Senator Franklin Drilon was named by Sandra Cam; along with multitudes of officials aligned politically with the LP, yet investigations never proceeded on anybody donning a yellow ribbon.
An article last year in The Daily Tribune showed the committee report on the PDAF investigation concluded “approximately 80 percent of the PDAF have been probably lost to corruption.”
The article also pointed out, “despite numerous names that have been reported,” the panel even recognizing a “handful” of senators were involved, yet only three were eventually tagged in the scam, the PDAF investigation was “all done in the name of vendetta politics of the worst kind.”
Senator Nancy Binay offered a response to the committee report, which was chaired by then-Senator Teofisto ‘TG’ Guingona III, an LP member, saying, “I find it more imperative for the committee and for each of its members to act in a more judicious and comprehensive manner by obtaining and reviewing pertinent government records and expanding the coverage of the inquiry to include not only three senators but all persons identified in the [Commission on Audit] Special Audit report.”
Not to mention, with neither Estrada, Revilla, or Enrile having faced a trial since being implicated, this all may end up like Arroyo’s case – after years of detention and no action, the situation looks like nothing more than harassment and the three may just be exonerated at some point, since the administration at the time found it urgent to arrest them but lacked any tangible reason to put them before a judge and jury.
In a featured column in a July 2015 issue of The Manila Times, the writer points out another instance when the Aquino administration pursued his personal vendettas through policymaking, made apparent in their celebration at the ouster of Makati City Mayor Jejomar ‘Junjun’ Binay, Jr., son of frequent Aquino opponent, Vice President Jejomar Binay.
The day Binay departed from Makati City Hall, Aquino administration spokesperson Edwin Lacierda took to the podium to say, “Today is a good day for the rule of law,” as they witnessed LP-member Vice Mayor Romulo Peña, Jr. assume the position of acting mayor.
The writer pointed at then-Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, the 2016 LP candidate for president, as using his position to harass the Binay family.
“It’s all part of the veiled vendetta aimed to stop Vice President Jojo Binay from shooting for the presidency in May 2016,” the article laid out.
The editorial notes, while the younger Binay was named in an overpricing scheme, the administration seemed to overlook their own issues surrounding irregularities with their P62 billion Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) program; the unconstitutional Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) that turned government coffers into a slush fund for administration allies; Aquino’s consternation over the dismissal of former Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Alan Purisima, despite the millions he fleeced from the government; and the controversies surrounding the aforementioned PDAF scandal.
Despite circumstances, De Lima still brandishes the same arrogance carried around by most politicians, making statements that are transparently partisan with no regard for the basic intelligence of the average observer. Politicians believe everything they say is gospel with the expectation the public accepts everything as truth – most politicians are probably dealing with a God-complex, the idea they never make mistakes and are all-knowing.
Through her words, she makes it clear her intention is for the public to believe her side, the LP, are infallible. She would like to project an image that all the wrongdoing is conducted by their detractors and are never committed by her side. However, with just a small amount of research, it shows it is all projection.
In all reality, everybody makes mistakes – that should go without saying. Yet, for the LP and their ilk, they would like to pretend they were without sin. Of all of the barbs that have been thrown back and forth, given their actions and statements, deifying their leaders and denying any crimes are ever occurs at their hands, they have clearly broken the commandment of “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven.”/WDJ