Saturday, September 13, 2008 Carvajal: Glimmers of hope By Orlando P. Carvajal Break Point
THEY are not powerful sunrays but faint glimmers in the dark. They give enough light to make one hopeful for more even as they give you a glimpse at how vast the darkness is. They are big enough to make me hopeful but small enough to make me struggle mightily with the cynic in me.
The conviction of incumbent Reps.Rodolfo Valencia and Alfonso Umali Jr. of graft and corruption gives us a glimmer of hope that other high and mighty congressmen can be convicted of graft and corruption. We have had a few convicted of murder and rape but rarely if ever of graft and corruption.
It is a glimmer since the conviction is for P2.5 million and of two congressmen against the billions of pork barrel spent for personal projects by hundreds of lawmakers, past and incumbent. The cynic in me wonders how many lawmakers simply attribute this conviction to the stupidity of the concerned congressmen and not to a triumph of the justice system.
Murdering and raping lawmakers are definitely exceptions to the rule and their conviction do not pose a threat to the majority. Graft and corruption, however, is endemic in government, including Congress of course, and any conviction of guilt here can send alarm or even fear signals to the many who are getting away with bigger amounts.
The dismissal of one Court of Appeals (CA) justice and the sanctioning of four others is another such glimmer because while the dismissal and sanctions are positive steps, the same steps confirm that the stain of corruption has reached as high as the CA. It is a glimmer that provides some light but reveals the vast darkness of our two-tiered justice system, one for the powerful and moneyed and another for the poor and powerless.
The hope portion lies in the possibility that these events would snowball into a thorough overhaul and comprehensive reform of our justice system. The perception is, and it is not without basis, that while our justice system might be blind, it is able to sniff out the smell of power and money.
Finally, the offer of Vice-Mayor Michael Rama to resign as chairman of the Sinulog Foundation, Inc., is a glimmer of hope that officials will allow the Commission on Audit (COA) to do its job. It is a glimmer, however, in the darkness of our city mayor using the Cebuanos’ religious sensitivities (he knows they will not allow the Sinulog festival to be scrapped) to bully COA into violating our laws.
The mayor cannot scrap Sinulog because he does not own it but the people of Cebu. If the law forbids city funds to be used by an organization one of whose officers is a government official, then either the official resigns (as Rama has graciously offered to do) or the foundation looks to other sources of funding.
