ONE headline on a daily newspaper caught my attention. Mr. Fred Lumba invited his readers to comment on his article. I am asking his permission to comment on this in my column to invite my readers to give their opinion, too.
We, as citizens should know where our taxes are spent by the government. This is the news on the proposed construction of a palatial new Senate building at the Bonifacio Global City. The 11-story "clubhouse" will sit on a very expensive 8.5-hectare property and will probably cost us, the citizens of this country, P15 billion when construction is finished. Is this not a colossal, prodigious project? There is a saying, "Why fix a machine that is working fine and spend money wantonly?"
The present edifice is conveniently occupied by the 24 senators where they do the bulk of their lawmaking duties remain the same.
I ask, "Do the senators deserve a new building?" Life in this country is paradoxical. This is wasted taxpayers' money. Is there a great need for this?
We should seriously reconsider this as the Duterte administration is still finding funds to finance its infrastructure program designed to uplift the lives of the people. I think spending P15 billion can be allocated to projects that will benefit the greater number of Filipinos. This can be social services, health services, agricultural inputs, cooperative development in the barangays, housing and settlements, Education and scholarships, anti-illegal drugs campaign, and any concerns involving the general citizenry.
Filipinos know of the rampant "monkey business" involved in some major government projects. Many contractors have learned how to work around the law and play with influential persons.
The culture of corruption in this country has made us the 69th less happy people on earth. No wonder the Filipinos are suffering from poverty.
The senators who should ideally be turning out anti-poverty bills as their priority jobs and duties are the very first persons who are allowing the proliferation of corruption. The planned luxurious "clubhouse" will be the biggest "white elephant".
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Elections
The last item I have here is the ongoing campaign season for the 2019 midterm elections.
It is during this time when opposing parties not only try to outshine each other but also some try their very best to destroy their opponents. One of the dirty propagandas they are doing is character assassination.
For the Catholic voters, the CBCP has issued a letter as a guide that will allow the catholics to see if their candidate is honest, morally good, and has integrity.