FROM THE BARREL OF MY PEN
By Gonzalo “Jun” Policarpio

CORRUPTION BREEDS POVERTY

The sight of Filipinos lining up to get a small bag of rice seems to be so unreal that it can happen in a country where rice production is the main industry. Yet it does and the question is whatever happened to the Filipino farmers?

Remember the Joc Joc Bolante’s Fertilizer Fund Scandal? Government records show that about billions of pesos allocated to buy fertilizers for the Filipino farmers were diverted to mysterious projects pointing to the 2004 presidential campaign fund of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

Where is Joc Joc Bolante, the Arroyo official being charged as the diverter of the Filipino farmers’ money? He is languishing in a U.S. immigration detention cell pending appeal of the denial of his asylum application. I believe it is only a matter of weeks to end Bolante’s saga and the order to ship him back to the Philippines will happen.

If such corruption is happening in the Philippines, New York City is not behind.

Christine Quinn, president of the New York City Council, is under investigation after millions of the people’s money have been misappropriated to mysterious projects. She is even thinking of becoming mayor of New York City.

We’ll know very soon how American justice would take care of corrupt government officials. About Philippine justice, majority of Filipinos think it does not exist.

End
junpolicarpio@gmail.com