We beg to differ.
The brouhaha at the Department of Budget Management (DBM) caused by Senator Bong Go’s protégé Christopher Lao, former Undersecretary at the Presidential Management Staff–Office of the Special Assistant to the President, has brought to fore the issue of how political patronage and the bureaucracy contribute to the culture of corruption in government. It’s not wise…
It’s always the same, year in and year out. The opening of the new school year in the Philippines never fails to make headline news. The figure now is twenty million. That’s the number of Filipino school kids who trooped to their classes today — a number just short of the population of Australia. Their…
The fact that there are many whistleblowers and that the entire case the Department of Justice is mounting against several Philippine senators accused of plundering their pork barrel funds rests on these whistleblowers highlights the profound dysfunction of the country’s criminal investigation and criminal justice system. How many whistleblowers are needed to support the case?…
Read More “Why pork barrel whistleblowers Benhur Luy and Ruby Tuason should go to jail” »
Members of Philippine Congress are proving yet again that they will not be divested of billions of pesos in “discretionary” funds without putting up a fight. The most recent sleight of hand is coming in the form of “realignments” of some senators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) allocations. According to Neal Cruz in his Inquirer.net…