However, it is precisely pork barrel and other perks provided by the chief executive that has undercut Congress’ independence and its role as a check-and-balance vis-à-vis the President. By maintaining and increasing the pork barrel, Aquino III in effect has given corruption a tacit endorsement. Governance by political patronage makes the Aquino presidency no different from Macapagal-Arroyo. The higher the expectation of the chief executive is from the dominant traditional legislators to support his legislative and political agenda the bigger the pork barrel must then be allocated.

Other sources of corruption

Other possible sources of corruption, the think tank says, are the Php29.2-billion Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) especially its Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) component. Aside from being unsustainable, the program does not basically address the roots of poverty and opens big opportunities for corruption at both the local and national levels. The record of DSWD which will administer the money is not that impeccable: Its name was dragged in the diversion of relief goods for Typhoon Ondoy victims last year. Also prone to misspending are large but vague lump-sum items for the departments of agriculture, public works and highways, and transportation and communication, Ibon adds.

The Aquino III administration started with a wrong foot in its first 100 days. Cabinet appointments were decided largely in terms of paying back Aquino III’s supporters many of them from big business. In accommodating almost every interest group who supported him, he has practically opened the Cabinet to infighting and factionalism thus weakening the executive office at its formative stage. The botched hostage crisis revealed not only a lack of experience in crisis management but also serious organic cracks within the interior and local government department and the communications group.

All that Aquino III could do in fulfilling his pledge to end corruption is to form a Truth Commission – a toothless and footless fact-finding body which is mandated to finish its investigation on corruption cases involving the past administration by end-2012. To say the least, creating a superbody with no powers of prosecution makes this presidential move to address corruption a farce and reveals a lack of political will and decisiveness on the part of the new chief executive to fulfill a major promise.

While he packs a kid’s glove on the alleged corruption cases of the Arroyo administration, Aquino III needs a house cleaning within his own government. Unimpeachable sources revealed this week that top officials in the Aquino government involved in security matters are on the take in the Php38-billion jueteng (or illegal numbers game) industry.

Given his inability to fulfill a campaign promise of land distribution in the family-owned Hacienda Luisita, farmers cannot expect any meaningful act with regard to genuine agrarian reform. In fact the peasant sector has already lost seven farmer activists to extra-judicial killings that have persisted under Aquino III especially as a result of the President’s go-signal to the armed forces to continue with the counter-insurgency program.

The judges’ threat to stage a “revolt” and resign is not just a reaction to poor priorities set in the national budget. It is indicative of dissatisfaction that has started to build up against a wavering and compromising presidential leadership and at slim prospects of seeing reform being undertaken under Aquino III. (Bulatlat.com)

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