9-year hostage crisis

EDITORIAL

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02/08/2009

While the nation worries over the Abu Sayyaf’s brazenness in abducting tens and even hundreds of unwary victims in Mindanano, many have missed the fact that they, along with 80 million Filipinos, are being held hostage --- for the past nine years --- by the fiercest of bandits ever who have taken over the seat of government.

For what would be the difference between the Abu Sayyaf rogues demanding millions in pesos in ransom for a group of foreign captives and the Palace syndicate that demands five percent or more in kickbacks for every major road project?

The surprise expressed by the Japanese contractor on the temerity of Mike Arroyo in demanding his share even before the foreigner had warmed up on his seat when he first met the First Gentleman would be no different from the shock that hostages get from the rude treatment from the Abu Sayyaf.

The series of abductions that the Abu Sayyaf has been notorious for, will appear as a candystore robbery compared to the multimillion-dollar capers of the Palace bandits for the years that Gloria has been in power.

The Abu Sayyaf had made the country notorious the world over for kidnapping that makes tourists think twice before visiting the country, the same way it is with the Palace syndicate that has been made the pariah of the civilized world as a result of the unprecedented level of corruption in the country.

The Abu Sayyaf is being hunted down by government forces and rightly so for their atrocities but what can we say about the bandits who reside in Malacañang and have robbed the country blind?

The question that many have raised is why the plunder was allowed to prosper. Heads of government are vested with the highest accountability that the Caesar’s wife test was coined to apply to them, meaning the government’s leadership should not be tainted with even an iota of suspicion on credibility.

In Gloria’s case, Caesar’s wife had bedded with all the ministers and all the guards yet she still tries to pass herself off as a leader without blemish.

The way that the nation renounces the kidnap for ransom bandits should have applied to Mike Arroyo’s alleged excesses that affected the country many times over compared to what the Abu Sayyaf had caused.

The Palace syndicate has long been hiding in the weaknesses of the local courts and the legislature which the syndicate has assured long ago to be stacked with allies to evade accountability.

Despite incontrovertible facts, the syndicate cites political motives behind the allegations presented against it. With judges and legislators well into its hand, the accusations are more often than not consigned to the dustbin.

Gloria would often use the alibi that the economy is growing and people are getting help from government to fend off the allegations against the syndicate, claiming them to be mere distractions.

What is the twisted reasoning of some Abu Sayyaf leaders for continuing their nefarious existence? That civilian communities around their base of operations benefit from their abduction trade and abduction is a livelihood project.

To keep their criminal ways going, the Abu Sayyaf pays off soldiers and government officials, Gloria does the same thing to keep generals and legislators to look the other way whenever allegations are pinned on the Palace syndicates.

The mere mention of Charter change, for instance, at the House of Representatives, makes most legislators go into dizzy dancing in anticipation of the huge cash extravaganza that usually accompanies such efforts.

Truth, however, usually finds a way to come out and the recent World Bank investigations on bid rigging clearly presented an almost absolute evidence to pin down Big Mike and his syndicate.

Big Mike’s syndicate and the Abu Sayyaf, bandits after all, do not differ much.

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