T his writer can state with certainty that many Overseas-Filipino workers (OFWs) and expatriates will not object if Filipino law-enforcement officers (LEOs) will arrest Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (PGMA), her Cabinet members and minions for criminal acts before, during and after the recent calamities. Their misconduct resulted in the deaths of almost a thousand victims during the recent typhoons in the country. And now, they are bungling the disaster relief – including aid from international agencies and foreign countries – and permitting politicians and crooks to divert calamity aid intended for the disaster victims to the Black Market. There are reports that cash donations from local-and-foreign donors are not being accounted properly. As has happened in previous disasters, politicians from the ruling party are reportedly pocketing again relief items for personal aggrandizement or they utilize them illegally for election purposes.

The LEOs can cite provisions in the Penal Code of the Philippines as grounds for the prosecution of the erring national officials, including PGMA. For instance, the deaths of disaster victims caused by drowning because of the negligence of the public officials concerned – from President GMA to her subordinates in the Cabinet and various bureaucracies – are criminal misconduct classified as “reckless imprudence.” So, each death caused by Tropical Depressions Ketsana and Parma (locally code-named Ondoy and Pepeng, respectively) could result into one count of “homicide through reckless imprudence.”

P resident GMA and her minions knew that the people in Metropolitan Manila were in danger because they failed to construct spillways (like the Parañaque Spillway), dredge the rivers, remove the silt, keep canals and drainage systems free of refuse and dispose properly garbage. Government officials have also the duty of relocating (evacuating)—by force if necessary—residents along the banks of rivers and areas already known to be prone to disastrous flooding. The evacuation could have been done days before the typhoons came, as weather forecasting is now an accurate science.

But almost all OFWs and Overseas Filipinos know the corruption in the Philippine government. They know that instead of spending scarce Philippine-government resources for much-needed flood-control infrastructures, PGMA, her minions and allies in Congress use them for pork-barrel and other useless expenditures, aside from bankrolling bloated contracts.

Washington, DC-based writer, Ado Paglinawan, has written a series of articles called A People Caught in Its Own Dung. He has narrated the criminal misconduct of Filipino national and local officials, including PGMA and her predecessors, in failing to perform their duties in preparing the National Capital Region from natural disasters such as typhoons and tropical depressions.

These are the other links to Mr. Paglinawan’s articles:

A People Caught in Its Own Dung

A People Caught in Its Own Dung (Part II)

Metro Manila Chairman Killed Flood-warning System (Part III)

Restoring Rhyme and Reason Back to Metro Manila (Part IV) # # #

Palafox’s Tell All: Typhoon-caused Deaths and Destruction Were Not God’s Acts but Were Results of Criminal Negligence (Part V)

TECHNICAL MALVERSATION

P GMA committed also “technical malversation,” as she diverted most, if not all, of the Office of the President’s Calamity Fund to bankroll her foreign trips and other extravagant, if not luxurious expenses for her and her entourage in their foreign travel. So, when the natural disasters happened, the Calamity Fund was already spent and gone.

Here is the documentation for the said “technical malversation” that PGMA committed, as further explained in this article:

The Parable of the Ant and the Grasshopper, Filipino Version

The said parable includes also the Aug. 15, 2009, article written by Jess Diaz in The Philippine Star that was entitled, “GMA used P800-million emergency fund for foreign trips.” 

Not only are Philippines laws on the side of the LEOs in filing criminal charges against PGMA and her clique but also they can rely on the Bible to reinforce their moral authority to act. The LEOs should read again this article,

The Bible Says “The Wicked Are Overthrown by Calamity,” Ergo, Corrupt Philippines Officials Who Steal Relief Goods Must Go

Finally, many OFWs and Overseas Filipinos believe that filing a criminal case or multiple counts against an incumbent President will force the public to pressure her to resign. PGMA cannot be tried for criminal cases during her incumbency except for treason and only can be removed by impeachment. It is the belief of many that having PGMA become a defendant in a criminal case will surely end her corrupt rule. For by then she would lose any moral reason to remain the occupant of Malacañang. # # #