While many of our fellow Filipinos wallow in hunger and poverty, ten prosecutors from the Office of the Ombusman spent 996,000 pesos for a 10-day “observation trip” to Denver, Colorado. Nothing wrong with that, since the US Justice department sponsored the group’s plane tickets and room accommodations while on “study leave”. What’s sickening is the thought that we just paid 100,000 each to these prosecutors while it’s not really part of their job to craft or change legislation pertaining to our justice system anyway.
And I thought that government is implementing austerity measures? What a waste of people’s hard-earned money! Walanghiya talaga!
And to think that the trip was led by Deputy Ombusman Mark Jalandoni, the trusty lieutenant of Ombusman Merceditas Gutierrez. This same man staged that press conference in defense of the embattled Gutierrez who’s now locked in a “power struggle” against Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio.
Villa-Ignacio is now the subject of an intensive and massive smear campaign allegedly being instigated by Gutierrez and some palace alligators. Since 2006, efforts were made to clip Villa-Ignacio’s powers. His office has been stripped of its responsibilities. Most of his staff are being made to report directly to the Office of the Ombusman. And worst, someone is being groomed to replace him, simply because Villa-Ignacio refuses to play the dirty game of those in Malacanang.
Palace gators want Villa-Ignacio’s head simply because he wants to follow the law, period. He’s been known in legal circles as a stickler of the law, an upright man who has a strong will and an indefatigable fighter. He’s the man who fought and won the battle against former president Joseph Estrada.
After that pyrhric victory over Erap, forces in government has been relentless in their campaign to destroy the special prosecutor. Instead of being rewarded for his loyalty in upholding the fight against graft and corruption, Villa-Ignacio found himself all alone in his battle. He’s been stripped of most of his powers and even charged with graft and corruption himself.
Is this Arroyo’s way of rewarding a good man such as Villa-Ignacio? Wagging tongues say it’s Villa-Ignacio’s closeness with former speaker Joe de Venecia Jr. that did him in. Others say, Villa-Ignacio is too clean, too upright, too straight for his own good. He’s perceived to be “un-dependable”, particularly when he refused to lend credence to the weak cases filed by government against former Justice Secretary Perez and the ZTE. What’s more, palace gators fear him. Villa-Ignacio can’t seem to give them an assurance that the Office of the Special Prosecutor would be soft on Gloria and the rest of her mafia gang mates after 2010.
Palace gators are in for a surprise because Villa-Ignacio just vowed to stay in his post until 2011. Yes,Villa-Ignacio has just dugged himself in, preparing for a long fight against his enemies. We must protect him. The people must side with him. He’s the only honest man left in this government. Let’s protect him against these forces of evil who want to perpetuate their own corrupt and perverted concept of justice in this country.
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another piece on the mantra that ‘he who defies president gma or her alter egos, must be a good man/woman’. what a dangerous mindset! joe de venecia, who was once called a “lap-dog” of the president, was suddenly transformed into a “champion” of the opposition. the self-confessed corrupt j. lozada was lionized as a “hero” by gma-haters simply by turning his coat and “spilling the beans” on his former benefactors. dinky soliman, who once cried to the president to plead for her job, suddenly became opposition stalwart by her insider “revelations” that nobody took seriously.
maybe villa ignacio is indeed an exemplary public servant. but he should not be judged solely on the basis of his feud with his superior or -indirectly – the president.