CN 19 Pealosa, Gianna Maree D. Section 1J Pork Barrel Queen: Mastermind or Instrument?

A certain lady named Janet Lim-Napoles came into the spotlight after being charged of serious illegal detention on her cousin Benhur Luy, the main whistleblower regarding the Priority Development Assistance Fund1 (PDAF) scam. Mrs. Napoles went into hiding along with her brother, Reynald Lim for three weeks when their arrest warrant was issued on August 14, 20132 and a bounty3 was put on by the President of the Philippines two weeks after. She surrendered to the President on the same day the bounty was put up and after a few days; she was transferred from Makati City Jail to Fort Sto. Domingo. The media dubbed her the alleged brains behind the 10 billion-peso pork barrel scam but has it ever occurred to the Filipino people that she was just an instrument used to circulate the money that the corrupt leaders of this land used for their own ulterior motive? Mrs. Napoles is a businesswoman. She alleges that the wealth her family has came as inheritance from her late parents and from legitimate businesses the family owns in the Philippines and in other countries4. With that background, it is quite certain that she knows the ins and outs of the businesses that she ventures into and that the people she does business with are powerful people with big pockets. It is therefore not surprising to know that Napoles dealt with officials of the Philippine government and all of those officials are now tangled in a web full of deceit and corruption along with her. In

The Priority Development Assistance Fund is a lump-sum appropriation in the annual General Appropriations Act to fund the priority development programs and projects of the government. (from http://www.dbm.gov.ph last viewed September 14, 2013) 2 Cayabyab, Zhander; Cruz, RG, Arrest Warrants Out vs Janet Napoles, brother for serious illegal detention, available at http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/14/13/arrest-warrant-out-vs-napolesillegal-detention, last viewed September 13, 2013 3 San Pedro, Dexter, PNoy Announces P10-million bounty for Napoles Arrest, available at http://www.interaksyon.com/article/69538/pnoy-announces-p10-million-bounty-for-napoles-arrest, last viewed September 13, 2013 4 Dumaual, Mario & Webb, Pinky, Napoles Says Family Wealth Earned, Inherited, available at http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/08/13/napoles-says-family-wealth-earned-inherited, last viewed September 13, 2013

the Infographic 5 article done by Aries Rufo of Rappler.com, it can be inferred that Napoles did not entirely act alone in the transfer of funds from the coffers of the government to the coffers of Napoles corporations or her own personal account so it is possible theory that Napoles is not the mastermind in this scam but the government officials themselves. Any person who has watched television series on crime should be familiar with the sentence innocent until proven guilty. The media has been portraying this woman as an already convicted criminal and the people are buying into what the media says. This has always been the problem of the Filipinos and it saddens me to see how narrow-minded our fellowmen are. We ought to keep our minds open when it comes to situations like these. One must not forget that it is under our present Constitutions Bill of Rights that no person shall be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, nor shall any person be denied the equal protection of the law 6. My personal prediction on Napoles court trial is that it will be similar to the trial -by-publicity done during the former Chief Justice Coronas impeachment t rial. Hopefully, the Filipino people have learned that what is shown first hand is not necessarily the truth. As our government officials have proven day by day, the truth can be concealed or worse, tampered with. With that, I urge our fellowmen to keep an open mind on the current issue and not be swayed with what information is readily available.

Rufo, Aries, INFOGRAPHIC: Pork Barrel Trail how govt funds end with Napoles, available at http://www.rappler.com/nation/38699-napoles-scheme-pdaf-infographic, last viewed September 14, 2013 6 PHIL. CONST. Art. III, 1
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