A Nimble Font of Hope

I caught a glimpse of how “a celebrated personality” in the Philippines came home from America last night.  He’s Jocelyn ‘Joc-joc” Bolante. A known political ally of the President of the Philippines, he used to hold a government portfolio (in the Department of Agriculture).  Thus, in his heyday, he was used to power.  And powerful he really was that to his disposal were billions of pesos — literally and figuratively speaking.

What was the brouhaha all about?  Well, we will be led back to 2004 presidential elections in the Philippines.  It was one of the dirtiest election the country ever saw.  Matching — if not exceeding — the callousness of the fraud and deceit that were involved was the election in the 1970’s that saw Ferdinand Marcos winning another term prior to his declaration of the Martial Law to start the realization of his dictatorial tendency that made him lead the Filipinos for more or less twenty (20) years. 

We go back to the 2004 elections so as we are able to put things into proper perspective.  After the elections, several transpirations were brought to the fore.  First, there was a recorded telephone conversation between the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo — or, if take the claim of Arroyo as truthful then it’s a voice that is similar to the President’s — and a Commissioner of the Commission of the Elections with the former telling the latter that he must ensure at least a margin of million of votes in a particular election district in Southern Philippines to ensure of course her victory.  Then, a fertilizer fund scam was later unearthed too.  In this case, Bolante is said to be involved. For it was he who handed out more than seven hundred million pesos to the political allies of Arroyo accordingly as aid to the farmers in the form of fertilizer grants.  The investigations that ensued — at least the Senate investation — began with leaders of national federations of farmers testifying that not one farmer actually benefitted from the supposedly fund grants from the government.  It later found out that the fertilizers were not only overpriced; these were likewise not for palay or corn, but for orchids!  To top it all, according to the records, the supposedly agricultural grants were extended even to Quezon City — which is at the heart of the Metropolitan Manila, and which is not a place for farming!!!