Filipinos suffering under government by the worst

We’re under kakistocracy, government by the worst. We’ve been so for nine years.

It started in 2016 with Rody Duterte:

• He who promised during his presidential campaign to jet ski to the Spratlys, plant the Philippine flag and tell off China, “This is ours.” But who five years later said, “It was just a joke, I don’t even know how to swim, so all who believed me are stupid.”

• He who broke the Constitution by allowing Xi Jinping’s China Maritime Militia to fish in Philippine exclusive economic zone. No volume, season, area limit. Throughout his term, CMM and China Coast Guard machinegun, water cannon and ram Filipino fishing bancas.

• He who waged bloody war on drugs. But who recently was exposed to have done so as front for shabu trade by kinsmen and Chinese crony Michael Yang. Not a single handgun in police custody after 36,000 killed because “nanlaban;” only a week-and-a-half’s shabu consumption interdicted in three years.

• He whose appointees and Yang’s Pharmally Corp. plundered P11.5 billion in inexistent or substandard pandemic supplies.

• He who on his first Christmas in office sneered before 5,000 Davao barangay officials, “Body of Christ in your sh*t.” Then, he told soldiers they can rape up to three times and he’ll defend them in court for free, and to shoot female rebels in the genitals.

In 2022 ascended BongBong Marcos:

• He who owes the government P204 billion in taxes as administrator of the plunderous Ferdinand Sr. and Imelda Marcos estate. The Supreme Court G.R. 120880 became final and executory on March 9, 1999.

• He who formed a vanity Maharlika Fund, for which he took P50 billion from Landbank, P25 billion from DBP and P50 billion from Bangko Sentral. Maharlika’s highly paid execs have yet to notch any profit.

• He who handpicked only three traders, instead of the usual free-market three dozen, to import sugar. Inflation soared since all food products use sweeteners.

• He who promised P20 per kilo rice. But who ignores a Customs-backed rice cartel and instead picks on small market vendors who have no choice but retail at P62 a kilo.

• He whose Cabinet took P60 billion of an intended P90 billion from us 119 million PhilHealth contributing and indigent members. Plus P117 billion from PDIC, imperiling the salaries, pensions of 2.5 million public employees, teachers, health workers, soldiers, policemen and retirees in Landbank.

The kakistocracy includes political dynasties. Since 2016 dynasts control 80 percent of Congress, 87 percent of provinces, 75 percent of cities. Presidential siblings and offspring are senators, congressmen, mayors.

Congress enacts multitrillion-peso annual national budgets from which to steal 20 percent.

During Duterte’s presidency, legislators began pocketing hundreds of billions in flood funds for bailiwicks. Floods deepened and widened. Poverty, hunger and joblessness multiplied due to ruined harvests and businesses.

Other pork barrel favorites are highway rock nettings, cat’s eyes and safety roller barriers. Kickbacks reached 70 percent.

Under BBM, legislators concocted a new pork barrel: political ayuda.

In 2024 they had P26.7-billion AKAP, P28.9-billion TUPAD and P34.3-billion AICS.

This 2025 they have P26-billion AKAP, P15-billion TUPAD, P45-billion AICS – for vote buying.

Without public hearing last December, the House of Reps more than doubled its P17.37-billion proposed budget to P33.67 billion. The Senate secretly added P1.1 billion to its original P12.8 billion.

BBM acquiesced. Congress granted him P10-billion Presidential Social Fund from PAGCOR. Plus P3.6-billion confidential-intelligence funds (CIF). Same as in 2024.

Had Sara Duterte not broken from BBM, she’d still have P500 million a year for her Office of the VP. She’d still be education secretary with P150-million CIF – to spy on campus bullies.

She has yet to explain P125-million CIF, spent on Dec. 20-31, 2022, 11 days including Christmas and Rizal holidays. Total alleged misspending: P612 million in 18 months.

To fund pork barrels, Congress withheld P74 billion in sin-taxes that by law should be for PhilHealth.

It allocated P1.113 trillion for Public Works. Although BBM vetoed it down to P1.087 trillion, it’s still unconstitutionally higher than Education.

Of that, P757 billion are congressional “insertions,” or pork barrels. Budget Sec. Amenah Pangandaman said legislators “will pass through the eye of the needle” to get the money. Meaning, they’ll get it just the same.

To “cure” the unconstitutionality, Executive Sec. Lucas Bersamin, Pangandaman, Finance Sec. Ralph Recto and Economic Planning Sec. Arsenio Balisacan juggled funds.

First, they transferred DPWH’s school construction budget to DepEd. Then, they lumped under Education not only DepEd, CHED, TESDA and state universities and colleges, but also:

• Philippine Military Academy and National Defense College of DND;

• PNP Academy, Local Government Academy and Philippine Public Safety College of DILG.

Bersamin was once chief justice. He knows that law is common sense.

Since 1987, Education has meant basic and secondary schooling. But by including military, police, generalship, local officership and doctorate institutions, ex-CJ Bersamin made Education a gray area.

“You can always go to the Supreme Court,” he challenged critics.

That made people wonder how much influence he still has on justices whom he used to command. It cast doubt if the high tribunal is still the final repository of justice.

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