“The most powerful person is he who is able to
do least himself and burden others most with the things for which he lends his
name and pockets the credit.” Theodor Adorno
By Alex P. Vidal
If the recent inspection of commercial
warehouses in Iloilo that yielded several re-bagged NFA rice was meant to
really curb the activities of unscrupulous rice retailers, authorities should
have done it periodically in the past.
Not only before or during the visits of VIPs
from Malacanang or any high-ranking politician with eyes for a higher office in
the next elections.
While we doff our hats off the inspection team
led by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI)-Western Visayas on a
warehouse in Brgy. Napnud, Leganes, Iloilo where 1,500 sacks of re-packed
government rice were recovered last July 31, we can’t blame some observers if
they suspect that it was only done to deodorize the name of Presidential
Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization Franciso “Kiko”
Pangilinan, who arrived in Iloilo together with NFA Administrator Arthur Juan
to inspect the warehouse and the repacking equipment complete with media blare.
All over Western Visayas or in the entire
country for that matter, more sacks of repacked NFA grains can be discovered if
authorities are only doing their job religiously.
MESSAGE
They can always conduct a raid on these
warehouses and send a strong message against other erring accredited rice
retailers even without the presence of Pangilinan, et al.
The Leganes, Iloilo NBI operation only gave
Pangilinan, a rumored vice presidential candidate of the Liberal Party in 2016,
a gargantuan publicity and pogi points he needs to prop up his vice
presidential ambition.
We expect him to occupy the front seats of media
publicity in future warehouse “inspections” now that the ratings of his
potential rivals for the second highest position of the country has sharply
declined.
Never mind Administrator Juan, who is really fit
for the job and has been performing effectively even without any publicity in
the past. He had to accompany Pangilinan and other NFA officials from Iloilo
and Capiz as part of his routine.
Other than reporting the matter to the President
and posing for TV and newspaper cameras, Pangilinan had no business being in
that warehouse after the area has been cleared by the NBI.
This is the problem when traditional politicians
like Pangilinan are gifted with appointment portfolio by the President for
being a party stalwart.
ACCESS
Aside from giving them access to government
resources they can use and abuse to advertise their names, they also grab
credits from “lowly” government employees like the NBI agents during special
operations like the inspection in the Leganes, Iloilo warehouse, discovered to
be registered under the name of Dennis de Vicente, a businessman from San
Enrique, Iloilo.
Politicians like Pangilinan are always quick to
arrive in the “crime” scene and pose for media photos.
In terms of publicity stunt, it appears like
Pangilinan and other traditional politicians have mastered the art of timing.
They can also easily attract the attention of
some reporters who mention their names more often than the names of members of
the raiding team responsible for the seizure of the repacked sacks and other
equipment.
The news headline speaks loudly:
"Pangilinan orders prove into NFA rice diversion"; as if it only
happened for the first time in the Philippines and the investigation ordered by
Pangilinan was necessary to stop the rice retailers' illegal activities.
It turned like as if the warehouse inspection
became successful because Pangilan is the country’s food czar, not because the
NBI and their tipsters, the unsung heroes, did their assignment
diligently.
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