“Kapal Muks” Government Officials

As a retired military man—albeit one who got into trouble for acting rebelliously against his superiors—Sen. Trillanes should be a strict champion of correctness and discipline and an enemy of ungentlemanly behavior, like credit-grabbing... Because of this fear, Mr. Trillanes would rather console himself—and us, the public—with the hope that one day the practice of shameless credit-grabbing would go away without anybody being punished for it.

“Kapal Muks” Government Officials

IT’s not only the Senate’s Honorable Miriam Defensor Santiago but also three congressmen who should be hailed and supported for being champions of the cause to rid our country of the Garapal Monsters. These “kapal muks” government officials shamelessly put up signs and posters to make us, the public, think we owe streets, highways, bridges, schoolhouses and other government projects to them. They are credit-grabbers who are most likely also crooks who have driven up the cost of these projects by demanding huge commissions from contractors.

Senator Santiago is actually fighting a more successful battle than her House counterparts to get her colleagues to pass her Senate Bill No. 1967, “An Act Prohibiting Public Officers from Claiming Credit through Signage Announcing a Public Works Project.” Last Tuesday, the senators began formally discussing her “anti-epal” bill. Commendably, the senators reached an agreement to expand the coverage of the proposed law beyond public works projects and include public officials who have their names and faces painted on police cars, ambulances and fire trucks donated by private foundations and government institutions like the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the PAGCOR.

Sen. Trillanes wants penal provisions out

Unfortunately, an objection to the penal provisions of Sen. Santiago’s bill came from an unexpected source, Sen. Antonio Trillanes, chairman of the civil service committee. As a retired military man—albeit one who got into trouble for acting rebelliously against his superiors—Sen. Trillanes should be a strict champion of correctness and discipline and an enemy of ungentlemanly behavior, like credit-grabbing. Instead, Sen. Trillanes came across in last Tuesday’s deliberations as someone too lenient on the Garapal Monsters. He proposed to remove the penal provisions of Madam Santiago’s bill.

If the bill becomes a law, which we pray it does, a jail term of between six months and one year would be meted out to a public official found guilty of having had his or her name or image printed on an item of “signage announcing a proposed or ongoing public works project.”

Mr. Trillanes was concerned that a political opponent of an incumbent official could have a piece of incriminating signage made, mounted and used to have the official charged, found guilty and punished. That fear may look rather pusillanimous and simplistic. For the incumbent official would ordinarily have men and followers who would easily thwart such a bold attempt by an opponent to put him in trouble. But our country is a place where strange things happen every day.

Because of this fear, Mr. Trillanes would rather console himself—and us, the public—with the hope that one day the practice of shameless credit-grabbing would go away without anybody being punished for it.

Another former military-man, Senator Panfilo Lacson opposed Mr. Trillanes position. He discounted fears that it would be difficult to implement the law and ascertain who really put up a credit-grabbing sign. Mr. Lacson ought to know. As a former police officer, he knows how quickly the police, if they really want to, could find out the true facts about anything.

Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. raised another issue about implementation. He was in favor of passing the Santiago bill but wanted a provision added that would give protection to local law enforcement officers tasked with carrying out their duty to tear down signs and posters put up by their own superiors — the mayor or governor or congressman.

Protection for underlings of violators

That issue must be addressed. Some protective mechanism must be devised to embolden the underlings of local officials who feel and behave like feudal lords, datu, whom local policemen and other law enforcers fear because they still have the ancient mentality of the alipin.

This inability to do what is right is a universal problem involving duly-assigned law-enforcers and auditors who fear to do what is morally and legally right against powerful officials who have broken the law.

Frustrations of Reps. Romulo, Casino and Colmenares

In the House of Representatives, Deputy Majority Leader Roman Romulo filed his bill in January against credit-grabbing officials and politicians long before Sen. Santiago filed her bill in the Senate.

Congressman Romulo’s House Bill 3943 if enacted would make it “unlawful to place on any government property or project, any name, logo, picture, any identified alias, initial, character, symbol, or letter pertaining to a public official who is still in active service, has retired, or is already deceased.”

But the Romulo bill exempts signboards on government property that are “culturally and historically significant.” Following guidelines of the National Historical Commission, signage may be installed in these historical landmarks to honor deceased officials renowned for their heroism or special service to the nation.

Rep. Romulo’s proposed bill — “Public Works Title, Signboard and Marker Standardization Act” — has yet to be acted on by the House public works committee,

Besides Deputy Majority Leader Romulo, two opposition members of the House also feel bad that their anti-epal bill has been ignored by the chamber’s leadership.

The Left’s Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño and Rep. Neri Colmenares co-authored a bill that they actually filed in 2010. Their House Bill 2309 has the title “Prohibiting the naming of public properties and government services after incumbent elected public officials, their kin, spouses and relatives of up to fourth civil degree of consanguinity and providing penalties thereof and for other purposes.”

Both are aggrieved that the leaders of the House Committee on the Revision of Laws have not given their bill the time of day.

The bills filed by Sen. Defensor Santiago, Congressmen Romulo, Casiño and Colmenares must be consolidated and enacted. For, as Sen. Santiago has said, the penchant for credit-grabbing billboards and posters “promotes a culture of political patronage and corruption.”

It perpetuates our ancient feudal culture where datu rule to please themselves and the alipin timorously grin and bear it.

(taken from MANILA TIMES)