Departamento de los ladrones

Hole of Justice
by Peter G. Jimenea

Make my day!

Few years ago, the Department of Agriculture, Regional Office 6, was lorded over by officials with large propensity to pounce on government coffers for every chance they get. Thus, it creates a public misperception that this office had been overrun by thieves!

Even the auditor and resident ombudsman deliberately stepped over the line of pardonable behavior in exchange for you know what. Instead of reporting the discovered anomaly, the auditor jumped to the rescue of the boss by helping him correct his messy records in office to obviate unwanted consequences..

A resident-ombudsman of the department had been charging also notarial fees for documentation of poor farmers transactions at the regional office. But the law says, being a government lawyer, notarial fees of clients with transactions in their office should be free of charge.

I also lost an insider friend, Marlyn Esperat in this war against the corrupt officials of the department. She was killed by assassins reportedly hired by top DA officials in Mindanao for her expose' of their wrongdoings in office.

Another good insider friend Mr. Lino Sustento, also passed peacefully but after his wish was granted by time. He had been praying that if somebody takes over as the next regional director, he should be Mr. Larry Nacionales, the now Regional Executive Director of DA-6. He admired the man's honesty and dedication in public service.

Now here's a story that won't go away. When DA-6 livestock dispersal program was implemented, officials distributed hogs, piglets and cattles to farmers in the region. The first livestock were piglets, the price of which for high breed does not exceed P1,200 per head.

The department has purchased 1,800 piglets from a hog farm (piggery) at the central part of Iloilo for its program. Due to the big volume of purchases, DA-6 acquired its stock from the supplier for only P900 per head.

But the cash purchase voucher was tainted with grave abuse of discretion. The price that appears in the voucher was no longer P900 but P9,000 for each piglet. Instead of paying P162,000 for the 1,800 heads, the DA-6 paid P16,200,000. This is what got me so disgusted about!

A “zero” has prostituted the voucher. It was added by DA officials with Midas touch in reverse to the P900, thus, making it appear in the voucher as P9,000. The overprice in this transaction was over P16M, enough for the crooks to enjoy their share of the loot.

When I report this to the Regional Director, he dished out the usual line that one is innocent unless proven guilty. What a glaring proof of camaraderie. It resonates well with my earlier suspicion that this is a big syndicate I will be dealing with. But it gives me more reasons to miff them with a name departamento de los ladrones – a department of thieves!

I also brought this matter to the attention of NBI Region 6. It triggered the bureau to call a probe. The director even assured me that their investigation will be over in just a month's time.

But I was badly disillusioned. Every time I visit the NBI director, an assistant would meet me to say he's out of office for an important transaction and also uncertain as to when will he return. This is where the bribery subplot came into my mind!

The NBI director resurfaced only when the issue slowly died down. It makes me sick to think why it seems that protecting the crooks is the right thing for him to do. But perhaps, contrition is taking its toll on his conscience that even before I utter a word he seems already badly beaten by his looks.

This is not what we think the NBI business is all about. The same is true with the DA director. They should know that to conceal is one thing, to be silent is another. The tragedy is we still have no guarantee that when they stepped down all crooks will go with him.

It is written though, qui peccat ebrius luat sobrius - he who offends when drunk shall be punished when sober. I hope to have made your day in this column, you ask for it, unlike me who asks others to make my day!