Frustrated taxpayers feel like   they want to lynch the crooks

By Alex P. Vidal 

“Money and corruption are ruining the land, crooked politicians betray the working man, pocketing the profits and treating us like sheep, and we’re tired of hearing promises that we know they’ll never keep.” —Ray Davies

SWIFT justice? Yes, if there is such thing. Prolong investigations? No way.

We aren’t convinced anymore especially when a partylist solon recently disclosed that a “tri-committee” composed of the House of Representatives committees on public accounts, public works and good government will lead an investigation into alleged anomalies in flood control projects nationwide.

C’mon, give us a break. Refrain from mesmerizing us, Mr. Congressman.

“We will wait for the completion of the members of the committees,” Bicol Saro partylist Rep Terry Ridon said, adding that the House is awaiting the full list of infrastructure projects expected to be submitted to President Marcos by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).

Ridon said the investigation will cover not only completed projects but also those that are “uncompleted,” “delayed,” “substandard” and “ghost” or non-existent.

We all know people won’t be satisfied with mere investigation, or prolonged investigation by any legislative body where politicians will only strut around like peacocks, grandstand, and pretend they care for the taxpayers’ money.

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Not anymore. No more. Heads must roll. We know who these thieves are. We know where they are “hiding.”

The President has disclosed their identities. Law enforcements must act quick; and they must act now.

Legislative investigations are good and sometimes necessary to ferret out some vital facts, but history shows they are not assurances the taxpayers will get justice from the ruffians who steal billions of pesos.

In fact, if we ask the people one by one, they want to lynch corrupt contractors and their political benefactors who pocketed the hundreds of billions of pesos in those wasted, ghosts, and useless flood-control projects.

The people are aware these dishonest and good-for-nothing contractors and contractor-dummies, the DPWH sycophants and elected public officials who acted as contractors know how to easily wiggle out from the mess by using the oodles of funds they have fleeced from public coffers.

They can bribe their way out from any responsibility and culpability. We have bunch of corrupt members of legislature, prosecutors, judiciary, law enforcers, media, local chief executives.

People are getting hopeless and tired of hearing expose after expose about massive graft and corruption. They continued to pay taxes and their lives don’t improve.

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The crooks and rascals continued to steal and get away with their shenanigans—and get elected every election.

No less than DPWHS Secretary Manuel Bonoan has confirmed that there were ghost flood control projects in Bulacan worth billions of pesos that were supposedly carried out from 2021 to 2022.

Bonoan made the revelation during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on massive flooding and the government’s flood control program.

“In all honesty, I think so. Yes. As mentioned in my statements, there are district offices that try to continue the validation. Let me just point out that some of the projects (were) implemented in 2021 -2022,” Bonoan admitted.

Bonoan said that of the P9 billion worth of projects secured by Wawao Builders nationwide, 85 projects were in Bulacan, amounting to P5.971 billion, and that “some seem to be ghost projects.”

Wawao Builders is among the top 15 contractors named by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. that received a large chunk of the government’s flood control projects over the years.

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NEW FORMAT. Don’t be surprised if we have a new format in the US Open, which has blasted off here in New York City.

The revamped US Open mixed doubles tournament has drawn plenty of criticism for everything from its format (shorter matches) to its field (only 16 teams).

Nevertheless, it got underway August 19 and was already down to its final four as of this writing, with the trophy and $1 million prize at stake August 20 night.

Casper Ruud and Iga Swiatek, the No. 3 seeds, easily won their two matches and would be facing the top-seeded duo of Jessica Pegula and Jack Draper in one semifinal August 20.

Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori, the only traditional mixed doubles team in the fast-paced event, were scheduled to meet Danielle Collins and Christian Harrison—who weren’t even the draw until Jannik Sinner and Katerina Siniakova withdrew August 19 morning because of Sinner’s illnes— in the other.

“This is the official mixed doubles. If we get to the final tomorrow, I’m sure everyone is going to be pretty determined to try to win this thing,” Ruud said, quoted by ESPN.

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With mostly singles players, some who rarely play doubles at all, and an unusual scoring system, it felt so much like an exhibition that Pegula had to scold partner Draper when he called it just that in their news conference, reported the ESPN.

Those types of Grand Slam singles champions are exactly the types of players the U.S. Tennis Association was seeking when it revamped the tournament and cut it in down from 32 teams.

Now played over two days, mixed doubles started well before the singles tournaments begin on August 24, with organizers believing singles stars would be more interested in playing if it didn’t interfere with their rest and recovery during that event.

Traditional doubles specialists like Errani and Vavassori were among the biggest critics of the changes, according to ESPN. The prize of $1 million to the winning team would be a huge boost to doubles players, but most of them never had a chance of competing for it this year. Errani and Vavassori said they were playing for those teams but also acknowledged the potential benefit of the new event.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)