PRESS RELEASE Ref: Argee Guevarra – 09189029077 AFTER THE PLUNDER, “RESIGN ALL!” (involved in Napoles scam) Takes Sen. President Franlin Drilon to task Coming at the heels of the nationwide, popular rejection of the shameless abuse of PDAF by congressmen and senators in connivance with ranking officials from the executive department, lawyer-activist Argee Guevarra today resonated the controversial political slogan, “Resign All!” formulated by assassinated revolutionary leader Ka Popoy Lagman 13 years ago in calling for the ouster of then President Joseph Estrada and Vice-President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and the resignation of corrupt senators and congressmen. “The pork barrel, whether utilized by the Legislature or the Executive, is emblematic of the patronage system of politics, a system which has no place in a country seeking to achieve the status of a modern democracy. The “Resign All!” slogan was, in essence, a call for an overhaul of the corrupt political system and more importantly a recognition of the need to purge our government of corrupt individuals, whether elected or appointed, to public office. It is evident that in a mere span of 12 years and despite the upheavals of EDSA 2 and EDSA 3, little, if nothing, has changed for our people: bureaucracy runs on the gasoline of graft, legislation is passed on the basis of lobbying and largesse and even the wheels of justice move on the track of bribes.”, say Guevarra. Guevarra explained that “(a)fter the Luneta rally, the foremost question in mind is, “What’s next?”. As part of the Resign All! call, and for practical legal and political purposes, legislators implicated in the Napoles pork scam should be suspended by the leadership of both houses of Congress – first, on the principle of delicadeza, second, to prevent them from interfering in the conduct of the Blue ribbon investigation and who may influence the outcome of the inquiry into the corrupt activities of their peers, third, for the president, to immediately conduct a comprehensive house-cleaning of the Executive Department by causing the investigation and preventive suspension of ranking officials from the Budget Department, Department of Agrarian Reform, TESDA and the Office of the Executive Secretary while instructing DILG Sec. Mar Roxas to cause the investigation and suspension of local officials involved in the Napoles or Napoles-like embezzlement of public funds.” Guevarra adds that the practical political objective that may be attained by the removal and firing of executive officials and legislators involved in the pork scam is to prevent those who have looted the public treasury from further enjoying and utilizing the fruits of their crime to preserve their infrastructure for future corruption and from using their ill-gotten gain to persecute, harass and frustrate the popular clamor for the end of their corrupt activities. Guevarra also took to task Sen. President Franklin Drilon who casually suggested that Congress should just be abolished if the pork system is going to be abolished saying that ordinary taxpayers would react positively to this: “Sige na! Please lang!”. Guevarra said that “if Drilon is serious in his proposal for the abolition of Congress if only to do away with the pork barrel system, the taxpayer will welcome it and will be deemed a small price to pay for a transparent and graft free government.. Otherwise, if he doesn’t have the wherewithal to see through this political and moral imperative, Drilon is just as complicit in the pork scam and should deserve the moniker, “Lechon Drilon”.#30
Posted on: Tue, 27 Aug 2013 08:53:54 +0000