“The public does not seem to think the government is meeting their expectations”
WITH current developments in the country, people must be hoping 2026 will be a better year for them in terms of faith in government, health and economic well-being.
The government as well should be busy strategizing how to meet the new challenges the New Year will bring because, by the looks of it, the public does not seem to think it is meeting their expectations.
The economy, although still growing, is well below its full potential and its anti-corruption campaign is struggling to be credible.
The government needs to shift gear to regain its footing for the people to perceive it as doing the right thing as well as in the other issues. That, after all, is the reason for its being: To serve the interest of the people.
Unfortunately, however, it is more likely that we will be seeing more of the same.
This is partly fueled by the mysterious death of former DPWH Undersecretary Maria Catalina Cabral and the appearance of the so-called Cabral files which she purportedly left behind.
The files apparently fell into the hands of a young Congressman under questionable circumstances and went on to reveal the names of former and current Cabinet secretaries who allegedly received flood control funds.
We do not know his motives but his actions will just ensure the continuity of conspiracy theories surrounding the flood control scandal.
Senator Ping Lacson himself said a couple of weeks ago he was winding down his Blue Ribbon Senate hearing and will now try to invite those mentioned to the Committee to shed light on the alleged Cabral file revelations.
The question now is how the administration will handle this new development.
Cabral in death now seems to be more able to give the government headaches by what all her paper and computer records are revealing.
Quite simply, the government will now have to find a credible story to counter a dead person’s work records.
Otherwise, the integrity of the ongoing investigations will further be damaged and the public will further lose faith in our judicial process.
Since the Office of the Ombudsman has basically taken over the investigations, one of the things it must do is to show the process is not merely a “point system” wherein only the people the government wants to go to jail will go to jail and those who deserve to be incarcerated will go scot free.
It must remember that in the SWS survey this month, the approval or trust rating of PBBM has gone south because he is perceived, rightly or wrongly, as the principal director of the show.
This, despite the fact he started this war on corruption with his “mahiya naman kayo” speech during his SONA last July and should be boasting his ratings instead of the other way around.
There is obviously a disconnect somewhere.
The surveys show the people are simply not buying what they are being told regarding the conduct of the flood control investigations.
After repeated assurances of big fishes being charged or arrested none has happened and the public is just sending the Palace by way of the surveys their true sentiments.
In a way, the blame is on the Palace.
The formation of the ICI to conduct an independent and credible investigation has not fully met public expectations although the Commission tried its best.
With two of its members having resigned, it’s back to square one with the judicial organs of government ending up in control of the investigation process.
Perhaps the Palace will take the New Year as an opportunity to come up with credible steps the public can have faith and identify with.
Once the public start believing in the integrity and uprightness of the process, only then will the public allow the government to move on to other important issues needing attention.
Otherwise, the nation will be stuck in this morass of a corruption scandal which has damaged the country in more ways than many people realize.
In spite of all the problems confronting our country, let’s all wish one another a better and happy New Year.
