EDITORIAL

Put Celso In Jail

Senator Mar Roxas last week challenged authorities to find and put to jail pre-need scammer Celso delos Angeles if reports are true that the businessman has been living in a condominium near the St. Luke’s Medical Center in defiance of court orders to confine him in the hospital.

If this is true, Roxas said there is nobody to blame but Ms. Arroyo because her administration has shown nothing but total disregard of the rule of law and treated with kid gloves its allies involved in scams like Celso de los Angeles, whose Legacy Group of pre-need companies defrauded billions of pesos of savings of thousands of middle class Filipino families. Even former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn "Jocjoc" Bolante, a trusted confidante of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo remains scot-free despite Senate and an Ombudsman panel’s recommendation that he faces plunder charges for his role in the P728-million fertilizer fund scam.

"We must bring to justice those who steal from our people, whether in business or in government. This is what Senator Noynoy Aquino and I will proceed to do when we win in the May elections," said Roxas in reference to the platform against corruption pushed by him and Aquino as LP bets for President and Vice-President.

The wanton disregard for the rule of law is what Ms. Arroyo and her allies, including a not-so-secret partner in the May elections – the Nacionalista Party of Senator Manuel Villar — want to continue despite overwhelming desire among our people for reforms in all levels of government and society, Roxas added.

"The voters must not elect those who will allow the likes of Celso de los Angeles and Jocjoc Bolante to go scot-free even if they have clearly stolen from public and/or private coffers. It is clear that Ms. Arroyo has found an ally in making this possible with her Villarroyo coalition," he added.

De los Angeles is facing multiple cases of syndicated estafa for absconding billions of pesos in funds from the Legacy group of pre-need companies, including 12 rural banks, which were invested by tens of thousands of families, many of them middle-class, for education and additional retirement pension plans.

Based on the evidence he gathered in the investigation, Roxas filed along with several Legacy victims a number of syndicated estafa cases against De los Angeles and other Legacy officers.

Educate Poor On Poll Automation
　

Sen. Manny Villar last week also called on the Commission on Elections to prioritize the poor in its education drive on poll automation. He stressed that they are easily intimidated by the new technology.

Unlike other sectors, he said, the poor belonging to the D and E classes of society generally have less access to digital know-how and capacity to learn overnight the new voting system.

Villar’s appeal was prompted by the latest survey of Pulse Asia showing the number of Filipinos uninformed about automation is still the largest in socioeconomic class E (very poor), where three out of 10 respondents said they have no knowledge at all about the automated election.

Government data showed that the poor sector comprises at least 30 percent of the country’s voting population. The estimate was derived from most recent government poverty data showing 33 out of 100 Filipinos are poor.

Villar said, "Comelec must be aware that before the poor worry about how poll automation works they have to worry first where to get food, and this will be a big challenge for the poll body."

"With the May 10 balloting barely three months away, what will happen to these voters who are still at a loss about the automated election procedures?" Villar asked.
　

Villar, whose vision is to improve the lives of the underprivileged said, "while the poll body conducts demonstrations on the poll machine, it must look for other means to reach out to the poor." He suggested mass dissemination of illustrated leaflets and easy-to-understand reading materials on automated balloting.

"It is a cause for concern, as I have said before, as early as now, while there is still time, the Comelec must continue the automation information education to the voters," said Villar. /MP