When GMA said sorry about the ‘Hello Garci’ scandal, some gullible Filipinos believed her (although most did not). When she denied her involvement in the NBN-ZTE scandal, fewer were convinced—which became lesser when her photos in Shenzhen, China together with the first gentleman and NBN-ZTE executives leaked.
Recently, a very familiar wolf cry resounded in the air when GMA asked the congress to allocate 19 Billion pesos for anti-flu vaccines. With all the problems that shake the government, added with the 2010 election frenzy, aren’t we supposed to be doubtful?
Questions immediately popped out of my head when I learned about this. Firstly, do we really have swine flu? If so, is it really that deadly or dangerous? I just thought that such an amount is too much for vaccines. Many remote areas in the country don’t even have enough supply of paracetamol and decongestants. Why not use the funds to improve medical services or equipment in rural areas across the country?
Secondly, how sure are we that the fund would really go to the health sector? I can’t help but be reminded of Joc-joc’s Fertilizer Fund scam. Will the doctors and nurses (and patients) suffer the same fate as that of the farmers? Will the fund go somewhere else?
Lastly, how sure are we that the fund would really be used for vaccines? Even if it goes to the health department, would all those be used to buy the anti-flu vaccines? Or will it again be used by the administration allies to campaign for the upcoming elections? Or will it be used by ConAss(holes) to lobby charter change, perhaps?
19 Billion is a staggering amount for vaccines—a staggering amount sucked out of the blood and sweat of the Filipino people. If this amount will be injected to the wrong pockets, then we should do as what the villagers did: ignore the girl—or should I say hag?—who cries out loud…until she gets eaten by the real wolf.
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