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MISTULANG itinulak sa bangin si Ricardo Morales, ang kontrobersiyal na CEO ng Philhealth. Imbes na si Duterte o sinuman sa kanyang matapat na alipures ang maging mukha ng korapsyon ng gobyerno ni Rodrigo Duterte, si Morales ang napisil na itulak sa bangin ng kahihiyan. Si Morales ang naging sangkalan ng matinding poot ng sambayanan.
Panligaw ng atensyon si Morales. Mabisa siyang panangga (shield) sa mga batikos kontra kay Duterte. Mayroon pa bang mas hihigit sa biglang pagkawala ng P275 bilyones na pondo kontra Covid-19 na ipinagkaloob ng Kongreso sa ilalim ng BAHO Law? Biglang naubos ang pondo ng administrasyon ni Duterte sa pagsugpo ng mapinsalang virus. Hindi maipaliwanag ng maayos ng gobyerno ang biglang pagka-ubos.
Ano ba naman ang nawalang P15 bilyones na nawalang pondo kung ihahambing sa P275 bilyones? Malaki ang pagkakaiba, ngunit bilyones pa rin. Masakit pa rin sa tenga ang tunog ng bilyones. May isinulat ang isang netizen na ayaw ipabanggit ang pangalan tungkol sa usapin. Pakibasa:
“In the interest of fairness and before I cast publicly my full-blown ire on Gen. Morales re the Philhealth scandal, I tried to gather as much info on the man’s track record. Judging by info I had gathered online, I would have pictured him to be an upright military man who had a personal low key crusade against corruption, particularly within his military environment, so much so that it cost him to be relegated to floating status at the last stage of his military career during GMA’s time. His last assignment as a military man was to manage the pozo negros of th AFP.
“Mon Tulfo’s commentary on him once was “would you trust a traitor?”. This was because he once was assigned to be the aide of Imelda, after which he joined the RAM that culminated with the EDSA revolt.
“His only connect with Duterte as far as I know prior to his Philhealth appointment in 2019 was that he was from Davao. My suspicion is that since ang laki na ng bahong nagawa ng present government sa Philhealth, they needed to put someone there na pwede nilang ilaglag at ipitin eventually as the mastermind. This way, Dutae goes scott-free. This would explain to me bakit kusang adversarial kuno kay Morales ang mga politico na alyado kay Digong like Bonggo and Sotto. Tipong set-up ang naamoy ko.
“Ngayon, they find out that Morales is dealing with cancer, there is a strong chance na he could shift his disposition at ilahad na niya lahat ng napag-alaman niya about Philhealth in order to protect his own legacy. So, namaniobra naman ng gubyerno and he was tricked, persuaded, or threatened na hindi na siya mapa-appear in another public senate hearing. They fear they might be dealing with a loose canon . The buck will stop at Morales.
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HINDI pa tapos ang usapin ng Philhealth. Nakakagulat ang muling pagkabuhay ng mga bayarang troll na kumakampi kay Duterte. Pinag-initan si Risa Hontiveros na dating kasama sa board of directors ng Philhealth noong hindi pa siya senadora. Pilit na ibinibintang ang korapsyon bagamat mahigit apat na taon na siyang umalis sa panunungkulan doon.
Walang maipakita ang mga troll kundi ang napakaraming meme laban kay Risa. Walang ebidensiya, walang paper trail, at walang wala talaga. Halatang pinagana ang salapi ng sambayanan at bilhin ang mga troll upang umatake kay Hontiveros. May pahayag si Jaye dele Cruz-Bekema, isang abugada:
“The past few days have been a tiring, seemingly futile, struggle against the well-oiled machinery desperate to attach Senator Risa to the multi-billion controversy now hounding Philhealth. I’ve seen so many memes, so many posts, especially those coming from that “pa-woke millennial” girl creating content for the funded troll farms.
“Of all the posts I’ve seen though, the one below offends me on a deep and personal level. Not just because it’s petty (kayo na ang poreless) and illogical (hello, yung isang photo, asa rally, yung isang photo professional photo shoot, ano ba!??) But because I personally witnessed the event from which that photo on the left was taken. I saw with my two eyes how then Akbayan Rep Risa was forcibly pushed into a police mobile by agents of the state executing PP 1017. You know why she was so angry? Because she was seeing how her other companions were being physically manhandled. You know what she was shouting at that very moment, “Huwag niyo sasaktan mga kasama ko!” She was not thinking of herself, not thinking of the indignity of a sitting Congresswoman hauled off like a common criminal. She was thinking of us, her kasamas. She was worried about us.
“That moment you say she is pangit and not makinis? That will always be the most beautiful version of her in my head.
“And you know what, Senator Risa has never changed. Empathy will always be her first impulse. Kindness and justice, her first instincts. The same kindness and justice that impelled her to investigate fraudulent cataract procedures during her short time in Philhealth. The same kindness and justice that inform all the work she does in the senate for ordinary Filipinos, for women and girls, for the LGTBTQ community, for victims of the War on Drugs, for the least and the last.
“Risa Hontiveros isn’t just a competent Senator, a committed public servant with no corrupt bone in her body. SHE IS A TRULY GOOD PERSON, the kind that is rare in this cynical world. To those who keep sharing and believing those horrible fake news social media posts, you are part of the operation to bring down a person who is truly a force for good in this country.”
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KAGULAT-GULAT ang biglang pagkakasakit ni Morales at isa sa kanyang bise presidente. Nakatakda silang humarap sa pagdinig ng Senado ngunit nagpahayag ang dalawang opisyal ng Philhealth na magpahayag na hindi sila makakadalo dahil sa kanilang karamdaman.
Sapat na iyon upang umingay ang social media. Sabay-sabay na binatikos ang dalawang opisyal ng panloloko. Maraming netizen ang naglabas ng meme kung saan nakasakay sa wheelchair si Morales. Mas malupit ang ibang meme dahil nasa likod si Francisco Duque na nagtutulak ng wheelchair.
“Ang government official na nagigipit, sa wheelchair kumakapit,” ani isang netizen. “Wheelchair ang mabisang panlaban sa mga imbestigasyon,” ayon sa isa. Mayroon isang netizen na hindi nakatiis at nagsabing: “LET’S be blunt about it. The Philippines is a country at war with itself.”
Nagtataka si Apple Jam Amin na hindi nagkasakit sina Sonny Trillanes, Leila de Lima, maria Ressa kahit na ibinato na ang lahat ng kaso laban sa kanila. Hindi rin nagkakasakit si Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno kahit illegal nilang tinanggal. Bakit nga ba?
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MGA PILING SALITA: “We are only recording the COVID fatalities – and the number is still rising. But we are losing count of all the others. Should we stop counting, then?” – Inday Espina Varona
“Hospitals are turning away COVID patients left and right because they’re already overwhelmed, and have reached full capacity.” – Francis Baraan IV
“Netizens, particularly the employable millennials, may not know that firms they are applying for work conduct quiet background checks on them before they get the jobs. Usually, business firms have personnel staff, who do and collate BIs on you. Part of the BIs are the posts netizens make on social media. The posts they put on their socmed accounts serve as indicators of their mental and psychological stability, intellectual capacity, and nature and depth of their characters. Usually, firms, particularly the big ones, don’t hire prospective workers who have mental, moral, physical, and intellectual issues. They don’t like guys who have extremist views. They avoid people with fanatical inclination, particularly when it comes to politics and religion. They prefer people with a balanced and sunny disposition. In brief, middle of the road guys have better chances. Hence, avoid being loud and proud – or fanatical – on your posts. You would eventually pay for your bigotry and narrow-mindedness” – Archie Mendoza, netizen
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Email:bootsfra@yahoo.com