P400-K Barong of a Solon in the SONA

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

A friend in the southern island was awed that a Congressman was garb on the almost P400, 000 barong sewed for him by a famous tailor in Manila. He used the expensive outfit for the second State of the Nation Address (SONA) of President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. last July 14. Many Congressmen and Congresswomen try to outdo each other for sartorial elegance in the SONA as if they're in the red carpet during the Oscar's Award in the U. S.

"Expected na iyan sa mga Tongressmen, este, Congressmen kasi maraming silang pera sa S.O.P (euphemism of cut from the more or less billion of pesos government project they each intercede every year to the government departments like the public works and health) from the Contractor," I told my friend.

Even seasoned actresses looked like the assistant of a Congresswoman in a party I attended years ago in Imperial Manila.

"Nagmukhang ukay-ukay ang mga damit nila. Pati sa balat nag mukhang anak araw sila sa kulay ng balat ni Ma'am," I commented how high maintenance was the solon.

Thanks to the cornucopia of wealth around.

CUT FOR THE SOLON

 Here’s a private contractor that would collaborate my thesis that congressmen and their favored contractors rob the coffer that resulted to substandard services and infrastructures to the government.

In a ten million pesos’ farm-to-market road he told me how the folks in the Pinoyland are fleeced into this perennial malpractice.

 “15 percent lang ang tubo ko diyan. 15 percent bigay ko sa congressman, 5 percent sa DPWH (Department of Public Works & Highway) bigwigs and the boys nila to divide, and 10 percent kay mayor,” he enumerated.

He cited that before he wins the bidding for the project at the DPWH, he first gets the nod of the other two bidders – of course because of the imprimatur of the congressman their patron - who would quote the first two highest bids to make the project so they would lose while my source, who bids the lowest ten million projects, wins.

“I will give them P300 thousand to divide among themselves or to those other bidders who are interested to the project”.

When I asked him how much he shell-out to the village chief that will sign their approval of the completion work, he told me he gives the “Kapitan” P5,000.

“Pag maganda ang mood ko at humirit ang kapitan na bigyan din iyong mga kagawad (the nine members of the village’s legislative council), binibigyan ko sila ng P10 thousand”.

To quantify how government funds are pocketed, the narrations say: More than 45 percent goes to those people I mentioned, while the Republic of the Philippines settles for the more than 50 percent or more than P5 million of the P10 million farm-to-market road from the taxpayers’ monies.

My other sources told me that in other projects if the congressman or congresswoman is greedy, government settles for the crumbs or the 40 percent while 60 percent of the funding is divided by the solon and those other vultures.

This scenario of how the public monies, be it P10 million or 100 million are swindled and gouged by these knaves, my informant said, are endemic all over the Philippines.

OUR CONGRESSMEN ARE BOTH KOREAN AND CANADIAN

Congressmen in the Philippines are not only Korean but Canadian whenever they talk with contractors.

CONGRESSMAN: Magkano Korean sa P20 million highway project na iyan?

CONTRACTOR: May P4 million Canadian, Sir Congressman.