A VICIOUS CYCLE
From: Black & White Movement

A vicious pattern is becoming evident. First, a brazen act. Then blatant and shameless lies to cover up a criminal act.

It started with the Garci tapes and Bunye’s infamous “I have 2 CDs”. More recently, prior to the Lozada revelations, there was the Palace payola payoff scandal – the scam was to have Ulap and Kampi own up to giving out the money, thereby testing the limits of people’s credulity.

And now this – Palace officials suddenly fabricating a web of lies, in yet another attempt to suppress the truth and pervert justice.

It should be clear by now – the whole executive branch, as well as the Lower House, are determined to protect the interests of one family, and not of the Filipino people as they were sworn to do. Jun Lozada’s reminder is timely: “Ang Pilipino ay hindi iisang pamilya lang. Ang Pilipino ay isang bansa.”

But how have we, as a nation, come to this pass? It is because, we, the Filipino people, have tolerated it for so long with our silence. This has emboldened this administration to inflict upon us the same vicious cycle again and again, with each new round with more impunity.

One can argue that there are valid concerns – the impoverished are too busy putting food on the table, the middle class are busy applying for work abroad, the business sector worries about rocking an upbeat economy, the alternatives are not clear, etc. And so we settle for what we think is the lesser evil. But look at where this choice has brought us.

We call on our people. If you still cannot find it in your heart to declare your outrage publicly, can you at least join in praying for Jun Lozada and his family. President Cory Aquino and the La Salle Brothers will be celebrating mass at the La Salle Greenhills grounds on Sunday, Feb. 17, 10 am for that purpose – pray for Jun and his family?

Let us proclaim as one, “Sa Totoo Tayo!”


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CALL FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND THE PURSUIT OF TRUTH
From: Makati Business Club

We salute Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada Jr. for overcoming his personal fear of the consequences of revealing what he knows about the scandal-ridden National Broadband Network project. He claims that his life was threatened, that he was enticed with assurances of his personal safety and promises of other considerations, and that he was abducted by persons belonging to the state security apparatus. Mr. Lozada chose to walk away from the "dark side"—the lies and cover-up regarding the NBN project being peddled by persons connected to this Administration.

If he had been a lesser person, he could have continued to acquiesce and cower in the dark. But having come into the light, he has become a credible witness to the truth. Now that he is being unjustly maligned by government officials and by senators identified with the Administration in their continuing effort to suppress the truth, we express our support for Mr. Lozada and let him know, "Hindi ka nag-iisa!"

We call on DENR Secretary Joselito Atienza and CHED Chairman Romulo Neri to save themselves from further shame by resigning from their positions in government for their respective roles in the attempt to prevent Mr. Lozada from testifying on the ZTE deal at the Senate. Their protection at any cost of the interests of those in power render them unworthy of the people’s trust.

We support the Senate’s continued pursuit of the truth behind the NBN project. We must see to it that those who are revealed to have broken the law, no matter how high up, must be made to account for their transgressions. The long-term political stability and economic prosperity of our country will only be possible if we have leaders with integrity, and institutions that protect and uphold the public trust.

As business people, we cannot console ourselves in the strength of the peso and the mirage of inequitable growth. These are ephemeral gains that have not translated into a better life for most Filipinos. What is being compromised is the moral fabric of our society. It is not a question of legal guilt; instead, it is a matter of good old-fashioned delicadeza and personal morality.
We call on all Filipinos to proclaim,

"Tama na ang kasinungalingan! Sobra na ang kasakiman! Manindigan na, Bayan!"


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STATEMENT ON GOOD GOVERNANCE
From: Management Association of the Philippines (MAP)

The Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) stands for good governance in all sectors of society, particularly in the government and the business sector. MAP has chosen “Country Above Self” for its theme for the past three consecutive years to emphasize the importance of patriotism in all our actions.

We are now compelled to speak out in the face of the frequency of corruption cases and scandals that have been growing in scope and intensity, to wit: the Jocjoc Bolante fertilizer scam, the General Garcia case, the Jose Pidal scandal, the Diosdado Macapagal Boulevard, the North and South Rail projects, the Hello Garci tape, the reported shameless distribution of cash gifts in Malacanang Palace, the questionable procurement of DepEd textbooks, DND helicopters and BOC x-ray machines, the COMELEC MegaPacific computer deal, and now the scandalously overpriced NBN ZTE deal.

That these cases can happen in a bureaucracy that is supposedly protected and sometimes immobilized by an elaborate set of checks and balances indicates a serious breakdown in public governance, marked by either inability to execute or the outright unwillingness to perform what is expected of leaders and managers. The obvious consequences of this breakdown are the wide-scale wastage of scarce resources, the deterioration in the quality of public service, and the creeping apathy among public servants who initially try to do well but are eventually demoralized by the glaring contradictions in their leaders’ behavior.

Corruption in public service is anti-poor. The public money that goes to private pockets could have otherwise been used to build schoolhouses, buy textbooks, and train the teachers of our public schools. They could have built hospitals and bought much needed medicines for the indigent patients. They could have upgraded the salaries and built homes for our soldiers, policemen, teachers, and government employees.

If corruption cases happened under our watch in our corporations, what would we do? As business leaders and managers, we would immediately order an impartial and thorough investigation, fire all those involved, and offer to resign for having failed in our duty to protect our company’s assets and reputation.

Are we to tolerate a lesser standard for those who manage the affairs of government? Should the ethics of governance be less for government executives? Should not the same culture of compliance, transparency and accountability be embraced by our leaders in government? If there are no differences at all in the yardsticks by which government and private managers are measured, should not the leaders under whose watch all these shameless scandals occur offer to resign now?

If the President’s men involved in abuse of authority and alleged anomalies refuse to heed the call for their resignation, should they not be removed from office by the President herself? If the President fails to act, can we conclude that she is either tolerating grave wrongdoings or is not in control? In either case, under the principle of command responsibility, would it be time for all of us to join in asking the President to step down?

We fully support Jun Lozada in his fight against corruption and trust that the Administration will provide him the protection he deserves and will command the government forces to cease the acts of harassment which he is currently experiencing.

We call on the Administration to rise above their personal self-interests and put “Country Above Self” by encouraging Secretary Romy Neri and providing him with the appropriate protection to appear before the Senate and to reveal all he knows to fully shed light on the ZTE issue.

We call on the military and the police to support the people and the Constitution, and not allow themselves to be used by those who continually violate the oath of public office and betray the people’s trust for their personal aggrandizement.

We call on all religious leaders to finally speak out in thunderous language and condemn the moral degradation of our government bureaucracy, and we unequivocally join the Catholic bishops' call for “communal action” to regain our moral compass and, with it, our nation's dignity and self-respect.

The only thing necessary for evil to flourish is for good men and women to do nothing.