Online fury fuels movement in the making
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CMFR reviews the online public forum to track a budding citizens’ movement against corruption.
Investigative and explanatory reports have for years focused on the pork barrel as a major source of corruption in government. The Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), another system of pork barrel allocation, has not been exempt from journalistic inquiry.
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Most recently, media reports based on the National Bureau of Investigation’s probe of an alleged P10-billion scam involving development funds has revived public interest and generated widespread discussion.
The reports revealed the use of bogus non-government organizations (NGOs) to obtain funds for ghost projects.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) reported that a Janet Lim-Napoles, owner of the trading company JLN Corporation, with her brother Reynald “Jojo” Lim, siphoned into their private accounts public money from the pork barrel of five senators and 23 members of the House of Representatives.
Reports from other news organizations found more information about Napoles and family, implicating more politicians including administration allies, later exposing more anomalies based on the Commission on Audit report.
The reports sparked more than just the kind of idle talk about corruption in government. Commentary and editorials established consensus on the need to hold, not just Napoles, but public officials accountable. The sustained level of public outrage now suggests the sort of shared passion that fuels a movement in the making.
Text messaging, the latest in communication technology at the time, mobilized the street protests against Joseph Estrada in 2001. This time, the speed of the Internet has taken the lead. The new media, with more expansive space for messages than a cellphone could provide, have facilitated the spread of shared responses and made it possible in a much shorter time to consolidate public opinion and organize citizen action to pressure government to act on their behalf: to abolish pork, to investigate public officials, to clean up the budget process and make sure taxpayers’ money supports public good.
The Internet: a place to vent public anger?
PDI broke the story on July 12 and has followed it with daily reports since then. By mid-July news stories also reported the people’s reactions to the scandal, particularly the feedback online where netizens showed more creativity in expressing their anger and frustration.
With every article came massive number of Facebook, Twitter, and blog posts. Photos, videos, and memes were popular especially on social media.
“The Pork Barrel Scam: Getting Away with Billion of Pesos” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3; The Philippine Online Chronicles)
“Angry netizens: Getting worse by the minute” (INQUIRER.net)
“#MILLIONPEOPLEMARCH | With ‘no leaders’, anti-pork barrel protest takes on a life of its own” (InterAksyon.com)
“Netizens use online art, memes to protest ‘pork’” (INQUIRER.net)
To follow the discussion on social media, search for hashtags #porkbarrelscam, #PDAFscam, #ScrapPork, #PDAFKalampag, #PorkBarrel, #TayoAngBoss, #OnePinoy, #MillionPeopleMarch, #ProtestaNgBayan, #YesConchitaCan, among others.
Calls for specific measures
The social media discussion was followed by more organized responses. As of Aug. 23, Change.org—a petition platform online—shows a total of 19 petitions with an estimated total of 26,942 signatures supporting various campaigns on the PDAF issue.
The petition of Former Senior Government Officials (FSGO), with 15,802 supporters, asks for the following specific actions:
“The Ombudsman to investigate the grave misuse of the PDAF;
“Senators and Representatives implicated in the scam to clear their names by voluntarily subjecting themselves to an impartial official investigation by the Ombudsman to determine the extent of their actual involvement in the P10 B scam; and
“The President to constitute a special committee composed of representatives of DBM (Department of Budget and Management), DOJ (Department of Justice), and the private sector to review the PDAF process and to recommend safeguards to ensure that the PDAF is not further abused.”
The FSGO is a group of senior officials at the Cabinet and sub-Cabinet levels of the Government of the Republic of the Philippines who served in six presidential administrations over the past 40 years.
The Citizens’ Congress for Good Governance (C2G2), Inc., whose petition has 2,840 supporters, calls for members of the House of Representatives and the Senate to scrap the pork barrel. C2G2 is an organization composed of multi-sectoral groups from business, media, women & youth, ecumenical, labor, academe, transport, homeowners and various other sectors in the community.
Ang Kapatiran Party (Kapatiran sa Pangkalahatang Kabutihan Party/Alliance for the Common Good), whose petition has 156 supporters, is asking the President to end the pork barrel system along with the passage of a Freedom of Information law. Ang Kapatiran is a registered national political party.
Some campaigns have been launched by individuals, acting alone but still gaining impressive following. Lawrence Salvador is asking for transparency from all public officials and demanding that they be held accountable for how taxes are spent. He has 4,489 supporters signed on to this call.
Another petition, by John Alfred Lucot, has 1,012 supporters. It is asking Manila Archbishop Luis Antonio Cardinal Tagle and the bishops of the Philippines to:
“Move for a swift investigation of clerical involvement in the pork barrel scam and other anomalies;
“Pledge to cooperate fully with official investigations into the pork barrel scam and other malversation cases;
“Call on the government to probe EVERYONE involved in these anomalies, whether in the legislative and executive bodies, whether from the opposition or administration camps.”
More general statements
Civil society groups, the religious sector, academics, youth groups, and other individuals issued statements of protest and judgment in more general terms:
    “The scandal provokes sadness and anger. Sadness at the plight of the people in the hands of its leaders. Anger over the way people’s taxes have been misused,” said Bishop Ephraim Fajutagana and Rev. Rex Reyes Jr, chairman and general secretary of the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. (“Christian churches’ group slams pork barrel, patronage politics, PNoy stance on PDAF“; GMA News Online)
    “Concerned faculty members of the University of the Philippines on Friday, August 16, call for the abolition of the pork barrel system. The professors wore a PNoy mask to symbolize alleged corruption through the pork barrel.” (GMA News Online)
    “We fervently believe in the Constitutional principle that public office is a public trust, and that these entrusted funds should be used with utmost prudence. Thus it is most unfortunate that amidst the earnest efforts of the government to bolster the national coffers through increased tax compliance, the people’s money has been allegedly misused by conniving individuals, both inside and outside of government. It is all the more disconcerting that some of our elected representatives, who are expected to be the exemplars of complete adherence with the law, have been associated with the repeated mishandling of the PDAF.
“We condemn this systemic diversion of public funds for private aggrandizement, much more into phantom organizations. We thus strongly support the conduct of an impartial and comprehensive investigation into the issue, and call on those connected to this scam, whether a private citizen or a public figure, to submit themselves to such a probe. Furthermore, we ask that those found to have been involved be held accountable to the law’s fullest extent.” —Joint statement by the Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference for Human Development; CBCP – National Secretariat for Social Action, Justice, and Peace; Citizens’ Congress for Good Governance; Makati Business Club; and Transparency and Accountability Network (“Bishops, business leaders demand: Abolish pork, pass FOI Law now!“; The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Blog)
    “We are certain that every frustration over corrupt practices in government vented through all forms of media by every citizen is a resounding affirmation for the FOI (Freedom of Information) Law to be immediately passed.” —Statement by the FOI Youth Initiative (“Youth groups: Scrap pork barrel, sue those who misused it“; Rappler.com)
    “Blindfolded members of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC), along with running priest Fr. Robert Reyes, stage a prelude run from the Rizal Park to the Aquino Shrine in Manila on Friday, August 23, against the pork barrel.” (GMA News Online)
    “SCRAP PORK BARREL” —Seaman Society (philSTAR.com)
Offline action
The enduring buzz online has generated enough heat to engage a critical mass, it seems, with enough determination to move more visibly in real space.
On Aug. 26, National Heroes Day, concerned citizens will gather at Manila’s Luneta Park to demand that:
“The pork barrel be scrapped.
“The Senators and Congressmen in the pork barrel fund scam be investigated and charged accordingly, with full media coverage for the people to see.”
The gathering is tagged as the “Million People March” or “Protesta ng Bayan”. As of Aug. 23, the Facebook events page shows 12,770 are “going”; 2,518 “may be” attending; and 110,093 have been “invited” to attend.
Gang Badoy, founder of the volunteer group Rock Ed Philippines that values education, wrote of the prospective gathering:
“The broad stroke of the gathering is this: probe and prosecute those who are found guilty of scamming taxpayers’ money through this revealed PDAF scam. I imagine many people will go for many other reasons. Some will call for the abolition of the PDAF all together. Perhaps further down the road some group will be pushing for a Freedom of Information Act, which would act as a deterrent against these shady deals.
“I suppose since it appears that there is really no ONE organizer behind this—save for this cropped haired, now-nervous lady in red, then you must go for your own reasons. If you go then you organized yourself to go. This may sound naive, weak even to the more seasoned street protesters, but it is certainly a voice that is growing and cannot be ignored, not by those in power and certainly not by anyone who sincerely wants a better way of doing things.
“Go if you want to, stay in if that’s what you feel is best. For as long as you have sound reasons for either decision—well and good. The important thing is that you made one, after all.” (“Who is Organizing This Luneta Protest Gathering?“, Esquire Philippines)
So is this the beginning of a movement? And if so, will it have greater success than previous mass campaigns against corruption in the Philippines?
DEVELOPING STORY. CMFR is doing a more extensive analysis on the issue.
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