An Open Letter to Senator Revilla

If you've been following the "Pork Barrel Scam" you'll know that Senator Revilla is one of those implicated along with Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile and Janet Napoles. The other day Revilla delivered a privilege speech in which he attacked the President and Mar Roxas.

In today's Rappler, Dr Sylvia Estrada Claudio, publishes this open letter to Senator Revilla:

While you are entitled to your opinion I object to you singling out one said person in particular when potentially many require close scrutiny. It might be a good news story for you but it is somebodies life you are casting aspersions about.

In point of fact I have not ventured an opinion one way or another about the Senator. I simply drew attention to what is currently the lead article on Rappler.

The fact that the Commission on Audit and the Department of Justice is seeking to prosecute these three Senators, plus other law-makers as cases are built against them, for personally profiting from allocations of public money is good news. I realise that this may be the source of some personal embarrassment to you, John, but them's the breaks. The fact is that there is a great deal of evidence against all three who, I suggest, are the architects of their own downfall.

Why should it be a source of personnel embarrasement to me?

I object to you singling people out by inference in your newspaper article. Do you know the whole circumstances?

If I recall correctly, your mother-in-law has been employed in the Revilla household for a number of years. Any mention of a family member in less than glorious terms might well be embarrassing to those associated with the family.

Please get your facts straight. I did not single out anybody. In fact, I went out of my way to mention the other two Senators who are also accused as well as their "facilitator", Janet Napoles. Your complaint should be directed at the author of the Rappler article and not me.

I do not recall you rushing to the defence of Janet Napoles, Ponce Enrile or Jinggoy Estrada when they have been mentioned on these pages. So why are you suddenly rushing to Ramon Revilla's defence?

He's a big boy. A public figure and therefore "fair game". Get over it.

My mother in law is NOT employed by the Revilla family. And what if she was?

In that case I must have misread a post you made a few weeks ago.

You haven't explained your sudden interest in the young senator when you haven't shown any protectiveness towards the others accused. You will be reading much more about "Bong" in the weeks and months to come!

I think you misread a lot of written material, judging by your replies. You make an awful lot of stuff up.

Oh here we go again. Unsubstantiated accusations as a deflective tactic. At least I own up to my mistakes.

Methinks you do protest too much.

I dislike your continual personally insulting statements that have no grain of truth in them whatsoever. Fullstop. Your posted replies to me over a long period of time have been of that ilk. Too numerous to mention.

You dont like my opinion so you stoop to bending the truth, creating material that I have never written and stretched it to the insulting.

Now please bother somone else. Thankyou.

For what its worth, I pointed out the "open letter" in Rappler to Mark, because I thought it was funny! I particularly liked the "fake letter, in reply to a real letter, sent to your real office"

I do try to follow politics in the Philippines, but I am a bit careful in what I write on searchable public forums. I do have quite a number of Filipino friends whose politics, like my politics, is of a liberal persuasion, and some of them are yellow shirted card carrying Liberals.

I think we all know that the other two Senators who have been charged are Jinggoy Estrada and JP Enrile.

Whilst I am trying to piece together the politics in the Philippines, I have built up the following impression :

That not all of the politicians are corrupt.

That many of them might well be.

That some that point the finger might well be.

I personally do not care two hoots about Revilla. My wife has met him and my mother in law gets to meet all sorts from the wonderful world of Philippine politics. If he is guilty then so be it. But those who are quick to point the finger also need addressing as using one or two as scape goats is not going to solve anything.

It sounds to me that the Pork Barrel funds have been misapropriated by many.

It's a hugely complicated subject; when we reflect that the President still has a bullet in him (he was struck by five, but one could not be removed safely) from an assassination attempt organised during his mother's presidential term, by a man who is a sitting Senator, financed by another sitting Senator, we start to see just how complex things can be.

I see what you mean.

Who are the above sitting Senators that you speak of?

It may come as no surprise to learn that Forums such as this are read fairly regularly by Philippine officials who, not unnaturally, are keen to know what foreigners are saying about their country.

That's probably very true but we probably won't learn of the full extent during the remaining lifetime of this Presidency. A future President may decide to halt the investigation and not prosecute those already charged.

Exactly

See PM.

Thanks.
If it is general knowledge then why confine it to a PM?