(Photo Credits: Here)

Whenever I read the word “bogus”, even if I read it in a Moscow newspaper, I still think that behind that word is a Filipino. Before you slap and kiss me, that’s not an exclusive statement. I heard there are Nigerians too! Like 419? Remember that?! haha!!

You see, I don’t know why I seem to attach that word to Pinoys. I guess, maybe because of so many bogus crap that we get to be bombarded everyday of our lives. (In blogging they’re called “trolls”.) Notorious of which are all these bogus recruitment agencies that have hounded poor Filipinos wanting to work abroad. My cousin who was a teacher who paid a fee with her lifesavings was a victim. She thought she landed in Dubai but was surprised to see carabaos. On a closer look, she found out she was flown to Zamboanga City.

Back when I was a Makati gurl, my officemates would always sell me raffle tickets. Yeah! Remember those?! Damn shit! I never won anything for all my raffle buying ticket life years as a Makati gurl. Grrr! You think these raffle tickets escaped my life even when I am fabulously living and playing in the United States? No! They do that here too! Leche oo!

Gawd, all these bogus crap!

I remember when we opened our small business in Manila selling “isaw” hehehe, everyday of our lives, there is always this old woman asking for contribution because there was death in their family. I swear, everyone must have died in their barrio already because she did not miss a single day for the whole month! Oh yeah, that’s with matching Kris tears.

And then you have this Red Cross representative. Complete with ID and everything. Gordon? Where are you?!

What about these guys from the Fire Department checking how your fire extinguisher is placed to a certain degree southeast, north, northwest of the equator? Ever experienced that? Sit down with me and I’ll tell you a story.

So, when I was reading today’s Inquirer, it said, “Poll watchdog files complaint vs 6 ‘bogus’ part-list groups”.

THEY DO THAT TOO?!

Santa Maria!

Enter Kontra-Daya.

Kontra-Daya, is an election watchdog who began its formal battle against purportedly bogus party-list groups by filing a complaint before the Commission on Elections (Comelec) against six groups it said were government fronts and were actually headed by administration figures.

They also checked reports that Pampanga Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s eldest son, and Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes may be the nominees of the party-list groups Ang Galing Pinoy and 1-United Transport Koalisyon (1-Utak), respectively.

I read about Mikey Arroyo’s blatant try to find ways to get into Congress through the partylist. I read it on Ellen Tordesillas:

“Nominado si Mikey bilang unang kinatawan ng Ang Galing Pinoy (AGP) na ang nirepresenta daw ay transport drivers at security guards. Kasama niya ang outgoing mayor ng Lubao na si Dennis Pineda. Ang kapal talaga at ang kapal din ng Comelec kung aprubahan ito.”

Ok. I don’t want to left out that last sentence. Masarap kaya syang basahin! Hahaha!

Kontra Daya would tag the following as bogus partylist:

• Batang Iwas Droga (Bida),
• Adhikain ng mga Dakilang Anak ng Maharlika (Adam),
• Agbiag Timpuyog Ilocano (Agbiag),
• Babae para sa Kaunlaran (Babae Ka),
• League of Youth for Peace and Development (Lypad),
• Kalahi Advocates for Overseas Filipinos (Kalahi) as government-sponsored groups.

In its complaint, it said

Bida because this was the brainchild of Efraim Genuino, who heads the quasi-government Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. The Dangerous Drugs Board and Department of Education are also involved with the group, it added.

Adam, has for one of its nominees Energy Undersecretary Zamzamin Ampatuan, a member of the powerful Maguindanao clan but who was not involved with the massacre of 57 people some members of the family have been charged with. Ampatuan said he formed Adam as his own party-list group.

As for Agbiag, Babae Ka, Lypad and Kalahi, Kontra Daya said these groups were named in an October 2006 memorandum from Malacañang’s Office of External Affairs as the groups to be supported in the campaign to “provide full support to several Comelec-accredited (party-list) groups that are ascertained as pro-administration and ensure the winning of nine to twelve seats in the House of Representatives.”

Comolec’s response?

Commissioner Gregorio Larrazabal said the accredited party-list groups went through a “rigorous process of verification.”

“There is an opportunity for people to oppose the accreditation of these party list organizations. If, after the party list organizations have been accredited and they don’t want these organizations to win a seat, all they have to do is [not to] vote for them,” he said.

My oh my, oh my!

You see how bogusness has entered into politics now?! You would think that these politicians would shirk bogusness that has already permeated our daily lives yet are now in the forefront as if reinventing one despicable trait that need to be changed.

Indeed, the calling to join politics truly inspires a few Filipinos to show how skillfull and ingenious they could be in mastering the art of bogusness. Their ingenuity is truly beyond comparison. All in the name of serving [insert family name here].

By the way, here’s a very good article if you are now just learning about partylist.
Who can be a party-list rep?
By Fr. Joaquin G. Bernas, S.J.

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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.