Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/RAFFY LERMA
Senate Minority Leader Juan Ponce Enrile continued his tirades against President Benigno Aquino III, this time, questioning the latter’s anti-corruption drive and “tuwid na daan” (straight path) policy.
“Ano bang ginawa niya? Nararamdaman ba ninyo yung 6.2 [-percent] growth? Yung mga sinasabi nila na yumaman ang Pilipinas? Naramdaman ba ninyo yun?” Enrile said during a weekly forum at the Senate on Thursday when asked to assess Aquino’s performance in office.
(What has he done? Do you feel the 6.2-percent growth? What they say about the Philippines growing rich? Do you feel it?)
“Bakit kayo humihingi ng increase sa salary ninyo? Why are you asking more money from the Filipino people if we are affluent? Bakit tayo nagkakaroon ng conditional cash transfer kung tayo eh mayaman na? Bakit tayo nag-iimport ng katatakot takot na bigas kung mayaman na tayo? Bakit tayo may traffic kung mayaman na tayo?” he further asked.
(Why would you ask for increase in your salary? Why are you asking more money from the Filipino people if we are affluent? Why do we have conditional cash transfer if we are already wealthy? Why are importing large amounts of rice if we are already rich? Why do we have heavy traffic if we are already rich?)
Asked if he could at least say that the President was successful in fighting corruption in government, Enrile said: “Fighting corruption? Sabi nila, kung wala daw corrupt, eh walang mahirap. Ibig sabihin, dumarami pa rin ang mahirap dahil maraming corrupt, di ba? Kagaya ng sinabi ko, nag-utos ka ng tanga, eh di tanga ka rin na nag-uutos.”
(Fighting corruption? They said, ‘there’s no corruption without poverty’. That means more people are getting poor since corruption is still rampant, right? Like what I said, commanding the stupid makes the commander stupid, too.)
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The senator, who was charged with plunder in connection with the alleged “pork barrel” scam, also criticized the administration’s straight path policy.
“Being a matuwid, totoo matuwid pero marumi at madilim,” he said, “Yung kalsada matuwid nga pero madilim eh at marumi.”
“Madaling sabihin, matuwid, matuwid kasi sabi nila. Matuwid nga pero saan dinala ang bayan? Eh, yung daang matuwid pwedeng mapunta sa glorya o pumunta sa impyerno eh.”
(It may be [a straight path], that’s true but it is also dirty and dark. The path may be straight but it is dark and dirty.
It is easy to say, straight, because straight is what they say. It may be straight but on what path have they taken the country? A straight path may lead to glory or to hell.)
Asked why he thought the path was “dark,” Enrile simply said: “Ewan ko, malubak eh. (I don’t know, it’ s crooked.)”
“So delikado yung dadaanan dun sa daang matuwid na yun na madumi at madilim,” he said.
“Maski na paliko liko pero maliwanag at malinis, okay lang yun. Pero yung matuwid at madilim at marumi, ayaw ko yun,” the senator added.
(Hence, it is ddangerous to tread a straight path if it is dirty and dark.
If the path is crooked, but bright and clean, that would be okay. But a path that is straight and dark and dirty, I don’t like that.) CDG
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