Time to break my silence

The Lozada case is not about popularity of schools – who released their stand first and who has the most media exposure. This is about the Filipino people and we are all part of it!

Let everyone know…

 PROBITAS IN OFFICIO

A call for honesty in governance and a change in leadership.

The UST Central Student Council Central Board condemns the acts of the government in blatant disregard of our laws and the Constitution. Those who are liable for such must be held accountable under the law and the people.

Our country’s leadership is brazenly engaged in plunder. We denounce our government leaders’ “legacy of corruption.” We condemn the blatant and arrogant disrespect for the rule of law by the current administration. We are extremely disappointed with the brand of leadership being displayed by the so-called leaders of the republic.

Much effort has been undertaken to address chronic corruption. The measures adopted have been comprehensive and deep. Our country does not lack in laws requiring accountability in public officers.  The Constitution and the Penal Code reproves malfeasance and misfeasance in office of public officers, including bribery, frauds against the public treasury, and malversation of public funds. Despite all these, what is missing is the simplest answer to the problem: Fighting corruption is a question of leadership.

Under a corrupt presidency, programs and institutions only become a protective veil for corruption. We had the fertilizer scam, the Macapagal overpriced highway, the sweepstakes fund scam and the “Hello Garci” controversy. The plunder exemplified by the ZTE-NBN deal goes all the way up to GMA. The candid, credible and detailed testimony of Rodolfo Lozada, Jr., in relation to his abduction and the overpricing of the ZTE-NBN contract points to Malacañang as the culprit. 

It seems that the Arroyo Administration is built on fraud and not on trust. This great injustice has been committed against our people from the time of the Presidential elections up to the recent ZTE-NBN scandal.

Under these circumstances, we declare that the President has lost her Moral Ascendancy to govern.

Now is the time to take political action. The testimony of Jun Lozada, made under oath before the Senate, gives us the moral certainty to condemn the massive corruption in the ZTE-NBN deal. With the suggestion that a similar anomaly most likely attended the South Rail project, along with other previous scandals, the ZTE-NBN is not an isolated case of unbridled corruption.

GMA has repeatedly betrayed the public trust. She has no right to sit as President a minute longer. All other officials involved in the ZTE-NBN deal, including Secretary Romy Neri, DOTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza, and members of the NEDA-ICC must step down from their government posts. The officials involved in the abduction of Jun Lozada and its cover-up in the media, such as PNP Chief Avelino Razon, Secretary Lito Atienza and DILG Secretary Ronaldo Puno, must likewise step down.

WE call for a country unified by a trusted government, we seek honesty from all government officials. The youth must be inspired to be respectful of laws and to be God-fearing citizens. Under the present circumstances where our country is ruled by greed we deem it necessary to act. With a single deafening voice, we demand honesty in governance and a change in leadership.

 Together let us join hands to build an Honest Republic in place of Mrs. Arroyo’s Corrupt Republic!