Napoles, Zamboanga, and Conspiracies

We are being bombarded by bad news. The “ghost month” has barely passed yet we are continually haunted by revelations of how ghost NGO’s are used to siphon pork barrel money into bathtubs. Then an ageing MNLF leader wants to show that he is still a force to reckon with, resulting in clashes with the military in Zamboanga and putting civilians in the crossfire.

Some people are smelling conspiracy, that the latter is used to take attention away from the pork barrel controversy. This could be true. Or it may not. But the warnings about a conspiracy are just another way of saying “be vigilant.” It looks like people are really keen to see this pork barrel issue through, that they won’t take their eyes off the ball.

It is not to say that the loss of lives and the suffering of the people in Zamboanga are not serious. Nor that this latest incident, shattering any illusion that a lasting formula for peace in Mindanao is at hand, is not a major setback. It is just that Filipinos may no longer fall for the “red herring” fallacy, sometimes called “squid tactics.” Maybe people really believe that cleaning up corruption is a top priority and there has been no bigger opportunity than the one at hand.

It is hard to say there is anything positive in all this negative news, but if indeed the Filipinos have raised their expectations of themselves, then that is something hopeful.