Hi all,

I sent this as a reply to a series of Facebook comments regarding the pork barrel and why I've not availed of the same in recent years. Thought I'd share it outside Facebook.

The pork has always been a bone of contention among politicians. Most would squander it, others would use it to improve their respective constituencies. Lately, it's been used as a means to reward those loyal to the administration. Instead of continuing this vicious cycle, I would rather that my share be allocated to existing national programs that could help those who need it the most - the poor, the sick, the young.

It's no secret that our education system is defective (to say the least). Diether has a good point. The youth in Mindanao deserves much of our attention. Kenworth has another. Our youth are trained, by example, to follow the ways of their elders. In this country, that training is a practice of deceit and corruption. Perhaps we need better leaders? Perhaps that has always been the problem - bad role models for the youth, bad policy makers for the nation. The best we can do, Kevin, is to stay vigilant and expose those who would abuse the trust given to them. I refer to the the likes of Celso de los Angeles, of Joc-Joc Bolante, of Euro generals. It is only when we punish wrongdoers that we can be assured that the system works. With everyone's help, we can stem this tide of never-ending scandals. It is an option that every Filipino can choose to support in the very near future.

M.