WHEN he was still in BIR, he was considered as the “secretary of finance” of the group. Meaning, he controlled the flow of money.
His presence was always the “highlight” of group get-together. As in, he was sought out by members, like the question was always naa ba si __, sort of thing.
Why?
Because in his right and left pockets were oodles of cash, mga binandol nga tag-1k.
And probably because of that, he was extra generous with the flow of cash, as in flow out.
Waldas left and right, ika nga.
So even if most of the group members are professionals, meaning, already financially stable and more, pasabot maka-afford, they were already used to the idea of that guy footing most of the bill so gipasagdan lang pod nila.
All because of the generally-accepted fact that because of his job at BIR – something to do with assessment – ang iyang kwarta kada adlaw kay, in local lingo, pinaspasan gyod na.
Di na maghago, di na trabahoan pa, di pinasingotan kay moabot ras iyang lamesa every end of the official working hour, every day, except Saturdays, Sundays and holidays.
Ang moabot niya kada adlaw kay maoy iyang share of the day’s loot.
Because of this, there was this joke of the group that his salary was for his wife, the daily pinaspasan was his to enjoy.
* * *
But as Barbra Streisand amazingly sings, some good things never last.
Long before the actual blow of the hammer, he already sensed something was wrong. There were rumors going on in the workplace about some guys being in the hot seat or in target range.
Nag-atubang og imbestigasyon tungod sa pangurakot, as in.
Because it was vague and speculative, and he thought that if corruption was the issue, then everybody in the workplace was the culprit, then he didn’t consider it as threatening enough.
But one day, his wonderful world was shattered – he was notified that effective immediately, he would be reassigned to a far-away province and detailed at the office of the RD, with no signing authority.
Sa mga naka-agi nas gobierno, mao ni gitawag og gi-float, in the navy or put in freezer.
Because it was soooo embarrassing to his peers in the group, including his subordinates in his many “small business very hot,” he made it appear as if he was “slated for promotion a long time ago and he decided to accept it” sort of thing.
And many initially swallowed this yarn because after all, he looked smart and professional, especially kadtong wa makaila kaayo niya.
To make the charade believable, his waldas ways continued unabated.
But his wonderful world was shattered once more when one of the RDOs accidentally mentioned the “official version,” or the real thing.
Diha pa nahibaw-i nga gi-freezer or gi-float diay siya because of some shenanigans.
Pero aron di pod kaayo sakit sa dunggan sa iyang mga ka-berks, iya na sab gipalabas nga giinitan siya sa RD.
And some of his ka-berks believed him.
But thinking 5 steps ahead, he thought it was a better idea to “resign” na lang.
Now, no more waldas, no more paukyab with oodles of cash, and this time around, hiniktan nas lanot ang iyang ginastoan.
In other words, nakat-on na siya or napugos na siya og kakat-on.
* * *
What is the point in this mental exercise – parehas ra pod nis ubang mga politiko nga nanga-dato sa politika.
Sa padung pa mo sud, ordinaryo ra og mga sakyanan, hasta mga personal nga mga gamit, hasta ilang mga nawong ordinaryo ra pod.
Pero sa nakalingkod na og pipila lang ka tuig, nakapalit na dayon og mga mahalon nga mga SUVs (plural ha), mga mahalon ug branded na nga mga personal nga gamit, pirmi na suroy ug shopping sa abroad, in other words, boraska na kaayo og porma, taliwtiw na og ilong, mora nag mount everest ang kilay ug mo-kompetensiya nag papormahay sa mga adunahan sa Manila ug Cebu.
Pero sa dihang mi-boto ang binilyon nga eskandalo ug pangurakot sa ghost and flood control projects, sama sa gibu-boan og bognaw nga tubig ang ilang kalibotan karon.
Ngano man?
Kay kon magpadayon ang gihimo sa Blue Ribbon committee in Marcoleta, way duha-duha mapagan o madamay gyod sila kay kutay-kutay na man ning maapil sa linya sa mikalit lang og ka-dato tungod sa kikik, SOP ug komisyon gikan sa ghost ug flood control projects.
Labi na kay moapil na ang BIR ug COA sa imbestigasyon.
Ug labi na gyod kay dunay plano nga “i-lifestyle check” kining mga tawhana – kadtong mikalit lang og ka-dato ug kadtong katingad-an kaayo ang ka-dato.
Katingad-an kay kon sweldo lang ang basehan, di gyod kapamalit ug mga mahalon nga mga butang ug mga kayutaan.
Unsa o asa magkuha og ebidensiya batok kanila – adto ra pod sa ilang mga gipang-post sa pisbok.
Ang uban kanila karon, paspas na kaayo ug pang-delete sa mga gipang-post ug ang uban, gipang-deactivate na ilang mga pisbok accounts – tungod sa ilang hiwi nga pagtuo nga ma-erased pa nila kini.
Husto ba sila?
