The recent news about Janet Napoles confessing to the Justice Secretary De Lima the involvement of three top Senators in the pork barrel scam finally revealed what the Filipinos already knew for months.
That the scammers scooped millions and millions of taxpayers' money into their own pockets.
But scammers move in almost all tiers of government agencies and even, in quasi-public and some private corporations.
The other day while driving along the new C6, I got surprised by the huge holes along the stretch of the highway. They were not just holes; they were almost like sink holes.
Other holes were big dents while others were almost sunken, and others yet, were holes as big as the full lane in the two-lane highway. Add to these hazards the slow moving tricycles and cargo bikes, and bingo, motorists could not go beyond 50 km/hr or about 20 m/hr.
What C6 intended to do in cutting travel time was totally negated by the sub-par construction that went into building C6. Money must have flowed into government scammers.
But hey, even personnel of private firms engage in scamming. Just go deal with utilities men - cable technicians, water meter installers, even bill- delivery men. They would offer extra services and ask customers to pay but sorry, they could not issue an official receipt. Private bill deliverers routinely ask for Christmas tips and other holiday tokens.
I always give tips to those service guys who don't ask for one, but give good service. Like gasoline boys who clean windshield, put water in the radiator and pump air into my tires.
Or the server who constantly fill my water glass and my cup with unlimited hot tea at Chinese and Japanese restaurants.
At Ikea's, I give boys who help load heavy purchases into my trunk generous tips. And even those street kids or adults who'd bring my grocery cart back into the cart island; they'd get the dollar or quarter out of the cart I used.
Once, we had a house help who'd never get back her two-peso coin change from vendors. She was also generous in her tithing to the local Church we attended.
But another house help scammed us with two electric fans and a portable radio while another one ran away with household items and even, tons of my top-of-the-line audio cable.
Construction crew has been known to cart away paint, cement, steel bars, pipes, nails and screws without knowledge of their contractors.
