Penumbra

Penumbra
Ronald Roy — Dec. 4, 2014

“Penumbra” is defined as “the partially shaded outer region of the shadow cast by an opaque object” (Oxford English Dictionary). For purposes of this piece, however, let it metaphorically refer to a grey area where opposites meet, like white and black, right and wrong, ecstasy and depression.
Actually, logic compellingly argues that opposites can never meet except in the physical law of attraction between, for instance, our earth’s north and south poles, or between a magnet’s negative and positive particles. It likewise remains the notion of some lovers that opposites attract each other, and that they must strive to sustain their oppositeness if boredom is to be avoided as a cause of a break-up.
Are Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago and DBM Sec.Butch Abad on the verge of a break-up? LOL…sorry…I couldn’t help it! But, levity aside, lovers they are, or profess to be, not of each other but of their respective offices each time they take an oath upon their assumption, the same way she and Fidel V. Ramos showed “love” (craving?) for the presidency when they ran against each other for chief executive power.
Recall that it took time before Miriam and Fidel V. Ramos kissed and made up after an acrimonious presidential election. This happened after she decided to forgive him for having allegedly stolen the decisive votes which she claimed had been cast for her and not for him. But now, Miriam appears to be irreconcilably embroiled in another lovers’ quarrel. “Irreconcilably embroiled”, because Miriam is as determined to succeed P-Noy as the Yellows are determined to retain the saddle for Mar Roxas or, well, who else but P-Noy?! However, this time she will not allow “a Ramos” to be pulled on her again.
Again, levity aside, Butch and Miriam have long been lovers. Do not wonder why or how this is so. Basta, they’re lovers even if they’re both unattractive. Like tubig at langis, they are caught in a penumbral battlefield between “clean” and “dirty” over issues related to the new national budget for 2015, as designed by Abad (yeah, him again) who insists — as do Palace toady Speaker Feliciano “orders from the top” Belmonte and higher-office dreamer Sen. Chiz “no pork in the budget” Escudero — that the budget is “porklessly” clean, while Miriam swears with bible in hand that the 2015 General Appropriations Act is “pork-infestedly” dirty.
Naturally, most people including myself stand on the side of Santiago simply because “we have had it” with Abad in particular, and the yellow camp in general. She knows she does not have strong legal proof at this point that the budget has pork barrel embedded in it, but we praise her for feistily making the accusation. Call her tililing , cuckoo or whatever, but the lady from Iloilo is an extremely discerning and intuitive cum laude lawyer who sometimes fires from the hips and hits the mark.
Abad and his yellow sympathizers think they can “idiotize” the people, but by doing so, they’re actually idiotizing themselves. Budget operations are generally too technical and opaque even for lawyers; but anent three commonsensical issues alone, a few ornery folk have told me they hear nothing from Abad but lies, and smells nothing from him but A BAD odor. Bad faith, dear Reader, reeks from the Yellows’ re-definition of “savings” which they did, incidentally, in open defiance of the Supreme Court’s 13-0 thrashing of the Disbursement Acceleration Program as unconstitutional. What are these three issues?
One: Under the system they plan to change, it is only at the end of the year that savings can be realized from residual sums of the budget that are not used. That’s commonsense. However, the proposed budget will authorize them to declare “savings” any time before the end of the year, supposedly as a measure to meet contingencies. Huh?? Like the contingency to line private pockets?? Sorry guys, your credibility has sunk too low to deny this.
Two: The proposed budget will enable them to declare errata (errors) in the course of the year. Example: 5 B pesos has been budgeted for a department. Anytime, however, they can can say, “Oops, sorry, 7 B pesos pala is needed. The surveyor made a mistake in measuring the land area.”

Three: Presently, congressional districts receive budget allocations. Not anymore. Municipalities and cities nationwide will be receiving them from Pres. Noynoy Aquino. Is there a better way to generate grassroots gratitude for him as his opportunity for a second term nears?
The administration’s defense of the 2015 budget is pathetically futile. Equally sad is the Yellows’ failure to accept the UN’s recognition of P-Noy’s daang matuwid mantra as having gone pffft in a most corrupt government.

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