The Real SWINEs and the FLU

By scrapping the national day of celebration for Pacquiao’s victory (originally set on Friday) and resetting it on Monday, the government makes the point that the Pacman is not exempted from doing the “precautionary measures” necessary to prevent the outbreak of the swine flu virus in the Philippines.

The government sought the counsel of the World Health Organization which immediately advised Pacquiao to spend five more days abroad rather than going back on Friday. To everybody’s cheers, the Pacman promptly defied the advice, flew in on Friday, went to a mass, graced a mall show, and is now happily awaiting the Monday rituals.

If Pacquio, who’s now a world-renowned prized possession of the country, is not exempted from the measures, how come the likes of Environment Lito Atienza and a number of Filipino officials who came from Las Vegas for the fight did not go through the same precautions? (Most of us, by the way, only found out that Atienza just arrived from the US when he boasted in the papers that he just went through normal “screening” at the airport on his arrival.)

While we’re at it, why is ENVIRONMENT Secretary Lito Atienza strutting around like a perennial alalay to the Pacman? Pacquiao is doing his job, but is Atienza doing his? Atienza had been in a spin days before Pacquiao’s homecoming, precisely during those days when the country was battered north to south by typhoons, landslides and floodings. In Hubo, Sorsogon, 18 people died in a landslide at the height of storm “Dante”. There are now cracks in the hills surrounding a number of villages in the south, and the local government has been asking for support to relocate 4,000 people. In the north, typhoon “Emong” already killed 26 people. In Ifugao alone, mudslides killed 9 people and blocked 80% of the roads.

People are dying almost like flies, especially those living in makeshift houses and in areas with scant support from the government. Of course, we could not prevent typhoons from coming, but at least we could prevent mudslides and landslides, and we could reinforce the barungbarongs of our hapless citizens if we want to. But apart from a thousand hosannas to Pacquiao, Atienza hasn’t said a word of environmental concern to the people dying.

If the problem is the possibility of an outbreak of swine flu from the USA, why is there not even an oink from the government about the swines from Congress who flew to Las Vegas and back? How many were the swines? Before the fight, the media reported that some 50 congressmen were set to go to Vegas, although they only mentioned Speaker Prospero Nograles, Representatives Al Francis Bichara of Albay, Bienvenido Abante of Manila, and Eric Singson of Ilocos Norte. There was a mention of Representative Monico Puentevella of Bacolod who would be in Vegas for the Bombo Radyo.

We, the ordinary people, have to right to know who are these congressmen and government officials who have not been named by media. We want to give them our unmentionable comments too. Whether they use their own money or their pork barrel is of no consequence, because at this time of unmitigated economic crisis, this is – to say the least – an ostentatious display of privilege and power. To say more, it’s really obscene. They are parading themselves not as leaders of the nation, but as real swines in the pigsty that is now Congress.

While we’re at swines, let us now turn to the swine flu. The Avaaz, an independent NGO based in Europe and New York, reported that while no one knows whether the swine flu will become a global pandemic, it is becoming clear where it came from. And they pointed to giant pig factory farms run by Smithfield Corporation, a US multinational corporation in Veracruz, Mexico.

Avaaz pointed to Smithfield, the largest pig producer in the world, as the source of the A(H1N1) outbreak. Smithfield crammed thousands of pigs into dirty warehouses and sprayed with a cocktail of drugs which poses health risks to food and environment. Avaaz said that the vast pool of manure accumulated by the giant pigsty created the conditions for breeding new viruses like the swine flu.

Avaaz also reported that Smithfield has already been fined $12.6 million and is currently under another federal investigation in the US for toxic environmental damage from accumulated pig excrement.

Like everyone else, we dread the spread of the swine flu virus. We’ve got to do something to stop it. But we also must stop the real swines from either stealing our money or wasting the country’s resources so they can live like kings and enjoy a front view seat in luxurious Las Vegas during a historic Pacquiao fight – while we the people die like flies during routine typhoon visits. #