The gospel of social payback

‘The administration’s gospel of social payback”: A kilo of rice, a sachet of noodles and a tin of sardines.’

That’s Gloria for you, the Assumptionista who used to project herself as a devout daughter of the church. In her most perilous hours, she has even forgotten Machiavelli’s advice to the prince to be "all compassion, faith, integrity, humanity and religion (for) there is nothing more necessary than to appear to have the last of these."

She is accused of thieving and subsequently lying to cover up the thievery. She is being asked to step down because she has lost the moral right to govern. The Holy Week would have been the proper time for her and her Cabinet to go into soul-searching, to reflect on their transgressions against the people, to repent and to seek forgiveness and redemption.

All the people ask is for Gloria join the search for the truth in the national broadband deal. Some who are hesitant to call for her resignation, notably the bishops, even entertain the possibility of her leading the campaign against corruption. They have obviously not yet succeeded in taking the full measure of Gloria.

We have repeatedly said that there should be no let-up in the movement to force her exit. To give her a breather is to invite retaliation, one more vicious than the last. We are again on the way to being proven right, with her recent directive to members of the Cabinet to spread out to their bailiwicks to "serve the needy." She herself will demonstrate "service to the needy" in a swing in Pangasinan before her family goes up to Baguio on Thursday.

And what does serving the poor mean in the mind of Gloria?

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo gave a helpful description last Friday. He said the Cabinet members will distribute rice and relief goods. They will "extend service to the needy and preach her administration’s gospel of social payback."