WHAT must we do with a Cabinet secretary who shamelessly lies to the public in the belief that she can make fools of us all?
That is exactly the question that confronts us when we consider the case of Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman, who claimed last week that her department whisked away 100 poor families from Roxas Boulevard to a luxury resort in Nasugbu, Batangas, not to hide them from Pope Francis who was visiting at the time, she said, but to undergo “training” for the Modified Conditional Cash Transfer program.
The secretary’s claim beggars belief when we consider the facts.
By the secretary’s own admission, the poor families or about 600 people, including street children were removed from Roxas Boulevard on Jan. 14, one day before Pope Francis was set to arrive, and returned on Jan. 19, the day he left.
Roxas Boulevard was the main thoroughfare through which the Pope would travel to and from the international airport, and would be lined with thousands of devotees and well-wishers.
Soliman did not deny this; in fact, she used this as the basis for yet another incredible lie: the poor families were removed to “protect” them from the crowds.
A non-government social worker said some of the Roxas Boulevard denizens told her later that they felt that they really didn’t have a choice but to go to the resort, and that they’d be forcefully removed from the area if they disagreed. They also told her that it was their impression that they were being moved so that they would not be seen during the papal visit.
Reports indicate that the outing was hastily organized, with the poor families told only two days before they were swept from the streets and deposited in the lap of luxury for five brief but glorious days.
With a large swimming pool, a wave pool, a jacuzzi, a theater, a floating restaurant and spacious accommodations, the Chateau Royale Sports and Country Club in Nasugbu, it is safe to say, does not normally host the homeless or the destitute.
But on those dates when the Pope was here, the resort played home to some “600 individuals” for an “outing and orientation” for MCCT families, courtesy of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, using hard-earned taxpayers money.
The cheapest room listed at the Chateau Royale goes for P4,100 a night and can accommodate only four people. To hold all 600, Soliman’s department would have to book 150 rooms for the five days, at a cost to taxpayers of over P3 million. To what purpose or benefit?
Was there really all that much information to be imparted upon the beneficiaries of Soliman’s misguided dole program that it required a five-day stay at a luxury resort for 600 people?
As if the squandering of public funds were not enough, Soliman had the temerity to insult our intelligence with explanations that border on the ridiculous.
Congress should make good its threat to investigate Soliman, and in the glare of public scrutiny demolish her lies one at a time. Then they must demand that she resign for wasting our time and money on what was ultimately a pointless, cosmetic ploy that lasted only five days.