M.I.B. - Masa In Black

CTALK

- CITO BELTRAN

Before starting on a column, I always say a short prayer. Some say I'm being religious, but in truth I think it is better to ask my "Boss," God Almighty, for guidance than risk misrepresenting him.

As a result, I sometimes end up writing about things that were not on my mind, such as a passage from the Book of Revelation, chapter 18 entitled "The Fall of Babylon:" "Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every evil spirit. A haunt for every unclean and detestable bird."

After watching parts of the Senate and congressional investigations on flood control projects, most readers would agree that our modern-day Babylon is none other than the Philippines.

Have you ever seen, with your own eyes, boxes upon boxes filled with cash, amounting to 50-100-250 MILLION pesos allegedly intended as bribes for government officials and congressmen? Too bad, the senators failed to ask which bank released such a huge amount of cash without flagging the AMLC.

Have you ever gambled 10-20 MILLION pesos in a night at a casino? What caught me off guard was the claim that the detailed information came from the casino itself and confirmed that casinos are used for money laundering by our government officials.

I was shocked to hear how DPWH insiders illegally used contractors' licenses, government personnel and government equipment to build projects and pocket all the profit without cost or, even worse, ghost projects assembled on office tables on paper but paid by government!