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Comment our column “No Round Two” cascaded in. This reported razing of trees, in Cebu City and Bohol protected timberland, by construction firms which, when exposed, washed their hands.

The issue is nationwide. In Los Baños, scientists flayed razing of kapok and other trees, due to a road widening that traverses Mount Makiling. Pangasinan officials balked at cutting of 1,829 trees, along MacArthur highway. Cutting of 30-year-old   narra, mahogany, ylang-ylang at Mindanao State University at Naawan, lit a controversy that sizzles to this day.

Unlike previous hand wringing, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources this time sued. It lodged charges of fracturing PD No. 953, which penalizes unauthorized damaging of trees. Sued were WT Construction officers, in Cebu, along with Dagohoy Mayor Sofronio Apat and Shine Ford Construction in Bohol.

Religious and civic leaders surged President Benigno Aquino to step in with a comprehensive probe. Petitioners included Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines; Fr. Joel Tabora, Ateneo de Davao University president to Antonio Claparols, president of the Ecological Society of the Philippines.

“There is Round Two for environmental destruction,” Mang Teban emailed. “Nature hits back. Expect natural calamities to strike soon at those places where trees have been sawed off.... due to graft in agencies... There’ve been people who resisted but often at danger to their lives.”

Remember environmentalist lawyer Gerry Ortega? He was slain by assassins for advocating a stop to illegal logging in Palawan. The mastermind(s) still haven’t been tracked down.  Prompt justice is essential for society to survive, including environmental crises.

This saga of unending corruption seemed tedious, until I discovered, in the Australian press, that there's heaps of corruption there too, emailed Walter Paul Komarnicki . In New South Wales, Premier Barry O'Farrell had to resign when he couldn't remember getting a $3,000 bottle of wine. He was followed by the police minister, and three others. There is no end in sight. Who knows how many other will be forced out of office by the biggest case of conflict-of-interest corruption in all of Australian history?

There is a vast difference between Australia and the Philippines in pervasiveness of corruption, and the cultural attitudes to it, Edgar Lores emailed. The NSW premier immediately stepped down when he was accused of not being able to recall being gifted with a $3,000 bottle of wine.

What about our senators? They are accused, not of   being gifted with bottles of wine, mind you, but stealing hundreds of millions. The equivalent is 1,591.666 bottles of wine for Senator Jinggoy Estrada, 2,766.666 bottles for Juan Ponce Enrile, and 3,441.666 bottles for Bong Revilla. Have they stepped down? No. Have they even offered to step aside while being investigated? No.

Kapayapaan agreed  that “fear is being instilled in crooks today by women—Ombudsman Morales, COA’s Pulido-Tan, Justice Secretary De Lima, to  Bureau of Internal Revenue’s Kim Henares—and before them, by Presidential Commission on Good Government’s Haydee Yorac and Corazon Aquino. Tienen cojones, is the irreverent josh. “They have balls."

What a better way of saying our elected leaders have no more balls at all to condemn those who are unashamedly stealing the public funds! They have become eunuchs of morality in the public service. What are left are their "boladas" and "borlas" so demeaning to be called "honorable".

Ah the power of women, Tadsalo emailed. We have been waiting for them for so long to finally slay the corrupt men in our midst. By the way, it is also women who are made to commit the sins of men by using them as tools. It is also the same women who bring the downfall of these crooks.

“If you can’t lick ‘em join ‘em” .is the principle observed by our solons since time immemorial, wrote Buninay. Senator Sonny Trillanes is vociferous against corruption but soft-hearted when his colleagues in the senate are the ones involved. He proposed hospital arrest for Enrile.

The old boys club mentality is deeply rooted everywhere...and overshadows all codes to curb sleaze. We ought to be thankful to the ladies—Carpio-Morales, De Lima, Kim Henares et al—who waged war against corrupt practices. Tadsalao chimes in: “Yeah, finally. Makes me wonder if Gloria really is a guy in drag”.

"He’s a 90-year-old man; in an ordinary jail, Enrile’s medical needs may not be met", Jane Tan quotes Trillanes. Why does Trillanes not fret over innocent people who haven't done anything (and are likely to be victims of pork thieves) whose medical needs are not being met. 

“If Trillanes is so worried about Enrile's health then why not offer to swap places with him while awaiting for the trial?” Joe Blogs  counter-proposed.   And when Enrile is found guilty, if Trillanes is still worried, then maybe he could persuade Enrile’s son Jack to serve the sentence.  “Sins of the fathers are visited on their sons. “Bible, if I remember right.”

We accord moral failures mercy before justice is done, Anong said. No wonder the multiplier effect on the would-be plunderers is enormous that, we, as a nation, cannot extricate ourselves from the abyss of poverty and corruption. Trillanes—so young... so clueless!

That is the reason why I strong believe that the system of government and justice has to be changed, Frank de Leon adds. The current system and political and social culture help perpetuating corruption. Something drastic has to be done. Risks have to be taken.