Who will raise the ‘blood money’?

The big news that almost eclipsed the controversies over the party-list purging, the reproductive health bill, and the freedom of information measure, was the discovery that thousands of gullible people were swindled of about P12 billion by clever scammers who fed them the story of being able to multiply their money in days. Reports said about 15,000 people, especially in Mindanao, fell for the trick and handed over their life savings to the slick operators, who are now on the lam.

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Sometimes it is difficult to believe how gullible people can be. Several years ago, there were reports of people, especially women, who claimed to have been hypnotized by decent-looking persons who told them sob stories and then divested them of cash and jewelry. Some of the victims were well-known professionals, lawyers, even, whom you’d never thought to fall for such stories. I personally know someone who was approached at a drug store by a young woman who told her she had been molested by her employer and became pregnant, so she wanted to buy some drug that could abort her baby.

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The person who narrated this, said she tried to advise the woman, and referred her to an institution, while compassionately listening to her problem. This took some time, and she said she could not recall what really happened, but she found herself later divested of her ring, earrings and cash. She could not even remember how she and the woman parted. Everybody who heard her story said she must have been hypnotized, and we thought so, too.

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But her case is different from those who were swindled by a “pyramid” operator who once came to Bacolod and gave a cocktail party at a local hotel. My sister and I were among those invited, and, after the introductions and the lavish cocktail fare, the group made their pitch, which was to convince us to invest in their business. They showed us literature about their company printed on glossy paper, giving the impression that they were very well-funded, indeed. Well, we listened to their spiels, enjoyed the cocktail fare, but later took our leave without promising anything. There were follow-ups later, but we bluntly told them we did not have the kind of money they thought we had, so no dice. A few months later, that company was in the news, with multiple charges filed against it. I know some Bacoleños who had fallen for the ploy, but I’m not naming names now.

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In the case of the Aman Futures, the company that had defrauded the people in Mindanao, they reportedly had convinced even local government units to put in their funds in the hope of doubling them within days. I am truly sorry for those officials who had done that. They will have a lot to answer to the Commission on Audit, and may even be charged for using government money for such purpose. A businessman who was also victimized said he did it because he wanted to increase his capital. Somebody once analyzed the motivation of people who fall for offers like that as none other than Greed. Well, it could be greed for more money for some, and greed for power in others.

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So the National Press Club of the Philippines is appealing to the Supreme Court to allow live coverage of the Ampatuan massacre case trial. I don’t know what argument they will use, but it surely will not be to tell the SC what voyeurs Pinoys can be. Come to think of it, the High Court must have been thinking of American courts when it decided to flip-flop and declare that live coverage will not be allowed. During the trial of Imelda Marcos in New York, no photographs ever came out showing her or her lawyers facing the judge. The public saw only drawings or sketches, made of the scene by those who had the talent to do them. Will this happen in the Ampatuan case?

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One cannot help sympathizing with the family of the Filipino overseas worker who has been meted the death penalty in Saudi Arabia. After appeals and interventions from the government here, the family of the person he had killed has reportedly agreed to accept what they call “blood money” in exchange for his life. But the amount being demanded is equivalent to P55 million. Where will a poor laborer get that kind of money? Will the government agree to pay it? I don’t think so, otherwise it will be flooded by similar appeals from all those who have been sentenced for crimes they have committed.

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The OFW, now in a jail at the KSA, was given four months to procure the money. I’m afraid that is a very tall order for someone who has committed a crime – some people do not even seem willing to fork out their cash for more deserving causes, like children with serious diseases. What our government and our Labor officials should work on is to thoroughly warn our overseas workers about the risks they are taking, and instill in them the proper way to behave when dealing with other peoples whose laws and traditions are unlike our own.*

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