The Brazilian Congress recently passed a law, Ficha Limpa (Clean Criminal Record), that bars politicians with criminal records from running for public office. The law will apply to the general elections scheduled this October. The Federal Election Board, the counterpart of our Commission on Elections, has ruled that the law will have retroactive effect, making politicians convicted of crime prior to the ratification of the law by the Brazilian president ineligible to run.

The offenses that fall under the law include drug trafficking, financial and environmental crime, electoral fraud, and ethical offenses. Sources in Congress say that as many as 250 members of Congress have legal problems that could lead to their disqualification from running for reelection. The law is seen as a big step toward moralizing Brazilian politics as Congress has been the safe haven of criminals in Brazil. And I thought such things are true "only in da Pilipins."

Brazilians were galvanized into action after the 1996 general elections were marked with massive vote-buying by several candidates. The elections, considered the dirtiest in the history of Brazil, led to the formation of the Brazilian Commission for Justice and Peace. Previously, Brazilians were apathetic to electoral fraud because it has become so much a part of the country’s electoral process.

The proposed law initially met with strong resistance from entrenched politicians as it presented a threat to their continued stay in positions of power and influence. But a petition of over two million signatures, 500,000 online actions, and tens of thousands of phone calls pressured members of Congress to approve the Ficha Limpa bill. The Senate approved the bill unanimously.

One Brazilian member of the movement said: "Our strategy was simple: make a solution so popular and visible that it can’t be opposed, and be so vigilant that we can’t be ignored." Senator Pedro Simon told The Rio Times that the passage of the law proved the idea that "nothing ever changes in Brazil" is wrong.

A big change in Brazil indeed the enactment of the Clean Criminal Record law is! That means that it is "only in da Pilipins" where Congress remains the refuge of criminals. There are many members of the Congress of the Philippines who are accused of plunder, murder, drug trafficking, money laundering, electoral fraud, and unethical conduct who were reelected last May.

The stunning victory against corruption in Brazil shows what ordinary but determined citizens can accomplish. The Brazilian campaign was made possible by just a couple of Avaaz.org members posting their advocacy to over 600,000 Avaaz.org members in Brazil. Avaaz.org is an international civic organization that promotes activism on various issues like human rights via e-mail, online public petitions, and e-mail-your-leader tools. The Brazilian experience has shown that technology in the form of the Internet can enable a small group of concerned citizens to galvanize millions of people to work together on the most pressing problems confronting them.

The allies, nay, the lackeys of Gloria Arroyo, are bent on blocking the reforms President Benigno Aquino is trying to institute in governance. They blocked the passage of the Freedom of Information Act by not attending the session reserved for the voting on that Act, thus preventing the presence of a quorum. They are poised to question the formation of the Truth Commission in the Supreme Court, obviously confident that the GMA appointees-packed court will rule the Truth Commission legally infirm. It is obvious GMA’s underlings are bent on hiding the truth to protect her and themselves. The same minions never questioned the legality of the many commissions GMA formed.

We used the Internet to disseminate the message that Noynoy would be the best candidate to bring about reforms in governance. We succeeded. We can use the Internet again to help PNoy fulfill his promise. He has exposed many of the abuses of GMA’s underlings and removed many gofers, including generals, from government. But many still remain in government and in fact are bent on clinging to their sinecures.

Let us use the Net again to unmask the crooks that remain in government and the big businessmen who have corrupted and continue to corrupt government officials. Yesterday, the Inquirer buzzed about a big smuggler who has paid off officials in the Ramos, Estrada, and GMA governments to turn their eyes away from the obvious. Let those who know pass on through the Net his name as well as those of public officials he had paid off to smuggle in his huge volume of merchandise.

Let those who know reveal the names of contractors that the World Bank had blacklisted for being involved in anomalous transactions with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the names of those who in the DPWH they transacted with. Let those who know reveal the names of bus operators who give payola to officials of transportation regulatory agencies.

Let those who know give the professional background of the favored MWSS trustees. Ferdinand Mahusay is said to be in the board simply because he is the brother of Udon Mahusay, who had originally said he saw Miguel Arroyo sign a document as Jose Pidal but recanted after he was snatched from his safehouse by GMA underling Mike Defensor. Albert Balingit is the son of GMA’s "foster father" Pedro Balingit of Dagupan. His previous appointment to the board of Land Bank was already questioned because his only business experience is said to have been running a barber shop in Dagupan. What are the credentials of the other lavishly compensated trustees? What are the credentials of the other trustees and directors of government corporations?

Let those who know reveal how an officer of Pagcor could have amassed P21 million as to be able to advance that much in behalf of Pagcor to pay for the McDonald’s snacks of Metro Manila policemen. Let those who know reveal the compensation package of those who or whose significant others sat in the boards of government corporations and moonlighted as publicists of GMA.

Whistle blowers can hide behind an IP address. As GMA’s gofers no longer enjoy power or influence, they can no longer ask the National Bureau of Investigation to trace the identity of the e-mail senders.