Department of Justice Sec. Leila De Lima sees the imprisonment of Senator Bong Revilla as a triumph of justice, saying that arresting the senator and eventually convicting him of graft charges (plunder) seem impossible to happen at first. Recent development, however, draws us closer to the world of possibilities. Now that Revilla is already put in jail, De Lima said, the country has seen hopes that indeed there are no sacred cows in the prosecution of graft and corruption, and that the law is supreme above all – and that no matter how high the position one is holding of, everyone should be held accountable for their fraudulent, deceptive acts done while in public office. Yes, it is possible to jail a high-ranking government official, and Revilla is not the last. Senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada will soon languish in jail for allegedly committing such deplorable, despicable acts of robbing people's taxes in the name of Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

Before Revilla and his cohorts in the Senate and lower House would rot in jail, Pres. Aquino, who has been vocal in fighting corruption in the country, has succeeded in paralyzing former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo who later requested for a hospital arrest. That was already a good start. Revilla's surrender came at a time when Filipino taxpayers are loudly asking whether those who have been accused of collaborating with pork barrel scam queen Janet Lim-Napoles in the robbery of P10-billion public funds would ever taste the darkness and loneliness of prison house. Revilla is the answer, for now. Nevertheless, let us not forget that Revilla, Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada are only among the many senators and congressmen who are facing plunder charges, a non-bailable offense.

If Pres. Aquino is truly serious in enforcing his political will, his determination to leave a legacy of having established a corruption-free country, then the arrest and prosecution of wrongdoers victimizing ordinary taxpayers should only serve as an opening salvo. More like-minded squanders of public funds should also be thrown to jail soon. While we agree with De Lima that indeed it seems impossible to jail political bigwigs, we believe that such statement is also an admission that the wheels of justice are slow in punishing erring Filipino citizens who are close to political powers. But just the same, we congratulate the Aquino administration for hunting down those behind the pork barrel scam. It is not too often we find a senator being put in jail. Revilla's situation right now is sending a strong message to all other corrupt politicians that sooner or later they have to swallow the bitter pill of isolation in jail once their racket is being found out.

The triumph of justice that De Lima has aptly coined for the imprisonment of Revilla is by all means a one-step forward toward the much-needed reforms we all dream of. There is no reform in government when those who are responsible for the mess in this country are still holding public office and can dictate the course of history. Taking out Revilla, Enrile and Estrada and the rest of political scalawags may finally embolden our citizens to come out and participate more actively in shaping the nation. Indeed those who are guilty of the multi-billion pork barrel scam are the stumbling blocks to social progress. It is high time that we take them out of governance and leadership one corrupt politician at a time.