Mayor Celso is back.

Have you heard that Celso de los Angeles has reported back for duty as mayor of his small town in Bicol? Yes, just last week, radio broadcasters were matter-of-factly relaying this development in the life of Philippines' counterpart of Madoff. But unlike the latter who in less than six months of his indictment was sentenced to 150 years of life imprisonment, Celso has not even appeared in court for a first hearing. Sure, BSP and PDIC have announced five or six cases of syndicated estafa and other violations against Celso but none have prospered beyond the initial filings.

Even ex-billionaire Stanford has already been indicted, less than a month after his arrest. If one recalls, Stanford disappeared and was in hiding for months before his arrest. Here, all Celso had to do was show up for a few moro-moro senate and congressional hearings, and then admit himself in St. Lukes hospital for a supposed biopsy and subsequent diagnosis of throat cancer. Why hide when one can lie in comfort in a 5-star room. The hospital is known as a refuge of criminals who want to escape the public eye and warrants of arrest, and everybody expected Celso to follow suit, and indeed he did. We talked with a top PDIC lawyer who has made it his cause to prosecute Celso, and he said that he could only say with 70% certainty that Celso actually has cancer. Either way, Celso got his wish and the villain has crept back out of the hole, and is worming himself back to politics. I would not be surprised if he continues on with his plan to run for governor of the province in May, 2010.

Justice in this country practically does not exist. How can it? We heard the admission of Sec. of Justice, Agnes Devenadera,that the DOJ has pending cases of over 11,000. And to become part of that backlog, one has to spend a fortune to file a case. Pre-need victims of Cebu have been unable to file a P190 million syndicated estafa suit against Celso because of the petitioners' failure to post 1.9 million pesos of filing fees, and because of this, Celso's lawyer has asked the court to dismiss the case. What a travesty of justice!

In the Philippines, the wheels of the gods grind exceeding slow, and that is all what happens, nothing after that.