Corpo-RAT-ocracy

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
2/14/2005



It’s a red-letter day today, but it’s not because of Valentines. It is bloody Monday after the 500% toll rates increases at the Nlex or North Luzon Expressway, almost literally bloody during the first days of implementation as some motorists flailed their tire wrenches at toll-gate keepers, forcing Nlex bosses to cancel the collection for a while. Let’s do something about this massive oppression and swindle of the Lopez corporations, with Christian Monsod’s International Finance Corporation behind it, and make begin a nationwide awakening to Corpo-RAT-ocracy’s oppression.

The term “corporatrocracy” we encountered in John Perkins book “Confessions of an Economic Hit Man” who said: “Tossing and turning in my bed, I found it impossible to deny that Charlie and everyone else on our team were here for selfish reasons. We were promoting U.S foreign policy and corporate interests. We were driven by greed… A word came to mind – corporatocracy. I was not sure whether I had heard it before or had just invented it, but it seemed to describe perfectly the new elite who had made up their minds to attempt to rule the planet.”

Perkins asserts, “Things are not as they appear. NBC is owned by General Electric…CNN is part of the huge AOL-Time Warner conglomerate. Most of our newspapers, magazines, and publishing houses are owned – and manipulated – by gigantic international corporations. Our media is part of the corporatocrcy…” and like them Philippine media is also controlled by the corporatocracy. Despite the media’s cover up the reality of the oppression by the corporate vampires is dawning on all Filipinos, thanks to their uncontrollable greed and undisguised abusiveness.

The emphasis on “RAT” is my contribution to Perkins’ new term corporatocracy because the “rats” behind these appear in public as respectable, very amiable and upright people. Take the people behind the Nlex company, the top honcho is the very “respectable” former Cory Aquino cabinet member Jose “Ping” de Jesus. With the Lopezes’ control of ABS-CBN and DZMM, and the regular Thursday morning coffee at Annabel’s paid for by Ping de Jesus through her PR men, the “rat” continues with a human face when appearing in public gatherings.

I have long known that in Ping de Jesus’s presentation of the Nlex project to the NEDA board for approval, an item in the alleged P 18.5-B cost of the Nlex improvements described P 700-M for “legal fees”. To the credit of Neda chair Romulo Neri, this item alarmed him enough to make him stand and ask how such a huge amount could be justified for “legal fees”. Jose “Ping” de Jesus reportedly replied, “The president knows about this already.” The almost respectable Neri just folded back and kept quiet to Ping de Jesus’ reply.

According to one congressman the Lopezes’ Nlex takeover of operations violates the franchise law. It does not allow transfer of a franchise, that was given to the PNCC. The Lopezes entered into joint venture with PNCC and used that to takeover the franchise, which is anomalous and illegal. The same congressman reminded me that this Nlex contract was “Bicol expressed” with supposedly P 1-M payola for each congressman but Albertito Lopez “kupit” from. It ended up as P 500K payolas that then Cong. Mike Defensor exposed.

A Makati executive opined that the 500% toll increase could be acceptable if the expressway expansion went all the way through to Pampangga and beyond, but it is only midway up to Bulacan. Improvements such as emergency phones and free towing to the nearest exit are just cosmetic, they haven’t even lighted up the stretch to Pampangga. These are common sense evaluation from common folks. No amount of justification by the First Philippine Industrial Development Corporation (FPIDC) will mitigate the rage their oppression and abuse has triggered.

Filipinos will be hard hit as passenger transporters, truckers and biyaheros are forced to add on this huge burden to their patrons. Vegetable prices used to pay more for the tong along the way to the expressways, now they say this toll cost more than all the tong the pay at the PNP checkpoints. We heard on radio that the truckers association is considering a blockade of the expressway. I hope they do and we in the people’s movement will go all out supporting them, or maybe the people’s movements should initiate it.

The people’s movements must consolidate their struggles. The corpo-rat-ocrats’ PR operators are having an easier time with the divided focus of people’s movements. The expanded-VAT issue, exponentially growing tax burdens, horrendous toll rates increases, bloating debt, increasing power and water rates all connect to one problem – the Corporatocracy or what I also call the corporate oligarchy. Look at the board of : Oscar Lopez, CEO; Augusto Almeda-Lopez, Abes, Garrucho, Hilado, Psinakis, Paterna, Sycip, etc. Didn’t all these support Gloria’s power grab and election cheating?

Psinakis was the Light-A-Fire and April 6 terrorist groups boss, are his puppets like Doris Baffrey and Boyette Montiel (with his laughable “anti-corruption” rally) still proud to serve this “rat”? Many now say Marcos was right after all to crush the Lopezes, but don’t forget American agent Sycip. Am I getting personal? But what could be more personally offensive than stealing from us face-to-face and in broad daylight? They eradicate Rats don’t they?

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