Estrada, EHM victim

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
9/17/2007



"Economic hit men (EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and other foreign ‘aid’ organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. … They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization. I should know; I was an EHM." - John Perkins, Confessions of an Economic Hit Man

Estrada’s conviction by the kangaroo Sandiganbayan court is but one of the many, continuing campaign by the Western economic powers to destroy emerging sovereign and independent nation-states and economies. A nation can’t stand up to their gargantuan trans-nationals, unless the state (or government) stands up to defend it. President Estrada stood up for the interest of the Filipino by opposing “sovereign guarantee” for foreign corporations entering the Philippine economy and public contracts. I, seeing events from this framework, am not surprised at all of the global attack on Estrada now using this kangaroo conviction.

As predictable as the Sandiganbayan is the Transparency International jumping into the “demonize” Estrada campaign now, over Al Jazeera and other international cable new, crowing about how “a big fish” has finally been caught. The quote from confessed EHM (economic hit man) John Perkins puts the campaign against Estrada in perspective, indicting World Bank and USAID in the “game as old as empire”. Transparency International is an “anti-corruption” watchdog created by the World Bank as a tool to demonize, blackmail, destabilize and/or destroy sovereign and independent nation-states, governments and leaders.

USAID funded PCIJ(Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism) with almost a million dollars in year 2000 (see USAID website) to “expose” President Estrada’s “corruption”. But “cui bono” (who benefits)? That question points to a group that eventually became known as Gloria’s “International Board of Economic Advisers” which includes Marce Fuller (chief of Mirant power company which earned $ 10-B under Gloria, Hank Greenberg which got sovereign guarantee to fund the Mega-Tren, CIA bigwigs former ambassadors Bosworth and Wisner, SGV chief Wash Sycip, among others). IMF-WB got its EVAT and RVAT too.

The traditional agents of the foreign economic predators here, like what Perkins calls “corporations and pockets of a few wealthy families” (in the Philippines) are the Ayalas, Aboitizes, Lopezes, Alcantaras, Razons, Yuchengcos. They all ganged up on Estrada and after his fall got their rate increases, electricity IPPs, government banks fund transferred to their banks, packaged multi-billion exorbitantly priced government bonds, ad nausea. The foreign Mirant got $ 10-B, these local family corporations got even more as their share of the looting under Gloria that gave them license to plunder the hard earned moneys of the people and consumers.

Truly corrupt but compliant Third World political leaders, who kowtow to them, don’t get the corruption rating, like Fidel V. Ramos who’s chummy with Cheney, George Schultz and gang, and play golf with them. It is also very important to invest some of one’s corruption money in Carlyle, as Ramos did to become a “partner” in the global investment company and be named Asia-Pacific consultant (or con-suhol-tant a witty radio listesner says). You can observe Transparency International lambast the Philippines under Gloria for its corruption, but not Gloria herself yet as she is still compliant and gives everything they want – the privatization of every gainful public national asset such as the Transco.

Transparency Int’l will not, however, expose the corruption of elections under Gloria for with the EHM’s control of money, they control elections. "The crisis of modern democracy is a profound one. Free elections, a free press and an independent judiciary mean little when the free market has reduced them to commodities available on sale to the highest bidder.- Arundhati Roy”. Estrada won not by outbidding the gofers of global oligarchs like De Venecia, but his independent popular mandate tagged him as the enemy of the global corporatists and oligarchs.

This article answers an e-mail to us by a colonial-mentality stricken Pinoy, Bobby Manalo, who said: “I guess it is the right time to say: the Spaniards and the Americans MADE US DO IT! or better yet… DID IT TO US AGAIN! because our datus are never capable of committing any crimes. … ONLY THE CIA COMMIT CRIMES AGAINST THE FILIPINOS!.” – Yes, Virginia, they screw us because of shallow thinking like this. Manalo also junks the relevance of the absence of “public funds” in Estrada’s case: “if involvement of ‘public funds’ was essential to break the US law there would have been no US senators or congressmen …serving time in prison today.” Obviously, Bobby doesn’t even care to study the real issues involved.

We’ll give the final word to an OFW Internet community leader: “I am forwarding your column to friends in other online groups discussing avidly the case of Erap's so-called ‘guilt.’ There are several opinions similar to yours, which point to the injustice of the verdict. Imagine if this trend grows enough, Erap might yet be elevated to a sort of martyr even if he is a sinner, not a saint. – Lourdes” Yes, Lourdes, Erap’s a martyr for our sovereignty and it’s his duty to stick to his guns.

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