YESTERDAY, TODAY & TOMORROW
Linggoy Alcuaz
6/6-12/2011
DOTC Secretary Ping de Jesus’s resignation (effective June 30) last week is a major step in P-Noy’s continuing fall.
If followed by one or two more resignations of the same type of high-ranking official (e.g. DPWH Sec. Babes Singson) as Ping, it may shake the confidence of the business elite in the future of our economy.
The relationship between economy and politics in the Philippines is different from that obtaining in the United Kingdom or the USA. Do you remember British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, President George Bush, Sr. and President William “Bill” Clinton? All three of them had their fates determined by the economy. After defending the United Kingdom in the Battle of Britain from Hitler’s aggression and going on to defeating the Axis Powers and winning World War II, Churchill lost the first peacetime elections.
After winning the Iraq Kuwait War of 1990-91, the Senior George Bush (Republican) lost the 1992 Presidential Elections to Bill Clinton (Democrat). Unlike Clinton and his own son who served two four year terms, Bush, Sr. served only one four year term (1988-1992) as President. He served two terms as the Vice President of President Ronald Reagan (1980-1988).
On the other hand, Bill Clinton won re-election in 1996 after several scandals and an Impeachment Trial. Remember that aside from his affair with Monica Lewinsky, a White House apprentice, Clinton was accused of sex scandals as Arkansas Governor. His wife and her law firm were accused of several cases conflict of interest. The explanation to all of these was and still is, “It’s the Economy, Stupid”.
Filipino Voters are Different
Simply put, for the British voters in the mid-forties and the American voters in the nineties, their pocketbooks were more important than military victories or sex scandals.
In the Philippines, Filipino voters are very different.
From 1983 to 1986, they took to the streets and voted for Cory because they believed that the Marcos’s had had Ninoy assassinated. They wanted to get rid of Marcos, the Dictator, the “Padrino” of Cronies and the owner of Fake Medals and Hidden Wealth.
Eventually, the Fall of the Peso and our Debt Default sealed his Fate. However, without Ninoy’s Martyrdom, it would have taken much much longer to get rid of Marcos.
FVR, Erap, FPJ
In 1992, they voted for Ramos because they believed that he could save us from rightwing coups, left wing revolutions and Muslim secession. They did not know what abilities he had as an Economic Manager.
Eventually, they may associate his Presidency more with Economic Boom than Peace with Communist, Military and Muslim Rebels. However, they did not make a Cha-cha possible so that he could either have term extension or reelection.
They voted for Erap because they believed that he was “Para sa Mahirap” and not necessarily because they believed that he was capable of raising them up from their “Mahirap” status.
Again in 2004, they voted for FPJ, not knowing what abilities he had aside from being good, honest and pro-poor. Very few voted for Lakas-NUCD-UMDJKampi candidate and Speaker Joe de Venecia. He and Promdi Presidential candidate Lito Osmeña probably had more economic proposals and solutions than Erap.
GMA, The Economist
Of all the post EDSA I Presidential Candidates and Victors, GMA is the most identified and perceived as an Economist.
But if we go by the Opinion Surveys rather than the elections that she allegedly cheated, we see her survey numbers consistently going down. These were affected more by corruption scandals than by economic management.
From our limited economic experience and knowledge, we perceived the following: The death, wake and funeral of Cory Aquino was a big almost spontaneous rebirth of hope;
The decision of then Senator Benigno Simeon Aquino III on Wednesday, September 9 at the Club Filipino to run for President converted this new hope into a strong unstoppable and uncheatable force;
This in turn was transformed into a perception of forthcoming stability and the return of economic confidence;
These turned concrete even before the elections with the perception that GMA’s candidate was too weak and that the Administration could no longer cheap enough in order to win;
These perceptions solidified with the Day After Election Results of May 11, 2010, and For the past year Economic Confidence and Stability have survived all the personal and political misfortunes and mistakes of P-Noy, his Barkada and the whole Aquino Administration.
Domino Effect
So that is the big difference among the UK, the USA and the Philippines.
The Economy did not save P-Noy from his downward spiral.
Now, the economy may finally catch up with the downward trend of our politics. However, it took the resignation of Sec. Jose Ping de Jesus to threaten to undo the economy. Now, one or two more similar resignations and we get the “domino” effect.
The Makati Business Elite are watching P-Noy. They think that they are connected to Cory in a special way. They think that they made both P-Noy’s candidacy as well as his victory. Their investments in an Aquino Administration are represented by Technocrats like Ping. His resignation means that their equity is no longer well represented.
This comes on top of a reduction in the growth of our Gross Domestic Product for the First Quarter of the Year to a mere 4.9 % from the much higher 8.9 % a year ago.
The economic slowdown is caused by P-Noy’s slowness.
A certain Octavio Alvarez
Last week, Tuesday, the Peace and Justice Movement, held a Press Conference to denounce the filing of sedition/inciting to sedition charges before the Pasig City Fiscal against its convenors, Lauro Vizconde, Dante Jimenez, Fr. Roberto Reyes, and Atty. Ferdinand Topacio.
These charges arose from statements made by the latter in reaction to the acquittal of Hubert Webb of the Vizconde massacre.
What is interesting is the complainant. He is a certain Octavio Alvarez of the Bantay Bayan Hotline on DWIZ and the Citizen’s Foundation for the Prevention of Crimes and Injustices.
He claims to be a taxpayer and a law abiding citizen. We assume that he is now a private citizen.
Metrocom ini!
When I first met him, he was a PC Metrocom Captain and chief of the Metrocom Police Intelligence Service (MPIS), the predecessor of Col. Rolando Abadilla’s Metrocom Intelligence and Security Group (MISG). It was the afternoon of January 13, 1971.
I was driving our two-tone yellow and black 1965 Ford Taunus 17m southeast on Juan Luna St., Paco, Manila. I had come from a rally of the MDP at the Plaza Miranda and had two passengers on my front bench seat.They were SDK head Sixto Carlos and his girlfriend Christine Ebro.
Alvarez was in the right front seat of one of two unmarked blue Toyota sedans loaded with eight Intelligence Operatives with eight Colt 45s and several 30 cal. Carbines. They accosted me, flagged me down, drew parallel to my car and pointed a .45 at me.
He shot at us
My two passengers disappeared under my car’s dashboard. I stepped on the gas and fled towards the Paco Cemetery, turned right on Padre Faura, crossed Taft Ave. (where a tricycle bumped my car and distracted the chasing Metrocoms.) and entered the Ateneo Padre Faura compound.
They were shooting all the way right till the end of the parking lot where they ran out of ammo. We had several hundred jeepney drivers waiting in the parking lot. They had accompanied their 50 or so leaders who were meeting with, among others, future Senator and Governor Joey Lina.
So, we beat up the two car loads of Metrocom plainclothes troopers with rocks and sticks until the Metrocom’s Reaction Strike Force (RSF) composed of six truck loads of anti-riot troops rescued them.
.357 owner
The next time I met him between 1975 and 1981, he was a Major and the Executive Director of the Task Force Anti-Gambling (TFAG). I was the Executive Vice President of Dealer of Telecommunications equipment and we were selling mobile radios to the PC, AFP and others, including the TFAG.
The third time I ran across him was between 1983 and 1985.
He happened to be the listed owner or assignee of a .357 cal. Magnum revolver which was one of two guns with the same serial number, one of which was the gun used to assassinate Ninoy Aquino.
Hindi pinatulan ni Erap
Last Tuesday and tomorrow, 2 pm, Tuesday, there are preliminary investigations of the above case at the Pasig City Fiscal’s office.
I think I know what Alvarez’s gimmick is.
In April of 2000, a certain retired NBI Atty. Reyes filed a similar sedition or inciting to sedition case against me because of the Exclamation Point (!) sticker that we used against Erap.
They file on their own and then approach our enemies and try to make money out of them.
Sorry for Atty. Reyes. “Hindi siya pinatulan ni Erap!” He tried to talk to me to compromise but I retorted, “Meet you in Court”.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
Inquirer, Conrad, Wllie
CRITIC'S CRITIC
Herman Tiu Laurel
6/6-12/2011
“The lowest form of popular culture - lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives - has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage.” - Carl Bernstein (American investigative journalist in the Watergate exposé).
Just as the RH bill debates begins reaches its climax when silent non-Church objectors to it got involved, like our neighbor on this page Butch Junia, House Speaker Sonny Belmonte shifts the issue to Divorce by expressing his support for the revived proposal May 30. A debate between Congressmen Golez and Garin was scheduled.
Issues Management?
Is this shift just an accident or is it a deliberate management of issues to keep the public and media’s attention away from issues that would adversely impact the prevailing oligarchic social system – issues such as the anniversary of the EPIRA and issues on the price of electricity, and anomalous power increases that are underway. Four particular power hike issues are in the pipeline: the PBR, Congress’ extension of “lifeline” subsidy and Senate’s lowering of threshold, renewable energy P 19/kWh FIT charges and NPC SPUG subsidy hike. As if on cue the Inquirer’s Conrado de Quiros also shifts his attention to the divorce issue in his June 2 Inquirer column “God wants.”
Meanwhile, the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) of June 2001 will be ten years old by end of June, an accursed electricity privatization law that was inflicted on the nation the highest power in Asia causing Philippine industry immense setbacks, driving out investors like computer chip giant Intel in 2009 and thousands of its jobs along with it while penalizing over 14-million electricity consumer Filipino families. It is important to recall that the EPIRA was hatched in corruption in the lame duck Congress presided by Belmonte in June 2001 after EDSA II. A new Congress had already been elected in May of that year but with P 500,000 distributed (distributed by Belmonte’s staff) and P5 to 10-M NEA power project had been given to each solon, they railroaded the bill into law.
In the Dark Ages
There will be no recollection of EPIRA history in mainstream media. Analysts of Philippine opinion pages will note that the Inquirer and its opinion writers Randy David, Amando Doronilla, Joaquin Bernas, Ceres Doyo, Michael Tan, Conrado de Quiros et al rarely, if ever, (except Neal Cruz, sometimes) deal with the basic economic issues people suffer – abuse by Big Business or oligarchs.
On corruption issues the Inquirer Op-Ed page they focus on passé Marcos and Estrada issues and leave out the oligarchy that gets such corrupt laws as the EPIRA railroaded to the people’s ruin. Dutifully, last June 2 Conrado de Quiros takes the cue from Belmonte and pans his journalistic sights to the Divorce bill, writing “Finally, they’re discussing divorce again in Congress. And expectedly, Catholic Church leaders are raising hell again in the pulpits…” quoting Senate do-nothing Pia Cayetano and a Luz Ilagan saying “Let us not keep our country in the Dark Ages.” – but isn’t it EPIRA that’s keeping us in the Dark Ages?
No Free Lunch
The Inquirer does have economist Cielito Habito in “No free lunch”, but he dwells on economics pedantry, dishing statistics but avoids confronting the down-to-earth problems of the people. In his recent piece “Creating needed jobs” Habito drops Time and CNN big name Fareed Zakaria (maybe to catch the US establishment’s attention) and echoes cites the following for jobs creation: manufacturing; growth industries; worker retraining; small and medium enterprises. But there is no mention of the fundamental detail that is basic to the success or failure of each of those measures – the price of electricity that runs the manufacturing machineries and growth industries, lighting and MRT/ LRT commuting for the workers going to retraining and for small and medium scale enterprises. Habito will never court the ire of Big Business, the Lords of EDSA I and II, who are almost all now in Meralco.
Driving out Investors
OpinYon, Butch Junia and other columnists fill in the public on the power issues. My recent GNN cable TV show was entitled “The curse of EPIRA” and graced by Butch Junia and FDC (Freedom from Debt Coalition) former vicechair Wilson Fortaleza. The “jury is in” and judged the ten-year old power law a supreme failure: EPIRA gave“first world power rates for our third world country”. Instead of lowering EPIRA raised Philippine electricity rates it to Asia’s highest; it not failed to set up additional power capacity and fosters new power shortage fears; it sold 70% of government power assets without reducing the $ 18-B Napocor debt. PSALM claims it will pay off $ 1.5-B, which doesn’t even succeed in becoming a “consuelo de bobo”.
Now House Energy Chair
Dina Abad of Abad Kamaganak, Inc. wants to amend EPIRA to extend for another ten years its unjust “lifeline” rate subsidy set to expire June 2011, Dina Abad so good-hearted in giving power paying consumers’ hard earned moneys (but not her pork barrel) to her beloved poor. Then Senate energy chair Serge Osmeña wants to lower the lifeline rate threshold from 99kWh to a much lower level, if not he says “We’ll be driving out investors.”
Least Cost
Why don’t the legislators subsidize their “beloved” poor from the Meralco’s P 12-B 2010 profits (on only 3% volume growth), 2009’s P 6.5-B and P 2.8-B in 2008 (CEO Pangilinan is buying NBA’s Sacramento Kings for $ 220-M – profits from consumers!). All these windfalls from ERCapproved rate increases under the PBR (Performance Based Rate) of 15.8% and 4-year prospective capital expenditure (the old RORB, Return-On-Rate- Base, of only 12% on actual capital expenditure).
What incentives for ERC commissioners get to defy the law requiring rates that are “least cost” to power consumers! Finally, the Renewable Energy Act will be enforcing FIT (feed-in tariff) of P 19/kWh (3 times higher that our regular rate of around P 5/kWh) to attract “investors” into wind, tidal, solar, mini-hydro (excluding geothermal – why?). We’ll subsidize renewable power technology development while Ayala, Aboitiz, Lopezes et al will profit. Finally, NPC want s additional P0.24 centavos to cover losses (?) from its SPUG (Small Power Unit Generation) missionary lines for which NPC is already charging SPUG customers for. What insanity!
Low-End Distraction
Rarely, if ever, will these basic, vital energy policy and cost issues be in the Inquirer Op-Ed page columns. Thus, the Carl Bernstein quote and parallelism with Revillame: the Inquirer Op-Ed page is highend entertaining distraction to Revillame’s low-end distraction – “lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives - has overrun real journalism.”
(Tune in to Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., and Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, topic: ”Tingting Cojuangco on the ARMM Elections”; visit http:// newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot. com for our articles plus TV and radio archives.)
Herman Tiu Laurel
6/6-12/2011
“The lowest form of popular culture - lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives - has overrun real journalism. Today, ordinary Americans are being stuffed with garbage.” - Carl Bernstein (American investigative journalist in the Watergate exposé).
Just as the RH bill debates begins reaches its climax when silent non-Church objectors to it got involved, like our neighbor on this page Butch Junia, House Speaker Sonny Belmonte shifts the issue to Divorce by expressing his support for the revived proposal May 30. A debate between Congressmen Golez and Garin was scheduled.
Issues Management?
Is this shift just an accident or is it a deliberate management of issues to keep the public and media’s attention away from issues that would adversely impact the prevailing oligarchic social system – issues such as the anniversary of the EPIRA and issues on the price of electricity, and anomalous power increases that are underway. Four particular power hike issues are in the pipeline: the PBR, Congress’ extension of “lifeline” subsidy and Senate’s lowering of threshold, renewable energy P 19/kWh FIT charges and NPC SPUG subsidy hike. As if on cue the Inquirer’s Conrado de Quiros also shifts his attention to the divorce issue in his June 2 Inquirer column “God wants.”
Meanwhile, the EPIRA (Electric Power Industry Reform Act) of June 2001 will be ten years old by end of June, an accursed electricity privatization law that was inflicted on the nation the highest power in Asia causing Philippine industry immense setbacks, driving out investors like computer chip giant Intel in 2009 and thousands of its jobs along with it while penalizing over 14-million electricity consumer Filipino families. It is important to recall that the EPIRA was hatched in corruption in the lame duck Congress presided by Belmonte in June 2001 after EDSA II. A new Congress had already been elected in May of that year but with P 500,000 distributed (distributed by Belmonte’s staff) and P5 to 10-M NEA power project had been given to each solon, they railroaded the bill into law.
In the Dark Ages
There will be no recollection of EPIRA history in mainstream media. Analysts of Philippine opinion pages will note that the Inquirer and its opinion writers Randy David, Amando Doronilla, Joaquin Bernas, Ceres Doyo, Michael Tan, Conrado de Quiros et al rarely, if ever, (except Neal Cruz, sometimes) deal with the basic economic issues people suffer – abuse by Big Business or oligarchs.
On corruption issues the Inquirer Op-Ed page they focus on passé Marcos and Estrada issues and leave out the oligarchy that gets such corrupt laws as the EPIRA railroaded to the people’s ruin. Dutifully, last June 2 Conrado de Quiros takes the cue from Belmonte and pans his journalistic sights to the Divorce bill, writing “Finally, they’re discussing divorce again in Congress. And expectedly, Catholic Church leaders are raising hell again in the pulpits…” quoting Senate do-nothing Pia Cayetano and a Luz Ilagan saying “Let us not keep our country in the Dark Ages.” – but isn’t it EPIRA that’s keeping us in the Dark Ages?
No Free Lunch
The Inquirer does have economist Cielito Habito in “No free lunch”, but he dwells on economics pedantry, dishing statistics but avoids confronting the down-to-earth problems of the people. In his recent piece “Creating needed jobs” Habito drops Time and CNN big name Fareed Zakaria (maybe to catch the US establishment’s attention) and echoes cites the following for jobs creation: manufacturing; growth industries; worker retraining; small and medium enterprises. But there is no mention of the fundamental detail that is basic to the success or failure of each of those measures – the price of electricity that runs the manufacturing machineries and growth industries, lighting and MRT/ LRT commuting for the workers going to retraining and for small and medium scale enterprises. Habito will never court the ire of Big Business, the Lords of EDSA I and II, who are almost all now in Meralco.
Driving out Investors
OpinYon, Butch Junia and other columnists fill in the public on the power issues. My recent GNN cable TV show was entitled “The curse of EPIRA” and graced by Butch Junia and FDC (Freedom from Debt Coalition) former vicechair Wilson Fortaleza. The “jury is in” and judged the ten-year old power law a supreme failure: EPIRA gave“first world power rates for our third world country”. Instead of lowering EPIRA raised Philippine electricity rates it to Asia’s highest; it not failed to set up additional power capacity and fosters new power shortage fears; it sold 70% of government power assets without reducing the $ 18-B Napocor debt. PSALM claims it will pay off $ 1.5-B, which doesn’t even succeed in becoming a “consuelo de bobo”.
Now House Energy Chair
Dina Abad of Abad Kamaganak, Inc. wants to amend EPIRA to extend for another ten years its unjust “lifeline” rate subsidy set to expire June 2011, Dina Abad so good-hearted in giving power paying consumers’ hard earned moneys (but not her pork barrel) to her beloved poor. Then Senate energy chair Serge Osmeña wants to lower the lifeline rate threshold from 99kWh to a much lower level, if not he says “We’ll be driving out investors.”
Least Cost
Why don’t the legislators subsidize their “beloved” poor from the Meralco’s P 12-B 2010 profits (on only 3% volume growth), 2009’s P 6.5-B and P 2.8-B in 2008 (CEO Pangilinan is buying NBA’s Sacramento Kings for $ 220-M – profits from consumers!). All these windfalls from ERCapproved rate increases under the PBR (Performance Based Rate) of 15.8% and 4-year prospective capital expenditure (the old RORB, Return-On-Rate- Base, of only 12% on actual capital expenditure).
What incentives for ERC commissioners get to defy the law requiring rates that are “least cost” to power consumers! Finally, the Renewable Energy Act will be enforcing FIT (feed-in tariff) of P 19/kWh (3 times higher that our regular rate of around P 5/kWh) to attract “investors” into wind, tidal, solar, mini-hydro (excluding geothermal – why?). We’ll subsidize renewable power technology development while Ayala, Aboitiz, Lopezes et al will profit. Finally, NPC want s additional P0.24 centavos to cover losses (?) from its SPUG (Small Power Unit Generation) missionary lines for which NPC is already charging SPUG customers for. What insanity!
Low-End Distraction
Rarely, if ever, will these basic, vital energy policy and cost issues be in the Inquirer Op-Ed page columns. Thus, the Carl Bernstein quote and parallelism with Revillame: the Inquirer Op-Ed page is highend entertaining distraction to Revillame’s low-end distraction – “lack of information, misinformation, disinformation, and a contempt for the truth or the reality of most people’s lives - has overrun real journalism.”
(Tune in to Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., and Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, topic: ”Tingting Cojuangco on the ARMM Elections”; visit http:// newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot. com for our articles plus TV and radio archives.)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Decency and integrity
DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
6/6/2011
It was in the early part of the Gloria Arroyo administration that a new private entity took over from government the latter’s operations at the North Expressway. That time, news of a giant oligarchic corporation advancing a new scheme of toll rates, with graphic charts of costs and revenue projections, filtered out of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda). Based on the story, the Neda chief then, upon watching the Power Point presentation, got intrigued by an item worth P700 million. After asking the company’s top honcho why those expenses purportedly for “legal intermediation” and “information” were so high, he was allegedly told that the item had already been “taken care of with Malacañang.”
If an official investigation were to be launched with an honest-to-goodness subpoena of documents, we can easily verify this. Many times before, we have tried to investigate issues related to tollways overcharging but have invariably been rebuffed whenever financial documents were demanded. Time and again, we have brought these issues to court to no avail.
In fact, some years ago, I was sued by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) for P100 million in “damages” because of what I wrote. That court case lasted over five years. I dutifully attended every nuisance hearing even if MNTC only had its lawyers showing up. As the judge eventually ordered mediation, it was in one of those sessions that I finally faced the toll operator’s head, Jose “Ping” de Jesus, and told him off.
The North Expressway toll operations have since been transferred to yet suspicions on the hanky-panky deal still linger.
Incidentally, that time also marked De Jesus’ entry into a Pangilinan-controlled Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) both as director and chief operating officer. This happened as Meralco started making profit surges of over 100 percent per annum with nary a significant increase (at only 3 percent vis-à-vis RP’s population growth) in volume of electricity distributed.
Of course, such groundswell of profits could never have been obtained without some inveiglement of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to approve a rate setting mechanism, the obfuscated PBR or Performance Based Rate, that violates the law mandating electricity to be delivered “at the least cost” to consumers.
But being an executive then of the power distributor, was it wrong for people to have suspected a scenario in the Department of Transport and Communications (DoTC) under De Jesus that would veer positively toward an MRT privatization and its attendant fare increases?
“Decent” has frequently been attached to De Jesus’ name, especially in light of his Cabinet resignation. Don’t get me wrong: He does seem to look and behave decently. He was always very modestly dressed in white polo barong, smiling, when he used to host the Annabel’s media breakfast with some public works contractors through a lady PR. I also acknowledge that it doesn’t look as if he steals. But I do know of the oligarchic corporations that engage such professionals’ image and services for their economic and financial abuse of consumers as well as government resources.
These oligarchs remind me of Romulo Neri’s 2008 briefing on the “oligarchic state” to members of the political opposition where he outlined the different oligarchs and their control of different economic spheres, notwithstanding our national elections.
Now it seems Neri, who worked under a political kleptocracy, hasn’t been as fortunate. Political dynasties have had to face ritual public roasting to give credence to “democratic” accountability such that it is their minions that suffer the consequences. Although Neri tries to be “decent” by never lying (technically, that is), he also evinces a bureaucratic Omerta for the benefit of his political patrons.
On that score, the oligarchs’ executives are luckier. Though they are appointed to government to serve their masters’ interests, they don’t suffer the presumption of corruptibility due to their being compensated beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Plus, they can always go back to the corporation they served after being its Deep Penetration Agent (DPA) in government.
In contrast, political minions only have their pitiful official salaries, making it essential for “extra incomes” to rationalize their privations in thankless political and public roles, with few ever getting jailed for these anyway.
Furthermore, the activities of these oligarchs are not defined as “criminal” despite their control of society’s powers. That’s because they define the terminologies of legality and decency through the media they control or the clout of their advertising money.
And so, the “decent” man has now left his DoTC post with other officials in tow. But that protest move was enigmatic at best since it seemed to be only a day in the life of some regular bureaucrats, with their rapidly shifting assignments and all.
Not surprisingly, speculations on the “fall-out” abound: From the MRT privatization; to the Land Transportation Office’s multi-billion computerization (involving Virginia Torres, herself linked to carnapping in Tarlac); to the international airport’s Terminal III. As you will see, these are all still about money and nothing about public service.
Decency truly won’t stop people from serving indecent and avaricious goals that bring this nation to ruin. They must have something more. Integrity — the unity of “being” good and “acting” good, of upholding what is fair and just — may be what’s needed for a good man who has integrity would necessarily object to any corrupt assignment offered to him.
Gen. Angelo Reyes, a decent man to his friends and associates, sadly was not possessed of the integrity that could have saved this nation and his family from the pain and ignominy of a cover-up to the death, all because of the love of money which he, in all his “decency,” never failed to “share.”
(Tune in to Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., and Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, on “K+12=Education Chaos”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)
Herman Tiu Laurel
6/6/2011
It was in the early part of the Gloria Arroyo administration that a new private entity took over from government the latter’s operations at the North Expressway. That time, news of a giant oligarchic corporation advancing a new scheme of toll rates, with graphic charts of costs and revenue projections, filtered out of the National Economic Development Authority (Neda). Based on the story, the Neda chief then, upon watching the Power Point presentation, got intrigued by an item worth P700 million. After asking the company’s top honcho why those expenses purportedly for “legal intermediation” and “information” were so high, he was allegedly told that the item had already been “taken care of with Malacañang.”
If an official investigation were to be launched with an honest-to-goodness subpoena of documents, we can easily verify this. Many times before, we have tried to investigate issues related to tollways overcharging but have invariably been rebuffed whenever financial documents were demanded. Time and again, we have brought these issues to court to no avail.
In fact, some years ago, I was sued by the Manila North Tollways Corp. (MNTC) for P100 million in “damages” because of what I wrote. That court case lasted over five years. I dutifully attended every nuisance hearing even if MNTC only had its lawyers showing up. As the judge eventually ordered mediation, it was in one of those sessions that I finally faced the toll operator’s head, Jose “Ping” de Jesus, and told him off.
The North Expressway toll operations have since been transferred to yet suspicions on the hanky-panky deal still linger.
Incidentally, that time also marked De Jesus’ entry into a Pangilinan-controlled Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) both as director and chief operating officer. This happened as Meralco started making profit surges of over 100 percent per annum with nary a significant increase (at only 3 percent vis-à-vis RP’s population growth) in volume of electricity distributed.
Of course, such groundswell of profits could never have been obtained without some inveiglement of the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) to approve a rate setting mechanism, the obfuscated PBR or Performance Based Rate, that violates the law mandating electricity to be delivered “at the least cost” to consumers.
But being an executive then of the power distributor, was it wrong for people to have suspected a scenario in the Department of Transport and Communications (DoTC) under De Jesus that would veer positively toward an MRT privatization and its attendant fare increases?
“Decent” has frequently been attached to De Jesus’ name, especially in light of his Cabinet resignation. Don’t get me wrong: He does seem to look and behave decently. He was always very modestly dressed in white polo barong, smiling, when he used to host the Annabel’s media breakfast with some public works contractors through a lady PR. I also acknowledge that it doesn’t look as if he steals. But I do know of the oligarchic corporations that engage such professionals’ image and services for their economic and financial abuse of consumers as well as government resources.
These oligarchs remind me of Romulo Neri’s 2008 briefing on the “oligarchic state” to members of the political opposition where he outlined the different oligarchs and their control of different economic spheres, notwithstanding our national elections.
Now it seems Neri, who worked under a political kleptocracy, hasn’t been as fortunate. Political dynasties have had to face ritual public roasting to give credence to “democratic” accountability such that it is their minions that suffer the consequences. Although Neri tries to be “decent” by never lying (technically, that is), he also evinces a bureaucratic Omerta for the benefit of his political patrons.
On that score, the oligarchs’ executives are luckier. Though they are appointed to government to serve their masters’ interests, they don’t suffer the presumption of corruptibility due to their being compensated beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Plus, they can always go back to the corporation they served after being its Deep Penetration Agent (DPA) in government.
In contrast, political minions only have their pitiful official salaries, making it essential for “extra incomes” to rationalize their privations in thankless political and public roles, with few ever getting jailed for these anyway.
Furthermore, the activities of these oligarchs are not defined as “criminal” despite their control of society’s powers. That’s because they define the terminologies of legality and decency through the media they control or the clout of their advertising money.
And so, the “decent” man has now left his DoTC post with other officials in tow. But that protest move was enigmatic at best since it seemed to be only a day in the life of some regular bureaucrats, with their rapidly shifting assignments and all.
Not surprisingly, speculations on the “fall-out” abound: From the MRT privatization; to the Land Transportation Office’s multi-billion computerization (involving Virginia Torres, herself linked to carnapping in Tarlac); to the international airport’s Terminal III. As you will see, these are all still about money and nothing about public service.
Decency truly won’t stop people from serving indecent and avaricious goals that bring this nation to ruin. They must have something more. Integrity — the unity of “being” good and “acting” good, of upholding what is fair and just — may be what’s needed for a good man who has integrity would necessarily object to any corrupt assignment offered to him.
Gen. Angelo Reyes, a decent man to his friends and associates, sadly was not possessed of the integrity that could have saved this nation and his family from the pain and ignominy of a cover-up to the death, all because of the love of money which he, in all his “decency,” never failed to “share.”
(Tune in to Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., and Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, on “K+12=Education Chaos”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio archives)
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