Pork barrel can be cleaned out now

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. expected how people would react to his call for “moral revolution”. Viewing him as a trapo (rag; traditional politico), he knew they’d sneer, “Look who’s talking.” So he matched his suggested cleansings by President Gloria Arroyo with his own promise to reform the pork barrel. “We shall make fund releases transparent,” he promised of the legislators’ annual largesse, as he gave Arroyo 100 days to show earnest in fighting corruption.

She ignored him. Like most Filipinos, the President feels the Speaker should be the last person to talk about morality. It simply didn’t wash. The Speaker is the first promoter of bad governance in guaranteeing for his 240 colleagues P70 million each a year, or P16.8 billion total, in no-audit shares. (An equal partner is the Senate President in ensuring a heftier P200 million for each of 24 senators, or another P4.8 billion.) In a patch-up dinner hosted by a friend, Arroyo showed what she thought of de Venecia’s moral revival: she screamed at him. Malacañang then fired off a statement that it should be the Speaker, because of his rank in government and in the ruling Lakas party, who should follow the President’s program of administration. And she exhibited no intent to heed his call to restore public trust in political leaders. Of the attempted P2-million bribery of opposition congressmen, the consummated P500,000 bribery of 189 administration counterparts, and the P500,000 bribery again of 60 provincial governors, Arroyo simply did nothing.

Sinning no more is so hard to do on one’s own. Left with his moral revolution by his lonesome, de Venecia began to waffle. At first, he said he would get congressmen to agree to line item disclosure of their pork barrel projects. Meaning, they would specify from the start — while the annual national budget is still being debated in Congress — where and how they’d spend their P70 million. But practically told by Arroyo to reform by himself, de Venecia is now saying it is too late this year for line itemizing. The House of Reps already has passed the 2008 expenditure bill and passed it on to the Senate for concurrence. Maybe next year transparency can come — if somebody remembers at all.

And so it’s back to square one of the despicable old pork setup. With no one leading a cleanup, congressmen will still get the money in secret tranches. They will use part of it for soft projects: the purchase of medicines for the poor, encyclopedias for municipal libraries, or computers for public schools — all at 50-percent overprice from long-time suppliers in Congress. There will be hard projects — construction of roads, bridges or piers — again for 50-percent cuts, this time by diverting the cash to family foundations. (The senators will have their own rackets.)

De Venecia is not as helpless to clean out the pork barrel as he paints himself to be. He can still make the expenses transparent by changing the way the money is released and spent. To begin with, it should be made available to all legislators, whether with the administration or the opposition (and thus plotting Arroyo’s impeachment). Then, congressmen must be made to identify their projects in detail. And these should be done via the Electronic Procurement Law, so that specifications and quantities of goods or services easily can be checked against contracted prices. And there should be strict pre- and post-audit. That way, with a reformed pork barrel, congressmen would see no more need for it. Indeed, who would want to be saddled with stringently announced and audited expenses, when they can just pass back the work to the executive branch, so long as their names are attached to the projects.

If de Venecia starts changing by Monday, he may come out a martyr. Next week is when Arroyo’s loyalist-congressmen are set to depose him because of his son Joey’s exposés of high corruption. If he pushes his moral crusade in the House just as they start ganging up on him, history may turn out kinder to this trapo.

* * *

Avoidance is the ploy of Malacañang. In canceling the crooked ZTE deal, it aimed to get the Senate to stop investigating the bribers and bribees. In asking the Ombudsman to investigate the bribery of governors right at the Palace gardens, it intended to divert attention from its earlier bribery of opposition and administration congressmen.

Unfortunately for Arroyo tacticians, thinking Filipinos are not fooled. Nineteen business and civil society groups are demanding that President Arroyo herself face the issue of “endemic transactional politics.” Along with the Management Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute, Makati Business Club, and Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference, the groups want Arroyo to form an independent commission to examine the fraud. In an ad in yesterday’s Star, they also urged the Anti-Money Laundering Council to move in on the bribe givers and takers.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Pork barrel can be cleaned out now

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. expected how people would react to his call for “moral revolution”. Viewing him as a trapo (rag; traditional politico), he knew they’d sneer, “Look who’s talking.” So he matched his suggested cleansings by President Gloria Arroyo with his own promise to reform the pork barrel. “We shall make fund releases transparent,” he promised of the legislators’ annual largesse, as he gave Arroyo 100 days to show earnest in fighting corruption.

She ignored him. Like most Filipinos, the President feels the Speaker should be the last person to talk about morality. It simply didn’t wash. The Speaker is the first promoter of bad governance in guaranteeing for his 240 colleagues P70 million each a year, or P16.8 billion total, in no-audit shares. (An equal partner is the Senate President in ensuring a heftier P200 million for each of 24 senators, or another P4.8 billion.) In a patch-up dinner hosted by a friend, Arroyo showed what she thought of de Venecia’s moral revival: she screamed at him. Malacañang then fired off a statement that it should be the Speaker, because of his rank in government and in the ruling Lakas party, who should follow the President’s program of administration. And she exhibited no intent to heed his call to restore public trust in political leaders. Of the attempted P2-million bribery of opposition congressmen, the consummated P500,000 bribery of 189 administration counterparts, and the P500,000 bribery again of 60 provincial governors, Arroyo simply did nothing.

Sinning no more is so hard to do on one’s own. Left with his moral revolution by his lonesome, de Venecia began to waffle. At first, he said he would get congressmen to agree to line item disclosure of their pork barrel projects. Meaning, they would specify from the start — while the annual national budget is still being debated in Congress — where and how they’d spend their P70 million. But practically told by Arroyo to reform by himself, de Venecia is now saying it is too late this year for line itemizing. The House of Reps already has passed the 2008 expenditure bill and passed it on to the Senate for concurrence. Maybe next year transparency can come — if somebody remembers at all.

And so it’s back to square one of the despicable old pork setup. With no one leading a cleanup, congressmen will still get the money in secret tranches. They will use part of it for soft projects: the purchase of medicines for the poor, encyclopedias for municipal libraries, or computers for public schools — all at 50-percent overprice from long-time suppliers in Congress. There will be hard projects — construction of roads, bridges or piers — again for 50-percent cuts, this time by diverting the cash to family foundations. (The senators will have their own rackets.)

De Venecia is not as helpless to clean out the pork barrel as he paints himself to be. He can still make the expenses transparent by changing the way the money is released and spent. To begin with, it should be made available to all legislators, whether with the administration or the opposition (and thus plotting Arroyo’s impeachment). Then, congressmen must be made to identify their projects in detail. And these should be done via the Electronic Procurement Law, so that specifications and quantities of goods or services easily can be checked against contracted prices. And there should be strict pre- and post-audit. That way, with a reformed pork barrel, congressmen would see no more need for it. Indeed, who would want to be saddled with stringently announced and audited expenses, when they can just pass back the work to the executive branch, so long as their names are attached to the projects.

If de Venecia starts changing by Monday, he may come out a martyr. Next week is when Arroyo’s loyalist-congressmen are set to depose him because of his son Joey’s exposés of high corruption. If he pushes his moral crusade in the House just as they start ganging up on him, history may turn out kinder to this trapo.

* * *

Avoidance is the ploy of Malacañang. In canceling the crooked ZTE deal, it aimed to get the Senate to stop investigating the bribers and bribees. In asking the Ombudsman to investigate the bribery of governors right at the Palace gardens, it intended to divert attention from its earlier bribery of opposition and administration congressmen.

Unfortunately for Arroyo tacticians, thinking Filipinos are not fooled. Nineteen business and civil society groups are demanding that President Arroyo herself face the issue of “endemic transactional politics.” Along with the Management Association of the Philippines, Financial Executives Institute, Makati Business Club, and Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference, the groups want Arroyo to form an independent commission to examine the fraud. In an ad in yesterday’s Star, they also urged the Anti-Money Laundering Council to move in on the bribe givers and takers.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Epekto ng pardon sa ating kamalayan

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, October 30, 2007

MALI ang political timing ng pag-pardon kay convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada, ani dating president Fidel Ramos. Babagyuhin daw si President Gloria Arroyo, dahil malamang na ibagsak siya ni Erap mula sa puwesto, tulad ng pagbagsak niya dito nu’ng 2001.

Mali ang legal timing ng pardon, wika naman ni Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio na umusig kay Erap mula pa 2001. Nu’ng September lang hinatulang guilty si Erap at sinentensiyahan ng habambuhay na bilanggo. Sana raw, ani Villa-Ignacio, hinayaan munang tumanim sa ka­ma­layan ng bansa ang leksiyon: Na maski matataas na pinuno ay makakasuhan at magdurusa kapag nag­kasala sa bayan. Kaso mo, hindi raw ito pumasok sa isipan ng madla, dahil sa apurahang pag-pardon ni Arroyo.

Huwag na nating arukin ang motibo ni Arroyo sa pag-pardon. Siya lang ang makakatiyak kung ginawa niya iyon para mabaling ang atensiyon ng madla mula sa mga akusasyon ng bribery at corruption ng kanyang adminis­trasyon. Isipin na lang natin kung ano nga ang epekto ng pardon sa ating kamalayan.

Merong isang babae, nagngangalang Dominga Manalili, dating mababang empleyado ng BIR, na pinaka-unang nahatulan ng plunder. Hanggang ngayon, naka­kulong pa rin siya. Marami pang ibang convict na edad-70 tulad ni Erap, na hindi napapagkalooban ng parole o pardon, dahil walang lumalakad ng papeles. At mas marami pang ibang bilanggo na mas mababa ang krimen pero mas matagal nang nakakulong sa selda, ’di tulad ni Erap na “nakapiit” sa malawak na rest house sa bundok. Sa paghahambing natin, malilinang na hindi maka­tarungan ang pag-pardon. Maaring karmahin si Arroyo ng katulad na pagbagsak ni Erap, batay sa analysis ni Ramos. Pero tama si Villa-Ignacio sa pag­sabing masyadong maaga ang pag-pardon kaya mali ang leksiyon sa bansa. Tinuturo sa atin na kapag mayaman at mataas ang puwesto ay makakalusot sa parusa.

Pati mga negosyante ay galit sa pardon. Uunlad lang kasi ang negosyo nila sa ilalim ng Hustisya, hindi sa rehimen ng palakasan.

Epekto ng pardon sa ating kamalayan

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, October 30, 2007

MALI ang political timing ng pag-pardon kay convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada, ani dating president Fidel Ramos. Babagyuhin daw si President Gloria Arroyo, dahil malamang na ibagsak siya ni Erap mula sa puwesto, tulad ng pagbagsak niya dito nu’ng 2001.

Mali ang legal timing ng pardon, wika naman ni Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio na umusig kay Erap mula pa 2001. Nu’ng September lang hinatulang guilty si Erap at sinentensiyahan ng habambuhay na bilanggo. Sana raw, ani Villa-Ignacio, hinayaan munang tumanim sa ka­ma­layan ng bansa ang leksiyon: Na maski matataas na pinuno ay makakasuhan at magdurusa kapag nag­kasala sa bayan. Kaso mo, hindi raw ito pumasok sa isipan ng madla, dahil sa apurahang pag-pardon ni Arroyo.

Huwag na nating arukin ang motibo ni Arroyo sa pag-pardon. Siya lang ang makakatiyak kung ginawa niya iyon para mabaling ang atensiyon ng madla mula sa mga akusasyon ng bribery at corruption ng kanyang adminis­trasyon. Isipin na lang natin kung ano nga ang epekto ng pardon sa ating kamalayan.

Merong isang babae, nagngangalang Dominga Manalili, dating mababang empleyado ng BIR, na pinaka-unang nahatulan ng plunder. Hanggang ngayon, naka­kulong pa rin siya. Marami pang ibang convict na edad-70 tulad ni Erap, na hindi napapagkalooban ng parole o pardon, dahil walang lumalakad ng papeles. At mas marami pang ibang bilanggo na mas mababa ang krimen pero mas matagal nang nakakulong sa selda, ’di tulad ni Erap na “nakapiit” sa malawak na rest house sa bundok. Sa paghahambing natin, malilinang na hindi maka­tarungan ang pag-pardon. Maaring karmahin si Arroyo ng katulad na pagbagsak ni Erap, batay sa analysis ni Ramos. Pero tama si Villa-Ignacio sa pag­sabing masyadong maaga ang pag-pardon kaya mali ang leksiyon sa bansa. Tinuturo sa atin na kapag mayaman at mataas ang puwesto ay makakalusot sa parusa.

Pati mga negosyante ay galit sa pardon. Uunlad lang kasi ang negosyo nila sa ilalim ng Hustisya, hindi sa rehimen ng palakasan.

Rich social lessons from Estrada pardon

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc. The Philippine Star, Monday, October 29, 2007

“I’m not against pardon per se, I’m against the undue haste to grant it.” Thus Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio explains his objection to President Gloria Arroyo’s executive clemency for predecessor Joseph Estrada. He rues that it came only one month after Estrada’s life sentencing for plunder: “we should have let the lesson of that court ruling sink into the public psyche first”. Also, that the commutation was done in such a hurry that it took only two hours from Arroyo’s signing to Estrada’s release from “rest house arrest”. “They broke procedure,” cries Villa-Ignacio, who had led the six-year trial of the first president to be charged with the heinous crime. “Their own rule is for the Board of Paroles and Pardons to deliberate first if clemency is appropriate and so to be recommended to the President. The Board has to determine if the convict is remorseful and, as proof, has recompensed society for his misdeed.”

Estrada, according to Villa-Ignacio, has yet to return close to a billion pesos that the Sandiganbayan had ruled was his illegal take from gambling. In the government’s rush to pardon a still popular politico, he adds, it broke the constitutional rule that such actions do not cover impeachment cases. The guilty verdict may have stemmed from criminal charges filed by the Ombudsman in Apr. 2001, but the charges had come from his impeachment in Nov. 2000, just that a people power revolt cut the trial short. And so Villa-Ignacio is asking the Supreme Court to nullify Arroyo’s swift gift to Estrada.

“But that’s that,” counters Rene Saguisag, former senator and one of Estrada’s lawyers. Pardon is the President’s exclusive power as stated in the Constitution. Whether she grants it fast or not is her prerogative alone. No one may question her for it, Saguisag says in belittling Villa-Ignacio’s plea to the Supreme Court.

About indemnity, Estradas counsels say the government is entitled to the P2,000 or so that’s left in Estrada’s alias Jose Velarde bank account. In their interpretation, Estrada must recompense society only with what the government could get its hands on upon commencement of trial.

As lawyers, Saguisag says, they would have wanted to fight out also in the Supreme Court Estrada’s earlier motion to reverse his sentencing. “But we were not the ones in prison,” he quickly adds, “We were not the ones left contemplating our future from the lonely confines of our cell.” And so they worked on the client’s desire for early freedom. Estrada had claimed earlier that, in accepting Arroyo’s pardon, he was deferring to his lawyers’ wisdom. But it does not matter anymore whose idea it was to beg for mercy, so long as he got out.

It is pointless to root out Arroyo’s motive in granting swift pardon. If it was to deflect political flak from new findings of corruption and bribery by her administration, only she would know. What her spokesman said is that it’s consistent with her compassionate policy of commuting sentences of convicts who have reached age 70. And he too says the grant of pardon can no longer be questioned or revoked.

What is left now is for society to reflect on the alternate lessons of the pardon. One is that the Philippines at one point of its history had mustered the courage to indict a former President. It was but right because that man had enriched himself not only through jueteng payolas but also from illegal commissions from stock deals using public SSS and GSIS money.

But an accompanying second lesson is that the Philippine justice system was not strong enough to insist that the indictee, for the duration of his trial, be committed to a real jail instead of a hospital suite or his hillside rest house. By contrast, far progressive Korea convicted two ex-presidents who were manacled and clad in prisoner attire.

And of course a third final lesson is one that Filipinos already know: the rich and powerful can commit crime yet extract absolute pardon, while the poor must languish in jail. Dominga Manalili, a low ranking BIR clerk, was the first ever to be convicted of plunder; she is still in jail facing a life term, but who remembers her?

With such lessons, the Philippines will continue to trail behind its neighbors. Business will continue to be sluggish, stunted by an atmosphere of injustice and political inequity. More Filipinos will seek work abroad where real jobs are, and their remittances will continue to be used as proof of economic progress. Corruption will go on in high places, and down the bureaucracy as a matter of example. Filipinos will continue to sell their votes to the highest bidders who will oppress them till the next elections. The country will continue to be hopeless as ever.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Hati ang bayan sa Erap pardon

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, October 29, 2007

INAMIN ni Presidente Arroyo mismo na aani ng batikos ang pag-pardon niya kay convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada. Hati ang reaksiyon ng bayan sa desisyon. Merong galit, merong masaya. Pati mga obispong Katoliko ay hati. Anang ilan paano naman ang iba pang convicts kung si Erap lang ang papaboran dahil dating Presidente. Sabi naman ni Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, na pinaka-matandang obispo, mauuwi sa pagkakaisa ang pagpapatawad.

Una sa mga kontra-pardon si Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio, na namuno sa pag-usig kay Erap sa Sandiganbayan mula pa 2001. Nagsampa siya ng motion sa Korte Suprema para ipabawi ang presidential pardon. Aniya, nilabag ni Arroyo ang Constitution at procedures. Ayon daw sa Saligang Batas, maaring magpatawad ng convict ang Presidente — maliban lang sa impeachment. E malinaw naman daw, ani Villa-Ignacio, na na-impeach si Erap nu’ng Nov. 2000, ‘yun nga lang hindi natapos ang paglilitis sa Senado dahil nag-People Power-2. Dagdag pa niya, kinaligtaan ang mga bagong alituntunin ng Board of Paroles and Pardons. Dapat daw, nagkaroon muna ng masusing pag-aaral kung nararapat nga ang pardon. Dapat din ay nagpakita ang convict ng pagsisisi bago ma-pardon. Isang pruweba nito ang pagbayad ng anomang iniutos ng korte na indemnity. Sa kaso ni Erap, na na-convict nu’ng September lang, inutos ng korte na isoli ang P1 bilyong tinangay mula sa jueteng.

Tatawa-tawa lang si Rene Saguisag, ex-senator na abogado ni Erap. Nakalaya na kasi ang kliyente niya, kaya tapos na ang usapan. Mahirap nang bawiin ang presidential pardon. Malabo nang usisain kung binali ang procedures. Kumbaga, naghahabol na lang si Villa-Ignacio sa tambol-mayor. Tungkol sa impeachment, ani Saguisag, hindi nga natapos ang trial pero nagkaroon ng panibagong kaso sa Sandiganbayan. Tungkol sa P1 bilyon, makon­tento na lang daw ang korte sa P2,000 natitira sa banko.

Ani Villa-Ignacio, hindi siya kontra sa pardon mismo. Sana lang daw, pinatagal lang nang konti ni Arroyo ang pag-pardon, nang sa gan’un ay tumanim muna sa isipan ng madla na ang nagkasala ay makukulong.

Rich social lessons from Estrada pardon

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, October 29, 2007

“I’m not against pardon per se, I’m against the undue haste to grant it.” Thus Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio explains his objection to President Gloria Arroyo’s executive clemency for predecessor Joseph Estrada. He rues that it came only one month after Estrada’s life sentencing for plunder: “we should have let the lesson of that court ruling sink into the public psyche first”. Also, that the commutation was done in such a hurry that it took only two hours from Arroyo’s signing to Estrada’s release from “rest house arrest”. “They broke procedure,” cries Villa-Ignacio, who had led the six-year trial of the first president to be charged with the heinous crime. “Their own rule is for the Board of Paroles and Pardons to deliberate first if clemency is appropriate and so to be recommended to the President. The Board has to determine if the convict is remorseful and, as proof, has recompensed society for his misdeed.”

Estrada, according to Villa-Ignacio, has yet to return close to a billion pesos that the Sandiganbayan had ruled was his illegal take from gambling. In the government’s rush to pardon a still popular politico, he adds, it broke the constitutional rule that such actions do not cover impeachment cases. The guilty verdict may have stemmed from criminal charges filed by the Ombudsman in Apr. 2001, but the charges had come from his impeachment in Nov. 2000, just that a people power revolt cut the trial short. And so Villa-Ignacio is asking the Supreme Court to nullify Arroyo’s swift gift to Estrada.

“But that’s that,” counters Rene Saguisag, former senator and one of Estrada’s lawyers. Pardon is the President’s exclusive power as stated in the Constitution. Whether she grants it fast or not is her prerogative alone. No one may question her for it, Saguisag says in belittling Villa-Ignacio’s plea to the Supreme Court.

About indemnity, Estradas counsels say the government is entitled to the P2,000 or so that’s left in Estrada’s alias Jose Velarde bank account. In their interpretation, Estrada must recompense society only with what the government could get its hands on upon commencement of trial.

As lawyers, Saguisag says, they would have wanted to fight out also in the Supreme Court Estrada’s earlier motion to reverse his sentencing. “But we were not the ones in prison,” he quickly adds, “We were not the ones left contemplating our future from the lonely confines of our cell.” And so they worked on the client’s desire for early freedom. Estrada had claimed earlier that, in accepting Arroyo’s pardon, he was deferring to his lawyers’ wisdom. But it does not matter anymore whose idea it was to beg for mercy, so long as he got out.

It is pointless to root out Arroyo’s motive in granting swift pardon. If it was to deflect political flak from new findings of corruption and bribery by her administration, only she would know. What her spokesman said is that it’s consistent with her compassionate policy of commuting sentences of convicts who have reached age 70. And he too says the grant of pardon can no longer be questioned or revoked.

What is left now is for society to reflect on the alternate lessons of the pardon. One is that the Philippines at one point of its history had mustered the courage to indict a former President. It was but right because that man had enriched himself not only through jueteng payolas but also from illegal commissions from stock deals using public SSS and GSIS money.

But an accompanying second lesson is that the Philippine justice system was not strong enough to insist that the indictee, for the duration of his trial, be committed to a real jail instead of a hospital suite or his hillside rest house. By contrast, far progressive Korea convicted two ex-presidents who were manacled and clad in prisoner attire.

And of course a third final lesson is one that Filipinos already know: the rich and powerful can commit crime yet extract absolute pardon, while the poor must languish in jail. Dominga Manalili, a low ranking BIR clerk, was the first ever to be convicted of plunder; she is still in jail facing a life term, but who remembers her?

With such lessons, the Philippines will continue to trail behind its neighbors. Business will continue to be sluggish, stunted by an atmosphere of injustice and political inequity. More Filipinos will seek work abroad where real jobs are, and their remittances will continue to be used as proof of economic progress. Corruption will go on in high places, and down the bureaucracy as a matter of example. Filipinos will continue to sell their votes to the highest bidders who will oppress them till the next elections. The country will continue to be hopeless as ever.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Hati ang bayan sa Erap pardon

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, October 29, 2007

INAMIN ni Presidente Arroyo mismo na aani ng batikos ang pag-pardon niya kay convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada. Hati ang reaksiyon ng bayan sa desisyon. Merong galit, merong masaya. Pati mga obispong Katoliko ay hati. Anang ilan paano naman ang iba pang convicts kung si Erap lang ang papaboran dahil dating Presidente. Sabi naman ni Cardinal Ricardo Vidal, na pinaka-matandang obispo, mauuwi sa pagkakaisa ang pagpapatawad.

Una sa mga kontra-pardon si Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio, na namuno sa pag-usig kay Erap sa Sandiganbayan mula pa 2001. Nagsampa siya ng motion sa Korte Suprema para ipabawi ang presidential pardon. Aniya, nilabag ni Arroyo ang Constitution at procedures. Ayon daw sa Saligang Batas, maaring magpatawad ng convict ang Presidente — maliban lang sa impeachment. E malinaw naman daw, ani Villa-Ignacio, na na-impeach si Erap nu’ng Nov. 2000, ‘yun nga lang hindi natapos ang paglilitis sa Senado dahil nag-People Power-2. Dagdag pa niya, kinaligtaan ang mga bagong alituntunin ng Board of Paroles and Pardons. Dapat daw, nagkaroon muna ng masusing pag-aaral kung nararapat nga ang pardon. Dapat din ay nagpakita ang convict ng pagsisisi bago ma-pardon. Isang pruweba nito ang pagbayad ng anomang iniutos ng korte na indemnity. Sa kaso ni Erap, na na-convict nu’ng September lang, inutos ng korte na isoli ang P1 bilyong tinangay mula sa jueteng.

Tatawa-tawa lang si Rene Saguisag, ex-senator na abogado ni Erap. Nakalaya na kasi ang kliyente niya, kaya tapos na ang usapan. Mahirap nang bawiin ang presidential pardon. Malabo nang usisain kung binali ang procedures. Kumbaga, naghahabol na lang si Villa-Ignacio sa tambol-mayor. Tungkol sa impeachment, ani Saguisag, hindi nga natapos ang trial pero nagkaroon ng panibagong kaso sa Sandiganbayan. Tungkol sa P1 bilyon, makon­tento na lang daw ang korte sa P2,000 natitira sa banko.

Ani Villa-Ignacio, hindi siya kontra sa pardon mismo. Sana lang daw, pinatagal lang nang konti ni Arroyo ang pag-pardon, nang sa gan’un ay tumanim muna sa isipan ng madla na ang nagkasala ay makukulong.

When agencies break rules, public suffers

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Friday, October 26, 2007

Government sets rules to protect public interest. If an agency breaks them, it can only be for suspicious motives. That’s what’s happening to the plan for a government broadband network, and in the soap industry.

The broadband complex would hew together government’s landline, cellular and Internet infrastructure. Administrations had long dreamed of it, and launched three smaller but failed types: Telecom Office, Municipal Telephone Public-Calling Office, Telepono sa Barangay. Enter Amsterdam Holdings Inc., proposing to take over the work from the Dept. of Transport and Communications, and erect a bigger one. AHI’s "Orion Project" directly would interconnect all provincial capitols, city halls, and first- and second-class municipios. Geared to support health and education, it would cover all state colleges, half of public high schools and hospitals, and most private hospitals. Wireless service also would be given to 1,203 national agencies and state firms, 2,000 post offices, 350 state colleges, 2,643 high schools, 200 hospitals, 117 city halls, 41 provincial capitols, 465 municipios, and 5,000 barangay halls.

All this AHI promised to build in four years for $240 million under a build-own-operate scheme. It would set up the network on its own, turn it over to DOTC, then run it for a fixed period of cost recovery.

In the unsolicited proposal of Dec. 5, AHI pledged to bill government a percentage below the lowest rate of local telecoms firms: 50¢-70¢ per call. This would cut by a fourth the P3.5 billion that government spends on calls. All AHI needs is an assurance of executive performance, as stated in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, that government would use half of Orion’s capacity. The other half would be sold to private users, to subsidize the discounted government rate.

Under the law, DOTC must start studying the unsolicited proposal within 60 days. Then, it must submit the papers to the National Economic and Development Authority, for a Swiss challenge that allows the original proponent to match the lowest bid. Seventy-five days from receiving AHI’s papers, DOTC has not moved. Worse, it accepted another unsolicited bid, prohibited under the BOT Law, from a Chinese firm.

More violations emerge. The new proposal, from ZTE Group, offers a government-to-government loan, which in turn would require a sovereign guarantee of repayment. The BOT Law forbids so in unsolicited proposals. The ZTE plan is only to erect the broadband facility then let DOTC run it. This runs counter to government policy of privatizing its telecom assets. ZTE’s price is even higher, $262 million, and would take longer to finish. Yet DOTC is rushing to endorse it to NEDA. DOTC bigwigs even set up a presentation to President Arroyo by ZTE managers — in obvious favoritism.

Last Mar. 18 AHI complained to DOTC Sec. Leandro Mendoza about the bias. If the latter does not respond by next week, he would be in breach of yet another law that requires officials to act on mail in 15 days.

The graver law against corruption is being broken. Talk in telecoms circles has it that a Comelec man and a cohort in the failed poll automation are interfering in the bidding.

Malacañang iniipit ang pondong legal

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, October 26, 2007

HINDI raw suhol kuno ang tig-P500,000 ipinamigay ng Malacañang sa 200 kongresista at 100 local officials –- P150 milyong total -– nitong nakaraang linggo. Kesyo allowances raw ‘yon.

Sino’ng niloloko ng Malacañang officials, congressmen at governors na nagsasabi nu’n. Anong “allowances” ang ipinagsasabi ninyo? Per diem, pambiyahe, pangtustos sa opisina? ‘Yan lang naman ang allowances na itinalaga ng batas. At ang nagbibigay niyan ay Congress finance office, sa mga kongresista, at ang kani-kanilang provincial capitol o city hall, sa mga gobernador at mayor. Walang pakialam ang Malacañang sa pamamahagi niyan – maliban lang sa pag-release ng pondo sa Kongreso mula sa Department of Budget and Management, at sa local governments sa pamamagitan ng Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Kung Malacañang mismo ang namamahagi ng mga pondong ‘yan, ibig sabihin ay iniipit nito ang pera. Nire-release lang kung may kailangan ang Malacañang, lalo na ang Presidente, mula sa Kongreso o local governments. At kung iniipit nga ng Malacañang ang pondo, ‘yun ay paglabag sa batas. Nasa batas — ang taunang General Appropriations Act — na dapat otomatikong nire-release ng Ehekutibo ang pondo ng Kongreso at IRA ng local governments. Ang pagbali nu’n ay technical malversation.

Katulad na isyu rin ang pag-alok ng tig-P2 milyon cash at mabilisang release ng tig-P10 milyon pork barrel sa congressmen na pinapipirma sa huwad na impeachment complaint laban kay Gloria Arroyo. Hindi maaring ipitin ng Presidente ang paglabas ng pork barrel. Kung naiipit man ang pamamahagi, ito’y kasalanan ng mga mambabatas dahil pumapayag silang imaltrato ng Malacañang.

Pakonti nang pakonti ang bilang ng Opposition congressmen. Natatalo sila sa halalan dahil walang proyekto – dahil nga walang natanggap na pork barrel. Kung tutuusin, isa na namang rason ito para i-impeach ang Presidente. Nilalabag niya ang batas na iniatas ng Kongreso, kasama ang mga taga-Opposition, sa Presidente para ipatupad.

When agencies break rules, public suffers

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc Friday, The Philippines Star
October 26, 2007, Friday (First printed on March 30, 2007)

Government sets rules to protect public interest. If an agency breaks them, it can only be for suspicious motives. That’s what’s happening to the plan for a government broadband network, and in the soap industry.

The broadband complex would hew together government’s landline, cellular and Internet infrastructure. Administrations had long dreamed of it, and launched three smaller but failed types: Telecom Office, Municipal Telephone Public-Calling Office, Telepono sa Barangay. Enter Amsterdam Holdings Inc., proposing to take over the work from the Dept. of Transport and Communications, and erect a bigger one. AHI’s "Orion Project" directly would interconnect all provincial capitols, city halls, and first- and second-class municipios. Geared to support health and education, it would cover all state colleges, half of public high schools and hospitals, and most private hospitals. Wireless service also would be given to 1,203 national agencies and state firms, 2,000 post offices, 350 state colleges, 2,643 high schools, 200 hospitals, 117 city halls, 41 provincial capitols, 465 municipios, and 5,000 barangay halls.

All this AHI promised to build in four years for $240 million under a build-own-operate scheme. It would set up the network on its own, turn it over to DOTC, then run it for a fixed period of cost recovery.

In the unsolicited proposal of Dec. 5, AHI pledged to bill government a percentage below the lowest rate of local telecoms firms: 50¢-70¢ per call. This would cut by a fourth the P3.5 billion that government spends on calls. All AHI needs is an assurance of executive performance, as stated in the Build-Operate-Transfer Law, that government would use half of Orion’s capacity. The other half would be sold to private users, to subsidize the discounted government rate.

Under the law, DOTC must start studying the unsolicited proposal within 60 days. Then, it must submit the papers to the National Economic and Development Authority, for a Swiss challenge that allows the original proponent to match the lowest bid. Seventy-five days from receiving AHI’s papers, DOTC has not moved. Worse, it accepted another unsolicited bid, prohibited under the BOT Law, from a Chinese firm.

More violations emerge. The new proposal, from ZTE Group, offers a government-to-government loan, which in turn would require a sovereign guarantee of repayment. The BOT Law forbids so in unsolicited proposals. The ZTE plan is only to erect the broadband facility then let DOTC run it. This runs counter to government policy of privatizing its telecom assets. ZTE’s price is even higher, $262 million, and would take longer to finish. Yet DOTC is rushing to endorse it to NEDA. DOTC bigwigs even set up a presentation to President Arroyo by ZTE managers — in obvious favoritism.

Last Mar. 18 AHI complained to DOTC Sec. Leandro Mendoza about the bias. If the latter does not respond by next week, he would be in breach of yet another law that requires officials to act on mail in 15 days.

The graver law against corruption is being broken. Talk in telecoms circles has it that a Comelec man and a cohort in the failed poll automation are interfering in the bidding.

Malacañang iniipit ang pondong legal

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, October 26, 2007

HINDI raw suhol kuno ang tig-P500,000 ipinamigay ng Malacañang sa 200 kongresista at 100 local officials –- P150 milyong total -– nitong nakaraang linggo. Kesyo allowances raw ‘yon.

Sino’ng niloloko ng Malacañang officials, congressmen at governors na nagsasabi nu’n. Anong “allowances” ang ipinagsasabi ninyo? Per diem, pambiyahe, pangtustos sa opisina? ‘Yan lang naman ang allowances na itinalaga ng batas. At ang nagbibigay niyan ay Congress finance office, sa mga kongresista, at ang kani-kanilang provincial capitol o city hall, sa mga gobernador at mayor. Walang pakialam ang Malacañang sa pamamahagi niyan – maliban lang sa pag-release ng pondo sa Kongreso mula sa Department of Budget and Management, at sa local governments sa pamamagitan ng Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA).

Kung Malacañang mismo ang namamahagi ng mga pondong ‘yan, ibig sabihin ay iniipit nito ang pera. Nire-release lang kung may kailangan ang Malacañang, lalo na ang Presidente, mula sa Kongreso o local governments. At kung iniipit nga ng Malacañang ang pondo, ‘yun ay paglabag sa batas. Nasa batas — ang taunang General Appropriations Act — na dapat otomatikong nire-release ng Ehekutibo ang pondo ng Kongreso at IRA ng local governments. Ang pagbali nu’n ay technical malversation.

Katulad na isyu rin ang pag-alok ng tig-P2 milyon cash at mabilisang release ng tig-P10 milyon pork barrel sa congressmen na pinapipirma sa huwad na impeachment complaint laban kay Gloria Arroyo. Hindi maaring ipitin ng Presidente ang paglabas ng pork barrel. Kung naiipit man ang pamamahagi, ito’y kasalanan ng mga mambabatas dahil pumapayag silang imaltrato ng Malacañang.

Pakonti nang pakonti ang bilang ng Opposition congressmen. Natatalo sila sa halalan dahil walang proyekto – dahil nga walang natanggap na pork barrel. Kung tutuusin, isa na namang rason ito para i-impeach ang Presidente. Nilalabag niya ang batas na iniatas ng Kongreso, kasama ang mga taga-Opposition, sa Presidente para ipatupad.

Suhol — lengguwahe ng administrasyon

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, October 23, 2007

SUNUD-SUNOD na panunuhol — ‘yan ang nabistong gawain ng administrasyong Arroyo nitong nakaraang ilang linggo.

Ang pinaka-huli ay ang inamin ni Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio. Namigay pala ang Malacañang ng tig-P500,000 sa mga isang daang gobernador at opisyales ng League of Governors of the Philippines at Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines. Tumataginting na P50 milyon ang ipinamahagi ng Malacañang. ‘Yan ay matapos silang magkaisa na huwag makialam sa impeachment complaint laban kay Gloria Arroyo sa Kongreso. Ikinagalak tiyak ng Presidente ang desisyon, siyempre.

Ilang araw lang na nauna, namigay din ng P500,000 ang Malacañang sa 200 kongresista. Namumutiktik na P100 milyon ang isinuhol para ipitin si Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. na, sa pamamagitan ng proxy, ipakatay na sa justice committee ang impeachment case.

At ilang araw lang muli, inalok nang tig-P2 milyon ang anim na opposition congressmen para i-endorse ang impeachment case na pakana pala ng mga kapartido rin ni Arroyo. Panglansi lang pala ang kaso, nakaplano nang ibasura, para wala nang impeachment case na isampa laban kay Arroyo sa loob ng isang taon, alinsunod sa Konstitusyon.

Saan nanggaling ang perang pansuhol kundi sa ibinayad nating buwis?

Ang impeachment case ay nagbuhat sa dalawang insidente rin ng panunuhol. Umano, tinangka ni Benjamin Abalos paatrasin si Joey de Venecia III mula sa broadband project sa halagang $10 milyon. Umano rin, tinangka niya pasuportahin si Sec. Romy Neri sa maanomalyang kontrata sa halagang P200 milyon. Kung natuloy ang P16 bilyong telecoms deal sa ZTE Corp., taumbayan ang magtutustos ng P10 bilyong overprice, kasama sana ang mga inialok kina Joey at Neri. Wala raw ginawa si Arroyo laban sa kapartidong Abalos, kaya kinasuhan ng betrayal of public trust.

Kapansin-pansin na ang trend. Panunuhol na ang lengguwahe ng administrasyong Arroyo. At tatlong taon pa itong magpapatuloy.

Governor Ed, suhol po ‘yon

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, October 22, 2007

PARING Katoliko si Gov. Ed Panlilio ng Pampanga. Kura paroko siya sa bayan ng Betis bago mahalal bilang pinuno ng isa sa pinaka-maunlad na lalawigan sa bansa. Sanay siya sa buhay ng kleriko. At kasama na roon ang pag­tanggap ng pera mula sa kung sinu-sino, para sa kanyang mga gawaing pang-relihiyon.

Nang abutan si Governor Ed sa Malacañang ng P500,000, tinanggap niya ito bilang karaniwang kontribus­ yon. Ni hindi niya raw matandaan kung sino ang nagbigay sa kanya ng gift bag na pinaglagyan ng mga bagong tig-P1,000 papel. Basta naisip na lang daw niya na aminin ang pagtanggap ng maraming pera mula sa galanteng tao.

Apat na buwan nang nasa puwesto si Governor Ed. Sapat na panahon na dapat iyon para mabatid niya ang malaking kaibahan ng perang Simbahan at perang Estado. Inabutan siya ng pera sa hardin ng Malacañang hindi bilang pari kundi bilang local official. Ang okasyon sa Malacañang ay pulong ng Governors League of the Philippines at Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines. Ang mga kasama niya doon ay mga kapwa-gobernador, pati mga mayor at iba pa.

At, taliwas man sa pananaw ni Governor Ed, suhol ang ibinigay sa kanya —– hindi abuloy. Siya na mismo ang nagsabi. Hindi naman mga gawaing simbahan ang pinag-usapan nila sa Malacañang, kundi pulitika. Nagkaisa raw sila na huwag makialam sa impeachment case laban kay Presidente Gloria Arroyo. Kung susuriing mabuti ni Governor Ed ang kasunduan, makikita niyang pabor ito kay Arroyo, dahil hindi lalaki ang isyung impeachment kung saan nagkasuhulan din para sa endorsement ng mga kongresista. ‘Yan ang dahilan ng pamamahagi ng Malacañang ng tig-P500,000 kada gobernador. (Hindi lang si Governor Ed ang naabutan.)

Dapat kasuhan ni Governor Ed ang nanuhol. Tung­kulin niya ito bilang opisyal. Hinalal si Governor Ed dahil sawa na ang mga Pampanggo sa bulok na pulitikang pinairal ng sapin-sapin na pinuno. Sana huwag niya basagin ang tiwalang ipinataw sa kanyang balikat.

Suhulan sa SK solusyonan na

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, October 19, 2007

SUHULAN ang paksa ko nu’ng Lunes at Martes. Suhulan pa rin ang pupuntusan ko ngayon.

Sa pagsimula ng kampanya para sa Sangguniang Kabataan election, muling tinutuligsa ang mga konseho sa barangay ng mga botanteng edad 15 hanggang 17. Kesyo raw masamang ideya ang SK, dahil masyadong maaga tinuturuan ang teenagers ng katiwalian.

Totoong binabayo ng katiwalian ang 41,995 SK sa bansa. Sa bawat isa, may “kontratista” na hinirang ng bara­ngay chairman o treasurer na siyang kumokontrol sa lahat ng pondong panggastos ng SK sa supplies o serbisyo. Siya ang “nagdidikta” kung ano ang mga dapat na proyekto ng SK — kasi kinukumisyonan niya ang mga ito, at pinapartehan siyempre ang patron na chairman o treasurer. Ang mga kauupo pa lang na idealist SK officers ay “pina­ payuhan” na tanggapin na lang ang kontratista dahil kesyo siya ang nakaaalam ng pasikut-sikot sa paggamit ng pondo, dahil naroon na siya bago pa man sila mahalal, at dahil siya naman ang “tutustos” sa kanilang mga pangangailangan.

Sa madaling salita, ang kontratista sa bawat SK ang nagwawasak sa moralidad ng kabataan — hindi ang konsepto ng SK. Kaya siya dapat ang puntiryahin. Mali ang solusyong alisin na lang ang SK; ang pahiwatig nito ay saka na lang turuan ang kabataan ng katiwalian, kung malaki na sila.

Ang tamang direksiyon ay ihabla ang mga kontratista na panunuhol o, kung hindi natuloy, “corrupting a public official.” Kulong dapat sila nang 20 taon.

Nitong ilang taon, lumala ang katiwalian sa mga SK dahil sa pagpapabaya sa pagtaguyod ng batas. Ang mga SK ay sinu-supervise ng Office of the President. Ginagaya ng mga SK ang asal na Punong Ehekutibo na kalimutan ang batas.

Sa kasong ZTE, inamin ni Romy Neri kay Presidente Arroyo ang umano’y tangkang panunuhol ni Benjamin Abalos nang P200 milyon. Walang ginawa si Arroyo; itinuloy pa ang ZTE deal. Pinamamarisan siya.

Governor Ed, believe it or not, it’s a bribe

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Wednesday, October 17, 2007

Governor Ed Panlilio of Pampanga is a priest. He was the parish pastor of Betis town just before he was elected head of one of the country’s richest provinces. He is used to the clerical life. And that includes receiving donations from varied sources for his many religious projects.

When a man in barong handed Governor Ed P500,000 cash at the Malacañang Palace grounds, he didn’t think twice about accepting. For him it was another regular contribution to the causes he represents. He cannot even remember now who had handed him the gift bag full of crisp new P1,000 bills. All he knew then was that it was a welcome addition to the funds he needs for anti-poverty plans. And so he would just report the amount to his parish council, er, provincial capitol, as usual.

Or so he thought.

Governor Ed has been in office for four months. That should be enough time for him to learn the big difference between Church money and State money. He was given a generous amount of cash at the Malacañang gardens not as a man of the robe but as government functionary. The reason he was in Malacañang was not to celebrate Holy Mass but to attend a rush meeting of the League of Provinces of the Philippines and the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines. He was there with fellow-governors, mayors and other local officials. In fact, the governor of adjacent Bulacan province too, along with many unidentified local officials, admitted to receiving similar P500,000 “gifts”.

And so, contrary to what Governor Ed prefers to believe, what was given him was a bribe. Nothing more, nothing less.

And what was the bribe for? Governor Ed himself gave the purpose. The local officials had not gathered at Malacañang for any religious activity. On the contrary, they were called there by President Gloria Arroyo to discuss politics. Specifically, Governor Ed vividly recalled, they had agreed to neither support nor oppose the impeachment case in Congress against Arroyo. If Governor Ed analyzes it deeply, that “neutrality” meant that they would leave Arroyo alone — which is best politically for her than anybody else. Was not the money distributed in Malacañang instead of released through proper channels like the budget department, and not in cash but in the form of notices?

Governor Ed would do well to contemplate the context in which the P500,000 was given to him. Was not the sham impeachment complaint accompanied by offers of P2 million each to six Opposition congressmen to serve as endorsers? Was it not followed by a stupendous P100-million bribe to 200 congressmen, at P500,000 each like the local officials’, to corner Speaker Jose de Venecia into referring by proxy the limp case to the justice committee — for certain burial? Did not the impeachment case arise from two other bribery incidents: $10 million to businessman Joey de Venecia and P200 million to Sec. Romy Neri, both from a partymate-official whom Arroyo did not bother to prosecute?

And where does Governor Ed think the money came from? It certainly did not generously flow from personal pockets of Malacañang occupants. Otherwise, they would have innocently but openly handed the money themselves, no strings attached. Yet, there was no covering voucher nor receipt. This belies the explanation that the huge handouts were “allowances”, and confirms that it did not come from the usual releases of the budget department. Yet, the money source can only be the public coffers, most likely from one of those discretionary intelligence funds. And there will be more of it for Governor Ed and his colleagues for the next three years of their terms. At what expense will such P500,000 “gifts” be given away again and again, considering the worsening poverty and moral degeneration of Filipinos?

Governor Ed must sue the P500,000 briber. That is his responsibility as government official.

Pampangos elected Governor Ed out of spite for a long line of greedy thieving officials. Inspiring voters from other officials that bad officials can be repudiated after all, they had pinned on a priest their dream for good government. Hopefully Governor Ed would not fall for temptations — and attendant excuses — of wrong leadership. After all, he is known to humbly yet avidly learn about reforms.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Nag-alok ng suhol dapat lang ihabla

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, October 16, 2007

HUWAG sanang gayahin ng Opposition congressmen ang asal ng ehekutibo. Nang isumbong ni Romy Neri kay Gloria Arroyo ang tangkang panunuhol umano ni Benjamin Abalos ng P200 milyon para ilusot ang broadband deal, walang ginawa ang Punong Ehekutibo. Sumumpa ito sa pagka-Presidente na ipapatupad ang mga batas. Pero walang sinumang hinabla ng “corrupting a public official.” Hindi tinupad ang tungkulin.

Sa Kamara tinangka umano ni Malacañang operator Francis Ver na suhulan ng P2 milyon si Rep. Crispin Beltran. Ani Minority Leader Ronnie Zamora, isa lang si Ver sa tatlong opisyal ng Kampi Party ni Arroyo na nagtangkang magpapirma sa lima pang minority congressmen sa pekeng impeachment case laban sa Presidente. Peke ang kaso dahil katulad ito ng mga dating apurahang habla kay Arroyo na pampaudlot lang sa mga tunay na impeachment case na nililimita ng Constitution sa isa kada taon. Peke ito dahil ang naghabla, si Roel Pulido, ay itinataas si Joey de Venecia bilang testigo laban kay Arroyo pero idiniin naman sa kaso sa Ombuds­man. Peke ito dahil kaalyado ni Arroyo ang endorser na Rep. Edgar San Luis, na umaming hindi niya tiningnan ang laman ng kaso at tatanawin lang kung hanggang saan ito aabot. Peke ito, higit sa lahat, dahil kailangan pa nito ng suhol para umandar. Sa madaling salita, may motibo para manuhol ang mga alipores ni Arroyo.

Kapag naudlot ang panunuhol — dahil nabisto o kaya, tulad ng sa insidenteng ito, hindi tinanggap ang maruming alok — dapat pa ring kasuhan ang manunuhol. Ang nilabag nito ay “corrupting a public official” na sa Revised Penal Code ay maaring ikakulong ng 20 taon.

Tularan kaya ng mga taga-Oposisyon ang masamang ehemplo ng Ehekutibo ng pagpapabaya sa batas? O itaguyod kaya ni Beltran ang Penal Code sa pamamagitan ng paghabla sa nagtangkang bumili ng kanyang prinsipyo? Malalaman natin ‘yan sa mga darating na araw.

* * *

Lumiham sa jariusbondoc@workmail.com

GMA, ano ang ginawa sa panunuhol kay Neri?

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, October 15, 2007

TUMESTIGO si Romy Neri sa Senado. Ni-report daw niya kay President Arroyo ang tangkang panunuhol ng P200 milyon ni Benjamin Abalos para isulong niya ang broadband deal sa NEDA. Sinabihan daw siya ni Arroyo na huwag tanggapin. Tapos, wala nang kuwento si Neri. Kesyo “executive privilege” raw ang mga usapan ng Presidente sa alter ego sa Cabinet.

Kinumpirma ni Arroyo ang pag-report ni Neri ng pa­ nunuhol. Oo, aniya, inatasan niya itong tumanggi. Tapos, wala nang kuwento si Arroyo. Naglabas na lang ng atrasadong ulat ang Malacañang na kesyo tahimik daw nitong inimbestigahan ang panunuhol (pero sa totoo wala ni isa sa mga leading characters — Neri, Abalos, Larry Mendoza o Joey de Venecia III — ang inusisa).

Tumataginting ang tanong ng madla: Ano ang gina­wa ni Arroyo nang mabatid ang panunuhol? Pina­kilos ba niya ang mga kinauukulan? Di ba’t pangunahing tungkulin niya ito?

Ang sagot ay nasa oath of office ng Presidente, sa Constitution: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to every man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God.”

Kapag naudlot ang panunuhol — dahil, halimbawa, hindi tinanggap, sa kaso ni Neri — dapat kasuhan pa rin ang nag­tangka. Ang nilabag na batas ay “corrupting a public official,” na maaring ikakulong nang 20 taon.

Obvious na hindi hinabla ni Arroyo si Abalos. Nagpatu­loy ito bilang Comelec chairman. At pinamunuan nito ang congressional-local elections nu’ng Mayo kung saan naghasik ng lagim si Lintang Bedol sa Mindanao.

Hindi lang ‘yon. Itinuloy ni Arroyo ang broadband deal sa ZTE Corp. na minamanok ni Abalos. Nag-witness pa ito sa pirmahan sa China nu’ng Abril 2007. Pinalusot ni Neri sa NEDA ang proyekto. At dineklara pa ng Justice Secretary ni Arroyo na kesyo executive agreement daw ito kaya okey lang na walang public bidding.

Maraming ibinunga ang ZTE exposé

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, October 12, 2007

MARAMING ibinunga ang exposé ko sa ZTE scam. Bukod sa pagbunsod ng full-blown inquiry ng tatlong komite sa Senado, full live broadcast coverage pa, lumiko-liko ito sa mga ibang isyu. Naroong sabihin ni Sen. Miriam San­tiago na mga Tsino ang umimbento ng kultura at katiwalian — na nauwi sa pag-apologize niya sa Chinese embassy. Nagkaroon ng alitan ang iba pang senador ukol sa scheduling ng hearings. At nagbang­gaan sina Sen. Joker Arroyo at isang broadsheet dahil sa pagbalita sa mga naganap sa sekretong executive session.

Nariyan ding binabalak patalsikin si Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. bilang parusa sa pagsangkot ng kanyang anak na si Joey III kay First Gentleman Mike Arroyo sa ZTE scam. At nariyang kung anu-anong conspiracy theory ang lumalabas na kesyo sinusian lang daw ni JDV o ng isang mystery man ang anak at si Romy Neri para siraan sina Arroyo, Abalos at ZTE Corp.

Pati ako, dahil matiyagang nagbulgar ng anomalya mula Marso 2007 ay tinangkang isyuhin. Akala ko tapos na nang tanggalan ako ng TV show sa IBC-13 nu’ng Mayo dahil sa exposé at nang binalak ng gobyernong isangkot ako sa umano’y pagnakaw ng ZTE contract sa Boao dahil masyado raw akong maraming alam. Hindi pa pala tapos. Kinalat ng black propagandists na dahil De Venecia ang nanay ng misis ko, e pinaboran ko na agad ang isang panig. Hindi nila masabi ang katotohanan — na noong 1997 napahamak nang husto si Speaker De Venecia sa exposé ko ng PEA-Amari scam. Hindi rin nila masabi na ang tatay naman ni misis ay related din sa mga Abalos. (O, natameme sila!)

Pati ang paglahad ko sa Philippine STAR columns ng mga ikinuwento sa akin ni Neri pero hindi niya sinabi sa Senado, ginawang isyu sa media. May kolumnista pang nagbigay ng payo sa pamamahayag ko miski hindi ko naman ito hinihingi sa mga compromised na tao.

Pero ang pinaka-nagustuhan ko sa isyung ito ay ang pagta­lakay sa kahalagahan ng Katotohanan. Dito nanalig ang mga mabubuting Pilipino.

ZTE’s latest victim is Speaker no less

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Friday, October 12, 2007

Roel Pulido’s impeachment complaint against Gloria Arroyo is all of three pages short. Reading it gives the impression that it’s not the President but Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. whom he wants to unseat. The complaint in fact takes off from the ethics case Pulido had filed against de Venecia two weeks ago at the House of Reps, which he also used for a separate graft rap before the Ombudsman. So the complaint, denounced by the Opposition as phony, is in effect but a second rerun.

Pulido took off from the testimony of de Venecia’s son Joey III at the Senate about the ZTE scam. Joey had recounted Comelec chief Ben Abalos’s request through his dad for a meeting, to which de Venecia obliged by hosting breakfast. That, for Pulido, was an offense by Arroyo — really. Many other parts of the supposedly anti-Arroyo indictment were about de Venecia. By the Speaker’s reckoning, “60 percent of the complaint is about me.”

Pulido’s only two allegations against Arroyo, the Opposition pooh-poohed as weak. Weak, because there was no mention of many other items from the Senate hearings from which he picked up his “statement of facts.” That is why the Opposition, the group that truly wants to oust Arroyo, is cool to this impeachment rap.

The first of those two assertions was Joey’s account of a golf game in Shenzhen, China, during which Arroyo and Abalos discussed the ZTE deal. (Pulido again included de Venecia there as an active participant, although Joey’s recollection was very different, thus betraying the ulterior aim of the complaint.) The second was the testimony of Sec. Romy Neri reporting to Arroyo the Abalos bribe offer of P200 million, about which the President did nothing.

Strangely there was no reference to Arroyo’s turnaround from her original preference in Nov. 2006 for the broadband project to be undertaken by private groups at no cost, risk or loan to government. There was no mention of her leaving the bedside of a very sick husband to witness the contract signing in China in Apr. 2007. There was no citing of Joey’s most explosive revelation: the “back off” order from Arroyo’s husband Mike. There was no word of Arroyo’s refusal to attend the Senate hearings for health reasons, although he has just finished traveling to six European and Asian cities in two weeks. There was no reference to the contriving of a theft of the contracts in order to conceal the contents from the public. There was no inclusion of Malacañang’s later contriving of a “discreet probe of the bribery”, in which not one of the principal players were interrogated.

Those items, plus more had Pulido done some research or waited for another Senate hearing, could have bolstered his case. But strengthening a case, says Opposition leaders, is not his intention. Inoculation is, for by being the first to file an impeachment complaint against Arroyo, Pulido would also be able to pre-empt a genuine and superior one to be filed by the Opposition, if at all. Why, the sole congressman-endorser of his case is even an Arroyo ally. And Arroyo party operatives tried to bribe four Opposition congressmen in vain into signing. That is how bogus the rap is.

But the false intention apparently worked. As of yesterday afternoon, de Venecia was ready to inhibit from the case out of delicadeza, or else be accused of conflict of interest because of his inclusion in the bum rap. A deputy was set to refer the Pulido case to the committee on justice, to be trashed as planned. Thus, a real impeachment rap, endorsed by Opposition men and with no need for bribes, would no longer be accepted because of the Constitutional limit to only one complaint per year per impeachable officer.

Originally de Venecia had planned to swiftly investigate first the attempt to corrupt congressmen before sending the impeachment rap to the justice body. But 189 congressmen allegedly had met yesterday morning in Malacañang to plot his ouster should he follow that logical timetable. If that is true, it would seem that the House has again allowed Malacañang to interlope.

There is a way for the House to redeem itself. It can declare the Pulido complaint insufficient in form and substance, thus nonexistent. But that’s unlikely to happen. According to Minority Leader Ronaldo Zamora, most of the 189 were given envelopes with P500,000 cash.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Neri reported bribe to GMA, then what?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Romy Neri told the President about Ben Abalos’s attempt to bribe him P200 million to sponsor the ZTE deal. Gloria Arroyo instructed him to turn it down. Then what? No answer, except invoking “executive privilege” in communications between the President and a Cabinet alter ego.

Arroyo confirmed that Neri early this year did report to her Abalos’s bribe offer. She said she told him to decline. Then what? Again no answer, except for a belated Malacañang claim that it conducted a “discreet probe”, in which not one of the principal players — Neri, Abalos, Secretaries Larry Mendoza, Peter Favila or Gary Teves, or whistleblower Joey de Venecia — were interrogated.

From the official silence springs the questions: what did the President do about the bribery report? Did she direct the proper authorities to move in? Is she not duty-bound to do so?

Answers lie in the President’s oath of office, as spelled out in the Constitution: “I do solemnly swear that I will faithfully and conscientiously fulfill my duties as President of the Philippines, preserve and defend its Constitution, execute its laws, do justice to very man, and consecrate myself to the service of the Nation. So help me God.”

The nation knows, of course, that nothing happened to the briber.

The Penal Code treats a failed attempt at bribery as “corruption of a public official”, that can land an offender 20 years in jail. No such charge was filed against Abalos.

Not only that. The $330-million deal with ZTE Corp., that Abalos allegedly was brokering, was signed on Apr. 21, 2007. It came in the middle of the election period, although no exemption was ever issued by Abalos as Comelec chief.

And more. Abalos’s Comelec went on to oversee the congressional and local elections in May, highlighted by the province-wide sabotage of ballot results by his newly promoted Lintang Bedol.

* * *

Comes now another failed bribery attempt — another chance to enforce the law against corrupting public officials.

Opposition Rep. Crispin Beltran has exposed a P2-million offer from Malacañang operative Francis Ver to sign a sham impeachment rap against Arroyo. It is sham because the filer, one Roel Pulido, is knocking Arroyo for betrayal of public trust based on the affidavit of Joey, whom he elevates as witness for impeachment yet damns as his accused in an Ombudsman case. It is sham because it was endorsed by Arroyo ally Rep. Edgar San Luis, who admits he does not see probability of guilt but only wants to look how far the case would go. It is sham because it follows the pattern of past pre-emptive “impeach-me” raps that foil the filing of real ones as a loophole in the Constitution’s rule of one complaint per year. It is sham, finally, because it has to rely on payoffs for endorsers.

Minority Leader Ronnie Zamora said that Ver had acted in cahoots with two other officers of Arroyo’s Kampi Party. Not only Beltran but also five other minority members were approached: Rufus Rodriguez, Justin Chipeco, Dan Fernandez, Mujiv Hataman and Bem Noel. At least three of them also were offered P2 million each. Not one bit the bait. And so the endorser shamelessly had to come from among Arroyo’s pals.

Upon exposure as briber, Ver was sacked as Kampi deputy secretary general. Interior Sec. Ronaldo Puno, Kampi chairman, let go of him to avoid being implicated, since Ver once served as his chief of staff. Malacañang cleaners are now employing damage control.

Will the opposition follow the lead of the Chief Executive and let this pass? Or will it strive to make a difference by bringing up charges in court?

* * *

Elections for Sangguniang Kabataan are fast approaching on Oct. 29. Its critics are again shouting for abolition because the village youth councils allegedly introduce teenagers so early to corruption.

It is true that sleaze plagues all 41,995 SKs in as many barangays nationwide. A “contractor” chosen by the barangay chairman or treasurer controls all SK expenses — for supplies or services — from which he draws kickbacks for his patron and himself. The young idealists, aged 15-17, are told the sad reality that things simply won’t move without the watchful contractor, that he has been from the start, and that he will provide for their needs as well. In short, he is the briber and destroyer of morals.

Because there is a contractor in each of the SKs, the proposed solution is to abolish. It’s a copout — surrender to the rot. It follows the bad example from the top of not filing charges against the corruptors. That bad lesson is made possible because the SKs are supervised via a nationwide body under the Office of the President.

Is not the solution to fraud at the SKs the filing of charges against the ubiquitous contractors?

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Hindi ako sang-ayon sa banat kay Romy

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Tuesday, October 9, 2007

TINUTUYA ng ilang grupo si Sec. Romy Neri. Kesyo raw napaka-tapang niya sa Senado sa pagbunyag ng P200-milyong tangkang suhol mula kay Ben Abalos, pero napaka­ hina rin daw niya dahil hindi masabi ang naging reaksiyon ng among si Presidente Arroyo nang isumbong niya.

Hindi ako panig sa banat na ‘yon. Sapat sa palagay ko ang pagkaka-kilala ko kay Romy mula 1987 para masabing hindi siya duwag. Malimit siyang sumuot sa usaping patakaran, mula nang itatag niya ang Congress Planning and Budget Office nu’ng 1987 hanggang mag-Economic Planning Secretary nitong 1997. Naaalala ko pa nang hikayatin niya akong sumali sa tax-boycott movement niya nu’ng 1990s upang patinuin ang gobyerno.

Sa hindi pagsagot ni Neri sa mga tanong ng mga senador tungkol sa mga pinag-usapan nila ni Gloria Arroyo sa ZTE deal, pinatigasan niya ang executive privilege. Gan’un siya. Kapag may pinanigang isyu, ipag­lalaban hanggang sa huli. Tuwang-tuwa ang mga taga-Malacañang sa kanya. Pero kay Romy, ang importante ay ang paninindigan niya. Nagmukhang may mga baho si Arroyo na pinagtatakpan, pero tila balewala sa kanya ‘yon.

Sampung beses kaming nag-usap ni Romy tungkol sa ZTE scam mula Abril. Marami siyang ibinunyag na kakila-kilabot na detalyes. Naisulat ko na karamihan, at napatunayang accurate ako sa mga testimonya nina Romy, Joey de Venecia, Raul Fabella, Noel de Dios at Josie Lichauco. Nu’ng huling pag-uusap namin tungkol sa ZTE, nu’ng Sat. 18 matapos ako mag-testify sa Senado, sinabi niyang magsasalita siya sa tamang oras at lugar. Bahala na kung mapahamak siya, aniya, at naalalang hindi siya mayaman. Ako rin hindi mayaman, paalala ko sa kanya. At sinabihan niya ako na mamamahayag ako kaya ilabas dapat lahat ng katotohanan, ano man ang mangyari.

Nilabas ko ang maraming sinabi niya sa akin. Delikado lahat: Kesyo ipinagpilitan ni Arroyo ang ZTE deal, may isang malaking negosyante na pumatong sa kontrata kaya naging $330 milyon ito mula $262 milyon, at ang $68-milyong dagdag ay napunta sa isang administration party.

Senate probe could unmask monopolist

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc, The Philippine Star, Monday, October 8, 2007

Senators differ in their reasons for pursuing the inquiry on the ZTE deal. Some want Romy Neri to sing “ABZTEFG”, that is, to make the former economic chief talk of coercion to approve the overpriced telecom supply. Others aim to review the process of approving contracts, and the need for an exclusive government broadband setup to begin with. The first is why the Blue Ribbon committee is involved; it is the Senate body that examines scam in government transacting. The second is why the committees on trade and on national defense were tasked to join; new laws may be needed to toughen the National Economic Development Authority or curb spying on internal state communications, plus more.

To date, Senate hearings have elicited testimonies of fraud. Neri and Joey de Venecia accused Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos of brokering and bribery, prompting the latter to resign and prepare for countermoves. Joey also has exposed meddling by presidential spouse Mike Arroyo, and it is yet unsure if he will refute him under oath. Cabinet officials tried in vain to justify the $330-million deal and even showed uncertainty if it was a supply contract or government-to-government agreement, while experts debunked the supposed benefits of the project.

There is still need to redefine “executive agreements”, especially since this is between a government agency and a private firm. Begging legislation too are covers for loopholes in the new Procurement Reform Act that allow agencies to evade public bidding. Up for determination too is whether an agency may keep public contracts secret, despite the Code of Conduct on Public Officials and the Anti-Red Tape Law.

Meanwhile, if Neri talks freely in coming hearings, he might get to push his long-running fight against monopolies. He already started talking about it in relation to seaport operations. Fellow-professors at the Asian Institute of Management fondly recall Neri’s passionate stance against “booty capitalists” who wangle monopolies by sucking up to high officials. And one such influential monopolist reportedly was responsible for having him yanked down from NEDA chief to higher-education commissioner.

Problem, though, is that Neri is torn between disclosing to senators the monopolists who unconstitutionally restrain trade, and concealing what the President told him about ZTE Corp. backers.

* * *

A battle rages between two sets of directors for control of Batangas II Electric Cooperative, the country’s biggest. If unresolved, Batelec’s monthly income of P340 million might dwindle, and its 200,000 customer-owners in two-thirds of the province would be the losers.

On one side are eight former board members whom the National Electrification Administration has dismissed from office. They reportedly signed two anomalous contracts that the NEA nixed, but have managed to stay put through Supreme Court order. On the other side is a new board that is begging for court recognition of its authority to represent the home customers who also are co-op shareholders.

For a P75-million computerization project, the old board allegedly contracted a company that was incorporated only on the same day in 2004 with P62,500 paid-in capital. It also bought for P6.1 million ten used trucks worth only half the amount. On complaint of some shareholders, the NEA in Oct. 2006 barred the eight directors from further mismanaging the cooperative.

The old directors fought back thrice in the Court of Appeals, but lost. In Dec., though, they got the Supreme Court to order a status quo. At that point, the newly elected board had nowhere to sit.

To bolster their case, the latter in Aug. 2007 filed cases of syndicated fraud and falsifying public documents respectively in Lipa and Tanauan cities where the predecessors allegedly committed these offenses. To their surprise, ailing Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez barred the cities’ fiscals from taking on the lawsuits. Instead, prosecutors from Manila were assigned to study the cases’ merits.

The old board insinuates that the local fiscals are biased against them, although this was never mentioned in Gonzalez’s replacement order. The new board in turn cries that Gonzalez is favoring a retired newsman who had covered the judiciary beat for decades before chairing the old board.

Whichever side wins in the end will have to contend with employees and supervisors whose loyalties have been torn and morale pulled down. Professionalism needs to be restored, lest Batelec go the way of others in electricity retail. Of the country’s 119 rural electric co-ops, the World Bank found only 22 to be commercially viable.

* * *

The scrapping of the ZTE deal saved Filipinos from more debt. Had the government pursued the telecom purchase, it would have borrowed the $330-million cost from China, at 3 percent interest over 20 years. Three generations of Filipinos would have been burdened with paying for the project whose need is even hazy.

The public sector debt is now at P3.9 trillion. Congressmen studying the national budget say that each of the 88 million citizens already is in hock by P44,000. Only recently did Filipinos finish paying $2 billion for 25 years for the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant that was useless but overpriced.

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Sana magkuwento si FG sa Senado

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Monday, October 8, 2007

HAYAN, inimbitahan na ni Sen. Alan Cayetano si First Gentleman (FG) Mike Arroyo sa Blue-Ribbon inquiry tungkol sa ZTE scam. Ito’y dahil sinangkot ni Joey de Venecia III si FG bilang “bully” na tinawag umano ni Ben Abalos para paatrasin siya sa national broadband network bidding.

Tila kakayanin na ni FG humarap sa matinding interogasyon sa Senado, mula sa maselang heart surgery nu’ng Abril. Nitong nakaraang dalawang linggo parang batang bakasyonista siyang nagpalundag-lundag sa pitong siyudad sa Europe at Asia. At nang bumalik nu’ng Martes, sa airport pa lang ay nais nang makipagbuno agad kay Joey.

Sana sa Senado sagutin ni FG si Joey, dahil doon siya nito idinikit sa maanomalyang kontrata. Sana marinig ng taumbayan ang sasabihin ni FG.

Nang nasa abroad si FG, inamin ng spokesman niyang si Atty. Jesus Santos sa maraming press interviews na nandoon nga ang asawa ng Presidente sa Wack Wack Golf Club sa Mandaluyong nu’ng umagang tinutukoy ni Joey. Pero nagkataon lang daw. Dinagdag pa ni Santos, at itinestigo ito nina Sec. Leandro Mendoza at Abalos sa Senado, na malu­manay ang ugali ni FG, kaya’t imposibleng surutin niya si Joey na kakikilala lang niya noon.

Sa airport pa lang pagbalik ni FG mula sa biyahe, inulot niya agad ang mga pagdepensa sa kanya. Wala sa boka­bularyo niya ang katagang “Back Off”, aniya. Natiyempo lang na nandoon siya sa Wack Wack nang umagang pinagpu­pulungan nina Joey, Mendoza at Abalos ang broadband deal. Unang beses niya nakilala roon si Joey. At pinangaralan lang daw niya ito na huwag mangontrata sa gobyerno dahil anak siya ng Speaker.

Ang sarap marinig ang paliwanag niya sa ilang mga tanong. Una, bakit siya naka-Barong Tagalog kung nagka­taon lang sa golf course? At, paano nagawa ng isang malumanay na tao na, sa loob ng tatlong minuto mula nang may bagong makilala, ay mabatid agad ang NBN deal at pangaralan ito tungkol sa Anti-Graft Law. E ‘yung Senate hearings, 33 oras na, hindi pa rin tapos ipaliwanag.

Saving face after ditching ZTE deal

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc. The Philippine Star, Friday, October 5, 2007

Don’t worry, a Cabinet source assured me. The national broadband network deal with ZTE Corp., declared dead on President Arroyo’s arrival in China Tuesday, will not rise like a zombie. This, in spite of Executive Sec. Ed Ermita’s claim that the administration will revive it in another form after the controversy over bribery subsides.

It’s mere face-saving, the official said. Malacañang has lost. But it needs to show till the end the imagined need for an exclusive state telecoms setup, which it failed to justify in Senate hearings. If the executive doesn’t posture, the suspicion will be confirmed that certain officials rushed into the project only for kickbacks.

The Palace also needs to exhibit some toughness. Otherwise, political foes would rush in to fill the vacuum created by weakness. Malacañang has had to make a series of retreats from the $330-million telecoms supply deal. Restrained by the Supreme Court from implementing, Palace factotums at first pleaded for understanding of a contract that they refused to divulge. Then, faced with exposure of the deal brokers, Malacañang suspended the already restrained contract in the vain attempt to end a Senate inquiry. Next, Comelec chief Benjamin Abalos, whom the executive was defending, had to resign to avoid impeachment that can open bank records and embolden witnesses. Arroyo’s sudden cancellation of the deal, while meeting with the Chinese President, aimed again to induce the Senate to end the live-telecast hearings.

Palace aides were peeling eggshells from their faces. And so Ermita had to mumble that maybe Malacañang telecoms men will someday resume the NBN, although surely not anytime soon. But the Cabinet source requested me to dampen that story, lest it incite people to march in anger against pig-headed leaders. To think that I didn’t even hear of groups ready to march.

* * *

Still, let’s hope that Malacañang men learn that obstinacy is a sin.

To this day, led by Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol, they insist that Abalos shouldn’t have resigned because innocent. They loudly assert that he never offered a P200-million bribe to anyone at Wack Wack Golf Club or elsewhere. Abalos is not a crook, they cry.

What does that line make of their erstwhile Cabinet colleague Romy Neri? Was it not he who swore that Abalos tried to buy him into approving the NBN, but refused to divulge anything else about it? Are Apostol and company inferring that since Abalos is telling the truth, then Neri must have concocted the attempted bribery story? In the next Senate hearing, will they accuse Neri of perjury?

* * *

Speaking of Senate hearings, presidential spouse Mike Arroyo looks recovered enough from heart surgery to attend the next one. In the past two weeks he zipped like a youthful vacationer into seven European and Asian cities. And upon return to Manila, he was in fighting mood against Joey de Venecia, who had testified to being bullied by Arroyo into backing off the NBN bidding.

During Arroyo’s absence, his spokesman Jesus Santos had confirmed that indeed he was in Wack Wack that morning Joey talked about, but allegedly only by chance. Secretary Leandro Mendoza and Abalos too corroborated that first part of Joey’s narrative. But Santos, Mendoza and Abalos all claimed that Arroyo is too “mild-mannered” to bully anyone, let alone one like Joey whom he had met for the first time and talked with only for three minutes.

Arroyo repeated all those lines: “‘Back Off’ is not in my vocabulary”, “I was there only by coincidence”, “I met Joey there for the first time”, and “I merely cautioned Joey against contracting with the government since he’s the Speaker’s son”.

Since Arroyo was accused in the Senate, it would be best for him to refute Joey also in the Senate. It would be best too for people to hear how a gentleman, three minutes after making acquaintance with someone, would be lecturing him on graft and corruption.

* * *

It pays to have pals in Philippine literary circles, especially in tight spots.

During the Sept. 26 clash at the Senate of titans Romy Neri and Ben Abalos, Sen. Jamby Madrigal was at a loss for Filipino words for “fall guy” and so asked if any of the resource persons know. As the only writer there, with a thrice-weekly Filipino column at that in Pilipino Star Ngayon, I felt embarrassed at failing to help her out. But poets from my old Literature school, apparently watching the hearing live on TV, swiftly “texted” some answers. One sent “sangkalan”; another, “tagasalo”. I liked the third best: “basurero, hehe, becos tagalinis ng basura ng iba.”

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Taumbayan galit sa ZTE deal

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc, Pilipino Star Ngayon, Friday, October 5, 2007

TODO ang paninira kay Joey de Venecia nina Leandro Mendoza, Benjamin Abalos at Mike Arroyo — mga binisto niyang tumutulak at kumi-kickback sa ZTE deal. Una na nila akong siniraan mula nu’ng Abril nang ibunyag ko ang maruming kontrata ng ZTE Corp. of China sa national broadband network. Tinanggalan ako ng TV show sa IBC-13; kesyo wala na raw budget para sa programang pambato ng istasyon mula 2001. At tinangka pa akong isangkot sa pagnanakaw umano ng kontrata — na ngayo’y lumalabas, ani Sen. Ping Lacson, na tinago lang pala ng DOTC dahil sa maling pag-aakalang maglalaho ang alingasngas.

Marami pang ibang pinahamak ng mga may pakana ng anomalya. Ang isang source ko, na-wiretap ang cell phone. Ang isa pa, na-clone ang e-mail na magpadala ng mali-maling impormasyon. Ang isang sumubok mag-imbestiga sa DOTC, tinanggal ng Presidential Anti-Graft Commission. Dalawang Cabinet member ang nilipat.

Ginugulo pa ng Malacañang ang usapan. Kesyo meron, wala, tapos meron uling kontrata. Kesyo may kopya, ninakaw, na-reconstitute, pero confidential ang kontrata kaya hindi mailabas. Kesyo executive agreement ang kontrata kaya walang public bidding.

Manloko, manakot at manakit na ang mga tagapag­tanggol ng ZTE deal — pero hindi pa rin nila maloloko ang taumbayan. Batid ng madla ang batayang isyu dito. At ito ‘yun:

Hindi kailangan ng gobyerno ang exclusive broadband network. Ni walang gan’un sa China kung saan galing ang ZTE. Maanomalya ang pag-award ng kontrata. Apurahan at overpriced, miski may dalawang karibal na mas mababa ang bids. Tapos, uutangin pa sa China Eximbank ang $330 milyon (P16 bilyon) na ipambabayad sa ZTE. Pababayaran ang 20 taon sa taumbayan — mga magulang, mga anak, mga apo. Samantala, yayaman ora mismo ang mga kumi-kickback.