A portrait of corruption
By E.P. Dakanay, Jr.
For a bit of positive publicity, the mosaic portrait of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA) composed by a photojournalist (to honor her on her birthday last month) out of over 1,000 photographs taken of her in the last eight years has been declared the largest to date in the Guinness Book of Records. It could appropriately be labeled “A PORTRAIT OF CORRUPTION,” miniature reproduction of which may be distributed for display in all classrooms of public schools. A little bit more of media mileage was squeezed out of the opening of classes on June 1 with GMA, in a selected spic and span elementary school in Metro Manila, shown teaching pupils how to wash their hands (as protection against the AH1N1 virus), oblivious of the sad fact that the overwhelming majority of public schools may not have safe running water, let alone adequate toilet facilities.* * * * * * * * * *
Shortly, with the least fanfare after her return from the Middle East where she found prospects for hundreds of thousands of job opportunities for Filipinos and obtained pledges of billions of dollars in investments, GMA was off to South Korea and Russia in search of solutions to the country’s economic problems. Again she came home with the good news of job prospects and commitments of substantial investments from every country she set her foot upon. Again, in a week or two she will be off to Japan and Brazil. If her fabled successes keep up, we will find ourselves in the paradoxical situation where we will have no more manpower left at home to implement the projects arising from the investments we are swamped with!
The South Korea/Russia trip distanced GMA physically from moves of congressmen in the House of Representatives to craft a resolution to constitute themselves (without the participation of the Senate) into a Constituent Assembly (Con-Ass) to amend the Constitution. Her absence thousands of miles away should be proof to all and sundry that she has nothing to do with the antics of these congressmen. However, those with recollection of the mafia years in the United States know that the “godfather” ordering a rubout of a rival would conveniently be away from the scene of the crime at the appointed time. Only the feeble-minded will swallow the line that GMA was not pulling the strings in the puppet show at the Batasang Pambasa when the abominable resolution was passed by congressmen long perceived to have mortgaged their honor for largesse doled out by GMA to get her schemes executed in congress. Unwittingly, however, the much maligned Con-Ass may have done the nation great favor in the sense that it has galvanized fragmented sectors of the body politic (some until lately lukewarm and indifferent to burning issues that plague Philippine society) to united action, symbolic as the recent nationwide indignation rally may just have been. GMA is desperate to remain in power or install her lackeys in power to shield herself from moves to make her answer for the transgressions of her administration in the last eight years.
The challenge to those who are now united against this monster of a Con-Ass is to deny GMA any opportunity to ravage once more the electoral process and corrupt further our democratic institutions. As for the prospective Japan/Brazil excursion later this month, watch out for instructions on how the rats will play while the cat is away. The Con-Ass proponents are hell bent on the Supreme Court, soon to be composed of justices all appointed by GMA (except the Chief Justice), resolving the case in time for the amended provisions to be applicable in the May 2010 elections. Already GMA’s chief backdoor operator in the last two impeachment attempts against her (Atty. Oliver Lozano) is knocking at the Supreme Court’s door.
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One cannot help being dismayed by the bizarre spectacle of former Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Superintendent Cesar Mancao’s return to the country. Having fled to the US under suspicion of being involved in the murder of publicist Mr. Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver in 2000, Mancao has returned under extradition to turn state witness to incriminate Senator Panfilo Lacson (with Erap as collateral target) in the Dacer murder. In mortal fear for his life, Mancao was fitted with a bulletproof vest upon arrival and transported from the airport to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) head office building in a bulletproof car escorted by more than a dozen vehicles of NBI agents. He has a taster who samples his food before he partakes of his meal and he screens his visitors before they are allowed entry into an air-conditioned office in the NBI main office building converted for his temporary quarters.
In contrast, ZTE/NBN whistle blower Mr. Rodolfo Lozada, Jr. was sent to Hong Kong by his colleagues in GMA’s inner circle of assistants at the height of the Senate’s investigation of the ZTE/NBN scandal that allegedly involved GMA and her husband, Mike, after he (Lozada) declared that he would not be able to tell a lie if he were called to testify in the Senate hearing. Returning to Manila after arrangements for his prolonged stay in Hong Kong went awry, he was taken by government functionaries from the plane and driven around suburbs south of Metro Manila. By his account, he could have been liquidated (Bubby Dacer style) were it not for the clamor for his appearance by his wife and a large number of media representatives awaiting his arrival at the airport. He and his family are now housed inside the De La Salle Greenhills campus under the protection of nuns of the Association of Major Religious Superiors of the Philippines, facing 16 cases filed by the Department of Justice against him.
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Baffling is how National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Director Rafael Recto could be at logger heads with Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Angelo Reyes on the issue of overpricing by oil companies by as much as P8.00 per litter of gasoline and diesel. Recto’s claim is supported by the private price watch group of Mr. Raul Conception. Secretary Reyes is supportive of the position of the oil companies and berated Recto over television for not consulting with him before making the irresponsible overprice statement. One must consider that for every peso of overprice of petroleum products, 42 centavos go to the government in taxes (12% in VAT and 30% in income tax). As to the balance of 58%, creative in the backdoor negotiations as it is, GMA’s Department of Finance will have a way of dealing with this. Note that the Commission on Audit, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, and the Bureau of Customs have refused to comply with a court order to examine the financial records of the three dominant oil companies.
Enlightening is the comment of Senator Rodolfo Biazon (a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy and former Chief-of-Staff of the AFP) that we have far too many generals than what is permitted by law. GMA is content with the outstanding performance of some generals in the 2004 elections to worry about Biazon’s comment, even as our armed services has not come a step closer to improving peace and order over the length and breadth of the archipelago in all the years of GMA’s presidency.