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Malacañang buys time on pork barrel scam

August 20, 2013August 20, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Your presence is a statement.

More than a month into the Janet Napoles pork barrel scandal that started with the involvement of five opposition five senators, the Aquino administration finds itself on the defensive.

After dismissing the Napoles-operated pork barrel scam estimated to reach P10 billion as paling in comparison to the P728 million fertilizer scam during the Arroyo administration (what kind of math is he using?), President Aquino last Monday rejected calls for the abolition of much- maligned practice saying that it can be used for the good of the people. “As in everything else, there are good uses, and bad uses. Perhaps the right thing to do is apply the appropriate punishment for the misuse, but support its good use especially in communities outside the National Capital Region,” he said.

Aquino’s stand dismayed many of his supporters who held on to his campaign promise of a reformist government bannered by the “Tuwid na Daan” slogan. Some of those are calling on everybody to join the “Million People March” to Rizal Park on Aug. 26, National Heroes Day, startijg at 9 a.m. to express their outrage over how the funds for the less fortunate have been flagrantly misused by persons elected to serve the people.

Public outrage intensified with the release by the Commission on Audit of the results of its audit of the 2007-2009 PDAF which showed that the abuse was not confined to Napoles and the five opposition senators ( Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr.; Jinggoy Estrada, Gregorio Honasan, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, and former Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile).

A number of Aquino administration- allied lawmakers were mentioned in the report who misused their PDAF namely now Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala, now Interior Secretary Mar Roxas, now Customs Commissioner Ruffy Biazon and Joel Villanueva, now chair of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

Rep. Iloilo Niel Tupaz, who headed the prosecution team in the impeachment of disgraced Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, was also mentioned. Coffee shop talks mention other officials very close to Aquino.

Many also asked why COA stopped at 2009 fueling their nagging suspicion that Aquino was either trying to douse water on the pork barrel expose or limit it to Napoles to protect persons close to him.

Realizing that the expose has taken a life of its own and it would be a political suicide for them to buck the public’s anger, Malacañang is now doing damage control measures.

Monday, Aquino ordered the suspension of pork barrel funds until investigation of the scam is completed. Lawmakers who were reluctant to undertake an investigation on the fund are now willing to conduct an inquiry although many doubt if they would do an honest-to-goodness investigation of an irregularity involving them.

Even the Aquino administration allied party-list, Akbayan, finally issued a statement Monday calling for the abolition of the PDAF.

Roxas, the head of the Liberal Party, also pledged that party members found guilty of misusing their PDAFs will be sanctioned.

Nothing of these actions indicate genuine and lasting solutions against the evils of corruption and patronage politics. They are just to buy time.
***

The evolution of a Filipino politician. Unfair to pigs.

Many are asking the origin of the term “pork barrel.”

Former Senator Panfilo M.Lacson mentioned the history of the phrase in a speech on March 11, 2003 explaining why he was not availing of his PDAF:

“It should not matter anymore under what name the system sounds. Be it the Countrywide Development Fund, or the Congressional Initiative Allocation, or the Priority Development Assistance Fund. It is, and will remain to be a fund of compulsive corruption.

“The name itself traces its origin to the pre-civil war days in the United States when, in periodic fits of generosity, white masters would give their black slaves salted pork in barrels. More often than not, the eagerness of the slaves would result in ugly shoving and rushing to grab more pork than the others. The more pork one could grab for himself, the more triumphant he would appear than the others who were meek and reluctant.

“We may not realize it, but the Filipino people would sometimes see us behave like slaves rushing to the pork barrel. A critic has a worse description – that of swines rushing to get more slabs than they can consume.”

***
In the midst of the destruction wrought by “Maring” a friend wondered, , “Saan kaya si Janet Napoles?”
Then added: “Sana nalunod siya.”

I said that was an unchristian thought. He replied, ““Nalunod sa pera ang ibig ko sabihin.”

Ask Napoles to spell ‘forty’

August 15, 2013August 15, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Janet L. Napoles

Retired Marine Colonel Ariel Querubin remembers that when Jenny Napoles, the pork barrel queen who is now a fugitive, wrote a check for forty thousand pesos for the interest of the money she owed his late first wife, Loretta (Cercenia), she didn’t know how to spell the word “forty.”

“Ano nga ang spelling ng forty (How is forty spelled?),” Querubin recalled Napoles asking him.

He spelled out F-O-R-T-Y to her.

Retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin

“She probably was not sure if she would spell it with a “u” as in “four”, Querubin, a Medal of Valor Awardee, said.

Napoles’ being unsure how to spell “forty” (which shows that you need not be good in spelling to amass billions of money) is just a sidelight of Querubin’s unpleasant memory of Napoles, who borrowed money from his military doctor-wife, with a promise to pay it with a five percent interest, for an investment she was making in a shipyard business.

The transaction turned out to be traumatic for Querubin because after a day after a stressful meeting of his wife with Napoles on Aug. 18, 1994, the former died of “unexplained primary pulmonary hypertension.”

Querubin said the money lent by his wife came from their savings and that of relatives. Another doctor-friend also lent a substantial amount to Napoles.

The Middle- East based military doctor, who asked not to be named, said he, the Querubins and the Napoleses used to be good friends. (They were all involved in the 1989 coup.) Faye, Querubin’s only daughter, is Napoles’ god-daughter. Jeane, the fashionista Napoles daughter, is the god-daughter of Querubin and the military doctor.

Querubin said when Lorrie gave the money Napoles was borrowing, the latter issued post-dated checks for the interest. That’s when she asked about the spelling of “forty.”The first few checks were good, Querubin said. But later on the post-dated checks bounced.

Lorrie and his doctor-friend were later referred to another military wife, who was the one in the shipyard business and was the one who used the money Napoles got from the two military doctors.

One day, when they were trying to collect with the military wife, Napoles arrived. It was not a very pleasant meeting with Lorrie calling up Querubin and gave the phone to Napoles.

Querubin remembers Napoles being high-strung when they were talking on the phone and he told her not to raise her voice.
The next day Lorrie was dead.

Querubin said on the first night of Lorrie’s wake, Napoles came with a priest and full payment for what she owed Lorrie in dollars.

But the other military doctor was not as lucky. The last P50,000 check issued her by Napoles bounced.
The doctor said napoles issued that check in bad faith because when it was deposited, the bank said Napoles account had been “closed.” He said he was never paid in full.

“ When this pork barrel controversy came out , I asked my wife to look for that returned check.” he said.

When that returned check is found, it could be evidence against Napoles. But that probably is the least of her concern. She and her brother, Reynald “Jojo” Lim, are currently being hunted by the authorities in connection with the charge of illegal detention of Benhur Luy, former business associate of Napoles, who is now the star whistleblower in the P10 billion pork barrel scam.

De Lima admits they face difficulty in arresting Napoles because she is “well-connected.”

Those connections , who are rumored to be in high places, will make sure that she is not arrested.

In the olden times, punishment for an offense comes in the form of 40 lashes. Would Napoles prefer that , however it is spelled, to the situation she is now?

When guilty, make the mess, messier

August 1, 2013August 1, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Napoles couple in a luxury bash.

Dirty tricks operators have joined the Jenny Napoles pork barrel scam controversy to make the mess messier.

The immediate objective is clearly to distract attention from Napoles and members of her family and cause confusion. Sad to say some members of media fell into the trap.

Philippine Star ran a story yesterday implicating three senators who are allies of President Aquino in the pork barrel scam operated by Napoles. The three named in the report, attributing the information to whistleblower Benhur Luy and allegedly leaked by the National Bureau of Investigation, were Senators Loren Legarda, Antonio Trillanes IV and Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who oversees the NBI, categorically denied the report.

“We are wondering where those additional names are coming from. As far as I know, those names do not appear in the docs/records currently in NBI’s possession,” de Lima said adding that “There appear to be unseen hands or elements that are trying to muddle the ongoing NBI probe.”

De Lima could be right because we have also heard of one dirty tricks operator who was active in the last election being busy again contacting media people.

By noontime yesterday, the story could not be found online. When one clicked at the title, a notice appeared that “Page requested cannot be found. It may have been removed, renamed or is temporarily unavailable.”

NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas also denied the report: “Hindi po totoo yun, evidence gathering po kami and until such time na ma-finish ‘yan, wala ho kaming pinapangalanan.”

Rojas cautioned the public to be careful about media reports. “It’s very important then for the readers to discriminate ‘pag nagbabasa sa diyaryo. Tingnan mabuti kung based ba sa interview, did they name kung sino ang ini-interview at pinangalanan si ganito at si ganyan, or nakalagay lang sa diyaryo na according to sources, according to sources that is privy to the investigation. Ang sinabi daw ay si senator ganyan, congressman ganyan. Ika-klaro ko lang, NBI will not reveal the progress of the investigation kaya if ever those will come out in the newspaper, I hope that our readers will be more discriminating. “

Even the lawyer of Luy, Levito Baligod, denied the report.

Jeane Napoles,luxury-loving daughter of Janet.

In a statement, Baligod said, “ There is no truth to what came out in certain print and on-line news items that Benhur Luy named in any written statement additional legislators as being involved in the so-called PDAF SCAM. Any statement to that effect is the responsibility of the concerned reporter.”

Trillanes said, it’s good that Secretary de Lima, Director Rojas and Atty. Baligod clarified the story: “Maganda naman at nilinaw ng DOJ, NBI at abogado mismo ni Benhur Luy na hindi kami kasangkot sa prok barrel scam. Ito ay nagpapakita lamang na may naninira at nanggugulo ng imbestigasyun ng NBI para matabunan ang kanilang pangungurakot.”

Pimentel categorically denied his alleged participation in the scam that reportedly involved some P10 billion in the Priority Development Assistance Fund. “Not a single centavo of my PDAF or pork barrel went to any of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and foundations being alleged to be fronts in the pork barrel scam allegedly perpetrated by a certain Janet Lim Napoles,” he said.

“My list of PDAF projects is open to the public for scrutiny. I, therefore, welcome any and all investigations on this matter”, he added.

He said he is supporting Malacanang’s position giving NBI a “free hand” in the investigation. “Let the hammer fall where it is due because good governance and the fight against corruption must transcend party lines.”

But he reminded the agency “to observe discipline among its ranks to prevent ‘leakages by anonymous sources ‘in the ongoing investigation so as not to destroy reputations of people.”

Napoles and her cohorts thought with all the money that they have stolen from the people, they have become untouchable.
The initial strategy of discrediting Luy has not won them sympathy. Luy, being her former partner in crime makes the scandal a quarrel among thieves. And that makes Luy’s expose credible.

Napoles and her gang are now desperate and they will use all means, foul included, to get themselves out of the huge trouble they have created.

People, beware!

Why should the burden of truth on MRT-3 be on Czech envoy?

July 30, 2013July 30, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar

What if Czech Ambassador Josef Rychtar refuses to cooperate in the investigation of alleged $30 million shakedown by officials of the Department of Transportation and Communication in connection with the Metro Rail Transit expansion project? Is that the end of it?

Under the Vienna Convention, the international treaty that governs diplomatic relations, ambassadors cannot be compelled to appear in any investigation conducted by the host country.

MRT Gen. Manager Al Vitangcol III

The National Bureau of Investigation under orders of the President is investigating the reported shakedown which even dragged the name of presidential sister Ballsy Cruz and her husband, Eldon.

“I wish to state that the allegations that members of your family were involved with discussions with Inekon on any projects in the Philippines are simply untrue and malicious,” Rychtar said in a letter to the President last June 29.

The Cruz couple visited Prague in 2011 upon the invitation of Rytchar. They reportedly met with Czech businessmen during their visit.

A Czech company, Inekon, is bidding for the P3.77 billion MRT-3 project that would involve purchase of 48 new trains for the line that spans the EDSA from Pasay-Taft to North Avenue.

But Rychtar,in a meeting with DOTC Secretary Joseph ‘Jun’ Abaya named MRT general manager Al Vitangcol III as one of those involved in the extort attempt, according to Abaya.

Vitangcol has gone on a one month leave starting July 24.

Reports said the DOTC officials’ demand for commission went down to $2.5 million to $30 million. In his June 29 letter to the President, after the extortion try was exposed by media, Rychtar said: “The Czech proposal for the MRT3 capacity expansion and modernization is a government-to-government deal which cannot contain any provisions for commissions.”

But Rychtar complained about the non-action of DOTC under Abaya, whom he first met last April.

Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda one again took his usual defensive stand every time allegations of anomalies involving officials of the Aquino administration is involved.

Lacierda puts the burden of getting the truth into the extortion try on Rychtar. “Every time there is an issue on corruption we have always asked the party to present us evidence. It is no different just because an ambassador said it,” he said in a radio interview.

Lacierda further said:“It requires every person, including the Czech ambassador, to submit allegations of corruption – to submit evidence to prove these allegations, and that’s what due process is all about.”

Lacierda has not thanked Rychtar for exposing the extortion attempt, which we are sure was not easy for a diplomat to do.
The government has an extensive network which it can mobilize to find out the truth if it really wants to. Aside from the NBI, each department has its own intelligence budget.

They should not give us the line that without further cooperation by the Czech ambassador, the investigation would not push through. Is that “tuwid na daan”?

We owe whistleblowers

July 16, 2013July 16, 2013 Ellen Leave a comment

Two news items yesterday recall to mind NBN/ZTE star whistleblower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada and his meeting with President Aquino in Malacanang last February.

Benhur Luy, exposed Janet Napoles vast network of corruption

The first news item was about the statement of the lawyer of Jane L. Napoles, who is in the center of the alleged P10 billion pork barrel scam, to file administrative and criminal charges against whistleblower Benhur Luy, formerly Napoles personal assistant.

The other news item was the downgrading by the Court of Appeals into “simple misconduct” of the Ombudsman’s ruling finding him guilty of grave misconduct for his role in the aborted $329 million National Broadband Network deal with the Chinese telecommunication firm, ZTE.

Romy Neri, for hiding the truth from the public, just a ‘simple miscounduct.’

Why Jun Lozada?

The two news items illustrate the risks that a whistleblower has to face if he decides to take on bigtime operators who have built deep and wide network within the government.

In the NBN/ZTE controversy, second only to the Hello Garci scandal as far as negative impact on the Arroyo administration, both Neri and Lozada were privy to the behind the scenes machinations that tripled the cost of the telecommuncations project.

Neri’s damning revelations of former Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos (“Sec, may 200 ka dito”) role in a project that was unrelated to elections, indicated the level of corruption of that deal. Sad to say, Neri decided to stop there.

Taking refuge under the doctrine of “executive privilege” Neri saved Gloria Arroyo.

Portrait of a beleaguered whistleblower.

Neri’s buddy,Jun Lozada opted to tell what he knows about the deal supporting the testimony of another whistleblower, Joey de Venecia, about the role of Mike Arroyo, husband of Gloria Arroyo, in the deal.

The decision to testify for the government turned Lozada’s life upside down. He was kidnapped upon arrival from Hongkong and he was charged with plunder by his deputy in the Philippine Forest Corporation. Lozada is currently out on bail.

He continues to be the star witness in the NBN/ZTE deal which is being tried by the Sandiganbayan, the same court that tries his plunder case.

Last February, Lozada accompanied by three friends and supporters, one of them, crusader Sr Mary John Mananzan, met with the President in Malacañang and they told the President the weird situation where the star witness in the high profile graft case is being prosecuted for plunder in another case.

The President told them that he cannot intervene in the justice proceedings. What he could do, Lozada quoted the President as having said, if he (Lozada) would be convicted, he could commute the sentence or pardon him.

A very much dismayed Mananzan remarked, “What’s going to happen to your anti-corruption campaign? What’s going to happen to the NBN/ZTE case if Jun is convicted?”

Lozada said the President replied that the government is having second thoughts about pursuing the case because anyway no harm was done to the Filipino people .

With the slap on Neri’s wrist of “simple misconduct” while Lozada faces plunder, Gloria Arroyo and her associates must be rolling in laughter.

Yesterday, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she wants to put Luy under the Witness Protection Program as she said, she is aware of the danger that whistleblower faces. It is hoped that the protection stays until the masterminds of the scam are punished. The country owes these whistleblowers.