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PerryScope
Perry Diaz
The Grand Deception
In my article, "Economic Boom or Boo-boo Economics" (Nov. 30, 2007), I wrote: "With 50% of Filipinos poor -- 40% of whom have experienced hunger -- and with unemployment rate at 7.8%, what we will soon hear is the 'astronomic boom' of discontent and the cry of the helpless poor. Indeed, Arroyo's boo-boo economics has created a short span of high -- albeit false -- expectations. She promised jobs for the people, yet more than one million Filipinos are leaving each year for jobs overseas."
That was four months ago when the OFWs were praising Gloria for calling them the "bagong bayani" (new heroes). Indeed, the OFWs' remittances in 2007 set a record high of more than $14 billion. But little did the OFWs realize that their remittances would make the peso stronger; thus, decreasing the value of their dollar earnings. But in spite of the strengthening of the peso, prices of commodities have mysteriously been skyrocketing.
The decrease in OFWs' earnings has a direct effect on the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which measures economic growth. Since the OFW families would be inclined to spend less on personal consumption, it would have an adverse effect on the GDP. With "personal consumption expenditure" accounting for 74% of the GDP, a decrease in personal consumption spending would bring down the GDP; thus, cooling off the economic growth.
Last January, the Arroyo government announced that the country's GDP grew 7.3% in 2007, the highest since 1976. For the past two years, President Arroyo has been painting a rosy economic picture of the country. In May 2006, she declared that she envisioned the Philippines becoming a First World country -- an "Enchanted Kingdom," she said -- in 20 years. Since then, she had launched a media blitz heralding her achievements. Indeed, everything seemed to be going so well that Arroyo's "new heroes" have become her zealous defenders against her critics, particularly the media. Not anymore. Today, the "new heroes" feel that Arroyo has betrayed them.
On February 3, 2008 the Daily Tribune editorial said, "There was something smelly and not palatable with the way statistics are being suddenly and drastically revised by the Arroyo government." The source of the stink was in the fine print of a footnote on a government statistics report which said that the GDP was revised from 6.6% to 7.4%. Well, a change of 0.8% in GDP is substantial.
The editorial further stated, "The sudden spurt in the government growth record was the reason Gloria, fresh from the World Economic Forum at the Swiss Alps, was able to proclaim to the world that the economy, in terms of GDP, grew 7.3 percent, while the gross national product (GNP) that takes into account remittances of the army of Filipinos working overseas rose 7.8 percent last year."
Three weeks after the Tribunal editorial, Peter Wallace of Standard Today wrote an article, "Time to face the Facts," which debunked Arroyo's economic data. He said, "if you were told that GDP really only grew about 4.8 percent, and that family spending declined, and that there were more people who went hungry during the past three years than in any period during the past 10 years, you'd think much differently." Now, there's an ocean of difference between a 4.8% growth and the 7.8% growth that Arroyo has been trumpeting. Wallace explained, "In 2007, the economy, had exports and imports grown as they did during the past 20 years, would only have grown at about 4.8 percent. What created the 7.3 percent wasn't a dramatic improvement in the factors that contribute to growth but, instead, a worrying massive decline in imports." Wallace further stated, "Imports were 6.6 percent less in 2007 than they were in 2006. Now in a healthy, growing economy that's a most unlikely event."
My question is: What caused imports to decline in a "growing economy"? One explanation is that smuggling has increased; thus, negatively impacting legitimate trade activities. And this rationale was unwittingly collaborated by an article in the Warrior Lawyer which said, "one of the many criticisms leveled against this administration is how smuggling is not only rampant, but allegedly condoned at the highest levels of government." In the past seven years, cheap smuggled goods have been flooding the Philippines. For the first time in the country's history, the rich and the poor are wearing the same expensive brand names. The only difference is that the poor wear fake brand names smuggled from China. Recently, former Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. has implicated First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and his son, Congressman Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo, in smuggling operations.
Another interesting article was written by Manuel L. Quezon III -- grandson of the late President Manuel L. Quezon -- which showed a graph titled, "Real GDP Per Capita Quarter-on-Quarter Growth Rate." The graph, covered the period from the 4th quarter of 1981 to the 2nd quarter of 2007. Noticeably, the graph has a gap between the 4th quarter of 1999 and the 2nd quarter of 2001. Quezon noted, "You will see on the chart above, which comes from a presentation of Dr. Michael Alba, that the line showing the country's GDP is broken at one point. I asked him what that meant. He said, it represents a change made in the manner GDP is computed, which makes all previous data and all subsequent data not precisely comparable to each other." In other words, had the manner in which GDP was computed not change in the 2nd of quarter 2001, the GDP would have been different from what Arroyo had been showing the world. It is interesting to note that Gloria Arroyo took over the presidency from Joseph Estrada on January 20, 2001, the first quarter of that year. Did Arroyo manipulate the GDP computations?
The biggest victims of Arroyo's grand deception are the poor. A recent survey by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) showed that the number of poor Filipinos has increased and poverty overall has worsened during Arroyo's term. Poverty incidence rose from 24.4% in 2003 to 26.9% in 2006. Compounding this is the latest survey by the Hong-Kong based Political and Economic Risk Consultancy (PERC) which revealed that the Philippines -- for the second time in a row -- is perceived as the most corrupt economy in Asia. With the rice shortage and rising cost of commodities, particularly oil and rice, the economic downturn is hurting whom would hurt most -- the powerless poor.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com) .
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PerryScope
Perry Diaz
Gloria's "Omerta"
On September 26, 2005, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo issued Executive Order 464 which prevented members of the cabinet, police and military generals, senior national security officials, and "such other officers as may be determined by the President" from attending congressional hearings unless approved by the President. Arroyo issued EO 464 when two military officers appeared before the Senate Committee on National Defense to testify during the investigation of the "Hello Garci" election cheating scandal.
With a single stroke of the pen, Arroyo imposed a "code of silence" in her administration. And like the Mafia's "Omerta," EO 464 made sure that what happens in Malacanang stays in Malacanang. So far, nobody dared to break Gloria's "Omerta," except Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada.
When Joey de Venecia III exposed the ZTE-NBN deal, he implicated Romulo Neri -- then the Director of NEDA -- for recommending approval of the overpriced $329 million deal. However, Neri said in his testimony before the Senate in September 2007 that former COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos offered him P200 million for his endorsement of the deal. Neri then called Arroyo and told her about the bribery offer. Arroyo told Neri not to accept the bribe but to go ahead and endorse the deal. When asked for details, Neri invoked "executive privilege."
In January 2008, the Senate issued a warrant of arrest for Neri and Lozada to compel both of them to testify before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. Consequently, Neri petitioned the Supreme Court for prohibition against the arrest warrant claiming immunity under EO 464. On February 5, 2008, the Supreme Court issued a "status quo" order which temporarily restrained the Senate from arresting Neri. Three days later, Lozada surfaced and appeared before the Senate and blew the whistle on the ZTE-NBN "sweetheart deal." He testified that Abalos wanted a $130 million kickback from the deal, $70 million of which would go to First Gentleman Mike Arroyo.
The Supreme Court was scheduled to hear the arguments of Neri on March 4 and would then decide whether EO 464 would prohibit Neri from disclosing the details of his conversation with Arroyo. It is interesting to note that in 2006, the Supreme Court ruled in the Senate vs. Ermita case that the doctrine of "executive privilege" was constitutional but failed to define the limits of such doctrine. However, it is the opinion of some legal experts that "executive privilege" can only be invoked when national security is involved. They are also of the opinion that "executive privilege" cannot be invoked when corruption is involved. Corruption is a crime and not even the President can shield anyone from prosecution of a crime.
Recently, the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) issued a "pastoral letter" which condemned the "continuing culture of corruption from the top to the bottom of our social and political ladder." They recommended, among other things, the "abolition of EO 464 so that those who might have knowledge of any corruption in branches of government, may be free to testify before the appropriate investigating bodies." They also asked Arroyo to "allow her subordinates to reveal any corrupt acts, particularly about the ZTE-NBN deal, without being obstructed in their testimony no matter who is involved."
Arroyo immediately formed a legal team to study the possibility of scrapping EO 464. The members of the team were DoJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol, Deputy Executive Secretary for Legal Affairs Manny Gaite, and Government Corporate Legal Counsel Alberto Agra. This would be like "Godfather" Vito Corleone appointing his Consigliere and capo regimes to come up with a recommendation on how to do away with the "Omerta" code of silence.
As expected, Malacanang said that it has deferred its decision to repeal or not repeal EO 464. Their excuse: "We have to clarify what the CBCP meant." Really? Was the pastoral letter not clear enough? Arroyo's legal team wanted to have a "dialogue" with the bishops. Once again, Arroyo pulled one of her tricks. But CBCP's reaction was: if Malacanang would not revoke EO 464, the 55 bishops will meet again to study their next move.
From what I understand, the CBCP was divided on how to deal with the corruption issues against Arroyo and her administration. After more than 10 hours of discussion, the pro-Arroyo majority favored a soft approach to dealing with the corruption issues. It was revealed that Butuan Bishop Juan de Dios Pueblos threatened to oust Jaro Bishop Angel Lagdameo, the President of CBCP, if he wouldn't listen to the pro-Arroyo majority. It is interesting to note that Bishop Pueblos was appointed by Arroyo to the Melo Commission to investigate the extrajudicial killings. Now, with Arroyo's hesitation to abolish EO 464, the CBCP might change its stand and join the chorus in demanding her resignation. Among those who are urging Arroyo to abolish EO 464 were Vice President Noli de Castro; Gov. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga; Arroyo's political ally and close friend Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri; and -- surprisingly -- Philippine National Police Chief Avelino Razon.
With Arroyo's control of the Executive Branch, the House of Representatives, the military and the police, the only government bodies that she could not control -- or influence -- are the Senate and the Supreme Court. If the high court ruled in favor of Neri's petition, the Senate would be rendered inutile and put an end to its role as fiscalizer of the Executive Branch.
But the real issue is: What is Arroyo hiding from the public that she has to prohibit government officials from testifying in cases of corruption? There is a public clamor for the truth in the ZTE-NBN and other corruption cases. The only person that is keeping the truth from being disclosed is Gloria Arroyo. The people deserve to know the truth and if she continued to turn a blind eye and a deaf ear to the massive corruption in her administration, then she has lost the moral authority to lead the nation.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
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PerryScope
Perry Diaz
The Imminent Fall of the Evil Empire
For the last seven years since she usurped the presidency from Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo built an empire that fed on greed. And over that period of time, she spun a massive web of corruption -- and deception -- that centered in Malacanang. Corruption was institutionalized at every level of her government -- from the lowly paid clerk to the greedy influence peddlers and all the way to the top echelon of the Arroyo administration.
Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada's testimony before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee was akin to the testimony of Joseph Valachi before the U.S. Senate McClellan Committee in 1962 when it investigated organized crime in the U.S. Valachi was the first Mafia insider who broke the "Omerta" code of silence and exposed the extent of the "Cosa Nostra" criminal empire. In the case of Lozada, he was the first "Evil Empire" insider who exposed the extent of corruption in the Arroyo government.
In his testimony, Lozada talked about a meeting that he attended last December 2007 with Romulo Neri and Senators Ping Lacson and Jamby Madrigal. At that meeting, Neri said of Arroyo: "She is evil." Neri also told them that Arroyo allowed her business cronies to control certain industries. Lacson and Madrigal, however, would not divulge what Neri told them. They said that they promised Neri to keep the information he disclosed confidential. I think there's more to it than keeping their promises.
According to Lozada, Neri named Lucio Tan, John Gokongwei, Enrique Razon, Tomas Alcantara, and the Aboitizes as some of the "oligarchs" who ruled the country under the patronage of Arroyo. It is interesting to note that on December 12, 2007, a consortium led by Enrique Razon which comprised the State Grid Corporation of China and Calaca High Power Corp. won the right to operate the government-owned TransCo for 25 years for only $3.95 billion. Critics said that the government would earn a lot more than that if Congress did not pass a law forcing the privatization of TransCo operations.
Last September 2007, after the ZTE-NBN scandal erupted, Arroyo quietly suspended more than $4 billion worth of projects funded by China. She also suspended the $460 million Cyber-Ed project which was also awarded to a Chinese company.
It is anticipated that some of Arroyo's political allies would abandon her at the crucial time. But how about the military? Would the military's top brass stick with her until the very end? I doubt it. Just like in 1986 and 2001, the military would do the right thing and support the leader who would emerge with popular support. After all, Arroyo's presidency is considered by many as illegitimate; thus, giving the military a pretense in the event that they abandon Arroyo. Hey, they're human too.
At a recent wreath-laying ceremony at the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes Cemetery) commemorating the 22nd anniversary of the "People Power" revolution, former President Fidel V. Ramos, in his speech, said that the gains of the "People Power" revolution in 1986 and 2001 were being lost to "greed, apathy, and corruption." Those words must have shaken Arroyo -- who was present at the ceremony -- to the bones. And in what appeared to be a "call to action," Ramos implored, "history might yet call us to come together again -- to offer our lives and fortunes on the altar of our civic leaders." Then he blasted the oligarchs, dynasties, and opportunists. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who Ramos was talking about. After the ceremony, Arroyo took off without saying a word to the audience. Perhaps she was choking from the "noose" tightening around her neck while Ramos was lambasting corruption in her government.
A few days earlier, Vice President Noli de Castro said, "Nobody is above the law." He said that government officials, including Arroyo, should be charged if they were found involved in the ZTE-NBN scandal. That's a pretty strong message which told Arroyo that he is ready to take over in the event that she would resign or be removed from office. It is interesting to note that in 2005, de Castro stood squarely behind Arroyo and said that he was not interested in the presidency. In the end, Arroyo was saved only because nobody was ready to take over. This time, de Castro is ready. And all he had to do is convince the power brokers that he is ready, willing, and able to step up to the plate… and lead.
In an unexpected move a few days ago, First Gentleman Mike Arroyo hastily left for Hong Kong for an acupuncture treatment. But I doubt if anybody would believe him. Interestingly, he left four days after the Ombudsman opened its investigation on his involvement in the $329 million ZTE-NBN contract. Was he doing what his friend Joc-joc Bolante did -- flee the country to avoid prosecution?
After Mike left for Hong Kong, Arroyo admitted that she was aware of allegations of high-level corruption in the NBN deal. However, she did not stop the signing of the deal claiming that she didn't want to create a "diplomatic problem" with China. Whoa! This must be a joke. She placed the interest of corrupt Chinese officials -- or as one of my readers said, her own interest -- over the interest of the Filipino people. She could have come up with a good -- and valid -- excuse and told her Chinese friends that the review of the contract was still in progress. And what would the Chinese do otherwise -- invade the Philippines?
Freddie Hernandez of Port Moresby wrote, "Loyalty has become a multi-million peso/dollar commodity for those who are close to the powers-that-be. To them, it is their dogged commitment to stick to the seat of power come hell or high water; it is a determined effort to simply play deaf to the prevailing public outcry that clamorously tells them such allegiance has now become a tool of oppression, and to play blind to the overlapping web of blatant corruption in their midst." But like all things, the good would eventually prevail over evil. The fall of Gloria's "evil empire" is imminent. Either she resigns gracefully now or feel the wrath of another "people power."
One of Arroyo's allies, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, in an article by Roger M. Balanza, said that "the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo could be hastened not by the political opposition calling for her ouster or military or police losing trust on the Commander-in-Chief, but students rising up with one voice in a 'spontaneous combustion' to demand she step down." Indeed, a "spontaneous combustion" -- just like the First Quarter Storm 38 years ago -- could cause a massive turmoil that would either force Arroyo to resign or declare martial law. It's her choice to make.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
It's All About Power and Money
The ouster of Jose de Venecia as Speaker in the wee hours of February 5, 2008, demonstrated once again President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's insatiable lust for power. Indeed, Arroyo has amassed and consolidated more power than any other president except Ferdinand Marcos. But she did it without martial law. Through a series of Machiavellian maneuvers, she achieved absolute power. And as Lord Acton said more than a century ago, "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely." It was true then, it is still true today.
The Philippine government was patterned after the U.S. form of government which has three branches -- Executive, Legislative and Judiciary. Each branch is independent from the other branches, a mechanism that provides a "check and balance" in the government. But with de Venecia removed as Speaker -- and 80% of the congressmen controlled by Arroyo -- the House of Representatives would become a rubber stamp of the Executive branch just like it was with the Batasang Pambansa (National Legislature) during the Marcos dictatorship.
The new Speaker, Prospero Nogales -- said to have been handpicked by Arroyo herself -- would just be a glorified lapdog of Arroyo who'll do anything that she wants out of Congress. Arroyo's two sons, Congressman Juan Miguel "Mikey" Arroyo and his younger brother, neophyte Congressman Diosdado "Dato" Arroyo, would make sure that Nograles will do exactly what mama wants.
The question that comes to mind is: Why did Arroyo get rid of de Venecia? De Venecia has been a loyal lieutenant of Arroyo who -- together with former President Fidel V. Ramos -- rescued her from imminent fall in 2005 as a result of the "Hello Garci" election cheating scandal. At 5:00 p.m. on that fateful Friday afternoon on July 8, 2005, with Arroyo losing her grip on power and ready to flee Malacanang and follow her husband Mike and son Mikey into exile in San Francisco, former President Ramos, Speaker de Venecia, several congressmen, and local officials rushed to Malacanang and stood behind Arroyo. To save her neck, Arroyo promised Ramos and de Venecia that she would go along with their plan to transform the republic into a parliamentary system in 10 months! But as soon as the "people power" siege was over, Arroyo reneged on her promise and pursued a different course. Mike and Mikey came back from "exile" -- or was it R and R? -- and everything was back to normal. Once again, La Gloria has conned all the boys. Ha ha ha…
Given de Venecia's loyalty, and with two years left in her presidency, Arroyo could have kept de Venecia as the House head honcho until she steps down gracefully from the presidency at the end of her term in June 2010. That would have been the right thing to do. Instead, she started a war with de Venecia and anyone who stands on her way. This war -- the "War of the Dynasties" -- would go beyond 2010 where the Macapagal-Arroyo dynasty would battle with anyone who would dare challenge their supremacy. For Mikey and Dato, the "whacking" of de Venecia was their "baptism of fire." They have "made their bones," so to speak. They allegedly did it in retaliation for the expose' made by de Venecia's son Joey de Venecia III who accused their father Mike Arroyo for involvement in the NBN $329 million deal in which President Arroyo was forced to cancel to prevent the scandal from blowing in her face and scorch her presidency. According to Joey, Mike Arroyo and then COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos brokered the deal with the Chinese outfit ZTE Corp.
On February 7, two days after de Venecia was ousted by the Arroyo brothers, Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr. -- surrounded by nuns -- surfaced and held a press conference at 2:00 a.m. at the La Salle Greenhills campus and exposed Mike Arroyo and Abalos of their involvement in the failed NBN deal. Lozada said that he was a consultant for the NBN project and was asked by Romulo Neri, who was then the Director-General of the National Economic and Development Authority, to review the project. The price tag of the NBN project was originally $262 million but Abalos wanted a $130 million kickback. Thus, the price was increased to $329 million to make sure that Abalos got his kickback. It is interesting to note that Joey de Venecia, in his testimony before the Senate last October, told the Senate panel that Abalos promised Mike Arroyo a $70 million kickback. If that would have been the case, Abalos would have kept a hefty $60 million for himself. After his press conference, members of the office of the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms arrived and whisked him away to safety.
The following day, Lozada testified before the Senate for seven hours. He told the Senate panel that Neri "instructed" him not to involve Mike Arroyo in the NBN issue. Neri's instruction was relayed to him by President Arroyo's Malacanang aide Medy Pobaldor while he was in Hong Kong. Interestingly, Lozada said that the government sent him to Hong Kong because "they couldn't find a legal remedy to stop the Senate" from requiring him to testify on the NBN deal. Isn't that what also happened to Joc-Joc Bolante during the fertilizer scam investigation by the Senate? Lozada also said that he met with Mike Arroyo, Abalos, and Neri during a dinner with ZTE officials. Lozada said that the ZTE officials told him that they had advanced some money to Abalos. I supposed the "advance" money was not refundable which would have angered the ZTE officials when President Arroyo canceled their contract. The question is: Did Abalos split the "advance" money with Mike Arroyo?
With de Venecia licking his wounds and Lozada singing like a canary in front of the Senate, what's going to happen next? Would de Venecia do to President Arroyo what Governor Chavit Singson did to former President Estrada? If de Venecia were smart, he would have kept a dossier of damaging information on all the corruptions and shenanigans in the Arroyo administration, just in case he might need them someday. Well, that "someday" is today. De Venecia has to strike while the iron is hot.
We all know that Charter change (Cha-cha) has always been in Arroyo's mind. It's the only vehicle for her to stay in power short of declaring martial law. As a matter of fact, she proposed last year to change the government to a federal system by 2012. Many believed that Arroyo's ultimate goal is to extend her term beyond 2010. Had the Supreme Court not rejected Arroyo's flawed people's initiative, she would have become the Prime Minister in 2010 under the parliamentary system that she proposed. Now, with the House of Representatives under her control, Cha-cha could easily sail through the House. But she would face stiff opposition in the Senate in which case she could once again resort to a people's initiative. This time, she would not repeat the mistake she made with the first people's initiative.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
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"Stars" Shine in Pampanga
Amidst the gloom and doom in Pampanga, two heroes have emerged to fight the forces of evil. One was Governor "Among Ed" Panlilio who had beaten two political giants in one of the biggest -- if not the biggest -- upsets in the 2007 elections. During the campaign, he pledged to stop corruption and crush jueteng. Within five months, "Among Ed" stopped corruption in the quarry industry. Jueteng, however, was a different story. The forces behind jueteng are politically entrenched and it would be a monumental undertaking to stop them. However, it can be done.
Last September 2007, the Pampanga Mayors League filed a measure with the provincial board that would transfer the authority to monitor the extraction and payment of quarry fees from the provincial government to the mayors of the seven "lahar" quarry towns. Over the protest of Among Ed, the provincial board unanimously approved the measure which Among Ed claimed was unconstitutional and illegal.
Recently, Among Ed indicated that he received reliable information that his enemies were cooking up a recall move against him for "incompetence." The basis for the allegation of "incompetence" was their claim that Among Ed did not enjoy the support of the other elected officials in the province. On the contrary, it's the other elected officials who could not -- or would not -- get along with Among Ed. And the reason is because of Among Ed's resolve to eradicate corruption and jueteng. The bottom line is: Among Ed's crusade is hurting their "business" interests. For four years prior to Among Ed's election, more than one billion pesos in quarry fees had been pocketed by corrupt officials.
The only official who is openly supporting Among Ed is the popular mayor of San Fernando City, Oscar Samson Rodriguez. Mayor Rodriguez's bold step to break ranks with the powers-that-be in his province has instantly attracted public attention and scrutiny. Who is this man who crossed the line and threw his lot with Among Ed?
Mayor Oca, as Rodriguez is affectionately called by his constituents, is a lawyer by profession. He earned his Bachelor of Law degree in 1973 and was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1974. It's interesting to note that Rodriguez reviewed for his bar exams while he was detained in prison during the Martial Law. When Marcos was deposed in 1986, he was appointed by then President Cory Aquino as Provincial Administrator of Pampanga. The following year, he ran and won a seat in Congress under the new 1987 constitution. He lost his seat in 1992 and returned to law practice. He ran again in 1995 for Congress and was elected. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2001. One of his achievements in Congress was the transformation of San Fernando into a city. In 2001, after several years of hard work, San Fernando became a city.
After he was termed out in Congress in 2004, Rodriguez ran for Mayor of San Fernando City and won. In 2005, he ranked fourth -- out of 65 finalists from around the world -- in "World Mayor 2005," a feat no other Philippine mayor has achieved. In 2007, he was reelected to a second term as mayor of San Fernando.
What made Mayor Rodriguez tick? In one of his public statements, he said that he wanted to be remembered as a public servant who served his constituents with "absolute commitment, honesty, and integrity." In his first year as mayor, he put together an ambitious eight-point agenda on education, health, transportation and communication, trade and industry, environmental management, public safety and order, culture preservation and good governance. All his programs are now in full swing.
His grand vision of making San Fernando City the "Gateway to the North" has all the hallmark of success. The city's geographical location makes it the crossroad of Central Luzon. With the proximity of Clark Airport and the Subic Seaport, the greater San Fernando area has the potential for drawing thousands of investors; thus, creating jobs and other opportunities for the people of Pampanga, particularly his San Fernando constituents.
Eliminating corruption in his city is probably his biggest challenge. However, his most effective weapon in fighting corruption is his own 20-plus years of unblemished public service. He is one of the few incorruptible politicians around. He said that he has no "political debts" to pay because he always started his campaign from a "zero budget." He said that his "record, commitment, and desire to serve" were the key to his victory. He made it clear to his City Council that there is no substitute for good governance. To make sure that his anti-corruption policies were going to work, he instituted "timely flow of documents, internal monitoring, computerization, daily remittance of collections, disciplining and removing those found wanting and committing indiscretions… and living by example." In April 2005, Mayor Rodriguez suspended the City Assessor for "alleged involvement in the 'anomalous' assessments of real estate properties." Yes, Mayor Rodriguez meant what he said and did what he said he would do to punish malfeasants.
Known as the "Christmas Capital of the Philippines," San Fernando City's annual Christmas Lantern Festival has created a booming tourism industry. The colorful star-shaped Christmas lantern -- "parol" -- has become the city's major cottage industry. The "parol" symbolizes the biblical "Star of Bethlehem" which revealed to the Three Wise Men the birth of Jesus in a manger in Bethlehem. During the Christmas season, most Filipinos would display a "parol" in their homes.
As thousands of giant lanterns illuminate San Fernando City during the Christmas season, Mayor Rodriguez's "star" has illuminated the conscience of his people and brought wisdom to a government plagued by corruption. He and Governor Panlilio are the province's shining stars. Together, they can effectively restore good governance -- and morality -- in Pampanga. However, it is not going to be easy. "Jueteng power" controls the body politic of Pampanga and, to a large degree, the country. But Governor Panlilio and Mayor Rodriguez can beat the odds against them. They could turn the recall move against Governor Panlilio to their advantage by using it as their own vehicle to rally and unite the people of Pampanga against corruption and "jueteng power." At the end of the day, "people power" would prevail over "jueteng power."
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
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"Jueteng Power" in Pampanga
The victory of Fr. Eduardo "Among Ed" Tongol Panlilio over two powerful political Goliaths in Pampanga last year demonstrated once again that "people power" would prevail when all other means would fail. But unlike the "people power" that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in 1986 and deposed Joseph Estrada in 2001, the "people power" in Pampanga was different -- it was done through the ballot.
"Among Ed," as he was affectionately called by his followers, brought down his two rivals who have close ties to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. One was 29-year-old Mark Lapid -- the incumbent governor at that time and son of former governor and now Sen. Lito Lapid -- who was referred to in some quarters as the "quarry-tax-theft king" for alleged corruption in the "lahar" quarry operations. The other was provincial board member and former Lubao Mayor Lilia Pineda -- Arroyo's town mate and "kumadre." Pineda was referred to as the "Jueteng Queen" because of her marriage to Rodolfo "Bong" Pineda, the alleged king of "jueteng" -- an illegal numbers game -- in at least nine provinces in Central Luzon. With formidable foes like Lapid and Pineda, Among Ed was never given a chance to beat Lapid and Pineda, both of whom were backed by well-oiled political machines and huge campaign war chests. But Among Ed did the impossible. Some people believed that his victory was a miracle.
Soon after he was sworn in as governor, Among Ed faced an uphill battle. Vice Governor Joseller Guiao -- as de facto head of the 10-member provincial board -- has taken an adversarial role against Among Ed. On September 21, 2007, the provincial board unanimously approved Ordinance 176 -- a measure filed by the Pampanga Mayors' League -- which would transfer the authority to monitor the extraction and payment of quarry fees from the provincial government to the mayors of the seven "lahar" quarry towns in Pampanga. When the ordinance reached Among Ed's desk on October 9, he vetoed it claiming that it violated the 1991 Local Government Code which clearly assigns management of the quarry operations to the provincial government. However, on October 15, the provincial board, by unanimous vote, passed a resolution overriding Among Ed's veto. Last November 22, Among Ed asked the Department of Justice to issue a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Ordinance 176 claiming that it was "unconstitutional and illegal." Meanwhile, to avoid being accused of dereliction of duty and be subjected to administrative proceedings -- and possibly removal from office -- Among Ed issued an executive order to implement Ordinance 176.
It is interesting to note that in less than five months, from June 29 to November 21, 2007, Among Ed collected P97.41 million which was more than the P78.15 million collected from 2004 through 2006 by his predecessors. Assuming that the quarry production remained the same since 2004, where did P623.20 million go, or, to be more precise, whose pockets did it go to?
While Among Ed is faced with mounting opposition in his attempt to stop corruption in the quarry industry, his crusade against jueteng is turning out to be a "mission impossible." With the alleged "jueteng king" -- reputed to be the biggest and richest of the country's 16 known jueteng lords -- running his jueteng empire right in President Arroyo's "backyard" in Lubao, Pampanga, Among Ed cannot stop jueteng all by himself. He made a campaign promise to stop jueteng in six months. Five months have already passed. Unless a miracle happens again, jueteng would continue to thrive in Pampanga.
Clearly, Arroyo has turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to what has been happening in her home province. In less than seven years that she has been President, Pampanga has become one of the most -- if not the most -- corrupt provinces in the country. Indeed, Pampanga is now the country's jueteng capital where "jueteng power" controls the body politic of the province and, to a large degree, the country.
It is estimated that the jueteng industry is raking in at least P40 billion a year in collections. A third of the collections would go to politicians and government officials, and the police; thus, ensuring the "protection" needed to keep the jueteng operations insulated and uninterrupted.
Now, let's play a different kind of numbers game. The Bible says that 777 symbolizes Yahweh (God) and 666 is the mark of the Beast (Antichrist). "Eduardo" consists of seven letters and his middle name "Tongol" and surname "Panlilio" together have 14 letters which would give two 7's. Thus, "Eduardo Tongol Panlilio" would be 777. And who is 666? The conjugal dictators Ferdie and Imelda Marcos would be the first 666 and Gloria and Miguel Arroyo would be the second 666. Intriguing, isn't it?
Last October 11, 2007, at a meeting in Malacanang hosted by Arroyo, Among Ed received a brown bag containing P500,000 from another governor without any note or explanation. Allegedly, it came from an Arroyo aide. At another meeting attended by 190 congressmen on the same day in Malacanang, several congressmen said that they also received brown bags containing money. Two days later, Among Ed exposed the alleged "bribery" in a press conference. It was revealed later that seven other governors received similar brown bags from Malacanang aides.
A month later, all 21 members of the Pampanga Mayors League did not show up at a meeting of the Provincial Development Council convened by Among Ed. Was it a coincidence? Or was it a part of a concerted effort to neutralize Among Ed and strip him of his authority?
With the Vice Governor, the entire provincial board, all the mayors, the jueteng king and queen massed against him, Among Ed has his back to a precipice. Is he going to fight back and try to regain control of the province that he was elected to govern? Other than capitulation, that may be his only option. Should he do so, he should once again seek divine guidance to bring about another "people power" to combat the formidable forces of "jueteng power." Yes, it's going to be "people power" versus "jueteng power," good against evil, and 777 against 666. Indeed, a titanic battle is about to loom in the horizon.
(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)
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