REMEMBER “C5 at Taga”?
For the benefit of those with short memories, in January 2010, with the presidential campaign in full swing and Sen. Manny Villar leading in the surveys on presidential aspirants, the Senate debated a report recommending the censure of Villar “for improper and unethical conduct.” Villar, who owns one of the biggest real estate development conglomerates in the country, allegedly channeled public works funds to build a C5 extension through his firms’ property.
According to media, Villar used his position as Senate Finance Committee Chairman and as Senate President to benefit his firms at the expense of the Filipino taxpayers: “The report said the government spent P6.2 billion on the C-5 road extension project, including the realigned P4.28 billion for the extension project, the P1.8 billion spent for the original project but was wasted due to the realignment, and the reportedly overpriced payment of P141.2 million in right-of-way payments for Villar’s real estate companies.”
It was a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house.
A mischievous wordsmith promptly punned Villar’s campaign slogan, “Sipag at Tiyaga” (Industriousness and Diligence) into “C5 at Taga” – “taga” being a Tagalog idiom for getting a cut or making money out of something.
Villar lost to a candidate perceived as his exact opposite, that is, a virtual Knight in Shining Armor, Benigno S. Aquino III (ironically, Aquino lost much of that luster during his tenure).
Now comes president-elect Rodrigo Duterte, he who rode to victory as another Knight in Shining Armor, vowing to slay the dragons of criminality and corruption, even if he has to dump the thieving corpses into the Manila Bay. And what has been one of his first acts as presumptive dragon-slayer? He announces the appointment of newly reelected congressman Mark Villar, son of the elder Villar, as Secretary of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
Remarked a pundit, Duterte is sending the Villars back to the hen house. The appointment has disappointed many of Duterte’s trusting supporters who voted for him on the promise of “change.” They now have the uneasy feeling that they have been short-changed.
Of course, Duterte’s near-fanatical loyalists are bristling at what they call “premature judging” of their idol. They insist that things will eventually work out well and that Duterte will take his oath of office with a team that is capable, qualified and raring to deliver on his promise of dramatic reforms.
To be fair, none of the announced “appointments” may be considered final. Duterte has been known to do a multiple about-face on his campaign vows, decisions and policy statements, and there is every possibility that his more sensible advisers will make him see the light. And speaking of seeing the light, one of Duterte’s closest friends and a generous financial supporter has taken a dim view of the appointments.
Mike Abe, speaking on behalf of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, has characterized Duterte’s process of selecting key officials as “turo-turo” (literally, point-point):
“’Turo-turo lang. O, ikaw ang secretary dito, ikaw ang may hawak dito. Nawala na ‘yung proseso. ‘Yun ang ikinagugulat ng mismong malalapit kay Mayor,” Abe told Rappler.” (It’s just point-point. You be secretary here, you be in charge of this. There is no process. That’s what shocked those close to Mayor.)
One would have expected some kind of formal vetting process for something as important as selecting individuals for some of the most important positions in government. For perspective, following is what prospective appointees to high-level US government positions have to go through, as digested from an official document:
“CALLED TO SERVE: THE PRESIDENTIAL APPOINTMENT VETTING PROCESS The rewards of public service as a high-level presidential appointee include the opportunity to serve one’s country, pursue important policy goals, and help shape historical events. In order to serve as a presidential appointee, however, candidates must first successfully navigate two complex political processes: nomination by the President and confirmation by the United States Senate. Both processes entail extensive vetting of professional credentials and a host of personal background issues.
“Top Five Vetting Priorities (of) Individuals who are interested in a presidential appointment are
1. Tax Issues (including paying employee taxes for undocumented nannies)
2. Ethics and Financial Disclosure Requirements.
3. Litigation, investigations, and other legal proceedings.
4. Publications and Organizational Affiliations.
5. Medical, Family, and Personal Issues.”
If the same vetting process were to be applied in Duterte’s selection of cabinet appointees, would Mark Villar qualify? Conflict of interest would certainly be a major issue.
For that matter, would lawyer Salvador Panelo, who appears to have been tapped as presidential spokesman, be considered acceptable? Panelo’s reportedly weird sartorial tastes and lack of charm in dealing with the media may be the least of his problems. Worst of all is that he is the defense lawyer of the Ampatuans in the case involving the massacre of 57 persons in Maguindanao, 32 of them journalists.
And talk about conflict of interest, how about conflict of national security interests?
Duterte has announced his intention to reserve four key cabinet portfolios for nominees of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army: the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).
More than the other cabinet offices, these four are primarily populist and would seem to be ideal for a group that has its roots in the masses. Assuming that the CPP and the NPA, after decades of conflict with the government, are still as ideologically committed to correcting social injustice and uplifting the lives of the working class, it is doubtful that it has reversed its avowed goal of overthrowing the government and curtailing US influence on our country’s economic, political and military affairs.
While the NPA invokes an ideology that resonates with the poor, with labor and with the landless in the rural areas, the cadres are in fact operating in a manner no different from the Mafia, engaging in the protection racket and making millions in the process. This should be apparent to Duterte because, according to a report, “The NPA obtains significant amounts of money from the Davao region. The military estimates that the NPA collected 39.5 million pesos ($890,000) there in 2010, nearly half of the 95.5 million pesos ($2.15 million) it raised from revolutionary taxes throughout the country during the year. Most of the funds are collected in the Compostela Valley, where there are many mines. In 2009, the military estimated that the province could provide the group with as much as 20 million pesos ($460,000) per month.”
According to the same report, “the NPA has increased (the) tax levied on mining companies from 15 million pesos ($340,000) to 20 million pesos ($450,000) a month.”
Imagine how it will be when the CPP and NPA assume control of the DOLE, DSWD, DAR and DENR budgets. Without discounting the temptations for personal enrichment, there exists the very real prospect of raising billions to pay for troops and armaments to match the firepower of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Just as serious a threat is the increased capability offered by the key posts to win the battle for the hearts and minds of the masses.
Indeed, placing these departments under the control of a group sworn to overthrow the government is not just assigning the foxes to guard the hen house, it is allowing a Trojan horse to be wheeled right into the center of power.
The latest news is that Jose Maria Sison has signed an “interim peace agreement” with the Aquino government that the incoming Duterte administration can simply ratify. It is interesting to note that this is the first time that Sison has agreed to sign such an agreement and that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP) has not even made an issue of the NPA remaining in America’s roster of terrorist organizations.
With a foot in Malacanang – as Duterte promised Sison before the elections – why, indeed, would the CPP-NPA or the NDFP care about being in America’s shit list? In fact, their attitude is the other way around. This early, they are now demanding that Duterte should put the US in the Philippines’ shit list. As a first step. they want Duterte to rescind the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) and the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA). In other words, Yankee go home. You can almost hear China’s officialdom cheering in the background and speeding up preparations for total control of the South China Sea.
As the soap opera cliff hanger would intone, “Abangan ang susunod na kabanata.” ([email protected])
