Ready and raring to defy the law

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated February 01, 2010 12:00 AM

Malaysian opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim believes that Asia is in the midst of a fourth wave of democratization. And Indonesia, the biggest Muslim country, is in the middle of it. Street protests on myriad issues rage everyday. Twelve years ago the military would have crushed dissent with clubs and caging. Today President Susilo Yudhoyono, an ex-general, says the mass actions are part of democracy. Malaysian prime ministrer Najib Razak may not be as tolerant, but voters gave Anwar’s party a big number of parliament seats to almost capture power last year. Communist-led regimes in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos are beginning to listen more to people’s voices. The Philippines is set to elect a President that would set a-right 12 years of drift. The enthusiasm is so great that new voters lined up at registration centers as early as 4 a.m. The illiberal democracies that Fareed Zakaria denounced a decade ago are changing.

Anwar spoke Friday at the U.P. College of Law’s lecture series on “The Asian Renaissance.” The first wave of democratization swelled in Europe in the early 1800s, giving rise to Jose Rizal’s views of Asian freedom later in the century. The second wave came right after the Second World War; the third, started in southern Europe in 1974 and ended with the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. All waves of democratization are followed by counter-waves of authoritarian regimes.

Anwar laments that, as Asia liberalizes, Malaysia is regressing. The government, contrary to a Supreme Court ruling, bars non-Muslims from using the word Allah to refer to God. Anwar counters that the name of the prophet Muhammad’s father is Abdullah (Servant of God), meaning the term Allah presaged the spread of Islam. Razak has treated lightly the bombing of 14 churches and six temples by extremists.

Razak’s admin will start tomorrow Anwar’s trial on the sodomy complaint of a former aide. Three renowned foreign doctors, contracted by the police and prosecutors, have all said there was no penetration. Yet the admin insists there must be a plausible explanation for it, so the charges must stay.

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Truly, the Constitution means nothing to the Arroyo admin. This is laid bare again in the latest remark of presidential mouthpiece Gary Olivar on the Maguindanao massacre. Toto Mangudadatu, harrumphs Olivar, was amply warned about the brutality of the Ampatuans he is challenging for governor, so there was nothing more Malacañang could do. The inference is tasteless. Since Mangudadatu persisted in having them file his candidacy, he in effect led his wife, two sisters, an aunt, and four lawyers to the killing field, along with aides, bystanders, and 30 journalists.

Mangudadatu testified in the mass murder trial that the President and high officials saw trouble brewing but let it be. In Oct. then-defense secretary, now Lakas-Kampi admin presidential bet Gilbert Teodoro, had advised him against defying the Ampatuans. Same with party spokesman Prospero Pichay and presidential political adviser Gabriel Claudio. Arroyo learned from Mangudadatu of the military’s disarming, on the Ampatuans’ urging, of the police force in the town of his brother-mayor. The four were in position to someway prevent violence. That they didn’t matches Olivar’s display of scorn for the Constitution.

The Charter specifies the oath of office that a President must take. Included are to “preserve and defend (the) Constitution, execute its laws, and do justice to every man.” Telling anyone to desist from running against a violent clan, instead of neutralizing that clan, is certainly not just. It in fact breaks many penal provisions. Too, Arroyo failed to preserve and defend at least three constitutional provisions in relation to Maguindanao:

• Article 2, Section 5, about maintaining peace and order, and protecting life, liberty and property;

• Article XVI, Section 5 (3), about insulating the armed forces from partisan politics; and

• Article XVIII, Section 24, about dismantling private armies.

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President Arroyo is ready to appoint a new Chief Justice even if the Judicial and Bar Council does not submit nominations. That is another of Olivar’s flouting of the Constitution. Article VIII, Section 8-9 create the JBC, with “principal function of recommending appointees to the Judiciary … for every vacancy….” Given Olivar’s line, he must answer: so what’s the point of the JBC sending a shortlist if the President considers it unworthy?

Chief Justice Reynato Puno is to retire on May 17, one week after the presidential election. With automated vote counting, the Comelec might have proclaimed a new President by then. Gloria Arroyo’s caretaker role therefore is to assure smooth turnover to her successor. It is not to fast break the appointment of a new Chief Justice, which she should leave to the next President. In fact, Article VII, Section 15 bars a President from making any appointments two months before a presidential election up to the end of the term on June 30.

Two precedents implement that provision in presidential election years. In 1992, when Chief Justice Marcelo Fernan resigned to run for VP, the JBC did not immediately submit nominees. The most senior justice Andres Narvasa served as acting CJ. In May 1998 the Supreme Court forbade the JBC from nominating a replacement for retired Justice Ricardo Francisco until a new President came to office.

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“When you want light in your room, turn on the switch. When you want light in your dark moment, switch your heart to its source: the God of everlasting light.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Paglabag sa batas inamin ng admin

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated February 01, 2010 12:00 AM

ANG isda ay nahuhuli sa bunganga. At huli na naman ang Arroyo admin, umaamin na walang pakialam sa Konstitusyon. Nabisto ito nang aminin ni presidential spokesman Gary Olivar na walang ginawa ang Mala­cañang laban sa bayolenteng Ampatuan clan kundi balaan si Vice Mayor Esmael “Toto” Mangudadatu na huwag nang lumaban sa pagka-governor ng Maguin­danao.

Nu’ng Miyerkoles tumestigo si Mangudadatu sa pag­­lilitis ng Maguindanao massacre kung saan pinaslang   ang kanyang asawa, dalawang kapatid na babae, tiyahin, mga abogada, at 30 mamamahayag. Ginunita niya na binalaan siya ni noo’y defense secretary, ngayo’y Lakas-Kampi admin presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro, nu’ng Oktubre 2009 na huwag nang banggain ang bayolenteng angkan. Gan’un din, sumpa niya, ang payo ni Lakas-Kampi spokesman at dating kongresista Pros­pero Pichay. Dagdag pa niya, sinikap ni presidential political adviser Gabby Claudio na pagsanibin sila ni Andal Ampatuan Sr. At nang umangal siya kay Gloria Arroyo mismo tungkol sa pagdis-arma ng militar sa pulisya ng kapatid niyang mayor, sa utos ni Governor Ampatuan, ipi­nasoli lang ang armas at wala nang ibang ginawa ang Pangulo.

Malinaw ng paglabag ito sa Konstitusyon. Bakit, ika niyo? Kasi sumumpa si Arroyo ng nakasaad sa Article 7, Section 5, para sa Pangulo, na ipatutupad niya ito at maglalapat ng hustisya sa lahat. At ano ang mga dapat niyang ipatupad na laman ng Konstitusyon? Una, Art. 2, Sec. 5: ipatupad ang kaayusan, at ipagtanggol ang buhay, kalayaan at ari-arian ng mamamayan. Ikalawa, Art. XVI, Sec. 5-3: Ilayo ang Sandatahang Lakas sa partisan politics. Ikatlo, Art. XVIII, Sec. 24, gibain lahat ng private armies.

Hindi ginampanan ni     Arroyo at mga tauhan ni­yang sibilyan at militar ang kanilang tungkulin. Dapat silang papanagutin sa pag­kamatay ng 57 sa ka­may   ng private army sa Ma­guin­danao.

RP aviation demotion: who is to blame?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 29, 2010 12:00 AM

Presidential candidate Gilbert Teodoro begs not to be judged by his ties with the hated Arroyo admin. But voters can’t help it, since he’s in the company of reputed election cheats. He was defense chief of Gloria Arroyo whose 2004 presidential win is doubted. A Maguindanao massacre victim has linked him by court testimony to indictee Andal Ampatuan whose clan allegedly rigged the 2007 ballot in the Muslim region.

Also disturbingly, Teodoro’s original VP running mate was Interior Sec. Ronaldo Puno. The latter is often associated with shady presidential campaigns in 1992, 1998 and 2004.

Puno has backed out of the race. But he is now using his position to replace police chiefs in cities and provinces where mayors and governors are political foes. This is without the required assent of the local execs. It’s as if Puno — and Teodoro — are up to no good using the police in the polls.

Watch closely the affected cities: Caloocan, Pasig, Makati, Alaminos, Davao, Cabanatuan, Muñoz, Palayan. Gapan, Talavera, Guimba, Zaragosa, Quezon, San Isidro, Licab and Laur. Also these provinces: Bataan, Tarlac, Zambales, Rizal, Camarines Sur, Antique, Northern Leyte, Capiz, and Surigao del Norte.

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In Nov. 2007 the US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded RP to Category-II in air safety and security. This barred RP airlines from setting up new or spreading old services to the US, among other sanctions. The rating came after four months of FAA review of its RP equivalent, the Air Transport Office. Applying international safety standards, FAA found the RP government wanting in basic infrastructures, logistics, and systems. Most telling, there was no skill upgrading for ATO personnel who check airline flight crew.

In response RP rushed creation in Mar. 2008 of a fiscally autonomous Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines. Like a corporation it has a seven-man board, six of them Cabinet secretaries: of transportation and communications (as chairman), justice, foreign affairs, finance, interior, and labor. The seventh is vice chairman and director general, retired Air Force general Ruben Ciron, appointed in July 2008. CAAP’s job is to upgrade civil aviation facilities and personnel.

Since then, however, the Category-II grade has not improved to I. Worse, the International Civil Aviation Organization has issued its own bad review. Clustering RP with such backward or failing states like Angola, Bangladesh, Congo, Djibouti, Kazakhstan, Rwanda and Zambia, the United Nations agency said CAAP has “significant safety concerns.”

What caused this? There are two versions.

Immediately upon Ciron’s entry, court and media fighting erupted between the old ATO and new CAAP leadership. The old timers accused the newcomers of amateurism. Allegedly Ciron’s team didn’t even know that the ICAO grade of 28.17 percent meant “compliance,” and took it to mean “findings”. Consequently, they missed the global average of 40.31 percent compliance; thus the unsavory ranking. Blamed on Ciron too was a radar breakdown in Sept. 2009, the first in RP aviation history, closing the country’s airspace for hours. Of 191 navigational facilities nationwide, only 16 are reliable and eight are due for recalibration by end-Feb. 2010. The rest allegedly are in disrepair, although 90 percent of CAAP revenues come from navigational charges on airlines.

Money is also at issue. Supposedly Ciron has hired 104 consultants as of Aug. 2009, mostly military retirees like him, costing P2 million a month and duplicating regular positions. The runway extension at the Boracay Airport allegedly was contracted for P32 million without public bidding. Even Ciron’s giveaway desk calendars last Christmas, costing half-a-million pesos, have been raked up.

CAAP managers counter that the law that created the agency forced them to absorb even the incompetents from the defunct ATO. Of the 104 consultants, 71 were hires of their accuser Daniel Dimagiba, the last ATO chief. These were the same ATO check pilots, cabin crew examiners, airworthiness inspectors, librarians, and medical workers whom the FAA had found inefficient. Ciron did hire 30 or so new consultants, they admit. But these are aviation professionals whose legal, technical and managerial expertise enabled CAAP to take over without hitches.

CAAP’s worst irony is with check pilots for Boeing 747s and Airbus 340s, managers say. It allegedly inherited from ATO men whose flight know-how is only with single engine planes, derided as tutubi (damselflies). A favorite joke among wide-body jet pilots is that their CAAP checker was late for the test because he got lost in the cockpit. The remedy is to lure back Filipino pilots working overseas for monthly pays equivalent to P300,000-P500,000. But the CAAP has yet to raise such money. So in the meantime it relies on Air Force retirees.

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Reacting to my piece last Monday on the Immigration Authority bill, Commissioner Marcelino Libanan says:

His term will be extended by a year, not three; his two deputies will be retired on June 30. Visa issuance will be transferred to the IA from the foreign office in keeping with modern worldwide trends. Allegedly present RP laws already deem visa processing as an immigration function, and releasing as a consular task. The tourism office, Philippine Retirement Authority, Board of Investments and Subic Freeport will no longer be allowed to issue special visas. The airport arrival-departure card was made bigger to become machine-readable. He will stay on to continue such reforms as reducing visa extending time from 55 days to five minutes.

The employees union adds that they’ve been assured of no job losses.

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“If you want to experience comfort in life, start by being comfortable to yourself. If you want to grow in comfort, be a comfort to others.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Pananaw sa kapwa: Dalawang halimbawa

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 29, 2010

KALILIPAT lang ng bagong kasal sa apartment. Kina­bukasan habang nag-aalmusal, nakita ng batang misis sa bintana ang kapitbahay nagsasampay ng labada. “Hindi malinis ang laba,” aniya, “hindi siya marunong maglaba nang tama.” Tiningnan lang siya ng kanyang maamong mister.

Tuwing maglalaba ang kapitbahay, pinupuna ng misis ang marumi pang labada. Makalipas ang isang buwan nagulat siya nang makita ang napakalinis na sampay. Agad niya itong itinuro sa mister: “Tignan mo o, maputi na ang laba niya. Natuto na siya. Sino kaya ang nagturo sa kanya?”

Bumulong si mister: “Nilinis ko kaninang umaga ang ating bintana.”

At gan’un din ang buhay. Anumang napapansin natin ay nababatay sa kinang ng bintanang pinagsisilipan natin. Bago tayo pumuna sa kapwa, mabuting suriin muna natin kung ano ang lagay ng ating pag-iisip.

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Nagpaskel nang maraming karatula ang milyonaryo. Sinumang may utang, puntahan lang siya sa katapusan ng buwan mula alas-9 ng umaga hanggang alas-12 ng tanghali, at babayaran niya ito. Naging usap-usapan sa munting bayan ang pangako. Pero konti ang naniwala. Inisip ng mga tao na tiyak may lihim na lokohan o kundisyon ito.

Sa takdang araw umupo ang milyonaryo sa opisina bago mag-alas-9. Pero alas-10 na wala pang kumakatok. Alas-11 nang may lalaking akyat-panaog sa hagdanan sa labas, nililingon ang pintuan ng opisina. Matagal bago siya nagkalakas-loob buksan ito, sumilip sa loob, at magtanong: “Totoo po bang babayaran niyo ang utang ninoman?”

Tumango ang maya­man: “Akina ang papeles na katibayan.” Nang mabe­ripika, pumilas siya ng tseke sa halaga ng utang. Bago mag-alas-12 dalawa pang tao ang pumasok at nagpabayad ng utang. Namangha ang mga tao sa labas, pero ubos na ang oras nila para magpaba-yad ng utang.

Leksiyon: Kung hindi tayo naniniwala sa kabaitan ng tao, paano tayo manini­wala sa kabaitan ng Diyos?

Bill extends tenure of immigration trio

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 27, 2010 12:00 AM

Check out the mandatory retirement dates of present Supreme Court justices on their 70th birthdays. Inclusive of the May 17 departure of Chief Justice Puno, the next President will get to appoint only four justices until 2016. Gloria Arroyo’s 11 appointees will dominate. Worse if, despite the election ban, she names Puno’s successor from among her loyalist-justices, then inserts yet another one to fill up the 15-man Court. She will continue to control it way past her term. If she becomes Speaker, she can even have the President and VP impeached, with her Chief Justice appointee heading the Senate trial. If the two are ousted from office, senators and congressmen will have to elect an Acting President from among them.

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Only last Jan. 2 a new international passenger arrival-departure card was put into use. Photos of President Gloria Arroyo and immigration head Marcelino Libanan dominate the backside. It gives the impression the two may not be stepping down when they should on June 30.

In fact, they won’t. Using public funds Arroyo is on a congressional run, in order to become Speaker and then Acting President. As for Libanan, a bill quietly has been slipped into Congress to extend his term for three long years.

The Immigration Reform Bill ostensibly would clean up the rotten Bureau of Immigration. All personnel would be fired as the agency is transformed into a pristinely new Immigration Authority. There’s a catch, though. Section chiefs, meaning, some of those partly to blame for the BI’s dirt all these years, will stay. So will the incumbent commissioner, Libanan, and his two associate commissioners. They are the presidential appointees who should have curbed internal corruption but failed, and so undeserving of rewards. But the bill treats them special. Not only will they become three-year tenured director-general and deputy directors-general. They also will assume the new posts after collecting retirement pay from the defunct BI. To top it all, they will have the last say on whether to rehire the BI’s good and bad eggs.

No longer will immigration be supervised by the Dept. of Justice. The Authority will be a super-body, usurping the powers even of Congress, the judiciary, and the foreign office. Naturalizing aliens, issuing visas, and fixing fees will become its daily functions. The director general will have clout to determine probable cause, and issue arrest and search warrants. He can also charge overtime fees from airlines and shipping lines, with discretion to spend it at will.

If Congress passes the bill during these last two weeks of session, it might be breaking the law. The Omnibus Election Code bars appointment or transfer of any public official to any post during the campaign period. Passage also will pre-empt the next President from naming a trustworthy immigration boss. He will be stuck with Arroyo’s men. The new director general and deputies will be shielded from present Ombudsman inquiries.

There’s a strong lobby for the bill. It was rushed in the House and is now being shepherded in the Senate allegedly by influential immigration fixers, mostly from Chinatown. The human smugglers aim to prolong their old BI cohorts in power. They make a killing, charging P300,000-P500,000 per visa extension. Sometimes they sell the same visa over and over to up to 20 alien Chinese. That’s why in criminal cases, say narco-trafficking, there are that many suspects with the same name too. The racketeers also serve as Customs facilitators. Watch them in action whenever a flight from China comes in.

*      *      *

A letter from a ship owners’ union led the Philippine Ports Authority unilaterally to defer anew modernizing the Manila pier. The Philippine Liner Shipping Association had asked PPA boss Oscar Sevilla to defer by a month last Jan. 15’s takeover by the rebuilding contractor. Sevilla granted it the day before. Not consulted, the Manila North Harbour Port Inc. is contesting the postponement, from which it is losing P2 million a day (Gotcha, 18 Jan. 2010).

The ship owners’ leader Daniel Lacson invoked old “habits” of their customers (cargo shippers) to justify the delay. He acknowledged that the MNHPI had been meeting with individual shipping companies since mid-Dec. for “smooth transition.” But he said they needed more than just one month to get shippers used to MNHPI’s new system.

For one, Lacson said, “cargo owners are of the habit of delivering their outbound cargoes a few days early and withdrawing their inbound cargoes a few days after arrival. To give them time to adjust to the new operator’s system, PLSA requested that the free storage be set at 6 days for a period of 30 days from 15 Jan. This was denied by MNHPI.”

MNHPI for its part protested that it was all set to deploy manpower and machines when the PPA stopped it. Shipping companies had the duty and power to enforce rules on customers.

Port insiders aver that Malacañang cronies in the shipping industry actually caused the PPA action.

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“A preacher’s role is not to tickle the loss but touch the heart. It is not just to enlighten minds but to set the heart on fire.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Pagdududang bababa sa puwesto si GMA

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 26, 2010 12:00 AM

NU’NG Enero 20, ika-9 na anibersaryo ng pag-upo ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, naglunsad si NBN-ZTE scam whistleblower Jun Lozada ng June 30 Movement. Ka­ lipunan ito ng mga indibidwal at grupo na magsi­siguro na bababa nga sa puwesto si Arroyo sa tang­haling-tapat ng June 30, 2010.

Agad silang tinuya ng Malacañang. Kesyo raw tiyak namang bababa si Arroyo sa takdang araw dahil tapos na ang termino niya. At kesyo raw namumulitika lang ang June 30 Movement.

Pero makatuwiran lang na magduda ang taumbayan kay Arroyo. Wala kasi siyang isang salita. Nu’ng Rizal Day 2002 nag-anunsiyo siyang hindi na kakandidato para buong termino ng Pangulo sa Mayo 2004, pero tumakbo pa rin. Sumumpa siyang ipagtatanggol ang Konstitusyon, pero namumuno siya sa paglabag nito — ehemplo, sa pagpipilit na magnombra ng bagong Chief Justice pagretiro ni Reynato Puno sa Mayo 17 kung kelan bawal nang mag-appoint ang paalis na Presidente. Nagsabi siyang hindi niya tutularan ang pangungulimbat ni Joseph Estrada, pero mas malala pa ngayon ang katiwalian sa administrasyon niya kaya kinamumuhian ng taumbayan.

Walang balak bumaba sa poder ni Arroyo. Ito ang dahilan kung bakit kumakandidato siyang congresswoman sa distrito ng anak na Rep. Mikey Arroyo. Gina­ gamit pa niya ang pera ng taumbayan para magpa-pogi sa botante: Paghuhukay ng dose-dosenang balon, pamimigay ng Philhealth cards, pagbubuhos ng pera ng Malacañang sa anim na bayan doon. Hina­ hangad niya ang partial immunity ng isang mam­babatas. At kung “su­mablay” ang ka­una-una­hang automated election at walang maprok­lamang Presidente, maari pa siyang magpahalal na Speaker at maging Acting President — at pagka­tapos ay Prime Minister kung mag-fast break pa­puntang parliamentary.

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Lumiham sa jarius bondoc@workmail.com

Caught rushing LRT-1, they’re giving alibis

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 25, 2010 12:00 AM

Last minute thievery is going on in the Arroyo admin. High officials are filching money to feather retirement nests or fatten election campaign war chests. SAROs (Special Allotment Release Orders) are being sold to long-time government contractors for only 15 percent of the amount, but still worth tens of millions of pesos. Heading the racket is an influential deputy at the budget department, in cahoots with a presidential candidate’s chief of staff. Even Malacañang execs are taking cuts, for the all-important role of having the SAROs released.

Problem is, the gypped contractors found out that the SAROs are unfunded. Some are trying to get their money back, to no avail.

* * *

Jan. 11 and 13 I exposed the DOTC’s impending award of the LRT-1 extension project to a Chinese state firm — illegally without public bidding. An election ban on public works had just begun Jan. 10. The deal would cost $1.78 billion, to be lent by China, but has no Monetary Board assent for such foreign loan. Alarmed that the Arroyo admin was cooking up another NBN-ZTE-like scam, senators vowed full-blown investigation. Suddenly those related to the scheme tried to distance themselves from it. The NEDA wrote that as far as it was concerned, the DOTC only submitted papers for approval but has yet to answer some questions. DOTC Sec. Larry Mendoza, as LRT chairman, said they would no longer pursue the project since their term is expiring on June 30. USec. Guiling Mamondiong added that they would let the next admin handle it since projects of its size take two years to gestate. And the Chinese embassy let on that Shanghai Group was far from finalizing a contract with the Philippine government.

Another scam aborted, more billions of pesos saved — all in a day’s work for an investigative journalist. But I cannot let pass the way they’re covering their tracks by making it seem like I misreported things. Their obfuscation must be further exposed, to show them for what they really are. In the heat of my 2007 exposé of the ZTE scam I was threatened with death, accused of stealing the contract, menaced with lawsuits for disclosing supposedly confidential proprietary information, deprived of public documents, and badmouthed by paid hacks. They’re up to their old tricks.

Like, Mendoza, in a press briefing Jan. 15 at the Boracay airport inaugural, claimed that, “contrary to allegations made by Bondoc, DOTC has not signed any contract with the Chinese.” To be sure, I never reported that they already have signed anything. On the contrary, it was Mendoza’s deputy, Mamondiong, who announced Jan. 5 that the Chinese firm was likely to win the LRT project. He said the DOTC was close to awarding it to Shanghai Group because it comes with a China EximBank loan. He was silent about the legal breaches: the coming election ban on government contracting in five days, and lack of Monetary Board clearance. Mendoza can check the news stories that came out the next day, instead of distorting my points based on Mamondiong’s words.

Also, NEDA, in its Letter to the Editor of Jan. 16, stated it “has asked DOTC for clarification on some information contained in the submission.” Fine, but again it was Mamondiong who was quoted in Jan. 6 news reports as saying that NEDA “was already reviewing the proposal of the Chinese. The proposal is very advanced; the study was already done and submitted to NEDA. Most likely it will be through ODA.” Mamondiong did appear to be careless with words. In a letter to me Jan. 13 he attributed to NEDA his statements: “In its final report dated Dec. 9, 2009, NEDA released the results of its Value Analysis favoring the (Chinese) ODA (loan)… The result of the NEDA Value Analysis is the source of my press statement, thus the allegation that I am favoring the Chinese group is not true.” Magturuan kayo, blame each other, but again don’t distort what I wrote.

Mamondiong claimed that the Chinese offer is $1.016 billion, not $1.78 billion, which was the price of the International Finance Corp. In that case, he should verify the accuracy of his own press release. All the reports on Jan. 6, the bases of my own articles, quoted him as saying the Chinese offer is $1.78 billion.

Lastly, Mamondiong said in his letter to me: “Bidding for the project will be conducted, but it will be in accordance with Chinese ODA.” That is the biggest lie of all. Philippine law requires public bidding before any project is awarded. If the Chinese procedure is followed, there will be no auction, not even a private one. Beijing central authorities will only assign the project to whatever state company they pick. That happened in the cases of Northrail and ZTE, thus questioned by the Senate.

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PNP Director General Jesus Verzosa confirms what many have long known: that prison inmates can be employed to assassinate political rivals or prying newsmen. Dapat, to get to the bottom of the racket, Verzosa should inventory the firearms issued to wardens. Dapat, to solve recent murders, he should recruit stool pigeons in prisons. Dapat, to learn the details, he should investigate a retired police general who’s an expert in it.

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“People at peace with God and themselves are the starting point of the peace we seek in this world.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

CP sa bawat Pilipino, PC sa bawat pamilya

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 25, 2010 12:00 AM

KAYANG magka-cell phone ang bawat Pilipino, ani telecom businessman Joey de Venecia. Mamigay daw sana ang Smart, Globe at Sun ng murang CPs — tig-$10 o P500 lang, gawa sa China — sa huling 20% ng mga Pilipino na mayor de edad na wala pang units. Ila-lock-in naman ng cell companies ang service nang di bababa sa dalawang taon, kaya mababawi nila ang puhunang P500 kung kikita nang miski P50 lang kada buwan. Magkaka-oportunidad kumita ang mga magkaka-CP. Lalo na sa mga liblib na pook, instant na makakapag-kalakalan ang mga magtatanim o mandaragat sa pamamagitan ng text messaging.

Panukala rin ni Joey na magkaroon ng personal computer bawat pamilya. At dapat daw ay tiyakin ng susunod na administrasyon na may Internet connection lahat.

Tama ang punto ni Joey na kapag may PC at Internet ang bawat tahanan, uunlad ang kabuhayan at edukasyon nila. Magkakapera at matututo lahat kapag naiangat sa Information Age, at posible ito kung nanaisin ng matinong administrasyon.

Biruin mo, ang buong mundo’y magiging library ng bata na magsu-surf sa Internet. Para na rin siyang nag-around the world na hindi umaalis sa bahay. Tatalino ang kabataan. At makakasilang ang lipunan ng mga genius na katulad nina Bill Gates na mag-e-empleyo ng libu-libong tao.

Makakakuha rin ng impormasyon ang mga mamama-yan tungkol sa pagkakakitaan. Sa Internet, malalaman     nila, halimbawa, kung anong mga trabaho ang in-demand kung saan-saan, anong mga produkto ang maari ibenta sa kung sino-sino, o kung magkano mabibili ang materyales para sa kung anu-ano. Uunlad ang kalakal. Magkaka-hanapbuhay lahat.

Nagawa ito ng Australia at New Zealand. Ginaga- wa ito ng India at Mexico. Kaya rin gawin ng Pilipinas kung magpaparaan.

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Lumiham sa jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Why chop up one roadwork into 12?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 22, 2010 12:00 AM

Did Gloria Arroyo’s advisers consider it before egging her to go on and name a new Chief Justice during the election ban on appointments? She could go to jail for six years for violating the Omnibus Election Code. She can also be barred perpetually from public office, including her coveted congressional seat.

Has Rep. Matias Defensor pondered that he too can go to jail and be booted out of office? That is, if he or any other member of the Judicial and Bar Council incite Arroyo to illegally install a top magistrate during the election ban?

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Chopped-up roads blight Eastern Samar. Under Gov. Ben Evardone the province recently graduated from the country’s 20 poorest list. But its arteries remain in the same sorry state: alternately concreted and unpaved for long stretches. Petty politics is behind it. Politicos with access to big bucks in Manila vindictively withhold roadworks from locales of rivals. Last year Evardone twitted Cong. Teodolo Coquilla for horribly leaving undone a dozen sections of the circumferential highway. Rutty, muddy roads dampen down commerce and tourism, Evardone reminded their rep to the central government. Malacañang stepped in to mediate the quarrel. About P500 million was allocated in the 2010 national budget finally to fix messy roads measuring over 20 kilometers through eight scenic towns. It would be the springboard for the struggling province’s bid for progress and prosperity.

But something unfunny happened on the way to the budget forum. Instead of being treated as one interconnection — to pave gaps in the one same highway — the project was cut up into 12 pieces. A couple of million pesos is to go to a bridge, double the amount to a road stretch right next to it, more millions to the next adjoining segment, and so on. The total is still P500 million, but completion would be piecemeal. Someone had rewritten the budget item in Congress and got it past the plenary. And that someone is likely to parcel the subcontracts to 12 favorite constructors — for the usual kickbacks. If that someone were running for reelection in May, the cash would be timely for the campaign. More so if he awards the cut-up projects before the election ban on public works starts on March 26.

There are clues to who the culprit is. And they’re on paper. As a rule, Dept. of Public Works and Highways district offices execute only projects worth up to P20 million. In rare instances they may implement up to P50 million, but only with special approval of the DPWH secretary. District engineers are usually protégés of congressmen. Projects costing P20 million to P200 million are done by DPWH regional offices; above P200 million, by the national office. In the case of Eastern Visayas, nine of the 12 chopped-up roadworks are valued at P20 million or less. Two are budgeted respectively at P40 million and P50 million, so requiring special assent, and the last is at P60 million, which automatically assigns it to the regional office. Submitted for special signature of DPWH acting Sec. Vic Domingo were the last three items, for execution by the district office. The request was signed by Eastern Samar district engineer Ernesto Paderes, and endorsed by Congressman Coquilla.

Domingo is resisting lobbies to sign the insolent request. Regional director Angelito Twano too is dismayed with a subordinate going above his head. Cutting up the projects not only is cost-ineffective and structurally unsound. It also violates the Procurement Reform Act. The law specifically prohibits the splitting of contracts into artificial segments to circumvent bidding or implementing rules. It was drafted by then-congressman, now Budget Sec. Rolando Andaya, who has yet to release the first centavo for the Samar projects that obviously are “in aid of reelection.”

There’s another oddity going on. Instead of purchasing construction materials, the Eastern Samar district office is busy fabricating street signs. To date, sources say, it has spent roughly P80 million from its budgets and Coquilla’s pork barrel for the signs, and not on more important cement, sand, gravel and re-bars.

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Thousands of international air travelers were incommoded Jan. 2 by the immigration bureau’s rash intro of a new arrival-departure card. And millions more will henceforth be required to use it for no clear reason than feed someone’s vanity.

The new form wastes public money. It is four times bigger than the old one, so presumably four times costlier. Precious spaces are left blank. Most tellingly, it carries on one-fourth of the back page the photos of Gloria Arroyo and immigration head Marcelino Libanan. Makes one wonder why they had their images plastered on a long-term form when their terms will expire June 30. Hmm, maybe it’s not just for vanity, but someone’s way to make a quick buck from paper and printing kickbacks. Or maybe they’re inadvertently showing they won’t be stepping down when they should.

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“The beauty seen by your eyes will sooner or later fade; the beauty perceived in the soul has an eternal capacity to stay.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Biyayang ipinagkaloob hindi agad napapansin

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 22, 2010 12:00 AM

NAGHAHANDA na sa college graduation ang binata. Ilang buwan na niyang hinahangaan ang magarang sports car sa showroom ng dealer. At dahil alam niyang kayang bilhin ‘yon ng ama niya, sinabi niya sa kanya na ‘yon lang ang gusto niyang graduation gift.

Habang papalapit ang Graduation Day pinakiram­daman ng binata kung binili na nga ng ama ang sports car. At nu’ng umaga ng graduation, pinatawag siya ng ama sa private study. Sinabi agad ng ama kung gaano siya kasaya na magkaroon ng matalinong anak na mahal na mahal niya. At saka niya iniabot ang regalong naka-gift bag.

Nagtataka at medyo masama ang loob na binuksan ng binata ang gift bag. Nasilip niya ang Bibliya na nakabalot sa leather. Galit, nagtaas ng boses ang binata sa ama at winika: “Sa dami ng pera mo, Bibliya lang ang ibibigay mo sa akin?” Lumayas siya ng bahay, iniwan ang Banal na Aklat.

Lumipas ang maraming taon. Naging matagumpay ang anak sa negosyo. May malaking bahay at masayang pamilya siya. Pero naaalala niya ang ama na matanda na. Hindi na sila nagkita mula nu’ng mapait na Graduation Day.

Nagpaplano pa lang bumisita ang anak nang maka­tanggap ng telegrama. Namatay pala ang ama, at iniwan lahat ng ari-arian sa kanya. Kailangan niya umuwi agad para asikasuhin ang mana.

Nang dumating siya sa lumang bahay, napansin niyang gan’un pa rin ang hitsura, at lahat ay nasa dating lugar. Naroon pa nga rin ang regalong Bibliya sa mesa sa private study. Malungkot at nagsisising dinampot ito ng anak, at binuksan. May biglang nalaglag na susi mula sa sobre na naka-tape sa back cover na leather. Nakatatak sa sobre ang pamilyar na pa­ngalan ng car dealership, at nakasulat na “fully paid.”

Binili pala talaga ng ama ang regalong kotse. Kaya lang, tulad ng marami sa atin, hindi nabatid ng anak ang biyaya dahil ang packaging nito ay iba sa naka­tanim sa isip.

Prophetic author here to foretell RP’s future

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 20, 2010 12:00 AM

Joel Rosenberg’s first novel was bound to be a bestseller. The first page puts you in the cockpit of a hijacked jet, maneuvering for a kamikaze attack into an American city, which leads to war with Saddam Hussein. Yet The Last Jihad was written nine months before 9/11 and over a year to Iraq’s invasion. The book hit the New York Times list for 11 weeks, reaching #7; it soared to #4 on Wall Street Journal’s chart, and #1 on Amazon.com.

Joel’s next thriller was as eerily prophetic. It opens with the death of Yasser Arafat and an ambush of a US diplomatic convoy in Gaza. Six days before printing of The Last Days, a US legation is attacked in Gaza, and 13 months later Arafat expires. The book zoomed to bestseller rolls, capped by Hollywood options.

Two more fictions had uncanny and unnerving ways of coming true. The Ezekiel Option is about a Russian ruler allying with Iranian tyrants who acquire nuclear weapons to erase Israel from the face of the earth. On the very day it was published in June 2005, Iran elected a new president who vowed to accelerate a nuke program and “wipe Israel off the map.” Six months later Moscow signed a billion-dollar arms deal with Tehran. The Copper Scroll tells of untold treasures buried in the hills east of Jerusalem. It seems to presage Jewish plans to build a Third Temple that incites Arabs today to riot. Two million copies of Joel’s books have sold worldwide.

In hundreds of reviews Joel has been ribbed as a CIA and labeled a modern Nostradamus. When an interview was arranged Monday, my first impulse is to ask him to show us his crystal ball. What he fishes out of a briefcase is the Bible. “It’s all there,” says the evangelical Christian. He’s always asked where he gets his predictions, and to make more forecasts. “All I do is relate current events with Scripture,” Joel reveals. “Matthew 24 talks of end-times as nations rise against nations; of famine, pestilence and earthquakes; of hatred, betrayal and false prophets. Luke 21 tells of the same fearful omens; of plagues and roaring seas; of persecutions of believers in Jesus.” Joel’s plots also draw from Old Testament. Jeremiah 24, in which the fig tree symbolizes Israel, is for him now materializing in the nation’s agro-industrial rise from desert. “What’s happening in the world? Israel’s rebirth is the super sign,” he enthuses while pointing to Ezekiel 36, 37, 38 and 39. Joel wouldn’t ascribe his ability to foretell events as a gift from the Holy Spirit: “that’s for others to judge.” What he does via his novels is connect the dots of present affairs to show that God speaks of these in the Holy Book. In short, conversion is his aim.

Joel will do just that in a series of forums in Manila. He has lunched with religious figures and the President. On Jan. 21, Thursday, 7 p.m., is a Leaders’ Conference at the Crowne Plaza ballroom, for biggies in business, government and academe (dinner tickets at P2,500). An Epicenter Meeting follows on Jan. 22, Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., at the 5th Floor CCF, St. Francis Square (P500 at the main hall, P200 for the overflow). Last is a Youth Symposium on Jan. 23, Saturday, 3 p.m., also at 5/F CCF, St. Francis Square (P150). Joel is to discuss Russia’s fanning Iran’s bellicosity against the US and Israel, and its impact on RP. But that’s only as takeoff for Bible teaching of love for neighbor and even for enemy. (His Joshua Fund is an education as well as charity institute for victims of war in the Middle East, be they Jewish, Muslim or Christian; Israeli, Palestinian or Arab).

Joel is in town because of the Philippines’ key role in Israel’s renewal. On Nov. 29, 1949, during the UN partitioning of the Holy Land, Israel was three votes short of recognition as a state. Then came ayes cast in sequence by Liberia, Haiti and RP — making, Joel insists, Bible prophesy come true. He laments that Manila of late is taking the other side, condemning Israel for war atrocities in Gaza in a report that mentions not 2,000 provoking missile strikes on civilian targets by Hamas and Hezbollah militias. Joel has special ties to Israel and Bible. His dad descended from Jews persecuted in Russia, and his mother a Gentile, but who both re-baptized as evangelicals.

I’m principally interested to hear Joel expound on his first nonfiction. Epicenter tutors you to predict by sharp analysis and biblical sourcing. Joel also unmasks Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s belief that the world is ending, and that annihilating the US and Israel would hasten the coming of an Islamic Messiah. From Islamic, Jewish and Christian eschatology (end-times theology), he foresees ten newspaper headlines, four of which intrigue me most:

• “Kremlin joins ‘Axis of Evil,’ forms military alliance with Iran”;

• “Moscow extends military alliance to include Arab, Islamic world”;

• “New war erupts in Middle East as earthquakes, pandemics hit Europe. Africa, Asia”; and

• “Muslims turn to Christ in record numbers”.

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“If you put off loving your neighbors today, you will remain an unloving person tomorrow. Genuine love is today. Love today and tomorrow’s love will find its way.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Katwirang baluktot ng CIDG officers

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 19, 2010 12:00 AM

NAKAKATAKOT ang katwiran ng PNP sa news exposé na inuukulan ng VIP treatment ang pamilya Ampatuan   sa selda ng Criminal Investigation and Detection Group. Kesyo raw “walang nilalabag” at “normal” ang mga  su­musunod na sitwasyon dahil hindi pa naman sen­tensiyado ang jail detainees: (1) may cell phones, (2) may rasyon ng pagkain mula sa labas, at (3) may utusang tagalinis ng selda.

Utak-bulate lang ang nangangatwiran ng ganyan. Sa matitinong lipunan, pinagkakaitan ng ilang pribilehiyo ang detainees para hindi sila makatakas, maimpluwensiya ang kaso, magpalakas sa pulis, manlamang sa kapwa detainees, at maghariharian. Pero lahat ‘yan nagagawa ng mga Ampatuan dahil sa kahinaan ng ulo ng CIDG.

Kapag may mobile ang detainees, halimbawa drug lord, kakayanin nila mag-trafficking miski nililitis. Maga­gamit ang maduming pera para ipapatay ang prosecutor o suhulan ang huwes. Kung tutuusin nga, dahil hindi agad binawian ng CIDG ng cell phones ang dalawang pinaka-mataas na police officers sa Maguindanao nang ipa- custody sa Camp Crame makalipas ang Ampatuan Massacre, nautusan pa nila ang mga sangkot na tauhan na mag-AWOL at itago ang mga baril na ginamit pam­patay sa 57 sibilyan.

Kung may arawang rasyong pagkain ang detainee, security risk ito. E kung lagyan ng tagarasyon ng lason ang pagkain, sa hiling ng detainee na magpakamatay? E kung itago sa pagkain ang pera, droga o kagamitan pan­takas? E kung ipansuhol sa jail guards ang pagkain, na nangyari nga sa CIDG-General Santos kaya espesyal ang pagtrato sa mga Ampatuan.

Kung may sariling utusan sa selda ang detainee, magagamit ito sa pagtakas, paglabas-masok ng bawal na gamot, panghingi ng pa-bor sa guards, at iba pa. Kung ma­­aalala, nakatakas kama­ka­ilan ang mga suspected   kid­nappers at terrorists sa Camp Crame stockade dahil “kinali­mutan” ng utusan ikan­dado muli ang nilinis na selda.

Maiitim na balak manatili sa poder

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 18, 2010 12:00 AM

SUSPETSOSO ang mga Pilipino sa maiitim na balak ni Gloria Arroyo. Duda sila sa sabi nito na kumakandidato siyang kongresista sa Pampanga para makapagsilbi pa. Sa tingin nila, hangad niya ang partial immunity na makukuha sa pag-upo sa Kongreso. Makakaiwas siya sa tiyak na sapin-saping habla sa katiwalian at pang-aabuso ng kanyang administrasyon. Lumalabas sa surveys na 61% ng Pilipino ay diskontento sa palakad niya.

Ani Sen. Mar Roxas, sinisikap ngayon ni Arroyo na maipanalo hindi lang ang sarili kundi mga 80-100 katoto. Bubuo sila sa House of Reps ng bloc na mag-i-impeach sa bagong Presidente sakaling tugisin siya nito dahil sa mga krimen habang Presidente. Sinisikap din nila makapanalo ng 16 na senador, ang dami ng boto sa 24-upuang chamber para magpatalsik ng Presidente.

Duda sina Reps. Teddyboy Locsin at Satur Ocampo sa scenario ni Roxas. Hindi raw kakayanin ng yaman ni Arroyo tapatan ang poder ng Presidente na magpabuya ng pork barrel: P200 milyon kada senador at P70 milyon kada kongresista kada taon. Mas madali pa raw suhulan na lang ang bagong Presidente para huwag galawin si Arroyo.

May ibang nababasang scenario si kandidatong sena­dor Joey de Venecia. At batay ito sa pagkakakilala niya kay Arroyo, na binisto niyang kumi-kickback mula nang $200 milyon mula sa $330-milyong ZTE scam.

Ani Joey, mas malamang na gamitin ni Arroyo ang militar, pulis, Comelec, korte, Kongreso at local officials para magka-failure of elections. Magpo-proklama lang ng mga halal na kongresista at local officials sa Mayo. Pero sa pamamagitan ng pananakot, blackouts at iba pang sigalot, walang madedeklarang panalong Presidente, Bise at mga senador. Samantala magpapahalal na Spea­ker si Arroyo. Sa gayong sitwasyon, iiral ang pro­bisyon ng Konstitusyon na mag-a-Acting President ang Speaker. At habang Acting President siya, aapurahin ang parliamentary switch para maging Prime Minister naman. Patay ang bansa!

Cronies hold up anew Manila port renovation

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 18, 2010 12:00 AM

In land transport the Arroyo admin is rushing into such midnight deals as vehicle RFIDs and LRT-1 extension. In sea haulage is the equally criminal opposite. Presidential appointees are further delaying the long overdue modernization of the Manila North Harbor. And they’re so doing on the bidding of Malacañang pals whose businesses thrive on port decay.

Last Thursday January 14 the Philippine Ports Authority postponed the entry of modernization contractor Manila North Harbour Port Inc. The inexplicable memo from PPA chief Oscar Sevilla came on the eve MNHPI’s takeover at 1 a.m. of January 15, as contracted. Not consulted about the 30-day delay, MNHPI is set to defy the order. In so many words it decried “pressures exerted” by Palace cronies to harass it — but at government’s expense. Sevilla’s foot-dragging would mean deferment of MNHPI’s first-year payment to PPA of P42 million concession fee due on January 25. It would also delay installments of the total P6.82 billion in fees.

Sevilla’s memo to his operations assistant gave no specific reasons for postponing MNHPI’s takeover. He only cited “recommendations of the Turn-Over Committee for North Harbor to ensure smooth transfer of operations and management to MNHPI and address all concerns of the various North Harbor stakeholders.” Stakeholder is presidential appointees’ euphemism for vested interests of Arroyo cronies.

The memo is but the latest excuse to delay the modernization that would displace the pier cronies. MNHPI, composed of Manny Pangilinan’s Metro Pacific Corp. and Reghis Romero’s Harbour Centre Inc., had won the bidding as far back as 2007. Injunctions snagged the awarding for two years until the court upheld MNHPI last July. The following month Gloria Arroyo’s Spanish-speaking amigos incited dockworkers to resist the P14.5-billion plan on false claims that they’d be laid off. When MNHPI assured that it would in fact hire 5,000 construction men and then 10,000 more to operate the port, the restiveness subsided. PPA officials resorted to cruder ways to defer signing of a contract with MNHPI. The alibis were so lame, like PPA board members being out of town when they weren’t, or called to inexistent congressional budget hearings. Having run out of pretexts the officials finally signed on November 19, and ordered MNHPI to proceed on December 17. MNHPI was a signatory to both documents.

Sevilla’s memo unilaterally and arbitrarily amended the December 17 Notice to Proceed. MNHPI, though a member of the Turn-Over Committee, was not accorded prior notice or consent. In answer to Sevilla, Pangilinan and Romero’s CEO-son Michael said MNHPI is spending P2 million a day in labor and equipment costs. So they stand to lose P60 million from the month-long “breach of contract,” not to mention lost opportunities. But the cronies will continue to hold prominent spaces at North Harbor. They are into shipping and port operations, yet in an odd twist have been appointed consultants in the very transport agencies that should regulate them.

* *  *

Noel Cariño, vice chairman of Fil-Estate Properties Inc., is livid, and for good reason. Transport was invited to last Friday’s groundbreaking rite at Boracay’s Caticlan airport, only to be insulted by false items in President Arroyo’s speech. First, Arroyo hailed George Yang, MacDonald’s exclusive RP franchisee, as the new owner of FEPI’s Fairways & Bluewater, Boracay’s biggest resort with its only golf course. Then, she wished aloud that Yang would bail out FEPI from its woes in the pre-need business.

Cariño couldn’t let the unfounded statements pass, more so because made in front of fellow Boracay developers. He told Arroyo that neither FEPI nor F&B were for sale, and Yang was a partner in but one portion of the resort (four condo buildings). Neither was 19-year-old FEPI ever in pre-need, only one of its three owners (Bob Sobrepeña, whose family is with cash-strapped College Assurance Plan). Only then did Arroyo realize she had said wrong. Still, guests felt it rude of her to embarrass Cariño, a party mate and former congressman.

Cariño is unlikely to attend presidential functions any time soon. Yang’s office in Manila also clarified that he never bought out F&B.

* *  *

He who excuses himself accuses himself, goes a Latin saying. And it’s the basis of a lawsuit to be filed by big auto glassmaker “C” against hotshot software provider “D” that failed to deliver.

“C” had contracted “D” in November 2008 to upgrade its sales and finance computer network to meet fast-growing needs in Metro Manila and Cebu. Unknown then to “C”, its IT manager Gary was warmly related to “D” managing director Bien, the reason he avidly endorsed him over other suppliers. At any rate, “C” swiftly signed up “D” for a P3.6-million systems makeover, to be finished in two-and-a-half months. On Gary’s prodding, “C” earnestly paid “D” three installments in November 2008 to February 2009, totaling P2.52 million. In return, however, “D” did nothing, not even provide one blank CD.

“C” demanded action and, to show its willingness to amicably finish the work, paid “D” further P270,000 in June and July 2008. Still “D” did not deliver. It gave no explanation or apology, and ignored persistent pleas and later demand letters from “C” to honor the contract or return the money.

Once the case is full blown, consumers will be forewarned about the criminal ways of “D”. Incidentally, it deals with several government offices, and probably has ripped them off too.

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“If you feel helpless, allow God to take over. Trust Him or be thrashed all lifelong by your slapdash solutions.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

New York execs dump Smartmatic machines

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 15, 2010 12:00 AM

During last April’s bidding for the election automation, Smartmatic admitted it was going to use voting machines of Dominion Co. of Canada. Rival bidders questioned this. Comelec rules specifically stated that the automation contractor must not be a mere sales agent, and may not sub-contract the manufacturing. But the complaints of Election Systems & Services (ES&S) and Sequoia Inc., America’s largest poll automation firms, fell on deaf ears. Smartmatic of Venezuela won, bragging that Dominion’s were in fact the machines of choice of New York state and city election commissioners. The two US makers were disqualified, along with three other bidders. So Smartmatic proceeded to fabricate the machines in Shanghai under mere license from Dominion.

Comelec commissioners should know what happened next. Actually, the two sets of New York officials reviewed their test-use of Dominion machines in the 2008 election. On January 5, the state execs announced that they were buying from ES&S they found problems with more than half of the machines supplied by Dominion. The next day, the city commissioners announced the same.

Comelec commissioners are thus forewarned about Smartmatic’s forthcoming 82,200 Dominion machines. They might encounter trouble like the New York officials. In fact, several of Smartmatic’s recent first deliveries malfunctioned on boot-up.

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NGOs, professional associations, academic   institutions   and interfaith groups have banded to monitor the poll automation. Under the Automated Election System (aesWatch2010), they drew up a checklist for the Comelec to make the country’s first automated balloting work. They call the 20 items the STAR (System Transparency, Accountability, Readiness) Score Card:

1. System components delivery. All hardware and software must be developed, customized, manufactured, delivered, configured and tested.

2. Production quality assurance. Quality assurance engineers adept in computer hardware must be deployed at the manufacturing plant.

3. Source code. The automation law requires disclosure of the source codes to political parties once Comelec selects the automation technology, which it did as of Oct. 10, 2009.

4. Verifiability of result. Votes must be properly counted. Municipal, provincial and national boards of canvassers must verify the authenticity of all election forms. Parties must be able to point out discrepancies.

5. Technology certification. An international certification entity must ascertain that hardware, software and other components are operable.

6. Secured transmission. Comelec must secure the electronic digital transmission of results at all levels.

7. Transmission facilities. These must be made public.

8. Set to zero. All machines must be cleared or “zeroed out” to ensure no entries or votes in the memory.

9. Deployment. To correctly deliver 82,200 machines to precincts, Comelec must set warehouse hubs, final delivery points, transport modes, and schedules.

10. Machine security. Comelec must secure the machines from delivery to retrieval against loss or tampering.

11. Precinct-specific ballots. These must contain the right names of candidates and delivered to the right precinct clusters.

12. IT-capable poll officers. Election inspectors and canvassers must be trained in info-tech.

13. Resource inventory. All precinct clusters must have telecom facilities and power supply.

14. General instructions. All must be finalized and issued on time.

15. Education and training. Comelec must employ all media to teach voters and poll watchers automated balloting.

16. Precinct assignment. Since the automation requires precinct clustering, majority of voters will have to go to new polling places, and so must be properly informed.

17. Manual audit. The automation law requires a manual audit of the automated count in one randomly chosen precinct per congressional district. This sample size must be increased to 15 percent of all precincts and covering all municipalities in the district.

18. Continuity plan. There must be contingencies in case of failure of election or automation.

19. Electoral protests. Even if automation eliminates cheating, there will still be protests. Comelec must identify grounds and measures for such protests.

20. Alternative systems. Since Comelec estimates that 30 percent of precincts might still go manual, it must state exactly which ones these are.

Among the members of aesWatch2010 are UP Alumni Association, CBCP-National Social Action Center, Ecumenical Bishops Forum, CenPEG, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, the De La Salle, Ateneo and UP computer science colleges, Philippine Computer Society, Association of Major Religious Superiors in the Philippines, Computer Professionals Union, Solidarity Philippines, NUSP and Dilaab. It gave the STAR Score Card to Comelec last December 29. The poll body has yet to respond.

aesWatch2010 can be contacted at the UP Alumni Association, Bahay Alumni, Magsaysay Ave., UP Diliman, Quezon City, tel. (02) 9206868 (Jenny); telefax (02) 9299526 (Fidel); fax (02) 9298327; E-mail: aeswatch.2010@gmail.com

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“An empty world is one living without God. It is only when you fill your life from within that you will escape the foolishness of this world.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Hindi ba lahat tayo nangangailangan?

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 15, 2010 12:00 AM

NAKAPARADA ako sa mall, pinupunasan ang windshield ng kotse at hinihintay si misis lumabas. Napansin kong papalapit ang isang ika nga’y “hampaslupa”. Sa hitsura lang, alam agad na wala siyang kotse, walang tirahan, walang malinis na damit, walang pera. May araw na paki­ram­dam mo’ng magkawang-gawa, pero may araw din na ayaw mo maistorbo. Sana hindi niya ako hingan ng pera, naisip ko. Hindi nga. Naupo lang siya sa bangketa tapat ng bus stop, halatang walang pamasahe. Paglipas ng ilang minuto, nagsalita: “Maganda ang kotse mo.” Madungis siya, ngunit may ere ng dignidad. “Salamat,” ika ko habang patuloy ang pagpupunas.

Tahimik lang siya nakaupo’t pinapanood ako. ‘Yung ina­ asahan kong paghingi ng limos ay hindi nangyari. Ku­makapal ang katahimikan sa pagitan namin nang may boses sa loob na kumutya, “tanungin mo kung kailangan niya ng tulong.” Sigurado ako’ng sasagot siya ng “oo”, pero sinunod ko ang konsensiya at tinanong siya kung kailangan ng tulong. Sumagot siya sa apat na simpleng salitang hindi malilimutan. Humahanap tayo ng katalinuhan sa mga tanyag na tao, at inaasahan ‘yon mula sa mga mataas ang napag-aralan at narating. Sa kanya ang inasahan ko lang ay nakasahod na maduming palad. Pero natauhan ako sa apat na salita niya. “Di ba lahat tayo?” aniya.

Palagay ko’y napakataas at lakas ko, matagumpay at im­portante, angat sa pulubi sa kalye — hanggang dina­gukan ng apat na salitang ‘yon. Di ba lahat tayo? Kaila­ngan ko ng tulong. Hindi nga pampasahe sa bus o lugar na matutulugan, pero kailangan ko ng tulong. Dumukot ako sa pitaka at inabutan siya ng labis sa pampasahe, kundi pati pangkain.

Tama ang apat na salita niya. Gaano ka man kayaman at marami nang nagawa, kailangan mo rin ng tulong. Gaano ka man ka­hirap at lubog sa problema, walang pera o matirahan, maka­kabigay ka ng tulong. Baka anghel ‘yung “ham­pas­-lupa,” padala ng Diyos para tulungan magmulat ang   tao sa katotohanan ng buhay — na lahat tayo ka­ila­ngan ng tulong.

Law bars railway deal this close to elections

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 13, 2010 12:00 AM

What is it with elections that make the Arroyo admin rush into shady deals with Chinese state firms? Recall that:

• In 2004, when Gloria Arroyo ran for a full presidential term, she approved the construction of the 32.2-kilometer North Luzon Railway. The contract with China National Machinery and Equipment Corp. initially was only for $355 million. It has since risen inexplicably to $400 million, then $503 million, and now $802 million, the costliest railroad in the world. No public bidding was made, only price negotiations with CNMEG and a loan from China Export-Import Bank. The National Economic and Development Authority, headed by the President and consisting of Cabinet appointees, okayed the deal. But the Monetary Board never certified to the availability of loan repayment funds. To this day CNMEG has yet to construct the first kilometer of rail. But RP already is repaying China EximBank $1 million a month since Sept. 2004 in loan interest alone, excluding quarterly principal.

• Northrail was tied to China’s demand in the same election year for a Joint Marine Seismic Understanding. Under the pact with China National Offshore Oil Corp., RP unconstitutionally allowed the alien firm to explore 24,000 square kilometers of western territorial waters. The pact expired only last July. As oddly stipulated in the document, RP did not even get a copy of the seismic report.

• Moving up to the 2007 congressional-local elections, Malacañang illegally awarded ZTE International Corp. unconstitutional mining rights. Again with no bidding it gave away gold veins in Mount Diwalwal and North Davao. Signing by authority of Arroyo was Trade and Industry Sec. Peter Favila, with then presidential chief of staff Mike Defensor as witness. The same contract permitted ZTE to set up an exclusive economic zone in Mindanao, as well as agribusiness concessions.

• On April 21, 2007, barely a month before the balloting, Arroyo flew to China to personally award to ZTE the national broadband network deal. At first it was set at only $62 million-$78 million, depending on changing specs, whistle-blowing engineer Dante Madriaga testified at the Senate. It rose to $132 million when ZTE execs and Filipino lobbyists inserted their kickbacks. Engineer Jun Lozada swore that the proponents’ immoderate greed swelled the price further to $168 million then to $262 million in early 2007. When businessman Joey de Venecia offered a much lower price via build-operate-transfer, the other side tried to shoo him off with $10 million. He exposed the scheme. Still, Arroyo left a life-threatened spouse’s sickbed to witness the signing of $329 million, later proved to be overpriced by $200 million. Signing for RP was Secretary of Transportation and Communication Leandro Mendoza.

• In the same event at the Hainan airport four more deals with Chinese state firms were signed. All called for loans from China EximBank, for repayment by Filipino taxpayers but without Monetary Board clearance. Malacañang later hid the papers by claiming these were stolen from a hotel room moments after the signing.

Now comes another sleazy deal so close to the May election. The DOTC has announced the award of the 11.7-kilometer Light Rail Transit-1 Extension to a Chinese state firm. LRT-1 execs originally had budgeted only $683 million, or P32.1 billion at an exchange rate of P47:$1. But when the China Shanghai (Group) Corp. came in, the rate inexplicably zoomed more than two-and-a-half times to $1.78 billion (P83.66 billion). At $152 million (P7.15 billion) per kilometer, LRT-1 will beat Northrail as the world’s dearest.

Again there was no public bidding, only closed-door negotiations at DOTC and lobbying at NEDA. Again too RP is to borrow construction funds from China EximBank. DOTC Undersecretary Guilling Mamon-diong was silent on whether they will bother to secure Monetary Board assent. He only said in recent press releases that they would soon sign the contract.

There’s a hitch actually. Election laws bar the government from awarding contracts during the election period, which began last January 10 and ends on June 10. Along with the ban on hiring, firing and transferring government personnel, the contracting ban is to prevent election kickbacks. Sitting elective officials are also divested of undue advantage. Violation of the laws would mean disqualification from the campaign, removal from office, and imprisonment of up to six years.

Then again, the ban never stopped the Arroyo admin in 2004 and 2007. Testimonies of Lozada, de Venecia and then-NEDA Sec. Romy Neri on the ZTE scam showed that then-Comelec head Ben Abalos was among the Chinese firm’s lobbyists. Malacañang never sought Comelec exemption from the contracting ban. Officials just went on and collected their “tong-pats”. Is it happening all over again with the LRT-1 extension?

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“What God allows to happen to you is best for you if you accept it. Regret not your limits; grow through it.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Gastusing kampanya ni Arroyo bantayan

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 12, 2010 12:00 AM

TIYAK ang Comelec at Korte Suprema sa pag­takbong kongresista ni Gloria Arroyo. Babaliin ang Konstitusyon; gagamitin ng Presidente ang dalawang balwarte ng demokrasya para manatili sa poder. Sisingilin niya ang mga utang na loob o kaya’y hayagang manunuhol. Appointees niya lahat ng Comelec commissioners at SC justices, malamang magwagi siya. Kaya tiyak din ibabasura ang disqualification case na sinampa ni party-list Rep. Risa Hontiveros laban kay Arroyo. Iba­bale-wala ang abusong gastos ni Arroyo ng P459 milyon sa loob ng isang taon sa distrito sa Pampanga. Halatang pamimili ito ng boto, pero wala tayong ma­aasahang hustisya.

Pero kapag lutuin ng Comelec at Korte ang electioneering ni Arroyo, lalo lang mapupukaw ang taumbayan. Lalo silang kikilos kontra sa kanya. Pababagsakin nila siya tulad ni diktador Marcos.

May namumuong kilusan kontra sa garapal na kandi­datura ni Arroyo. Dahil napipintong manalo siya sa pama­magitan ng pera ng taumbayan, babantayan nang husto ng kilusan ang kanyang kampanya. May mga alituntunin. Bawal siya tumanggap ng kontribusyon mula sinomang nakinabang sa kanyang pagka-Pangulo. Bawal siya mag-fund raising sa pamamagitan ng pasayawan, sabong, beauty contest, pa-bingo o pa-sine. Limitado ang gastos-kampanya niya sa P1.50 lang kada botante; kaya kung may 200,000 rehistrado sa 2nd district ng Pampanga, hanggang P300,000 lang siya. Kasama na rito ang paggawa ng polyetos, streamers, at sample ballots; pang-up ng sasakyan, sound system at headquarters; at pangsuweldo sa entertainers, campaigners at precinct watchers. Kung may 500,000 volunteer na magbabantay kay Arroyo, hindi nito mailu­ lusot ang mga balaking pandaraya. Huli siya, ika nga.

Matindi ang parusa sa bawat paglabag sa mga alituntunin. Dapat siyang ikulong nang anim na taon at pagbawalang kumandi­dato o maupo sa puwesto. Sa dami ng makakalap na ebidensiya ng daan-daan-libong volunteers, mahi­hira­pan magbulag-bula­gan ng Comelec at Korte.

Another ZTE-type scam at DOTC?

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 11, 2010 12:00 AM

The issue in today’s meeting of the Judicial and Bar Council is plain. It is not so much about Rep. Matias Defensor’s dubious proposition than the very life of the JBC.

Defensor, Gloria Arroyo’s lapdog, is out to subvert the Constitution for her. He wants the JBC to nominate a Chief Justice-in-waiting well before sitting Reynato Puno retires May 17. If Arroyo appoints their nominee this early, he says, she laudably would avert an unprecedented vacancy of the Judiciary’s top and the State’s fifth-highest post.

Phooey. Arroyo (using Defensor) only aims to control the Court well after she steps down June 30. This is so she (he too) can retain some degree of legal immunity via a coddling last-minute Chief Justice. Truly, Arroyo’s propensity to mangle institutions to suit personal interest knows no limits.

The plot flouts the Constitution. Article VIII, Section 4 states that the President shall fill up any Court vacancy within 90 days. Simultaneously Article VII, Section 15 bars the President from making any appointments within the last two months of the term, except temporary crucial ones in the Executive. Defensor’s (Arroyo’s) intention is incompatible.

The choice is thus clear. It does not matter if the Chief Justiceship is empty for 45 days. The next President will still have an ample 45 days to select the successor. The departing President should not be allowed to ruin the system any further.

The JBC knows what’s right. Defensor must be let to march alone to perdition. The other members — Puno, Sen. Francis Escudero, Sec. Agnes Devanadera, Regino Hermosisima, J. Conrado Castro, Amado Dimayuga, and Aurora Lagman — can remain independent, for the country’s sake.

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Stink from the ZTE scam has yet to blow away. But the Department of Transportation and Communications is to start another irregular project with a Chinese state company. And insiders grumble that the railway deal smacks of all the flaws of the aborted telecom plan: overpriced, opaque and onerous.

China Shanghai (Group) Corp. is to extend the Light Railway Transit-1 by 11.7 kilometers, Baclaran to Bacoor, for an astounding $1.78 billion. As in the ZTE scam, there was no public bidding, only quiet negotiations with DOTC and lobbying at the National Economic and Development Authority. Again, China Export-Import Bank is to provide supposedly “concessional loans,” but actually at tight repayment terms. No less than DOTC Undersecretary Guilling Mamondiong has announced favoring the Chinese option over a cheaper proposal by a Filipino.

Scant info releases from DOTC slyly highlight only the basics: The 11.7-kilometer extension will augment 15 existing kilometers of LRT-1, Baclaran to Monumento. Most of the new works, 10.5 kilometers, will be elevated. Two stations are to be built, and 64 train coaches to be added in 2020, plus eight more in 2030. The project supposedly will increase daily ridership to 800,000 once finished by the Group subsidiary, called Foreign Economic and Technological Cooperation (SFECO).

But the hidden facts are undeniable: The original project cost by LRT-1 management was only $683 million, or P32.1 billion at an exchange rate of P47:$1. Earlier Ecorail Transport Services Inc. — a member of the group of companies led by Reghis Romero II — had proposed to undertake the work via a joint venture scheme. The price ballooned more than two-and-a-half times — to $1.78 billion (P83.66 billion) — when the Chinese firm came in. This means an average cost of $152 million (P7.15 billion) per kilometer. The deal is being rushed before the Arroyo admin steps down June 30. SFECO is to operate the extension for 40 years and even share in revenues coming from the existing lines. Meanwhile, the Filipino public, including those who do not ride LRT-1, will be saddled with loan repayment to China EximBank for 25 years.

The LRT deal follows the ZTE pattern, as exposed by whistleblowers who witnessed different stages of the DOTC’s national broadband network plan. Engineer Dante Madriaga testified at the Senate that the original cost was only $62 million-$78 million, based on changing specifications in 2006. This rose to $132 million when ZTE managers and Filipino lobbyists tacked on kickbacks. Engineer Jun Lozada swore that the NBN cost soared further to $168 million then to $262 million in early 2007 due to the proponents’ immoderate greed. When businessman Joey de Venecia offered a much lower price via build-operate-transfer, the other side tried to bribe him off with $10 million. He refused and exposed the scheme. Still, Gloria Arroyo flew to China in April 2007 to sign the deal, at $329 million, a month before Election Day.

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Philippine news paperdom lost last week its oldest columnist, Ariel Bocobo. A reporter and editor, then a presidential appointee and diplomat in younger days, Ariel wrote analysis and opinion till he was 82 four years ago. He was also an avid sportsman (the country’s first amateur pelotari), gamesman (his poker prowess was legendary), and learner (bookstores were his favorite hangouts). Upon “retirement” in 2005 he set about writing his memoirs, but sadly never got to finish it. He lost his wife Nenita Caballero (my aunt) in 2001. Now he has gone on to meet his Maker whom he so loved and served, and left behind sons Norman, Jorge III, and Leslie.

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“I am happy with my limited talents because it demands that I work with others and to surrender my limits to God who knows no limits.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Abusong gastusin ni GMA sa distrito

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 11, 2010 12:00 AM

KUNG tutuusin wala sanang ilegal sa pagbuhos ni Gloria Arroyo ng P459 milyon sa kanyang 2nd district ng Pampanga nitong nakaraang 12 buwan. Pero nang mag-file siya ng kandidatura pagka-kongresista, naging mali at kahiya-hiya ang gastusin. Mahigit anim na beses ang laki nito kaysa P70 milyong karaniwang pork barrel ng isang kongresista. Presidente lang ang makakakalap ng gan- yang pondong publiko. Kaya’t malinaw na inabuso niya     ang kapangyarihang maglaan ng pondo para sa sariling kapakanan — ang manalo sa eleksiyon. Lalo na’t wala naman ibang distritong napaboran nang gan’un — miski pook nina Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile o Speaker Prospero Nograles. At lalo pa dahil parang pamimili ng boto ang mga proyektong libreng Philhealth cards at iba pang pabuya.

Labag ito sa Konstitusyon. Anang Article 7, Executive Department, Section 4, “The President shall not be eligi­ ble for any reelection.” Ang pag-interpreta nito nang  makitid — na patukoy lang ito sa pagtakbo ng Pangulo ng dagdag na termino — ay taliwas sa pakay ng mga umakda ng Freedom Constitution. Nakasulat sa kasay­sayan na binalak nilang hindi na muli magkaroon ng one-man ruler for life na tulad ni Marcos. E kung tutuusin ay ina­asinta ni Arroyo sa pag-ko­kongresista ay maging Spea-ker o Acting President, at tapos ay Prime Minister sa big-laang shift sa parliamentary.

Nangangatuwiran pa ang Arroyo spokesmen. Kesyo   raw sa presidential system ng America, na kinopya lang ng Pilipinas, nagkaroon ng Presidente na nag-congressman — si John Quincy Adams. Pero binabali na naman ng spokesmen ang kasaysayan. Ang totoong nangyari ay natalo muna si Adams sa reelection bid. Kaya napilitan siyang “magpahinga” nang dalawang taon. Saka lang siya tumakbong kongresista at nanalo. Hindi niya gina-      mit ang poder ng Presidency sa kampanya — di tulad ni Arroyo na nakaupong Presidente habang inaasam ang pagka-kongresista.

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Lumiham sa: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

10 bisyong tiyak sisira sa utak

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 08, 2010 12:00 AM

NASA ating kamay, hindi sa doktor, ang ating kalusugan. Kadalasan nagmumula ang sakit sa mga masasamang bisyo at ugali. Ang sampung sumisira sa utak, ayon sa mga eksperto, ay:

1. Walang almusal. Ang mga tao na hindi nag-aalmusal ay bumababa ang sugar level. Kulang ang nutrients na napupunta sa utak, kaya nakukurta.

2. Sobrang lamon. Nagpapatigas naman ito ng mga ugat papuntang utak, kaya nakakabawas ng abilidad mag-isip.

3. Paninigarilyo. Nagpapabagal ito sa pagdami ng brain cells, kaya maaring mauwi sa Alzheimer’s Disease.

4. Sobrang asukal. Ang masyadong pagkain ng mata­tamis ay sagabal sa pagtanggap ng katawan ng protina at iba bang pampasigla, kaya nagbubunsod ng malnutrition at pagbagal ng brain development.

5. Polusyon ng hangin. Utak ang pinaka-maraming gina­gamit na oxygen sa katawan ng tao. Kapag madumi ang hangin, nababawasan ang oxygen na pumapasok sa utak, kaya nababawasan din ang pagka-episyente ng pag-iisip.

6. Pagpupuyat. Nakapagpapahinga ang utak sa pagtulog. Ang malimit na pagpupuyat ay pumapatay ng brain cells.

7. Pagtatakip ng ulo sa pagtulog. Kapag nakataluk-bong ng unan o kumot habang natutulog, ang nasisinghot ay carbon dioxide na inilalabas ng baga. Nababawasan din ang oxygen. Makaka-brain damage ito.

8. Pagpapagana ng utak kapag may sakit. Ang ma-tin­ding pagtatrabaho at pag-aaral habang maysakit ay naka­kabawas ng episyenteng pag-iisip at maari ring mauwi sa brain damage.

9. Kulang sa pag-iisip. Ang pag-iisip ang pinaka-mabisang panghasa ng utak. Kung kulang, maaring lumiit ang utak.

10. Kulang na pag­sasalita. Ang matata­linong usapan ay naka­kadagdag sa pag-eeher­sisyo ng utak. Kung ku­lang, nakakakurta.

Watch closely GMA’s campaign spending

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 08, 2010 12:00 AM

We journalists have a rule to never predict any event till it happens. But I will hazard this guess. The Comelec and/or the Supreme Court will let Gloria Macapagal Arroyo run for Congress. It does not matter that the Constitution will be mangled. This President has a knack for debasing our institutions, and will devise ways to force her will on the two bastions of democracy. She desperately needs the partial immunity that a legislative seat will provide against certain post-term charges of corruption and death squads. She also covets the Speakership and Acting Presidency to catapult herself to Prime Minister in a fast break shift to parliamentary. Her options range from collecting on debts of gratitude to outright bribery. Since all the Comelec commissioners and SC justices are her appointees (including Reynato Puno as Chief Justice), her chances are big.

That is why this early we can say that the disqualification rap that Rep. Risa Hontiveros filed against Arroyo is doomed. It’s not for lack of evidence. The party-list congresswoman diligently had compiled the 31 projects for which Arroyo poured P459 million into her home district in Pampanga. The pork barrel spending was not illegal per se when Arroyo did it for six towns in 2009 alone. But it became “improper and shameless,” Hontiveros clearly explained, when Arroyo last month filed candidacy for congresswoman. No public official except the President can muster such amount, which is more than seven times the P70 million in pork that a legislator draws in a year. The advantage is clearly unfair. That is why the Constitution states (Article VII, Executive Department, Section 4) that, “the President shall not be eligible for any reelection.” To interpret it narrowly to mean only running for another presidential term is to negate the intent and mood of the Charter framers of 1986: that is, to never again allow the emergence of a dictator like Marcos.

But then, Arroyo cares not about the sanctity of the Constitution. She is as ruthless and crooked as the martial law strongman Marcos, which is why she is as loathed publicly. Three of five Filipinos are disenchanted with her, yet she doesn’t care and is plotting to stay in power. Her personal survival is more important to her than the national good.

But as Marcos fell, so will Arroyo. History teaches that all despots tumble either from self-consuming greed or natural attrition. Among the first exposés about Marcos were his fake War medals and liver failure; in Arroyo’s case, it is a fake election as President in 2004 and a fatty liver. Marcos fell after the assassination of Ninoy Aquino and cheating the 1986 snap presidential election. Arroyo’s end can come in the heels of the bestial Ampatuan Massacre by political allies, and her impending overspending in the May 2010 election campaign.

But we need to be vigilant in gathering evidence. We need to watch closely how much Arroyo will spend on leaflets, banners, streamers, platforms, sound systems, mailers, advertisements, and sample ballots. We need spies to find out how many campaigners, entertainers and precinct watchers she will hire. We need informants on her supply of food and water, printed paraphernalia, transportation and communication, uniforms, and other logistics. We must get her list of contributors.

There are rules. Arroyo cannot accept contributions from persons or groups that benefited from her tenure, or from foreigners. She cannot hold unlawful fund-raisers like balls, cockfights, beauty contests, lotteries or cinema showings. She cannot spend on her campaign more than P1.50 per registered voter in her locale; so in her Pampanga second district of 200,000 voters, she can spend only P300,000, including materials production and equipment rental. Her Lakas-Kampi gang may spend on her only the same amount. She, her contributors and party must honestly declare expenses and contributions within a month from Election Day. And she must pay the five-percent withholding tax on all expenses; not paying tax is evasion.

Cocky from being in Malacañang for nine years, Arroyo is bound to make mistakes. Breach of any of the rules should mean her disqualification from election and holding office. She can also go to jail for six years.

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“Nature displays its powers when it moves and when it is still. Find strength in action. Root it in contemplation.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Trickery in 2010 national budget

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 06, 2010 12:00 AM

When it comes to trickery nothing beats Gloria Arroyo’s admin. Even in crafting a 2010 national budget they put one over the public.

At first Arroyo’s Congress cohorts dragged the budget hearings in Oct.-Nov. Congressmen took their sweet time with plenary debates. The usually overpowering majority could not even muster quorums, leading to innumerable session deferments. The All Saints-All Souls holiday came and went with Senate inquiries going nowhere. Clean-election activists smelled a rat. The admin was delaying things to make the government run on a reenacted 2009 budget. That would have been handy in an election year like 2010. With a reenacted budget, projects completed in 2009 will get fresh funding in 2010. The President would have a free hand realigning hundreds of billions of pesos to “new projects”. Being brazenly partisan, she would have misused the public money for her congressional campaign and that of her legion. The puny Congress minority would have been unable to stop her.

Amid civil society protests the admin switched to Plan B. The Senate and House of Reps uncharacteristically worked during the Christmas break to reconcile their versions. The wide discrepancies didn’t daunt them. For they had a common aim: pad the P1.54-trillion budget for electioneering. For the second year in a row, the House slashed automatic appropriations for debt interest by P30 billion. The amount was diverted to usual pork-barrel departments: of Public Works and Highways, Transportation and Communications, Agriculture, Education, Health, and Social Welfare and Development. Not to be outdone, the Senate further cut debt servicing by P35 billion, and also embedded it as secret pork in the six agencies. The President, though in the past always quick to defend creditors’ benefits, didn’t mind the budget cut-and-paste. She had allowed the same in the P1.4-trillion appropriation of 2009, to distract legislators from impeaching her. Never mind that the cut in debt payments would lead to tighter credit and higher interests for both businessmen and consumers.

And so the DPWH budget for 2010 surged by P30.4 billion, first from Malacañang’s original P96.6 billion to the House’s padded P113 billion, then to the Senate’s further padded P127 billion. The DOTC allocation rose by P2.1 billion, from Malacañang’s P14.5 billion to the House’s P15.8 billion, to the Senate’s P16.6 billion. Same with the rest. Admin congressmen and senators will then withdraw the secret pork for their pet projects, for nifty kickbacks.

Just in time for their election bids too. The bicameral budget body co-chaired by Sen. Ed Angara and Rep. Junie Cua made sure of it. Earlier on they had told Arroyo to “frontload” the pork releases in Jan.-Mar., as campaigning starts for the May 10 balloting. For good measure, Angara and Cua wrote riders that forbid the President from impounding first-semester allocations for later use, and require congressional approval to realign. The provisos would tie not only Arroyo’s hands but also her successor, in case they depart from the usual coddling of legislators’ whims. Malacañang spokesmen went through the motions of saying the President will impound and realign as she pleases, just like before. Whether it was all for show, to downplay her being a lame duck, would soon be seen. That is, if she vetoes or retains the contentious insertions.

At any rate, the P65-billion hidden pork is on top of the usual perk of P200 million per senator and P70 million per congressman. (Only Senators Panfilo Lacson and Jamby Madrigal renounce pork slabs, and made sure their combined P400 million was deleted from 2010’s.) Then there’s the P200,000-P500,000 monthly no-audit stipends for committee chairmanships, and millions more in no-audit allowances.

Angara also created a P10-billion “economic stimulus” from slashes of other budget items. This package, which Cua avidly signed, ostensibly is to pump-prime the economy from global financial crisis. But legislators rejoice at the additional source of pork. Angara also increased the budget of his home province’s Aurora Special Economic Zone to a whopping P800 million, from Malacañang’s proposed P145 million. On the day all this was ratified, the eight senators in the bi-cam, except Angara, had not signed the budget report. The House had no quorum as usual. Copies of the final version were kept from the media. If not for The STAR reporter Jess Diaz’s diligence, the public would not have known what was happening. Even the Senate and House opposition was silent about the sneaky admin fast break.

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Saudi Arabian King Abdullah’s New Year pardon of imprisoned foreigners was first reported to benefit 43 Filipinos in jail for petty crimes. Then the figure was upped to 79. The discrepancy is due to poor monitoring by Filipino officials of exactly who, where and how many overseas Filipino workers are in jail, and for what. So the Blas Ople Policy Center is asking the Philippine embassy to check out all jails and account for all incarcerated countrymen. Three of them who pray to benefit from the royal clemency are Jess Pamintuan, Jason Pineda, and Dondon Lanuza.

Pamintuan was sentenced to nine months but has been behind bars for over a year. He has written Center head and senatorial candidate Susan Ople for help in getting a pardon. In direr straits are Pineda, once set for execution, and Lanuza, convicted of killing a sexual attacker.

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“In the calm of life, raise your heart in prayer. For behind the quiet majesty of that mountain are storms you know not of. Be ready. Be strong. Be prayerful.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

Publiko naisahan sa 2010 budget

SAPOL Ni Jarius Bondoc (Pilipino Star Ngayon) Updated January 05, 2010 12:00 AM

KUNG pagkatuso ang pag-uusapan, walang lalamang sa Arroyo admin. Pati ba naman sa pagpasa ng 2010 national budget, inisahan ang publiko.

Nu’ng una, binitin-bitin ng mga alipores ng admin sa Kongreso ang pagpasa ng budget. Hindi agad nagdaos ng public hearings tungkol sa P1.541-trilyong paggastos. Dumaan na ang Undas, nakabinbin pa rin sa Senado ang panukala. Naghinala tuloy ang marami na wala talagang balak ang Kongreso ipasa ang 2010 budget — para mapilitan ang gobyerno na i-reenact ang 2009 budget. Delikado ‘yun sa isang election year tulad ng 2010. Kapag reenacted ang budget, maraming proyektong tinustusan nu’ng nakaraang taon ang tapos na, pero popondohan muli. Ire-realign ng Presidente ang bilyon-bilyong pisong pondo sa kung anoman ang naisin. Siyempre, dahil partisano siya, ibubuhos niya ito sa mga ipagpapanalo ng kanyang congressional campaign at ng mga kapartido.

Binulgar ng NGOs ang pakana. Binatikos ang napi­pintong reenacted 2009 budget. Napilitang umatras ang Kongreso. Pero may Plan B pala ito, para magamit pa ring pang-eleksiyon ang P1.541-trilyong pera ng bayan. Paano ito isinagawa?

Nilipat ng Kongreso ang P65 bilyong pambayad sana ng utang at itinago na pork barrel ng ilang ahensiya. Ito ang Departments of Public Works and Highways, Transportation and Communications, Education, Agriculture, Health, at Social Welfare and Development. Sinabihan pa si President Arroyo na i-release ang P65 bilyon, kasama ang iba pang pork barrel, sa first quarter ng 2010 — o kainitan ng kampanya.

Tapos, palihim itong pinasa nu’ng nakaraang linggo. Niratipika ng Se­nado ang bicameral confe-rence committee report miski si chairman Ed Anga­ra lang ang naka­pirma at wala ang walo pang kasa­ping sena­dor. Sa Kamara de Repre­sentante naman, 30 lang sa 260 miyembro — ni walang quorum — ang nagratipika. Ni wala silang kopya ng pinal na bersiyon ng budget.

Pati ang media, pinag­kaitan ni co-chair Junie Cua ng kopya.

Another anomaly at Kidney Center

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated January 04, 2010 12:00 AM

Something’s ailing the National Kidney & Transplant Institute. And insiders aim to diagnose it.

It bought P750 million worth of specialized medical equipment — without the benefit of public bidding. The NKTI management and a Dutch supplier simply “negotiated” the amount and payment terms. The gadgets will be for a new solely women’s wing being built with Dutch government aid. Work is being rushed so Gloria Arroyo can inaugurate the building by March.

NKTI director Dr. Enrique Ona claimed that initially Dutch aid was to cover 35 percent of the cost through Philips Medical. The state hospital was to borrow its 65 percent project share. But delays by NKTI and a change of government made the Dutch withdraw last July. Supposedly the NKTI got NEDA approval to finish the half-constructed building, this time as a “world class diagnostic center.” Still Ona couldn’t justify the P750-million purchase with no bidding.

Emboldened that they got away with it, the NKTI management went on with another deal. It held a public bidding for a five-year lease of hemo-dialysis machines — but rigged the results. The higher of two bidders was made to win. The lower one was disqualified on capricious technicalities.

The hemo-dialysis project should have been done in January 2009. The NKTI had set a ceiling of P1,750 per treatment, or P86,604,000 for the projected 49,488 patients per year — for a total of P433,020,000 in five years. On bidding day a German supplier met all of the technical requirements, a second bidder got 96 percent, and a third got 89 percent. But the financial offers were not opened. The bidding was declared a failure due to procedural lapses by the bids and awards committee.

Another bidding was held last November. The German bid P1,549.50 per treatment, while the second bidder offered P1,638, and the third backed out. In sum, the German’s price was cheaper by P88.50 per treatment, or P21,898,440 over the five-year lease term. But even if it already had passed the technical test 100 percent in January, the German was disqualified this time, and only the second bidder was considered. The technical working group had been changed for the re-bidding, and its members had insisted on new technical specifications that tailor-suit only one specific brand — that of the higher bidder. Supposedly the TWG wanted a better dialysis flow rate for elderly patients. But no prior explanation was given to the bidders. And the difference of P88.50 to kidney patients, and nearly P22 million to the NKTI hardly justifies the whimsical, arbitrary technicality.

It’s pretty clear what’s ailing the NKTI — and what it needs is surgical excision.

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Eagerly awaited is how the Comelec will decide this week a unique case. It’s the disqualification suit filed against Negros Oriental Rep. Josy Limkaichong by archrival predecessor Jacinto Paras. The latter maintains that the former was born Chinese and was only naturalized as a Filipino, so ineligible to be a legislator. Limkaichong says the Supreme Court already ruled in her favor last year in a case filed by Paras’s wife, whom she had beaten in 2007 by some 40,000 votes.

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Frustrated reader Gino Mah writes: “Like most people, I feel restless and helpless about our slow progress due to corruption. What if The STAR has a section that keeps track of corruption cases and regularly updates readers?  It can be a simple chart, easy to understand. Who knows, we might give corruption a better fight.

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Remember how 2009 started with a worldwide swine flu scare? Well, a new analysis from Harvard University, using H1N1 deaths in the U.S. in the spring and projecting outcomes for fall, suggests that the “pandemic” has been oversold. The new paper suggests swine flu was unlikely to create a severe epidemic. In light of this, officials have taken many steps that may have been unnecessary, including mass vaccinations. Check out: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2010/01/02/Harvard-Takes-it-Back-and-Says-Swine-Flu-was-Oversold.aspx.

“The swine flu pandemic was a pandemic that never materialized,” the author says. “Now it looks as though the H1N1 scare of 2009 will go down as one of the biggest government and pharmaceutical scams ever, renewing a healthy, and necessary, skepticism about government fear-mongering, the swine flu vaccine, and the dubious dealings behind the implementation of worldwide mass-vaccination programs. It started last month when British and French media began saying the H1N1 pandemic has been ‘hyped’ by medical researchers to further their own cause, boost research grants, and line the pockets of drug companies.”

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“When you find joy in an object, the joy is not in the object but in your heart.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com