Loyalty now a silent milking cow

By ALFREDO P. HERNANDEZ
LETTERS FROM PORT MORESBY (YEAR 3)

LOYALTY has become a multi-million peso/dollar commodity for those who are close to the powers-that-be. To them, it is their dogged commitment to stick to the seat of power come hell or high water; it is a determined effort to simply play deaf to the prevailing public outcry that clamorously tells them such allegiance has now become a tool of oppression, and to play blind to the overlapping web of blatant corruption in their midst.

While it is inherent in every human being to be loyal in his simple ways to the people he loves, to the persons he respects, to the people, institutions and interests he serves, and to his Motherland, some of those who are privileged to serve the power-holders have dragged it down so low that such dedication only boils down to being morally bankrupt, unacceptable and unconscionable. To them, however, it is big deal. After all, loyalty of this magnitude has its own reward.

The brand of loyalty that the Filipino nation is witnessing right now from the people supposed to uphold and protect the interest and well-being of the people has become some sort of a joke, if not downright ridiculous. Because right within the seat of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's regime are loyalists who remain steadfast in their resolve to prop her regime up, stonewalling themselves from the stinking distrust permeating her administration from 80 million or so Filipinos who feel that it's time for her to go.

This week's display of loyalty to Arroyo by Cabinet members had simply said it all. Through their so-called "solidarity walk", or "loyalty walk" to be more precise, on the Palace grounds, they had clearly demonstrated that they totally ignore a public conscience seeking end to an unparalleled corruption in her government, allegedly involving no less than the her husband - First Gentleman Miguel Arroyo and his cronies - and seeking redress for crimes against the people committed with impunity by the disgraced military, another establishment that continues to be petted by the regime.

Viewed by many as psychological warfare to show how stable the Arroyo government is, the "solidarity walk" has instead betrayed the state of panic now rocking the president's inner circle amidst calls from different sectors of the society for her to step down. The people believe this is the only way to halt the nation's spiraling plunge into chaos which has now reached a point of no return.

Of late, the head of an influential group of Roman Catholic bishops has called on for new brand of "people power" that would spur every Filipino to bring out the truth and end corruption keeping the nation hostage to the "greed of power-holders". Tired of worn-out "people power" that had seen the downfall of two presidents just to thrust the nation later into an economic quicksand, and the government into a cesspool of moral decay, Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has called for a "brand new people power". It is one that would snowball from a campaign against corruption in government that lately has emitted obnoxious stench, courtesy of the scandal-tainted US$329 million national broadband network deal with China's ZTE group. In this deal, the brokers could have snatched a whooping US$130 million kickback.

Last Saturday, some 60 former government officials urged Cabinet members "who could not stomach the Arroyo administration's supposed greed" to resign. "It's time to cut clean. It's time to go," they told the Cabinet men. Likewise, the students and professors of the University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law have called on the president to go on leave, or resign over her continued refusal to publicly condemn alleged corruption and bribery in the national broadband network (NBN) deal.

The First Gentleman and his close ally, the notorious and disgraced former Commission on Elections chairman and "Commission Man" Benjamin Abalos Sr, have been implicated to the scandalous deal, which the Arroyo scrapped after the Senate launched an inquiry. Lately, Arroyo herself has been accused of standing to gain from the NBN contract had it pushed through.

Latest to join their voice to the growing calls for Arroyo to step down was the newly formed alliance of women's organization, BabaLa or the Babae Laban sa Katiwalian (Women Against Corruption). To them, Arroyo has "channeled (funds) originally intended for education, health services, housing programs and other basic needs ...into the pockets of her family and cronies."

They were hammering on Arroyo's legacy of corruption and scandals against which some dictators in other countries would pale in comparison. The list of tainted projects just goes on and on - the NBN-ZTE Project, South Rail and North Rail Project, Transco bidding, among many others, simply showing the impunity in corruption of her regime.

But the Cabinet members' "solidarity walk" with Arroyo the other day simply shrugged off the fast-spreading clamor for her to step down. This goes to show clearly that they continue to stomach the greed of the administration, but which they persistently believe as stable and beyond disgrace.

The feeling of confidence among the Cabinet members could not be over emphasized, with all believing they could weather the political storm hurtling towards the regime. In fact, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez was boasting of the high spirits among his colleagues and their feeling of confidence in everyone. Their "intact and shared steadfast loyalty" will be the backbone that will prop the Arroyo government as it confronts the roaring anger of the Filipino people.

"These are not fly-by-night people," Gonzalez said of the Cabinet members.

True. They have stuck it out with Arroyo ever since she grabbed power from disgraced President Joseph Estrada via "Edsa II". And they will stay put by all means so they could continue to stay in their own zone of power where millions are silently made, millions to line their pockets.

Why the dogged show of loyalty and persistence to cling to power, courtesy of their Cabinet portfolios?

The 20 per cent or so commission in government contracts is one major reason, which, according to whistle-blower and State star witness Rodolfo Lozada Jr, an IT expert who had access to the NBN deal documents, has become a norm in government procurement deals. Since almost all key government departments have million-peso budgets for so-called development projects across the country, the one who affixes his signature on the deal gets the windfall. It is no secret that the head of a department normally decides on what spending to make out of their budget, making him highly important to suppliers wanting to sell their goods and services worth several millions.

And the closer that official gets to the seat of power, the bigger the manna from heaven would be. Abalos used to be one of the closest allies of Arroyo and such closeness was firmed up after the former Comelec chairman assured Arroyo's victory in the 2004 presidential elections, which the nation firmly believed was heavily tainted with anomalies and corruption, highlighted by the "Hello Garci" saga.

Having been close to PGMA and to the First Gentleman, Abalos was able to dictate his cut on the US$329 million BNB deal. Translated into Philippine currency, the US$130 million commission, or 39.5 per cent of the total project cost (as against the "normal" 20 per cent cut) that he was able to hack was supposed to hit 5.3 billion pesos. But of course, Lozada alleged that US$60 million of this would line the pocket of the First Gentleman, which is also the pocket of the president.

Such greed of Arroyo's top allies, which Commission on Higher Education Chair Romulo Neri wanted to "moderate", has actually been given tacit approval by no less than Arroyo herself - her subtle way of buying loyalty. In fact, the bribery saga on the NBN deal was known all along by Arroyo. When Neri, then the NEDA Director General and Secretary for Socio-Economic Planning, told the president about the 200 million peso-bribe Abalos had offered him to facilitate its approval, the president casually told him to ignore it and instead, work for its recommendation and approval. However, Neri suddenly clamped up when the Senators, at the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on the NBN issue, started asking him about the nature of his conversation with Arroyo. To fend off queries, Neri had repeatedly invoked "Executive Privilege".

During the Marcos regime, cronies with unswerving loyalty were given a free hand to handle their financial deals - from multi-million dollar investment in shell corporations in Nassau, in the Bahamas, and in the Netherlands Antilles, to multi-million dollar kickbacks and stolen wealth stashed in secret bank accounts in Switzerland for themselves and for the First Couple. The only instruction given them by the former dictator was: Avoid compromising him and his wife Imelda and their family. So the stealing spree went on unabated during the Marcos regime and was to stop only at its downfall following the 1986 People's Revolt.

Just like Neri, the rest of Arroyo's Cabinet men could have been offered or had actually received bribes, commissions or kickbacks out of their department's procurement programs, although not in the league of Abalos'. But with the frequency of such deals occurring year-round, the windfall is by all means staggering, considering that government deals nowadays run into several millions per signing.

IN THE ARROYO government, as in previous regimes like that of the deposed dictator Ferdinand Marcos, loyalty has its price and the one who is honored to make an offering gets the gold. However, while a show of loyalty deserves praise, the one that is grossly misplaced has no place in a moral society like ours and therefore, should be watched closely - the likes of those we are seeing now in Malacanang.

It is this brand of loyalty that silently nourishes the greed that makes the Arroyo government. Loyalty from her Cabinet men and greed of her regime create the symbiosis that sustains one another, and when lifted to a new level, becomes the silent milking cow. With this harsh reality, there's only one way to terminate such a relationship. There's no better option available.

Email the writer:
jarahdz500@online.net.pg
alfredophernandez@thenational.com.pg