Editor’s Note: The humanitarian disaster caused by an earthquake with 7.0 intensity on the Richter scale that hit Haiti is of great concern to overseas Filipinos, according to Pamusa’s president Frank Wenceslao. Through emails to Pamusa, they advised of asking their parents, siblings, relatives and friends at home to vote for the presidential candidate who will help in coping with economic difficulties besetting poor Filipinos. It’s this concern which Wenceslao hopes to arouse in his column below for Filipinos to bear in mind that while Haiti’s disaster may not happen to our country, it is always better that Philippine national leaders are acceptable to the international community and will attract foreign assistance and investments to enable Filipinos recover from decades of deteriorating conditions caused by pervasive graft and corrupt practices of government officials from Marcos to GMA adminsitrations. Only by sustainable development and improved people’s quality of life that the Filipino people will be prepared for any humanitarian disaster as that has befallen Haiti.
FRANKLY SPEAKING
by Frank Wenceslao
NP bet Manuel Villar and Bagumbayan Party’s Richard Gordon reportedly ganged up on LP bet Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III for lack of competence and experience to lead the nation demanding to know if the latter had anything to show that he could deliver his promised reforms.
After they read the news, Filipinos across America, Canada, Europe and the Middle East emailed Pamusa reiterating support for the Noynoy Aquino-Mar Roxas ticket on one fundamental issue. They believe Aquino and Roxas are neither tainted with corruption nor have unexplained wealth like Villar’s reported PhP43 billion ($940M) net worth.
Historical facts have proved Villar’s much hyped rags-to-riches story or Gordon’s executive experience as SBMA chairman and tourism secretary is no better than GMA’s doctorate in economics if the government doesn’t attract official development assistance (ODA) and domestic and foreign investment in a business environment of minimum graft and corruption in government.
Worse, businessmen are wary of political leaders with business interests like when Ferdinand Marcos granted Lucio Tan government favors to put up Asia Brewery and other businesses to compete with long existing local industries owned by political opponents.
Gordon, wealthy on his own, and Villar are unacceptable to the US and international community. It’s their indignation led to the organization of the UN Convention Against Corruption with international cooperation provisions (UNCAC-ICP) to recover over $23 trillion (T) of ODA poured by rich to poor nations since the end of WW II stolen by Third World’s dictators and discredited leaders.
Needless to say, Marcos became world-renown example of discredited national leaders whose family members and cronies robbed a poor country’s resources that otherwise could’ve mitigated poverty’s debilitating effects on its people.
Private foreign investors use ODA’s as a signal a country’s national leaders won’t be like their predecessors, thus the Philippines will be better off with an Aquino-Roxas administration. Voters should know that foreign embassies in Manila study Philippine history and would‘ve equated Roxas giving way to Aquino as duplicating the political sacrifice of Dr. Jose P. Laurel and Don Claro M. Recto in giving way to Ramon Magsaysay in the 1953 presidential election because the latter personified what the nation critically needed.
Since the election of Villar, Gordon or Joseph Estrada vis-à-vis Aquino won’t bring real advantage to the country, foreign diplomats would’ve communicated to their home offices the trio’s ambitions and traditional politics primarily drive their presidential aspirations.
For if the Villar, Gordon or Estrada were concerned like Laurel and Recto, they’d leave the field to Aquino and Gilbert Teodoro for the latter to defend Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s record if the people wanted her government program to continue.
We all know that unless rich nations’ ODA is efficiently used while domestic and foreign investors are assured of a level playing field, policies and programs to improve the Filipinos’ quality of life are not worth the paper they are written on.
Villar should rather spend the billions of pesos for his campaign funds for low-cost housing projects nationwide to keep him in public consciousness and a better chance to win in 2016. For now, he can’t buy the presidency. The more money he spends the more people will wonder if it were earned honestly or his running for president is to recover the billions of pesos he’s spent and will yet spend.
Villar and Gordon has big credibility problem for their close association with GMA in the past. Their persistence in running gives credence that either has an unholy alliance with GMA to bring conditions for the failure of the presidential election.
Win or lose, Villar’s and Gordon’s unexplained wealth will be scrutinized under UNCAC-ICP. President Obama has a pending program to assist poor nations recover ill-gotten wealth from the proceeds of corruption as foreign aid since the US presently can’t afford budgetary outlays due to current economic crisis. This has become urgent when considering how important it’s to Haiti’s plight to recover the nation’s resources stolen by the Duvaliers’ and other Haitian leaders.
Neither Villar nor Gordon can explain they’ve acquired their wealth by very successful business performance because it’s been acquired while they’re in government service. The immediate conclusion is their wealth goes beyond the realm of statistical probability and will adversely impact Villar’s or Gordon’s credibility if elected President vis-a-vis the international community.
Our people should know that overseas Filipinos wish to stop bowing in shame when discussion turns to the Philippine government being the most corrupt in Asia. There’re reports GMA’s family entered into an agreement with Imelda Marcos for the Arroyos to hide ill-gotten wealth with the Marcoses’ transferred overseas before the UNCAC-ICP went into force in December 2005.
However, Imelda is obviously balking at GMA’s conditions such as a big slice of the Marcoses’ ill-gotten wealth and backing off their claims against Lucio Tan, Danding Cojuangco, Roberto Ongpin and other Marcos cronies paying GMA enormous protection money for PCGG officials to wear blinders. Thus, all bets are off when GMA’s “term of office” ends on June 30, 2010.
Villar will be confronted by the same problem GMA has. Villar’s $940 million net worth generated out of Vista Land & Lifescapes Inc. and subsidiaries while Speaker and Senate President is incredible and probably involved “process or series of actions through which income of illegal origin is concealed, disguised, or made to appear legitimate (main objective); and to evade detection, prosecution, seizure, and taxation.”
This is the US Justice Department’s weapon of choice against the Mafia, drug lords, terrorist financiers, and government corruption that Villar would face whether he wins the presidency or not.
Beting Dolor, San Francisco’s Philippine News columnist, pointed out that Philippine ad industry records show Villar has spent about P300 million ($6.50 million) a month prior to filing his certificate of candidacy. At this rate, Villar will spend from January to election day more than One Billion Pesos (over $20M) for ads alone without considering cash or logistics in kind farmed out to local NP candidates, campaign staff, election watchers and costs of transportation, board and lodging when they travel away from home.
The Anti-Graft League of the Philippines headed by retired AFP Gen. Guillermo Picache reported that when Villar was Senate President, he’s accused of earmarks in the Budget bill during the bicameral conference committee deliberations for the right-of-way of C-5 extension to be expropriated from his subdivisions. Yet, the fact C-5 runs through those subdivisions to raise land values including the houses and lots sold by Vista Land and subsidiaries should’ve been enough for Villar to donate the ROWs for free to the government as quid pro quo.
Villar got enmeshed in another road scandal involving Daang Hari, an eight-lane road from Laguna to Cavite passing through Muntinlupa, Las Piñas and Bacoor. It couldn’t have been just coincidence that Daang Hari passes through over 20 subdivisions and housing projects of Vista Land and subsidiaries. Daang Hari raised Villar’s corporate assets, personal net worth and borrowing capacity without putting up an additional centavo of equity, thanks to government funding.
(fcwenceslao1034@hotmail.com)
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