Unholy Trinity

By Miguel Raymundo
Opinyon

THE PHILIPPINES IS ASIA’S FIRST DEMOCRACY AND ONLY CATHOLIC COUNTRY IN THE REGION. THIS PAYS DEEP HOMAGE TO THE HOLY TRINITY; GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST.

Holy Trinity

Today, this country’s political leadership is doing everything and every trick in the book to pay homage to a parallel trinity. With slight deviation from the biblical power-sharing in the Trinity, the parallel trinity re-arranged the sharing of power according to the personal situation of the character who should be god the father.

The Ghost

Who is supposed to be god the father is now the ghost as he cannot be seen when most needed like in major calamities and deep political troubles and gigantic economic disasters.

The latter is always out of the country brushing elbows with real powers of the world thinking that the problem will be solved by the two other gods.

The Son

God the son has taken over direct management of the interests of this parallel trinity.

He has placed all his brothers-in-law and brothers of his brothers, his partners in business, his neighbors, classmates, “kainuman and kabilyaran”, and friends to 100th degree of attachment.

The Father

God the father, like the original in the Bible, is never visible on his role in the trinity. He is everywhere, though.

He is in politics. He is in media.

He is now partner of the most valuable player (MVP) in Philippine business.

Many Sects

God the son’s trusted brothers, in-laws and in business, have taken over practically all profit-centers, driving away other members of their family to form their own sects and create trinities.

Not unlike in biblical stories, in the Philippines, there are many trinities as there are many religion and sects. Most are the trinities in the government services.

They are at the Bureau of Customs, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Transportation and Communications and others.

Why at the Customs?

The most interesting is at the Bureau of Customs. Why in this bureau? Let’s find out.

There are several trinities overlapping each other in the money factory that is the BOC. One group is reported to be attached to a top Malacanang official, the Executive Secretary. This was topic in Opinyon issue no. 25.

The other groups: the M group. (M for money?), the G group (G for graft?) and the J group (J is for just-a-front?).

The M group is headed by the previous head of MIVP. She is now chief of staff of newly installed BOC Commissioner Ruffy Biazon. She is Atty. Adelina Molina. She is an old hand at the BOC. Her value? She knows the ins and outs of every operation at the bureau.

When nobody knows the ins and outs of a house, his first value is knowing where the dirt is and how best to keep them.

A Survivor

Atty. Molina is a survivor in the tumultuous politics at the BOC.

To survive BOC, one has to be correctly connected with the powers that be.

In the period of GMA, Molina was untouchable, reported to be “bata” and relative of Norberto Gonzales. She is one face in one trinity inside BOC with chief of x-ray, Atty. Lourdes Mangaoang in the other.

The third face is unseen but obvious.

One loose talk inside coffee shops in Aduana is that Molina is chief of Biazon only in this period of transition. Meaning, while the new commissioner is learning the ropes so to avoid getting hanged.

Correct Teacher, Wrong Lessons

The laugh is Biazon might find himself hanged because of wrong lessons from the correct teacher. Correct if Biazon wants to know how to take the cake and eat it too.

A story is going around tell about Molina getting a dressing down from her subordinate on a quarrel over money. This happened at the Commissioner’s office lately.

Observers suggest she should be one those investigated in the loss of container vans, the over 2,000 that should have reached Batangas and the over 1,000 that are under the care of Port of Manila (See related story on this page.)

The “G” Group

The G group is headed by the collector of Port of Manila (POM), Atty. Rogel Gatchalian.

The POM used to be the next to MICP in terms of business volume.

When Gatchalian got assigned to POM, MICP’s control over transshipments, bulk of MICP transactions got transferred to POM.

Accord to sources inside, Gatchalian is “very important.”

When heads were chopped over the 2,000 container vans getting lost was exposed, former Customs Chief Lito Alvarez took a dive and John Tan, collector of Batangas, was grounded.

“He is untouchable. His god the father is a top national political figure who keeps very important person who needs P2M a week for maintenance,” Opinyon sources claim.

Nobody messes with ‘G’

Same sources say nobody messes with Gatchalian. POM under him made a lot of money for the government. It is top earner for BOC.

Besides, give him trouble and before you know it, the forces that have survived martial, and other presidents after the dictatorship, could be knocking on your door reminding you of those dreaded years when freedom and rights were forgotten and buried.

Gatchalian’s G group overlaps with the M group, helping each other make money for the government.

Wife and her Pa

The J group is working for a wife and a father-in-law of a top BOC. This group is the newest in the block and still in the learning stage.

But this J did the dressing down of a relative of Norberto Gonzales after this relative of a GMA top operator and suspected threat to national security was found suspect in accounting of funds.

There are many other sub groups, all working hard to make money for the government.

While there is an overdrive in generating income for the national treasury, the BOC keeps on missing its target even when the economy is growing.

Haven of Miracles

Speaking of miracles, courtesy of the biblical Trinity.

The parallel trinity gets big scores.

The BOC is haven of miracles.

The apparent miracle is government getting poorer while BOC minor officials are getting richer. And it shows.

One drives a motorcycle worth over P1 million.

Opinyon bannered Ruffy Biazon as hope for reforms at the BOC.

We continue to hope he will live up to the country’s expectations.