Frankly Speaking
Frank Wenceslao
Frank Wenceslao
Aquino and Ochoa
Although I’ve commented President Aquino isn’t getting the advice he needs to govern successfully, Nestor Mata’s column “The most embarrassing of all presidents!” and Boo Chanco’s “Is P-Noy just all talk?” brought back my mind to the 2010 presidential election if the US-Pinoys’ support for Aquino was worth it.
Although I was close to his mother and knew quite well his sister Ballsy Aquino-Cruz I was never sure if Noynoy knew me enough for me to put my credibility and objectivity on the line and face a libel suit in attacking Manny Villar’s corrupt business practices that my readers claimed made them vote and convinced others to vote for Aquino. As a result, Villar lost millions of votes to land at third place behind Joseph Estrada and couldn’t even raise a credible protest of having been cheated by Aquino who was the least interested candidate.
Our group of US-Pinoys had a delegation to attend Aquino’s inauguration. We were proud to be the first private delegation received by the new President on his second day in office. While in Manila I was full of hope to be part of the incoming administration to stop or at least minimize graft and corruption pervading Philippine society and undermining its rule of law because of an understanding with former SC Chief Justice Hilario Davide, chairman-designate of the Truth Commission, to appoint me his adviser. I believed then as I and some Filipinos still do that Aquino is “hulog ng langit” who came from virtually nowhere to be elected the Philippine Government CEO he didn’t seriously aspire for previously.
Some friends and I share the belief Pamusa is also “hulog ng langit” to help Aquino clean up corruption because its birth was precipitated by Jocjoc Bolante’s detention at LAX for coming here without a visa and led me to learn for the first time of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), Pamusa’s reason for existence. News from Manila indicated Bolante was allegedly the mastermind of the fertilizer scam. Evidence in the pork barrel scam suggests Janet Lim Napoles is probably involved also with Bolante and the fertilizer scam, meaning she has had her tentacles in two succeeding administrations. Which leads one to ask what happened Aquino’s “daang matuwid” (straight path). Could it had been washed away by frequently occurring typhoons and floods in the Philippines so it could hardly prove the most debilitating problem of graft and corruption has been dented during the first three years of Aquino’s rule.
Could Chanco be right that with the possible exception of CJ Corona’s impeachment and dismissal, Aquino has no accomplishment to show in fighting graft and corruption? With due respect to Mata, however, being the lone survivor of the 1957 plane crash on Mt. Manunggal that caused President Ramon Magsaysay’s death, his sense of fairness may’ve been impaired to claim that Aquino is the most embarrassing president we’ve had. Mata has forgotten Ferdinand Marcos whose mere mention in social gatherings abroad make Filipinos bow their heads in shame. What about his wife, Imelda, whose over two-thousand shoe collection makes people laugh and then suddenly stop when it occurs to them millions of Filipinos can’t eat two square meals a day.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Imelda Marcos let the mouse out of the cat’s mouth in a press statement she wants Bongbong Marcos to run for President in 2016. I don’t have the details that Ochoa, De Lima and Bautista may be involved in Mrs. Marcos’ plan. I’ve learned though to connect the dots to see their involvement when almost simultaneously early in Aquino’s administration, maybe July or August 2010, Ochoa was reported of favoring the PCGG’s abolition. His statement was echoed almost immediately by De Lima and Bautista, which made me wonder what made the PCGG’s abolition so important to the just starting Aquino administration?
Who would be the biggest beneficiaries if the PCGG were abolished when there won’t be any legal framework let alone our courts that can stop the Marcoses bring home, say, $200 million and add this to the Marcos wealth already here held by Bobby Ongpin, Greggy Araneta and the heirs of Marcos’ cronies like Kokoy Romualdezes’ children, Eric Recto and Geronimo Velasco Jr.? When the dots are connected backward, wasn’t a deal being discussed between the former FG Mike Arroyo and Imelda Marcos’ reps on the sharing of Marcos’ wealth which Imelda is insisting to include the Golden Buddha and reminted gold from the Yamashita Treasure? They can’t be hidden for long because of the G8 decision to close down tax and hot money safe havens discussed further below.
The PCGG should explain what happened that the estate of the late Benjamin “Kokoy” Romualdez was freed from sequestration including his and his wife’s, Juliet Gomez Romualdez, over $5 million Swiss bank deposit held in escrow by the Philippine National Bank supposed to be conveyed to the National Treasury after the Sandiganbayan’s decision came down forfeiting it in favor of the state. Moreover, it looks as though the PCGG has stopped its search and recovery of Marcos’ and cronies’ ill-gotten wealth such as the ill-gotten portion of Marcos’ energy secretary Geronimo Velasco’s estate probated in San Francisco after his death in 2007? It’s time the Senate should conduct a hearing what really is the remaining and unrecovered Marcos’ and cronies’ ill-gotten wealth, what has the PCGG accomplished in this regard and the cost to the government of the accomplishment during the Aquino administration.
I accidentally discovered Ochoa’s connection with Bongbong through his wife, Louise Araneta Marcos, a partner in the law office Marcos Ochoa Serapio and Tan (MOST) that again came into the limelight as it’s retained by Janet Lim Napoles on an administrative problem she had with the NBI which she asked MOST to resolve, which it did in 24 hours. Yet, Ochoa’s lame excuse was – more or less quoting Ochoa on TV in a Senate hearing – “when I heard MOST was representing Napoles, I advised the office (MOST) to disengage.” Aquino
should therefore ask this question: How long has Napoles been a MOST client? MOST should show statements of account of the charges and fees Napoles personally and her owned or controlled companies have paid. On the other hand, the whistleblowers should’ve across the documents, letters, vouchers and receipts of Napoles et al.’s dealings with MOST.
should therefore ask this question: How long has Napoles been a MOST client? MOST should show statements of account of the charges and fees Napoles personally and her owned or controlled companies have paid. On the other hand, the whistleblowers should’ve across the documents, letters, vouchers and receipts of Napoles et al.’s dealings with MOST.
I came to know MOST during my visit home to attend Aquino’s inauguration. It concerned my QC Sports Club share of stock I learned so requested Atty. Joseph Tan to inform Ochoa the stock gifted to him by the QCSC Board of Directors was mine arbitrarily applied to payment of dues during the 6-year I was in the US and on leave from the club. I assured Tan I didn’t mind that Ochoa got my share but he should either pay me or ask the board to pay me the stock price of P170,000.00 then. I didn’t hear any more from either Tan or the QCSC board when I left for the US with my stock problem unresolved. I emailed Ochoa afterwards but didn’t hear anything from him or Tan.
I concluded therefore that Ochoa lacks concern for a fellow human being maybe because he got drunk of power. Or, he doesn’t want to admit he received such an expensive gift, an evidence of graft. In any event Ochoa could’ve paid P170,000 and asked me to sign a quitclaim. This he didn’t do because he probably wanted the stock to remain a gift of the Chinese Filipino majority board members of the QCSC. Ochoa has a second think coming because I won’t forget this raw deal and perhaps be an added evidence to his corrupt practices when he’s in power.
Our point though is despite such experience that makes Ochoa’s integrity dubious, I’m still willing to help Aquino save his plunging presidency. Aquino should recognize graft and corruption hasn’t been dented in the last three years and is still the country’s biggest problem because his anticorruption program and its implementation by De Lima can be likened to putting out a forest fire with garden hose.
The President hopefully realizes he’s now on the threshold toward the eradication of big-time corruption with the convergence of international cooperation agreements against corruption (ICAAGs), the UNCAC and the US National Strategy to Internationalize Efforts Against Kleptocracy after worldwide indignation has been aroused epitomized by the “0ne Million People” march against pork barrel. Fortunately, our people aren’t prone to violence as the Greeks, Italians, Spaniards, etc. have shown against their government’s austerity programs. But, of course, we cannot wait until the tipping point and critical mass are reached before acting decisively and effectively against government corruption for which Chanco has raised the alarm. However, I still consider Aquino “hulog ng langit.”
The eight (G8) richest and most powerful nations on earth, namely (in alphabetical order): Canada, China, France, Italy, Japan, Russia, UK and USA, have agreed in their Summit last June in Northern Ireland they are
equally hurt by the multinationals’ profits and the taxes due from them getting locked up in safe havens that should go into investment capital as the proceeds of drug trafficking, organized crimes and kleptocracy.
Consequently, the world is running low of productive investments to grow national economies, create jobs, and address the problems caused by the rapidly increasing world population. The G8 would have taken up in the recent G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, to completely close down safe havens by any means necessary including stiff economic sanctions that safe havens, namely: Lichtenstein, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, etc. can’t ignore anymore. The Swiss Banking Authority initially fought the 2009 G20 London Summit agreement lifting the secrecy of bank accounts but relented and released eventually to the IRS a list of thousands of US citizens and nationals evading American taxes through secret Swiss bank accounts. The BIR has also this option if only the bureau were to stiffen its backbone and ignore powerful politicians’ demand for exemption.
equally hurt by the multinationals’ profits and the taxes due from them getting locked up in safe havens that should go into investment capital as the proceeds of drug trafficking, organized crimes and kleptocracy.
Consequently, the world is running low of productive investments to grow national economies, create jobs, and address the problems caused by the rapidly increasing world population. The G8 would have taken up in the recent G20 Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, to completely close down safe havens by any means necessary including stiff economic sanctions that safe havens, namely: Lichtenstein, Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, etc. can’t ignore anymore. The Swiss Banking Authority initially fought the 2009 G20 London Summit agreement lifting the secrecy of bank accounts but relented and released eventually to the IRS a list of thousands of US citizens and nationals evading American taxes through secret Swiss bank accounts. The BIR has also this option if only the bureau were to stiffen its backbone and ignore powerful politicians’ demand for exemption.
Meanwhile, to help achieve an appreciable change and stop Aquino’s presidency’s plunge on the slippery slope it’s on now, Pamusa’s advisers have devised a new concept to replace the anticorruption cooperative
framework we’ve previously proposed but was rejected by the DOJ and PCGG. It will centralize and internationalize the President’s anti-graft and corruption program (AGCP) so that Congress and all national government offices, bureaus, agencies, instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations and local government units can take legal action on their own (motu propio) and directly work with Pamusa based on evidence of probable violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices law and its
corresponding punishable US laws assuming, of course, the latter’s legal processes and retribution are much faster than in the Philippines. US actions won’t nullify corresponding Philippine actions as, in fact, the US
evidence is transferable to a Philippine court to reinforce the evidence in violating a similar crime.
framework we’ve previously proposed but was rejected by the DOJ and PCGG. It will centralize and internationalize the President’s anti-graft and corruption program (AGCP) so that Congress and all national government offices, bureaus, agencies, instrumentalities, including government-owned or controlled corporations and local government units can take legal action on their own (motu propio) and directly work with Pamusa based on evidence of probable violation of the anti-graft and corrupt practices law and its
corresponding punishable US laws assuming, of course, the latter’s legal processes and retribution are much faster than in the Philippines. US actions won’t nullify corresponding Philippine actions as, in fact, the US
evidence is transferable to a Philippine court to reinforce the evidence in violating a similar crime.
Pamusa and an office-complainant will have a “sword of Damocles” that will not only deter graft and corrupt practices in the Philippines whose US counterparts can be simultaneously investigated that would incur
unaffordable expenses in the two countries that will spread fear to every office but won’t impede normal operation. The fear will be pervasive in the government when it’s commonly known that an employee suspected of committing a Philippines crime can also be prosecuted in the US after it’s referred to Pamusa for appropriate action, say, taking US legal action such as asking the FBI to investigate if the evidence may warrant further legal action and thus more expenses.
unaffordable expenses in the two countries that will spread fear to every office but won’t impede normal operation. The fear will be pervasive in the government when it’s commonly known that an employee suspected of committing a Philippines crime can also be prosecuted in the US after it’s referred to Pamusa for appropriate action, say, taking US legal action such as asking the FBI to investigate if the evidence may warrant further legal action and thus more expenses.
Let me assure the President there is time before the end of his term to nail and recover the ill-gotten wealth of Napoles; the illicit estate of “Kokoy” Romualdez; Roberto Ongpin’s foreign holdings that are likely part of Marcos’ ill-gotten wealth; the ill-gotten portion of Velasco’s estate; and others whose ill-gotten wealth was acquired after Marcos. All of the above will still be credited as the President’s achievements and form part of his legacy for him to be remembered long after we’re all gone from this earth.
No comments:
Post a Comment