By REY O. ARCILLA
MALAYA
MALAYA
(The continued refusal of the administration to come out with a complete report on how the DAP was spent only serves to heighten the suspicion of Noynoy’s bosses that he and his henchmen are hiding something not quite “proper”.)
Edwin Lacierda
Malacanang mouthpiece Edwin Lacierda who once doubled as the Boy Pickup of Pork Barrel Queen Janet Lim-Napoles, said that “91 percent” of the illegal Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) was “spent properly”.
The implication of Lacierda’s statement is that the remaining 9 percent was spent improperly. That comes to about P12 billion! That’s even bigger than the PDAF (pork barrel) scam allegedly engineered by Napoles!
That is why it is very important for the government to come out with a COA-audited statement showing where every centavo of DAP went. Let the bosses of President Noynoy Aquino decide for themselves if the funds were “spent properly”.
The continued refusal of the administration to come out with a complete report on how the DAP was spent only serves to heighten the suspicion of Noynoy’s bosses that he and his henchmen are hiding something not quite “proper”.
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When he supposedly tendered his resignation to Noynoy, some friends of Florencio Abad insisted that he has delicadeza after all. Naku naman, that’s stretching it quite a bit!
If indeed he has delicadeza and was really serious about leaving his job, he would have submitted an irrevocable resignation. He knows his boss, perhaps better than anyone else, as someone who never lets go of his underlings if he can help it. Look at agriculture secretary Proceso Alcala. The fellow is still around notwithstanding the fact that he has already been effectively replaced by former Senator Francis “Mr. Noted” Pangilinan.
Or, Abad and his boss may have even talked about it before he actually submitted his purported resignation letter. Who knows? I cannot imagine them not talking about it beforehand. Can you?
Besides, Noynoy had earlier already “exonerated” Abad from committing a wrongful act. He even assumed responsibility for the unconstitutional DAP.
Also, if Noynoy had accepted Abad’s resignation, that would have been tantamount to admitting culpability on his part too. He knew what Abad was doing all along. And he knew it was wrong. He even filed a bill in the Senate when he was there against the practice which he said was illegal. But not when he is the one doing it?!
If the two went through the charade hoping that such might dissipate the anger felt by Noynoy’s bosses over the pork barrel scam, which includes the DAP, they are sadly mistaken. The people are in fact getting angrier because they feel the government is trying to make it appear as though it has done nothing wrong. “Ano ba ang akala ng mga taong ito sa atin, mga tanga?” is the outraged cry of the masses now, in case Noynoy and company have not heard.
Be aware, or beware, if you will. It would be wise not to underestimate the growing resentment of the people against the farcical daang matuwid.
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Senator Nancy Binay said Noynoy should have accepted Abad’s resignation and let him go.
Her father, Vice President Jejomar Binay, on the other hand, said he respects Noynoy’s rejection of Abad’s purported resignation.
“The decision to accept or reject the resignation is the prerogative of the President,” he said.
There appears to be a difference of opinion in the Binay dynasty on DAP. I wonder how the other daughter, Abigail, in the House feels. And the mayor-son…
Binay the Elder said all projects funded by the DAP should be fully disclosed to prove “good faith” by those who created and implemented it. I agree.
The chief Palace spokesman Sonny Coloma, however, said releasing the list of DAP-funded projects is not Malacanang’s priority. Filing a request for reconsideration of the Supreme Court ruling is, he said.
I say both can be done at the same time… unless the Palace is trying to hide something, which seems to be the case. That’s the impression Noynoy’s bosses get.
Noynoy is scheduled to address the issue Monday night (July 14) before this piece sees print. For his sake and the people’s, I hope he doesn’t mess it up further. The whole point of the exercise would be to justify the wanton violation of the Constitution he and Abad committed. Nothing short of that and, more importantly, fully disclosing how the money was spent, will get him and Abad off the hook. Good luck, Mr. President, Sir!
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Noynoy’s bosses are appalled at how the accused in the pork barrel scam are given special treatment. They are particularly enraged at how much is spent on them. After allegedly stealing the country blind, these people are still costing the people money?!
Why are these people called high-risk inmates? They’re not killers. Neither are they flight-risks, not anymore. They are mere suspected thieves of government funds. And there’s the rub. They are supposed to have stolen people’s money and yet money is still being spent on them, money that should go to Noynoy’s bosses who have been cheated all these years out of funds that ought to have been spent on them to alleviate their hardship and suffering due to natural and man-made disasters, some of which may be traced to the thieving ways of unscrupulous politicians.
Are they at risk of getting killed inside ordinary jails or when being transported to Sandiganbayan? Well, as a friend said, we all have to die sometime, somehow.
Ask the average man-on-the-street and he will tell you the same thing… these people do not deserve the kind of treatment they are now getting.
Especially galling to the people is the treatment accorded to Napoles. Why does she have to be kept at the PNP detention center in Laguna? People can’t help suspecting that her treatment is a special arrangement with Malacanang. The Palace should level with the people on her incarceration in Fort Sto. Domingo.
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It is not only in the executive branch of our government where top officials accused, or found guilty, of improper conduct are allergic to resigning.
Sandiganbayan Justice Gregory Ong is one such official. He was found guilty of and was recommended for dismissal for gross misconduct, impropriety and dishonesty by retired Supreme Court Justice Angelina Sandoval-Gutierrez who was tapped by the tribunal to investigate Ong early this year.
In her report, Gutierrez said Ong committed serious transgression when he acquitted pork barrel queen Janet Lim-Napoles in 2010 of criminal charges for the questionable purchase of 500 Kevlar helmets for the Philippine Marines which were also found to be of inferior quality as they were made in Taiwan and not in the United States.
Ong has not resigned up to this writing. Nothing so strange there. What people find strange is why the Supreme Court had to defer for next month making a decision on Gutierrez’ recommendations.
Aside from dismissal, Gutierrez also recommended that the High Court should forfeit Ong’s retirement benefits and bar him from ever joining public office, including government-owned and controlled corporations.
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Reminders (for Noynoy):
1) Filing of charges against officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) during Arroyo’s illegitimate regime. Noynoy himself said on several occasions that there is documentary evidence to prove the venalities in the past in that agency. That was four long years ago.
(Ironically, one of the biggest scandals to hit President Noynoy Aquino’s administration is the alleged corruption in the NFA and the pork barrel scam in the Department of Agriculture headed by Proceso Alcala who is still sticking like a leech to his post notwithstanding the appointment of former senator Francis “Mr. Noted” Pangilinan as his virtual replacement.)
2) Investigation of reported anomalies in the GSIS during the watch of Winston Garcia and order his successor, Robert “Pretty Boy” Vergara, to file the proper charges, if warranted, against the former.
Noynoy should also order Vergara to report to him on COA’s findings that:
(a) He received the obscenely excessive compensation of P16.36 million in 2012 making him the highest paid government servant then. The latest COA report also has Vergara as the highest paid for 2013 with P12.09 million; and
(b) That over a year ago, at least P4.13 billion in contributions and loan payments made by 12 government offices to the GSIS had not been credited to the offices as of Dec. 31, 2011.
COA also said at the time that the amount of unrecorded remittances could go much higher because only 36 agencies have so far responded out of the 186 that were sent confirmation requests by government auditors. Of the 36, 27 confirmed “discrepancies” in their premium and loan payments ledgers when compared with those of the GSIS.
There are three questions being raised when remittances, or parts thereof, of government agencies are not recorded by the GSIS on time: a) Where are these huge sums “parked” in the meantime?; b) Do they earn interest?; and c) To where (whom?) does the interest, if any, go?
Pray tell, Mr. Vergara, what is the present status of these funds, including those that may have been remitted since and not yet recorded by the GSIS?
I believe it is time for COA to follow up on what Vergara has done on the above findings so that affected GSIS members would know the status of their contributions!
In this connection, I would like to address this question to Mesdames Grace Pulido Tan and newly CA-confirmed Heidi Mendoza of COA: “Is GSIS head Robert “Pretty Boy” Vergara one of the sacred cows in Noynoy’s coterie?”
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Today is the 80th day of the eighth year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.
Eleven weeks ago, Jonas’ mother, Edita, reminded Noynoy in a letter of his promise to conduct a “dedicated and exhaustive investigation” on her son’s enforced disappearance.
“Our hope was anchored on your promise to do what you could ‘on the basis of evidence’ when I personally pleaded for your help. This was almost four years ago, May 2010,” she wrote.
Mr. President, Sir?
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From an internet friend:
A man walks into work with two black eyes. His boss asks what happened.
The man says, “I was sitting behind a big woman at church. When we stood up to sing hymns, I noticed that her dress was caught in her crack, so I pulled it out. She turned around and punched me square in the eye.”
“Where did you get the other shiner?” the boss asks.
“Well,” the man says, “I figured she preferred it in the crack, so I pushed it back in.”
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15 July 2014
Email: roacrosshairs@outlook.com
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