NO-EL?

By REY O. ARCILLA  
MALAYA

(We’re not even close to Christmas yet!)

Elections 2012

“No election” (No-el) another trial balloon?

First there was “Cha-cha”. Then a retraction. Then a retraction of the retraction.

And now No-el. Then a retraction. Will there be a retraction of the retraction?

Maybe…

Why?

The Malacanang habitué is desperate and his cohorts are in a panic mode.

Cha-cha will not fly even with President Noynoy Aquino’s much-vaunted considerable control over Congress. They know his bosses, his real bosses, the people, not AMADO (Abad, Mar, Almendras, Drilon and Ochoa) will see to that. The people will also see to it that never again shall he, or his successors, dip their fingers on any form of pork barrel to influence those greedy vermin in Congress and local government units.

And so, with cha-cha dead in the water, no-el was floated to see if it will fly.

It won’t either.  So, forget it.

******

Noynoy is now a lame duck. There is no question about that. And there is nothing, nothing at all, that he can do about that. Not with a threat of a cha-cha or a no-el.

However, there are some things he can do to possibly prevent what he now fears most – suffering the same fate that has befallen his two immediate predecessors – without resorting to cha-cha or no-el or actually embarking on either one (both foolish).
With the same single-mindedness and zeal with which he pursued the ouster of the former Ombudsman and former Chief Justice, he can do the following without delay and, hopefully, avert a future personal disaster:

1) Fire the erring and incompetent members of his cabinet namely, in alphabetical order, Abad, Abaya, Alcala, Del Rosario, Deles, Lacierda, Ochoa, Petilla, Roxas and Soliman. Heads of GOCCs who do not deserve to remain in office, like Robert “Pretty Boy” Vergara of GSIS, should be booted out too.

2) Go after everyone, his relatives, friends and political allies included, who are implicated in the pork barrel scam or other anomalies.

3) Wield all the powers of the presidency to expedite the resolution of pending cases such as the Maguindanao massacre involving the Ampatuan family, and those of the desaparecidos like Jonas Burgos.

4) Make sure there will be no power and water shortages till the end of his term, preferably beyond. Failure to do so will infuriate his bosses. It will also be bad for the economy.

5) Craft a foreign policy that is less dependent on the US and is more realistic and pragmatic in its approach towards our relations with China, with only the national interest uppermost in his mind.

If he accomplishes all the foregoing, his own bosses will not hesitate to help keep him from suffering the same fate that befell Estrada and Arroyo. They might even clamor for his continued stay in Malacanang. Who knows…

******

That woman with a gun who tried to enter Malacanang with a mind to “scare” Noynoy should tell him and his cohorts that not everything is nice and dandy in the country and that the majority of his bosses still unreservedly support him.

To repeat what Mar Roxas was quoted as saying about erring policemen, the powers-that-be had “better shape up or ship out”.

******

Senate President Franklin Drilon asserts that the declaration by the Supreme Court that the DAP is unconstitutional had a “chilling effect” on government spending because officials now fear the possibility of lawsuits.

That’s a totally inaccurate statement. Why would officials fear lawsuits if their spending is aboveboard?

If at all the Supreme Court ruling had any chilling effect, it is on the spending of unscrupulous politicians like Drilon (he did receive P100 million from DAP funds after voting in favor of Corona’s impeachment) and government functionaries.

******

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. Noynoy’s first appointee to head the NFA, Lito Banayo, has been charged, along with others, for alleged graft and corruption during his tenure in the agency. Banayo’s successor, Orlan Calayag is now under investigation for allegedly granting a P1.08-billion rice cargo-handling contract to a trucking company without a bidding being conducted. That’s not all… Calayag, who resigned earlier, had been replaced by Arthur Juan who, in turn, is now accused of extortion by rice trader Jomerito Soliman. NFA accursed?)

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 whom you are afraid to investigate?”

******

Today is the 123rd day of the eighth year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

Seventeen 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?

******

From an internet friend:

Paddy says to Mick, “I’m ready for a holiday, only this year I’m going to do it a bit different. Three years ago I went to Spain and Mary got pregnant. 
Two years ago I went to Italy and Mary got pregnant. 
Last year I went to Majorca and Mary got pregnant.”

Mick asks, “So what are you going to do this year?”

Paddy replies, “I’ll take her with me!”

******

26 August 2014

Email: roacrosshairs@outlook.com

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