By Rey O. Arcilla
PRESIDENT Noynoy Aquino’s bosses ought to know by now that his heart is not with the poor and the downtrodden. He has already demonstrated that on many occasions.
They, therefore, shouldn’t have been surprised when he chose to watch a movie starring his showbiz sister’s son and attend the so-called “royal wedding” of two famous showbiz (what else?) personalities while hundreds of thousands of his wretched bosses were being battered by a raging storm in the Visayas and Mindanao.
But I don’t blame Noynoy for his insensitivity towards the great unwashed. Being a scion of one of the oligarchies in the country whose tremendous wealth was accumulated through the exploitation of poor farmers in the family’s Hacienda Luisita, he could not be expected to feel differently about the less fortunate people in the country. The environment in which he grew up made him that way.
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What a way to start the New Year for millions of Noynoy’s commuter bosses in Metro Manila! I refer to the rather drastic increase of 50 to 87 percent in the LRT and MRT fares. And at a time when the service of both, especially the MRT, is abysmal! Passengers also risk life and limb every time they take MRT due to poor maintenance.
A Malacañang spokesman said the accusations against Noynoy of being insensitive to the plight of his bosses were “illogical”.
Further, the spokesman argued that people in Mindanao and the Visayas are subsidizing through public funds the MRT even if they don’t use it, or words to that effect. That, to me, sounds even more illogical! Isn’t that like saying Metro Manila commuters are not using roads, bridges, seaports and airports in the Visayas and in Mindanao built through public funds?
Although I do not fully subscribe to their accuracy, watch Noynoy’s popularity rating plummet in the next surveys. And he would have nobody else to blame but himself for keeping an incompetent and allegedly corrupt official at the helm of DOTC who, reportedly, is a henchman of his No. 1 sidekick, Mar Roxas.
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Of the nineteen (19) executive departments and the respective agencies under each of them, it would appear that only five (5) have not been cited in the media and elsewhere for their officials’ ineptitude, alleged graft and corrupt practices and plain incompetence. They are the departments of education, public works and highways, science and technology, tourism, and trade and industry.
Hardly to be expected from a chief executive who launched his campaign for the presidency nearly five years ago on a “kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap” mantra and a “daang matuwid” slogan.
With barely a year and a half left in his term, it is not likely Noynoy will be able to recover or make up for his blunders and poor judgment to put his administration on the straight and narrow path, especially considering the elections in May next year.
So, his bosses will simply have to brace themselves for more of the same in the remaining months of Noynoy’s presidency.
But there is one thing they can do rather easily and that is to choose the right successor to Noynoy, one who is incorruptible, dedicated, has common sense and a single-minded determination to serve the people and, above all, nationalistic.
Is there someone like that? With a hundred million people, I’m sure there is. But what is more important is the people must support him/her and not allow money to sway their vote. Take the money of corrupt politicians but vote for such a man. The voting populace must also learn to shun dynasts. If these greedy politicians would not ban dynasties as dictated by the Constitution, then we just change them!
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“Palace Not Worried Over (2-month) Suspension of Pemberton Case” – Headline.
Why should it? It simply fits in to what I think is the plan of the administration. Keep the case away from the consciousness of Noynoy’s bosses for a while to tamp down their anger and outrage over the murder of Jennifer Laude by US marine Joseph Pemberton.
Given the growing clamor for the abrogation of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) and with the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) still hanging fire, it would appear to be the best thing to do under the circumstances by the pro-US administration of Noynoy and his “Super Amboy aka Giant Smiley” foreign secretary Albert del Rosario,
Will their plan succeed? It is not unlikely, given the forgiving and forgetful nature of the Filipino, especially when it comes to offenses committed by Americans. It is also not farfetched that the Muslim custom of offering “blood money” to the victim’s relatives is now being explored and seriously considered. Look at the case of Nicole, a rape victim of an American soldier found guilty of the crime. He is now scot-free while Nicole is enjoying her life in the land of milk and honey.
In the meantime, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said she supports a review of some provisions in the VFA that pertain to the custody of Pemberton while admitting at the same time that a review has, in fact, gone on for two years without any result. If she thinks a review this time will succeed, she has another think coming. So do Senators Franklin Drilon and Miriam Santiago. The US will never agree to a change in the said provisions.
As I have said in a previous column, no such agreement will ever be reached given the US’ unwavering and non-negotiable stance when it comes to the protection of her nationals, especially her men in uniform. Proof of this is the non-accession by the US to the Rome Statute that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.
The Rome Statute identified four core international crimes, namely, genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes and the crime of aggression. Those crimes shall not be subject to any statute of limitations.
Given the US’ track record of armed aggression against other states not sanctioned by the United Nations or international law, e.g., Cambodia, Grenada, Iraq, one can readily understand her position.
It will, therefore, be a futile exercise to negotiate with the US on this matter of custody. It is bad enough that she had to concede jurisdiction over erring military personnel to Philippine courts. It would be too much to expect her to concede custody as well. With custody, she at least still retains some options to protect her nationals’ interest.
So there. The only way to get us out of this dilemma is to abrogate the VFA. It would, however, be sheer folly to expect Noynoy to do this seeing as he is an Amboy himself. And with Super Amboys del Rosario, Jose Cuisia in Washington, the Makati Business Club and the Amboys in the defense establishment hovering over his shoulder, it is almost a certainty he will not do it!
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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 more than four and a half years ago.
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. I wouldn’t be surprised if he again tops the list in 2014; and
(b) That over a year ago, at least P4.13 billion in contributions and loan payments made by 12 government offices, maybe more by now, 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 at that time 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? How long do you think you can “dedma” these questions?
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 Heidi Mendoza of COA: “Is Vergara one of the sacred cows in Noynoy’s coterie whom you are afraid to investigate?”
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Today is the 249th day of the eighth year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.
The trial of the primary suspect in the enforced disappearance of Jonas, Maj. Harry Baliaga, Jr. has finally begun about three months ago, after seven and a half years.
I dread to think how many more years it will take before Jonas’ disappearance is finally resolved.
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From an internet friend:
Another Year Has Passed and we’re all a little older.
Last summer felt hotter and winter seems much colder.
I wrack my brain for happy thoughts to put down on my pad, but a lot of things that come to mind just make me kind of sad.
There was a time not long ago when life was quite a blast.
Now I fully understand about “living in the past”.
We used to go to friends homes, basketball games and lunches.
Now we go to therapy, to hospitals, and funeral brunches.
We used to have hangovers from parties that were gay.
Now we suffer body aches and sleep the night away.
We used to go out dining and couldn’t get our fill.
Now we ask for doggie bags, come home and take a pill.
We used to travel often to places near and far.
Now we get backaches from riding in the car.
We used to go out shopping for new clothing at the mall.
But now we never bother… all the sizes are too small.
That, my friend is how life is, and now that my tale is told, enjoy each day and live it up… before you’re too damn old!
A Happy, Healthy and Prosperous 2015 to all!
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Email: roacrosshairs@outlook.com
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