SEARCH FOR TRUTH
By Ernesto M. Maceda
The Philippine Star
By Ernesto M. Maceda
The Philippine Star
When President Aquino assumed office in July 2010, among the first policy statements he made was “jueteng is not a priority.” He also put it under the supervision of then DILG Usec Rico Puno.
The PNP declared then as it has to date that the operations of the small town lottery (STL) was a cover-up for jueteng. The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) immediately announced the scrapping of STL and will substitute it with a new “Loterya ng Bayan.” To date, the STL has not been stopped.
Rumors are spreading that STL operators raised P60 million to lobby for the non-stoppage of STL.
Like the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), jueteng was clearly a vehicle for corruption, with PNP officials and municipal mayors getting a monthly payroll.
Now the PCSO has created a new jueteng clone called “Bingo Milyonaryo”.
President Aquino though belatedly has directed that PCSO to turn over the supervision of “Bingo Milyonaryo” to DILG Secretary Mar Roxas.
The implication is bad for PCSO officials. But the question remains: Will jueteng alyas “Bingo Milyonaryo” continue under DILG protection? How about the STL? Will it continue to operate? And will the “parallel” jueteng operations continue to survive?
Abolish the PDAF to stop corruption. Abolish jueteng to stop corruption. Better late than never. Both should have been abolished in 2010.
Not to do so will raise suspicions that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) will now use it as a fundraising vehicle for the 2016 elections.
Considering how strong the President’s memorandum was; shouldn’t a revamp of the PCSO be considered?
Napoles “small fry”
Lawyer Lorna Kapunan said in an ANC interview that Janet Lim-Napoles is a “small fry” and, she is the key to catch the “biggest fish” in the pork barrel scam.
Kapunan said that “a single person cannot carry out a crime of such magnitude as the P10-billion pork barrel scam. “
“There are many actors involved. Nobody can perpetuate — not a Napoles, not a Benhur, not a Usec, not a chief of staff, not a senator, not a congressman – it is a whole culture of corruption. It is a web of corruption,” Kapunan added.
Who could be a bigger fish than Senators Enrile, Revilla, and Jinggoy? Somebody bigger than a senator — A Senate president? A Speaker? A Cabinet member or a close presidential relative?
Lorna Kapunan has withdrawn as lawyer for Janet Lim-Napoles in all her cases. Why is she talking about the merits of the case? Is she violating the confidentiality rule between the lawyer and client?
It is easy to deduce that Kapunan’s knowledge of a bigger fish came from her conversations with Napoles.
But she is correct. Napoles could not have done it alone. Personally, I suspect several Cabinet members are involved.
More poor people
Fifty percent of respondents rated themselves poor in the latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey. This is partly caused by the fact that the inflation rate is at a 7-month high, due to higher food prices.
A series of calamities have rendered over a million people homeless and many lost their clothes and other personal belongings.
The jobless rate also went up to 7%. You can add the big number of Filipinos being repartriated from Saudi Arabia, Syria, and other Middle Eastern countries. It is also probable that Hong Kong will start to limit the entry of Filipino domestic workers.
The creation of the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) also exposed the slow performances of government agencies in implementing their programs led by Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC), National Irrigation Administration (NIA), Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), and Department of Agriculture (DA).
Clearly the government strategy is failing on high prices. Again, we say, remove the Value Added Tax (VAT) on gasoline and food items. Reduce the price of National Food Authority (NFA) rice back to P25/kilo.
No impact
The latest Social Weather Stations (SWS) poverty figures clearly indicate the fact that the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program has not created an impact among 3 million families receiving P1,400 a month. That’s only P45 a day or just enough to buy rice and fish for one meal.
The choice is now clear. Abolish the CCT and use the P62.6 billion to create jobs or double the doleout to P2,800/month.
Highly ultimatum
Hong Kong Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying has given the Philippines one month to finalize its compensation package for the bus hostage taking victims.
The Hong Kong Legislative Council is discussing a proposal to revoke the no visa policy for Filipinos.
Looks like we are under the gun here. Let’s prepare our own counter-sanctions. There are 150,000 Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) in Hong Kong.
Armida turns 83
Multi-awarded actress/singer Armida Siguion-Reyna turned 83, with a dinner held at the Chef Jessie Restaurant in Rockwell, Makati.
Leading the guests were Vice President Jejomar Binay, President-Mayor Joseph Estrada and wife Loi, Mayor Junjun Binay, Susan Roses, Congressman Anton Lagdameo and wife Dawn Zulueta, Baby Rodriguez-Magsaysay, Dr. Pilarica Ejercito, Jessie Ejercito, Dean Amado Valdez and wife Nadia, Brother Jun Banaag, Director Joel Lamangan, Ambassador Felimon Cuevas, Teddy Boy Lacson, Ninez Cacho-Olivares, Lily Monteverde, Maricel Soriano, Romy Vitug, Ricky Lo, Jackie and Beaver Lopez.
Marilyn Velarde-Pardo, wife of Titoy Pardo was greeted with a surprise birthday party by friends at the Turf Room of the Manila Polo Club.
TIDBITS: Staff Sergeant Ernesto Clemente was shot dead by motorcycle-riding gunmen at New York Street, Cubao.
Businessman Amador Castro was found dead, with his hands and feet tied in his daughter’s house in Quezon City.
PAL has started its 5 times a week flight to London last Tuesday. Ramon Ang, PAL president was on the inaugural flight. Flights to Frankfurt, Paris, and Rome are scheduled for 2014.
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