“If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe.”

That Senate hearing

That Senate hearing must have been uncharacteristically unlike all such hearings held before it in that the chair presiding gave a long-drawn lecture that in effect, has set the tone and direction of the congressional hearing on the WB report on alleged cartel in the public works sector.In short, lady Miriam came prepared and was able to lay the groundwork for the discussion that will ensue in accordance presumably with the context that she – quite purposively – advanced so that no one can otherwise think out of the box.And this is deemed to have succeeded from beginning to end except that somewhere in the process. Sen. Biazon practically walked out of the proceeding as he does not want to walk the path laid in advance.

Fact is, the later-on-read statement of the First Gentleman appears to connect well with the theme of what had been discussed as though it must have been prepared by lady Miriam herself.The long drawn deposition read by Atty. Rondain have made clear how ideas have perfectly converged on what the beleaguered individual has to say and what conclusions have been drawn from the indicatively scripted proceedings.It is really unlike any other Senate hearing we have witnessed as we see an ambience where everyone appears to have been tamed in how they participated.Clearly, Senate President Enrile, lady Miriam, and even old Nene – appear to have woven their ideas from the same thread.

Few other observations may have to be stated in the conduct of this Senate proceeding,First, as everybody already expected, FG did not opt to appear before the hearing and even has to blame his doctor, however condescendingly, for not allowing him to go.The doctor appears too competent to appear before such body as though there must have been an earlier assurance that he will not be grilled and his medical advice has not been seriously rebutted by yet another medical expert which should have been the case.

Second, finance secretary Teves made a good excuse about the WB report on account of a self-professed dilemma that got him torn between having to keep it confidential and to keep it disclosed before the Senate body.But there was some reported admission that he knew of the initial finding of the WB even before the final WB report came out since it has reached his knowledge but may be did not have to do anything about it, in any case.It was convincing for him to say that his department did not have the facility to conduct whatever legal option may be deemed necessary, reason why he transmitted it all too promptly to the Ombudsman.

Third, the Ombudsman appears confident that despite some perceived inaction over the WB report casting in bad light her bureau, some actions have actually been taken but cannot otherwise be completed by her Atty. Jalandoni.Incidentally, she was just too prompt to manifest to the body that she is just recently in receipt of a mailed parcel from the WB and wisely enough, made it appear, it was what could have disable them to proceed in their own investigation – documents coming late.Well said for an Ombudsman who can express herself to the apparent satisfaction of the senators present.

Fourth, former congressman Pichay did not fail to acknowledge the importance of the lecture given by the lady presiding officer that has put in context what he has to say which is nothing but a denial of any involvement in the alleged cartel attended with fraud and corruption.And this goes true with the Paras invited as well as the other resource persons invited to include a certain Boy Belleza et al.It made clear from the leading questions propounded that none of those invited and present were ever interviewed by the World Bank and therefore, the WB report is of dubious origin.

Fifth, Sen. Pia Cayetano also sounded off that there are other instances when the WB report is replete with similar allegations of fraud and corruption thereby rendering the report in question as similarly not credible.The other Cayetano appears to be be rather tamed not to antagonize the resource speakers nor did he raise eyebrows when FG’s lawyer read the statement prepared in his absence.Not much of fireworks as would have been expected of once true-blue anti-GMA politician.

And when everything is said and done, the chair has turned herself automatically, the “lady of the hour” – as though her word is law unto itself.She even somehow threaten to force that Mr. Hoffman to send to the Senate secretariat the whole compendium of WB report if not to appear under risk that he will be arrested or possibly cited in contempt.She said, rather with full confidence, that the confidentiality invoked by the WB or US for that matter can be relegated to the background and that the law, as she knows it, gives higher precedence to this work of the Senate, true or not.

And the whole proceeding ended up attacking the WB bank, the people in this organization, and lady Miriam did vent some racist overtones as to say that they are squatters in the Philippines who can be evicted, if the Senate wants to.Absent any headquarters agreement, she thinks that the WB does not enjoy what they invoked.Now, they turned the table on the source of the controversial report as to accuse the WB as being the culprit.In other words, the Senate has to shoot the messenger, not the message.They have to arrest, apprehend, summon or sanction all these WB personalities as though WB enjoys less than what it invokes as a special international entity.From hereon till this whole exercise comes to a final halt, many ideas will still surface.

From where I stand, I would think that since lady Miriam is a known rabid politically ally and supported of GMA, she should have yielded the chair to the other chairmen of the other committees equally cognizant on the subject matter of the Senate hearing in order thatthe indicative bias that the public has perceived of the whole proceeding to be, would have been prevented.

Like judges, some committee chairmen may have to inhibit themselves from presiding in the interest of truth. In this case, she already came out to say of the whole imbroglio over that of WB report as – walang ebidensya and accompanied by her signature smile .Still, observers cannot believed that instead, our politicians threw stones on the windows of the WB where the message that should have been treated with sense of propriety and urgency, have just been debunked, swept like dust to end where it began.There is nothing like this, elsewhere, pray tell.

Is the WB report a corruption index?

There is more than meets the eyes in the controversial WB report reduced as it is now as the butt of contention in congressional hearings of both the House of Representatives and the Senate.The media bureau of Malacanang has cast a lot of shadows on the issue as PR handlers took turns to view it in various lights.And one has even as much as doubt the very existence of a WB report and if that were not a rather strange idea, I don’t know what is.

Now, Malou Mangahas of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and former editor of the Philippine Collegian of UP, has written a report in Manila Times, entitled “WB report mixes facts with rumors” which outlines the cause and effect of the bid-rigging report.It has become of no moment if Philippine courts can use the report to go after public officials who appear to be involved in graft and corruption on said WB-funded road projects.Suffice to say, that the WB report has the long and the short of it as to enable one to actually – separate the grain from the chaff – matter-of-factly.

Off-repeatedly interviewed, the First Gentleman cannot but just dismiss as hearsay all this hullabaloo.An implicated congressman first echoed the same rebuff now embraced as the official line by calling it all but tsismis (rumors).That gives them a little bit of a grip in the showbiz world but what about their hands being seen in the cookie jar, in a manner of speaking?

Given its present composition, any average mind will not think that the WB staff in their Development of Institutional Integrity unit went through their investigation with neither competence nor integrity.Mr. Kramer is a special attorney in the Criminal Division, Organized Crime and Racketeering Section of the US Department of Justice.Further, Mr. Hawkes is senior officer of the INT who is expert in anti-money laundering and forensic auditing of fraud and corruption in bank-funded projects.Mr. Dushenaliyev and others are financial specialists at the World Bank.In short, it is hard to debunk the report they had come up with as under the category of either – rumor or hearsay.Nor is it to be lacking in any evidentiary value as that runs away from the truth.

At bottom, we see that these alleged collusive practices and overpriced WB-funded projects have been a two-year work with interviews conducted to some 60 individuals.While it may be observed that the stories are invariably – first, second, or third-hand accounts – still, any well-meaning investigator can get the requirement of probative value in a 230-page document on the Notice of Sanctions proceedings alone.But fact is, from the outline, there exists a case of rigging and collusion between and among contractors, bureaucrats and politicians who conspire in order to draw fat commissions or kickbacks from contracts.

With a corpus of data, whether or not, they could be woven together as factual and scientific, the WB considers the nature of its investigative proceedings as merely administrative rather than criminal or judicial.And perhaps, due to the nature of how various accounts and stories may have been gathered or collected, WB deems it proper to classify the report as ‘strictly confidential’.But long running interviews coupled with emails flowing in and out of a communication channel provided enough ‘body of truths’ in an otherwise mix of identified and anonymous email senders.But when one email sender has as much as predicted the outcome of the bidding – this in itself – provides a fairly reliable source of information that cannot just be swept in the dustbin.

It has also been said that there was actually a process as would allow bidders to refute the allegations within three months, that is, without having to confront the adverse witnesses against them.But since 54 out of 60 interviewed were in fact named, a marginal number opted to go anonymous and still, the end result does not change picture at all.Thus, there seems to be no further obstacle for the WB to issue sanctions as it did issue to four Chinese companies and three Filipino companies, one of which is owned by a congressman.

Perhaps, the WB report is best seen as a form of audit to check whether or not certain fraudulent practices attend the proceedings in bidding and awarding of WB-funded projects based on best available evidence as the infrastructure upon which it can build its proof.On whether such findings contain sufficient enough evidence in any court of law ought to be a matter for the prosecution.In this light, Sen. Ping Lacson has been taken to task.

It is truly ironic to know that one bidder does not disclose his lawful taxable income so that he can accommodate the requests from some politicians and officials presumably from the DPWH.It may however be interesting to note that one former Prime Minister Virata had earlier conducted a review if investigation on bid-rigging as well as overpricing in foreign-assisted or funded national road projects.And the findings but confirm the WB report.

Such findings show that the lack of competition in biddings for road-building contracts opened an environment conducive for collusion among few bidders wherein the implementing agency, in this case, the DPWH will have to pay for higher costs for programs of works when it should not.The Virata 2007 study confirms the fact that some contractors are deliberately being precluded or pre-disqualified from bidding thus betraying the role of bidding to secure the most advantageous proposal in favor of the government.

What the WB report wants us to see is that even those money being loaned by foreign-funding institutions such as the WB, among others, are not immune or free from every form of corruption that in the end, is advantageous only to a few – at the expense of the state whose interests ought to be served best.

The WB report may have to be viewed as one perceivable in our anti-corruption radar screen and therefore should be confronted promptly enough if the official campaign against corruption enjoys any kind of moral integrity.Absent such an urge, by either the Ombudsman or the finance department, then not much can result from it.The Senate remains to be the more independent watchdog against corruption for now and Sen. Ping Lacson seems committed to fill the void – despite the bureaucratic denial syndrome still very much in vogue today.It is hoped, new legislative measures will be proposed to curb corruption.

PRIMER C. PAGUNURAN

UP Diliman, Quezon CityEmail:nielsky_2003@yahoo.com

GMA falls out of grace

Not few, however frustrated, would rather think GMA be let to finish her term up until 2010 – the more peace-loving of the pack.But that worldview assumes what is yet to be proved which is, on whether or not, GMA really won in 2004 – had elections been clean, honest, and reflective of the true voice.But against the backdrop of the ‘Hello Garci’ scandal, it is of doubtful validity whether the supposed-to-be president elected by the Filipino voters would have been a GMA.It can only be accepted as a social reality absent any kind of embargo mechanism.Nor will GMA allow herself to be booted out of office knowing she has control over the whole AFP and PNP, that have been largely instrumental in rigging election results.Or what have that LtCol Achilles Segumalian told us in the Fort Bonifacio stand off?

The canvassing of votes alone in that 2004 elections held at the House of Representatives sends tell-tale signs of massive election fraud having been undertaken in nearly all places in the country especially those far-flung barangays where power resides in the barrel of the gun.And everything that the board of canvassers can do – each and every time questions are being raised on the election returns being opened – is for the presiding officers to mark them as “noted” with no final disposition on what action have been truly taken on the accumulated questioned documents.We will never forget these two individuals in the persons of now Secretary Raul Gonzales and Sen. Francis Pangilinan.Their acts then are indicatively bound by instruction than by conscience.

To go down memory lane, Erap got ousted from Malacanang in what may be considered as a conspiracy designed to put GMA into power.Future scholars of law can still argue against what has been decided upon on the legitimacy of the new GMA presidency then basing as it did – in Angara’s diary – as having supplied that so-called ‘authoritative window of the state of mind of Erap’ in that very crucial moment in history.The camp of GMA through then chief of staff, now Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, did possibly bluff of the existence of a resignation letter of Erap when there was none.Without as much as an empirical check, the then Chief Justice proceeded to swear in GMA as the ‘acting’ president until everybody has to forget all about the rigid requirements of the Constitution.It was what Justice Artemio Panganiban calls as a form of judicial activism, if there is such a thing.More copies of his book have been banned due to a not too good a revelation incriminatory of Chief Justice Davide.

And with only 15 months before her last term finishes, GMA is dead set to tinker with the Constitution in the quickest way possible provided it can be justified within the bounds of law.Brother Mike Velarde has not more aptly said that this attempt to “ram through the people’s throats” charter change is immoral.And apparently, they took heed only to resurrect again charter change.What seems to be part of the main menu is the economic provisions that would open the doors for foreign ownership of lands which ought to be violative of our sovereignty.In any case, they are making a last ditch effort to have the constitutional order change so GMA can stay in power and rule over us in perpetuity. And so are his rabid political allies share that grand fatale.

Ranged against the rather long list of involvement of the First Gentleman in alleged corrupt activities, it is not far fetched that this over-fixation with charter change is in fact, a defense mechanism intended to obviate the immediate possibility that GMA and his closest allies will go to jail or be made to account for all their unlawful acts during their watch – that on the assumption that GMA will not be booted out of power before 2010.Some serious observers of trends think that they see it coming, what with President Obama not wanting ever to be seen with GMA in any forum or meeting.Snubbing GMA, if we call it that, is itself a political statement – one of clear rejection of the Arroyo regime of corruption.

It is really funny to hear former Congressman Pichay dismissed the WB report as mere rumor – tsismis daw. And then he wants all the World Bank people to go away from this land.Who can believe that well-meaning senior executives of the World Bank will in-dignify their position and office by resorting to rumor-mongering?Surely, systems are at work in a viable corporate organization as the WB and if they have been rather knowledgeable about the WB report, they will be honest enough to believe that indeed, the data are not arrived at haphazardly.We have heard GMA’s spokesperson tell us that the WB did not give the respondents good enough opportunity to be heard when in fact, Notices of Sanctions have been sent to them detailing their level of participation and their acts themselves that warranted their blacklisting except that they chose to disregard the WB by not giving a reply or response.

That Malacanang spokesperson Golez must be giving public information work – be it in Malacanang or a lowly municipality elsewhere – a bad name.Did he as much as think he is expected to be able to defend a defenseless position by begging the question and a token refusal to acknowledge certain other information that have already the subject of so much public discourse?And that Press Secretary Cerge Remonde also dismissed as black propaganda the alleged cartel in public works projects that are funded from the World Bank.Who can embrace that kind of worldview, pray tell?

GMA’s media bureau are really on their toes as even the other lady spokesperson is trying to say that GMA’s coming to the National Prayer Breakfast in the US is not so much as to meet with Obama for a photo opportunity when the truth is to the contrary.They probably have to do a reality check or survey so as to vet on whether or not the larger public or society writ large ever do believe them.They sound like they have lost track of reality if only to save the face of their president.

Where signs indicate, GMA appears to have fallen out of grace with bosom America disowning an old and close ally in the person of whoever sits as the Philippine president.And with that famous line in Obama’s inaugural speech now turning crystal clear that the reference is to GMA and her regime, that shall serve fair notice that when one finds herself on the wrong side of history, she better takes heed.

Since women presidents are said to be “trophies” ofthe ruling elites in the military establishment, GMA is rather assured that no part of this rather monolithic organization will defect to the other side of the Great Political Divide and betray her.With that serious allegation of a cartel perpetuated by those in power and close to GMA herself, it should have been expected of her to have broken her silence and clear her husband out of the noose – but none she did as to be uncharacteristically callous.

First Gentleman

RP has never had a First Gentleman in her long history until one day, GMA was catapulted to power by People Power 2, sworn in by no less than the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court before a couple of million crowd, and supported by an adventurous-elitist segment in the military establishment.

So come Mike Arroyo into the national scene – first ever in a country led by males than females.Cory and Gloria are presidents by accident and by incident.In both cases, military is the single ingredient for body polity to be able to oust former male presidents and replace them with what seems to be the new ruling elite – women power.And considering the series of coups that have been plotted against both women-leaders, no such successful coup to topple either Cory or Gloria came about.Maybe, the whole AFP or PNP has a strong ‘mother instinct’ in them – amen.

Good thing about Cory is serving only one term and a second term never crossed her mind.But Gloria completed Erap’s unexpired term of office, got reelected in what is clearly shrouded in mystery brought about by the ‘Hello Garci controversy’, and wanting to stay in power for perpetuity by a constitutional overhaul.And if being governed is an endurance test, people scoring high in every form of punishment brought about by a clearly corrupt regime – must have sent extreme luck for Gloria.The more people endure, the more the couple enjoy the loot, matter-of-factly – and their crony capitalists friends if not their rabid political allies.But so be it.Mayor Binay describes Malacanang as den of corruption.

The whole national life is bound for the worse.Not few otherwise viable corporate businesses operating in the country have left thereby finding many people unemployed.The trend of job embargo is still crawling in other affected companies.This pull out makes the population of the unemployed dramatically increased.To think that every employee has any x number of mouths to feed, what will become of these families with this crippling reality?

Even the supply of rice has become of a problem on the production side of the scale that made it (ir)rational for government to rather import than produce the basic staple for our own domestic consumption.And in the unseen process, government stands to gain in having tons of this produce from Vietnam to RP.Not few fund managers think that it is better to be import-driven vis a vis the crippling effect of US economic downturn.

Everything is in near shambles.Even before the Senate can make a final wrap up on NBN-ZTE fund mess, the fertilizer fund scam, here they come running after the First Gentleman like missiles to see the real traces, if any, of his alleged involvement as reported by the World Bank – in all these cases implicating, directly or indirectly, the First Gentleman.And of course, these are always reduced as black propaganda by GMA’s spin doctors.This almost instinctive reductionist bent to parry every kind of negative response from the public no longer makes any bit of sense.

And here we have a president who has been snubbed by US President Barack Obama for the 3^rd time without success, however much she craves for that propaganda-rich photo opportunity with the ‘man of the hour’ in the world stage.Probably, GMA is not taking no for an answer so she tries every trick in the book to get a word from Washington, D.C. through Sen. Clinton who heads the State Department.Where it indicates, visit to RP is not in the original timetable of the state secretary.But as they say, there are many ways to skin a cat.

It is difficult to say that in Obama’s inaugural speech, RP is not one of those countries being referred to.Let us call to mind what Obama did say – “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent; know that you are on the wrong side of history; but we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”Or why would Ermita even has to advance the notion that GMA is not who is referred to by messianic Obama?

The entire problem with the First Gentleman, as the husband of the president, being implicated, as reported, in all these forms of involvement in corruption is the fact that – by implication and extention – it is GMA herself who is into it.It is hard enough to project as matter of official policy such campaign against corruption or corrupt officials when her own husband would have to own to some degree of involvement in these concerns – as supposedly more thorough investigation could extract – beyond mere and almost vicious bureaucratic denial.

It is no longer of any moment if Malacanang has to call the WB report as black propaganda or hearsay.Or what is so hearsay or black propaganda about the work and people behind the World Bank that has already established its reputation all over the world.Or how indeed can a World Bank allow itself to loan $30 million to a country in distress if that country would be unable to pay its loan back or where the resulting scenario is that the money loaned is owed by president as distinct and separate from the state or government itself?

And a comedy of errors is taking shape.The Ombudsman would as much as even tell us it cannot have any jurisdiction over the First Gentleman, being a private individual.Fine, it cannot.And yet it can run after the few others mentioned who were then public officials at the time the alleged corruption has been reportedly committed.That sets dangerous legal precedent.

From ‘lowest bidding’ to ‘highest bribing’?

This has become the paradigm shift, matter-of-factly, in current corporate management of RP’s state of affairs.That long standing practice of government projects being awarded to the lowest bidder has shifted to this new scheme of fraud – awards go to the highest briber.Clearly, the officialdom is involved in this rather anomalous comeuppance according to that World Bank reports on foreign-assisted projects implemented by the Department of Public Works and Highways.Now, the Senate shall issue a subpoena duces tecum to the Ombudsman, or the Department of Finance, or any other office sent a copy of the WB report since it aims to seriously initiate a full-dress investigation on persons involved and no less than the First Gentleman shall have his day in a Senate hearing.

Economist Solita Monsod already had a copy of this controversial World Bank confidential file even before Sen. Miriam Santiago can land her hand a copy owing to the fact that special laws do not permit the Senate or any other agency of government to summon, much less, investigate the WB personalities as this would be an attack on its integrity which has never been put in question.Thus, if there is any starting point to a no-nonsense Senate inquiry, everything will have to begin right off with the assumptions laid in the report which, for all intent and purpose, have already been validated by the largest funding institution that operates around the globe.What with it’s in-house – a Department of Institutional Integrity – being fool-proof?

It should be remembered that one of the normal bundle of conditions of the WB in granting fund-assistance, aid, grants, or loans to availing countries is for that applicant to show sound housekeeping practice.Simply put, the World Bank wants to know that foreign governments can repay back their loans and more importantly, that the projects themselves have been well implemented and there was not a situation where the funds are just being siphoned off thus sacrificing the lifespan of the infrastructure project itself.In other words, there is nothing wrong in a funding or doning institution to somehow oversee or at least monitor how a project getting funded with huge capital outlay is being implemented where every dollar counts.Let us not of course, shoot the messenger but work upon the message – out ofa sense of duty.

Incidentally, when this matter was taken up in the House of Representatives’ congressional hearing, what the cognizant committee did was to absolve those blacklisted construction companies blacklisted by the World Bank for rigging, collusion, and corrupt practices – at least one of which is owned by a Member of Congress.This is particularly questionable since the members of the committee that investigated the matter are largely composed of contractor-congressmen themselves who indicatively want to cover up for their colleagues.The good thing still, is that Senate is taken to task to at least to raise the level of investigation to a much higher plane that will see the light of day on an already luminous evidence of possible grand scale anomaly initiated from the inner sanctums of Malacanang.

It is not as if such exposes by Sen. Ping Lacson are just intended to malign FG or no less than PGMA as in the earlier controversies of the Jose Pidal, the famous NBN or ZTE fund mess where FG is said to have spitted the words “buck off” and where PGMA has been referred to as an ‘evil’ by her own cabinet secretary, and so on.With Monsod, from the point of view of a subject matter expert of economist, beingwell-convinced on the kind of validation process the whole WB file has undergone, with more reason thenthat the Senate now do an honest-to-goodness revalidation itself.However, we have heard earlier on how indicatively biased Sen. Santiago is on whether or not FG is possibly involved in the deal but we hope she is in fact challenging more proof to the reported possible involvement so she can unload such mental baggage.

So where is this taking us?After the P200 million C5 double-entry controversy that unseated Manny Villar from the Senate presidency, what else do we have?After that P200 million Neri-Abalos snafu and relatedly, the aborted NBN or ZTE deal in the famous ‘buck off’ scene that involves so many millions of kickbacks or commissions, what’s next?If these were the symptoms, what could be the disease?If again, we have a new stimulus plan where government banks have to dole out P12.5 billion each for a P50 billion start-up fund, what so-called infrastructure projects could be free from all these malaise?Fact is, the scheme itself where pension funds will be siphoned off to help the government come up with solid economic back support to again start an X number of infrastructure projects is itself – an anomaly of sort – as pension funds are a contribution of their members who are private employees or government employees of SSS and GSIS, respectively.

It seems that the search for the ‘moral forces’ will be long in coming.However much endorsed, Chief Justice Puno has rather resigned himself to have to drive his grandchildren on and off school after his retirement in 2010 rather than go politics as this would invade the judicial independence of the High Tribunal.How then do we ‘moderate greed’ when we now see top bigwigs close to the president herself into all sorts of scams?Clearly, we have an extremely high threshold level to be able to endure punishments such as these brought upon us by the very public officials reposed the moral responsibility to lead clean.So how will PGMA, despite all token motherhood if dogmatic claims, cut neat and clean on every kind of government transactions?

From where a layman stands, this whole imbroglio in our state of affairs is simply symptomatic of an already worsening cancer in society that no less than foreign governments have already validated – from myth to reality.When we don’t have any more need for lowest bidders to make sure corporate deals are advantageous to the government.When we don’t anymore care whether the infrastructure projects we built on the ground will reach their ‘lifespan’.When we allow grafters and those involved in corruption to go Scot-free and are never held accountable.This is the time that we have given up on the traditional values we thought we hold dear – as a country, as a people.

From all indications, we do not have an honest government, a caring one.No wonder then, the hard and rabid campaign to erect a new Constitution is a thread from the same cloth.People in power do not mind having to sell even our sovereignty to the highest bidder or highest briber, as the case may be.We are selling to foreign corporate giants ownership of our lands when no existing law could have allowed this to ever happen.These economic provisions will find their way in the new fundamental law of the land our politicians – as an organized fraternity – will be able to wrestle up once all have approved of charter change.In the end, it was not a charter change any more than a ‘charger change’ and who is in charge, charges.

Who is your president come 2010?

In no particular order, the names – Noli de Castro, Loren Legarda, Manny Villar, Chiz Escudero, Ping Lacson, Joseph Estrada, Mar Roxas, Jojemar Binay, Bayani Fernando, Ephraim Genuino, Gilbert Teodoro, Mike Velarde – might crop up in the list of possible presidential wannabes come May 2010.This is much unlike our US counterpart with its rigid two-party system that pitted McCain against Obama in a phenomenal win delivered by the Web 2.0 or the new digital technology.The configuration is likely to be reduced on the final day for filing certificate of candidacy but the opposition must rally behind a standard flag bearer – in the person of one candidate – to improve its chances of winning.

Surveys by polling circuits appear almost ready to predict who will become the next president or who would rank in the first three just as any ordinary man on the street can do likewise.Imagine a dog whose mouth is in the tip most part of Luzon and whose tail is in the tip most part of Mindanao.If you pinch the dog’s tail, it will be heard in Luzon and reversely, it can be heard in Mindanao.No material time is enough to sustain a rather vain attempt to cover as much ground with almost 90 provinces, how many more towns and cities in each province, and how many more barangays and sitios in every city or town.There seems to be no other option but to tap Web 2.0 and as election nears – creative packages are at the disposal of the more serious presidentiable – if he or she is willing to pay good enough sum of money – P3 to P5 billion in advertising.

In fact, this early, not few of these aspirants have already paid on TV info-commercials to make head way in the process of memory recall – which is prime determinant on anyone’s would-be-success.Topping these political ads are Manny Villar, Mar Roxas, the other Cayetano not to mention Noli de Castro’s PAG-IBIG ads and BF’s own creative way of getting known beyond Metro Manila.The New Media will inevitably take a key role in making sure New Media is employed as a tool.Access to information via digital technology readily satisfied the requirements of the “here” and “now” – at the speed of light.And presidentiables are well-advised to have a strong sense of honesty in themselves if they really intend to make their voters within their reach at the press of the keyboard.In the end, the presidency is in everyone else’s fingertips.

Where will such a candidate source that P5 billion to fund a more likely successful political campaign?Few observers of trends even theorize that bank robberies are virtual forms of fund-raising projects.Even drugs proliferating in the market are again the works of these candidates, true or false?Public works projects are likewise seen as a good source of campaign funds through kickbacks and commissions.If it were not that the World Bank has blacklisted some giant construction firms belong to some members of Congress, some monies could have been siphoned off just as well.It seems difficult to believe that campaign funds come from so-called “Friends of Mr. So and So” – chances not.

This is probably the good thing about PGMA’s, timely or untimely, stimulus plan earmarking some P50 billion from the Social Security System, the Government Service Insurance System, the Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines.This is probably why there is a move to raise something like a P100 billion to bail out ‘pre-need companies’ that went bankrupt? Come to think of it, this came after the World Bank controversy involving giant construction companies owned by some politicians that have been blacklisted in WB-funded public works projects.

Why this stimulus plan if its purpose be not to literally enough, get from the hard-earned money of the members of SSS as it is with members of the GSIS – which should never have to happen since these involve pension benefits for employees in the private sector and the government?In the end, this whole thing is like baiting other banks or corporate entities to parcel out significant sums of money for the stimulus plan in exchange of certain concessions as may thereafter be granted to them.If this is not extortion, I sure don’t know what is?

This P330 billion stimulus plan is a whole gobble-dy-gook – making people believe that government will go into massive infrastructure projects in order to open wide doors for many people to get employed when in truth, they might just provide milking cows for unabashedcorruption activities by those who have any hand in bids, awards, and contracts.To think that all these will be implemented few days or weeks or months before election day, it is not far removed that certain unlawful activities might happen along the way.And just where is the list of infrastructure projects that will be funded from this stimulus plan?At the very least, they should be subject to public scrutiny to make sure no P70 million will drop from the staircase.

If elections were held today, who will you vote for?Will I vote for CJ Puno, in case his Council of Advisers change their minds?I would have wanted Sen. Miriam Santiago to try her luck again for the last time but then again – she can lie – not once, but twice as she did lie in the past.How about a Fortunato Abat – if he comes?Again, how can he get that P5 billion from Bogart or Noah in Money War to sustain an excellent campaign? Will anyone tell me who should lead this country next so that any form of corruption can - no longer rear its ugly head?

PRIMER C. PAGUNURAN

UP Diliman, Quezon City

Contractors-congressmen – an emerging bloc?

Columnist Marven V. Ronquillo of the Manila Times observes in his column the emerging bloc in Congress that he calls as the – contractor-congressmen.In fact, according to him, they are all in the House of Representatives and maybe the Senate as well whose number rises after every election.This means that every three years – contractors – are recruited into the Legislative Branch of government that in the end they just meddle in DPWH contracts than craft good laws and sound advocacies.Whose fault will all these be but not the electorate who put them in office as they are best in the know just in what way these contractors – if elected – can help them?

So the debate may very well be between two kinds of activities – contracting projects or crafting laws.Which of these should take higher precedence?Where both can be addressed simultaneously, then, John Stuart Mill’s utilitarianism can never go wrong.With interests best served – for the project proponent himself on the one end and the project beneficiaries on the other – the people in every legislative district enjoy a better lot with contracts built on the ground than bills or resolutions being discussed in Cloud 9.

Whoever said the voices of their respective constituents are heard through our congressmen – contractors or not?There are to be only two kinds of vote – the vote of the administration and the vote of the opposition in what has been described in the past as a kind of political gangsterism in Congress – the oblique version of the ‘bully in the school yard’.Congress, like it or not, is an Old Boys Club and the dynamics purely Darwinian.When a proposed bill is placed to a vote upon motion by any Member of Congress, the whole legislative mill operates ever so smoothly.So-called resistance game has become a thing of the past.Everything can be railroaded that it leads one to ask on whether indeed – Congress is the bulwark of democracy than a mere rubber stamp of Malacanang and its Skinnerian motive.

Columnists Ronquillo seems right in thinking that in a scheme and scene where public works largely comprise their pork barrel spending aside perhaps from some so-called ‘congressional earmarks’, congressmen, especially those contractors-congressmen stand to benefit under the arrangement.No wonder then, Congress has absolved the blacklisted construction companies perceived to have been involved in rigging or corrupt practices in the administration of World Bank loan packages.

We cannot be more agreed that the new crop of congressmen – them being in the construction business – will be more likely interested in having some direct or indirect hand on public works projects to the extent that they can literally choose their own DPWH District Engineers.It is not far removed that Ronquillo’s suspicion that contracts can be rigged in favor of the companies of contractor-congressmen has some basis in reality.Against this backdrop, the positional view taken by Members of Congress in the World Bank controversy is likewise understandable since such happenstance against their selfish vested interests.

It is hard to believe that the public works secretary embraced the opinion that those already blacklisted by the World Bank can still participate in bids and contracts being administered by the department.

This must bear some connection with the P330 billion stimulus package being floated around by Malacanang to the utter disbelief of Sen. Angara who thought there was actually only about P50 billion that is part of the regular budget appropriation – and not of the nature of a stimulus plan, which is emergency in character.Offhand, this betrays PGMA’s claim that our national economy has been insulated from this global economic crunch.It is not true after all that the effect of a US economic meltdown will not affect RP.

With May 2010 fast approaching and the mood already set on fire, a stimulus plan in the whooping P330 billion only means that projects will be evenly distributed with more of the budget pie to favor pro-GMAs.By necessity, these projects or public works programs will filter down to that segment of the congressional membership whose businesses are in construction business.It seems there will be so much opportunity for everyone as it has been a publicly known fact that corruption siphons off as much as 40% of the actual appropriate funds.

From where I stand, I hate to think that there just might be built “bridges to nowhere”, to use a popular line.As a matter of fact, quite aside from their congressional allocation at some P70 million each on top of all their congressional allowances, congressmen do juice out other programs being administered by the various line departments.To the extent that they can have a hand on how the programs of the Executive Branch shall be administered, it will look like congressmen can have the best of all possible worlds.

It is so because line departments do enjoy their own discretionary funds and these are usually found under the Office of the Secretary of each department.Fact is, every congressman is a lobbyist on how the cabinet secretary must somehow do the spending.This is why every budget call, congressional insertions are being auctioned off.

PRIMER C. PAGUNURAN

UP Diliman, Quezon CityEmail:nielsky_2003@yahoo.com

“The Power of the Individual Communicator in Changing the World”

This is the theme of the 1^st UP Broadcasters’ Guild Communication Convention which I attended last 29 January 2008 at the Balay Kalinaw Conference Hall with its sub-themes – instigate, innovate, inspire.The speakers were Nina Terol of YVOTE Philippines, Director Raymond Red, Howie Severino of GMA 7 and a lady teacher of UP.The attendees were students from various schools, professionals and less-than-a-handful alien guests (aside from this writer).The masters of ceremonies – Hazelyn Joy Bitana and Mark Vincent Telan – did a very good job as they flaunted their brand of UP education.

Offhand, the whole weight of the lecture centered around the power of the New Media.

Terol on the youth bloc, vote-wise

Her group, YVOTE is said to be an aggrupation of various youth and reform-minded organizations for 2010 and beyond via offline and online collaboration for voter’s registration and education.

Herself a UP alumnus of the IMC (Institute of Mass Communications) a decade ago, she zeroes in the theory of a “Generation We” or Web 2.0. with Barach Obama as its classic beneficiary.

A well-pointed out fact is that the emerging ‘citizen journalist’ has upset the social order through more access to information thus making any citizen an instant celebrity coming as one does from sheer anonymity or obscurity.

There are about 178 blogs in RP alone as Terol estimates and the mercurial rise not being far removed.Across the universe, on the other hand, there are about 184 million blogs as of March 2008 and with this configuration alone, it is clear that a ‘new people power has emerged’- as was read by Terol from the article of columnist Amando Doronilla.

Then, she invited attendees to join this ‘Social Revolution’ since Terol finds in that 48-56% of registrants in the 2010 as a potent ‘youth bloc’.

Red on Philippine cinema

Icon of modern Filipino alternative cinema, Red touched on the state of Philippine cinema vis a vis the new digital technology.Presenting a couple of video clips of his winning works, he likened film language in this way – a shot is a word, a group of shots is a sentence, and a series a paragraph.

True enough, film making as traditionally known is dying in the emerging order called the modern society.The new alternative cinema is at everybody’s finger tips and harnessing the power of the new technology ought to be a must with the burst of this dot.com babble.

While not one formally trained in film making, Red admitted having left UP as a first year fine arts student who got bored with a curriculum that has already been substantially taken up in his high school years.

Severino on ‘media dinosaurs’

Writer, producer, host – all rolled into one – Severino talked on press freedom as we know it today.

Referring to himself as one of ‘media dinosaurs’ (under threat of extinction, I guess), he outlined his professional career as journalist some decades back when as a high school teacher in Ateneo shooting scenes at EDSA was arrested and jailed during the Marcos regime.

His theory of ‘super-empowered individuals’ carries along with it a sense of responsibility against his own personal account of the various social revolutions that the media has gone through.Fact is, he traced media from that period of ‘antiquity’ to the state of modernity it is now – on both realms – Severino did not fail to have mastery.

Certainly, he has outlined the decentralization of the power of content production in media as he attached premium to the role of a well-rounded education required of all media practitioners.

Lady teacher waxes poetic

With self-generated high, the lady teacher of UP started off with the power of the new technology by soliciting would-be-questions from the audience to be texted to the members of Eraserheads and how answers are coming out – which she reads in between her discussion the transforming landscape in media today.

Perhaps, the most important thing she said was that – “every tool is a weapon if you use it right” – which means exactly that media practitioners do have responsibility reposed upon themselves.This is perhaps what Alex Magno calls ‘self-regulation’.

Summing up

Every once in a while, it is liberating to listen to subject matter experts if only to situate or mark the spot where the New Media finds itself today and the attendant role of all media practitioners against the backdrop of a fast-changing media landscape.

As one of questions asked in the open forum, it is clear that for now, anti-libel law extends its cruel reach up to the blogosphere – more for lack of existing protocols, I suppose.But this is more on the level of intuition – so yet.There is yet to be a template on how indeed anti-libel law can invade a different realm to tame a different beast.

All told, there is a media revolution and the Old Media necessarily has to adopt with the New Media.The age of the betacam, filmed-cameras, typewriters, and all that – is entirely gone.Today, everyone can be a journalist, an artist, a film maker, a director, a producer – all in the same mold as a Terol, a Red, a Severino.

Perhaps, the next crop of topnotch media practitioners will come from the trash and garbage of imploding and exploding media production activities – its reach global, its effect unprecedented, its goal basic.With the new media revolution is borne a bunch of media revolutionaries in – us, all of us.

PRIMER C. PAGUNURAN

UP Diliman, Quezon CityEmail:nielsky_2003@yahoo.com

Congressional earmarks under Obama

A ban on earmarks has closed the doors for otherwise unwise federal spending.This is said to have been ordered by President Obama in the $825 billion economic stimulus bill that is apt for voting.Until it becomes a law, no one yet knows what formulae may have been laid down on how funds so appropriated will be spent.Bottomline, it is presumably designed so that funneling money to pet projects will be a little bit difficult for lawmakers, interest groups, even lobbyists.

As we all know, only Congress provides such funds or earmarks for projects or programs based on allocation process largely being determined by the congressmen themselves thereby curtailing the ability of the Executive Branch to properly manage the funds.

The case of US and RP come from the same mold – our legislative traditions being carbon copy of the West.As defined, earmarks are funds under congressional direction since by tradition, they have become discretionary spending.Now, Obama appears set to make federal spending transparent such that there will be a system that will let the public track exactly where the stimulus money goes.Democrat lawmakers, it is said, even devised an elaborate oversight system that can review how such monies are spent.

In the Philippines, the same is true.Congressmen are always heard to say – they have no hand on how the money is being spent because precisely, a department or office is being designated as the implementing agency for every kind of project or program – not the congressional office itself.But on the ground, we know that congressmen actually do have a more than direct hand since it has become of public knowledge that they derive commissions, kickbacks, and ‘goodies’ from their so-called soft and hard projects.

Will the ban on earmarks be able to make government accountable on how money is being used?This, at the very least, is the intention on Obama’s ban to an infamous practice known as ‘earmarking’.It shall give professional lobbyists in US a hard day figuring out ways and schemes to grab a share of the money for the supposed-to-be clients.What exactly are the new rules if they are said to have been configured indirectly than directly?”Call to mind that superlobbyist Jack Abramoff gave earmarks a bad name and he was in fact imprisoned in the 2004 scandal.It gave spending committees the euphemism – to be dubbed as “The Favor Factory”.

As a result, not few lawmakers themselves are doing the rounds – lobbying from governors, state and local officials who have a say or hand over the funds so they can have a bite of the budget pie.Certainly, $825 billion must cause some trickle-down-effects over their respective cities or districts and constituencies.Everyone now await how the formula will look like and how they can grab an opportunity for themselves for some monies to be parceled out in their favor.This much is known – that some $358 billion will be for road, water, energy programs and others such as transportation projects in high-unemployment areas.

Certainly, members of Congress have a wish list or have outlined their project priorities.Under the ban, one observer thinks that there will be ‘a lot of projects that are not going to pass the smell test” which means that under the modified formulae, some projects that are supposed to be tracked may have to be listed in some uncharacteristic legislative language so as not to invite suspicion from the public.Fact is, projects may have to be listed not in terms of detailed specifics but in more generalized terms.Otherwise, one might be searching where that proverbial “Bridge to Nowhere” could be verified.

The US Conference of Mayors had likewise some $150 billion in so-called “ready-to-go” projects that quickly became fodder for criticism.Or so because it included money for Miami water park and a skate park in Portland, Maine?On the other hand, another group, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials eyed some $64 billion for projects not remotely mentioned thus making it difficult to criticize any item in the list.

Not few believe, no matter what happens, Obama’s earmark ban could always be circumvented.Lobbyists can in fact skirt the ban however way it goes – upfront, transparent to secretive or non-specific.Understandably, this ban has been Obama’s response against earmarking that has run the whole gamut of federal spending.The US economic meltdown has been traced to overspending that has characterized the American psyche.Further, it is said that congressional earmarks and pork-barrel spending have undermined state local decision-making, this according to Dr. Ronald Utt.

To think that pork-barrel spending in US is over a hundred year old – what further harm can it do vis a vis a global economic crisis sparked by the richest country in the world?Aside from a well-defined appropriation for Members of Congress as it is with the Senate, our Filipino lawmakers can have the best of both worlds – pork barrel funds as one and ‘earmarks’ or appropriation bills as another.Earmarks in the context defined brought about the recurrence of so-called ‘payola’ for bills wherein government has some high stakes and where private sector has stakes, lobby money which oftentimes cannot be “smelled” is the name of the game.

All told, we wish Obama can start right a work in reconstructing America and pull it away from an almost predictable economic sinkhole.Ironically, we have heard the government of PGMA asked for the same stimulus bill.I thought Executive Secretary Ermita said Obama will learn a lesson or two from PGMA?In the case of Philippine Senate, the closest example we can give of a congressional earmark would have been the P200 million appropriation for the C5 – appropriated not once, but twice.So who says RP is lagging behind in congressional earmarks, pray tell?

PRIMER C. PAGUNURAN

UP Diliman, Quezon City

Military elites – emerging power bloc?

The increasing number of former military officers receiving presidential appointments to key and sensitive positions in the civil service may indeed be a cause of alarm.Not few senators pushed panic button questioning a case of “creeping militarization” in mainstream bureaucracy.For them, this is read as a prelude to martial law of possibly the Marcosian type since most quarters see in the charter change move a hidden mechanism for PGMA to perpetuate herself in power beyond 2010 – true or not.

Fact is, Sen. Mar Roxas was first to air concern – all so because he says that millions of Filipinos can no longer trust the president and more so because those chosen for juicy positions are known to have been involved in one form of unlawful act or other.In particular, Mar Roxas shares suspicion that the appointment of a certain Vice Admiral Tirso Danga to the National Printing Office in charge of accountable forms might be a plot to manipulate the printing of ballots to benefit the administration for the 2010 elections.

Perhaps, indeed this comeuppance challenges reflection.So we have a Palparan to head either PDEA or the Dangerous Drugs Board, this despite his reputation for the summary executions and disappearances of left-leaning activists and who should in fact be the subject of criminal prosecution as Sen. Pimentel said.We have Esperon, former Chief of Staff of AFP, to take over Presidential Management Staff which directly manages formulations of projects and policies of the president.Worse, that Tirso Danga is sure to get the post as head of the National Printing Office despite his role in the “Hello Garci” controversy.

And who else are in the existing list of presidential appointees?It may be interesting to run them down very quickly, to wit:Ermita as Executive Secretary, Carillo as military adviser, Isleta as presidential assistant, Rabonsa as director of Office of Civil Defense and NDCC administrator, Atutubo as MIAA assistant general manager, Cunanan as chair of Social Security System, Maligalig of the Reform Armed Forces Movement as head of Bataan Shipyard, Lomibao as LTFRB chief, Aglipay as chair of Philippine Retirement Agency, Ebdane as public works secretary, Mendoza as transportation and communication secretary, Lastimoso as director of Metro Rail Transit Corp., Reyes as energy secretary, Abaya as chair of Bases Conversion Development Authority, Santiago as the controversial PDEA chief, Cimatu as special envoy to Middle East, Abu as ambassador to Brunei-Indonesia-Malaysia, Senga as ambassador to Iran, Macaspac as presidential adviser on police affairs, Fianza as head of the Philippine Racing Commission, Querol as ambassador to Indonesia, and De Leon as ambassador to Australia.Perhaps, there are a fairly significant number as middle level executives in government.

Why the bias for appointing retired military and police officers, some of whom, have figured in some reported controversies?Does this give PGMA the much-needed security blanket since she has not since recovered from a consistently negative trust ratings as shown by surveys of polling circuits?Or, is there a continuing plot – as most people suspect – that she plans not to step down from office after 2010 but to stay in power?What really is the beef in all these developments that apparently are already sending ‘shark-attacks-effect’ on our political beach?

In our study of military elites under Dr. Carolina Hernandez, it has never been disputed that the Philippine Military Academy has always been the prime source of regular officers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines to the extent that one can say that PMA graduates, are in fact, our military elites in this country.While this view may not have to be disputed, it is not to say however that there are inherent dangers that only a small number of officers run the affairs of a much larger segment in the entire officer corps of the AFP who in this case are – the non-Peemayers.

For fact is, not only in the Philippines does it happen that military officers are appointed in the civil service.Some governments in Asia also are into this – recruiting them in key cabinet posts and sensitive agencies on account of their rather well-rounded qualification as tested good managers wherever they may be assigned.And this should be understandable since the military is one of two management models, the other one being the church.It is in these two institutions that seniority is sacred and the hierarchy is revered.

Still, our problem rests on the fact that appointing former generals in the AFP or PNP for ambassadorial posts may run contrary to already existing protocols for foreign service officers at the Department of Foreign Affairs.It would have been enough to have military attaches in the active service in countries where the Philippines has close military ties.Ambassadorial posts must necessarily come from the crop of foreign service officers.

Perhaps, the Civil Service Commission must be taken to task.It must be reposed the oversight function to maybe, see to it, that integration of former military generals and officers in civilian agencies of government has also met the requirements set under our Philippine Civil Service System.At the very least, we do not need to infuse the military mind in most agencies of the civilian government since military service has a different ontological existence with civilian service as they are worlds apart. We know that somehow, life in the military is like a camp where eunuchs just allow things to happen in blind obedience to command.What if PGMA’s former PSG commander becomes the next AFP chief of staff?Pray tell, what wish will not be fulfilled from her majesty, the Queen?

PRIMER C. PAGUNURAN

Email:nielsky_2003@yahoo.com