Simulan natin

Isinulat natin ang pitak na ito bago tumungo sa Rizal Park, upang pagmasdan ang pasinaya ng bagong pangulo na si Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III.

Sa kanyang maikling talumpati, hihingin niya sa sambayanan ang pagkakaisa at pakikipagtulungan, hindi lamang sa pamahalaan, kundi maging sa isa’t isa, sa diwa ng bayanihan na angkop sa uga ling Filipino.

Sa nagdaang mga buwan, palagi na ting naririnig ang panawagang “Ako ang Simula”, na panawagan para sa pakikialam upang magkaroon ng pagbabago na lalan ng malinis at maayos na halalan.

Ngayong nakapaghalal na tayo ng bagong pamunuan, angkop rin marahil na sabihing, “simulan na natin ang tunay na pagbabago.”

Totoo, malaki ang inaasahang pagbabago mula sa pamahalaan, at dapat naman, pagka’t sa nagdaang dekada, lubhang napariwara ang pamamahala, at lubhang nasadlak sa kahihiyan ang imahe ng ating bansa.

Ngunit sa isang dako, hindi naman pamahalaan lamang ang dapat na asahang magbago, at hindi naman tama na ang mga namumuno na lamang ang asahang magbago, sapagkat kaakibat tayong lahat ng pagbabago. Ngunit paano tayong magsisimula sa pagbabago?

Maging sa pang-araw-araw na buhay, sa maliliit na pamamaraan, kaya nating simulan ang pagbabago.

Huwag magkalat sa lansangan o sa ating komunidad. Hindi naman siguro kahirapan ang tumulong sa pagpapalinis ng kapaligiran.

Sumunod sa mga alituntunin sa trapiko, maging sa pagtawid sa mga lansangan. Huwag mag-jaywalking, at hintayin ang berdeng signal na hudyat na maaari nang magpatuloy. Huwag makipaggitgitan, lalo na at matrapik, pagka’t imbes na maibsan ang daloy ng trapiko, lalo lang nating pinalalala. Liban pa sa nagdudulot ito ng stress at init ng ulo.

Maging mapagmasid sa mga pangyayari sa lipunan, at kung may mali o taliwas sa hinihingi ng batas, tayo na ang magkusang ipaalam ito sa mga kinauukulan, lalo na sa mga alagad ng batas. Kung biktima tayo ng pagmamalabis o abuso mula sa mga kawani o opisyal ng pamahalaan, maglakas-loob tayong umangal, at ipaalam ito sa mga nakatataas, o di kaya ay sa media at nang ma-expose.

Sa abot ng ating kaya, tulungan natin ang mga kapus-palad. Hindi sa pagbigay ng limos sa mga pulubing malamang sa hindi ay ginagamit at inaapi lamang ng mga sindikato, kundi sa pamamagitan ng pagkawanggawa. Maski sa ating mga kalapit-komu nidad, may mga karapat-dapat na tulungan. Kung may anak tayong nag-aaral, baka may kamag-aral na galing sa hirap na pamilya, na maaari na ting tulungan sa maayos na paraan. May mga bahay-ampunan at iba pang pagkakawanggawa na maaari nating bigyan ng kontribusyon, kung hindi man ng salapi, maaaring sa pagtulong, sa gawa at pakikipagbayanihan.

Tandaan natin na kung nais nating magkaroon ng tunay na pagbabago, hindi maaaring iasa na lamang ito sa pamunuan o sa pamahalaan. Kaakibat tayo ng pagbabago. At saling-lahi natin ang makikinabang kung mag-uugat ang tunay na pagbabago sa lipunan natin. Simulan natin!

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

ABANTE para sa Huwebes, ika- 01 ng Hulyo, 2010

Change

‘By merely ensuring personal incorruptibility, he will begin the process of meaningful change.’

BARACK Obama promised it in 2008. He rallied Americans of all ethnic origins and all persuasions to embrace change. Change, he said, that they could believe in. Because it was doable. Because it would be an improvement from a failed economy where the excesses of a few and the abuses of some were made at the expense of the ordinary workingman who held that thrift and prudence paid future dividends, only to realize that they had been skinned by the smarter few. It was a battle cry that resonated because the average American felt helpless and hopeless.

Noynoy Aquino appeared from left field when Filipinos felt so hopeless about their future and helpless to change a government that seemed bent on perpetuating its hold on illegitimate power. There were those who held some promise, but had little wherewithal to pursue their ambitions. There were those who made promises, but had little by way of credibility for the people to repose their trust on them. Because he was the son of a courageous Ninoy and an honest Cory, the public believed Noynoy. And from all walks of life, they hearkened to his message, that without corruption, poverty could be eradicated.

It was, to be sure, simplification as all messages encapsulated in slogans go. But it was not over-simplification. Because it rang true. The Filipino had heard candidate after candidate launching a "crusade" against corruption, election after election, only to realize that in the end, they had been had. Now came one who was credible because his parents lived it once, and his own simplicity of lifestyle bordering on the austere amplified it.

The message was credible coming from him, especially because those who opposed him in the recent campaign were either corrupt, or were accomplices of the corrupt. The few who were neither, had little chance of making it, ruled out by the measure of dismal survey ratings. And so the electorate pinned their hopes for meaningful change on this heir to a legacy of heroism and selflessness.

But would being incorruptible alone guarantee meaningful change? Would eradicating corruption, assuming it could be achieved within reasonable measure, and given the slow and tedious processes of our shattered institutions, really bring about an escape from the wretchedness of poverty?

Political economists and sociologists tell us that minimizing corruption can only best add wherewithal to government’s ability to provide a modicum of basic services, but it does not exactly create jobs or better incomes, because the economic system we have embraced, and the global economic order it has become but a small particle of, is essentially oppressive of the marginalized. Perhaps.

And perhaps in some other time that order of international economic relationships will self-destruct, just as an order which held that regimentation along with central planning in a totalitarian policy could effectively bring better and equitable lives has been discarded by a good half of the world. Perhaps the inequality and inherent weaknesses of our present order will ultimately give way to a better system. Perhaps a raft of good governance reforms now will pave the way for more deep-seated and systemic reforms by the next leadership.

But for the moment, in a country where the few who compose the landed elite have been joined in their conspicuous wealth only by those who have abused political power and influence to enrich themselves several times over, corruption, nay, too much corruption, has become the single most identifiable culprit for continuing and worsening public misery. And improvement in the delivery of basic services especially to the poor, though marginal in the macro sense, is great change in every Filipino’s micro measure. For that alone, gratitude towards the new leadership will be profuse.

It is in this cusp of change that the 15th president of the Philippines, this child of destiny, finds himself. By the power of good example, and by ensuring the same good example among those he shall appoint to help him run government, he shall be able to make enough of a difference, in comparison to a predecessor who has herself abetted corruption and even engaged herself in its transactions. By merely ensuring personal incorruptibility, he will begin the process of meaningful change.

While that is not enough, that is improvement enough. And if the new president is able to inspire, cajole, require all other government officials to follow his example, then that would be meaningful improvement. That would be the kind of change we can all believe in.

Barack Obama did not rant and rail against official corruption, because that was not the issue in wealthy America. He spoke against a federal polity where the big were pampered because of the philosophy that their financial health provided more jobs and more opportunities. That was an equation shop-worn with abuse, He spoke for change where government would weigh in for the least able.

But Obama, almost midway into his elected term, finds that the going is rough, because the forces of static conservatism are not about to surrender their beliefs and their ways to this upstart’s crusade for meaningful and equitable change.

Aquino faces similar challenges. Those who have wallowed in corruption far too long are not about to change their ways, nor surrender the power that has benefited them far too much. They are in Congress, in the judiciary, in the police, in big business, in the bureaucracy, even in the religious sector.

But unlike Obama, Aquino’s battlefield is not so much in a Congress where new laws are not as important as implementing old laws decisively and effectively. He need not transact as much as his predecessor, hobbled by impeachment threats because there was reason to question her very legitimacy.

The police nor the bureaucracy either, for as long as he brooks no violation of law or his example. As they have shown in past brief episodes in our history, they follow the leader. They can be shocked into obedience.

It is more in the area of judicial reform where the new president must find an ally against corruption. That judiciary must be his ally in slaying the culture of impunity which has made a mockery of our justice system and made the official fight against graft and corruption nothing but a sick joke. That alone is a tall order, and short of revolutionary change, it is going to be tedious effort.

The religious sector, whether through the bishops of the numerous Church or the leaders of the other denominations, can hopefully be where the new president’s power of good example will evoke resonance. If these leaders of their flock would only rekindle their moral fundamentals and eschew their moral compromise with the old and discredited leadership, then they could be a vital partner in the effort towards meaningful change. And if these religious leaders can ditch the attitude that intervention in the policies and praxis of politics is par for the course, as has been tolerated in past leaderships, while the new president stands his ground on his principles and beliefs, then we are off to good start.

For all that, we can only pray and hope. And so to our new President, Godspeed!

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

LITO BANAYO

MALAYA Column for Thursday, 01 July 2010

Pagsasara ng nakaraan

Bukas ay susumpa na sa kanyang tungkulin si Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III, bilang ika-labinlimang pangulo ng ating 112 taong kasaysayan mula nang matagumpay na itanghal ang Unang Republika ni Emilio Aguinaldo. Siya rin ang ika-limang pangulo ng ika-limang Republika, na nagsimula noong Pebrero 25, 1986, na ang unang naupong pa ngulo ay ang kanyang inang si Corazon C. Aquino.

Dahil sa pagkakalugmok ng bansa sa sobrang kurapsyon, hanggang sa matanyag sa buong daigdig bilang isa sa mga pinakakurap ang pamahalaan (Ang Pilipinas ay nasa ranggong 139 sa hanay ng 180 bansa sa daigdig pagdating sa kurap syon, kung saan isa sa nangunguna sa kalinisan ng pamamahala ay ang karatig-bansa nating Singapore), maraming nananawagan na usigin ang mga nandambong, at siguruhing mapatawan sila ng sapat na kaparusahan, liban pa sa singilin sila sa kanilang nakamkam, at ibalik ito sa kaban ng bayan. Iyan naman ang nakasaad sa batas, maging legal o moral. Ngunit sa tinagal-tagal ng panahon, bihira ang nauusig, at bihira ang sinisingil. Dahil nga rito, nag-ugat ang “culture of impunity” o kawalan ng pagsara sa nakaraang mga pagkakasala sa bayan.

Mismong mga dayuhan ay nananawagan na seryosohin ng papasok na administrasyon ang pag-usig, paniningil, at wastong pagsara sa nakaririmarim na nakaraan. Kamakailan, sa kanyang talumpati sa harap ng Makati Business Club at European Chamber of Commerce, sinabi ni Michael Hershman, isa sa mga nagsimula ng Transparency International, na dapat daw ay tuparin ni Pangulong Noynoy ang kanyang pangako noong kampanya pa, na tigilan ang kurapsyon, at usigin ang mga tiwali at kurakot sa nagdaang mga rehimen.

“Sampahan ng kaso ang mga nagnakaw sa bansa. Kailangan silang managot, at sana’y totohanin na ngayon ang pagparusa. Ikulong sila at ang mga ari-arian ay samsamin at ibalik sa kaban ng bayan,” ani Hershman. At dinagdag pa niya, “siguruhin ninyo muna na ang inyong sistema ng hudikatura ay maging makatotohanan at makatarungan.”

Sinang-ayunan ni Hershman ang pagtatag ng isang independenteng komisyon na mag-uusig sa nakaraang mga ano malya at kasangkot sa mga ito, gaya ng nasabi na rin ni Aquino noong kampanyang nagdaan. At muli niyang binanggit ang kahalagahan ng transparency at accountability sa mga mahihirang sa gabinete at iba pang mga posisyon sa bagong administrasyon.

Sa madaling salita, hinahanap ng mga investors, dayuhan man o sariling atin, ang tunay na pagbabago sa pamahalaan. Walang sinisino. Kapag nagkasala, patawan ng kaparusahan. Magkaroon ang lahat ng respeto sa batas, at pagsunod sa mga adhikain nito. Patas na laban, wika nga.

At magkaroon ng pagsasara sa nakaraan. Kailangang hindi pabayaan na lang na lista sa tubig ang pagkakamali, at nang magkaleksyon naman para sa sambayanan. At siyang maging hudyat sa tunay na pagbabagong-loob at pagbabagong serbisyo sa sambayanan, lalo na sa mga naghihikahos na lalong naghihirap dahil sa hindi masawatang kurapsyon.

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

ABANTE para sa Martes, ika-29 ng Hunyo, 2010

Gloria’s farewell

‘Aquino means well, and he means to do what is right. He has to keep his sacred bond with his parent’s memory.’

PERRY Diaz, the Fil-Am journalist who regularly gives internet users his Global Balita, has come out with a regaling tale about a document found under the mattress of the First Couple’s bed. A note was attached to the document, saying: "To be published after I step down".

Tomorrow, she will step down, and as we all await Benigno S. Aquino’s first formal address as the new president of the benighted land, let me publish in this space Perry’s "Adios", hopefully ultimo, allegedly by Gloria (with a little editing).

Farewell, my Inang Bayan, land of the morning sun,

Pearl of the Orient Sea, Paradise lost.

With gladness I gave you my life,

With sadness I leave you now.

I made a lot of promises,

Some of which I kept.

I promised to end poverty,

But in the end, the poor are eating pagpag.

I promised to stop corruption,

But in the end, power corrupted me.

I promised to end the communist insurgency,

But in the end, Delfin Bangit failed to end it.

I promised to create jobs,

But in the end, 3,000 Filipinos leave everyday to look for jobs abroad.

I promised to end the deficit,

But in the end, I left Noynoy with a P340 billion deficit.

I wish I was more honest,

But instead I became too greedy.

I wish I had served the interest of the people better,

But instead I served my own best interests.

I wish I listened to my critics,

But instead I listened to my husband, Mike.

I tried to improve the economy,

But instead only the oligarchs and my friends benefited from it.

I tried to govern with integrity, credibility, and accountability,

But instead the people called me the "Most Corrupt President in Philippine History."

I asked the people what they want,

And they said, "Return the money you stole."

I asked the people to give me another chance to make good my promises,

But they said, "Alis dyan!"

I dreamed of transforming the country into an enchanted kingdom in 20 years,

But the people said, "No way, that’s too long for you to stay in power. Go away!"

I wanted to amend the constitution by way of a people’s initiative to stay in power,

But Justice Antonio Carpio penned a ruling rejecting the people’s initiative petition.

I wanted to change the constitution by way of a Constituent Assembly,

But Cory Aquino passed away and nobody would dare change her constitution.

I planned to stay in power by other means,

But Defense Secretary Norberto Gonzales bungled the job.

I put up my own candidate for president,

But my "kiss of death" killed Gibo Teodoro’s candidacy.

When Gibo appeared to be losing I supported another candidate secretly,

But the media discovered it and exposed my "secret candidate," Villarroyo.

I appointed 250 midnight appointees,

Hoping that they’ll be there when I needed them.

I appointed a Chief Justice, midnight style,

Hoping that he’ll be kind to me when my plunder cases reach the Supreme Court.

I promoted the government lawyers and made their jobs permanent and secure,

Hoping that they’d be indebted to me and kinder when they’re prosecuting me.

I got all the bases covered,

Including a castle in Portugal where I can go to exile if I have to.

And now the end is near,

With heavy heart I leave thee, my Inang Bayan.

I lived a life that’s full,

I had fun spending P3 billion in 107 foreign junkets.

Regrets I’ve had a few,

My biggest regret is that I failed to stay in power longer.

I bit off more than I could chew,

However, I enjoyed every bit of it (especially dining at Le Cirque).

I’ve loved, I’ve laughed and cried,

And I’ll miss all the games I played with the generals.

And now as tears subside,

I’m glad I survived it all.

The record shows I took the blows,

But I hit back with all my strength.

For what is a woman what has she got,

If not her moolah then she has none.

And so I face the final curtain,

I say this to all my enemies – to hell with you all!

Yes! I did it my way.

Oooh…oooh…Let history go hang.

***

Tomorrow the nation will witness, for the first time in twelve years, a duly-elected, a truly-elected president being sworn-in. The speech, as announced, will be short. This after all is not a man given to empty eloquence. But they will be words straight from his heart. He means well, and he means to do what is right. He has to keep his sacred bond with his parent’s memory.

Sure, he may falter in the way of fulfilling everybody’s great expectations. Rome was not in a night built. Rebuilding shattered institutions takes time and plodding patience. Renewing the public trust in governance so badly run will also take time. But let us keep the faith. For as long as the new president keeps his personal integrity intact, and exacts the same from the men and women he appoints to office, the new beginning will find a happy ending.

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

LITO BANAYO

MALAYA Column for Tuesday, 29 June 2010

Shadow boxing

‘So which country does Norbert want to practice his shadow boxing in? Maybe Malaysia, which is parliamentary, and where I understand, he is taken seriously.’

OUTGOING defense secretary Norberto Gonzales will put up an opposition structure to monitor and fiscalize the incoming administration of Benigno S. Aquino III. Not an "old soldier" to fade away, Gonzales will even form a "shadow cabinet", and his first prospective member is Delfin Bangit, the former AFP chief of staff. Gonzales floated this a month ago or so, and proudly said he wanted his predecessor, Gilbert Teodoro, who ran and lost in the last presidential elections, to join him in his new role. Wisely as usual, Gilbert declined in short shrift manner.

A "shadow cabinet" is a practice in parliamentary traditions where the interim government could fall once a vote of "no-confidence" is reached in Parliament. Thus, the opposition party head names possible stand-ins among his own members of parliament so that they could immediately substitute for the current ministers appointed by the incumbent prime minister. No paralysis or even extended hiatus in government leadership happens even if the present leadership falls. Hence, when Italy was experiencing revolving door governments, a cabinet was ready from the opposition ranks to take over the fallen and take charge as the new.

But that is a parliamentary system. Governments could fall at any time. Ours is a presidential system, with a fixed term for the nationally-elected president who is removable only through tedious impeachment or death. And a constitutional successor, himself duly elected, is in place. So which country does Norbert want to practice his shadow boxing in? Maybe Malaysia, which is parliamentary, and where I understand, he is taken seriously. Unless, Norbert is thinking of foisting mayhem upon our polity.

He and his incarnation of Don Quixote, that Jesuit Archie Intengan, have been conjuring plots and sub-plots ever since their Doña Gloria resurrected them in the national nightmare that was her regime. And Norbert as Sancho Panza likely dreads the moment, five days distant, when curtains will fall on their impossible dream. What will he do by July 1? Go back to Sabah or Sarawak perhaps, and do teach-ins there? There are plenty of wild bananas in their yet verdant farms and forests. Sweeter than the Dole variety that clutters our supermarket shelves and which I refuse to see on my kitchen table. Was it a Dole that Norbert pulled out of his satchel when the Senate was questioning him on the Venable contract, when his blood pressure shot up? Gonzales could also take a sabbatical leave to pursue further learning at the University of Salamanca, Don Quixote’s favorite. How do Norbert de la Panza and his Archie del Quixote make themselves "relevant" in the politics of this benighted land?

That’s why Norbert makes his pitch for a possible re-run, in his wildest dreams.

Of course he disclaims plans of being president. Remember if you will, that last year, he made the rounds of whoever cared to listen, telling him that there was need for a revolutionary transition government. He called on bishops even, peddling his scenario, but said it was his Doña, because of the commander-in-chief provisions in the Constitution, who should head the revolutionary council. He. he. he, the bishops told him off.

And so, since Norbert the shadow leader has not publicly declared his aversion for unsolicited advice, this space will suggest a "new" cast of characters for his shadow cabinet.. Tap Butch Pichay. Joc-Joc Bolante. Between the two of them, there’s enough turf to quarrel over in plundering agriculture and despoiling natural resources. Garcillano for Department of Finance. If there’s no money, he will produce, just like when he produced an instant "million" votes for their Doña in 2004. This time, Norbert can tell the public that if he becomes "president", his shadow boxer for finance is a creative genius like Garci. Maski walang boto, gagawa. Kapag walang pera ang kaban ng bayan, mag-iimprenta. Can you beat that quick fix? Maybe Madam Auring for Neda, NCSO, NSO all combined. Bakit pa kailangan ng "statistics"? Who cares about growth rates which his Doña keeps trumpeting about. Bolang kristal lang ‘yan!

For MMDA, why Ely Velez Pamatong is ideal for Norbert’s shadow cabinet. He will solve the traffic woes of the metropolis no sooner than you could think. All he needs to do is get his storm troopers to throw huge and sharp nails at Edsa’s pavement today, and Ayala Avenue tomorrow. After a week, wala nang maglalabas ng kotse. E ‘di solved ang trapik!

Secretary of Justice? E di si Oliver Lozano, sino pa nga ba?

Foreign Affairs? Eto, batang-bata compared to Bert Romulo, and just as well-travelled. She has after all been with their Doña Gloria in most every foreign peregrination, and knows the best Syrian chocolates other than Patchi. Medy Poblador, with the blessings of her "Tito" Cardinal Gaudencio Rosales. O, di ba, galing?

And you need not think any longer about who the shadow executive secretary will be. No less than Father Intengan, naturally. Brains, eminence gris, jesuitic pa! Can you beat that?

"Quete…un imposible reve" (To dream, the impossible dream…), hums Norbert. Curtains are falling on his Filipinas de La Mancha. So dream on.

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

LITO BANAYO

MALAYA Column for Friday, 25 June 2010

Neri called this woman evil

‘Now Neri says Ms. Arroyo did what she had to do, and he now respects her decision, a decision clearly imbued with betrayal of public trust.’

FUNNY. I read in the papers that Romulo Neri, former head of the Congress Economic Planning office, then NEDA director-general, later Secretary of the Budget, and now SSS chief executive officer, declared that his President Arroyo is innocent of the allegations hurled against her at the height of the Senate investigations into the mercifully stopped NBN-ZTE deal.

"The President has to do what she has to do. I respect whatever decision she has done. I am professionally loyal to my boss", Neri said after filing bail before the Sandiganbayan. "When I reported the bribe attempt (of Ben Abalos, he earlier said), she told me not to accept." And that, to Romulo Neri now, means she is innocent.

Did his president investigate his accusation of bribe-offering from another public official, head of a constitutional body at that? More importantly, did the deal which Neri found too difficult to endorse because egregiously lopsided against the public interest, go through? Yes it did. In the wee hours of the morning, at a VIP lounge of the Hainan Airport in China, the deal between "her" government and ZTE of Shenzhen was signed, with her beaming proudly as witness.

When she got back to Manila that April morning, she rushed to the bedside of the husband who was in mortal danger of losing his life, despite which condition she rushed the night before to China, ostensibly because of an "important" conference to attend in Boao. Turns out the more significant thing was her rendezvous with ZTE officials at the Hainan airport where the "deed," the infamous deal called the NBN-ZTE broadband project, would be done.

Dutifully, her press office sent a press release to news desks that morning touting her singular achievement in that rush trip to China – to bring home the bacon, by way of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of investments in the telecommunications industry, hastily like the "super" lady that she was, accomplished "like a thief in the night" (direct quote from Malacañang’s press release).

Now Romulo Neri says she did what she had to do, and he now respects her decision. A decision clearly imbued with betrayal of public trust. And he faces a stiff jail term, on top of perpetual public disgrace (as if what he has been through in the public eye is not yet the zenith of his disgrace), because finally, in the twilight of his president’s reign, she "allowed" the Ombudsman to charge him and Benjamin Abalos before the Sandiganbayan.

It was reported the other night on radio that Romulo Neri rued that he ever joined public service. He regrets having been there, done that, or not done that, and intimated that he should have just stayed put in staid academe, or the private business sector.

But to be fair, Romy wasn’t too bad as Neda director-general. He fulminated against the regulatory capture of the Philippine economy by certain moguls of industry. Shipping was in the hands of a presidential crony, which made the transport of farm products from Mindanao to Manila more expensive than from Mindanao to Japan. Port operations were also in the control of another presidential crony. Electric power, in all stages of generation, transmission and distribution, were in the hands of the same and more powerful friends and politico-economic confreres. Airline operations likewise. And telecommunications as well.

Because of this regulatory capture, as he eloquently and succinctly put it, the economy and its growth and proper development was hostaged by powerful interests. He went on the lecture circuit to rant and rail against oligopolistic status of the underlying fundamentals of business in the country. But when some of these same interests conspired with a greedy woman’s greedy man and used another greedy official to broker a deal that would have not only monopolized broadband technology, but also profit in an immensely and immoderately greedy manner, he pointed a finger only at the greedy broker but no one else. And so he now suffers the ignominy of being on the dock before the bar of "justice" as well as public opinion, along with the greedy man he accused of attempting to bribe him with 200 million smackeroos, just to grant nihil obstat as chair of the ICC in his capacity as head of the Neda. While the boss he remains faithful to, the boss who admonished him not to take the 200 million, but nonetheless approve the deal, is scot-free – at least for now. Or scot-free on this scandal because he clammed up then, and wants to clam up now. What a faithful servant!

Yet, in December of 2007, at a bistro along Benavides in Legaspi Village adjacent to the Asian Institute of Management, Romulo Neri opened bottles of wine for two senators, Ping Lacson and Jamby Madrigal, who both did not drink, Jun Lozada and his brother, another friend, plus Jamby’s Gary Jimenez and myself.

Again he described, with diagram and all, how the nation’s economy had been hostaged to vested interests. I heard that before, and wrote articles in support of his position against greedy monopolies in strategic industries, but this time he named names. Who was in charge of this, who profited from that, all of them linked to the transactional empire of his, well … boss woman.

When Lacson tried to pin him down to testify before the Senate, he hemmed and hawed, but he kept saying, as if to tell us he feared for the consequences of full disclosure before the elect of the people, "she is evil…she is evil".

Now the clock has turned full circle, or almost. Romulo Neri can now confront, nay --- has to confront the "demons" that bedevil his soul, the "demons" that made him hold back on telling all before an executive session of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee. For the regime that barred him from speaking the truth, by threats and pressure, later by executive fiat, is in the last dying hours of its long night of darkness. And the new order that beckons with the coming of dawn wants nothing but the truth.

In the next few months, Romulo Neri’s agony will heighten, and he will have to keep wrestling with his personal "demons", on whether to tell the nation and the world the naked truth behind his conversations with his president, this woman she described, and never denied he described, as "evil".

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

LITO BANAYO

MALAYA Column for Thursday, 24 June 2010

May bangko pa ang LWUA

Gaya ng isinulat natin noong Martes, kay daming mga kontrata sa patubig ang nilagdaan nitong LWUA sa ilalim ng pamumuno ni G. Butch Pichay, na wala naman palang sapat na pondong inilaan para sa mga proyektong ito. Ano na nga ang tawag natin sa isang kumpanya na ang laki ng pagkakautang ngunit kapos sa pambayad? Bangkarote.

Pero sa pamahalaan, walang nababangkarote, kasi, sinasagot ng pamahalaan. Sinasagot ng kaban ng bayan. Nabangkarote ang Central Bank, sinagot ni Juan de la Cruz ang mga utang, dinagdagan ng panibagong kapital, at pinalitan ang pangalan, naging Bangko Sentral. Ganyan din ang mga GSIS, SSS, at iba pa. Ang National Food Authority, na siyang nagsisigurong may sapat na bigas sa hapag ng bawat Pinoy, si Juan de la Cruz din ang sumasalba sa malaking pagkakautang. Gayundin ang Napocor.

Walang masama rito, kung sa mabuting paraan nagastos ang salapi ni Juan, at nakinabang si Juan.

Paano na kung mga proyektong overpriced na nga, e non-existent pa? Multo, naniningil kay Juan?

At kung ikaw naman ay kinakapos na nga ng pambayad, tama bang bumili ka pa ng bangko? Wow naman!

Pero ganyan ang ginawa ng LWUA sa ilalim ni Pichay. Bumili ng isang maliit na bangko sa Cabuyao, Laguna na “under rehabilitation” ng Bangko Sentral (ibig sabihin sinasalbang pilit sa pagka-bangkarote para maprotektahan ang maliliit na depositor). Noong Hunyo ng nagdaang taon, bumili ng 60% ng pag-aari ng Express Savings Bank sa Cabuyao ang LWUA, at nagbayad ng 80 mil yong piso, bagama’t gaya nga ng naisulat natin, ito’y under rehab ng BSP (He he he, “rehab” parang adik na ginagamot).

Nais kasi ni Pichay diumano na magtayo ng isang WE Bank, o Water and Energy Bank, at ipagsasanib ang salapi ng LWUA (tubig) at National Electrification Administration (NEA) na siya namang tagapangasiwa ng mga electric coops sa buong bansa (energy). Wow!

Dalawang ahensya ng pamahalaan na pasan-pasan ang utang at pondo ng kaban ng bayan, magbabangko pa! Ano ito, bagong DBP?

Ngunit hindi pumayag ang Bangko Sentral dahil may moratorium sa pag-apruba ng bagong bangko.

Kaya bumili na lang ng isang pabagsak na bangko si Pichay at kanyang Board of Trustees. Pero sabi ng BSP, kulang sa capital iyan. Kaya’t nagdadagdag ng 400 milyon si Pichay. Sa madaling salita, ginugulan ni Juan de la Cruz ng 480 milyon ang pera para sa tubig, para maging bangkero si Butch Pichay. Wow na wow talaga!

Pero ayon sa GAA, ang batas ng budget ni Juan de la Cruz, mahigpit na ipinagbabawal para sa korporasyon o ahensya ng pamahalaan ang maglagak ng puhunan o salapi sa mga non-government securities, money market, o magdeposito sa pribadong bangko. Kanya talagang iba itong si Butch Pichay. Wow na wow talaga!

Ginawa na ito dati ng mga sumunod sa akin sa Bureau of Posts na naging korporasyon sa aking pagpupunyagi. Iniwan ko ng halos 200 milyong pisong surplus ang Philpost noong 1988, na may sapat na kakayahang maging korporasyon na ipinasa sa Kongreso noong 1991 na wala na ako roon.

Pero dinambong ang Post Office ng mga itinalaga roon ni Pangulong FVR, binuhay ang Postal Bank, nagtayo ng Postal Leasing, pati nga security guard na negosyo ay pinasukan. Hinuthot ang salapi ng Post Office, nabulok ang serbisyo ng Post Office, at ngayon, bangkarote na ang Post Office, na bago nagkaroon ng Pagcor ay ikatlo sa pinakamalaki ang kinikita, sunod sa BIR at Customs, noong panahon namin nina Postgen Tanabe (na sumakabilang-buhay na), Roy Golez (congressman ng Parañaque na dapat ay maging senador), at inyong lingkod.

Sobra ang pagka-demoralisa ng mga kawani at mababang opisyal ng LWUA. Gaya rin ng Philpost ngayon, hindi makapagretiro ang nais na magretiro dahil hindi makatatanggap ng kaukulang benepisyo. Walang pondo.

Ngayon, nilalakad ng mga opisyal ng Philpost na sila’y manati ling muli sa pwesto, maski isang taon lamang daw. May midnight appointment pa si GMA na inilagay sa Board of Directors. At ang isa sa mga kasali sa paghuthot at pagpapadugo ng Philpost nu’ng kapanahunan ni FVR, gusto pa ngayong maging Postmaster-General. Diyos ko po naman!

Sa LWUA, midnight appointments ang solusyon ni Pichay et al. Wow talaga. May tawag sa mga ganitong uri ng opisyal. Makikita ang simbolo nila sa isang T-shirt na mamahalin na gawa sa Pransya.

Wika nga sa akin ng mga taga-LWUA at taga-Philpost, “sabihin lang ni Noynoy, kakaladkarin naming palabas ang mga over-staying na appointee ni GMA”.

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

ABANTE para sa Huwebes, ika- 24 ng Hunyo, 2010

Pandarambong maging sa patubig

Noong nagdaang linggo ay kagulo sa tanggapan ng Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA). Ito ang tanggapang nasyonal na siyang nangangasiwa ng mga local water districts sa iba’t ibang lalawigan at bayan sa Pilipinas. Ang layunin ng mga ahensyang pina­ngangasiwaan ng LWUA ay palaguin ang pagkakaroon ng “safe drinking water” sa buong kapuluan. Hindi madali ang ganito, lalo na at puro tayo mga islang umuunti na nga ang mga aquifer at natural na daluyan ng malinis na tubig, kundi watak-watak pa at magastos ang pagkabit ng mga tubo ng tubig. Higit pa sa riyan, kapos sa salapi at kapital ang pamahalaan, maging ang mga kumukonsumo ng malinis na tubig.

Ngunit bakit nagkakagulo? Kasi pala, nagkakandarapa ang mga kontratistang nagsipaggawa ng mga water supply projects sa iba’t ibang panig ng bansa dahil hindi sila nababayaran pa. At takot din na pagpasok ng bagong administrasyon ni Noynoy Aquino, ay madiskubre ng mga papalit sa kasalukuyang nagpapatakbo ng ahensya, ang misteryo ng pagkalaki-laking gastos sa pamunuan ni Prospero “Butch” Pichay, samantalang kapos at kapos sa badyet na pambayad ang naturang ahensya.

Ayon sa kalalabas pa lang na report ng Commission on Audit (COA), nagpagawa ng mga projects na umaabot sa 3.4 bilyong piso ang halaga, samantalang ang pondong hinahawakan o kayang hanapin ay 2.2 bilyones lamang. Lahat ng nagtatrabaho sa gobyerno ay alam na hindi ka maaaring mag-award ng anumang proyekto kung wala pa sa iyong mga libro ang pondong ibabayad mo kapag natapos ang proyekto. Ngunit paanong nangyari ito?

“Diumano, dahil sa sabi raw ng LWUA Chairman na si Butch Pichay, may “pangako si GMA sa kanya na magre-release ng hanggang 6 na bilyung piso para sa LWUA mula sa kanyang President’s Social Fund”, na hango naman sa kontribusyon ng Pagcor at PCSO. At ang mga kontratista naman, sugod-kabayo para sa mga kontratang ‘diumano’y “over-priced” at maski tumutol ang mga local water districts dahil sa katapusan, sila ang magbabayad sa mga proyektong ito.

Kanya siguro nagpa-midnight appointment si Pichay bilang LWUA Chair, at nag-akibat ng mga bagong direktor sa Board of Trustees, kasama na sina Renato S. Velasco at Susana D. Vargas, na pawang mga galing sa Malacañang mismo. Kakaupo lang ng mga ito, at ewan ko kung alam nilang sa taong 2009 lamang ay katakut-takot na iskandalo na ang napansin ng COA. Paano pa kaya nu’ng bago mag-umpisa ang ban sa kontrata dahil sa halalan?

Nagkakagulo raw sa LWUA noong nagdaang linggo dahil naggigitgitan ang mga kontratista na mabayaran. Una dahil nga paanong magdi-disburse ng vouchers ng pagbabayad kung kulang ang pondo para sa lahat? Paano makapagbibigay ng tse keng kabayaran, e hindi naman pwedeng magpatalbog ng tseke ang pamahalaan ng Pilipinas?

Isa pa, pagpasok ni Pangulong Noynoy Aquino sa Hunyo 30, ano kaya ang gagawin sa mga katulad ni Pichay at kanyang board na mga “twilight”, huwag na nating sabihing “midnight” appointees ni Donya Gloria? Babayaran ba sila ng susunod na mga pinuno ng ahensya, dahil hindi naman siguro makapapayag si P-Noy na opisyal niya ang isang katulad ni Pichay? Laking sakit ng ulo.

Magbibigay ba ng courtesy resignation si Pichay? Sagot daw nito, nang mabasa ang tungkol sa courtesy resignations na hinihingi ng maraming grupo, tulad ng FSGO, Makati Business Club, Management Association at iba pa: “Bakit, kailan ba ako naging “courteous”? (Itutuloy)

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

ABANTE para sa Martes, ika- 22 ng Hunyo, 2010

‘Small changes’

‘If Noynoy leads by the power of good example, and manages his people sternly and decisively, the bureaucracy will deliver.’

THE weekend became an occasion to meet old friends from school days. Maybe that comes with age. Reunions come more often, informal get-togethers over wine or beer and "pulutan." It was a gathering of strictly "middle-class" guys. And even that is hard to describe, or to define.

What income level qualifies one to be better off than the poor? Similarly, what income ceiling do you need to breach to qualify as rich? It is not just a matter of statistics, the standards of which may be awfully distant from micro-economic reality. Suffice it to say that the guys I sat with classify themselves as "middle-class". As I do myself.

In the province where I spent my early childhood, we were comfortably well-off, but when my parents moved to the big city, we became truly middle-class. Paying the tuition was a quarterly problem until after a few years when income levels adjusted happily upwards. There was hardly a day when a meal was skipped, except when some children in their teens thought dieting was a bigger priority than a good meal on the table. In my case, meals got skipped after a heavy hang-over the night before when I was in my early twenties, time when good beer and good pulutan was the end of most every day’s hard work.

In our time, provided you studied well enough in college, a job awaited you right after graduation. You even had the luxury of choice. These days college graduates can choose between being a coffee shop "barista" here or there, and a call center operator there or here. Unless you finish with good grades from three or four universities, except that kids from "better" schools prefer to work abroad, having enjoyed the short episodes when upwardly mobile parents afforded them a US or Canadian trip.

But enough of that useless intro into my definition, or attempt to define, what comes with the "middle-class". Let’s get back to that meeting with guys my age who have, more or less, the same living standards I enjoy. The difference between me and the small group was/is, that I write for a paper, and two, I have hobnobbed with the powerful. They all went through middle-class status, grew their kids, have become happy grand-dads, all in public anonymity. Some went the corporate ladder route, others the professional route, and others became successful medium-scale businessmen.

Talk drifted to the changing of the leadership unfolding soon. Most everyone thought the people made a good choice, not that they really had much choice to begin with. But for one who went Gibo, they all voted for Noynoy not necessarily because of himself, but because he was the only one who could bring about some "change". Nine years of Gloria was an excruciating "pain in the neck", or whatever part of the anatomy, as someone called it. There simply had to be change.

Then I asked them, what kind of "change"? Someone came up with the phrase, "small things lang naman … small change." He was a Chinoy businessman, but rather than getting amused at the dual meaning of his phrase, most everybody chimed in.

Now what the hell is "small change" for someone who has been concerned about, and writing for years about the bigger things, "the big picture" as Ricky Carandang says it?

Getting the "trains" to run on time, that Mussolini promise, seems to be the more accurate descriptive. Do something about the traffic. Why are there so many colorum buses, taxis, FX’s, jeepneys messing up the traffic because of obstinate disregard for rules, and government looks the other way around? Why is traffic management left to dolts and dorks called traffic aides, who are more interested in fleecing the motorist than getting his brains stuffed with enough common sense?

Why is the airport such a big mess, with toilets that stink, systems that do not work? Even, as one put it very simply, even at the airport, there’s "air" traffic, so sometimes you stew inside the plane to Boracay for an hour. Or your plane to Palawan is two hours late, because first, the aircraft arrived late, and then, when finally inside the plane, the pilot tells you that because of heavy traffic (so many arrivals and departures using but one runway), please bear with the reality. And why in heaven’s name can’t government open the NAIA-3 to international air traffic after ten years. What kind of governance is that, they exclaim? I remarked that they are probably the guys who were enthralled by Gilbert Teodoro’s "take-off" ad, where he was the pilot. They were not enticed, they said, because they expected Gloria and her Mike to be his passengers. He he he.

Try getting on the road to Baguio, someone said. It’s beautiful from Balintawak to Tarlac City, then you get bogged down in the MacArthur Highway where motorized tricycles chug-chug in the middle of the road, and devil-may-care bus drivers act like they owned both sides of the road. Why can’t DPWH, or whatever, he asks, ban tricycles in such busy and high-speed thoroughfares? I’ve been asking that myself each time I pass Tarlac and Pangasinan for the past four decades. Then again I thought, these guys are certainly not "poor". The poor hardly ever ride airplanes or use the NAIA comfort rooms, or drive to Baguio. And because the plaints and condition of the "poor" constitute the "bigger picture", then indeed these middle-class plaints are "small change".

Everybody hated the "wang-wang" and had their own horror stories about encountering the convoy of cabinet member this or senator this, or mayor that. "Pwede ba ipagbawal na ni P-Noy ang lahat ng wang-wang, p’wera lang pulis at ambulansya"? "P…inang mga ‘yan, sinuswelduhan ng bayan, tapos kala mo mga hari", and the mildly profane guy identified a senator who loves to parade himself with motorcycle escorts and siren-blaring back-ups, even when he has been one of the do-nothings in that chamber. And the Chinoy observed, "Si Ping Lacson nga naging PNP chief pa, tapos senador, hindi ko narinig na may wang-wang", and I smiled.

"Simpleng bagay, like jaywalking, jeepneys and cabs stopping in the middle of the road, and closing the whole road to traffic while waiting for passengers," a doctor added. And when I said, "trabaho ng LGU ‘yan", he shot back, "kung kaya ni Binay disiplinahin yung mga mayors, siya na!" To which someone said, "E si Bayani Fernando nga, nag-try na mag-kamay na bakal, wala ring nangyari". But the exasperated doctor remarked, "E paano nga, ‘yung presidente niya walang pakialam kundi magnakaw". (While I write this, her American citizen-spokesperson Gary Olivar was presenting Anthony Taberna on TV with a book he edited, entitled "Beat the Odds" sub-titled, "Another Stone for the Edifice". Wondering which, will GMA ever gift this writer with a copy?)

"You wrote once (these guys are fans) about simple living, even cabinet members and officials dressing up simply…polo barongs or short-sleeved shirts instead of Armani suits and Hermes ties", said a former bank executive who took early retirement and does nothing but play golf these days. "That makes sense…delivers the right message", he claimed.

"Peace and order, pare…grabe na, parang manok na lang kung patayin ang tao, and recounted the TV story of a seaman who was killed in broad daylight in a busy street just to snatch his gold necklace ". Everybody chimed in with their children’s own encounters with street crime. Someone who comes from a Northern province but lives here in Manila talked about the state of perpetual crime and terror there.

"Rule of law…ipatupad lang", said a lawyer. "Justice system, napaka-corrupt…buti na lang nag-retire na ako from practice, but truth is, even I had to close my eyes to the reality, or else I’d lose all my clients. To be truthful, it was better in the time of Marcos…may takot pa ang judges and fiscals, but now…lantad na lantad".

Wait, I said, that probably is part of the "big picture". "Hindi kaya ng "small change" ‘yan. Mukhang complete overhaul ang kailangan diyan…systemic even".

"But Noynoy has to begin," he pleaded, the sadness in his face all too apparent, and admitted, "sa totoo lang…nakakahiya nang maging abogado ngayon…more areglo than legal skills".

Then I posed a question: "How come you never joined the judiciary? Your dad was a respected justice." And he answered, "Buti na lang tatlo lang kaming magkakapatid. Otherwise, baka si daddy naging corrupt din". But my lawyer-friend insisted, there is need for big steps to cleanse the legal system, beginning with the judiciary and prosecutorial service. I wholeheartedly agree. Nobody except the absolutely corrupt can possibly disagree.

"Small changes", as they said, while concrete steps are being done to address the bigger, more complex problems of peace in Mindanao, or food security, or overhauling the bureaucracy, or cleansing the judiciary, or even providing jobs.

"When confidence in government and the system returns, investors will invest. Hindi naman pwedeng mabulok sa bangko ang bilyones nila…even the foreign investors who need to show their stockholders bigger returns", the retired bank executive wisely said. "Then the jobs will be created, more by the private sector than government…it is a long process, but confidence is what matters".

In the end, we agreed by consensus, "small changes" could infuse the citizenry with a feel-good confidence that at last, things will start to get better. It will take us years to solve the "big picture", or at least alleviate the problems. Everybody agreed that if Noynoy leads by the power of good example, and manages his people sternly and decisively, the bureaucracy will deliver results. Meanwhile, the hope for change must go on, and must be re-energized by small confidence-building actions, "small changes" as we coined that afternoon.

(banayo_at@yahoo.com)

LITO BANAYO

MALAYA Colum for Tuesday, 22 June 2010