March 3, 2008

Jun Lozada, as he himself admitted, was an unwilling witness, before he was “abducted” at the airport. He might turn out to be an unintended hero should the quest for truth succeed, despite the indiscretions he committed during his stint with the government. Secretary Romulo Neri, on the other hand, is not a mean soul but is now being portrayed as a villain — unpatriotic and unprincipled. The ZTE-NBN controversy has made household names of a number of people — Lozada, Madriaga, Abalos, Atienza, Defensor, Razon, Gaite, Atutubo, etc. — heroes or heels depending on which side of the political fence you belong. Most of them I am sure would have chose not to have been dragged in this scandal if they had a choice. Some of them have solid reputations until they were forced to get involved because it was part of their jobs. They were therefore made to suffer the consequences of their actions for a problem that was not of their own making. They had to save the Queen.

The ZTE-NBN scandal though is reflective of how things have been going on but although in a big way. We have a government that is governed not by rules, not by what is right and what is wrong, but by influence and partisan considerations. The controversies that have beset the administration both at the local and national level speak of a pattern of how power and influence are used to protect personal interests. The controversy that hounded the PNP because of its inability to immediately effect the relief of OIC-Regional Director PS/Supt. Ballingi Tira here in the Bicol Region manifested how influential individuals can hold hostage public good because of their ties with the powers that be. Pundits say that PS/Supt Tira’s stay was an indication of how influential Cong. Villafuerte is, the “impeachment lawyer” of PGMA, with the present dispensation. I am almost quite certain that had then Chief PNP Oscar Calderon had his way, RD Tira would not have stayed a minute longer after he defied the orders of his superiors. Beyond former Chief PNP Calderon, the authority of the PNP as an institution was impaired through no fault of its own. And to think that they also just only wanted to do their jobs. The rule of law was sacrificed for those who saved the Queen.

Sadly, beyond those who hold the reigns of power now are the institutions of government whose importance are beyond 2010. The people’s confidence on these institutions have been eroded. It will take some doing before they can be restored. Will electing a new king do it?

Yesterday, Speaker Prospero Nograles, based on accounts of several newspapers claimed that as part of his effort to improve the image of the House of Representatives, he would push for making the congressional “pork barrel” system more transparent. In line with his effort, he will request his fellow congressmen to inform anyone who cares to know where the pork barrel funds allocated for the district are going to. While this is laudable, given reports of ghost projects and ghost deliveries, this hardly scrapes the bottom of the “rot” that goes in the implementation of most projects funded by the pork.

It might have gone unnoticed. But it is not uncommon that a new District Engineer usually takes over after a new Congressman assumes his post. The District Engineer, who owes his appointment to the Congressman, is now of course hostage to the biddings of his “real boss”. What follows are rigged biddings, bloated estimates, favored contractors and a patronage laden payroll. (Until now, five months after we have submitted our PMC Report on bloated estimates of DPWH projects implemented in Naga City, no action has been taken by concerned government agencies —Milking them dry, December 26, 2007 ). The fault lies not in the pork but in the manner that it is programmed, dispensed and disbursed. Of course, this will always be denied. But ask anyone who has dealt with DPWH district offices, he will tell you this is public knowledge. It is unfortunate that DPWH bears the brunt of the public’s condemnation(willingly, in many cases, as they also are beneficiaries ). When things go wrong, the Congressman can easily point a finger to DPWH. How can one who is part of the problem be not part of the blame?

If Speaker Nograles is truly interested in refurbishing the image of the House, he may want to consider doing more than just issuing press releases. He can do what no other Speaker has done. He will tell his colleagues in the House to lay off their hands in the implementation of their pork-funded public works projects. Speaker Nograles might lose his post. But he can best be remembered for doing something worthwhile for one of the least admired institutions of our government.

Can the Speaker hack it? Or is this just another press release?

February 24, 2008

Last Friday morning I had to get up at around 12:45 AM because of a reported fire in one of the establishments in the centro of Naga City. It was raining heavily. When I reached the fire scene, it was apparent that the Naga City firemen and the Volunteer Brigades already had the fire under control. There were at least thirty (30) of them coming from the Chin Po Tong Volunteer Fire Brigade, the Naga White Fire Brigade and the local Fire Department. While most of the residents of the city were asleep, these few brave souls put themselves in harms way to save the properties and lives of people they hardly knew.

I personally know almost all of them. Most of them are second generation Filipino-Chinese (like myself) who have chosen this line of work as their civic duty. Some of them have made their own “fortunes”. But at the fire scene, they are all equals simply following the command of their own Fire Marshall. Although we have honored these volunteer groups as Mayoral Awardees, I believe we can not thank them enough. They have not only invested their resources to procure their own equipments but they have also risked their lives and limbs on the many occasions that these were called for. It might have gone unnoticed. But the torch of service had been passed from the first generation to the next.

When Jun Lozada mentioned that he was just an ordinary “probinsiyanong intsik” who wanted to honor the memory of his father, by doing a good turn for our society, I guess he was speaking for most of us. In our way, in our own places, there is that “spirit of a fire brigade volunteer” — wanting to be of service to others and looking for an avenue to honor the memory of those who brought us to where we are now. As I have often told my Chinese friends, I guess we are fortunate not only to have learned from our parents how to manage our own businesses but also learned the importance of taking part in the “people’s business” as well. We have many Jun Lozadas (virtues, warts and all) in many parts of the country. I believe they do love this country as much as others do. They have their own falings as well as saving graces. But like any other Filipino, they will rise up to the occasion when they need to be counted upon.

Jun Lozada has made us proud! 

Last Thursday, January 31, 2008, I was requested by the League of Cities of the Philippines (LCP), together with Mayor Madel Gazmen-Alfelor, to attend a forum that tackled the bill of Cong. Anne Hofer which proposed the conversion of capital towns of provinces, with no cities, to cities. In attendance for the House were Cong. Hofer, Cong. “Way Kurat” Zamora and Cong. Ong. The LCP’s position is anchored on the basic issue of equity. In 1988, with only 60 cities and 21% of the population, cities had a 23% share of the IRA. Now, with 120 cities and 37% of the population, cities’ IRA share remain at 23%. As a result of these indiscriminate conversions, the average IRA per capita in cities is now less than that of the municipalities. Congress has addressed the issue on a piecemeal basis. They passed a law prescribing more stringent requirements for conversion. Cong. Hofer’s Bill is proposing another exemption.The mandatory review of the Local Government Code (LGC) which should have been done in 1996 — is long overdue. A comprehensive study should have been conducted that would have prevented these unnecessary controversies. Cities, by the way, contribute the largest to our national income taxes which form the IRA. Cities, in fact, are subsidizing IRA shares of provinces and municipalities. While, the matter of the IRA sharing was the heart of the discussion, what struck me most was when one of the three congressmen said, that the passage of the bill in the House is almost a done deal, following the “I will scratch your back, you scratch mine” tradition in Congress. The new conversion bill might be the fourth amendment to the provisions of the LGC on the creation of cities. But it does not matter whether it’s well thought of or not. . . “I will scratch your back and you scratch mine”.

Ironically, the fate of Speaker Joe de Venecia in his bid to retain the Speakership, likewise, will be decided by the same tradition. Despite claims to the contrary, it will not be decided on a matter of principle. At the end of the day, whether it is Speaker Joe de Venecia again or Cong. Prospero Nograles, the votes will merely reflect the personal interests of the members of the House. Except for the Liberal Party, no one even ventured to at least justify their leanings by alluding to the pursuit of a higher purpose (in the best interest of the Filipino people!) in this political play. The way things are, the new “rainbow coalition” will be composed of members who were part of the failed attempt to dislodge Speaker de Venecia last year, members who hate the guts of Joey de Venecia, members who are presently at the losing end of the perks and members who will just simply follow where the direction of the wind blows. No wonder people are not hopeful! No wonder people are indifferent! Sadly, if Speaker de Venecia is replaced, it will be for the wrong reasons . . . It just so happened that the majority of the members of the House have decided that “scratching a new back will eventually remove the lingering itchiness on theirs”.

That is the House of Representatives for you!

Two Saturdays ago, I had to read to my father and explain to him a petition that we had to sign to appeal the ruling of Malacanan on the reconstitution of our “citizenship case”. He is turning 85 years old this July and he now has difficulty hearing. (My father, who was stricken with retinitis pigmentosa, has been blind since I was four years old, 46 years ago. How he has raised us and be what we are now, despite his disability is another story altogether.) The case was filed sometime in 1992 when I parted ways with the Villafuertes and was dismissed by the Bureau of Immigration (BID)sometime in 1995. It was revived when I decided to run again in 2001, with the BID ordering its reconstitution because according to the complainant the records of the case were lost. To make the long story short, we appealed the new BID ruling and the Department of Justice (DOJ) reversed it. Malacanan reversed the DOJ ruling just recently when it was brought to them on appeal. Hence, our petition to the Court of Appeals. While I have accepted this as part of the consequences for being on the other side of the political fence, it pains me to see my father go through all these harrassments. My citizenship case has gone through four Presidents. Sadly, decisions on the matter depended on how close were our political opponents to the powers that be.

Almost at the same time, I received another complaint filed with the Comelec to remove me as City Mayor because of my citizenship. The timing is suspect. Commissioners Borra and Tuason, signatories of the Comelec en banc resolution affirming my Filipino citizenship and qualification to be  elected, are retiring next month. Commissioners Ferrer and Brawner, who formed part of the division which disqualified me last year, will still be around. (We moved that Commissioners Ferrer and Brawner inhibit themselves from my case. Commissioner Brawner did. Commissioner Ferrer did not. We obtained and presented a PAGC certification that Commissioner Ferrer, prior to his appointment to the Comelec, was lawyering for the Villafuertes.) The way things are now, its anything goes. I can not imagine how one Comelec division can reverse a Comelec en banc decision. But in my case, it happened. Although, later on, they decided to throw out the case because of a technicality. And maybe because of the public outcry generated by the unjust ruling. The fate of my citizenship case lies again on who will be appointed as replacements of the retiring Commissioners.

There seems to be a hidden hand in all of these. A case was filed with the Comelec six months after I already have taken office and a month before some Commissioners are retiring. The haste by which the DOJ ruling was reversed by Malacanang to pave the way for another deportation case makes me wonder all the more. The cards seem to be falling into place for another kill. While I am quite concerned as to how all of these will turn out, I believe my case pales in importance if we look at the bigger picture. The local allies of the administration, while they may have successfully harassed their opponents, have contributed to the erosion of the people’s trust and confidence on the national leadership and our institutions. I am sure mine is not an isolated case.

The recent surveys, whether, it is Pulse Asia or SWS, shows that the credibility of the government is close to its lowest ebb. People seem to have lost their trust on government institutions. Its stewards have failed us. Partisanship has been the call in most cases. The bureaucracy has been overly politicized. Retiring CSC Chairman Karina David, in fact, complained that that it has worsened during her watch. The light at the end of the tunnel might be “two and one half light years away still”. Let us just hope they do not amend the charter!