Under Noy, RP the most corrupt in Asia
SHOOTING STRAIGHT By Bobit Avila (The Freeman) | Updated August 20, 2015 - 12:00am
Last year, on May 26, 2014, the big news headlines splashed in our major newspapers and on nationwide television was the report made public by Sen. Teofisto Guingona III where he exposed the names of 20 senators and 100 congressmen, including the names of their alleged agents in the pork barrel transactions that were written in the affidavit of Janet Lim Napoles. Then Sen. Guingona said, “In the spirit of transparency and the search of truth, and in line with my commitment to uphold the public interest, we are going to release to the media and the public and to my fellow senators, the copies of these two affidavits, let the documents speak for itself! ”
As we all know now, the Supreme Court granted the petition for bail sought by former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile who is being held for plunder charges that was featured in the affidavit of Janet Lim Napoles, which Sen. Guingona exposed to the public more than a year ago. The SC imposed a P1 million bail bond for JPE. I reckon that the two other senators incarcerated with JPE, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and Sen. Bong Revilla, the SC will soon give the same bail conditions to these two senators.
I don’t know why the Department of Justice (DoJ) or should we call them the Department of Injustice is foot-dragging on these cases? Lest we forget, there are 20 senators and 100 congressmen implicated by Janet Lim Napoles and God knows why the wheels of justice have stopped turning!
Last Aug. 11th, the New York Times featured a highly embarrassing article that put the Philippines on top of Asia’s most corrupt economies. This is a testimony of the total failure of Pres. Benigno Aquino III’s so-called “Daang Matuwid.” Since the New York Times is not part and parcel of the Yellow propaganda machinery of the Aquinos, the whole world now knows how corrupt we Filipinos have become under the Aquino Regime.
While we submit that corruption was already endemic during the past administrations, however the Philippines was not on top of this embarrassing list. It was Indonesia that was numero uno. But now under the leadership of PNoy, we’re numero uno as the most corrupt economy in Asia. Shame on us!
Allow me to get an excerpt from that New York Times article which said, “The survey said “The Philippines has the distinction of being perceived in the worst light this year.” “People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity of leading officials when they promise to fight corruption.” In all, the survey was conducted in over a two-month period at the beginning of 2015 and questioned 1,476 expat executives in the 13 countries and territories throughout Asia. The Philippines scored 9.40 out of 10 on corruption, giving it the number one spot.
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In 2006, the same survey gave the most corrupt nation to Indonesia – in that same year, the Philippines scored a 7.80 – Indonesia was still high in corruption in 2015 with an overall score of 8.03. The survey however said that the Philippines, Thailand, and Indonesia were systematic in corruption saying in fact they were all just about as bad as one another.” Let me repeat this for emphasis, “People are just growing tired of the inaction and insincerity of leading officials when they promise to fight corruption.” This is the insincerity of Pres. Aquino who keeps rambling about Daang Matuwid in all his speeches but as the New York Times article said is totally insincere about his efforts.
Hey! This is not an article by Aquino’s critics here at home… it was written by an outside source looking into corruption in this country. To those who say that Pres. Aquino is not corrupt… allow me to give them this quotation from a Mexican Proverb, “Tell me who your friends are and I’ll tell you who you are!” Again I reiterate that five years into the Aquino presidency, the story of his Porsche is still a state secret today.
There’s more! Yesterday, the Manila Standard whose editor Jojo Robles is a good friend of mine came up with the expose’ on Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV saying that the latter spent P7.5 million on 55 consultants alone. Worse, he included his own brother Juan Antonio Trillanes amongst his highest paid consultants, paying him a total of P427,000 from July to December 2014.
Who is this Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV? Wasn’t he the noisy accuser of Vice President Jejomar Binay during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on charges of corruption? Sen. Trillanes acts as if he were “holier than thou” when he lambasted VP Binay in the Senate floor. Come now, we’re not saying that these accusations against Binay is fictitious, it is up to the courts to prove his allegations. But having your own brother to be one of the highly-paid consultants for the Senate smacks nepotism of the highest order! Why can’t Sen. Trillanes ask his friends to find a job for his brother?
The New York Times article has indicted the Aquino presidency and tagged it as the most corrupt economy in Asia. Well, all I can say is this: this is one accusation against PNoy that he cannot pass on the blame to his predecessor. Pres. PNoy is to blame for making us the most corrupt in Asia!
Reference: http://www.philstar.com/freeman-opinion/2015/08/20/1490166/under-noy-rp-most-corrupt-asia

The anatomy of corruption, Part 1
Before the 2010 presidential election, corruption was not an important issue to the masses
“Man is not, by nature, deserving of all that he wants. When we think that we are automatically entitled to something, that is when we start walking all over others to get it.”
– Criss Jami, Diotima
I have often wondered at what point an idealistic public servant begins to sink in the quicksand of self-entitlement. At what time in realpolitik does he join the ranks of the privileged elite who believe they deserve the lion’s share – much, much more than anyone else? When does he start to consider himself “untouchable,” above the rule of law? When does he acquire the belief that politics can be a lucrative family business?
How much power mutes a conscience, blurs a dream then warps the soul?
We’ve all seen, heard and read the serious allegations against VP Jejomar Binay. We stayed glued to the TV set waiting to listen to his explanation of how a parking building warranted a P2.7-billion price tag.
It was a waste of time. The definitive denial, the plausible version never came. His response was rather feeble, evasive legalese that did not sit well with majority of the Filipinos.
The plunging ratings indicate that his constituents were not convinced that there are no irregularities in Makati.
To recap what was said in his 20-minute address and the many statements thereafter: * He was a poor orphan and a working student. He became a human rights lawyer who fought the Marcos dictatorship. * As Makati mayor, he provided free schooling, books and uniforms for the youth while the seniors enjoyed free movies, birthday cakes and cash allowance. And by the way, the cakes were not overpriced. * The direct testimonies are mere hearsay, not evidence that will stand up in court. * If the vice mayor accepted kickbacks, it doesn’t mean the mayor did too. * The estimate of the National Statistics Office that was used as the basis of the reported overpricing of the parking building is unreliable. * COA has not seen any anomaly in the last ten years that they have been auditing Makati. * Finally, he lamented how the senators disrespected his son, Junjun. * He vowed not to attend the “farcical” investigations by the Senate circus.
End of story, right? In your dreams, shot back the people.
The Department of Justice has begun a probe of the Binay dynasty. The Ombudsman is scrutinizing the testimonies of the witnesses as possible basis for filing plunder charges.
Most of all, Binay’s naked presidential ambition took a big hit.
The VP’s party UNA, has threatened to file disbarment charges against DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima for daring to investigate the Vice-President. So the Binay family are willing to be subjected to a lifestyle check – but are offended by an NBI probe?
The sad truth is Binay was not the first public official, nor will he be the last to be unmasked. If indicted, he could share the shady corner with the former president (whom he is now defending) and his three allied senators who are supposedly in jail, or at least detained in hospitals.
'The higher they climb, the harder they fall'
But if we knew how corruption infects even those who started out with Utopian dreams, maybe our leaders will be less vulnerable to this virus. Just what is ground zero for this disease?
Transparency International defines corruption as "the abuse of entrusted power for private gain."
This definition embodies three elements. One, corruption occurs in both the public and private sectors (media and civil society are not immune). Two, it involves abusing power held in a state institution or a private organization. Three, the bribe-taker as well as the bribe-giver benefit, whether in money or an undue advantage.
Corruption breeds in fertile environments where accountable governance structures and processes are weak. The Anti Corruption Resource Center describes the conditions where it thrives: * When there are imperatives and incentives that encourage corrupt transactions such as low salaries for officials who may have large and/or several families. Social norms tend to give political favor to friends, relatives and partymates. * Availability of multiple opportunities for personal enrichment increases the temptation. Mining and oil-rich environments are more prone to exploitation. Extensive discretion over allocation of funds and resources also encourage crooked practices. * Access to and control over the means of corruption. Control of administrative processes such as bidding, access to offshore accounts and availability of money laundersing techniques increase the probability of corruption. * Limited risks of exposure and punishment. Corruption thrives where there are inadequate and ineffective controls. Lack of policing, investigation and prosecution; weak internal controls in financial management; auditing and personnel systems; controlled or muzzled media and civil society – corrupt politians have nothing to fear.
Before the 2010 presidential election, corruption was not an important issue to the masses. They felt that all politicians were the same. They were resigned to the premise that everyone gets corrupted in office. All will steal, some more greedily than others.
It was only when the direct correlation to the perennial problem of poverty was established that corruption became a foremost issue for the electorate. Citizens pay for services that should be free; budgets are pillaged by corrupt politicians; spending is focused on projects that will yield the biggest kickbacks; foreign investment and big business are reluctant to invest.
Most of all, public trust is diminished and the citizenry disengages with a tainted government, such as the previous administration.
It’s so true. Kung walang corrupt, walang mahirap. –
The anatomy of corruption, Part 2
'Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs,' writes St Paul to Timothy. Amen to that. | | |
Who really owns the 350-hectare prime property, reportedly worth P1.2 billion in Rosario, Batangas? “It’s mine,” said TOYM awardee for entrepreneurship Antonio Tiu. But he says he owns only 150 hectares worth almost P450 million supposedly bought from a certain Laureano Gregorio. The Binays only own a modest 9 hectares bought at P10 per square meter.
Is that why the VP bewailed that the “rich” are after him because of his poor origins? Deja vu. When Erap was ousted, he used the same “class war” line. It didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now. Is the same spin doctor running out of sound bites?
As the intense grilling wore on, Tiu was forced to admit that he didn’t have the title yet. His P11-million downpayment got him the usufruct, or the right to enjoy the use and advantages of the property. He smugly added that the title would be his after two years upon completion of the deal.
The convoluted web of alleged dummy companies was woven by lawyers of Subido Pagente Certeza Mendoza and Binay, with the help of friends, campaign contributors and legitimate (?) businessmen from the private sector. Moreover, the infamous Hilmarc’s Construction Corporation is once again in the middle of the disputed transactions.
Representative Abigail Binay wins a Rockwell Grove condo and it turns out that the sponsor of the raffle is the same contractor who benefits from overpriced Makati contracts: Hilmarc’s Construction Corporation
Hilmarc’s chairman, Engineer Efren Canlas allegedly built the Rosario mansion with “an English formal garden, a pool fit for a resort, a 40-car garage and staff house, a farm of imported orchids, an air-conditioned piggery, a cock farm, a man-made lagoon, and other amenities.” Whistleblower Mercado further claimed that the salaries of the staff and the maintenance costs of the mega-farm are shouldered by the Makati City government.
Mercado claimed that Hilmarc’s was paid back through the overpricing of various Makati constructions. Apparently, Ospital ng Makati, Makati City Hall, the University of Makati, Makati Science High School and the controversial P2.7-billion parking building, were all built by the “suki” contractor.
Furthermore, the generous sponsor of the raffle where Representative Abigail Binay won a Rockwell Grove condo was one and the same: Hilmarc’s. Winning through a raffle is certainly creative. What good luck!
By now it’s pretty obvious that corruption is a cartel that can ensnare not just government officials but their cohorts and accomplices from the private sector, business and even the academe! During GMA’s regime, she even had the “Mitsu-bishops”. Indeed “car-rot” is a dish served well in the corruption cartel.
The UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) recognizes the often ”slippery and complex nature of corruption.” Complicit unscrupulous lawyers invent and reinvent new and tested methods to circumvent the law by exploiting weaknesses and loopholes in the bureaucracy.
UNCAC describes the most common forms: * Bribery when a person with authority accepts or solicits a bribe to exercise a function in a particular way. * Kickback refers to a payment given in return for receiving a contract which is kicked-back to the one who awarded the contract. * Trading in influence or influence peddling where improper influence is exerted over the decision-making process for undue advantage. * Illicit enrichment or hidden wealth where officials cannot explain their wealth in relation to the income they lawfully earn.
In the ongoing investigations against the Binays, it seems like all possible forms of corruption on the UNCAC list, check out. If proven, the law firm as well as private sector businessmen are equally culpable as participants and collaborators of the well-oiled Corruption Inc.
Janet Napoles’ machinations of fake NGOs and ghost beneficiaries are crude, amateurish and easily dismantled compared to the multifarious layering, recapitalizations, transfer of ownership, usufruct, unregistered transfer of ownerships, etc.
VP Binay may have had a Freudian slip when he declared that all the testimonies were hearsay and would not stand up in court. He was probably betting that all bases are covered and no paper trail could be linked to him directly.

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The literati proselytize that the masa must be contained during elections because they are the ones who vote for actors and trapos or sell their votes. True, a massive voter education should be undertaken. But all things considered, this is penny ante compared to the grand corruption perpetuated by the “upper crust”.
The number of companies involved with the Rosario property and the Tiu enterprise is dizzying. Sunchamp Real Estate Development Corporation is only the beginning. The board is composed of lawyers, businessmen, and even a former AIM professor! Antonio Tiu is a multi-awarded entrepreneur with the gift of gab that can sell Jones Bridge many times over. It can’t get more elite than that.
Giving generous campaign contributions is the traditional way that businessmen curry favor from winning politicians. It’s called reciprocal business. It might also be another creative way to launder tainted wealth. Imagine the Tiu family donating P15 million in one day for Binay’s 2010 campaign. That can certainly buy a lot of favors.
Maybe it’s the “educated” that should be controlled during elections.
Almost 4 out of 5 or 79% of all Filipinos want VP Binay to face the Senate investigation and answer the charges of corruption. According to the SWS’ September 26-29 survey, only 10% disagreed, while 11% were undecided. So we wait to see if he will follow his contituents’ wishes, as the stomach turns.
Money is the root of all evil, right? Wrong. There is nothing evil about being wealthy so long as it was earned by the sweat of one’s brow. Some even argue that lack of money is the root of crime, terrorism and violence.
The original and accurate verse is from 1 Timothy 6:10. As written to him by St Paul: “Love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
Amen to that. – Rappler.com
http://www.rappler.com/thought-leaders/72798-anatomy-corruption