Three things
Three things
Updated 11:36pm (Mla time) Oct 17, 2004
By Conrado de Quiros
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the October 18, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
GOD or Fate seems to be really playing tricks on this country. The Oakwood mutineers must be kicking themselves in the ass. Barely had the spit dried on their apology to their commander in chief than their accusations were bolstered by the scandals rocking the Armed Forces of the Philippines today. Comes now proof that corruption there is far deeper and more prevalent than even they had led us to suppose.
The proof came initially-and almost providentially-from an unexpected source. Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia's son was held by US immigration authorities after failing to report he was carrying $100,000 into America. Garcia, the ex-AFP comptroller, would later try to explain it away as a loan from friends here and abroad, which only made matters worse. Some are luckier than others? That sounds like some are smarter than others.
Subsequent investigation showed that was only the tip of the iceberg. Between 2002 and 2004, Garcia's transactions amounted to an eye-popping P185,539,963. This does not include his assets in 40 banks and pieces of property in the United States, among them a house in Ohio and a Park Avenue condominium in New York. Garcia not being that high up in the AFP, the conclusion could only be that either he was an exceptionally clever operator to have been able to rip the AFP off that way or, as Sen. Aquilino Pimentel baldly says, he was acting on behalf of his superiors. There is little evidence to suggest he was an exceptionally clever operator.
Of course, I would like to add my voice to the chorus calling on the Senate and other investigating bodies to leave no stone unturned, as they like to put it. The moss-covered one Garcia represents is bound to yield big worms underneath. But I would also like to point out three things about these iniquitous doings that have so far eluded public notice, and outrage.
The first is the nature of the pillage. It is not only that it is huge-the pillage in some other Asian countries is bigger-it is that much of it is being transferred abroad. Garcia's wife and two sons are American citizens, and Garcia has been steadily stashing money in the United States. In two months alone this year, January and February, he remitted P49.7 million and made dollar transactions worth P36.96 million. Along with the $100,000 seized from Garcia's son at the San Francisco airport last December, these come up to a pretty penny.
The one reason I've always thought a "lifestyle check" on public officials was not just inutile but actually inimical to fighting corruption was that it gave added incentive to the corrupt to spirit their loot abroad. A "lifestyle check" does not make public officials, civilian or military, honest, it makes them careful. It does not fill public officials, civilian or military, with a burning desire to live simply, it fills them with a desperate sense of need not to get caught stealing. A "lifestyle check" merely prevents the corrupt from flaunting their ill-gotten wealth locally. It doesn't prevent them-or their patrons, in all probability Garcia isn't doing this for himself alone-from doing so abroad.
In these cash-strapped times, that is absolutely criminal. The crime isn't just corruption, it is treason. It should be treated as such. That is what makes our pillage far more harmful than that of other Asian countries. We bring the loot out. That isn't just money that is lost to the taxpayers, that is money that is lost to the nation.
The second is the time frame of the pillage, much of it happening during the last three years. Corruption in the military has always been rife, but it flourished mightily in the last three years, during President Macapagal-Arroyo's time. Much of Garcia's transactions occurred between the period 2002 and 2004. So did Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes's sudden increase in wealth. In but one year, from 2002 to 2003, Reyes' bank deposits rose 5,381 percent, from P75,000 to P4,111,111. His net worth also rose by almost a hundred percent during the same period, from P4.8 million to P8.3 million. He has the same explanation as Garcia: he has rich relations who decided to bequeath.
What were the last three years? They were the period when GMA waged her "war against terrorism," a "war" that put the reins of government in the hands of the generals, particularly those involved in national security. A "war" that turned any criticism against it-particularly the destruction of accountability-into an act of terrorism. I did keep saying at the time it wasn't fighting terrorism, it was fomenting it. Corruption naturally followed in its wake. You have a situation where you cannot question anything government does, particularly with respect to military operations, you guarantee pillage.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may not escape blame there. She it was who created that situation.
Which brings me to the last point. Why investigate the military alone? At the very least, as Rex Robles adduces, it's not just the generals who are being investigated by US authorities for deposits abroad; it's also three Cabinet officials. Which again is a crime of treason, apart from corruption. Malacanang's reaction to this has been to bristle at the thought and demand that Robles prove it, the same reaction it had to Bishop Oscar Cruz's charge that government was coddling gambling lords. A contrast with the way GMA herself went out of her way to find proof against Acsa Ramirez after she had falsely accused her of being part of the crime she had reported.
At the very most, you want to see who experienced a sudden improvement in fortunes in recent years after desperately knocking on doors trying to find work only a decade ago, look at one Mike Arroyo.
Updated 11:36pm (Mla time) Oct 17, 2004
By Conrado de Quiros
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A14 of the October 18, 2004 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
GOD or Fate seems to be really playing tricks on this country. The Oakwood mutineers must be kicking themselves in the ass. Barely had the spit dried on their apology to their commander in chief than their accusations were bolstered by the scandals rocking the Armed Forces of the Philippines today. Comes now proof that corruption there is far deeper and more prevalent than even they had led us to suppose.
The proof came initially-and almost providentially-from an unexpected source. Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia's son was held by US immigration authorities after failing to report he was carrying $100,000 into America. Garcia, the ex-AFP comptroller, would later try to explain it away as a loan from friends here and abroad, which only made matters worse. Some are luckier than others? That sounds like some are smarter than others.
Subsequent investigation showed that was only the tip of the iceberg. Between 2002 and 2004, Garcia's transactions amounted to an eye-popping P185,539,963. This does not include his assets in 40 banks and pieces of property in the United States, among them a house in Ohio and a Park Avenue condominium in New York. Garcia not being that high up in the AFP, the conclusion could only be that either he was an exceptionally clever operator to have been able to rip the AFP off that way or, as Sen. Aquilino Pimentel baldly says, he was acting on behalf of his superiors. There is little evidence to suggest he was an exceptionally clever operator.
Of course, I would like to add my voice to the chorus calling on the Senate and other investigating bodies to leave no stone unturned, as they like to put it. The moss-covered one Garcia represents is bound to yield big worms underneath. But I would also like to point out three things about these iniquitous doings that have so far eluded public notice, and outrage.
The first is the nature of the pillage. It is not only that it is huge-the pillage in some other Asian countries is bigger-it is that much of it is being transferred abroad. Garcia's wife and two sons are American citizens, and Garcia has been steadily stashing money in the United States. In two months alone this year, January and February, he remitted P49.7 million and made dollar transactions worth P36.96 million. Along with the $100,000 seized from Garcia's son at the San Francisco airport last December, these come up to a pretty penny.
The one reason I've always thought a "lifestyle check" on public officials was not just inutile but actually inimical to fighting corruption was that it gave added incentive to the corrupt to spirit their loot abroad. A "lifestyle check" does not make public officials, civilian or military, honest, it makes them careful. It does not fill public officials, civilian or military, with a burning desire to live simply, it fills them with a desperate sense of need not to get caught stealing. A "lifestyle check" merely prevents the corrupt from flaunting their ill-gotten wealth locally. It doesn't prevent them-or their patrons, in all probability Garcia isn't doing this for himself alone-from doing so abroad.
In these cash-strapped times, that is absolutely criminal. The crime isn't just corruption, it is treason. It should be treated as such. That is what makes our pillage far more harmful than that of other Asian countries. We bring the loot out. That isn't just money that is lost to the taxpayers, that is money that is lost to the nation.
The second is the time frame of the pillage, much of it happening during the last three years. Corruption in the military has always been rife, but it flourished mightily in the last three years, during President Macapagal-Arroyo's time. Much of Garcia's transactions occurred between the period 2002 and 2004. So did Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes's sudden increase in wealth. In but one year, from 2002 to 2003, Reyes' bank deposits rose 5,381 percent, from P75,000 to P4,111,111. His net worth also rose by almost a hundred percent during the same period, from P4.8 million to P8.3 million. He has the same explanation as Garcia: he has rich relations who decided to bequeath.
What were the last three years? They were the period when GMA waged her "war against terrorism," a "war" that put the reins of government in the hands of the generals, particularly those involved in national security. A "war" that turned any criticism against it-particularly the destruction of accountability-into an act of terrorism. I did keep saying at the time it wasn't fighting terrorism, it was fomenting it. Corruption naturally followed in its wake. You have a situation where you cannot question anything government does, particularly with respect to military operations, you guarantee pillage.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo may not escape blame there. She it was who created that situation.
Which brings me to the last point. Why investigate the military alone? At the very least, as Rex Robles adduces, it's not just the generals who are being investigated by US authorities for deposits abroad; it's also three Cabinet officials. Which again is a crime of treason, apart from corruption. Malacanang's reaction to this has been to bristle at the thought and demand that Robles prove it, the same reaction it had to Bishop Oscar Cruz's charge that government was coddling gambling lords. A contrast with the way GMA herself went out of her way to find proof against Acsa Ramirez after she had falsely accused her of being part of the crime she had reported.
At the very most, you want to see who experienced a sudden improvement in fortunes in recent years after desperately knocking on doors trying to find work only a decade ago, look at one Mike Arroyo.
posted by Dante at 1:20 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home