Will he eventually do it? - DEMAND AND SUPPLY by Boo Chanco

Every corporate planner is asking the same question these days. Will he eventually do it? This is the most crucial question that must be answered before corporate plans for next year can be finalized. But it can’t be answered with any degree of certainty. This is why all plans are now at best, suntok sa dilim.

"He," of course, is Erap and "it," is of course, resign. Despite Erap’s strong protestations that he will fight this out to the end, there are those who are thinking, hoping perhaps, that he will do it in the end. Erap’s no fool, they say, he has to take the current macho stand and get himself acquitted. After he is cleared, everything is possible again.

The concern of corporate planners is understandable. The third quarter figures have come in and for many, they saw a glimpse of things to come. It is no longer possible for Erap to govern even if he gets an acquittal. His reputation would have been so soiled and the country so polarized, it is not possible for him to get anything done with confidence gone. The only hope for an economic recovery to start is for the country to get a new leader.

I usually tell them they are indulging in sheer wishful thinking if they think an Erap resignation is within the realm of possibilities. Even if Erap himself sees the light and decides he has had it, his handlers will not let him go. They are not about to lose the gold mine that is Erap, which they have only exploited for three years.

I heard a number of stories in the grapevine that seems to confirm my gut feel on the matter. I don’t know how true this story is but I have heard it from a number of people in various versions but essentially the same thrust.

I understand that the President, despite his outward macho image, has been emotionally devastated by the impeachment case and ouster moves against him. He was said to have been so emotionally down and out on the weekend when Mar Roxas, Franklin Drilon and Manny Villar deserted him that he was almost ready to resign. Those around him however, prevailed upon him to do no such thing.

Danding Cojuangco was supposed to have gone to Erap to condole him about his troubles. The "boss" reportedly reassured Erap that he and his group would back him whatever he decides to do. Danding reportedly told Erap that while it is only Erap who could make that decision to go, it is possible that the time may soon come based on his own experience. The "boss" also said he could help work out exit arrangements should he make the decision to go.

But when Ambassador Ernie Maceda heard about the Danding visit and comment, he reportedly told Erap that the reason Danding sounds less than sure about hanging on is because he had gotten what he wanted from him. Maceda also reportedly supported the advice of Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile for Erap to stay on and fight this out. If he resigns, he won’t have the powers and the influence of the Presidency to fight a flood of cases that will surely be brought up against him.

So, what is Erap to do? Stay on, of course. But we don’t know how the impeachment trial will shape up. If there are new embarrassing revelations, specially as these may relate to his families, the emotional pressure will increase again. I guess this is why the Erap lawyers are working to quash the case or if that’s rejected, to keep Erap from being cross examined by the prosecutors.

Erap is volatile enough to do himself in. Lawyers who know him tell me he is a lawyer’s nightmare. That’s probably how he was designed by an Infinite Power that wants to protect the Filipino people after He has used him to drive some sense into our heads. That can probably be called, balance of nature.

And finally, as a text message I received puts it, the question we all keep asking ourselves nowadays. Why is it so hard for Erap to resign? Because that would be the intelligent thing to do.

No, I think that is most unfair. Erap normally has the right instincts. It is the intelligent guys around him who seem to be preventing him from doing the intelligent thing to do.

Mansions

Actually, the prosecution panel should now start interviewing prominent people who have first hand knowledge on Erap’s "housing program." Aside from Erap crony Cel Yulo who supposedly bought that New Manila spread known as "Boracay," it would be interesting if they talked to the seller of the property. I understand from the grapevine that the sale of the former Madrigal property was negotiated with the President by no less than Chito Madrigal Collantes.

Another prominent property seller I heard is the wife of former Sen. Vicente Paterno who negotiated the sale of their home in San Juan. Mrs. Paterno is the sister of Finance Secretary Titoy Pardo. She and Chito negotiated with the "principal" buyer, I am told. They should be able to identify the real buyer who negotiated with them.

I also understand that suppliers of building materials from roofing tiles to plumbing fixtures also negotiated with the principal. If the prosecutors talked to these suppliers and got their testimony under oath, they will be able to go beyond the names in the ownership papers on file.

It isn’t impossible to get the truth about the mansions. But the NBI is unable to move on in a more professional fashion because of the political pressure. They are under the Justice Department whose head is a member of the President’s Cabinet. The Ombudsman, because of its constitutional protection, should have been a better agency to help the prosecutors. But we all know how useless that office had been of late.

Disgrasya

A reader, Antonio Q. Castro, sent me this one which takes off from a television commercial of PLDT for its long distance service.

MA: Billy, may bagong presidente na ba kayo, dyan sa Amerika?

BILLY: Wala pa Ma, e kayo dyan sa Pilipinas?

BA: Si Erap pa rin.

BILLY: Naku, DISGRASYA!

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@bayantel.com.ph)