Unfair to Endriga

A few days ago, this column echoed the widespread talk in metro coffee shops that there is an ongoing smear campaign against Bureau of Internal Revenue chief Jose Mario Bunag. The dominant view is that the plotters of the smear campaign found an opening when the BIR’s collection figures for April 2006 was reported, twisting the fact that the performance of the agency was, by far, better than the year-ago level.

Our coffee shop pals were quick to point out that the smear campaign – definitely a bungled one – ended up victimizing not Buñag but former Customs deputy commissioner Narciso "Jun" Santiago, husband of the feisty Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago. The prevailing analysis is that the smear campaign failed to vilify Bunag but merely succeeded in fueling speculations that Jun Santiago was salivating for the top BIR post.

The conclusion, on the other hand, is that the smear campaign failed to dent Buñag’s reputation since such black propaganda affects only the obviously incompetent and those who desperately cling to their government post. Buñag is neither, as pointed out by our caffeine cronies. The man had already built a solid reputation as an outstanding private sector tax lawyer before he obliged the government’s invitation to provide the tax expert’s help to the former soldier-turned-BIR chief Guillermo Parayno of the Hyatt 10 fame.

The smear master appeared to have laid low for a while after failing to drive a wedge between fellow Ateneans Buñag and Finance Secretary Gary Teves. True to the Jesuit tradition of being "Men for Others", the two have closed ranks behind the government’s bid to generate as much revenue as they could to meet the expenditure requirements.

The latest coffee shop news, however, is that the plotters have resurfaced and are pushing for the appointment of another person to Bunag’s post. It seems the conclusion was Jun Santiago would be too controversial, so they are now powdering up the public image of another candidate, no less than Quezon City Treasurer Victor Endriga.

The current talk is that the plotters can no longer make an excuse out of the BIR performance since the "below target" ploy would no longer work. It seems it is now clear to the Palace and to the public that there is no sense replacing the only tax expert recently appointed to the top BIR post on the flimsy excuse that he was "below target" for a single month (while his predecessors were below target 10 months out of 12 during a year!).

The ploy now, our in-the-know coffee pals reported, is to picture Endriga as "more competent" than Buñag, hoping that there could be a "positive justification" for an out-of-season and definitely unpopular move to replace the current BIR boss.

The prevailing analysis is the new ploy to have Buñag replaced by Endriga would blow up in the face of the plotters once again. The prognosis is that the Palace would find it difficult to have someone with Endriga’s credentials replace Buñag. No, not that Endriga has inferior educational background. In fact, he holds post-graduate degrees in public administration and fiscal studies and is actually an electrical engineer.

But the dominant view, it seems, is that the BIR needs more than ever an honest-to-goodness taxation expert who is also a lawyer. And Buñag fits the bill perfectly. Why such need? Well, the opinion is that the BIR boss must be well-versed in the ins and outs of the legal aspects of taxation to make sure the loopholes and the gaps in the system are plugged.

In addition, the BIR inherited big legal battles from its previous leadership, and therefore, needs an experienced legal mind to see them through. The indication is that the celebrity litigants are not about to throw in the towel. A lawyer-commissioner would therefore be crucial in the protracted legal battle.

Observers point out that the purported notable performance of Endriga as Quezon City treasurer does not automatically qualify him as BIR Commissioner. They say the two jobs are not one and the same. The city treasurer is primarily a collector, while the BIR commissioner is a tax administrator. Also, the BIR is a quasi-judicial agency which would perform better with a legal mind at the helm.

Some of our coffee pals were quick to note that, other than Buñag, previous BIR commissioners were not known to be expert tax lawyers. The other side of the table, of course, simply responded with eyebrows raised.

Surprisingly, the current groundswell of sympathy is not for Buñag, but for Endriga. The prognosis is the latter will be the next unwitting victim of the plot of the smear masters.

Observers doubt that Endriga knows he is being used as a tool for some political maneuver engineered by the smear masters. The QC treasurer is advised to watch his back and read deep into the political motives of those sponsoring his reported nomination to the BIR post.

At the end of the day, this new tack is unfair to Endriga. While his name is being floated, he will be under severe public scrutiny which would tend to highlight not his achievements as a city revenue collector — which, in fairness, are sterling — but the infirmity of the proposition to name him BIR chief.

Coffee shop habitués who know Endriga attest that he is not one who would lust for the BIR post. His fellow Bosconians swear that Endriga’s aspiration is to simply become an undersecretary in the Department of Finance, a post once held by his revered father, Mamerto Endriga.

At this point, all that the smear masters seem to have accomplished is to picture Endriga as hungrily aspiring for the top BIR post. Worse, Endriga’s reported aspiration is being linked to the need for 2007 campaign funds on the part of those pushing for his appointment.

Truly unfair for a man who has marked an excellent track record as city treasurer.

So, once again, the conclusion of the coffee shop cabal is that the smear master has failed in his job again. It was advised earlier that he focus on repairing the dent he has done on Jun Santiago’s image. If he does not stop right now, he will have his hands full repairing a similar damage to Endriga’s reputation.

Leave Endriga alone. The man has a job to do for Quezon City. Let him do this job for which he is better qualified. And let him do it in peace.

Suspiciously quiet

In the news recently was the exposé of Sen. Aquilino Pimentel on a P10-million bonus PSALM officials granted themselves to "recognize and equitably compensate the extraordinary performance of PSALM officials" for the sale of the Masinloc plant.

The senator’s exposé reveals why PSALM is not interested in rescinding the sale and confiscating the $11-million performance bond of YNN for failure to pay the down payment on time. Because if the sale doesn’t push through, then what will the bonus be for?

The Commission on Audit has ruled the bonus "has no legal basis". The COA said the bonus was a violation of Sec. 3(b) of Administrative Order 103, issued by President Arroyo, which directs "all government-owned and controlled corporations, whether exempt from the salary standardization law or not, to suspend the grant of new or additional benefits to full-time officials and employees."

Pimentel described the "patently illegal use of public funds for the benefit of functionaries whose handling of the Masinloc deal does not warrant the granting of the monetary award." and has therefore called for a congressional inquiry.  

We hope the inquiry will also look into the Energy Regulatory Commission which is suspected by not just a few of favoring YNN by opening a window to enable it to enter into a sweetheart deal without any public bidding (as required by the rules) with Meralco.

Meralco too has been suspiciously quiet and has the public wondering. In spite of everything already said, they have yet to come out and categorically confirm or deny whether it is planning to give YNN a supply contract.

We know for a fact that Meralco president Jesus Francisco has always been open and accommodating, especially on issues and matters relating to Meralco. But why he has avoided calls and questions from media colleagues about the YNN matter is puzzling. 

The executives of Meralco are top caliber. And we are sure that they realize giving YNN a contract without bidding (as a result of ERC signing Resolution 21 which suspended the bidding requirement) will make them even more suspect.

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