Finding Agent 007 at Martinis

We read and welcomed Finance Secretary Gary Teves’ reply to this column published this week in our Letters to the Editor section regarding our piece on “Showcasing shortfalls”. We wish to assure the good secretary that this column has always been supportive of his efforts to improve the country’s revenue picture and has always come to his defense when unfairly under assault by his nemeses.

This was why we called his attention to the growing discomfort to the apparent effort to pre-condition people’s minds that the collection agencies are not likely to meet their targets for the current year. We are sure the good secretary will never want to embarrass the President and the country before the international financial community. But he must admit the chemistry of personalities at play do send that kind of signal and we hope he addresses the issue soonest.

With all due respect, this column had never questioned the capability of the Secretary’s informal advisers. Admittedly, anti-GMA stalwart and former finance undersecretary Milwida Guevarra is an expert in her field. We also do not question her anti-GMA political convictions. But it must be admitted that when Guevarra goes on a crystal ball gazing exercise on ANC, foretelling the doom of the revenue collection effort, it can only be viewed as another potshot at the Palace incumbent. And since she is also perceived as an important influence on the good secretary, Teves can only be placed in an awkward situation.

This column has invested quite an amount of space in defense of Teves – we cannot allow the tirades of a close associate wash that investment down the drain. So whether or not the good secretary looks at the unsolicited advice kindly, we will proffer the counsel nevertheless.

The same is true as far as his close association with Hyatt 10 pillar and former BIR commissioner Guillermo Parayno is concerned. This is a fact that even his staff does not deny. This column, of course, does not question the integrity and capability of Parayno and the good secretary cannot be faulted for seeking his advice.

But honesty dictates that the consequences of such an association be faced.

And Parayno is definitely not a fan of Teves’ boss.

So when Customs Commissioner Napoleon Morales was perceived as being pilloried for a single month’s collection “shortfall”, wagging tongues cannot but entertain suspicions.

Compounding the issue are talks emanating from a government financial institution that Teves is shopping around for a new customs commissioner to replace Morales. We have been quick to dismiss this as pure speculation, and we hope the good secretary would check and tell his subalterns in this GFI to stop the needless scuttlebutt. At the end of the day, it is Teves whom they are putting in an embarrassing situation – something that the hardworking Teves does not deserve.

We are also wondering who could have fed the good secretary the line that press conferences to showcase shortfalls and projections was a “long-standing practice”? We checked with our finance department connections who told us that none of the former Finance Secretaries within recent memory did this at all. Not Purisima. Not Amatong. Not Pardo. Not de Ocampo. The practice of monthly shortfall showcasing, they say, is recent.

We also recall that Secretary Teves himself called for a halt to the last year’s monthly shortfall showcasing. We lauded the move, noting that the exercise was futile and merely opened him up to the black propaganda efforts of his nemeses. This is why our fellow finance sector observers were surprised when a resumption of this practice became apparent at the start of the year.

We wish to assure Secretary Teves that this column has always been and will always be supportive of his revenue collection aspirations. And if this column, echoing the sentiments of our coffee shop colleagues, is occasionally jittery over issues confronting him, such is merely an expression of our concern.

We are on your side, Mr. Secretary. We hope the same is true with those who should be shielding you from embarrassment.

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