Mussomeli to GMA: Don’t sweep under the rug RP’s problems

In bidding farewell to the Philippines yesterday, outgoing — and outspoken — US Embassy Chargé d’ Affaires Joseph Mussomeli expressed confidence that President Arroyo would be able to hurdle the political and legal challenges besetting her administration and left her with a bit of parting advice.

Mussomeli advised Mrs. Arroyo not to sweep the nation’s problems and injustices "under the rug," adding that she will have to seek the right alliances and coalitions because she cannot solve the country’s troubles alone.

He also advised her to take a consensus of the country’s leaders and motivate the Filipino people to move forward. "She has a hard task ahead of her but not one that I think is insurmountable. On the one hand, she has to reconcile, reach out to various groups, and on the other she has to make sure that justice is done, that things are not swept under the rug, that people who have done things wrong are brought to justice.

"It is a daunting task, but the President is bright enough and tough enough to do it," Mussomeli predicted.

The President is facing an impeachment case, as well as persistent calls for her resignation on accusations that she allegedly rigged the 2004 election and benefited from jueteng payoffs along with her husband, eldest son and brother-in-law.

Mussomeli clarified that he is not saying the "worst is over" yet for the President: "What I did say was that one of the major problems of the crisis is over."

He also observed that "the key problem is the tendency in many different aspects of Filipino society to look for a quick fix, whether it be a military coup or imposition of martial law or people power.

"The fact that, after two months, everyone now is talking about sticking with the Constitution, working to find a solution, a resolution of this problem through constitutional legal means — I think it’s a major accomplishment," he added.

Headway

Mussomeli — who is often criticized by local leaders for his outspoken views on local politics — said the President appeared to be making headway in carrying out reforms, though much remains to be done, especially in cutting red tape and reducing corruption to attract more investments.

"With investments, the red tape is enormous to get anything done," he said.

He added the President mentioned huge investments coming into the Philippines, which indicates that the country is in good shape and has a promising economic future.

But he cautioned that much more effort would need to be exerted to stop corruption and attract more investments. "While we are saying the right things — certainly the Ombudsman and others are working towards fighting corruption — we are a long way from really vanquishing that enemy," he said, referring to corruption.

"Businesses are not going to come here if they have pay for bribes and deal with bureaucrats at every level that are expecting kickbacks — and the red tape is another problem," he said.

Areas of concern

According to Mussomeli, the American government is also very concerned about the country’s pending counter-terrorism legislation and the need to reform the country’s antique wiretapping laws, as well as the Philippines’ entire approach to terrorism.

The President’s telephone conversations with an election official were allegedly wiretapped, and the subsequent recordings were used as the basis by the opposition for calls that she resign as well as a looming impeachment case.

"The wiretapping laws of the Philippines are too rigid," he said. The wiretapping laws — ironically, according to Mussomeli — "make it easier for people to violate them because they’re so difficult to adhere to that people ignore them." He added the law limits what police and intelligence services can do to gather evidence and are "a real impediment to the war on terrorism."

In general, however, Mussomeli said his tenure in the Philippines has "been a very productive three years for the bilateral relationship."

"I think it’s been three years of real maturing for the relationship between the Philippines and the Americans," he said. " We’ve worked on a lot of problems, whether terrorism or corruption or economic reform. So you have to say it’s been a very good three years. On a personal level, even more so."