Lacson vows to jail 100 grafters every 10 days

Independent presidential candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson vowed yesterday to jail 100 corrupt government officials and employees every 10 days if he wins in May.

At a press conference during a short break from his sortie in Lipa City in Batangas, Lacson said that one of his priorities in his first 100 days in office is to launch a crackdown on corrupt government officials and employees.

"If we will not act now, in the next 10 years, the Philippines may suffer the so-called Argentina scenario," Lacson said, referring to the South American country whose economy worsened when creditors fled.

Lacson, whose campaign sign is a clenched fist meant for better governance, said the next administration should use its power to protect the people against rampant graft and corruption in government.

He was welcomed by more than 400 barangay chairmen in Batangas.

"I hail from Cavite which is the nearest neighbor of Batangas. The Caviteños and Batangueños are the same in terms of principles," he said, noting that neither backs out of a fight.

The former Philippine National Police (PNP) chief also paid tribute to a favorite son of the province, Renato de Villa, saying the former defense secretary was his mentor and idol.

"I looked up to him (De Villa) as my former PC (Philippine Constabulary) chief. No one can contest his integrity in his more than 30 years career as a military (man) and he is one of my inspirations," Lacson told some 300 cheering high school students of the Batangas Eastern Academy.

"We called our group as the Lonely Crusade because of our campaign against graft and corruption in the PC then," he said.

Lacson said that although De Villa, who hails from Rosario town, is with the camp of presidential aspirant and former senator Raul Roco, De Villa’s sister Libertad Salud and her husband Joax support Lacson’s candidacy. The Saluds own Batangas Eastern Academy.

Lacson also said yesterday that he makes it a point to be well groomed before he takes to the hustings to woo the votes of women, gays and the rest of the Philippine constituency.

"I see to it that na neatly dressed ako at medyo naliligo ako ng pabango bago ako sumabak sa kampanya," he said in response to a question raised by a broadcast journalist.

Lacson said that to him, "appearance is very important," and that to many voters, that’s all that matters.

"Kung haharap ka sa mga tao at nanliligaw ka ng boto, tapos napakabaho mo, mukhang mahirap ’yun," he said.

Asked what his cologne is, he said it’s the expensive Bulgari. "Magastos nga eh," he added, as if complaining.

The opposition senator may be correct about the importance of appearance.

Journalists who have been hounding him in his campaign sorties have heard not a few of the people he has encountered notice the orderliness in his attire, usually checkered red polo shirt with shades of yellow and casual denim pants. His gelled hair seldom gets disheveled.

"Ang pogi ni Ping, ang ganda ng damit," is the comment the female journalists often hear.

In Roxas, Isabela three weeks ago, a gay admirer grabbed him and kissed him. "Ang bango niya!" shouted the excited supporter as he walked away.

Several gay supporters made sure that Lacson noticed them in the huge crowd that welcomed him at the Roxas town hall. They carried placards that told the former PNP chief their message: "We love you Ping, we are solid for you."

Underneath their message is the name of their organization: Roxas Gay Federation.

But more important than appearance, Lacson said, is of course his platform of government, which businessmen seem to like. On Monday, he appeared before a business group to explain it. It was his third appearance in a business forum since the Philippine Business Conference in November at the Manila Hotel.

Big names in business who attended Monday’s forum included Jose Pardo, trade secretary of ousted President Joseph Estrada, who said their proposed agenda for the first 100 days of the president to be elected in May and Lacson’s platform of government jibe.

Pardo said their common assessment is that there are two most urgent concerns that the newly elected president should attend to: the fiscal problem (soaring budget deficit and lack of revenues) and peace and order.

These two concerns indeed figured prominently in Lacson’s platform of government, although not in that order.

"Peace and order is still our top priority. With peace in the land, economic gains will follow," the former PNP chief said. — With Jess Diaz

Roco To Implement ‘No-Drawer’ Policy In Gov’t Offices

By Sheila Crisostomo

To curb corruption in the Bureau of Customs (BOC), presidential contender Raul Roco will implement a "no drawer" policy at one of the most graft-riddled government agencies if he wins in May.

In a dialogue with business leaders Tuesday night, Roco said office tables at Customs should have no drawers to discourage personnel from accepting grease money from importers wanting to speed up the processing of papers.

Roco said the presence of desk drawers makes it easy for erring Customs personnel to conceal bribes, encouraging them to commit corruption.

"If I have it my way, I will implement a ‘no-drawer’ policy at the Customs," Roco told businessmen in the informal dialogue billed "The Presidential Business Agenda: First 100 Days" at the Dusit Hotel.

"What happens now is that after (bribe) money is received, they can immediately put it inside the drawer. It can hardly be noticed so the practice gets repeated," the Alyansa ng Pag-asa standard-bearer said.

And in order to assure the government of income from Customs, Roco disclosed he is mulling to privatize the agency when he becomes the next president.

"Now it’s not privatized but the government is not earning from the Customs because of corruption," Roco said. "We just have to ensure that the privatization procedure or the bidding will be transparent and not tainted with irregularity."

Roco made the propositions as businessmen complained of the slow processing of papers at Customs.

In the past years, the BOC, Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), Department of Public Works and Highways and Department of Education have been known as the country’s most corrupt government agencies.

The long processing of clearance has been a perennial problem at the BOC, opening up opportunities for erring Customs officers to accept bribe money.

The process typically involves over 90 steps with separate documents in multiple copies that should pass through several desks before a cargo is released.

This makes a Customs collection officer prone to accepting bribe money from traders.

The BOC has been implementing "electronic governance" for more effective delivery of services but there is still a long way to go before the agency is totally purged of corrupt practices.

Donald Dee, president of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP), disclosed it usually costs a trader some P8,000 in "under-the-table" fees to speed up the release of a container van from Customs.

This is slightly lower than the legal amount a trader pays a Customs personnel to release the van, he noted.

Through privatization, Roco said the government will be assured of fixed income from Customs plus a regular increase in revenue, regardless of whether the winning bidder is earning.

Roco said the people should not fear a possible increase in Customs fees under a privatization scheme.

"You can rely on business to be efficient. They (winning bidder) will have to price themselves right or they cannot outdo the smugglers," he said.

Meanwhile, Roco reminded businessmen of the "weakness" that prevails in the country because of the wide gap between the rich and the masses.

In the dialogue, he pointed out to businessmen the "nodding acquaintance" the Filipino elite and the poor have of each other.

Roco said he noticed the list of proposals from businessmen associated with the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) was not "participatory" in nature, because it should also involve the poor, who comprise a majority of the population.

"From a corporate organized group, it looks doable but there is something I’d like to (emphasize), that is corporate governance. It depends on participation. I looked for the word participatory and I did not see it," Roco said, noting that one "cannot make a country of 84 million grow unless 84 million are working together."

Former trade secretary Jose Pardo, who was at the forum, noted the business community’s desire to "stand up and be counted" amid difficult times.

This, Pardo said, can be done by providing infrastructures for education, medicines on the part of pharmaceutical companies and increased access to credit for small and medium-sized entrepreneurs (SMEs).

Roco said he "accepted everything" proposed by the businessmen but said: "The participatory nature of democracy is now lost to the disadvantage of the poor."

Roco said many Filipinos are like the ilustrados of the past, meaning they are "manhid" (insensitive) and have not taken care of the people.

Business leaders gave Roco an 11-point "prescription" that they said may help cure the nation’s ailing economy.

Pardo vowed the business community is getting out of its "comfort zone" to help whoever wins in the presidential race.

"Together, we would be able to hurdle the difficulties that confront us. We have to get our acts together," said Pardo, who is chairman of the council of PCCI advisers.

Pardo noted that for the country to improve, "special efforts" must also be given to the country’s swelling budget deficit, fragile law and order situation and rising unemployment, among other pertinent issues.

Business leaders then presented to Roco a draft of the "Presidential Business Agenda," which they hope he will set in motion during his first 100 days should he become the next president.

The "prescription" was prepared by business groups led by the PCCI, ECOP with the Federation of Philippine Industries, Management Association of the Philippines, Philippine Exporters’ Confederation, Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and the Chinese-Filipino Business Club.

Roco was the fourth presidential candidate to receive the agenda after President Arroyo, Sen. Panfilo Lacson and political novice Fernando Poe Jr.

The agenda focuses on the crippling budget deficit, which is the business leaders’ biggest concern. It also tackles the country’s ballooning foreign debt, deteriorating competitiveness and crisis in investors’ confidence.

They also pointed out their concerns over widespread poverty and public cynicism, job creation, establishing law and order and the private sector’s commitment and self-initiative.

Pardo clarified the agenda is not meant to substitute the government’s medium-term development plan, but only contains the contributions and plans of action that the business community will undertake to help the country recover.

"This is not a medium or a long term plan but this is merely a prescription for what should be done for the first 100 days of the new presidency," Pardo said.