No stomach for gut fighting

I have known Press Secretary Roberto "Bobi" Tiglao for many years, ever since he was writing for the Far Eastern Economic Review. His passion for national crusades is very deep, far, far deeper than his yen to teach in a foreign university. Which is why I was truly surprised when he gave up his sensitive government posts as presidential spokesman and press secretary. That is not the Bobi Tiglao, a colleague at the EDSA Shangri-La Tuesday Club, that I have long known.

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Was Bobi a victim of the "snake pit" that Malacañang has always been described all through these years? He is a sensitive fellow, one who cannot stand the gut fighting so common in the political landscape. That he leaves Malacañang and our country at a crucial time in our history is hard to rationalize – and Bobi himself must, deep in his heart, be saddened that he will have, in the meantime, stay in the sidelines and watch the nation’s proceedings without playing an important role.

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We are wasting precious congressional time and money on the dubious crusade of one woman, a customs official, to stop the government from paying Societe Generale de Surveillance for an almost two-year service in making sure imports were properly declared and assessed the right duties. It was a job that made a lot of customs people and importers unhappy and instant enemies of SGS.

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Officials of the present and past governments have already said SGS must be paid the amount that was validated and cleared by a review team composed of government and SGS panels. They went through more than 2 million shipping records individually and in detail to arrive at what the government really owes SGS.

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This complete and detailed validation of all the records actually addressed specifically the allegations of double billings and errors from Emma Rosqueta, deputy customs commissioner. Somehow she has been able to make some senators and congressmen call for an inquiry. Today, there will be another inquiry at the Lower House.

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The inquiry at the Senate early this month was an eye opener. Rosqueta admitted that the formula she has been insisting on is not part of the contract with the SGS and was rejected by all the other members of the government panel and the SGS. In other words, it was one woman’s formula that she admitted to Biazon was without precedent and legal basis.

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How does her formula go? For double billings, she says any billing submitted by SGS late by even one day, is automatically deemed having been billed before. So double billing and the corresponding amount deducted from the roughly P6 billion payable to SGS. Mind you, even businessmen will admit they are at times late in submitting their invoices to SGS. Without these invoices, SGS cannot bill. But for Rosqueta, late means "billed already." This was precisely why the review team went for a one-on-one review of all the records. It took months to do this.

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SGS, under its contract, was also to be penalized at least $10,000 for its errors. But how can Rosqueta justify the failure of a customs man to fill out the "REMARKS" portion of a shipping document as an SGS error? Rosqueta also penalized SGS because she could not read the reference number of one document. And there were plenty more of these. All these came out as the team reviewed Rosqueta’s allegations.

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I understand that this all started when Rosqueta sent out a circular to all ports, asking for possible double billings and errors. And the replies she got are the basis of her allegations. So every customs official who lost any role in the import business was in effect given a chance to hit back at SGS. And they did. Rosqueta took them all and is now peddling them despite the detailed validation.

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But even if you hold back the amount Rosqueta is questioning, SGS still has about P3 billion as uncontested billings, or roughly half of its total billings. Even this, however, is being held for still unknown reasons. There have already been warnings from past and present government officials about a backlash on our international financial image and standing if we don’t show good faith even by way of a down payment. One story in the international press about an unpleasant incident such as this is all it would take to further destroy an already tarnished Filipino name.

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Pedya Kamp 2002, initiated by Dr. Art Libao of the Makati Medical Center, will be held for the nth time at North Central School in San Fernando, La Union from April 17 to 26. This project is especially designed for "special children" or those with physical disabilities.

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Dr. Libao wishes to public acknowledge the help of Rep. Manuel C. Ortega of the 1st District La Union, Mayor Mary Jane C. Ortega, Councilor Francisco C. Ortega Jr., Delia A. Ortega, and the Association of Non-Government Organizations (TANGO). "Without their full support and assistance, we might not have been able to stage this socially-oriented project," said Dr. Libao.

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Dr. Libao also wants to thank the following people and antities from Manila:  Colegio San Agustin High School Batch ’86 for giving P10,000;  anonymous donors for giving P10,000; ExLInk 5,000; doctors from Makati Medical Center; Jet Feliciano’ Proctor and Gamble, S. C. Johnson & Son, Comfoods Phils, Nestle Philippines, Coca Cola, and Jollibee Duty Free .

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"Thank you for guiding and supporting us in our endeavor to brighten the lives of special children, and may the Lord continue to give you strength and wisdom," said Dr. Libao, referring to the help that I have been extending to Pedya Kamp all through the past several years. 

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Thought For Today:

Life is a door – open it!
Life is a bridge – cross it!
Life is a duty – do it!
Life is great – experience it!
Life is sweet – ahh, savor it!

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Thank God for a beautiful morning.
Ask not for an easy day but for His guidance,
strength and the courage to face the challenges of life.

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My e-mail addresses: [email protected] and [email protected]