Abalos should stop ‘politicking’: He’s Comelec chairman now

This has been a week of surprises. Just after being reappointed (after his fourth "bypass") by the President, Transportation and Communications Secretary Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez resigned and, from all indications, headed straight for the airport – as if to say "goodbye to it all".

The new DOTC Secretary, out of the blue, is now former Philippine National Police Director-General Leandro Ramos Mendoza (PMA Class ’69). You can be sure he was jumped over to that post not because he was a Philippine Military Academy classmate of two stellar officers, Philippine Air Force Commanding General Benjie Defensor, and AFP Vice Chief Lt. General Greg Camiling Jr., but because President GMA believes Mendoza is one of the most loyal to her. This was, according to her, demonstrated during the EDSA People Power II "crisis" when the military and the police "jumped ship," abandoned now ex-President Joseph Estrada, and threw their support – some dragging their feet – behind her. She credits Larry Mendoza as one of the most stalwart in her support.

So there.

Many have already begun to rant and rave against Mendoza’s appointment, but the Boss Lady can be expected to back him all the way. One of the most persistent criticisms of General, now Secretary Mendoza is that, despite all the "upbeat" and sometimes frantic press releases of the PNP, kidnap gangs went to an even more insolent rampage during his stint as national police chief – and then, let’s face it, there was the Philtranco bus station hostage tragedy in which not just the crazed hostage-taker but the four-year old boy taken hostage ended up riddled with bullets. Are our police, to dredge up that old B-movie title, still "the gang that couldn’t shoot straight"?

True enough, not all the blame can be laid at Larry Mendoza’s door. He inherited a police organization of a scant 130,000 officers and men in January 2001, badly trained, badly motivated (and, if the horror stories are to be believed, assigned only 30 bullets per man – with almost no target practice "experience") – and quite a number of them in the rackets themselves. Let’s hope Mendoza can do better in the DOTC, which is both one of the most vital and biggest departments under the Executive Branch (with 15 line and attached agencies, all of them with clout) – and a snake pit. Abangan.

As for "Bebot" Alvarez, what we hear is that he simply gave up. His intimates say that Alvarez was discouraged by the fact that all the attacks, full-page advertisements, were affecting his family. His kids were even said to be reluctant to g et cetera, were affecting his family. His kids were even said to be reluctant to go to school. And so, he packed it up and went off.

This doesn’t remedy, on the other hand, the Fraport-PIATCO "Terminal 3" scandal. The government – and this now includes the intervention of brand-new DOTC Secretary Mendoza – will have to decide how the giant German firm of Fraport AG (Frankfurt International Airport, Inc.) which sank more than US$300 million into the stalled construction of passenger Terminal 3 can be re-assured of not losing that huge investment.

Fraport is scheduled to have a "show-down" meeting with its irate shareholders in Dusseldorf on June 26 – and if its management doesn’t have a "solution" in hand, or the prospect of redemption to dangle in front of its stockholders (including Frankfurt, the state of Hesse, and the German Federal Government) by then, there will be hell to pay. And our name, as a country in which to invest, will be zilch.

The abrupt departure of Alvarez, then, doesn’t solve anything. It might even complicate matters.

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Another surprise – although it was already being rumored in the corridors of power-failure in Malacañang – was the sudden ejection of Justice Alfredo L. Benipayo from the chairmanship of the Commission on Elections last Monday, and the appointment of Metro Manila Development Authority Chairman (and former Mandaluyong Mayor) Benjamin Abalos to that post.

Alikabok says that Benipayo was informed of the move by Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Avelino "Nonong" Cruz only shortly before noon last Monday (June 10), while Ben Abalos told me, the following day, that he had only been telephoned by the President about his designation on the afternoon of that day. This version sounds to me like a bit of zarzuela, since my old coffee-crony Abalos has been going around like a house-on-fire since then, trying to appease the Comelec’s Gang of Four, namely those rebellious Commissioners led by the Dragon Lady, Luzviminda Tancangco (who still faces impeachment proceedings), Rufino Javier, Ralph Lantion and Mehol Sadain.

In fact, last night, Abalos was supposed to have been feted at a "welcome dinner" in the home of Commissioner Javier, who himself is a former Congressman from Pasig. When politicos get together – what can we say? Tsk, tsk, tsk.

Sure, there’s something to be said for the idea of getting the two warring camps in the Comelec to work together – otherwise, it can be argued, how can we even hold elections in 2004? – but how far should the "spirit of conciliation and unity" go? Can we just forgive and forget what certain officials did? Then, Abalos must announce that he is scrapping Section 1 of Article XI of the Philippine Constitution. This section on "Accountability of Public Officers" provides that a "public office is a public trust." It notes that "public officers and employees must at all times be accountable to the people, serve them with utmost rsponsibility, integrity, loyalty with utmost rsponsibility, integrity, loyalty and efficiency, act with patriotism and justice, and lead modest lives."

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In short, the new Comelec Chairman must be careful about waltzing too merrily with those commissioners who torpedoed his predecessor. The adverse impact on the rank and file, many of whom frowned on and even resisted the hi-jinks of their so-called "superiors", could be tremendous and might precipitate a demoralization of the Comelec itself.

So, beware of politicking, too much, Ben. The accusation of "TRAPO" is already being circulated against you. Be impartial and steadfast and let the chips fall where they may. Listen, as well, to the two other Commissioners, Resureccion "Rex" Borra and Florentino Tuason, Jr., who are professional Comelec old-timers with experience, and who have been standing up steadfastly for their principles.

As for Fred Benipayo, what does the future hold for him? Will he be appointed to the Supreme Court, although some already point out "obstacles"? Or will he be named an Ambassador? Or will be retire to private life?

I won’t dispute the impression of many that Benipayo may have a "problem" dealing with those who work with him. He may appear aloof and stiff, and even his friends admit he can be hard-headed and inflexible. But, still, he has a reputation for integrity, competence and independence of mind, which were the necessary attributes of a poll body chairman. When all is said and done, he saved the national government more than a billion pesos when he rejected the contract that, it’s generally accepted, was the source of all his "troubles".

Let’s get on with preparing for the 2004 elections then.

It’s already, as they say in basketball, the last two minutes. Absentee balloting for our overseas workers and our citizens living abroad? I fervently wish this could be done: It is their right. But holding credible elections right here in our own country, with the same old primitive methods we’ve been utilizing, remains our foremost and most urgent problems.

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Our senators are still up to their conspiracies and intrigues. All that haggling over chairmanships and who’s going to be Senate President come July are meant to sound profound and portentous. But who really cares beyond the headline writers? The popular sentiment seems to be: A pox on your House! Even on both Houses. Should the Senate be abolished? Don’t put it to a popular vote. The result won’t surprise us.

With all the foolishness going on, and the "wars" and bombings both at home and abroad, we might lose sight on what’s really important. One of the most important – really significant – happenings is the canonization today by the Holy Father of a real Saint, Padre Pio.

Sometimes called Padre Pio of Pietrelcina, this humble Capuchin monk died in the quiet serenity of his cell in an isolated little monastery in Foggia on September 23, 1968, at 2:30 in the morning, allegedly with the last words emerging from his lips, Gesu e Maria (Jesus and Mary). Everytime I read this little piece of information in the many books and pamphlets written about Padre Pio, I’ve wondered: How did they know this is what he muttered at the hour of death, if he died alone? Perhaps this was one of his miracles.

Every other miracle of the myriads attributed to him, on the other hand, were very real.

He was born on May 25, 1887, in the farming village of Pietrelcina (Benevento), Southern Italy, as Francis Forgione. He was ordained a priest on August 20, 1910, under the name of Fra’ Pio. On Sept. 7, 1910, the first stigmata would appear and disappear – meaning that the young priest would suffer the same "wounds" as Jesus Christ in the hands, chest, and feet. It was on Sept. 20, 1918, however, that the first "permanent wounds" appeared, in which Padre Pio began bleeding profusely. He thus spent his entire life since then praying and offering his suffering for souls. One of his devotees, Vera M. Calandra, afterwards wrote: "There lived among us, for over fifty years, an obedient priest. One who gave all to Almighty God – even his vital blood – in order to assist him in the great task of saving souls from perdition."

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As a sidelight, Americans first became interested in Padre Pio during the Second World War when the US forces constructed an air base in Foggia, some 25 miles away from his Capuchin Friary in San Giovanni Rotondo. US servicemen used to travel to the monastery to assist at Mass or visit the pious monk whose body by then bore five distinct bleeding wounds, corresponding to those of Jesus.

One of them, who declined to have his name publicized, testified: "I was a member of the American 15th Air Force stationed in Foggia. I visited Padre Pio . . . in San Giovanni Rotondo. I had the honor of serving Mass for Padre Pio and being in the vestry when he put on his vestments for Mass. I believe I have had my prayers answered by Padre Pio. While there, I asked to be kept safe through the war if it was God’s will. The next day I was to fly on a very dangerous mission. That night, I developed a severe ear infection. The Air Force doctor refused to let me fly with my friends and just forget about the ear problem. He said, ‘Absolutely no!’ I tried in every way to fly but was stopped. The flyer that took my place in the mission was killed by a direct hit by an anti-aircraft shell. If I had been permitted to fly that day, I would have been dead."

Padre Pio was able to appear, it’s said, in many places.

In July, 1957, Fr. Placido of San Marco in Lamis, a friend of Padre Pio’s since his novitiate and their student days together, was rushed to the hospital in San Severo (Foggia) with an acute attack of cirrhosis of the liver. One night, Fr. Placido awoke to find Padre Pio beside his bed, urging him to have patience, comforting him, and assuring him of his recovery. Then he saw the friar stand up, go towards the window, place his hand on the glass – then disappear! In the morning, the priest woke up feeling much better. He wondered whether the visit of that night had really taken place. Then he noticed the mark of a hand on the glass. He got out of bed and saw Padre Pio’s handprint. He told the story of the visit to his nurses and the hospital staff.

But Padre Pio had never been seen arriving there by anyone. So the doctors were doubtful. The hospital chaplain informed the superior of the friars of San Severo of the tale, at that time a Father Piergiuliano, who reprimanded Fr. Placido and forbade him from spreading such unlikely stories. However, Placido was adamant. "Can’t you see – there is still the mark of Padre Pio’s hand on the glass!" he retorted.

When accosted in the corridor of his friary by a Father Alberto, the parish priest of Maria Santissima delle Grazie, who went to check, Padre Pio surprised Alberto by asking him: "How is Fr. Placido?"

Alberto responded, amazed: "Why, he is improving." Then he quickly added: "Spiritual Father, there is such an uproar at San Severo! Fr. Placido insists you went to see him during the night and even left the imprint of your hand on the glass of the window. There is a continuing rush to the hospital by people, disturbing the doctors and nurses, and the patients. What is the truth of the matter? Was it a dream of fancy of Fr. Placido’s, or did you really go there?"

Padre Pio, Fr. Alberto afterwards recounted, merely smiled and replied: "And do you doubt it?"

In such matters, take it from this jaded writer: Don’t doubt.