The lion in winter

Don’t you think it was a good idea to have stopped those two fragile Philippine Coast Guard ships, BRP Pampanga and BRP Batangas from going on that foolish and impossible "mission" to Lebanon – an incredible journey of thousands of sea-miles, right into the maw of the monsoon storms in the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea – from leaving? What a long-distance marathon attempt to rescue a few of our 30,000 OFWs in Lebanon!

I’m glad that in the end, La Presidenta had the madcap and extravagant trip of those glorified "tugboats" aborted. A ceasefire has now been declared although a fragile one, in Lebanon. If the PCG vessels had sailed, not only would their voyage have cost $2 million, but the ships and their crew might have gone to the bottom of the sea – in dire need, if they were lucky, of rescue themselves. In any event, our OFWs continue to leave by land, and will soon be going by sea, too, on chartered vessels from nearby ports.

I met the Philippine Navy’s FOIC (Flag-Officer-in-Command), in short the chief of our Navy, Admiral Mateo Mayuga, and he confirmed to me that the two small Coast Guard vessels would not have managed the voyage.

"That’s what we in the Navy told Defense Secretary Avelino Cruz," he admitted, now that the debate is over, when the President told him to assess "the PCG mission." Mayuga said that, in fact, one of the Navy’s landing craft would have had a better chance of reaching the Port of Lebanon (it had sailed once to New Orleans, Louisiana), but even a rescue mission by that kind of bigger ship was unnecessary. "There are many passenger ships or freighters," Mayuga commented, as I’ve said in this corner, which could be chartered more cost-efficiently coming from much nearer Lebanon than any of our government vessels.

So there. As I pointed out before the useless voyage was aborted, the two ships were supposed to be Coast Guard, in short supposed to guard our Philippine coast – not the coast of faraway Lebanon.

And look at what has been happening. An oil tanker carrying two million liters of bunker fuel sank last Friday just 24 kilometers southwest of Guimaras Island – the island off Negros Occidental which is noted for its sweet mangos, incidentally.

The Philippine Coast Guard is reportedly racing against time to control what, the government says, could be the worst spill in the country. If the Coast Guard and other government and private environmental agencies fail to contain the spill, the oil slick could reach Boracay, famed for its wonderful white beaches, our prime tourist attraction. The spill is already covering an area of close to 30 square km. destroying ocean life and wreaking destruction on coral beds.

What if the Coast Guard ships mentioned above had been half a world away (unless already sunk by storm) on a voyage to Lebanon? Who would have been left in our PCG complement to combat the spread of that deadly spill in our own waters?

What I’m trying to say is that no agency, for charity’s sake, or even for publicity’s sake or for glory-hunting, must overreach itself. "Saving" our OFWs in dire straits is a worthy cause, but heck, the Coast Guard must fulfill its primary duty and function – protect our coastline and our coastal waters against any threat.

And the current oil spill, coming as a shock, is a stark reminder to all of us that this function is domestic.

* * *

Senate President Manny Villar had coffee with us in the Tuesday Club yesterday morning.

We had, indeed, a stellar crowd at our regular weekly free-and-easy-dialogue-with-breakfast session.

There was Senator Fred Lim who’s running for Mayor of Manila, determined to regain his old seat in the premier city. There was Secretary Roberto "Obet" Pagdanganan who’s running to regain the Governorship of Bulacan. There was former Senator Francisco "Kit" Tatad who just came for breakfast. Along came former Philippine National Police Director General and retired Police Chief, Arturo Lomibao, who told me that he had not, as rumor had it, been named Administrator of the National Irrigation Administration.

"I’m enjoying my retirement," Lomibao said. In fact, when he was being pushed for the Directorship of the National Bureau of Investigation, Art said, he had endorsed now-confirmed NBI Director Nestor M. Mantaring as the "best man" for the job – a career man who combined guts, ability, and tenacity.

This was confirmed by Fred Lim, who, as NBI Director himself had been Mantaring’s boss.

Lim had, indeed, commended Mantaring during his own stint as two-fisted NBI Director for the successful investigation of the "Don Antonio Xuzuregui Kidnapping" case in 1991, of which the offshoot was the rescue of the victim and the recovery of part of the ransom money in the amount of P3.5 million, and the arrest of several of the kidnappers. Lim recalled Mantaring had been on top of the "Benito Tan" kidnapping case, also in 1991, and the recovery of the victim without any ransom having been paid. The NBI, through Mantaring’s efforts, successfully prosecuted the abductors.

A third commendation came from Fred Lim after Mantaring managed the rescue of another kidnap victim, Rosario Cruz, and nabbed two of the armed perpetrators.

For his part, Senate President Villar (who is the bill’s co-sponsor) admitted that some reluctant Senators were still blocking the passage of the long overdue anti-terrorism bill owing to their expressed fear that the GMA government would misuse the tougher provisions regarding arrest and detention to harass its "enemies," or journalists critical of the regime.

However, Villar said he was working quietly to convince them of the urgency of passing such a vital measure.

* * *

I had lunch later with NBI Director Mantaring himself at the Inagiku in Makati Shangri-La, along with retired Col. Lory Diño. Nestor, who started out as a clerk in the NBI – in truth a casual employee – in 1968, told this writer that the new anti-terrorism provisions are important because, he pointed out, under the revised Penal Code, the NBI, police or military can "hold" a suspect for only 36 hours unless they are ready to file a case against him (or her). In sum, we must give our law enforcers the muscle in order to help them undertake the fight against terror and other crimes.

As for opposition leader, Senator Aquilino "Nene" Pimentel, who had declared the other day that the anti-terrorism bill would not be approved until and unless extra-judicial killings and "assassinations" of activists, journalists, labor leaders, and other victims are stopped, is out of the action. The solon left Monday for the United States and is expected to be two weeks or more away from the country, undergoing medical treatment.

Returning to NBI Director Mantaring – who hails from Bongabong, Oriental Mindoro – he laughed when I reminded him of the frontpage story by our STAR reporter in which it was indicated he did not want to occupy the NBI Director’s office because four of his predecessors had died while serving their terms in that specific office, including his immediate predecessor, the late General Wyke Wycoco.

"I feel comfortable in the Deputy Director’s office which I have occupied since 2001," Nestor grinned, "it’s my lucky office!" Anyway, that’s his . . . well, alibi for not moving to the Director’s office which may, the superstitious claim, be "jinxed."

Why tempt fate, really?

"We’ll probably make that office a ‘shrine,’" Mantaring quipped, demonstrating a wry sense of humor.

His immediate problem? "We need to recruit more agents," he said, "at least 500 more – who have to be lawyers." He asked me not to reveal the number of NBI agents and special investigators, but merely asserted, "we are stretched too thin to adequately cover our sprawling archipelago."

This ought to be the cue for the President and her financial gurus to work out a sensible but swift expansion plan for the NBI. Give them enough "gun," I say, and they’ll do the job.

As for the crooked and the misfit among the G-men, Mantaring has already sent one of them – a ranking officer – to Siberia. But there are many more, I reminded him, so get out that broom!

* * *

May I sheepishly apologize to my compadre, John Gokongwei Jr., for having missed his 80th anniversary "birthday" party last Friday. To be truthful, owing to approaching senility no doubt, I forgot all about it.

It was admirable, I must say, for John to have donated P10.25 billion – a considerable chunk of his personal fortune – to education and other causes. It demonstrated his true heart, particularly when most of the financial world and society here regard him as a hardnosed businessman.

In the old days, I used to chide John for being kuripot. He would guffaw merrily when we told him that in his hotel, in those days called the Ramada, he used to "count the paper clips, and measure the length of toilet paper utilized in the guest rooms." The legend which went around is that management had to surrender the cracked toilet seat before John would authorize the installation of a new seat, etc.

And now this magnificent gesture. John may not be as rich as Croesus, not even as rich perhaps as his bete noir and rival Henry Sy, but he certainly did all of his peers one better this time. Good on you, Pareng John, as they would say in Australia.

One line, perhaps, most dramatically describes John Gokongwei – and it comes from Shakespeare "the Lion in winter." This lion, on the other hand, may be graying and has always been overweight, but his mind is as sharp as steel and his grin as impish as ever it was when we were both much younger and embarked on the great journey of life.

Like almost all the taipans, John rose from being "small" to a towering giant of manufacturing, business, finance and even magazine publishing. It’s remarkable to recall that I first saw his only son Lance as a little boy, and now he’s every inch an ascending comet, as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cebu Air, Inc., waging a fierce "discount" war against Philippine Airlines by cutting fares to the bone (even to the losing ledger) in Cebu Pacific Air – a battle which has affected even the rates of the passenger ship industry, like Aboitiz Superferry. It may be a ruinous enterprise, but Lance has embarked on it. He’s also President and COO of the Jewel in the Crown, JG Summit Holdings. (Hard to imagine that Lance’s complete name, which he shrugged off as he approached manhood, was "Lancelot," as in the Knights of the Round Table).

Another cornerstone of John’s success – indeed, he had strung his father’s name together to emerge as "Gokongwei" – was his younger brother James Go, chairman and CEO of the group. It was Jimmy Go who ran the factories and farms, the food industry sector, etc. He’s still the guy on the ground who keeps things rolling.

But it is John Gokongwei who was the indispensable leader and chieftain of the clan. What if he took up management in Harvard? What if he had to study Mandarin only when he was in his late 30s? His skills and his Midas touch were not acquired by school learning – although he respects the vital role education plays in nation-building (as his weekend endowment proves). John has that uncanny eye for the weakness, as well as strength in human nature.

One thing I will always appreciate about John. When I was released from maximum security prison in Fort Bonifacio, where I had the honor of being the cellmate of Ninoy Aquino, everybody else shunned me. All of my former businessman friends and other "friends" would avoid me like the plague. I found myself an "unperson," a pariah known to be an "enemy" of the Dictator, Apo Ferdinand, and the beautific Superma’am Imelda.

That’s when John Gokongwei and his wife Elizabeth asked me to become the godfather, the ninong of their daughter Robina. I’m proud of what Robina, as stubborn and independent-minded, outspoken, and brilliant as dad, turned out to be. And I will never forget that when I was down and out, John G. offered me the hand of true friendship. No, he didn’t offer me money – the Cebuano streak in him remains strong – but he offered me his heart. And that’s beyond price.