'Whistleblowers' keeping identities of poll cheats

Here comes another whistleblower, or is it whistle-botcher. Admin stalwart Manuel Morato loudly testified in Congress that seven men had offered to cheat for his presidential bet Gilbert Teodoro for a fee. Details spiced up his tale. Four of the offerers were Comelec regional directors who hold sway over 14 regions. They initially asked for P1 billion to manipulate the automated results, but later settled for P750 million. Payment plan: P250 million down, then P400 million, and balance of P100 million after the election. Morato said he didn’t bite, but knew they were not con artists but “for real.” Yet when asked who the four poll officials were, he couldn’t recall because he left his notes at home. He vividly recounted, though, that he jotted down only the nicknames of two of the four, “Artie” and “Bong”.

Rep. Teddy Locsin told Morato to visit the Comelec office to possibly spot his suspects, like an eyewitness before a police lineup. No one in the House panel on electoral reforms bothered to test out the witness. He was not asked the clincher: how come he clearly remembered circumstances of the meeting with the poll cheats, yet forgot to bring his notes?

Morato’s tale mimicked that of admin Gov. Ace Barbers. The latter earlier swore that someone had approached him in a military camp in Nov. proposing to rig his entire poll slate’s victory for P50 million. He said he didn’t believe the guy, so sent him off. When results started coming in on the night of the balloting, Barbers called the stranger’s mobile. No answer. He wanted to know if the opponent had bitten the P50-million bait. For, stunningly, his entire slate of one vice governor, two congressmen, five provincial board members, and 21 mayors was losing. Who’s the offerer? He doesn’t know; he didn’t report to lawmen.

Admin Rep. Mat Defensor was the original. Three men had met with the lawyer and chairman of the House committee on justice also offering to rig the voting machines. He’s crying fraud, now that he lost. But he didn’t keep their names or report to the police.

Two conclusions can be drawn from the three’s stories. Either they’re making it all up, which is unlikely since the Comelec vote padding-shaving syndicate indeed still exists. Or, they’re hiding the criminals’ identities, for whatever reason. If so, they and their candidates deserved defeat.

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Former economic secretary Romy Neri is so like the three. He told at least five friends, four associates, two journalists, and two congressmen that Gloria Arroyo had forced him to endorse the overpriced ZTE deal. Among those he confided to were Jun Lozada, Joey de Venecia, and me. Yet when his turn came in Congress to expose high crime, he clammed up. His use of executive privilege reached the Supreme Court, which bent the meaning to include all presidential chats, even if illicit.

Now Neri is charged with graft before the Ombudsman. He could go to jail for life — unless he belatedly turns state witness and bares all he knows.

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The fight between old cargo handlers and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority has moved from boardroom to the courtroom. Led by Amerasia International Terminal Services Inc., the cargo firms are suing SBMA before the Ombudsman for graft. This is to stop SBMA from joint venturing with a bigger port operator to handle all bulk and break bulk cargo in the free port. As rejoinder to earlier items Amerasia sent this update (excerpted):

“The cargo firms went to the Ombudsman as a last attempt to protect investments and jobs. They protest SBMA’s entry, without consulting them, into a JV with Harbour Centre Port Terminal Inc. The JV would take over for exclusive operation all usable wharfs and ports. The cargo firms say this disregards existing rights under their respective lease agreements.

“The suit filed Apr. 27 has been assigned criminal and administrative case numbers. It accused SBMA of partiality, bad faith and negligence — breaches of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act. It also charged the agency with restraining trade through monopolism, a breach of the Penal Code. It said the SBMA-HCPTI venture effectively nullified, without due process, Amerasia’s valid, outstanding 25-year lease and cargo handling contract with SBMA.

“Another cargo firm, Subic Seaport Terminals Inc., has filed separate suit against SBMA for entering into a contract ‘grossly disadvantageous to the government.’ It said HCPTI’s fixed commitment to SBMA of $500,000 (P23 million) for the first year is $340,000-short, way below the $840,000-revenue it receives from old cargo handlers.”

Earlier HCPTI asserted it would pay SBMA $32-million total over 25 years. This is on top of investing $120 million to modernize the ports, and paying 15-20 percent fees upon breaching two million tons of cargo a year. The SBMA said it subjected the JV to a Swiss Challenge-type of bidding.

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Tzu Chi Foundation boldly takes on a big civic project. This school year it will sustain over 700 poor but bright students. The organization is calling for donors, as a college scholar would need P40,000, a high schooler P14,000, and a grade schooler P6,000.

Send to Tzu Chi headquarters, 76 Cordillera St., Sta. Mesa Heights, Quezon City, tel. (02) 7320001 local 211 or 218 (Lolita or Chieh Fang); or MetroBank Del Monte branch account 163-3-16307190-9.

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“The question of the meaning of life can only be answered by life ... by living.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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