‘Hol-DAP’

There is a brilliant ‘wanted’ poster making the rounds. It calls for the arrest of the ‘Hol-DAP Gang’ for waylaying the public treasury and corrupting our institutions.

DAP is the now notorious acronym for the “disbursement acceleration program” by which “savings” were manufactured and then spread around as pork. In posters, the acronym now also stands for Drilon, Abad and P-Noy — seen as the architects of this unforgivable raid on the national treasury.

All three are senior members of the Liberal Party (LP), in principle the ruling party although increasingly in the public eye nothing more than a criminal conspiracy to convert public monies into pork. From pork, as we now know, criminal profit is brazenly extracted.

Over the last three years, the pork barrel state, the single biggest cause of our underdevelopment, just got greasier. The PDAF more than tripled in size. The DAP became an instrument for undermining the legislature’s power over the purse, transferring money from defined purposes to undefined ends, and bribing legislators wholesale. Congressional insertions (earmarking of public funds to uses dictated by politicians) grew exponentially. Special purpose funds, such as the one generated from the Malampaya wells, mutated into presidential pork. The profits of GOCCs, net of the huge bonuses appointees gave themselves, were likewise captured to supplement presidential discretionary funds.

The greed just became horrifyingly immoderate.

This administration packaged itself as a reformist regime. Inside the glossy packaging, we now know, is traditional patronage politics at its worst. Our people feel betrayed.

In any mature democracy, a scandal of this magnitude might have forced out government or sparked resignations from the most senior officials linked to it. Not here. At least not yet.

When Moody’s raised our sovereign credit ratings to investment grade, the announcement seemed incongruous. Businessmen did not organize parades. Domestic cost of money did not drop. The markets hardly stirred. Citizens barely noticed.

There are many reasons for the apparent incongruity. In the preceding weeks and months, there is a sense that the business environment became intolerably unstable. Policy decisions with broad repercussions became more politicized or more haphazard. The credibility of contracts with government just fell through the floor.

The business climate became increasingly inhospitable since the Belgian-supported Laguna de Bay project was whimsically scrapped and the French-supported modernization of our ports inexplicably junked. The Belgians have taken us to the costly process on international arbitration.

Federal Express’ permit to operate was voided. The well-connected San Roque Power Corp. was benefitted with a P484-million tax refund. The single biggest foreign investment into the country, Sagittarius Mines’ $5.9-billion Tampakan project is on the verge of evaporating due to Palace inaction.

Most recently, the two metropolitan water concessionaires have brought to international arbitration the myopic rate decision of the MWSS. Again, this will be a costly arbitration process and the MWSS is bound to lose since the concessionaires rest on a perfected contract patterned after public-private partnerships in advanced economies.

The imperious action of the MWSS drew sharp reactions from the foreign chambers of commerce, representing the view of investors. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines (JCCIP) wrote the DTI stating that “not only will this obstruct vital investments by the concessionaires to improve water supply, it also sends a very strong message to the business community about the level of commitment of the Philippine government in upholding the sanctity of contracts.” That is about as polite as the Japanese could be.

It seems that in three short years, this administration not only eroded public institutions. It eroded as well the vitality of many other institutions crucial to the long-term improvement of the domestic economy.

Redemption

The churches have closed ranks against pork barrel politics exemplified by the PDAF and the DAP. Concerned citizens in many localities are gearing up to gather signatures for a people’s initiative against pork.

It is not the technical issues about people’s initiative that matter at this point. What is important is that more and more Filipinos are searching for a means to struggle against the pork barrel state.

We have, it seems, reached a point where this administration and informed citizens are on a collision course — even as the President and his half-witted mouthpieces cynically insist the Palace and those protesting in the streets are on the same side. No propaganda line could be more hollow. This regime represents the epitome of the pork barrel state; citizens are demanding an end to pork barrel politics.

The last institution standing to avert a frontal clash between the state and its own people is the Supreme Court — itself damaged by the machinations of this administration. Congress is smeared by its own crimes.

Before the Court are numerous petitions questioning the constitutionality of both the PDAF and the DAP. The Court gave the petitions due course even if they lacked eloquence. It is clear the magistrates recognize the historical import of the matter at hand.

If the Supreme Court declares the PDAF, the DAP and all non-itemized appropriations unconstitutional, it will strengthen the constitutional order. It will redeem the institution from the infamous 1973 ruling on the constitutionality of martial law in Javellana v. Executive Secretary. In this ruling, the Court chose a cowardly course and found dishonorable refuge in declaring martial rule a political question that is beyond judicial competence.

If this Supreme Court does not insist on strict constitutionality, there could be open rebellion by citizens outraged by the pork barrel state, beginning from civil disobedience movements.