Gloria, allies oppose Impsa probe revival Daily Tribune 01/13/07
By Angie M. Rosales,Sherwin C. Olaes & Dona Policar.
With the announced move by senators to reopen the $14-million Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (Impsa) payoff probe, Malaca yesterday gave clear signals it is opposed to the Senate’s move to revive the hearings on this matter, saying this is a waste of time, since the investigations hae been already made in the past, and that the same issue is now in the Ombudsman’s office, skirting the fact that the Impsa probe will deal mostly with the alleged payoff to powerful officials in exchange for the sovereign guarantee, while the Ombudsman’s case deals merely with indicted former Justice Sec: on extortion, graft & falsification of documents. But there is nothing Malaca can do to stop a Senate probe this time. Vows have been made that no stone will be left unturned as the Senate braces itself for the reopening of the controversial Impsa power deal, with no possibility of a stonewalling of the proceedings, as opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson virtually expanded its coverage, to uncover what he said is the truth, not only on actual personalities involved but also the reason behind the Arroyo government’s reluctance to determine the source of the purported $2 million bribe or extortion money received by the former Justice chief.
It is more believable to conclude that the said amount was part of a grand scheme that facilitated the signing of the Impsa deal that contained the government’s sovereign guarantee and not a mere case of extortion as alleged by some quarters, Lacson said in his new resolution filed Thursday, 11th January 2006..
All possible loopholes will be plugged, with Lacson vowing to insist on the holding of the inquiry even during the campaign recess, possibly to be handled by the Senate’s energy committee.
Lacson’s move came following administration Sen. Joker Arroyo’s expressed apprehension in taking up the Impsa bribe probe by his blue ribbon committee citing a number of reasons, although a number of their colleagues, this early, have rallied behind the proposed reinvestigation. Senators Sergio Osme II and Ralph Recto posed no objection to the proposal of Lacson, even on the conduct of public hearings during the congressional break.
Osmena also recommended the issuance of invitations or summons to concerned government officials, apart from the alleged source of the bribe or extortion money, former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez, and officials who served under Presidents Arroyo and Estrada, specifically those who held the position of secretary in the Departments of Energy (DoE), Finance (DoF) and Justice (DoJ).
Osmena said former Bulacan Rep. Wilfredo Villarama, businessman Ernest Escaler, present and former presidents of the National Power Corp. (Napocor ) as well as a representative of the Coutts Bank in Hong Kong.
In a telephone interview, Lacson said he had already effected the filing of resolution No. 607, replacing his former resolution No. 477 introduced in Nov. 2002, to pave the way for a fresh inquiry and more thorough inquiry. I will leave it up to the Senate leadership, to Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. to direct whichever standing committee is appropriate to handle the probe, he said.
Lacson said, if possible, he would rather that the proceedings be handled by the energy panel or the government corporations to ensure a smooth flow of the probe even during campaign recess.
In introducing his new resolution, Lacson indicated that the probe should not only concentrate on the $2 million alleged bribe money received by Perez but the entire supposed $14 million payoff that was purportedly made by the Argentine firm Impsa to some government officials in exchange for the approval of its contract to build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric plant. The said contract, that was earlier reported to have been disapproved by Estrada when he was still in office, was approved four days into the Arroyo administration, prompted by the legal opinion rendered by Perez as the newly appointed Justice secretary.
Perez reversed the opinion of his predecessor, Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero . Previous reports also alleged that in exchange for this presidential approval of the Impsa contract, $14m was allegedly deposited in the Trade and Commerce Bank of Uruguay in the Caymans and of this supposed amount, some $2 million purportedly found its way to the bank account of Escaler and Ramon Arceo Jr., Perez’s brother in law, with the Coutts Bank in Hong Kong.
The said amount was later transferred to the accounts of Arceo and Perez wife Rosario in Switzerland.
It will be recalled that when the Swiss government issued a report sometime ago, suspecting the amount deposited as laundered money, it made a formal request to the Philippine government to assist in determining the source of this fund.
Lacson pointed out, as he had bared recently showing evidence on Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez’s order to withhold processing of the needed papers, from the time the request was made until last Jan. 9, when the Office of the Ombudsman announced its resolution recommending the filing of charges against Perez, the Philippine government did nothing to lend assistance in determining the source of this fund. To date, statements were made that the case filed against former Secretary Perez et.al was purely a case of extortion and that the occupants of Malaca had nothing to do with the said money, he said, adding there is need to uncover the truth as it puts to doubt the sanctity and validity of the contracts entered into by the Executive Department. Lacson also reiterated the unveiling of the identity of the parties who facilitated the approval of a contract for them to be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and of the Plunder Act.
Also yesterday, Senator Arroyo issued a press statement belying insinuations that his blue ribbon committee stonewalled the conduct of the probe into Lacson's resolution No. 477
According to the director-general Emilia Pueyo, of the blue ribbon committee, there was no Impsa resolution some years ago. But to the best of her recollection, the blue ribbon was only a secondary committee. The Senate offices are closed so this can be ascertained only on Monday. The blue ribbon committee has no pending matter un-acted upon as the primary committee, he clarified.
Nonetheless, he said in a radio interview that should Lacson introduce or re-file the resolution, he is open to the idea of reviving the probe. But he warned that the proceedings may only be redundant or an end up an exercise in futility considering that the Ombudsman had already conducted the same and even came out with a set of recommendations recently.
The matter is already in the hands of the government prosecutors. We should give ample respect to the other departments of the government. Otherwise, it would look as if we’re competing with them. Sen. Arroyo admitted, however, that if the Senate leadership would accede to the proposition of Lacson, the upper chamber cannot be prevented from issuing summons or to order the investigation of anyone. Presidential Legal Adviser Sergio Apostol used the same excuse made by Senator Arroyo, saying it makes no sense reopening the inquiry since the Senate had already started the probe.
They already conducted an inquiry before. They have the records until now so they can use it to file charges or have a proposed bill. There’s no need to reopen the case. Apostol said.
Apostol also accused Lacson of using the Impsa deal to advance his candidacy in the May polls.
Not surprisingly, administration congressmen defended the Arroyos in the Impsa bribe controversy. Lacson, according to Reps. Douglas Cagas (Davao del Sur) and Edwin Uy (Isabela) should stop being a fishwife and come out immediately with his evidence on the alleged involvement of the First Couple in the extortion case against Perez. Put up or shut up, they told Lacson. These are unsubstantiated charges similar to previous unproven charges against the Arroyos of which Ping has always been wont to do, Cagas said.
Uy, for his part, said Lacson has nothing to show and that he is now dragging the First Gentleman into the issue to divert public attention that he cannot show proof of what he is saying. Ping could not even say where the $14 million comes from. So for the sake of his reputation as a senator, I appeal to him to stop wasting his time on rumors, the congressman said.
Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, for his part, expressed belief that an agreement has been forged between Jimenez and Malaca, which sole intention is to unite against former President Joseph Estrada and undermine the opposition which still considers the former president as its head.
More bag of tricks from Glo EDITORIAL Daily Tribune 12/22/2006
As if it has never been caught with its hands in the cookie jar, Gloria's scheme and scam gang is again trying to slip in an obvious political racket for use in the coming national elections. The 2007 budget is again on the brink of a stalemate between Gloria and her stooges in Congress and the Senate over a P4.7- billion program to supposedly feed school children. Even at first glance, the program reeks of a scam. The Department of Agriculture (DA) is again figuring prominently in the Gloria scheme as a conduit for the importation of 1 million metric tons of rice for the school feeding program. Sen. Edgardo Angara, apparently giving the purpose of the program the benefit of the doubt, has questioned the need to import rice to feed school children. Rice importation has long been suspected as a huge source of illegal funds in this administration. Importation or outright smuggling of the grain has been associated with a person in Malaca who has a lot of weight to throw around. A grains depot in a supposed transhipment port in Quezon has been the center of the grains smuggling which is essentially done through the usual misdeclaration of imports, say 1 ton of grains is declared when the actual weight is about 3 tons of imports. The 1 million metric tons of imports for the program would make the country the biggest rice importer in Asia. Just this year, the country imported 1.5 million metric tons without the school feeding program. It is harder to envision the altruistic goal of the program than ascribing sinister motives behind it. With the Joc-Joc Bolante fertilizer scam, which has a similar dole-out character of an alibi as the feed the school children program, still being tucked, with a lot of effort, away under Gloria's skirt, the school feeding program would likely fall the same way. Malnutrition cannot be expected to be treated with the handing out of bags of rice as the shallow purpose of the program envisions. What would effectively be Gloria feeding the school children and their parents would obviously be the administration candidates that would expectedly be all over the rice packagings. Gloria's absence of credibility, as borne out by every independent survey done on her, reflects in everything that she does from the the Charter change (Cha-cha) campaign to the various photo opportunities that she pretends as her way of immersing with the people. But that is not the end of it, as there is now yet another scam in the making the school feeding program. It would not be a big surprise if the 2007 budget stalls as a result of an expected insistence by Malaca to have the program budgeted. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita may be right in saying the school feeding scheme would not be an election gimmick since it forms part of the yearly political stunts of Gloria anyway. With Cha-cha practically in the works again, expect more of the same sleight of hand that Gloria would undertake as she turns her attention to getting a winning ticket going in the 2007 elections, a hard task with the kind of credibility she has built up with the people over the years. She knows that not only would the 2007 elections serve as a referendum on her administration, but also that there is a more fearsome future for her should her congressman-allies, a sizable number of them, lose to opposition congressmen which would then lead to her facing an impeachment bid that may well end up in a conviction by Senate trial. By hook or by crook, Gloria apparently would be working to keep her allies in the majority in Congress and this means pouring in more of the stolen public funds into the candidacies of her administration bets. If she did this in 2004 for herself and her congressmen, when she still had the support of her elite civil society, to force her way into retaining power and position, she certainly will do so again, and more desperately, since her political survival hinges on the number of congressional allies to be voted in by the electorate. It would not be malnutrition that the Gloria scheme would be addressing but the flagging political health of her administration. Email: collator.peedee@yahoo.co.uk
By Angie M. Rosales,Sherwin C. Olaes & Dona Policar.
With the announced move by senators to reopen the $14-million Industrias Metalurgicas Pescarmona Sociedad Anonima (Impsa) payoff probe, Malaca yesterday gave clear signals it is opposed to the Senate’s move to revive the hearings on this matter, saying this is a waste of time, since the investigations hae been already made in the past, and that the same issue is now in the Ombudsman’s office, skirting the fact that the Impsa probe will deal mostly with the alleged payoff to powerful officials in exchange for the sovereign guarantee, while the Ombudsman’s case deals merely with indicted former Justice Sec: on extortion, graft & falsification of documents. But there is nothing Malaca can do to stop a Senate probe this time. Vows have been made that no stone will be left unturned as the Senate braces itself for the reopening of the controversial Impsa power deal, with no possibility of a stonewalling of the proceedings, as opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson virtually expanded its coverage, to uncover what he said is the truth, not only on actual personalities involved but also the reason behind the Arroyo government’s reluctance to determine the source of the purported $2 million bribe or extortion money received by the former Justice chief.
It is more believable to conclude that the said amount was part of a grand scheme that facilitated the signing of the Impsa deal that contained the government’s sovereign guarantee and not a mere case of extortion as alleged by some quarters, Lacson said in his new resolution filed Thursday, 11th January 2006..
All possible loopholes will be plugged, with Lacson vowing to insist on the holding of the inquiry even during the campaign recess, possibly to be handled by the Senate’s energy committee.
Lacson’s move came following administration Sen. Joker Arroyo’s expressed apprehension in taking up the Impsa bribe probe by his blue ribbon committee citing a number of reasons, although a number of their colleagues, this early, have rallied behind the proposed reinvestigation. Senators Sergio Osme II and Ralph Recto posed no objection to the proposal of Lacson, even on the conduct of public hearings during the congressional break.
Osmena also recommended the issuance of invitations or summons to concerned government officials, apart from the alleged source of the bribe or extortion money, former Manila Rep. Mark Jimenez, and officials who served under Presidents Arroyo and Estrada, specifically those who held the position of secretary in the Departments of Energy (DoE), Finance (DoF) and Justice (DoJ).
Osmena said former Bulacan Rep. Wilfredo Villarama, businessman Ernest Escaler, present and former presidents of the National Power Corp. (Napocor ) as well as a representative of the Coutts Bank in Hong Kong.
In a telephone interview, Lacson said he had already effected the filing of resolution No. 607, replacing his former resolution No. 477 introduced in Nov. 2002, to pave the way for a fresh inquiry and more thorough inquiry. I will leave it up to the Senate leadership, to Senate President Manuel Villar Jr. to direct whichever standing committee is appropriate to handle the probe, he said.
Lacson said, if possible, he would rather that the proceedings be handled by the energy panel or the government corporations to ensure a smooth flow of the probe even during campaign recess.
In introducing his new resolution, Lacson indicated that the probe should not only concentrate on the $2 million alleged bribe money received by Perez but the entire supposed $14 million payoff that was purportedly made by the Argentine firm Impsa to some government officials in exchange for the approval of its contract to build-rehabilitate-operate-transfer the Caliraya-Botocan-Kalayaan (CBK) hydroelectric plant. The said contract, that was earlier reported to have been disapproved by Estrada when he was still in office, was approved four days into the Arroyo administration, prompted by the legal opinion rendered by Perez as the newly appointed Justice secretary.
Perez reversed the opinion of his predecessor, Justice Secretary Artemio Tuquero . Previous reports also alleged that in exchange for this presidential approval of the Impsa contract, $14m was allegedly deposited in the Trade and Commerce Bank of Uruguay in the Caymans and of this supposed amount, some $2 million purportedly found its way to the bank account of Escaler and Ramon Arceo Jr., Perez’s brother in law, with the Coutts Bank in Hong Kong.
The said amount was later transferred to the accounts of Arceo and Perez wife Rosario in Switzerland.
It will be recalled that when the Swiss government issued a report sometime ago, suspecting the amount deposited as laundered money, it made a formal request to the Philippine government to assist in determining the source of this fund.
Lacson pointed out, as he had bared recently showing evidence on Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez’s order to withhold processing of the needed papers, from the time the request was made until last Jan. 9, when the Office of the Ombudsman announced its resolution recommending the filing of charges against Perez, the Philippine government did nothing to lend assistance in determining the source of this fund. To date, statements were made that the case filed against former Secretary Perez et.al was purely a case of extortion and that the occupants of Malaca had nothing to do with the said money, he said, adding there is need to uncover the truth as it puts to doubt the sanctity and validity of the contracts entered into by the Executive Department. Lacson also reiterated the unveiling of the identity of the parties who facilitated the approval of a contract for them to be prosecuted for violation of the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and of the Plunder Act.
Also yesterday, Senator Arroyo issued a press statement belying insinuations that his blue ribbon committee stonewalled the conduct of the probe into Lacson's resolution No. 477
According to the director-general Emilia Pueyo, of the blue ribbon committee, there was no Impsa resolution some years ago. But to the best of her recollection, the blue ribbon was only a secondary committee. The Senate offices are closed so this can be ascertained only on Monday. The blue ribbon committee has no pending matter un-acted upon as the primary committee, he clarified.
Nonetheless, he said in a radio interview that should Lacson introduce or re-file the resolution, he is open to the idea of reviving the probe. But he warned that the proceedings may only be redundant or an end up an exercise in futility considering that the Ombudsman had already conducted the same and even came out with a set of recommendations recently.
The matter is already in the hands of the government prosecutors. We should give ample respect to the other departments of the government. Otherwise, it would look as if we’re competing with them. Sen. Arroyo admitted, however, that if the Senate leadership would accede to the proposition of Lacson, the upper chamber cannot be prevented from issuing summons or to order the investigation of anyone. Presidential Legal Adviser Sergio Apostol used the same excuse made by Senator Arroyo, saying it makes no sense reopening the inquiry since the Senate had already started the probe.
They already conducted an inquiry before. They have the records until now so they can use it to file charges or have a proposed bill. There’s no need to reopen the case. Apostol said.
Apostol also accused Lacson of using the Impsa deal to advance his candidacy in the May polls.
Not surprisingly, administration congressmen defended the Arroyos in the Impsa bribe controversy. Lacson, according to Reps. Douglas Cagas (Davao del Sur) and Edwin Uy (Isabela) should stop being a fishwife and come out immediately with his evidence on the alleged involvement of the First Couple in the extortion case against Perez. Put up or shut up, they told Lacson. These are unsubstantiated charges similar to previous unproven charges against the Arroyos of which Ping has always been wont to do, Cagas said.
Uy, for his part, said Lacson has nothing to show and that he is now dragging the First Gentleman into the issue to divert public attention that he cannot show proof of what he is saying. Ping could not even say where the $14 million comes from. So for the sake of his reputation as a senator, I appeal to him to stop wasting his time on rumors, the congressman said.
Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, for his part, expressed belief that an agreement has been forged between Jimenez and Malaca, which sole intention is to unite against former President Joseph Estrada and undermine the opposition which still considers the former president as its head.
More bag of tricks from Glo EDITORIAL Daily Tribune 12/22/2006
As if it has never been caught with its hands in the cookie jar, Gloria's scheme and scam gang is again trying to slip in an obvious political racket for use in the coming national elections. The 2007 budget is again on the brink of a stalemate between Gloria and her stooges in Congress and the Senate over a P4.7- billion program to supposedly feed school children. Even at first glance, the program reeks of a scam. The Department of Agriculture (DA) is again figuring prominently in the Gloria scheme as a conduit for the importation of 1 million metric tons of rice for the school feeding program. Sen. Edgardo Angara, apparently giving the purpose of the program the benefit of the doubt, has questioned the need to import rice to feed school children. Rice importation has long been suspected as a huge source of illegal funds in this administration. Importation or outright smuggling of the grain has been associated with a person in Malaca who has a lot of weight to throw around. A grains depot in a supposed transhipment port in Quezon has been the center of the grains smuggling which is essentially done through the usual misdeclaration of imports, say 1 ton of grains is declared when the actual weight is about 3 tons of imports. The 1 million metric tons of imports for the program would make the country the biggest rice importer in Asia. Just this year, the country imported 1.5 million metric tons without the school feeding program. It is harder to envision the altruistic goal of the program than ascribing sinister motives behind it. With the Joc-Joc Bolante fertilizer scam, which has a similar dole-out character of an alibi as the feed the school children program, still being tucked, with a lot of effort, away under Gloria's skirt, the school feeding program would likely fall the same way. Malnutrition cannot be expected to be treated with the handing out of bags of rice as the shallow purpose of the program envisions. What would effectively be Gloria feeding the school children and their parents would obviously be the administration candidates that would expectedly be all over the rice packagings. Gloria's absence of credibility, as borne out by every independent survey done on her, reflects in everything that she does from the the Charter change (Cha-cha) campaign to the various photo opportunities that she pretends as her way of immersing with the people. But that is not the end of it, as there is now yet another scam in the making the school feeding program. It would not be a big surprise if the 2007 budget stalls as a result of an expected insistence by Malaca to have the program budgeted. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita may be right in saying the school feeding scheme would not be an election gimmick since it forms part of the yearly political stunts of Gloria anyway. With Cha-cha practically in the works again, expect more of the same sleight of hand that Gloria would undertake as she turns her attention to getting a winning ticket going in the 2007 elections, a hard task with the kind of credibility she has built up with the people over the years. She knows that not only would the 2007 elections serve as a referendum on her administration, but also that there is a more fearsome future for her should her congressman-allies, a sizable number of them, lose to opposition congressmen which would then lead to her facing an impeachment bid that may well end up in a conviction by Senate trial. By hook or by crook, Gloria apparently would be working to keep her allies in the majority in Congress and this means pouring in more of the stolen public funds into the candidacies of her administration bets. If she did this in 2004 for herself and her congressmen, when she still had the support of her elite civil society, to force her way into retaining power and position, she certainly will do so again, and more desperately, since her political survival hinges on the number of congressional allies to be voted in by the electorate. It would not be malnutrition that the Gloria scheme would be addressing but the flagging political health of her administration. Email: collator.peedee@yahoo.co.uk
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