Gloria Macapagal Arroyo: Resign!

For violating Article VII Section 20 of the Philippine Constitution which provides:

"The President may contract or guarantee foreign loans on behalf of the Republic of the Philippines with the prior concurrence of the Monetary Board, and subject to such limitations as may be provided by law. The Monetary Board shall, within thirty days from the end of every quarter of the calendar year, submit to the Congress a complete report of its decision on applications for loans to be contracted or guaranteed by the Government or government-owned and controlled corporations which would have the effect of increasing the foreign debt, and containing other matters as may be provided by law."

The Monetary Board was not consulted and much less its approval asked.

(Thanks to Commenter MVJ for the heads up.)

Gloria Resign!

Randy David summarizes the damage that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has done to our institutions.

"...it would be a mistake to think this is just about corruption. This is, more importantly, about the long-term damage to a nation’s social institutions.

The damage to government institutions has been the most extensive. Far from being a neutral arbiter of disputes and a source of normative stability, the justice system has become a weapon to intimidate those who stand up to power. Far from being a pillar of public security, the military and the police have become the private army of a gangster regime. Instead of serving as an objective referee in electoral contests, the Commission on Elections has become a haven for fixers who deliver fictitious votes to the moneyed and the powerful. Instead of serving as the steady backbone of public service through successive changes in administration, the government bureaucracy has been turned into a halfway house for political lackeys, misfits and the corrupt. Instead of serving as a check on presidential power, the House of Representatives has become its hired cheering squad.

The erosion of these institutions, no doubt, has been going on for a long time. But their destruction in the last seven years under Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s presidency has been the most comprehensive since 1986..."

Thanks to Kabayan for spearheading the blogswarm. If people keep up the pressure, I bet she'll be looking over her shoulders more often.

Gloria Resign

"Those who have gained power by crime are usually compelled to continue their course" - Descartes

(Thanks to Jen for initiating the blogswarm.)

Washington Sycip and The Rise of the Technocrats: A Reality Check

The Senate hearing featuring Jun Lozada has brought home the flaws of Washington Sycip's proposed technocrat-led government. A few weeks ago, Manolo Quezon pointed to Sycip's vision:

"...Although [Sycip] was cut short of advising that the government should do away with the elections as this will curtail the rights of the people to vote, Sycip said legislators should be stripped off the powers concerning the economic matters of the country.

This would mean the rise of the technocrats, who should be insulated from the politicians. [emphasis mine] These select people will run the country’s economy and will have the necessary powers to immediately effect change or react in cases of emergency, such as the recent move of the US Federal Reserve to cut its interest rates by three quarters of a percentage point.

Sycip, 87, said these technocrats should be given powers like those of the Bangko Sentral’s, that can either raise or ease interest rates immediately without getting the nod of Congress or consulting the President."

The above is a restatement of an earlier speech he gave to the Management Association of the Philippines where he pondered:

"Should we have an Asian model of democracy where economic and education matters are delegated to a group of technocrats that are insulated from politics? Can we expect an elected congress of politicians to respond to the rapid economic changes taking place in a flat world? After all an independent central bank, with little interference from politicians, seems to work quite well for our banking system."

The inspiration for the above model is of course Singapore where Lee Kuan Yew and his elite cadre have propelled that city-state to economic success.

The predicament of Jun Lozada shows us why a technocrat-led model may not be the right one for the Philippines. While technocrats like him may be competent enough to formulate and implement policies and programs in their given areas of expertise, they would still need to operate in an institutional environment where their competence can be channeled towards the good of the majority. Unfortunately, this is hardly the case. For one thing, Lozada pointed out that the Philippine government has a dysfunctional procurement system.

"The procurement system doesn’t really work. The process of procurement is tailoring the process to the supplier. We don’t look for the best supplier. It should be needs-driven, but now it is supply-driven. Also, there’s no check and balance."

Being the results-oriented technocrat that he is, Lozada then tried to reconcile himself to working with the system by personally deciding on a permissible zone of corruption, which is expressed as a certain percentage of the contract price. Outside this would be the forbidden zone. (I've heard this kind of rationalization a long time back from others, usually from my fellow professional types.) However, as is bound to happen, someone comes along to test the boundaries. If that person is influential enough, then the permissible zone continues to grow often at the expense of the technocrat(s) who originally set such boundaries, and who will then be replaced or overriden by other technocrats who possess larger permissible zones.

This brings us to another one of Sycip's misdirected, or at best incomplete, areas of concern. As seen from the first quote above, Sycip worries about legislative interference, but Lozada's testimony points to another source of interference coming from within the Executive Branch itself. This came in the form of rent-seeking behavior by Abalos who requested Lozada to 'protect' 130 million USD of the contract price and insisted in changing the nature of transaction from a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) scheme to a Loan Arrangement. In his model, Sycip does not adquately address interference coming from this direction. His model also fails to acknowledge situation where the legislature (i.e. the Senate) is the institution that saves the people's money from corruption as in the case of the Senate investigations that led to the cancellation of the NBN/ZTE deal.

Lastly, while Sycip muses about having an "overdose" of democracy, it was actually the Media that saved technocrat Lozada's from his abductors (just as it saved Trillanes from a potential rub-out a few months ago).

In a nutshell, Jun Lozada's experience provides a lesson on how technocrats (or any 'select' group) would be forced to operate in an environment where the leadership is not accountable to the people. In such a situation, anyone who manages to survive a joyride with military-types would be coopted by the very politicians from whom they are supposed to be insulated.

Update Feb-09-2008 8:19PM: Solita Monsod (a former government technocrat herself), reserves her bitterest criticism towards Romulo Neri:

"I reserve my bitterest criticism for Neri. If Mike Arroyo will forever be associated with 'Back off!' Neri will be forever associated with 'Moderate their greed,' if not with the instructions to accommodate projects with powerful “political sponsors.” How could the chief of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) put his imprimatur on what he knew from the beginning were flawed, overpriced projects, simply because they had powerful political sponsors? Where was his (and the NEDA’s) obligation to make sure that only projects with the highest economic rates of return would be undertaken? And, despite what he knew about the overpricing, how did he manage to calculate a rate of return of 27 percent? Some kind of abracadabra had to be used, because if I remember correctly, the project’s rate of return was originally below the threshold 15 percent level. That really means the NEDA evaluation process has been prostituted."

Program of Government for 2010: A Laundry List

(Via mlq3) Janette Toral of Digitalfilipino has called on bloggers to identify what "important issues should voters consider as priority when analyzing politician's or political party agenda". Here's my contribution in the form of a laundry list (for now):

1. Land Reform - Economists have clearly established the link between land reform and economic growth. What will be your government's timetable for completing CARP? How can you ensure full implementation in the face of resistance from the rich and powerful?

2. Food Security - Related to the above, what will be your government's approach to achieving food security?

3. Wealth Redistribution - Philippine society is characterized by extreme concentration of wealth among few families. How can you encourage, convince or otherwise compel the wealthiest families to come up with an action plan to redistribute a portion of their wealth to the poor? How will you monitor progress of these action plans?

4. Industrial Development - The world's leading economies have achieved sustained economic growth by embarking on a conscious program of Industrial Development. What is your approach for building a home-grown manufacturing and industrial base? Specifically, how will your government encourage or otherwise compel the country's leading businessmen to keep their capital in country and invest their wealth in industry instead of in real estate (e.g. malls) and other rent-seeking activities? How will your government continuously manage and monitor their progress?

5. Export Promotion with Import Substitution - How will your government be able to promote exports and at the same time encourage the substitution of imported items with locally manufactured ones?

I'll update during the week.

Venezuela: Hugo Chavez Creates Own Time Zone

With the latest announcement from their President, Venezuelans must be wondering whether they are edging towards this classic Bananas moment.

Statement of La Salle Brothers: Let Us Start The Change We Want To See

La Salle Green Hills Retreat House
National Heroes Day
30 November 2007
To all Filipinos of goodwill,

Profoundly disturbed by recent events, we the De La Salle Brothers of the Philippines, have decided as a body to exercise our vocation as teachers and guides by raising our voices in protest at the moral degeneration that has infiltrated almost every aspect of public life since we called for a restoration of faith in democracy in 2005.

In July of that year, we and our colleagues issued a public statement in response to the crisis brought on by the Garcillano tapes and the ensuing controversies surrounding President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. At that time, we spoke out as educators, charged with the moral guidance of the young and concerned with upholding the values of honesty, integrity and truthfulness in public life and civil society. In that statement, we affirmed the principle that moral ascendancy is a critical ingredient to effective governance, and warned that a leadership without moral authority cannot realistically command the respect of a nation. Today, two years later, we are alarmed and ashamed that the situation has increasingly worsened. The signs of moral disintegration abound:

• the escalating number of acts of violence against journalists, leftists and members of the legal opposition, which according to a report of the UN Human Rights Council representative have been perpetrated by some elements in the military;
• unresolved anomalies in government, including the aborted ZTE-NBN deal and the fertilizer scam, which involve billions of pesos in public funds;
• the large amounts of cash distributed in brown bags to some lawmakers at Malacañang just as impeachment moves were being initiated and firmed up in Congress and the facile efforts to hide the truth about their origins and purpose;
• concerted efforts among some lawmakers and government officials to block attempts at establishing truth and securing accountability;
• the corruption of the electoral system as manifested in various anomalies related to the last national elections.

The net effect of these, together with past anomalies, has been to further undermine confidence in practically every institution of government. Widespread despair with these existing institutions can only spawn violence and increasing military adventurism. We need only think of the fiasco at the Manila Peninsula on 29 November 2007 to see that this is so.

What is even more lamentable is the degree to which many Filipinos have become desensitized to the stench of corruption because of the unending stream of government-related scams, cover-ups and scandals. The unwillingness of the public to engage in peaceful public exercises of moral outrage and to support calls for government accountability bespeak a weary cynicism and loss of hope in all possibility of meaningful change that is especially alarming for us as educators.

This retreat from civic responsibility bodes ill for the future. This is perhaps our generation’s greatest crime: to rob our people, especially our youth, of the conviction that noble ideals are worth every sacrifice and that moral principles must prevail in public life.

For these reasons, even if it amounts to no more than a voice crying out in the wilderness, we, the De La Salle Brothers of the Philippines, feel the need to proclaim once again the same values we espoused in 2005: truth, justice, honesty and integrity. Without these, no government can be trusted, and where there is no trust, governance degenerates into bribery and intimidation.

We join in the call of courageous religious leaders and of proven men and women of conscience who seek a moral revolution. But if such a call is to become more than mere lip-service, we must translate it into effective action on behalf of the values we espouse, keeping in mind the legal framework of the Constitution. We call on men and women of goodwill to act now to make real the change they want to see.

To all parents, teachers, pastors, religious and all those charged with the moral formation of youth: God has given us the extraordinary privilege of mentoring the young and laying the foundations of our country’s future. Let us not betray God’s trust. Let us teach the young that what is happening today is wrong. Let us teach them that a life without moral virtue or principle is no life at all, but a subhuman existence unworthy of their dignity as children of God. Let us teach them that we are all answerable to God for what we have made, not just of our lives, but also of our nation. Let us teach them, as one man showed us years ago, that the Filipino is worth dying for.

To all Filipino workers here and abroad, farmers and fisherfolk, men and women in business, entrepreneurs and professionals: your efforts and earnings sustain the economic and political life of our country. In solidarity with one another, demand more from this government. Come together to hold this country’s leadership accountable for their stewardship of the taxes you pay. Demand that every centavo be properly allocated and accounted for. Demand transparency and fairness in all business transactions. Consider the long-term goals and voice your displeasure at lost opportunities and the abuses that squander our nation’s wealth to the detriment of all, especially the poor.

To all artists, poets, writers and media practitioners: you are the vanguards of culture. You bear the great responsibility of ennobling the soul and creating a culture supportive of truth, justice and respect for human dignity. Focus on this task. Create visions and words that inspire and move our people to live up to what is best in them.

To all our men and women in uniform: our hearts go out to you for the ready sacrifices you have made again and again in the service of our nation. We acknowledge with gratitude the selflessness many of you have shown again and again. Remember that you are called to be defenders of the Constitution and protectors of human rights. Please do not fail in this charge. Let it be clear, however, that we do not condone military adventurism for it is inconsistent with the basic democratic values we hold dear.

To all civil servants, legislators and government workers: we believe that you also dream of a better nation for our children. We beg you to resist the culture of corruption. Help us build a future full of hope for our children.

To all our alumni and alumnae: we encourage you to take cognizance of the education you have received from La Salle all these years. As dark clouds hover in the horizon, we challenge you to and make a difference. Take heart from your fellow alumnus, Jose W. Diokno, and his vision of “a free nation, where men and women and children from all regions and with all kinds of talents may find truth and play and sing and laugh and dance and love without fear…”

We end this statement by sharing with you, our fellow Filipinos, this prayer of hope as we, the De La Salle Brothers look to 2011, the 100th year of the Lasallian ministry of education in the Philippines:

Lord, let me be the change I want to see
To do with strength and wisdom
All that needs to be done
And become the hope that I can be.
Set me free from my fears and hesitations.
Grant me courage and humility.
Fill me with spirit to face the challenge
And start the change I want to see.
Today, I start the change I want to see.
Even if I’m not the light, I can be the spark.
In faith, service and communion
Let us start the change we want to see,
The change that begins in me.

Signed:

Selectorate Theory: Implications of Political Legitimacy on Governance

Urbano de la Cruz points to a fascinating body of work by Bruce Bueno de Mesquita. You can read more about it here. Browsing through an online copy of de Mesquita's book The Logic of Political Survival, I stumbled upon this neat diagram on page 130 that summarizes the core predictions of Selectorate Theory:

A detailed explanation of the various aspects of the diagram can be found in the book itself. What i would want to focus on is on what the above diagram has to say about the issue of Gloria Arroyo's lack of political legitimacy and the prospects of good governance given her lack of legitimacy. This involves understanding the concepts of a Leader's Discretionary Funds and the gap between the Selectorate and the Winning Coalition

Leader's Discretionary Funds: The book defines kleptocracy as something more than mere corruption. Rather, it is "outright theft of a nation's income by its leaders". It goes on to say that:

"The opportunity to engage in kleptocracy - while retaining one's position as an incumbent - is determined by the difference between the revenue available to a government and the expenditures made by the government. Whatever is left over from the two quantities is money available for the discretionary use of incumbent leaders."

Gap between Selectorate and the Winning Coalition: As per the Wikipedia entry on Selectorate Theory:

"The Selectorate is simply those within the state that have a say in policy outcome (in the United States, for example, it would be all citizens over the age of 18 eligible to vote). The Winning Coalition is a proportion of the Selectorate sufficient to choose and sustain a leader in office."

Under the Philippine Electoral System, the Selectorate consists of the pool of eligible voters while, in theory, the Winning Coalition is the proportion of voters who choose the President, which at least since 1992, has been a plurality.
(to be continued)

Final Defeat for EDSA Dos

Five weeks ago, i declared Final Victory for EDSA Dos. With the pardon of Erap by Gloria Arroyo, whatever victory we can claim for that revolution is gone. Commenter Mike over at Manolo's says it all:

"The pardon of Erap is the last straw. It makes a mockery of everything I fought for in 2001. It’s so clear and so glaring that we’ve been so thoroughly had. I’ve never been so sick to my stomach."

Ever since Hello Garci, it's been clear to me that the revolution has been betrayed. However, i suppose for many, this act drives home the point.

I guess now is also a time for the EDSA Tres crowd to reflect on whether this can be counted as a victory for their cause. Over at Ellen's blog, which i believe echoes the pulse of the Filipino majority, the prevailing sentiment so far is one of disgust at both Gloria and Erap. So it turns out that is one of the few times Gloria Arroyo has done something that has the effect of uniting the Country.

Terrorism as Fire Insurance

This early, there have been calls from fellow bloggers to pull together after yesterday's tragedy. Blogger Rom says that:

"A united response to the bombing is paramount to politics, however way you cut it."

DJB, who is one of the most predictable bloggers i've come across, is more emphatic:

"No matter what our opinions of her may be, I believe it is our duty as citizens to support the President and Commander in Chief in this dark hour that is increasingly beginning to look like a terrorist attack. I agree with her that this is a time for all of us to unite behind the authorities for the sake of the national security."

If it turns out JI, the CPP/NPA or the MILF did it, does that mean that we automatically rally behind the government of Gloria Arroyo? We've heard of cases where business owners, usually those who are losing money, set fire to their own shops to collect fire insurance. In the same way, beleaguered political leaders who have expended their political capital have been known to replenish their stock on the back of tragedies such as terrorist attacks. In this case, they collect their insurance in the form of "popular support" for "a united response" that is supposed to be "paramount to politics". It wouldn't take a Machiavelli to realize what lesson could be learned from this kind of dynamic.

An expected mass response of pulling together would lead to the classic problem of moral hazard, i.e.,

"...the prospect that a party insulated from risk (such as through insurance) will be less concerned about the negative consequences of the risk than they otherwise might be."

Does that mean that the government set the fire itself? Not necessarily, it would be premature to conclude that. However, the situation today can be likened to a case where you have roaming bands of arsonists. Given that terrorist threats are commonplace today, any President in a pickle and interested in self-preservation can simply relax his/her vigilance and let the terrorists do what comes naturally to them, knowing full well that the political windfall would go to him/her. He/she knows that in matters involving National Security where secrecy is involved, negligence is hard to detect.

Let's keep that in mind whenever someone finally tries to collect on his/her insurance.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Thirty Five

Via Smoke's Count-up, Representative Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel files files graft cases against Abalos. PCIJ has more details.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Thirty-Three

Blogger Rom puts the Opposition on notice by starting an Abalos Graft Case Count-Up. Fair enough.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Twenty-Five

In any other country, the political deathwatch would have ended at this point.

Since we are not any other country, the watch continues. For one thing, Manolo thinks it's a clever gambit. Since i'm not that politically astute, I allow myself to be more sanguine for now.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Thirteen

Kudos to Manolo for live-blogging yesterday's Senate hearings. Ellen Tordesillas deconstructs Abalos' reaction:

"Reacting to Joey’s Senate testimony. Abalos feigned ignorance and powerlessness: 'Do I have that kind of influence?'

If you made someone who was not elected by the people win as president, you have power over her. You can demand the whole Internet Highway and she is in no position to say 'No'. That is called payback."

This time around, Bong Austero no longer seems inclined to 'move on'.

Update Sept-19-2007 3:00AM: The Arroyo Family's lawyer in the blogosphere has just checked-in over at Manolo's and it appears that the GMA camp will definitely be going for the tried and tested deadma strategy. Maybe that will give the "Let's move on camp" time to recover their voice.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Eleven

Amid speculations on tomorrow's Senate hearing where Joey de Venecia may finally reveal the "Mystery Man", (e.g. here and here), it is reported that Mike Arroyo has "flown to coop". Of course the proper attitude to take in these moments of great expectations is to hope for the best, but expect the worse.

Update Sept-18-2007 12:48pm: Mike Arroyo is the 'Mystery Man'. For those interested in near real-time updates, there is liveblogging over at mlq3's.

Final Victory for EDSA Dos

For someone like me who participated in EDSA Dos, such a victory would have been sweet. Now it is mostly an occassion for cognitive dissonance. As linked to by Manolo, blogger Bluepanjeet has expressed it best.

I hope those who marched for the ideals of EDSA Tres will similarly achieve their vindication. As DJB points out, the present Administration has provided many opportunities to do just that.

In the meantime, today's event has provided another occassion to showcase the cleavage between the two camps. Over at Ellen's, the commenters who are usually united (primarily by their opposition to Gloria) exhibited more than the usual divergence of opinion. In particular, when she posted the Black and White Movement's reaction to the verdict, commenter maarte had this to say...

"Both Black & White (Civil Society) and Bayan were among the participants in Edsa Two ousting Erap. Expectedly, they accepted the verdict. Why don’t they now conspire with other groups to oust Arroyo this time? Where’s Cory Aquino and the Catholic Church? Isang tambak kayong mga ipokrito ! Revolution na !"

...which was seconded by commenter emrjay...

"Yeah! i agree with maarte. Just ignore whatever they (Black and White and Bayan)said. Hypocrites!!!!"

and commenter Chi...

"Ako rin, same opinion here about Black and White Movement and Bayan. In fact, sila ang rason kung bakit ang Pinas ay nagkakaganito na niloloko lang ni Gloria.

Personally, I don’t expect more from them. They installed Gloria, they deserve Gloria!

Tama na ang mga press releases ninyo. Don’t justify anything dahil malaki ang kasalanan ninyo sa bayan for subverting the Constitution!"

Gloria Arroyo, who is the proximate cause of such division, can very well exploit these resentments and mutual distrust to retain power. Just saying.

Update Sept-13-2007 1:16AM: At Uniffors, Manuel Buencamino reflects on the people's sense of justice (a blind spot for lawyers steeped in their profession), and mourns a lost opportunity.

Update Sept-15-2007 4:13PM: In his Inquirer column for today, Erap’s Conviction and the Rule of Law, Randy David explains the source of the cognitive dissonance that i referred to above:

"The legal system of any society is strengthened not so much when it succeeds in putting the high and mighty on trial, but when the law is applied consistently and predictably over time. We know there is rule of law when people have stable notions of what is legal and illegal, and know what to expect when laws are violated...

...The independence of the judiciary and the professional integrity of those who serve in the various agencies of government, including those in the police and the armed forces, are the minimum conditions needed to make the rule of law work in a democracy. Alas, under Ms Arroyo’s watch, we have seen the most blatant undermining of these institutions by the executive. The assault on the autonomy of the investigative and prosecutorial offices of government, in particular, has been so brazen one wonders if those in charge are still in possession of their wits. Investigations, prosecutions, and preventive suspensions have been utterly selective. The pace and pattern in which they have been conducted manifest an astonishing partisanship often bordering on sheer malice and whim. The law has plainly been used as a weapon to threaten and punish political enemies...

The result of all this has been the consistent erosion of public trust in the country’s legal system."

In his blog, Arbet furnishes specific examples of what David describes above. However, David also does not spare the Opposition as he also says that:

"...If blame must be allocated, it has to be laid at the door of those who have done everything, directly and indirectly, to prevent the Court from focusing on the strictly legal merits of the case. I’m afraid they come from all sides of the political equation [emphasis mine]. If we keep subverting the autonomy of our judicial system, or promote a cynical view of our courts, how much justice can we expect when it is GMA’s or Comelec Chair Benjamin Abalos’ turn to be tried?"

A fair enough question.

Update Sept-16-2007 3:51PM: Over at Ellen's, commenter maarte quotes Ninez Cacho Olivares:

" Predictably, the so-called elites, along with the Catholic bishops and, of course, the leftists, hailed the Erap guilty verdict, praised the Sandiganbayan court for proving to one and all that “no one is above the law” when it convicted the ousted president.

They then issued statements to the effect that the Erap conviction sends a strong warning to all those in government not to engage in corruption and other criminal acts because the rule of law is being observed.

What dreamy idiots they can be, if they think that a guilty verdict on Estrada handed by a politicized judiciary can scare off these corrupt officials under the Gloria regime"

I agree that we're dreamy idiots if we think that Gloria Arroyo will be brought to justice by simply moving on. However, even the Tribune editorial for today says that:

"Consider it divine justice, but the conviction on questionable grounds of ousted President Joseph Estrada served to highlight more the excesses of the Arroyo administration."

I think it is in this sense that Erap's conviction can serve as a warning.

Update Oct-26-2007 2:11AM: Looks like Gloria Arroyo took the warning to heart.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Six

Ellen Tordesillas explains how the ZTE Broadband Deal and Hello Garci (and by extension EDSA Dos) are interconnected.

Blogger Anna of Manilabaywatch believes that along with Abalos, the losing party - Joey de Venecia, is also liable. In an earlier post, she also thinks that a generalized deathwatch is in order. Not sure if the time is ripe for this though. Maybe today's event would help clarify the direction.

World Bank Governance Indicators for the Philippines (1996 to 2006)

From the beginning, Gloria Arroyo has used the mantra of Good Governance to set her administration apart from her predecessor. In her inauguration speech before the EDSA Dos crowd, Gloria Arroyo declared that:

"To ensure that our gains are not dissipated through corruption, we must improve moral standards. As we do so, we create fertile ground for good governance based on a sound moral foundation, a philosophy of transparency, and an ethic of effective implementation."

Six years is more than enough time to judge her ability to deliver on the above which can now be evaluated using the World Bank's Governance Indicators that measures a Country's quality of governance based on six dimensions:

• Control of Corruption
• Government Effectiveness
• Political Stability
• Regulatory Quality
• Rule of Law, and
• Voice and Accountability

The country being measured is assigned a value between -2.5 and 2.5 on each of the above attributes, with the higher value representing better quality governance. These indices are computed using inputs from multiple sources. The most recent edition of this report is the...

Worldwide Governance Indicators: 1996-2006

...which was released in July 2007. The Report (pdf format) can be downloaded here. I have taken the index values for Philippines and converted these into line-graphs as follows (click on the images to enlarge):





Click on images to enlarge
By the above measures, Gloria Arroyo compares poorly with her predecessors as well as with her contemporaries in the other 212 countries being measured.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Five

At Uniffors, check out Manuel Buencamino's account of Joey de Venecia's revelations made at the Black and White Forum.

Abalos Political Deathwatch: Day Three

Excerpts from a news item in the the Philippine Star, many thanks to Yuko.

JDV's son confirms $10-M Abalos bribe
By Iris Gonzales and Rainier Allan Ronda
Saturday, September 8, 2007

The son of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. confirmed yesterday that Chairman Benjamin Abalos of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) offered him $10 million to back out of competition with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. for a national broadband contract.

Jose de Venecia III, a director of ZTE's rival Amsterdam Holdings Inc., confirmed the story in an interview with ABS-CBN in its website, saying Abalos had told him, "Joey, umatras ka na lang, bibigyan kita ng $10 million (back out, I will give you $10 million)."

The younger De Venecia said he was shocked and immediately declined the bribe...

...the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), which claims to be the voice of the private business sector, is not about to call for the resignation of Abalos or the annulment of the ZTE contract.

"It is still too premature to say anything at this time," Sergio Ortiz-Luis, PCCI honorary chairman and president of the Philippine Exporters Confederation and Employers Confederation of the Philippines, said yesterday.

...Abalos has been widely criticized for allegedly brokering for ZTE and receiving cash and outlandish perks in China – including young women – in return.

Abalos admitted ZTE paid for his trip to China weeks before the last elections but denied brokering for the Chinese firm or receiving lavish gifts or sexual favors.

...Ortiz-Luis said it is wrong to pass judgment on Abalos or the broadband contract at this time since nobody has seen the contract yet or has really made a full measure of the competency of the parties that participated in the bidding.

Ortiz-Luis said the best thing to do at this time is to wait for the results of the investigations, including those that will be conducted by Malacañang and the Senate, before coming out with a position.

He said everything is still based on allegations and reports so it is not proper to say anything categorical.

China open to ZTE probe

The Chinese government may investigate ZTE officials for possible wrongdoing.

Liu Jien Chao, a spokesman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry, told ABS-CBN Australia News Bureau on Thursday that his government takes allegations of corruption seriously.

"We are firm in fighting against any kind of corruption no matter if it happened in the government or any of the enterprises and we are also against any corruption that cropped up in bilateral trade relations with our trade partners so we are firm on that," Liu said.

"I think if the Philippine side will raise this issue with the Chinese side the Chinese side will look seriously into this," he said. But he admitted he is not privy to the ZTE deal.

Gov't experts ignored

The government's own technology experts had vouched for the viability of a "free" national broadband network but had been ignored in favor of the expensive – and questionable – offer from ZTE.

Science Secretary Estrella Alabastro told the House committee on appropriations that no government official had consulted her office regarding the $329-million controversial broadband deal. The House committee is deliberating on the P5.28 billion proposed budget for the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

She said the broadband program is within the jurisdiction and expertise of the DOST.

She said the DOST has been pushing for an NBN project since 2001 and that the National Economic and Development Authority or NEDA has already been apprised of the proposal.

She added that NEDA has yet to act on her agency's request for funds from Official Development Assistance.

But she said that despite funding problems, the DOST was still able to establish online communications among 80 agencies using the existing network of the country's top telecommunications companies.

Meanwhile, Amsterdam Holdings Inc. refuted ZTE's accusations that the government stands to lose more if it chooses AHI or other contractors.

"ZTE's proposal will require the Philippine government to obtain a $330 million loan from the Chinese government at an interest rate of three percent per annum, payable in 15 years with a grace period of five years," AHI said in a statement.

"But the Philippine government will not have to pay a single cent towards the $240 million project cost of AHI," it said. "AHI will construct, operate, and maintain the NBN at no cost to government."

House will be fair

The House leadership is ready to let any impeachment case against Abalos take its course, a senior House member said.

"In fact, there are early preparations so as not to derail the proceedings in case a complaint is filed against chairman Abalos in the House," Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan said.

"The House will be fair on any forthcoming impeachment complaint or complaints against him," he said.

Domogan said he is confident the involvement of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.'s son in the controversy would not affect impeachment proceedings.

"We believe the Speaker will not use his influence over the congressmen even with his son's involvement in the NBN deal controversy with the ZTE Corp. In fairness to the Speaker, he has observed delicadeza (propriety) and has not prejudged chairman Abalos," Domogan said. The Speaker's son, Jose de Venecia III co-founded AHI, ZTE's most vocal rival.

The Baguio City lawmaker said De Venecia even described the kickback issue against Abalos as "overkill."

"The Speaker has said that his son and his business associates are not interested in impeachment or in persecuting anybody and that they are only interested in business," Domogan said.

Threat of 'karma'

By shunning a bribe, he may have emerged with a clear conscience but by keeping silent about the misdeed he may ultimately lose his soul.

This was the message of a Catholic prelate to Commission on Higher Education chairman Romulo Neri in reaction to the latter's being tight-lipped about alleged bribery cases in government contracts.

Neri, former NEDA director general, said he couldn't be bribed but refused to confirm or deny if money clandestinely changed hands in the ZTE deal.

Fr. Ben Moraleda, of the Kaalagad Katipunan Kristyano said Neri should "do the right thing by telling the truth and save (his) soul before it's too late."

"Neri may have lost an opportunity to bail out of a 'sinking ship' when he refused to confirm or deny that he was offered a P200-million bribe to support the NBN project that ZTE won," Moraleda, who is also vice president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC) said.

"This is not about politics. This is about his moral responsibility to expose or condemn a crime," he also said.

On Neri's boast over radio that he never accepted bribes because he believed in "bad karma," Moraleda explained that "karma is not only about avoiding what is wrong, but especially doing what is right."

"Bad karma, therefore, will still happen if you fail to do your duty to the people," Moraleda said. "Scratch a liar and you'll find a thief."

A report by ABS-CBN correspondent Ricky Carandang said Abalos talked to Neri about the ZTE deal and that the former NEDA chief voiced his opposition to the contract but not to the need for a broadband project. Neri also declined to comment on the bribe offer.

ABS-CBN said its sources alleged that Neri informed Mrs. Arroyo of the bribe offer and that she asked him to turn it down but insisted that the deal should be approved.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, for his part, denied that Neri's opposition to the ZTE deal cost him his job as NEDA chief. – with Delon Porcalla, Katherine Adraneda, Ma. Eliza Osorio, and Paolo Romero

Update Sept-09-2007 4:09PM: Via Ellen, the cornered rat is threatening to sue.