Iloilo flyover probe: Rhetoric isn’t a commitment

“Rhetoric is a poor substitute for action, and we have trusted only to rhetoric. If we are really to be a great nation, we must not merely talk; we must act big.”

—Theodore Roosevelt

 

By Alex P. Vidal

 

LET us be clear about this: a “declaration of support” is different from “doing it on my own initiative.” 

So let’s not be totally mesmerized and excited when another politician has “supported the call” to conduct a Senate investigation into the scandalous and mysterious P680-million Iloilo flyover project or Ungka flyover (UFO) in Ungka, Pavia.

Senator Imee Marcos told Iloilo reporters May 28 “it is important to look into all this shabby infrastructure. It is apparent that the bridge is very badly constructed and has to be looked into.”

I find Marcos’ words lacking in substance and earnestness.

It appears it was like another rhetoric from a seasoned politician forced to denounce something in a press conference that is already stinking but something vacillating politicians like her wouldn’t really care to take up if nobody had raised it.

In others words, Marcos wouldn’t and couldn’t pick up the cudgels for the Ilonggos by making a lucid and transpicuous commitment to bring the matter herself to the Upper Chamber.     

She will have to wait for a colleague to file the resolution and just “support” it; she isn’t the Real McCoy if Ilonggos are waiting for the Knight in the Shining Armor.

The caveat is: if no senator will take up the issue seriously and be heroic and patriotic to sponsor a formal resolution, no senate inquiry will happen in the near future. 

 

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The “call” was actually a resolution from the Pavia Sangguniang Bayan (SB) sponsored by Councilor Pyt Trimañez urging the Senate to intervene in the controversy by calling for a formal inquiry.

The municipal resolution came after the Pavia SB “felt hopeless” that the efforts of Makabayan bloc Representatives Raoul Daniel Manuel of Kabataan, Arlene Brosas of Gabriela, and France Castro of ACT-Teachers have, so far, yielded negative results in as far as a formal inquiry from the Lower House is concerned.

Months have passed since the lawmakers filed the resolution and it seems, like many pending House resolutions, it is gathering cobwebs and may not be even taken up anytime soon. 

It appears no one is willing to grab the bull by the horns as the frustration and revulsion of Ilonggos get stronger and higher day by day.

We just can’t trust the politicians when they openly denounce the alleged irregularities in the expensive flyover project and yet do nothing concrete to at least speed up any investigation that would bring justice to the taxpayers.

"Ang problema ko ang laki-laki pala nang gagamitin sa repair niyan and I'm hopeful that they can come into a cheaper arrangement," Marcos said.

Problema mo ba talaga, Senador Imee?

 

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We are all excited and timid—whether we root for Celtics or Heat.

As of this writing, the Boston Celtics were on the verge of making history after a dramatic buzzer-beating victory against the Miami Heat to force a Game 7 in the NBA playoffs. 

Boston was trying to become the first team to win a playoff series after trailing 3-0. 

The winner of that series will play the Denver Nuggets, who swept the Los Angeles Lakers in four games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time in the franchise’s 47-year history.

In New York City, thousands of apartments meant for homeless New Yorkers are sitting vacant amid record homelessness and a continuing influx of migrants, according to documents obtained by the Daily News. Obtained via a Freedom of Information Law request, the documents show that 2,646 of the city’s supportive housing units—which are meant for homeless individuals with a need for social services—were empty on March 31.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two daily newspapers in Iloilo.—Ed)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smiling Imee

 

“A smile is the chosen vehicle of all ambiguities.”

—Herman Melville

By Alex P. Vidal

“ANG galing mo a. Paano mo nalaman ang isyu na yan?” (You seemed good. How did you learn about that issue?)

The statement came from then Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos, who was running for Ilocos Norte second district representative, shortly after our brief press conference at Sarabia Manor Hotel in Iloilo City sometime in 1997.

Smiling Imee was accompanied by her “proud” friend, then Calinog Mayor Alex Centena, who never stopped telling all and sundry he and Smiling Imee had been friends wayback when they were officers of the Kabataang Barangay (KB) or National Youth Council—the youth organization that would eventually be replaced by the Sangguniang Kabataan—in 1977.

Smiling Imee was the KB national chair, while Proud Alex was the KB chair in Calinog.

“Damu ang wala nakabalo diri sa Iloilo nga dugay na kami kilalahay ni Imee ya.” (Not many people in Iloilo know that me and Imee are long time friends), Proud Alex beamed. 

Back to Smiling Imee’s “Ang galing mo a…” post-press conference utterance. 

When a politician tells a journalist he or she is “magaling” (good) within the hearing distance of fellow politicians and media practitioners, you can be sure it’s hyperbole if not loaded with a pejorative message.

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Was Smiling Imee smiling when she recently made that migrate-outside-the-Philippines-if-Marcos-wins “joke” on newscaster Karen Davila?

It’s inconceivable for now Senator Imee to admire the Iloilo journalist who raised that issue about the behest loans during the Iloilo press conference since the subject matter didn’t sit well with the cronies pampered by her late father, former President Ferdinand Marcos Sr.

There were eight elements why a behest loan was immoral and probably illegal: loan is undercollateralized; borrower is undercapitalized; direct/indirect endorsement by high government officials; cronies own or control the borrowers; loan was used to other purposes; use of corporate layering; funded project is not feasible; extraordinary speed in loan release.

Some P50 billion behest loans under the administration of Smiling Imee’s late father had been uncovered and ordered investigated in the Senate.

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On August 31, 1977, when Archimedes Trajano asked then 21-year-old Smiling Imee, "Must the Kabataang Barangay be headed by the president’s daughter? She would not have gotten the position if she weren't the daughter of the president," Smiling Imee, who was allegedly irritated, wasn’t smiling.

Trajano was reportedly forcibly thrown out of the open forum, and was subsequently blindfolded, and then allegedly beaten by her bodyguards. 

The forum at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila was where Trajano was last seen alive.

This is the reason why it’s hard to trust Imee’s smile or Smiling Imee herself—when she smiles while saying something to a journalist or political critic.

Until now, no one can tell if Smiling Imee, now 66, is mad or happy at the person in front of her because when she talks about politics and other related issues, she has always been all smiles.

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Smiling Imee Marcos and former Armed Forces of the Philippines chief, Gen. Fabian Ver had been sued by Trajano’s mother, Agapita, in Hawaii for false imprisonment, kidnapping, wrongful death, and the deprivation of Trajano’s life on March 20, 1986.

In her defense, Smiling Imee admitted in court she knew about Trajano's fate but claimed it was "none of her business."

The Hawaiian court scuttled down Smiling Imee’s attempt to escape liability after she claimed immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which exempts foreign agents from prosecution. 

Two reasons were given by the court in denying Smiling Imee’s arguments: one, the crime was committed beyond the scope of her official work and duties, and; two, she did not act upon the authority of the government but acted on her own authority.

Trajano had been tortured and killed and Smiling Imee was held accountable by the Hawaiian court that ruled in the dead student’s favor. 

Trajano’s family was awarded damages of $4.16 million.

Smiling Imee, by the way, directed the “Ang galing mo a…” compliment at me. Although she was smiling, she probably meant it with nary a malice and ill-motive whatsoever. After all, she was smiling.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo.—Ed)