Is anyone watching?

ARE any of you still watching the hearings in the House of Representatives (Impeachment complaint vs. GMA) and the Senate (starring Joke-Joke Bolante and the fertilizer fund scam)?

I gave up at the last House hearing where former Speaker Jose De Venecia was shooting his mouth off regarding the money allegedly distributed by the presidentita to the congressmen to shut them up in the last impeachment complaint.

I don't doubt that what JDV is saying is true, and even whatever else he is claiming to have happened in China while the presidentita, her husband and he were playing golf w/ ZTE executives. It's just that, too late na dava? Why only now JDV? Just bec. you were still Speaker, you kept quiet all the while your son Joey and Jun Lozada were being grilled over the barbeque pit on the ZTE Broadband issue? Tsk, tsk. How convenient.
* * * *
I did sneak a peek at this afternoon's hearing at the Senate. I was curious to find out Ibarra Poliquit's involvement in this fertilizer fund scam.

(Barry Poliquit is currently VP of physical resources of the GSIS.)

You see I knew an Ibarra/Barry Poliquit almost two decades ago when he was just a staff assistant at the office of Undersecretary Celso Roque at the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Roque, a former UP professor, I thought ran a tight ship, and handled the environmental concerns of the department. So even in the late '80s, we were already talking and writing about global warming, and debt-for-nature swaps, etc. Our environmental officials were pretty much ahead of their time compared to their counterparts in the U.S., Japan, and Australia.

Going back to Barry Poliquit, I knew him when he was thinner and was one of the people whom I knew who was already into scuba diving even before it became a rage in the Philippines. He was married to Rhoda Poliquit, who worked in the Dept. of Agrarian Reform then. He also struck me as one of those guys in the DENR who knew his stuff and was willing to share good environmental stories with us reporters.

In my 23-year-old mind, Barry didn't look like someone who would engage in nefarious activities involving gov't funds. Even though he was much older than I, he appeared as someone who still retained his youthful idealism despite the corruption in most government offices.

After I left the beat, I lost touch w/ Barry and his wife, and only heard of him again during the reopened Senate investigation on the fertilizer fund scam. According to the media reports, he was assistant secretary at the Dept. of Agriculture and had helped Joke-Joke Bolante, then Usec, oversee the implementation of the fertilizer fund program. Today he was being grilled on his apparent inadequate monitoring of the program w/c led to the purchases of overpriced fertilizer by their field office.

I wonder what happened to Barry. What changed? Did the corruption eventually get to him? Did it become an "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em" type of situation for him? Or did I just read him all wrong when he was still at DENR?
* * * *
After googling Dr. Celso Roque to find out what had become of him, I found out that he had passed away on June 30, 2002. Dr. Roque, who was such a masterful storyteller (he always had entertaining stories for us reporters), usually held court at Trellis, the original purveyor of sisig in the metro.

Among the DENR officials of his time, he was really the coolest cat. I could listen to him make kwento for hours, and learned a lot about enviromental issues from him. He is remembered as having pioneered the environmental movement in the Philippines. I raise a glass of wine in his memory.

Nausea

THIS is what I felt like after listening to Jun Lozada, the latest witness in ZTE-NBN Broadband scandal. His statements during a press conference at the La Salle Greenhills and at the subsequent hearing at the Senate showed just how far the illegitimate Gloria Macapagal Arroyo presidency will go just to protect its corrupt acts.

Smacking of Soprano-like Mafia tactics, Lozada was kidnapped, and only released after media became too nosey and noisy about his disappearance and Lozada signed, albeit forcibly, papers saying that he requested for security and protection from the PNP.

I don't know how the presidentita, FG Mike "Baboy" Arroyo and their minions - Environment Secretary Lito Atienza (fallen leader of a fake Liberal Party faction), PNP director-general Avelino Razon, and DILG Secretary and special ops expert Ronnie Puno can stand themselves lying with straight faces about the stunt they pulled. Do they actually think the public believes them?

How can these people especially retired Comelec (more like Kumolek) chairman Ben Abalos sleep soundly at night, knowing that we all know how crass and dishonest he is? He will supposedly file a libel case against Lozada. For what? For having the guts to tell the truth?

The man obviously could no longer live with himself, knowing what he knew about this nefarious deal with the Chinese. And no matter how the presidentita tries to steer clear away from this mess, ordering the DOJ to investigate the case, the grubby hands of her minions has stained her indelibly. (Take note, DOJ's Gonzales actually wants to investigate Lozada the whistleblower, instead of those who have been accused of enriching themselves in this caper. Magkano ba'ng sa'yo Sec?)

I empathize with Mr. Lozada. He is obviously someone with no political affiliations. He's just an ordinary man with a telecommunications and engineering background, whose expertise had been tapped by the government for what it felt was a vital broadband project. He has nothing to gain in coming out in the open with what he knows, and yet a lot to lose. I felt the pressure he was under and my tears welled up as well as he sobbed in frustration and fright at what he had done. He put his life in danger, also that of his family, just because di na nya masikmura ang pangungurakot ng mga tiga gobyerno. (I remember a foreign investor telling me once that under the Marcos regime, only he took 20 percent of any project as kickback. Today, under the GMA administration, kickbacks are par for the course from the lowliest civil servant until Malacañang, with bribes as much as 50 percent of the cost of the project. The punchline of course is, you can't even be sure that the project will actually be implemented. That's how garapal this government is! Yikes, there it goes, the bile up my esophagus...gotta barf folks!)

What's even more troubling about Lozada's revelations is that he confirmed that we are virtually living in a police state where Big Brother can just home in your conversation or intercept your cellphone text messages without you or possibly your telecom provider even knowing it. It's scary to live this way...you will always have to be careful about what you say or text, constantly look over your back even if you have done nothing wrong, because anything you say or do might be misconstrued by the powers that be and you will be picked up, kidnapped, possibly even tortured and killed. GMA's motto after all is, "If you're not with us, you're against us." Tony Soprano is that you?

As for you runny Romy Neri, how dare you even try to stop your friend from coming out with the truth. Bakit, tinanggap mo na ba ang P200M bribe ni Abalos? Why are you now sucking up to your presidentita? Hino-hostage din ba nya ang boypren mo? Nakakahiya at nakakasuka ka talaga!

No matter how Malacañang tries to play this, the public knows the presidentita and her ilk are the bad guys, the liars, the cheats, the corrupt, while Lozada and Joey de Venecia are the ones telling the truth. We are not fools.

It's about time we fight back and kick the shits out of these people in Malacañang.

Of fathers and sons

Something Like Life
Sept. 21, 2007

“There must always be a struggle between a father and son, while one aims at power and the other at independence.” — Samuel Johnson, July 14, 1763

THIS statement of renowned English poet and essayist Samuel Johnson, as quoted by his biographer James Boswell in his book The Life of Samuel Johnson, is no truer now than when it was first uttered centuries ago.

Like many other Filipinos, I was glued to the TV screen last Tuesday as the Senate blue-ribbon committee opened its investigation into the controversial ZTE broadband deal, now estimated at $340 million.

I was riveted to the unfolding drama as Joey de Venecia, or JDV III as the media has dubbed him, answered the senators’ probing questions into the so-called national broadband network project, or NBN, the contract between ZTE — a leading telecommunications company in China — and the Philippine government, and the alleged anomalous, not to mention scandalous way, by which the contract was hatched and signed. Too, JDV III did not mince words in identifying the key players in deal, dragging the name of Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos and even that of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo into the sordid affair.

It was interesting to note that there in that esteemed hall of the Upper Chamber, JDV III, the son of veteran politician and House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr., faced off against several notable “sons” of politicians as well: Mar Roxas (of the late Sen. Gerry Roxas), Alan Peter Cayetano (the late Sen. Renato Cayetano), Chiz Escudero (former congressman and agriculture secretary Salvador Escudero), Noynoy Aquino (the late Sen. Ninoy Aquino) and Jinggoy Estrada (former President Joseph Estrada).

Joey P. de Venecia III, right, re-enacts how First Gentleman Mike Arroyo told him to "back off" from the NBN deal at the Senate hearing on Sept. 18, 2007. 'Papa, can you hear me?' (Photo from GMANews.TV)

Only JDV III did not follow in his father’s footsteps and, until a couple of weeks ago, was largely unheard of, working quietly in the IT industry. Well, I’m sure we’ll be hearing more about his background as the administration cranks up its rather amateurish crisis PR group. I’ve already received several text messages from a 0927-4868279 (Hello NTC!) alleging all sorts of improprieties in JDV III and his father’s past. True or false, they have no bearing, though, on the issue at hand.

Society takes fatherhood as the ultimate expression of a man’s masculinity. And to have a son is the proudest moment in any father’s/man’s life. Despite this era where women have emancipated themselves at home and in their careers, proving that, yes, they are as worthy or useful as men are, a father will always long for a son rather than a daughter.

In a son, a man can count on the survival of the family name and the continuation of the bloodline, so to speak. Naturally, a father sees himself in the son and tries to nurture him to grow up to be “just like Dad.” Many fathers take so much pride in having sons as their first-borns that they even name their babies after themselves. Thus, we have the Juniors or the Thirds around us. One can only hope that they live up to their father’s names.

Because for every son that has achieved or surpassed the accomplishments of his father, there are a few who have failed, bringing shame to their fathers and their families. When a father is successful, his own family and society in general put a lot of pressure on the child to reach the same heights as he did. Such pressure further complicates the bond between a father and his son.

And so as I watched the Senate hearing, there was JDV III politely answering the pointed questions of the senators. But it was obvious that the most difficult inquiries he tackled were those regarding his father, the House Speaker. He looked even slightly choked up as he confessed that his only regret in coming out and telling all about the ZTE deal, was that his relationship with his esteemed father was now suffering.

It is never easy for a son to try to stand up for himself and try to do different from what his father may have done if placed in a similar situation. The consummate politician that he is, I would think Joe de V, if in his son’s place, would feverishly try to work out a compromise with Abalos and ZTE. He is one who tries to smoothen any ruffled feathers, especially those of his colleagues.

What is clear is that the Speaker is none too happy with how things have blown up. Observing how Joe de V has worked through the five terms he has headed the Lower House, I would assume that he had impressed on his son to just keep quiet and roll with the punches. Perhaps he tried to assure his son there were other projects he could bid for in the future. Joe de V presumably tried his best to persuade his son to leave the First Gentleman’s name out of the affair, and to protect his alliance with the President as much as possible. Thus, we hear JDV III go on and on calling GMA “my President,” and his constant assertion that she did not know of the details of the ZTE deal. (In fact, she did, as JDV III himself let slip later.)

For JDV III to disregard his father’s advice and risk disappointing the latter can be a gut-wrenching decision any son can make. Did anyone notice how JDV III’s face lit up, and how his eyes sparkled like a little boy’s, as he spoke of how proud his father was that President Arroyo had cited his proposal in a favorable light, telling Abalos to tailor ZTE’s bid in a similar fashion? Young or old, a son will always keep courting the approval of his father.

Will the Speaker give up his post for his son? (Photo from Peace Federation)

In an interview after Tuesday’s Senate hearing with the news channel ANC, JDV III said that his father was going out of town intimating that he knew not where their relationship was headed.

For now, we are just observers in the side drama on the Speaker and his son, JDV III. It may not be as gripping as the spectacle between Ruffa Gutierrez and her mother, the feisty Annabel Rama, but it is interesting nonetheless in the context of realpolitik. The Speaker is still safe in his seat, but if push comes to shove for the President and her husband, and Joe de V’s position is threatened, it would be intriguing to find out how the latter plays his hand.

In an interview on Wednesday, however, Joe de V said he was cancelling his trip to Rome and is standing by his son. However, he has yet to corrobate his son’s testimony regarding three instances where the Speaker may have witnessed certain events and heard statements made by the key players regarding the ZTE deal. As any politican will tell you, sometimes it is difficult to choose between duty to family and duty to country. Or in this case, to his President. Will Joe de V choose his political survival over his son? Abangan.

(My column, Something Like Life, is published every Friday in the Life section of the BusinessMirror. Main photo from the BusinessMirror)