POLITICKING / ROOT OF IT ALL
MANILA, JANUARY
20,
2012 (TRIBUNE) By Fernan J. Angeles - The
Palace branded Supreme Court Administrator Midas Marquez as engaging in callous
politicking as a way to deflect attention from the irregular use of a World Bank
(WB)-provided loan to the judiciary based on an aide memoire that appeared to
have been purposedly leaked as part of the campaign to oust impeached Chief
Justice Renato Corona but which the WB has indicated to be not for public
disclosure since its contents remain deliberative.
The new assault on Marquez, whom the Palace is portraying as a defender of
Corona, came a day after Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima challenged the Supreme
Court to penalize its own officials who were supposedly involved in the misuse
of the $21.9-billion fund for the Judicial Reform Support Project (JRSP).
Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda assailed Midas Marquez for his supposed
cavalier statements regarding the aide memoire, saying that the SC official was
trying to deflect attention from the misuse of the World Bank funds by
characterizing it as a question of territory.
"We are deeply appalled and concerned over the cavalier statements of Court
Administrator Midas Marquez regarding the World Bank findings on the misuse of
funds in the Supreme Court. They come across as callous politicking and a clear
attempt to deflect attention from the misuse of the World Bank funds by
characterizing it as a question of territory", Lacierda said.
He also averred that Marquez should not invoke the Supreme Court's fiscal
autonomy over "scandalous findings where the World Bank loan was inappropriately
used as their (Marquez and Chief Justice Renato Corona) personal ATM from where
funds are drawn to pay for junkets, gifts, dining and recreation".
"Atty. Marquez cannot hide behind the cloak of fiscal autonomy when the issue
is of national concern: the misuse of grants for judicial reforms meant to
benefit the Filipino people. When the funds are meant for the public's benefit,
allegations of improper use of those funds are everybody's territory and
business", Lacierda added.
Lacierda said Marquez, himself a lawyer, should be knowledgeable on
government ethics, apparently referring to the Court Administrator's being the
"proponent, approver, and head of bidding for his own proposed expenses and
acquisitions".
In a separate briefing, deputy presidential spokesman Abigail Valte said the
Palace was not maintaining any hit list against its perceived enemies and said
the word war between the Palace and Marquez should not be treated as "personal".
In sustaining tirades against his counterpart at the Supreme Court who he
described as liable of clearly violating basic government rules, Lacierda went
on to say the SC's mismanagement of funds, including ineligible expenses
approved by Marquez, himself, serving as judge, jury, and executioner in what is
a conflict of interest in holding multiple positions, breaking down barriers
that should serve as internal fiscal controls, redounds negatively to the whole
country".
Lacierda also claimed the Aquino government would remain consistent in its
policy of transparency, accountability, and prudence in spending public funds.
"This is something that we—and the rest of the Filipino people—expect not only
from the Executive branch, but from all other independent, co-equal branches of
government".
The purpose of the JRSP is to support the development of a more effective and
accessible judicial system that would foster public trust and confidence.
Specifically, the project will strengthen the local court system by making the
judicial process more efficient, timely, and predictable. The project would also
contribute to the refinement of further reform in the judicial system as a whole
and deepen community and government support for such reforms.
The total loan amount is $24.4-million dollars. Of that amount, $21.9 million
came from the World Bank's International Bank of Reconstruction and Development
(IBRD) and $2.5 million was the government's counterpart fund.
The term's grace period is eight years, the maturity is 20 years. World Bank
approval was made in August 2003. Its target completion was December 31, 2009.
It has been extended for another 18 months to June 30, 2011. It was given
another extension to June 30, 2012.
The World Bank aide memoire enumerated 133 contracts that were reviewed. Of
the 133 contracts, 70 were disallowed. Of the ineligible expenditure, 16 were
from the Court Administration Marquez's office. However, the report did not
categorically say that funds were misused even after asking for a refund to the
amount of $ 199,000.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has said the Supreme Court should penalize
people involved in the US$ 199,000 in "ineligible expenditures" of the US$ 21.9
billion loan from the World Bank.
In an earlier statement, Purisima said the aide memoire, pointed to serious
deficiencies in the implementation of the project.'
He said the loan "is not with the Philippine Supreme Court but with the
Republic of the Philippines" thus, "it is ultimately the Filipino people who
will pay for this loan, not the leadership of the SC."
He said "the refusal of the Chief Justice to be accountable for transactions
done from mid-2010 to 2011 is tantamount to negligence of duty. The leadership
of the SC owes it to the Filipino people to identify and penalize all those
responsible for this breach in the disbursement of loan proceeds."
He also noted that "the report points to grave systemic problems in the
Supreme Court" namely "over-centralized decision making, irregular procurement
practices, unreliable financial statements, and a breakdown of internal control,
especially with the Court Administrator performing multiple functions with
minimal checks and balance."
"If these irregularities occurred in the disbursement of the WB loan, what
about the regular budget of the SC, what about the special trust funds that the
SC refuses to account before the public?," he asked.
The SC has a fiscal autonomy but Purisima stressed that this privilege is
given to preserve an institution's independence.
"It cannot be used, however, to shirk from public accountability and hide the
truth from the sovereign people, which we all serve."
It also reported that some stakeholders and beneficiaries were excluded in
JRSP implementation with the lower courts benefiting only 14 percent of the
total information and communication technology (ICT) equipment being procured
under the program.
FROM MANILA STANDARD
The root of it all BY Emil
Jurado
Media organizations are wrong to give daily scores to the prosecution
or the defense in the trial of impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona. One
newspaper said it was the prosecution's day the other day when the Supreme
Court's Clerk of Court, Enriquetta Vidal, was made to submit the statement of
assets, liabilities and net worth of Corona to the impeachment court.
The Lopez-owned ABS-CBN was all in favor of the prosecution, hailing the
so-called smoking gun that points to Corona's ill-gotten wealth.
It was all scripted. Those who claimed that the prosecution now had the
smoking gun against Corona are likely blind.
Corona had said he had nothing to hide. All his wealth was listed in his
SALN. But a Supreme Court resolution in 1989 said that the SALNs should be with
the clerk of court and not made public, for fear of harassment and intimidation
by losing litigants. The Chief Justice was prepared all this time to bare his
SALN.
***
I have been wondering about Corona's claim that the root of his
impeachment is the Supreme Court's decision on Hacienda Luisita. The Cojuangco
family has been refusing to distribute the land to its farmers who have for
decades been held in bondage. Now, I see the light.
The Supreme Court unanimously, under Corona, overturned the stock
distribution option of the Cojuangcos. This was a scheme where the family would
continue to control and manage the hacienda with the farmers simply holding
stocks.
The late President Cory Aquino disregarded the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform
Program when she exempted Luisita from the law.
But in pursuance of the law, just compensation must be given to the
Cojuangcos. The question now is, at what rate, and by how much?
Note that President Noynoy Aquino's appointee to the Supreme Court, Justice
Ma. Lourdes Sereno, said in her concurring and dissenting opinion that instead
of the 1989 valuation, the compensation should be based on 2006 valuation.
Almost immediately after the Luisita decision came out, President Aquino went
ballistic against Corona and sought to oust him at all costs. Soon after, his
lapdogs in Congress joined him.
We know that Mr. Aquino has no love lost for Corona. We also know that he
would have preferred a friendlier chief justice, perhaps the likes of Sereno.
Now the veil has been lifted.
***
If Corona gets convicted by the impeachment court, and the new chief justice
would be "friendlier" to Malacañang, it will only be a matter of time for the
President's family members to get no less than P5 billion. It will be like
winning the lottery.
The Cojuangcos claim in their motion for reconsideration that just
compensation should be based on 2006 values, which would put the land at P1
million per hectare instead of P40,000 per hectare.
Are the Cojuangcos that lucky? Hacienda Luisita has already been connected to
an expressway. It has business enterprises, malls and restaurants to its name.
And if a new chief justice is appointed, what will happen to the decision for
the Cojuangcos to turn over P1.3 billion to their tenant-farmers? It's all too
clear now. The Cojuangcos will prevail, justice be damned!
***
Defense lawyer Serafin Cuevas and even Presiding Judge Juan Ponce
Enrile have been giving the prosecutors a crash course on trial techniques,
presentation of evidence and direct and cross-examination.
Both Cuevas and Enrile were litigation lawyers.
The performance of the House prosecutors has been dismal and pitiful. If I
were on their side, I would be worried about losing.
In any case, it's a long way to go. What the prosecutors are banking on is
the support of President Aquino, House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte and the Aquino
allies among the senator-judges.
Moreover, popular sentiment can be a big factor. Remember that many of the
sitting senators are re-electionists.
***
Malacañang has unleashed its attack dogs on the Supreme Court,
specifically against Chief Justice Corona and Court Administrator and Spokesman
Midas Marquez, for the alleged misuse of the World Bank loan of US$21.9 million
(P953.3 million) aimed for judicial reforms.
Led mainly by presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda, Malacañang has lost no
time in launching the Aquino propaganda machine to unleash invectives against
Corona and Marquez as principals in the misuse of World Bank loans.
Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima has joined in the chorus and now wants an
investigation of the World Bank loans. And on cue, some congressmen and senators
allied with the president have filed resolutions to investigate the alleged
misuse of World Bank funds.
Since the Supreme Court itself has already initiated its own investigation,
why don't we all wait for it? After all, it's the integrity and image of the
Supreme Court at stake.
At a time when the Chief Justice already under trial by the Senate jury, it
would be malicious for the administration to begin another investigation
involving the Supreme Court. It is clear that Malacañang is taking advantage of
the World Bank aide memoire. The timing is just perfect!
Malacañang is indeed throwing everything on the Supreme Court and Corona.
***
If there's one thing I like about the Aquino administration, it's the pursuit
of clean energy, renewable energy and alternative energy of the Energy
Department under Secretary Jose Rene Almendras.
The pursuit of clean and renewable energy is going on with no less than
Philippine National Oil Co. president Tony Cailao on top, through the PNOC
subsidiary PNOC-Renewable Corp. It has the full support of PNOC Chairman,
Secretary Almendras.
With the decision of the PNOC mother board to scuttle the jatropha project of
the Arroyo administration, which cost the PNOC no less than P500 million down
the drain, Almendras and Cailao have focused on the pursuit of bioethanol with
the PNOC in talks to join the proposed P3.2 billion bioethanol plant in Cavite
with Cavite Biofuels Producers Inc. in Magallanes, Cavite as partner.
The project has already been signed by the PNOC Alternative Fuels subsidiary
with the state-owned energy company supporting private investors.
The problem now is the scuttling of the jatropha project of the past
administration.
But, with Almendras giving an alternative for the many farmer's cooperatives
to take over the jatropha project, the P500 million loss for the project may
still be saved.
Chief News Editor: Sol Jose Vanzi
© Copyright, 2012 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE
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rights reserved
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