Point of VIEW. A
purely analytical perception...
Continued from page 2
Eventually,
one of Erap’s partners, a Philippine Governor and self-confessed bagman, Luis
Singson of Ilocos Sur Province, accused him of taking millions of dollars in bribes
from a lottery concession controlled by the President’s friend.
There didn’t seem to be any question that Erap had taken the money, considering
that the source was impeccable and the evidence was solid.
Erap whined a bit and asked people not to rush to judgment relative to
his overall record in office.
Many
groups turned deaf ears to Estrada’s pleas, and among them was the powerful Catholic
Bishops Conference of the Philippines, which indicated that the scandals Erap
had been involved in since he took office were morally reprehensible.
The South China Morning Post said: “Estrada should go.”
The Asian Wall Street Journal parroted: “His resignation would be a kindness
to the Philippine people.” The Archdiocese
of Manila gathered outside the Edsa Shrine to pray for President Estrada’s enlightenment
and his resignation from his post. Jaime Cardinal Sin said that, “President Estrada had lost the
moral ascendancy to lead the nation.” Others
joined the procession, including the Philippine Chamber of commerce and Industry,
The Philippine League for Democratic Telecommunications, The Mindanao Business
Council, The Convention of Philippine Baptist Churches, along with the Management
Association of the Philippines, Bishops-Businessmen’s Conference and hundreds
of thousands of others.
Finally,
Estrada agreed to step down, then announced his resignation was only “temporary.”
Not that it matters, for his Vice President has taken the oath of office
and is now sworn in as the new President of The Philippines, even though the Philippine
Constitution requires a letter from the resigning President be submitted to the
Congress – an act Estrada has refused to take.
So much for the Rule of Law. However, stories of Erap’s greed have taken
the word to a new level of meaning. Recently two heads of the Philippine Social
Security System and the Government Service Insurance System have signed sworn
affidavits that purchases made by the retirement systems were directed by then
president Erap who received a substantial fee for his illicit services.
This
graft related activity has caused a loss of $181.6 million in the two pension
funds. An investigation has begun to determine whether the system is still financially
viable. It would seem that Mr. Erap had more to worry about than just plain old
impeachment, he could well get strung up over this latest fiasco, especially when
the people on social security see their checks going south.
Eventually Erap was handed his walking papers but when push came to shove,
he literally refused to leave. In the final analysis, it appears that Erap was
merely a heartless thief who had no feelings at all for the people and was only
trying to emulate the larceny of his predecessor, Marcos. He succeeded in stealing
substantial sums of money, but did it without class; Marcos was so adept at the
art of picking people’s pockets that the people thought that in spite of his larceny,
they were getting their money’s worth.
The
last word was not heard from Erap who was still alive and kicking and now under
indictment for his larceny. “Deposed Philippine president Joseph Estrada said
on Tuesday that the Philippines had become a ‘banana republic’ following his “unconstitutional”
removal from power, the Financial Times reported in its Wednesday overseas edition.
Estrada renewed his attack on the rivals who removed him from power, and said
in an Financial Times interview that if corruption charges were lodged against
him, he would “not get a fair trial. They are eager to see me leave the country.’”
()
Apparently
there is some truth to the fact that the new government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo
would like to see the ex-move actor leave the country ().
It didn’t take long before the Estrada started to get the message, “Supreme Court
justices in the Philippines yesterday voted unanimously to strip Joseph Estrada,
the ousted president, of immunity, leaving him exposed to arrest by a new government
alleging his involvement in massive corruption.” ()
There is some concern that he still has some remaining grass roots support and
with him around to make trouble, it will do no one any good. Erap, on the other
hand will draw one too many cards and bust out, winding up either in jail or dead
which is what happens to politicians when they have not yet learned when to fold
their cards and leave town in the darkness of the night.
Let’s
take a look at the state of the country as Erap road off into the sunset. During
his term in office, kidnapping has become all of the rage in the Philippines and
a special for of it only regards the stealing of babies:
“Philippine security forces are hunting a gang that
snatches babies and children and sells them to childless Filipino and foreign
couples. The group, called Wanna Buy Baby Gang, preys on babies and children aged
eight months to two years. The going price per child is $20,000 if the buyer is
a foreigner and $785 if the client is a Filipino. The chief of the anti-Kidnapping
unit of the National Bureau of Investigation said the existence of the gang was
reported by parents who had been victimized. Women gang members carry out the
adductions by applying to work as maids. After gaining the trust of their employers,
they disappear with the babies…” ()
While
the former article deals only with babies, kidnapping in general has doubled since
Erap took office and was up 48 percent in the last year alone. Ethic Chinese are
a particularly appealing target for kidnappers as their families are quick to
pay the required ransom. Another industry that has seen substantial growth while
Erap has been in office is piracy. “The pirate” ships are an assortment of rusting
freighters, aging ferries, modern speedboats, basligs – the large boats with outriggers
to avoid capsizing in the heavy seas – and speedy canoe like vintas with their
colorful sails. The amount of trade in high-ticket items from duty-free ports
such as Labuan in Brunei, make legitimate traders easy targets for pirates who
employ everything from machetes to machine guns to kill their victims.” () In addition, and this may
entirely be due to the fact that Erap had so many mistresses, but there are currently
as many prostitutes in the country as there are factory workers as estimated by
the University of the Philippines. Crime, poverty, prostitution and kidnapping
have become growth industries in the Philippines under their recently deceased
regime. Incomes, take home pay, housing and quality of life have taken a pounding.
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