I am not much of a fan of boxing promoter Bob Arum, but I am a Manny Pacquiao fanatic.
So last Sunday during the Pacquiao-Joshua Clottey encounter, when the world’s best boxer made short work of the Accra, Ghana native and put him on the road towards a possible clash with Floyd Mayweather, a coward masquerading as a trash-talker fighter, I again felt a clash of emotion, as I always do everytime the Pacman has a fight.
The reason was that I had to bear the presence of Arum on the television screen even as I delighted seeing Manny. I mean, wherever Pacquiao goes, so does Arum. I hate Arum and I love Pacquiao, hence the clash of emotion.
Arum may be a boxer’s dream promoter, but he is to me a consummate wheeler-dealer. The man is famous. He makes impossible boxing matches possible. He is moneyed. He is influential and intimidating, just like Don King of another era, but he is to me a sucker. He feeds on raw dreams of boxers wanting to earn a living with only their ferocious appetite for a fight as capital.
But last Sunday, I doffed my hat to Bob Arum when he delivered a political statement that is both so hilarious and true.
Asked by reporters in the post-fight news conference what Manny Pacquaio would do next now that he had demolished Clottey, Arum said the next interesting fight will be a Pacquiao-Mayweather title-header. He said this with the obvious thought of making more money for Manny—and of course—for himself.
And then he said something that almost floored me. He noted that the decision to fight Mayweather also depends on Manny who he said is a candidate for a Congressional seat in Sarangani province.
“He’s probably going to win the election,” Arum said. “But that’s all right because if their Congress is anything like ours, they don’t do anything anyway.”
Arum also a political analyst? Hear that Prospero Nograles and Juan Ponce Enrile.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
If we so decide
March 26 marks the beginning of the end of the rule of the Madrona-Beltran-Perez political triumvirate.
If Romblon so decides.
And that’s how far this bold prediction goes. The decision to put a stop to decades of inept governance, lying, and thieving lies at the soiled hands of the Romblomanons and not in the surveys or in the artful deception of the politicians now enduring the heat of the Romblon sun just so they could sweet-talk us. Talk us down, in fact.
Let’s see what is in store for us during the campaign.
It will rain from March 26 to May 8. It will be a politician-induced rain and the rain will come in the form of promises, recycled, unbelievable and untrue. Promises which we have heard three years ago, but which have remained unredeemed.
Madrona will promise us deliverance. Beltran will promise us how he will clean up the mess in the capitol. And Perez will promise us more 'projects'.
How about the others, the lesser gods of Romblon politics?
The others? Never mind the others. If they are in the mold of Madrona, Beltran and Perez, chances are they will just parrot the three until their batteries, sustained by the money of their masters, will run dry. Many Romblon politicians are not known for thinking by and for themselves. They are known for following strict orders from whoever wields the political strings. At the moment, those strings are tied at Madrona’s waist.
What else shall we see during the campaign?
Chances are we will see Romblomanons more divided than ever, not along ideological lines, but along familial ties. Our politics is local and so the appeal to the voters will be on the realm of relativity.
Vote for me, please, because we are relatives. That’s it. The campaign will be among tribe and clan, family initials and surnames. He or she who has the most number of relations, marital or otherwise, will win. Blood is thicker than water, our politicians would tell us. What they will not say is that it will be our blood they will suck when they are already in office. What they will not tell us is that it is the relatives first who get double-crossed (or the juicy positions) when these politicians acquire political power.
There are some things we would like to see, but will not, during the campaign.
Among these is the exhaustive, intelligent discussion of the issues.
Let’s begin with Madrona. Madrona could talk to death about how he made the lives of Romblomanons better through his 'projects' as congressman and governor during the last decade, which was interrupted when Lolong Firmalo reigned briefly from 2004 to 2007.
Don’t believe him. He is lying. Socio-economic indicators tell us otherwise. In 2000, Romblon’s poverty incidence was 52.2 percent, according to the National Statistics Office. That placed the province 10th among poorest provinces. In 2004, the poverty incidence was 37.5 percent, putting Romblon 26th on the list, but in 2006, the poverty incidence climbed back to 41.9 percent, slipping us down the ladder to be the 25th poorest province. Recently, the NSO adjudged Romblon as the worst-run province. Top that.
This is only the general picture. As they say, the devil is in the details, but since I will run out of space, I’ll reserve them for some time.
When Beltran promises that he will clean up the mess at the capitol, don’t believe him. The boy is lying.
In the first place, the mess in the capitol is his own, not ours. One has just to look into the COA audit reports to find out that this official is unfit to run even a barangay. The tales of graft and corruption involving the governor is unending, I wonder if he is still able to sleep the sleep of the just. Why should we re-elect a grossly irresponsible and corrupt politician? Are we not condoning idiocy in government if we give him another three years?
During the campaign, he may again recall as a sentimental appeal what his late father supposedly told him as a death-wish: for Beltran, Jr. not to leave Romblon alone.
Well, he better leave us alone now, for experience tells us that with Beltran Jr. accompanying us in our journey, he is only leading us to the road to perdition.
And Perez the menace? Oh, I almost forgot that this guy was supposed to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary a few months ago. If this is not the election, I would have believed the news. Almost. He must be so hungry for 'project' funds because of the election ban on construction projects that he is now ‘seeing things’.
The ‘seeing things’ are in quotes because I copied the phrase from Seamus Heaney, the Irish Nobel Peace laureate who write outstanding poems for the powerless, not like Perez who write outstanding checks to remain powerful.
But then again, the former DPWH official has been ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman for graft and corruption, but because of his supposed ‘connection’, he still freely roams the province with a coterie of police officials as umbrella-holders and security escorts.
And now, Perez is a candidate for vice governor. Good for him. It would be interesting to see him pounding the gavel during the sessions of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Has he promised to behave and stopped sending out feelers to buy-out Awe Eranes for the latter’s scathing commentary against him?
There are so many issues that will be left unsaid in the campaign, issues that the candidates will prevaricate about, evade, and hope that these not be raised. My point is that if we must be true to ourselves as citizens, we must precisely bring out these issues into the open so that the voters will be educated. We must discuss them during the campaign, instead of just hand-shaking and back-slapping voters in the campaign trail. Are our politicians even teaching the voters how to vote using the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines?
I have been lamenting to friends that Romblon is unfortunate. Our province is rich but wretched. Thanks to our politicians who derive happiness from keeping us ignorant. That’s a Raul Manglapus line.
We have a university, yes, but I believe that in the larger sense, it is not helping much to educate the Romblomanons either on the true nature of our socio-economic and political deprivation.
A university, I believe, should perform the function of a leaders’ laboratory, initiating change and reform and leading movements on establishing a just social order.
How about the Romblon State University sponsoring a debate between the congressional candidates so that the Romblomanons can be illuminated on their choices during the election? Can President Sespeñe temporarily abandon his worries about his Ombudsman cases, rise to the occasion, and initiate this voter education exercise?
If he can’t, then my bold prediction at the beginning of this piece—that March 26 will mark the beginning of the end of our misery—will be just that: a bold prediction.
Still, I have hope that if the Romblomanons so decide, they will seize this moment, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and set aright decades of wrongdoing, by voting out of office the causes of their deprivation and opening up a new chapter for a better tomorrow.
If Romblon so decides.
And that’s how far this bold prediction goes. The decision to put a stop to decades of inept governance, lying, and thieving lies at the soiled hands of the Romblomanons and not in the surveys or in the artful deception of the politicians now enduring the heat of the Romblon sun just so they could sweet-talk us. Talk us down, in fact.
Let’s see what is in store for us during the campaign.
It will rain from March 26 to May 8. It will be a politician-induced rain and the rain will come in the form of promises, recycled, unbelievable and untrue. Promises which we have heard three years ago, but which have remained unredeemed.
Madrona will promise us deliverance. Beltran will promise us how he will clean up the mess in the capitol. And Perez will promise us more 'projects'.
How about the others, the lesser gods of Romblon politics?
The others? Never mind the others. If they are in the mold of Madrona, Beltran and Perez, chances are they will just parrot the three until their batteries, sustained by the money of their masters, will run dry. Many Romblon politicians are not known for thinking by and for themselves. They are known for following strict orders from whoever wields the political strings. At the moment, those strings are tied at Madrona’s waist.
What else shall we see during the campaign?
Chances are we will see Romblomanons more divided than ever, not along ideological lines, but along familial ties. Our politics is local and so the appeal to the voters will be on the realm of relativity.
Vote for me, please, because we are relatives. That’s it. The campaign will be among tribe and clan, family initials and surnames. He or she who has the most number of relations, marital or otherwise, will win. Blood is thicker than water, our politicians would tell us. What they will not say is that it will be our blood they will suck when they are already in office. What they will not tell us is that it is the relatives first who get double-crossed (or the juicy positions) when these politicians acquire political power.
There are some things we would like to see, but will not, during the campaign.
Among these is the exhaustive, intelligent discussion of the issues.
Let’s begin with Madrona. Madrona could talk to death about how he made the lives of Romblomanons better through his 'projects' as congressman and governor during the last decade, which was interrupted when Lolong Firmalo reigned briefly from 2004 to 2007.
Don’t believe him. He is lying. Socio-economic indicators tell us otherwise. In 2000, Romblon’s poverty incidence was 52.2 percent, according to the National Statistics Office. That placed the province 10th among poorest provinces. In 2004, the poverty incidence was 37.5 percent, putting Romblon 26th on the list, but in 2006, the poverty incidence climbed back to 41.9 percent, slipping us down the ladder to be the 25th poorest province. Recently, the NSO adjudged Romblon as the worst-run province. Top that.
This is only the general picture. As they say, the devil is in the details, but since I will run out of space, I’ll reserve them for some time.
When Beltran promises that he will clean up the mess at the capitol, don’t believe him. The boy is lying.
In the first place, the mess in the capitol is his own, not ours. One has just to look into the COA audit reports to find out that this official is unfit to run even a barangay. The tales of graft and corruption involving the governor is unending, I wonder if he is still able to sleep the sleep of the just. Why should we re-elect a grossly irresponsible and corrupt politician? Are we not condoning idiocy in government if we give him another three years?
During the campaign, he may again recall as a sentimental appeal what his late father supposedly told him as a death-wish: for Beltran, Jr. not to leave Romblon alone.
Well, he better leave us alone now, for experience tells us that with Beltran Jr. accompanying us in our journey, he is only leading us to the road to perdition.
And Perez the menace? Oh, I almost forgot that this guy was supposed to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary a few months ago. If this is not the election, I would have believed the news. Almost. He must be so hungry for 'project' funds because of the election ban on construction projects that he is now ‘seeing things’.
The ‘seeing things’ are in quotes because I copied the phrase from Seamus Heaney, the Irish Nobel Peace laureate who write outstanding poems for the powerless, not like Perez who write outstanding checks to remain powerful.
But then again, the former DPWH official has been ordered dismissed by the Ombudsman for graft and corruption, but because of his supposed ‘connection’, he still freely roams the province with a coterie of police officials as umbrella-holders and security escorts.
And now, Perez is a candidate for vice governor. Good for him. It would be interesting to see him pounding the gavel during the sessions of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Has he promised to behave and stopped sending out feelers to buy-out Awe Eranes for the latter’s scathing commentary against him?
There are so many issues that will be left unsaid in the campaign, issues that the candidates will prevaricate about, evade, and hope that these not be raised. My point is that if we must be true to ourselves as citizens, we must precisely bring out these issues into the open so that the voters will be educated. We must discuss them during the campaign, instead of just hand-shaking and back-slapping voters in the campaign trail. Are our politicians even teaching the voters how to vote using the precinct count optical scan (PCOS) machines?
I have been lamenting to friends that Romblon is unfortunate. Our province is rich but wretched. Thanks to our politicians who derive happiness from keeping us ignorant. That’s a Raul Manglapus line.
We have a university, yes, but I believe that in the larger sense, it is not helping much to educate the Romblomanons either on the true nature of our socio-economic and political deprivation.
A university, I believe, should perform the function of a leaders’ laboratory, initiating change and reform and leading movements on establishing a just social order.
How about the Romblon State University sponsoring a debate between the congressional candidates so that the Romblomanons can be illuminated on their choices during the election? Can President Sespeñe temporarily abandon his worries about his Ombudsman cases, rise to the occasion, and initiate this voter education exercise?
If he can’t, then my bold prediction at the beginning of this piece—that March 26 will mark the beginning of the end of our misery—will be just that: a bold prediction.
Still, I have hope that if the Romblomanons so decide, they will seize this moment, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and set aright decades of wrongdoing, by voting out of office the causes of their deprivation and opening up a new chapter for a better tomorrow.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
May 10, 2010 more of a referendum than an election
Now that the campaign for the May 10, 2010 national election is rolling on in earnest, we, the people, can already heave a sigh of relief.
We can rest easy because after years of speculation, gutter ‘tsismis’, armchair analysis, and political punditry, we are now into the time of mudslinging—for that’s how every election campaign in this country is, with very few exceptions.
We can sleep soundly for we now know who among the crop of self-styled ‘saviours’ are taking the risk of either getting 1) crucified as thief, or 2) crowned as king of our hapless banana republic.
That’s the beauty of a ‘buyang’, which what every Philippine election is like. After some time of ‘himas’ and ‘pakahig’ finally comes the time for ‘butaw’—the actual political combat. It is only then that we bet. Sa puya, sa puti. Hala, bira, as Ish Fabicon would always say.
Just like many voters, I am excited about the May 10, 2010 political showdown, but not in the sense that many may think. While other people are enervated by the candidates’ antics, I am more agitated by the issues that are crying out to be raised, but are not. While many are salivating over the short-term—and little—cash that candidates are handing out, like a parent to a crying child, I am more jumpy at the sight of candidates, say like former district engineer Rolindo Perez, treating us to the spectacle of their power-tripping. Perez, I heard, still goes around surrounded by ‘hired goons’ who are actually police officers. What more violation of the law can one ask?
Or, to the extreme irony that is Cong. Budoy Madrona. Well, what can one say about Budoy except to praise him for being a traditional survivor? Lest the readers misinterpret it, I’d like to salute Madrona for his political longevity, which my political antenna tells me may soon end at the twist of history. He might yet get waylaid by the unassuming Alice Fetalvero?
But I digress. I was saying that I am excited, not by the election per se, but by the way the election is shaping up to be. I now say with boldness: the May 10, 2010 election could end up not as an election in the truest sense of the word, but as a referendum of sorts.
Let me explain. You see, nine years of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is nine years the life of a cat drawn in an Eveready battery. Get it? It means long life. It means a cat has nine lives, so they say, and that nine is soon going to end. On May 10, 2010, I suppose.
Ahh. So, what does that mean?
To me, it means my suffering—and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Romblomanons—at the hands of an illegitimate administration may soon expire. End. Finish. Good riddance. You don’t have Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to kick around anymore. It means Bernie Fondevilla, who is by extension also an illegitimate undersecretary of agriculture, may no longer be seen around promising Romblomanons fishing vessels even if they are farmers by profession. Catch my drift?
Wait. Before we jump like chimpanzees, however, at the prospect of Gloria’s exit, let me tell you it’s going to be difficult. There’s an election coming and Jojo Beltran may still win. What I mean is that there’s still a referendum to happen before we can finally say, “Bye-bye, Budoy!”, “Paalam, Perez!”, or “Adios, Batman!” We, the people, need to win first before anything like that could happen.
And this is the problem. How do we, the people, win? Answer: make the election a referendum.
If I were managing Alice Fetalvero’s and Lolong Firmalo’s campaign, my tack would be to frame the election as a contest between good and evil—with Alice and Lolong as saints and Budoy et al as Lucifer’s hell’s angels.
Don’t get me wrong. This is not personal, for I am, human as everyone else, also imperfect. This is just me writing an opinion piece.
Nonetheless, there is more than logic in what I propose. Because of Romblon’s dire economic situation, Fetalvero and Firmalo should frame the debate in this election as a choice between right and wrong; between progressive and mediocre leadership; between honesty and thievery; between the restoration of hope and hopes dashed by unfulfilled promises; between practical intelligence and idiocy; and between the people-as-the-oppressed and the ruler-as-the-oppressor.
This election-as-referendum means explaining to the people the clear choices that they have to make and making them see the alternatives that are before them: honest governance versus capricious rule; integrity and honesty versus graft and corruption; accountability versus irresponsibility; people-first versus Budoy Muna sloganeering; and creative leadership versus unimaginative parochialism, even laziness.
If Alice and Lolong will never tire in going around with these messages, the chance is pretty huge that they will trounce Budoy. Nakakahilak rabuno si Perez ag si Jojo! Now, the three of them can hire and re-hire Damaso to lie for them. They can even continue sending feelers to the courageous Awe Eranes to buy him just to silence him. Awe Eranes? Mapaka-putak pa kina, hala.
There is more than enough basis to what I propose. Last year, I outlined the deteriorating economic life of the Romblomanons in a four-series article that appeared on this newspaper. I hoped then—as I continue to hope now—that ‘thinking’ Romblomanons will pick up from where I left off and do something.
Nobody did. The large majority of our people remain silent. So it came to pass that we are now on stage for yet another political extravaganza. We are now hearing the same traditional music of the traditional politicians and we, unfortunately, oblige to dance our traditional dances, without missing a bit of the missteps that precisely brought us to this very stage three years ago.
Now, let the dance begin.
We can rest easy because after years of speculation, gutter ‘tsismis’, armchair analysis, and political punditry, we are now into the time of mudslinging—for that’s how every election campaign in this country is, with very few exceptions.
We can sleep soundly for we now know who among the crop of self-styled ‘saviours’ are taking the risk of either getting 1) crucified as thief, or 2) crowned as king of our hapless banana republic.
That’s the beauty of a ‘buyang’, which what every Philippine election is like. After some time of ‘himas’ and ‘pakahig’ finally comes the time for ‘butaw’—the actual political combat. It is only then that we bet. Sa puya, sa puti. Hala, bira, as Ish Fabicon would always say.
Just like many voters, I am excited about the May 10, 2010 political showdown, but not in the sense that many may think. While other people are enervated by the candidates’ antics, I am more agitated by the issues that are crying out to be raised, but are not. While many are salivating over the short-term—and little—cash that candidates are handing out, like a parent to a crying child, I am more jumpy at the sight of candidates, say like former district engineer Rolindo Perez, treating us to the spectacle of their power-tripping. Perez, I heard, still goes around surrounded by ‘hired goons’ who are actually police officers. What more violation of the law can one ask?
Or, to the extreme irony that is Cong. Budoy Madrona. Well, what can one say about Budoy except to praise him for being a traditional survivor? Lest the readers misinterpret it, I’d like to salute Madrona for his political longevity, which my political antenna tells me may soon end at the twist of history. He might yet get waylaid by the unassuming Alice Fetalvero?
But I digress. I was saying that I am excited, not by the election per se, but by the way the election is shaping up to be. I now say with boldness: the May 10, 2010 election could end up not as an election in the truest sense of the word, but as a referendum of sorts.
Let me explain. You see, nine years of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is nine years the life of a cat drawn in an Eveready battery. Get it? It means long life. It means a cat has nine lives, so they say, and that nine is soon going to end. On May 10, 2010, I suppose.
Ahh. So, what does that mean?
To me, it means my suffering—and the suffering of hundreds of thousands of Romblomanons—at the hands of an illegitimate administration may soon expire. End. Finish. Good riddance. You don’t have Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to kick around anymore. It means Bernie Fondevilla, who is by extension also an illegitimate undersecretary of agriculture, may no longer be seen around promising Romblomanons fishing vessels even if they are farmers by profession. Catch my drift?
Wait. Before we jump like chimpanzees, however, at the prospect of Gloria’s exit, let me tell you it’s going to be difficult. There’s an election coming and Jojo Beltran may still win. What I mean is that there’s still a referendum to happen before we can finally say, “Bye-bye, Budoy!”, “Paalam, Perez!”, or “Adios, Batman!” We, the people, need to win first before anything like that could happen.
And this is the problem. How do we, the people, win? Answer: make the election a referendum.
If I were managing Alice Fetalvero’s and Lolong Firmalo’s campaign, my tack would be to frame the election as a contest between good and evil—with Alice and Lolong as saints and Budoy et al as Lucifer’s hell’s angels.
Don’t get me wrong. This is not personal, for I am, human as everyone else, also imperfect. This is just me writing an opinion piece.
Nonetheless, there is more than logic in what I propose. Because of Romblon’s dire economic situation, Fetalvero and Firmalo should frame the debate in this election as a choice between right and wrong; between progressive and mediocre leadership; between honesty and thievery; between the restoration of hope and hopes dashed by unfulfilled promises; between practical intelligence and idiocy; and between the people-as-the-oppressed and the ruler-as-the-oppressor.
This election-as-referendum means explaining to the people the clear choices that they have to make and making them see the alternatives that are before them: honest governance versus capricious rule; integrity and honesty versus graft and corruption; accountability versus irresponsibility; people-first versus Budoy Muna sloganeering; and creative leadership versus unimaginative parochialism, even laziness.
If Alice and Lolong will never tire in going around with these messages, the chance is pretty huge that they will trounce Budoy. Nakakahilak rabuno si Perez ag si Jojo! Now, the three of them can hire and re-hire Damaso to lie for them. They can even continue sending feelers to the courageous Awe Eranes to buy him just to silence him. Awe Eranes? Mapaka-putak pa kina, hala.
There is more than enough basis to what I propose. Last year, I outlined the deteriorating economic life of the Romblomanons in a four-series article that appeared on this newspaper. I hoped then—as I continue to hope now—that ‘thinking’ Romblomanons will pick up from where I left off and do something.
Nobody did. The large majority of our people remain silent. So it came to pass that we are now on stage for yet another political extravaganza. We are now hearing the same traditional music of the traditional politicians and we, unfortunately, oblige to dance our traditional dances, without missing a bit of the missteps that precisely brought us to this very stage three years ago.
Now, let the dance begin.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Same cast, same storyline, same plot: The Romblon May 10, 2010 theater is more of the same
I would have loved to see some romblonpost.com bloggers, or sanrokan.com columnists, or some progressive liberals, or one or two Romblon Sun writers, or a few outstanding Romblon State University academics, or some leading retired government officials with impeccable records of public service, beat the December 1, 2009 deadline and filed certificates of candidacies (CoCs) for the various elective posts in the province for the May 10, 2010 election.
I would have loved to see on the ballot a few names: Manny David, Lyndon Molino, Orville Gabuna, Gilbert Miñano, Robert Muros, Dr. Tato Sison, Monching Reandelar, Marilyn Rios, and Atty. Beling Tomas. Their candidacies could lend heft and substance to an otherwise narrow, lightweight field.
I miss Manong Jules Fortuna. Had he not succumbed to early death, he would have been a congressional candidate and raised the bar a little bit higher for an issue-laden campaign.
As it is, the crop of candidates slugging it out for the election, except for a few personalities, is characteristically boring, shallow, and does not invite interest. In short, the crop does not inspire hope. It provokes dismay.
Many of the candidates that we will see knocking on our doors when the campaign begins on March 26 have been tested and found wanting.
Consider the wily Budoy Madrona. Or the ignorant Jojo Beltran, or the joker Sam Romero, or the thug Rolindo Perez, and you will understand this observation. Consider the repeaters, or re-electionists, in some municipalities and you will know what I mean.
I mean, why do we see the same characters, the same storylines, the same boring plot, and most likely, the same conclusion in what should be an exciting election drama in 2010? Why do we see the same dogs that would bark each other out for the flesh-less bone now called Romblon sporting spanking new collars?
With these names on the ballot, it would seem Romblon is running out of leaders.
Let’s take a closer look at the protagonists who would do battle.
My prediction that Lolong Firmalo and Jojo Beltran will run after each other’s throats in the post of governor has so far been accurate. This fight will be interesting because it would be a battle between good and evil, right and wrong, saint and sinner, sincere and pa-wardi-wardi.
Well, Lolong is not entirely lily-white. Some friends have told me he must be selective with those he associates with. He is so trusting and often ends up being sold down the river. I so believe.
But whatever. Lolong versus Jojo would be a clash, with vote-rich Odiongan as battleground, between a true-blue Asi Odionganon and a pretender-claimant that he is an Asi Odionganon. And with this as the frame of the debate, I repeat my prediction—so far materially uncontested and even with a few bloggers saying I might be correct, that Lolong will emerge victorious against Jojo. Now place your bet.
On the post for vice governor, the mild-mannered Mel Madrid will face the much-maligned Rolindo Perez, a former district engineer who seemed to have been born with controversy as twin. Perez’s image is that of a man nak indi masilakan dahil ging papadungan it pulis. He is so averse to sunshine prompting one to comment that he is Romblon’s Imelda Marcos.
I don’t know Manong Mel’s record, but he seems harmless compared to Perez, whose notoriety as Budoy Madrona’s acolyte, patron, and friend is well-known that if only Madrona had his way, he would have fielded Perez as his governor opposite Beltran. Know that pitting allies against each other is Budoy’s forte, so this would have been tenable. As it turned out, Budoy nipped in the bud the ambition of Gil Moreno for vice governor and installed Perez instead. Moreno can wait. For nothing, like what Sam Romero had done.
The battle for representative is what Romblomanons are drooling over. The vice governor, Alice Fetalvero, a true lady with a history of winning uphill battles, has thrown her scarf into the ring and will hack it out with Budoy. Oh, boy.
Fetalvero has a successful electoral history. She had completed three terms as mayor of Calatrava, was elected member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and in 2007 disposed of her opponents for vice governor in surgical fashion, getting close to 50,000 votes, more than the 43,000 votes that Gov. Beltran got. This woman has vote-getting power.
Fetalvero’s handicap is her lack of financial resources, which she admits, but if she plays her cards right, she could end up as Romblon’s Grace Padaca, who trounced up the powerful Dy clan in Isabela.
Budoy’s record, on the other hand, is spotty, although also nothing to sneeze at.
He completed three-terms as congressman; a term as governor; got ambushed by Firmalo when he attempted a comeback in 2004, but a return bout in 2007 had him turning the tables against his ambusher.
Budoy Madrona’s strength lies on his political machinery which straddles both sides of the fence. Can you imagine he can run two candidates for one post and still emerge unscathed? Budoy is an issue candidate. He issues political largesse by the ton. All for himself.
The question now is: Can Alice Fetalvero slay a giant? The betting is on.
But before you do, I would advise you to consider some imponderables. One such imponderable is that Budoy is carrying two heavy albatrosses in the May 2010 election, courtesy of Jojo Beltran and Rolindo Perez. I need not elaborate. Smaller ones also hobble the incumbent, namely, candidates such as Sam Romero and Geminiano Galicia who have checkered histories.
Of course, the greatest imponderable would be the performance records of the warring parties. If the Romblomanon voters are wise—and this is the line of most of the current crop of politicians, that ‘maayoy ngasing ka mga botante, ing babaton yangey ka kuwarta, pero ka ina-boto’y iba’ , then, we would have an exciting race.
I would love to hear the issues in the campaign trail. I would hate personal attacks, for these do not educate the voters, neither they move the provincial GNP.
If I were running any of the campaigns, I would require my candidates to stay on the offensive and stick to the issues, explaining what matters to the voters, not what matters to the candidates. I would require them to re-invent themselves with crisp and to-the-gut messages, and ask them what they would do once in office and to put these in writing to be used as campaign paraphernalia.
Alas, but that is not to be seen, as experience and history would show. It is not in the political DNA of many Romblon politicians to study and articulate the issues. Our elections are about fiesta, drunkenness, and patronage. It is about songs and dances; about who has the most colorful yard signs and tarpaulins; about who promises a most fantastic future; about who lulls the voters deepest to slumber. In fact, our elections are about describing to the voters what heaven looks like, but forgetting that they live daily on the coal fires of hell called poverty in the face of plenty and excess.
So we know some of the characters, the storylines, the plot, and most likely the outcome of the theater called May 10, 2010. The drama, or action, is more of the same. We have seen it before. Been there, done that. Many of us will still watch the spectacle out of curiosity, but not out of necessity.
As for this writer, I am not buying a ticket to the rehashed show. I have enough of our politicians’ ululation, slapstick comedy, and the tripping of each other to get to the spoils. Sure, I’ll be around, but I’ll be watching from afar, using a pair of binoculars that allows me to see things in clearer perspective.
In short, I will keep my sanity.
I would have loved to see on the ballot a few names: Manny David, Lyndon Molino, Orville Gabuna, Gilbert Miñano, Robert Muros, Dr. Tato Sison, Monching Reandelar, Marilyn Rios, and Atty. Beling Tomas. Their candidacies could lend heft and substance to an otherwise narrow, lightweight field.
I miss Manong Jules Fortuna. Had he not succumbed to early death, he would have been a congressional candidate and raised the bar a little bit higher for an issue-laden campaign.
As it is, the crop of candidates slugging it out for the election, except for a few personalities, is characteristically boring, shallow, and does not invite interest. In short, the crop does not inspire hope. It provokes dismay.
Many of the candidates that we will see knocking on our doors when the campaign begins on March 26 have been tested and found wanting.
Consider the wily Budoy Madrona. Or the ignorant Jojo Beltran, or the joker Sam Romero, or the thug Rolindo Perez, and you will understand this observation. Consider the repeaters, or re-electionists, in some municipalities and you will know what I mean.
I mean, why do we see the same characters, the same storylines, the same boring plot, and most likely, the same conclusion in what should be an exciting election drama in 2010? Why do we see the same dogs that would bark each other out for the flesh-less bone now called Romblon sporting spanking new collars?
With these names on the ballot, it would seem Romblon is running out of leaders.
Let’s take a closer look at the protagonists who would do battle.
My prediction that Lolong Firmalo and Jojo Beltran will run after each other’s throats in the post of governor has so far been accurate. This fight will be interesting because it would be a battle between good and evil, right and wrong, saint and sinner, sincere and pa-wardi-wardi.
Well, Lolong is not entirely lily-white. Some friends have told me he must be selective with those he associates with. He is so trusting and often ends up being sold down the river. I so believe.
But whatever. Lolong versus Jojo would be a clash, with vote-rich Odiongan as battleground, between a true-blue Asi Odionganon and a pretender-claimant that he is an Asi Odionganon. And with this as the frame of the debate, I repeat my prediction—so far materially uncontested and even with a few bloggers saying I might be correct, that Lolong will emerge victorious against Jojo. Now place your bet.
On the post for vice governor, the mild-mannered Mel Madrid will face the much-maligned Rolindo Perez, a former district engineer who seemed to have been born with controversy as twin. Perez’s image is that of a man nak indi masilakan dahil ging papadungan it pulis. He is so averse to sunshine prompting one to comment that he is Romblon’s Imelda Marcos.
I don’t know Manong Mel’s record, but he seems harmless compared to Perez, whose notoriety as Budoy Madrona’s acolyte, patron, and friend is well-known that if only Madrona had his way, he would have fielded Perez as his governor opposite Beltran. Know that pitting allies against each other is Budoy’s forte, so this would have been tenable. As it turned out, Budoy nipped in the bud the ambition of Gil Moreno for vice governor and installed Perez instead. Moreno can wait. For nothing, like what Sam Romero had done.
The battle for representative is what Romblomanons are drooling over. The vice governor, Alice Fetalvero, a true lady with a history of winning uphill battles, has thrown her scarf into the ring and will hack it out with Budoy. Oh, boy.
Fetalvero has a successful electoral history. She had completed three terms as mayor of Calatrava, was elected member of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and in 2007 disposed of her opponents for vice governor in surgical fashion, getting close to 50,000 votes, more than the 43,000 votes that Gov. Beltran got. This woman has vote-getting power.
Fetalvero’s handicap is her lack of financial resources, which she admits, but if she plays her cards right, she could end up as Romblon’s Grace Padaca, who trounced up the powerful Dy clan in Isabela.
Budoy’s record, on the other hand, is spotty, although also nothing to sneeze at.
He completed three-terms as congressman; a term as governor; got ambushed by Firmalo when he attempted a comeback in 2004, but a return bout in 2007 had him turning the tables against his ambusher.
Budoy Madrona’s strength lies on his political machinery which straddles both sides of the fence. Can you imagine he can run two candidates for one post and still emerge unscathed? Budoy is an issue candidate. He issues political largesse by the ton. All for himself.
The question now is: Can Alice Fetalvero slay a giant? The betting is on.
But before you do, I would advise you to consider some imponderables. One such imponderable is that Budoy is carrying two heavy albatrosses in the May 2010 election, courtesy of Jojo Beltran and Rolindo Perez. I need not elaborate. Smaller ones also hobble the incumbent, namely, candidates such as Sam Romero and Geminiano Galicia who have checkered histories.
Of course, the greatest imponderable would be the performance records of the warring parties. If the Romblomanon voters are wise—and this is the line of most of the current crop of politicians, that ‘maayoy ngasing ka mga botante, ing babaton yangey ka kuwarta, pero ka ina-boto’y iba’ , then, we would have an exciting race.
I would love to hear the issues in the campaign trail. I would hate personal attacks, for these do not educate the voters, neither they move the provincial GNP.
If I were running any of the campaigns, I would require my candidates to stay on the offensive and stick to the issues, explaining what matters to the voters, not what matters to the candidates. I would require them to re-invent themselves with crisp and to-the-gut messages, and ask them what they would do once in office and to put these in writing to be used as campaign paraphernalia.
Alas, but that is not to be seen, as experience and history would show. It is not in the political DNA of many Romblon politicians to study and articulate the issues. Our elections are about fiesta, drunkenness, and patronage. It is about songs and dances; about who has the most colorful yard signs and tarpaulins; about who promises a most fantastic future; about who lulls the voters deepest to slumber. In fact, our elections are about describing to the voters what heaven looks like, but forgetting that they live daily on the coal fires of hell called poverty in the face of plenty and excess.
So we know some of the characters, the storylines, the plot, and most likely the outcome of the theater called May 10, 2010. The drama, or action, is more of the same. We have seen it before. Been there, done that. Many of us will still watch the spectacle out of curiosity, but not out of necessity.
As for this writer, I am not buying a ticket to the rehashed show. I have enough of our politicians’ ululation, slapstick comedy, and the tripping of each other to get to the spoils. Sure, I’ll be around, but I’ll be watching from afar, using a pair of binoculars that allows me to see things in clearer perspective.
In short, I will keep my sanity.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
While many Romblomanons were hungry sleeping, Beltran and his ilk were shopping—and reimbursing
Romblon is a land of contrasts: of the ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’; of the powerful and powerless. It is a province of plenty, but where the majority of the people are clueless as to why they are destitute; while their leaders are heartless in their day-and-night spending orgy.
If you have been following the Romblon Sun, I have detailed in four weekly installments during the past month why this is so.
According to official data, of Romblon’s total 53,720 households (pop. 279,774, Aug. 1, 2007), 41.9 percent, or 22,562 families are poor, living below the poverty threshold.
The National Statistical Coordination Board, or NCSB, says that as of 2007, this threshold was pegged at P6,195.00 per month, or P204.00 per day, meaning each family with an average number of five members should have this amount in combined income to be able to survive.
I did not conjure up these numbers. They are the government’s, to which Rep. Budoy Madrona, Gov. Jojo Beltran, and their ilk belong and are functionaries of. I think now they are ignorant of these numbers. Or they knew, but simply didn’t care.
For here comes the audit report of the COA saying that in 2008, the provincial government, led by the inept Beltran, engaged in shopping and reimbursing the money they used to shop with.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen! Beltran and his ilk ‘shopped’ and ‘reimbursed’ in 2008 while the rest of us were figuring out how to earn the P204.00 daily to be able to buy food, send our children to school, pay our electric and water bills, and purchase medicines for our various ailments.
You don’t believe it? Fine, but here’s a quote from the 2008 COA Annual Audit Report’s Findings and Recommendations:
“. . . 14. Procurement of goods made by the Provincial Government during the year were not again covered by an Annual Procurement Plan (APP) as required under Section 7 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act, thus procured items may not be the actual needs of the agency and results (sic) in uneconomical operations.”
Because of this finding, the COA “reiterated (sic) strongly . . . our previous year’s recommendation that the Local Chief Executive abides (sic) with the provisions of Section 7 of the IRR of RA 9184 and Section 373 of RA 7160 on the preparation of the APP as a basis in the budget preparation. He must also require all heads of offices to submit procurement plans f their supply requirements for the ensuing year to be incorporated in the APP prepared by the General Services Office (GSO).”
“15. Various procurement of goods totalling P12,374,782.51 and P4,266,551.38 were made thru shopping and thru reimbursement (emphasis mine), respectively, instead of thru competitive bidding, in violation of Rule IV, Section 10 of the IRR of the Government Procurement reform Act or Republic Act 9184 . . .”
This practice, according to the COA may not have been most advantageous to the Provincial Government in terms of pricing. It also “cast doubts on the regularity and economy of such procurements”, it added.
Well, who can disagree? The government has set rules for the purchase of even the most basic items that it needs, such as thumb tacks or paper clips. All that the COA said was that these set rules were ignored by the capitol.
For its recommendation, the COA asked the Bids and Awards Committee to “explain and justify the reason/s for its recommendation to award the procurement of goods to listed suppliers through shopping instead of through public bidding.” It also castigated Beltran by saying that as local chief executive, he should have resorted to public bidding as the primary mode of procurement.
Of course, Beltran et al can’t do that. Mawawagit ka inra raket.
To buttress its findings, the COA listed as Annexes ‘O’ and ‘P’ a list of procurement of goods made through shopping and a schedule of procurement made through reimbursement, respectively.
The annexes are interesting for they supply the details.
In Annex ‘O’, the items purchased ranged from typewriters to office and medical supplies to unspecified office equipment and construction materials. The costs varied, but there were only 19 suppliers.
The biggest item was an ‘office equipment’ worth P299,800.00, purchased—‘shopped’ if you will—from Etcetera.Com School and Office Supply on March 3, 2008 with check no. 254607. The smallest item was a typewriter, purchased on April 17, 2008 for P16,850 apiece, or a total of P50,550.00 for three pieces. Two more ‘carina’ typewriters, purchased a month later, were dearer. They cost P24,530.00 each, or a total of P49,060.00
The capitol also purchased two motorcycles from Romblon Hardware & General Merchandise, both on June 20, 2008. One of the motorcycles cost P249,600.00 while the other one cost P166,400.00. A chainsaw, purchased on January 17, 2008, cost the provincial coffers P157,800; a rolling track bin fetched P107,000.00; an Arrowroot flour machine, P169,800.00.
The capitol also bought through shopping five airconditioners at a whopping P42,000 apiece. It must be very cold now in the kapitolyo because of the very expensive airconditioners.
Work at the capitol really must be hard, too, and our officials and employees really must be working harder, for the records tell us that in 2008, the capitol paid two suppliers, GSP Canteen & Catering Services and Sato Dizen, a total of P409,900 in catering services. Is this only for food, or it included the bill for toothpick? Just asking.
As to procurement through reimbursement, Gov. Beltran accounted for the bulk in 2008. Of the total of P4,266,551.38, he reimbursed P2,391,315.60.
He has not only assumed the role of governor, but of purchasing officer as well, himself taking time out from the capitol to buy spare parts worth P610,018.59; office supplies worth P569,086.75; medical equipment worth P316,250.00; and tarpaulin for P339,000.00.
Not content, he whined and dined we-don’t-know-who, but we are sure they are not your ordinary Romblomanons. For food, he reimbursed PP376,960.26. He even bought livestock and had the amount of P180,000.00 reimbursed. Whew!
Other Beltran underlings who reimbursed purchases in 2008 are (dyaran . . . drum roll please) Oscar Vicente Ylagan, Anthony Rugas, Raylin C. Famatiga, Vicente Ferdinand Peñaflor, Emilio Beltran Jr., Jay M. Garcia, Antonio Mindoro, Estanislao Famatiga, Helen Arriola, Percival Ferrer, Estelina Oñas, Gerry Tansiongco, Evelyn Formilleza, Teodicto Martinet, Sarah Jane Bantang, and Leila Arboleda.
I guess that’s all, folks, for today. This lesson on “Government Purchasing: How to do it by Shopping and Reimbursement” will have a sequel. Be prepared for the written exam on May 10, 2010. Jojo and classmates, study your lessons well. You might be asked to recite.
Email me at balitsaw@gmail.com, or text me at 0917 623 8842. The first letter-writer or texter will be allowed reimbursement for your text or internet load. No audit. No questions asked.
If you have been following the Romblon Sun, I have detailed in four weekly installments during the past month why this is so.
According to official data, of Romblon’s total 53,720 households (pop. 279,774, Aug. 1, 2007), 41.9 percent, or 22,562 families are poor, living below the poverty threshold.
The National Statistical Coordination Board, or NCSB, says that as of 2007, this threshold was pegged at P6,195.00 per month, or P204.00 per day, meaning each family with an average number of five members should have this amount in combined income to be able to survive.
I did not conjure up these numbers. They are the government’s, to which Rep. Budoy Madrona, Gov. Jojo Beltran, and their ilk belong and are functionaries of. I think now they are ignorant of these numbers. Or they knew, but simply didn’t care.
For here comes the audit report of the COA saying that in 2008, the provincial government, led by the inept Beltran, engaged in shopping and reimbursing the money they used to shop with.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen! Beltran and his ilk ‘shopped’ and ‘reimbursed’ in 2008 while the rest of us were figuring out how to earn the P204.00 daily to be able to buy food, send our children to school, pay our electric and water bills, and purchase medicines for our various ailments.
You don’t believe it? Fine, but here’s a quote from the 2008 COA Annual Audit Report’s Findings and Recommendations:
“. . . 14. Procurement of goods made by the Provincial Government during the year were not again covered by an Annual Procurement Plan (APP) as required under Section 7 of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) of Republic Act (RA) 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act, thus procured items may not be the actual needs of the agency and results (sic) in uneconomical operations.”
Because of this finding, the COA “reiterated (sic) strongly . . . our previous year’s recommendation that the Local Chief Executive abides (sic) with the provisions of Section 7 of the IRR of RA 9184 and Section 373 of RA 7160 on the preparation of the APP as a basis in the budget preparation. He must also require all heads of offices to submit procurement plans f their supply requirements for the ensuing year to be incorporated in the APP prepared by the General Services Office (GSO).”
“15. Various procurement of goods totalling P12,374,782.51 and P4,266,551.38 were made thru shopping and thru reimbursement (emphasis mine), respectively, instead of thru competitive bidding, in violation of Rule IV, Section 10 of the IRR of the Government Procurement reform Act or Republic Act 9184 . . .”
This practice, according to the COA may not have been most advantageous to the Provincial Government in terms of pricing. It also “cast doubts on the regularity and economy of such procurements”, it added.
Well, who can disagree? The government has set rules for the purchase of even the most basic items that it needs, such as thumb tacks or paper clips. All that the COA said was that these set rules were ignored by the capitol.
For its recommendation, the COA asked the Bids and Awards Committee to “explain and justify the reason/s for its recommendation to award the procurement of goods to listed suppliers through shopping instead of through public bidding.” It also castigated Beltran by saying that as local chief executive, he should have resorted to public bidding as the primary mode of procurement.
Of course, Beltran et al can’t do that. Mawawagit ka inra raket.
To buttress its findings, the COA listed as Annexes ‘O’ and ‘P’ a list of procurement of goods made through shopping and a schedule of procurement made through reimbursement, respectively.
The annexes are interesting for they supply the details.
In Annex ‘O’, the items purchased ranged from typewriters to office and medical supplies to unspecified office equipment and construction materials. The costs varied, but there were only 19 suppliers.
The biggest item was an ‘office equipment’ worth P299,800.00, purchased—‘shopped’ if you will—from Etcetera.Com School and Office Supply on March 3, 2008 with check no. 254607. The smallest item was a typewriter, purchased on April 17, 2008 for P16,850 apiece, or a total of P50,550.00 for three pieces. Two more ‘carina’ typewriters, purchased a month later, were dearer. They cost P24,530.00 each, or a total of P49,060.00
The capitol also purchased two motorcycles from Romblon Hardware & General Merchandise, both on June 20, 2008. One of the motorcycles cost P249,600.00 while the other one cost P166,400.00. A chainsaw, purchased on January 17, 2008, cost the provincial coffers P157,800; a rolling track bin fetched P107,000.00; an Arrowroot flour machine, P169,800.00.
The capitol also bought through shopping five airconditioners at a whopping P42,000 apiece. It must be very cold now in the kapitolyo because of the very expensive airconditioners.
Work at the capitol really must be hard, too, and our officials and employees really must be working harder, for the records tell us that in 2008, the capitol paid two suppliers, GSP Canteen & Catering Services and Sato Dizen, a total of P409,900 in catering services. Is this only for food, or it included the bill for toothpick? Just asking.
As to procurement through reimbursement, Gov. Beltran accounted for the bulk in 2008. Of the total of P4,266,551.38, he reimbursed P2,391,315.60.
He has not only assumed the role of governor, but of purchasing officer as well, himself taking time out from the capitol to buy spare parts worth P610,018.59; office supplies worth P569,086.75; medical equipment worth P316,250.00; and tarpaulin for P339,000.00.
Not content, he whined and dined we-don’t-know-who, but we are sure they are not your ordinary Romblomanons. For food, he reimbursed PP376,960.26. He even bought livestock and had the amount of P180,000.00 reimbursed. Whew!
Other Beltran underlings who reimbursed purchases in 2008 are (dyaran . . . drum roll please) Oscar Vicente Ylagan, Anthony Rugas, Raylin C. Famatiga, Vicente Ferdinand Peñaflor, Emilio Beltran Jr., Jay M. Garcia, Antonio Mindoro, Estanislao Famatiga, Helen Arriola, Percival Ferrer, Estelina Oñas, Gerry Tansiongco, Evelyn Formilleza, Teodicto Martinet, Sarah Jane Bantang, and Leila Arboleda.
I guess that’s all, folks, for today. This lesson on “Government Purchasing: How to do it by Shopping and Reimbursement” will have a sequel. Be prepared for the written exam on May 10, 2010. Jojo and classmates, study your lessons well. You might be asked to recite.
Email me at balitsaw@gmail.com, or text me at 0917 623 8842. The first letter-writer or texter will be allowed reimbursement for your text or internet load. No audit. No questions asked.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
2008 COA report: P1.5M fiberglass patrol boat disappeared . . . from the books
As soon as my first piece on the 2008 COA annual audit report got posted in the online forum www.romblonpost.com , in http://bunsurancaravan.blogspot.com, in the website www.sanrokan.com, and in my Facebook account, readers’ reaction came in torrents, indicating huge interest in the contents of the report. Some were requesting for a copy, others egging me on to bare its contents all at once.
I hit a gold mine in the report, but I am not hoarding it, unlike some thieves in the corridors of power who, even while masquerading in public as generous souls, are already entertaining dark and sinister thoughts of keeping the find for themselves and themselves alone. Inggit at tulo laway lang kayo, they would say.
As I said, the report is so voluminous that I intend to parcel out its details in morsels. If you are ready, then I am.
The report, by the way, had found its way into four offices: a copy each went to the regional directors of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, and Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance.
A fourth copy is now in the interstices of the office of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, but I doubt if any member, say, like Gil Moreno, or Nelson Lim, or Pat Manalon, has seen, or read, or even understood the 200-page report. They must be very busy campaigning for re-election.
The audit report say that in 2008, the province of Romblon earned a total of P357,877, 264.25 and spent P322,887,494.83, out of the total appropriation of P381,626,760.42.
I quoted these figures because a backdrop is needed. You see, government agencies are allowed to spend people’s money only when there is an appropriation. In local government operations, an appropriation, or the authority to spend, is approved by the local Sanggunian.
In Romblon’s case, the authorized appropriation was P381.626 million, but for a while, look NOT at the total spending, but at the total earnings of P357.877 million, which is much less. What does this mean? This means that we are appropriating more than what we could earn. This, in most instances, leads to what you call deficit-spending. Sounds familiar?
The heart of the COA audit report was its findings. For Romblon, the COA noted several adverse discoveries in the financial transactions in 2008. I shall begin with the most significant. The parenthetical notations are my comments.
1. In 2008, Romblon submitted very late its monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial reports to State auditors contrary to regulations. This prevented the COA from perusing and preparing its audit reports on time.
(Anything new? Romblon, the capitol, is, as always, very late, or some of its officials and employees have arthritic hands like me that they can’t write reports.)
2. The COA could not determine the validity and correctness of the capitol’s collections and disbursements, or use, of the Special Education Fund because it did not submit any report, such as deposit slips, or payrolls. The amount involved was P4.180 million in collections and P2.740 million in expenses.
(Ibinakay it mga school bag para sa mga Estudyante nak di-pintura it uda it gobernador?)
3. The capitol did not reconcile, or delayed its reconciliation of, its financial records with bank records, so the COA could not ascertain the accuracy of the province’s bank balance of P63.542 million. The COA said bank and book balances have a difference of P10.082 million, while the Accounting and Treasury books have a difference of P306,019.43.
(Oops. Sorry, COA. If the capitol reconciles regularly its book and bank records and its Accounting and Treasury officials periodically do their reconciliation work, then, the governor will have very little room to play with the numbers. In accounting parlance, the usual justification when this ‘anomaly’ is discovered is to tell the auditors that the money is ‘in transit’. ‘In transit’ to where? To the bank or to the pockets?)
4. The province’s Plant, Property and Equipment, valued at P144.205 million and inventory items worth P14.373 million could not be ascertained if true or existing. The COA said the reason is because the capitol has not done any periodic inventory.
(True and existing, I would say . . . in the books and in the imagination, but not in the true sense of the word. This is a perennial COA observation. Last year, the COA asked the capitol to do an inventory, but it seems the property officer and the General Services Office, led by the inexhaustible Jojo Rugas, are still learning to do the math, while receiving fat bonuses and productivity incentives. That’s all they know to inventory, it seems.)
5. The fiberglass patrol boat donated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources valued at P1.5 million has disappeared—from the books. It has not been recorded. The official who received the record of the donation has not submitted the document to the Provincial Accountant.
(Where is the patrol boat? Naghahakot it banye-banyerang isra nak suhoy it illegal fishermen agor indi gi rakpon? Where is the invoice of the donation? Kinumos ag ipina-on sa pagpangisra? Usec Bernie, did you facilitate the donation? Just asking.)
6. The COA found out that the capitol charged to principal amortization its interest payment of P8.760 million, because there is no provision for interest payment in the provincial appropriation.
(Gov. Jojo B., time to change accountants? Calling on the majority members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Didn’t you know that Romblon has a huge loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines, courtesy of our dearly beloved congressman Budoy M, for which we are paying till death do us part? Why didn’t you appropriate an amount for interest thereof, so Gov. Jojo B’s accountant will not charge it to the principal amortization? I request SP Nelson Lim to answer this question. SP Nelson is recognized. SP Gil Moreno will second. Drum roll. Gavel bangs.)
Readers, more to come.
In the meantime, let me not forget to inform you that the above findings—whether omission, commission, violation, malfeasance, or, as they say, plain stupidity, were violations or contrary to existing rules, laws and regulations of the government, according to the COA.
In my book, they are also highly unethical, which is the highest form of transgression.
That our concerned officials and employees can so grossly and continually go against the law is, I will say it again, an indication of the quality of our leaders and public servants. It is also an indictment of our politics as a people, so anything wrong that our officials commit gets back to us in equal measure because it is us who voted them into office in the first place.
Now, excuse me while I go to the confessional. Text me at 0917 623 8842, or e-mail me later at balitsaw@gmail.com after I have washed my hands.
I hit a gold mine in the report, but I am not hoarding it, unlike some thieves in the corridors of power who, even while masquerading in public as generous souls, are already entertaining dark and sinister thoughts of keeping the find for themselves and themselves alone. Inggit at tulo laway lang kayo, they would say.
As I said, the report is so voluminous that I intend to parcel out its details in morsels. If you are ready, then I am.
The report, by the way, had found its way into four offices: a copy each went to the regional directors of the Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Budget and Management, and Department of Finance’s Bureau of Local Government Finance.
A fourth copy is now in the interstices of the office of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, but I doubt if any member, say, like Gil Moreno, or Nelson Lim, or Pat Manalon, has seen, or read, or even understood the 200-page report. They must be very busy campaigning for re-election.
The audit report say that in 2008, the province of Romblon earned a total of P357,877, 264.25 and spent P322,887,494.83, out of the total appropriation of P381,626,760.42.
I quoted these figures because a backdrop is needed. You see, government agencies are allowed to spend people’s money only when there is an appropriation. In local government operations, an appropriation, or the authority to spend, is approved by the local Sanggunian.
In Romblon’s case, the authorized appropriation was P381.626 million, but for a while, look NOT at the total spending, but at the total earnings of P357.877 million, which is much less. What does this mean? This means that we are appropriating more than what we could earn. This, in most instances, leads to what you call deficit-spending. Sounds familiar?
The heart of the COA audit report was its findings. For Romblon, the COA noted several adverse discoveries in the financial transactions in 2008. I shall begin with the most significant. The parenthetical notations are my comments.
1. In 2008, Romblon submitted very late its monthly, quarterly, and year-end financial reports to State auditors contrary to regulations. This prevented the COA from perusing and preparing its audit reports on time.
(Anything new? Romblon, the capitol, is, as always, very late, or some of its officials and employees have arthritic hands like me that they can’t write reports.)
2. The COA could not determine the validity and correctness of the capitol’s collections and disbursements, or use, of the Special Education Fund because it did not submit any report, such as deposit slips, or payrolls. The amount involved was P4.180 million in collections and P2.740 million in expenses.
(Ibinakay it mga school bag para sa mga Estudyante nak di-pintura it uda it gobernador?)
3. The capitol did not reconcile, or delayed its reconciliation of, its financial records with bank records, so the COA could not ascertain the accuracy of the province’s bank balance of P63.542 million. The COA said bank and book balances have a difference of P10.082 million, while the Accounting and Treasury books have a difference of P306,019.43.
(Oops. Sorry, COA. If the capitol reconciles regularly its book and bank records and its Accounting and Treasury officials periodically do their reconciliation work, then, the governor will have very little room to play with the numbers. In accounting parlance, the usual justification when this ‘anomaly’ is discovered is to tell the auditors that the money is ‘in transit’. ‘In transit’ to where? To the bank or to the pockets?)
4. The province’s Plant, Property and Equipment, valued at P144.205 million and inventory items worth P14.373 million could not be ascertained if true or existing. The COA said the reason is because the capitol has not done any periodic inventory.
(True and existing, I would say . . . in the books and in the imagination, but not in the true sense of the word. This is a perennial COA observation. Last year, the COA asked the capitol to do an inventory, but it seems the property officer and the General Services Office, led by the inexhaustible Jojo Rugas, are still learning to do the math, while receiving fat bonuses and productivity incentives. That’s all they know to inventory, it seems.)
5. The fiberglass patrol boat donated by the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources valued at P1.5 million has disappeared—from the books. It has not been recorded. The official who received the record of the donation has not submitted the document to the Provincial Accountant.
(Where is the patrol boat? Naghahakot it banye-banyerang isra nak suhoy it illegal fishermen agor indi gi rakpon? Where is the invoice of the donation? Kinumos ag ipina-on sa pagpangisra? Usec Bernie, did you facilitate the donation? Just asking.)
6. The COA found out that the capitol charged to principal amortization its interest payment of P8.760 million, because there is no provision for interest payment in the provincial appropriation.
(Gov. Jojo B., time to change accountants? Calling on the majority members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan. Didn’t you know that Romblon has a huge loan with the Land Bank of the Philippines, courtesy of our dearly beloved congressman Budoy M, for which we are paying till death do us part? Why didn’t you appropriate an amount for interest thereof, so Gov. Jojo B’s accountant will not charge it to the principal amortization? I request SP Nelson Lim to answer this question. SP Nelson is recognized. SP Gil Moreno will second. Drum roll. Gavel bangs.)
Readers, more to come.
In the meantime, let me not forget to inform you that the above findings—whether omission, commission, violation, malfeasance, or, as they say, plain stupidity, were violations or contrary to existing rules, laws and regulations of the government, according to the COA.
In my book, they are also highly unethical, which is the highest form of transgression.
That our concerned officials and employees can so grossly and continually go against the law is, I will say it again, an indication of the quality of our leaders and public servants. It is also an indictment of our politics as a people, so anything wrong that our officials commit gets back to us in equal measure because it is us who voted them into office in the first place.
Now, excuse me while I go to the confessional. Text me at 0917 623 8842, or e-mail me later at balitsaw@gmail.com after I have washed my hands.
Monday, November 2, 2009
COA’s 2008 annual audit of Romblon bares more Beltran’s ‘sins’
In January this year, I wrote about the findings of the Commission on Audit about the financial irregularities in the capitol in 2007, very particularly about the un-liquidated cash advances of officials and employees which to this day have not been liquidated.
My aim then as now was to inform the public that while Beltran reigns as governor, no amount of “pa-cute” can hide the fact that he and some of his officials and employees are spending people’s money as if the Central Bank will close its printing presses tomorrow, and in the process putting at risk and compromising public interest. Kalolooy rabono ka Romblon.
Well, well. What have I got?
Three weeks ago, a reader, Vonn Fadri, circulated a copy of the COA’s 2008 annual audit report on Romblon. I deferred writing about it because I have been so busy. I promised Mr. Fadri, however, that I will devour the report, as soon as I have time.
I have now, so brace your selves for COA’s damning revelations on how Jojo “Sinturon Rayagan” Beltran, with the aid of his band of fawning officials and employees, went about raping Romblon’s treasury in 2008.
Before I proceed further, however, let me warn the reader that the COA audit report does not indict Gov. Beltran or the provincial government singly or collectively. It does not pronounce him guilty. That’s for the court to decide. It also does not compel him to abide with the law, the COA having no police or coercive power.
The audit report merely reports the facts on the province’s financial transactions in the past year and recommends—in fact, “requests”—corrective steps to set the transactions and records aright and according to the law.
The copy of the report I have on file is 200 pages long, in portable document format, or PDF, and with several annexes. It contains very detailed findings and sober recommendations.
Observers interested in politics and governance will find the report useful. In fact, those who in the 2010 elections would like to raise issues for or against any candidate must read the report, for it clearly instructs political leaders on good conduct and behavior once they are in public office. Alas, Gov. Beltran as the leader of Romblon, could be so hard-headed, or doesn’t read at all, or doesn’t understand what the COA is there for, that he has continually thumbed his nose on the report’s recommendations.
The length of the document prevents me from writing just one short column, so I will take the liberty of writing about it in installment. And since Wilig-wilig, Liong-liong appears just once every week, I reckon it would take me a month or two to comment on the report. I, therefore, hope that Romblon Sun readers will not tire out in reading my commentaries on the audit report.
The COA 2008 annual audit report was written by Concepcion N. Caldit, audit team leader. She was assisted by Geraldine Gutierrez and Rockfeller Merida, audit team members. Emmie Mendoza, supervising auditor, oversaw its preparation.
In a letter to Gov. Beltran on May 20, 2009, COA regional director Reynaldo Jamoralin said the audit was made “to ascertain the propriety of financial transactions, compliance with prescribed rules, and the economical, efficient, and effective utilization of resources.”
“It was also made to ascertain the accuracy of financial records and reports, as well as the fairness of presentation of financial statements,” Jamoralin, in his letter, added.
Just to tickle your imagination, the COA report lists down Rep. Budoy Madrona as one of those having cash advances which up to this day has not been liquidated. And just to be fair and square, opposition member of the SP Benjamin Irao, Jr. and Vice Governor Alice Fetalvero have also cash advances, but their advances pale in comparison with the financial accountabilities of Jojo Beltran and some of his pawns. Beltran, in fact, according to the report, had checks issued in his name several times in 2008. I admire this boy’s fast learning curve.
Here’s another tickler. The COA found out that the capitol paid its officials and employees P16,542,000.00 in so-called performance bonuses, extra cash gifts and rice allowances in 2008 in violation of Section 4(l) of PD 1445. The amount paid, the COA observed, exceeded the salary ceiling set under RA 6758.
The COA report contains many more adverse findings that “shocked and awed” me, to use George Bush’s strategy in Iraq. I will mention these findings one by one in my succeeding columns.
Based on the COA’s findings, the capitol dismally failed the tests based on three criteria—propriety, compliance, and economy. It also failed on the criterion of accuracy of financial records and fairness of presentation of financial statements. Because of this failure, the COA issued a qualified audit opinion for Romblon in 2008.
Being a non-accountant not familiar with the ways and workings of auditing, I can only follow what the COA said in the report. As a writer cum social investigator, however, I can smell anomalies miles away by reading printed texts and by poring over reports.
Thus, I will also issue an opinion, albeit unofficial: The audit report and its findings bare the inner demons of Beltran’s hypocrisy, greed, and corruption. It brings to light and for our self-examination and judgment not only Beltran’s “unfitness” for the post he now so immensely enjoys, but also our decision in 2007 to elect him to power.
Read the report and tell me I am wrong. Now, if you want a copy of the report, text me your e-mail address at 0917 623 8842. Forgive me, I don’t answer text messages. My fingers are arthritic. But I do respond to e-mails.
My aim then as now was to inform the public that while Beltran reigns as governor, no amount of “pa-cute” can hide the fact that he and some of his officials and employees are spending people’s money as if the Central Bank will close its printing presses tomorrow, and in the process putting at risk and compromising public interest. Kalolooy rabono ka Romblon.
Well, well. What have I got?
Three weeks ago, a reader, Vonn Fadri, circulated a copy of the COA’s 2008 annual audit report on Romblon. I deferred writing about it because I have been so busy. I promised Mr. Fadri, however, that I will devour the report, as soon as I have time.
I have now, so brace your selves for COA’s damning revelations on how Jojo “Sinturon Rayagan” Beltran, with the aid of his band of fawning officials and employees, went about raping Romblon’s treasury in 2008.
Before I proceed further, however, let me warn the reader that the COA audit report does not indict Gov. Beltran or the provincial government singly or collectively. It does not pronounce him guilty. That’s for the court to decide. It also does not compel him to abide with the law, the COA having no police or coercive power.
The audit report merely reports the facts on the province’s financial transactions in the past year and recommends—in fact, “requests”—corrective steps to set the transactions and records aright and according to the law.
The copy of the report I have on file is 200 pages long, in portable document format, or PDF, and with several annexes. It contains very detailed findings and sober recommendations.
Observers interested in politics and governance will find the report useful. In fact, those who in the 2010 elections would like to raise issues for or against any candidate must read the report, for it clearly instructs political leaders on good conduct and behavior once they are in public office. Alas, Gov. Beltran as the leader of Romblon, could be so hard-headed, or doesn’t read at all, or doesn’t understand what the COA is there for, that he has continually thumbed his nose on the report’s recommendations.
The length of the document prevents me from writing just one short column, so I will take the liberty of writing about it in installment. And since Wilig-wilig, Liong-liong appears just once every week, I reckon it would take me a month or two to comment on the report. I, therefore, hope that Romblon Sun readers will not tire out in reading my commentaries on the audit report.
The COA 2008 annual audit report was written by Concepcion N. Caldit, audit team leader. She was assisted by Geraldine Gutierrez and Rockfeller Merida, audit team members. Emmie Mendoza, supervising auditor, oversaw its preparation.
In a letter to Gov. Beltran on May 20, 2009, COA regional director Reynaldo Jamoralin said the audit was made “to ascertain the propriety of financial transactions, compliance with prescribed rules, and the economical, efficient, and effective utilization of resources.”
“It was also made to ascertain the accuracy of financial records and reports, as well as the fairness of presentation of financial statements,” Jamoralin, in his letter, added.
Just to tickle your imagination, the COA report lists down Rep. Budoy Madrona as one of those having cash advances which up to this day has not been liquidated. And just to be fair and square, opposition member of the SP Benjamin Irao, Jr. and Vice Governor Alice Fetalvero have also cash advances, but their advances pale in comparison with the financial accountabilities of Jojo Beltran and some of his pawns. Beltran, in fact, according to the report, had checks issued in his name several times in 2008. I admire this boy’s fast learning curve.
Here’s another tickler. The COA found out that the capitol paid its officials and employees P16,542,000.00 in so-called performance bonuses, extra cash gifts and rice allowances in 2008 in violation of Section 4(l) of PD 1445. The amount paid, the COA observed, exceeded the salary ceiling set under RA 6758.
The COA report contains many more adverse findings that “shocked and awed” me, to use George Bush’s strategy in Iraq. I will mention these findings one by one in my succeeding columns.
Based on the COA’s findings, the capitol dismally failed the tests based on three criteria—propriety, compliance, and economy. It also failed on the criterion of accuracy of financial records and fairness of presentation of financial statements. Because of this failure, the COA issued a qualified audit opinion for Romblon in 2008.
Being a non-accountant not familiar with the ways and workings of auditing, I can only follow what the COA said in the report. As a writer cum social investigator, however, I can smell anomalies miles away by reading printed texts and by poring over reports.
Thus, I will also issue an opinion, albeit unofficial: The audit report and its findings bare the inner demons of Beltran’s hypocrisy, greed, and corruption. It brings to light and for our self-examination and judgment not only Beltran’s “unfitness” for the post he now so immensely enjoys, but also our decision in 2007 to elect him to power.
Read the report and tell me I am wrong. Now, if you want a copy of the report, text me your e-mail address at 0917 623 8842. Forgive me, I don’t answer text messages. My fingers are arthritic. But I do respond to e-mails.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)