by Maila Ager
Inquirer Online
First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo met with one of the owners of the three construction firms that had been blacklisted by the World Bank for alleged corruption in government road projects.
E.C. De Luna Corp., Cavite Ideal International Construction and Development Corp., and C.M. Pancho Construction Inc. had been blacklisted and penalized by the World Bank, along with four other Chinese firms.
Eduardo de Luna of the E.C. De Luna Construction Corp. told the Senate committees on economic affairs and public works and highways on Tuesday that he met the First Gentleman at least “three times.”
De Luna was responding to a query by Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson who asked him how long he knew the First Gentleman and how well he knew him.
Lacson then read before the committee Mr. Arroyo’s personal appointment book and enumerated the dates, time, and location where De Luna had supposedly met with Mr. Arroyo.
The senator said the two met 20 times in 2002.
At this point, De Luna said he could not exactly remember how many times he met the First Gentleman but insisted that he was not close to the Mr. Arroyo.
Lacson did not say, however, how the First Gentleman was linked to the issue.
On Senator Francis “Kiko” Pangilinan’s questioning, De Luna reiterated that he had not made any dealings with the First Gentleman.
“I have no dealings with the First Gentleman,” he told the investigating body.
But De Luna admitted that one of his meetings took place in the First Gentleman’s office in Makati City.
In that meeting, De Luna said he simply said “Hi” to Mr. Arroyo and then waited outside the office.
“Naghintay lang sa labas. Nag hi lang po tapos naghintay na sa labas [I just waited outside. We just said ‘Hi’ and then I waited outside],” he said.
Meanwhile, Public Works and Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. said the three firms could still engage in other government projects for as long as they were qualified.
“In other projects, your honor but not with the World Bank,” he said. “If they qualify, if they so qualify, then they can be involved with other projects.”
At the start of the hearing, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago asked Ebdane if he was able to find out who in the department might be in “collusion” with these firms and the official answered in the negative.
Defensor, head of the economic affairs committee, criticized Ebdane for not doing his work.
Before ending the hearing, Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, chairman of the committee on economic affairs, demanded the resignation of the Ombdusman, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, and Ebdane for not acting on the report by World Bank.
No use always implicating the Big Fat Mike Pidal. Every time his name is involved, he and his defenders deny it. From Telecom scam until this recent road contractors scam, his name is printed all over these scandals. Yet, the Senate has never been successful in asking him to testify. Malacanang argues that Mike is an ordinary citizen; so why is he not appearing to clear his name and not through his highly paid lawyers? Is he going to say that hearings are stressful and harmful to his health? And the problem with Senator Lacson is that he keeps exposing Mike Pidal but seldom and never produces a good witness.
in addition to defensor, the meeting between de luna and first gentleman can be a violation of the Anti Corruption Act
Sec. 4. Prohibition on private individuals. – (a) It shall be unlawful for any person having family or close personal relation with any public official to capitalize or exploit or take advantage of such family or close personal relation by directly or indirectly requesting or receiving any present, gift or material or pecuniary advantage from any other person having some business, transaction, application, request or contract with the government, in which such public official has to intervene. Family relation shall include the spouse or relatives by consanguinity or affinity in the third civil degree. The word “close personal relation” shall include close personal friendship, social and fraternal connections, and professional employment all giving rise to intimacy which assures free access to such public officer.
meeting more than 3 times is suspicious. 20 times is more than friendship but a conflict of interest. they must have sex already 🙂
(b) It shall be unlawful for any person knowingly to induce or cause any public official to commit any of the offenses defined in Section 3 hereof.
Sec. 5. Prohibition on certain relatives. – It shall be unlawful for the spouse or for any relative, by consanguinity or affinity, within the third civil degree, of the President of the Philippines, the Vice-President of the Philippines, the President of the Senate, or the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to intervene, directly or indirectly, in any business, transaction, contract or application with the Government: Provided, That this section shall not apply to any person who, prior to the assumption of office of any of the above officials to whom he is related, has been already dealing with the Government along the same line of business, nor to any transaction, contract or application already existing or pending at the time of such assumption of public office, nor to any application filed by him the approval of which is not discretionary on the part of the official or officials concerned but depends upon compliance with requisites provided by law, or rules or regulations issued pursuant to law, nor to any act lawfully performed in an official capacity or in the exercise of a profession. “
Defensor was quick to say that there’s no evidence linking Mike Pidal to the scam after Lacson dragged Pidal’s name to it. So you see, Malacanang always has someone to block anyone or group that attempts to implicate Mike Pidal. This has been going on for eight years now.
insiders information:
Material information about our country’s procurement project or any activities that has not been disclosed to the public are highly privileged. Only the higher public officials will have access to that information. It is unlawful, illegal and unethical anyone ( related to any officials) with access to insider information to make trades based on it. Trades in layman’s term is equivalent to discussing business opportunity thru meetings prior to bidding. A big window of opportunity for corruption can occur in the forms of bribes, gifts or awards of projects.
I am suggesting for all public officials to take a test of ethics.
Let’s not talk about ethics. This evil government doesn’t have that.
BE,
it is the job of the senate to veto or to impeach a president. too bad, the majority are conspiring.
to impeach a president, a strong case must be based on the rule of law. this could mean that almost all executives especially the department of finance and audit are highly liable for not acting upon its duty to report, account and audit the people’s money.
But my friend, impeachment is a political exercise. It’s a number’s game. Erap followed the rule of law; but his impeachment was not continued because his enemies walked out.
The Evil Bitch was never impeached because her allies in Congress were bribed.
BitchEvil , I don’t think you understood my point. ethical conduct is the rule of law. If we don’t know how to connect the Rule of law to the acts of our public officials then we the people do not know what to demand from this administration. Ignorance of the law will not get us nowhere. We are always complaining. We must tell them that they can be in violation of the rule of law but we need to know our LAWS.
When people collectively demand transparency and to strengthen the rule of Law, this will become an awareness to the public officials that we , the people of this country cannot be fooled anymore. baka kasi akala nila na hanggang ngayon , mga tanga pa rin tayo.
Let’s rock the boat.
Once again, Mike Arroyo is involved in yet another corruption scandal. With the rate Mike Arroyo is going in having his tentacles all over the place in government deals left & right, it makes you wonder whether this man can even keep his zipper up ?!
If corruption had a model, it would certainly be Gloria & Mike Arroyo !
The only way to stop him is to kill him.
BE, ang masamang damo e matagal matepok…!
But did anyone ever attempt to do it? No one dares.
BE,
Pera-pera lang ang labanan ngayon, kaya untouchable si big fat fidal!
Lacson said De Luna met Mike Pidal 20 times, but De Luna said he only met Pidal three times. Does it make any difference? Three is still plural…more than once.
Bakit hindi masyadong inusisa ni Lacson si Ebdane? Dahil kapwa PMA’er. Napansin ko na pag Mistah niya ang ini-imbestigahan medyo tameme siya. Bakit kaya??????
Apparently, the construction company is just a dummy of the big Fat Guy, who is trying hard to lose weight even with ecstacy provided probably by the Alabang Boys. Point is when will Filipinos have the guts to put this creep in jail forever?
Truth is I’m getting fed up of reading about those useless Senate investigations with all those senators trying hard to speak English (pagandahan pa kuno) with their peculiar accents, dictions and faulty grammar. Nasasayang ang oras kong makinig o manood ng video of their sessions that end up with nothing.
“Meron naman,” sabi ng kaibigan ko. Nabenta ng mga unggoy ang pangalan nila for the election next year, especially those who are running for the presidency. Yuck!!!
Wala na ba talagang matino?
BE: The only way to stop him is to kill him.
*****
Apparently, di pa niya oras. The more he commits his crimes, the greater punishment he will get in the after life. Iyon na lang siguro ang puedeng gawin ng mga pilipinong ayaw namang kumilos. Wait for Judgment Day! 😛
Lacson said he has a copy of Notorious B.I.G.’s appointment book. Seems true. How did he know all those meetings complete with the scheduled time? He definitely has a witness who provided those and documentary evidence enough to pin all those bastards.
No use prosecuting the pig today.
1. The prosecutor will dismiss it due to technicalities and invest in market-lending business, if not
2. Raul Gonzalez will review it and get his own share, if not
3. The RTC judge will dismiss it anyway and tour the whole of Europe with bagful of Euros, if not
4. Court of Appeals will dismiss it andwait for his appointment to the Supreme Court, if not
5. The Supreme Court will dismiss it 13-2 with only Puno and Carpio dissenting to the majority ponencia.
What will you do?
asiandelight,
All those beaches and no bikini picture?
Erap went down on someone else’s diary book. Lets hope that appointment book holds also along that jurisprudence.
Exactly, val.
tongue,
i do but not for public viewing. nakakahiya… LOL
The fatso can be named a million times but if our system is broken to prosecute the erring officials and citizens, all these probes, hearings etc is just all drama. Masabi lang na may pakinabang sa milyon milyon nilang pork and allowances. The bottom line is, the fat guy is the architect and the engineer of all the money looting businesses and the pandak is the rubber stamp. She, being the one in “power” can orchestrate all the tiniest details so that the transaction is “smooth” as can be. The whole transaction from bedinning to end has been ironed out. Even the risk management aspect of any illegal transaction is studied carefully. It is the same rotten players in the game at all times: the big fat hoodlum, DOJ, Ombudsman, the tongressmen, senatongs, the AFP during asspweron’s time. The little guys like Paule in the Joc Joc scam, Ressado in Alabang Boys, de Luna in the WB and the like are just the spices of their games. These little guys eventually become the fall guys. The real mastermind criminals are laughing all the way to the bank. This is the era of the pandak’s doctored degree in economics. To exponentially make money, engage in corruption and illegal acts and NEVER get caught.
Kahit caught in the act si fat guy, he will always know how to skirt around the issue. “Palos” si fat guy. Mahirap mahuli at palaging nakakawala.
Here’s today’s headline:
“Malacañang dismisses appeal to sack 3 officials”
Here’s the Evil Bitch’s own comment:
“But I want to suck the 3 officials”
BE…heh,heh,heh… plus one. The asspweron is 24/7 now! I wonder what Dr ass thinks.
“I recently met with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US agency that provides grants to countries based on governance. They have commended our gains, contributed P1 billion to our fight against graft, and declared us eligible for more grants. Thank you!”GMA 2008 State of The Nation address
Tongue, Lacson said he got the diary from Udong Mahusay.
Remember Mahusay, who was kidnapped by Mike Defensor, using Philippine Air Force aircraft to prevent him from spilling more beans to Lacson?
May pakinabang din pala because he left a number of documents.
Right, Ellen, maraming bala si Lacson na galing kay Udong, letters, pictures, receipts, diary, appointments book, bank slips, etc. Mahusay talaga. Iniisa-isa ng mga bata ni Lacson lahat ng entries doon sigurado. Ive-verify niya sa mga sources ng mga papeles, kapalit ng immunity ang testimony. Pero sino ang tetestigo ngayon. Kaya dapat talaga matanggal in whatever means before 2010 dahil malaking psychological effect niyan sa mga whistle-blowers. Alam rin ni Lacson na walang kahihinatnan hanggang nandiyan ang mga alipores na nakaupo sa Justice system.
Hindi rin ako magtataka kung maraming ikinanta kay Lacson si Ador Mawanay pagkatapos umamin at mag-sorry.
Balita ko, deferred raw muna yung Mega-casino project sa Reclamation Area. Walang bangkong gustong magpautang sa isang project na siguradong bagsak sa panahon ng financial crisis. Mass lay-off na nga sa Macau, pati na Las Vegas.
Heh, buti naman. Mababawasan ng conduit ng money laundering. Pagtitiyagaan na lang muna yung sa Fort Ilocandia.
tongue, i do but not for public viewing. nakakahiya… LOL – asianD.
Okay, let’s do it in private then, do you want my email addy?
Btw, I’ve joined several “prestige” commercial/industrial projects and have encountered the biggest contractors – DMCI, EEI, AG&P, Monolith, FF Cruz, MDC, Titan, name it. All are PCAB-certified “AAA” contractors. But I’ve never encountered any of these three obscure companies cornering all those billions of projects at DPWH. All those famous contractors have all given up on DPWH projects kasi yung juicy ones ay na-aarbor na ni Notorious B.I.G.? Ayaw na nilang mag-aksaya ng oras sa bidding ng DPWH, hindi naman sila manalo.
One Chinese-surnamed owner of those suspended by WB was even crying in today’s hearing as he said “Porke ba maliit na kumpanyang Pilipino lang kami, kaya ganito?”
My God maliit ba yun? All those billions in DPWH’s budget divided only among the three of them? Baka naman kaya niya nasabing maliit e kasi napakalaki ng ibinabato nila sa LTA Bldg.?
The Congress has cleared the three banned contractors. This runs counter with the ongoing Senate investigation. So you see, this is the problem when two chambers (Congress and Senate) conduct hearing on the same case. The Congress’s early clearance was intended to preempt any further action or decision the Senate would have. And of course, it would not be hard to suspect that some congressmen were part of this huge scandal discovered by World Bank.
Tongue,
Re: “Baka naman kaya niya nasabing maliit e kasi napakalaki ng ibinabato nila sa LTA Bldg.?” Sigurado yan!
Reminds me of a broker for defence — through this broker’s skills, a British company landed an enormous contract to refurbish some of PAF’s flying coffins. Obviously, this broker had paid huge money upfront even before the “winner” of the bid (the UK company) was declared.
Poor broker! PAF CGs came and went, broker had become several millions poorer but the contract had not yet been executed.
I knew about this because said broker came to me for help – to try get the bloody signature but I declined — said, not my thing; besides there was no way Lockheed Martin (in favour of their Singapore branch) would allow the UK company to do the contract had the project been genuine — there would have been “blood” all over the place; matter of fact, I knew something was terribly wrong when the UK company was declared winner.
It was a well-known SOP, making defence agents/brokers believe that they would win the bid but that they neeedd to put upfront money first and then again and again… the guys would go through the motion of awarding the bid to keep the poor guy coming back with the dough but actually, the major service command never had any intention of going through with the project; just one way of milking the poor agent/broker!
bakit pumapayag kayo diyan sa pinas na dagdagan pa ang mga casino? this is not the right country for that kind of monkey business. Gambling attracts negative people. It’s a wrong concept for a small country with hungry people. Children of the new generation cannot be exposed, there’s a better way of doing business with the state and the people.
When the economy turns around, permitting and licensing should be revoked.
a religious country and an emotional culture mix with casino? god bless philippines
That’s correct, Anna, almost all UK companies are represented by regional reps HQ’d in Singapore for SE Asia as most US companies were HQ’d in RP in the past. That alone would have made that supplier suspicious of the project in the first place. Even if he had consummated the project, Singapore Lockheed & Martin would demand a territorial commission of around 5% without even doing anything. Well, everybody knows that. What many (including me) don’t know is that it is SOP to deliver kickbacks without seeing a signed order. Ganyan talaga pala kagarapal sa PAF.
““Palos” si fat guy. Mahirap mahuli at palaging nakakawala.”
psb, hindi na ubra si palos. takot ‘yun sa spear gun. nabuhay na muli si nardong putik sa katauhan (o kababuyan)ng taong baboy!