NOTEBOOK: Absolute power corrupts absolutely

NOTEBOOK: Absolute power corrupts absolutely

I WAS BROWSING through some blogs (web logs, for the Internet uninitiated) recently and I came across some really cynical diatribe condemning the current NBN corruption scandal and the personalities involved, including the First Couple of the Republic.

The National Broadband Network scandal is serious matter, with a deal worth US$329 million and with bribe offers bandied about at P200 million, $10 million and women on the side for high government officials close to the top powers in the Presidential Palace.

I can’t blame the raging cynicism being expressed in cyberspace. Check for yourself, for instance, the comments on the blog site of Ellen Tordesillas, Filipino journalist.

But these words and phrases I can’t resist mentioning, revealing Pinoy ingenuity:

Mister ni Ma’am ang mystery man

Representa-thieves (for Representatives or Congressmen)

Sena-tong (Senators) (tong means bribe in Tagalog)

But seriously now, the NBN scandal seems to have exploded with a very good timing — during the week of the 35th anniversary of the declaration of martial law in 1972.

Why? Because martial law, imposed by the late dictator Marcos purportedly to “save the republic and build a new society,” turned out to be a tool to rob the country blind with massive corruption in government.

Martial law too was an instrument to indefinitely extend the rule of Marcos and violate the human rights of his opponents and the people as a whole. Fully supported by the U.S. government, it also awarded full incentives to foreign investments and the full repatriation of profits.

By arresting thousands of political opponents, student and teacher activists, journalists, peasant and labor leaders, artists and writers and just about anyone opposing him, and with torture, disappearances and killings and later institutionalizing his absolute rule with a new Constitution and a series of proclamations and decrees, Marcos was able to rule for another 14 years from 1972 to 1986 when he was toppled by the EDSA uprising.

But ultimatley, Marcos used martial law to amass wealth heretofore unheard of in the country’s history.
Why else would the Guinness Book of Records award Marcos in 1989 the title World’s Greatest Thief? The CIA estimated he stole $10B.

I was asked to briefly speak about martial law in the event “Music and Peace” organized by PATAC and PNJP (See page 41) in Toronto. Later I was interviewed by a young Mabuhay Radio host, also about martial law.

In both occasions, I could only paint a picture of martial law in broad strokes, given a few minutes time.
But the topic is most relevant today as the huge NBN corruption scandal unfolds and is unraveled before the nation with the investigations and the media coverage, made more interesting by the in-fighting among high government officials, opposing business interests led by top bureaucrats from the executive and legislative branches of government.

With the continued extra judicial killings which, credible after credible investigation had pointed to military perpetrators, and the enactment of the Human Security Act (a copycat of the U.S. Patriot Act), and the obvious tolerance if not encouragement of human rights violations by the Arroyo government, where else are all these leading to? Some people say martial law. Others say there’s undeclared martial law already. Still others say this is worse than martial law.

I say, what’s in a name? As Shakespeare’s Juliet Capulet said, “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”

I think it’s still the same formula they’re using: Absolute power to quell opposition and prolong rule.
Monopolize corruption to amass unthinkable wealth.

Let’s take a look at the current scandal that perhaps shows only the tip of the corruption iceberg.

Joey de Venecia, son of Speaker Joe de Venecia, Gloria Arroyo’s staunchest political ally, accused First Gentleman Mike Arroyo of bullying him to “back off” from the NBN deal. The younger de Venecia also accused Comelec chairman Benjamin Abalos of offering him a $10 million bribe to back out from the project.

Note that Abalos presided over the questionable 2004 presidential election of Arroyo (“Hello Garci”) and the controversial 2007 midterm elections.

Why would a de Venecia directly accuse the First Gentleman of practically protecting the Chinese company ZTE? Does this mean a falling out with the President? Speaker de Venecia can rally his troops in Congress and add votes to a future impeachment of Arroyo.

Why would former NEDA chief Romulo Neri accuse Abalos of trying to bribe him P200M to act in favor of ZTE? He could not have done this without the permission or instruction from the Palace. In fact, Senator Aquilino Pimentel said Abalos was a “fall guy” to divert attention from President Arroyo’s alleged role in the NBN deal. Also, why did Neri refuse to answer questions on his conversation with the President about the Abalos offer?

I think the biggest question is, why, despite Neri’s claim that he told the President about Abalos’s alleged bribe offer and the President’s advise to him not to accept the offer, the NBN deal was awarded to ZTE anyway? Why wasn’t Abalos immediately investigated after Neri’s revelation to the President?
She claimed there was a Palace-initiated “indiscreet” probe that found the allegations “uncorroborated”. How come the major personalities involved said they were not questioned in any Palace probe?

Now there is an announcement that the Presidential Palace will conduct a full investigation of the bribery allegations. Is this an admission the “discreet” investigation was half-hearted or worse, non-existent?

It looks like the spin doctors are working overtime weaving yarns of stories. Just like in the “Hello Garci” days. Will the Queen in the Palace survive this political storm? Will her allies find it time to junk her? Will the people do another EDSA? But EDSAs seem ineffectual to achieve meaningful change. If they were, why are we back to square one despite two EDSAs?