Neri and Karina

“A Filipino-Chinese businessman once told me that every man has a price. I replied: Thank God I’m a woman.” – Liwayway Vinzons Chato

If I’m not mistaken, there was a Charlie Chaplin movie which featured a capitalist who was contemplating on how to exploit workers while playing golf. I was reminded of this movie while watching the senate hearing on the controversial national broadband network project (NBN) between the government and ZTE Corporation of China. Former economic planning secretary Romulo Neri testified that Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos offered a P200 million commission in connection with the ZTE deal while they were playing golf.

Abalos may not be concocting a devious plan to oppress workers but his involvement in the overpriced, anomalous and unnecessary NBN project will definitely aggravate poverty in the country. Golf is a legitimate and popular game in the world but it seems shady government transactions are settled by top public officials in golf clubs.

Neri’s testimony reminded me of another bribe tale shared by former housing czar and now civil service head Karina Constantino-David. During the anti-Estrada rallies in 2000, Karina (pardon my use of first name) was always talking about Estrada’s midnight cabinet, mansions and work habits. My favorite story was Estrada’s interpretation of corruption. According to Karina, she told Estrada that a foreign company offered her a Rolex watch. She refused the gift since she believed it was a form of bribery. Estrada reprimanded her for not accepting the gift. She then suggested that she will accept the watch but she will give it to Estrada then he will give it back to Karina. In this way, Karina will not be committing a crime since she only accepted a gift from her boss. Estrada dismissed the ploy saying that if Karina will give him the watch, Estrada will give it to one of her mistresses.

Estrada believed he was not violating the law even if he was receiving cash gifts from friends and friendly businessmen. For Estrada, this was not corruption since no public money was involved. Of course, he was wrong. Receiving jueteng money is a form of plunder. This is precisely the reason why he remains under vacation house arrest.

Like Karina, Neri told his boss about the bribe attempt. Unlike former president Estrada, President Gloria Arroyo instructed Neri to reject it. But the story is not complete. Estrada would have accepted the Rolex watch; Arroyo would reject the P200 million but the NBN deal was signed anyway. Did Arroyo order the approval of the bribe-infested contract despite the initial warning of her subordinate? We do not know. We can only speculate since Neri refused to divulge the rest of the details.

Neri’s appearance at the senate was a non-event. He confirmed text and internet rumors about the P200 million bribe offer and gave credence to the earlier testimony of Joey De Venecia III. But he has not provided the necessary information about the president’s involvement in the NBN project. The civil society was wrong in placing high hopes on Neri. They have forgotten that Neri has chosen to remain in Malacañang despite the “Hello Garci” scandal.

Neri is a unique moralist. He cannot accept a P200 million bribe but he was willing to ignore the 2004 electoral fraud, fertilizer scam, extrajudicial killings and other human rights abuses committed and abetted by the policies of his boss. Neri can sleep peacefully since he refused an offer which couldn’t be refused and more importantly, he has not violated the vow of omerta, oops, executive privilege. Neri is no Chavit Singson, Clarissa Ocampo or Karina Constanito David. Neri is, well, Neri. The witness who told the convenient truth but left out the inconvenient truth.

Neri has to be accountable for the economic programs he approved in behalf of the government. Neri used to head the think-tank of the House of Representatives during the Ramos period. Neri, then and now, is a disciple of the fundamentalist free market ideology. It is the neoliberal economic doctrine which favors the dominance of private enterprises in all spheres of economic and social life. Neri should do more reflective thinking on the hardships he imposed on millions of Filipinos who are grappling with high electricity, water and food prices which are the consequences of years of privatization, deregulation and liberalization of basic industries in the country. He can forget the P200 million but what about the starvation and penury in Philippine society caused by the economic policies he approved?

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Let me end this article with a few words for Abalos. He will grow old like Enrile and Imelda without being punished for the alleged sins he committed against the Filipino people. He will be known as an incompetent election chairman and dirty broker of disadvantageous deals. But there is something the public should not forget about Abalos: he was a good grandfather. He and his wife took good care of their apo who died just a few years ago. Like Darth Vader, there is some good inside Abalos.

Corruption scandal reaches the presidential palace, my article for Global Voices.

Related entries:

Impunity
Corruption in high places
Numbers and politics