Featured Post

MABUHAY PRRD!

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Unexplained poverty

Back Channel
Unexplained poverty
By Alejandro del Rosario

Reports are coming out of the woodwork that certain congressmen and House prosecutors also own multi-million peso-houses .Since the politicians have denied these stories, the issue against them would have to be their unexplained poverty.

First, it was House chief prosecutor Rep. Niel Tupas, Jr. who is building a P50-million mansion in Xavierville subdivision in Quezon City. This, even as he was building a case of graft and corruption against Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Next to be reported was the alleged P15-million house of Marikina Rep. Miro Quimbo who has denied it.

Tupas has denied that his soon-to-be abode (he has at least two so he can call his Iloilo residence as his official domicile) costs P50 million. The Iloilo congressman claims construction cost would only come to P14 million. That’s still in the neighborhood of Corona’s acquisition cost of his posh Bellagio penthouse at the Fort. And mind you, the missus has not even furnished the Xavierville house yet, much less done the landscaping.

Tupas’ new digs is not even water-damaged yet by some unnamed typhoon during a still undetermined month. See, Niel, these were some of the details you should have asked when questioning Megaworld officials while they were on the witness stand. If you cannot ferret out these facts from your witnesses, we seriously doubt you can explain your “P14 million” house on your P25,000 monthly salary. Oh, but then I did not factor in perks and allowance and of course, the pork barrel funds for countryside development.

As they say, people who live in glass houses should not throw stones at their neighbors

Me? I live in a one-bedroom condo in Makati and anyone is welcome to buy it for P3.5 million.

Speaking of glass houses, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa was once accused of owning a glass house mansion also in Quezon City. He explained it was a family corporation investment and his wife only frequented the place to supervise construction.

Former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and spouse Mike own houses in exclusive Forbes Park and La Vista. Their sons, Mikey and Dato, were also reported to own real estate in San Francisco, California.

Former Armed Forces comptrollers Carlos Garcia and Jacinto Ligot bought houses in Ohio, Los Angeles and condominium apartments New York .

General Garcia is temporarily residing at the Bilibid Prisons in Muntinlupa for plunder.

General Ligot and spouse Erlinda are facing tax evasion charges filed by the BIR.

Former President Joseph Estrada is known to own houses as many as the women in his life. At least the convicted plunderer and philanderer is a good provider for his extended family.

There are many, if not all, politicians and public officials who can be accused of unexplained wealth. But at the moment, they are not the ones on the dock. It’s the chief magistrate of the land facing impeachment charges for allegedly failing to make a truthful declaration in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth.

The trouble with the assets and liabilities declaration in the SALN is it is often subject to lie ability.

US dollar account? Which politician or public official does not have one? If not in local banks which shield them under the bank secrecy law on foreign currency holdings, these foreign dollar deposits are also squirreled away in Swiss banks, the Cayman Islands or little known Liechtenstein, a small principality between Austria and Switzerland. These countries are known safe havens for dirty money and tax cheats.

It would be interesting if the Department of Foreign Affairs can make public the visas and port of entries in the passports of our public officials. There is a link between passports and bank pass books. How can the DFA do this? Easy, photocopy the pages of their diplomatic and official passports when they are submitted for revalidation or when these officials request a Note Verbale to facilitate visa applications in the three countries mentioned above.

But then I doubt if the DFA would dare do that considering ambassadors’ postings and career diplomats’ promotions are subject to the mercy of politicians in the powerful Commission on Appointments.

Overall, the hardest poverty to explain is the Philippines’ compared to our Asean neighbors.

No comments: