OFFBEAT MAIL

Corruption, which always takes place in poorer countries, has hurt economic performance by reducing private investments, by adversely affecting the quantity and quality of public infrastructure, by reducing tax revenue, by resulting in a shallower and less efficient financial system, and by reducing human capital formation, says a 2011 report by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force. In its report titled "Laundering the Proceeds of Corruption," the task force claimed that corruption can also have adverse distributional effects as it hurts the poor disproportionately, adding that countries with high levels of corruption achieve lower literacy rates, higher mortality rates, and overall have worsen human development outcomes. The task force estimated that between USD 1.26 trillion to USD 1.44 trillion disappeared from the national coffers of poorer countries in 2008 due to corruption. "These numbers have increased and corruption plays a significant role in the il...

It is a welcome relief to most Filipinos that elections were over. On the contrary, there were  election-related protests that had never ceased and are still bothering the conscience of most election officials. Among those protestors are the losers themselves who claimed that the PCOS machines used to automate election returns didn't seem convincing to most people. If there were complaints against the transmittal of election returns for the tallying of results, it would now be up to the Commission on Elections to investigate because, first and foremost, it is the Comelec responsbility to do that. Otherwise, it would take another couple of weeks before Congress is able to reconcile all those valid votes from the people. In a few weeks time, the newly elected President Noynoy Aquino, son of the late Sen. Benigno Aquino and Corazon C. Aquino, would be steering the rein of government. Many peole have expressed hope that it will a departure from the recent administration that was mi...

That how most Filipinos enjoy the funfare these days. Why not? With all these uncalled rallies brought about by the mushrooming effects of graft and corruption in government, which to many people, was more than what occurred during the dictatorship of the late President Ferdinand Marcos in the late 70s. Rather than enjoying the fruits of their freedom earned after the late dictator was finally ousted through the bloodless People Power Revolution, they are feasting in the midst of DEMO-CRAZY Philippines nowadays. And mind you, if you're holding sensitive positions in government, it could be very dangerous in the sense that you could be used and abused by the gods and godesses at the top. But why worry about it, just in case something like this comes your way? You don't have to do anything but to stick to your gun. If you can't dance with the music, better decide to quit, rather than be taken advantaged of by those in power for their personal interests. Unless, you want to ge...

With President Arroyo's scrapping of Executive Order 464, public officials and employees have now the prerogative to expose the shenigans and other illegal transactions in government, if only to bare the truth. But there is one thing more that bothers many people these days, even if EO 464 is dead. This is Malacanang Memorandum Circular No. 108, whose content is almost similar to that of EO 464. Unless this circular is scrapped, the Palace can still hound government officials and employees who have knowledge of any wrong doings in government offices. It is hard to understand why the president has cancelled EO 464 only now. After series of rallies and protests from disgruntled civil society groups, she finally relented. But reports said she succumbed to the pressures of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), whose members recently met with the president and ranking cabinet officials in an exclusive place in an effort to iron out the kinks that surround the said o...

Millions of Filipinos are on the sideline, waiting for the outcome of the five demands that former senior government officials asked President Arroyo to do. And perhaps, this is a lithmus test that will, once and for all, show the present administration's sincerity in dealing with the present challenges that lurk behind her embattled leadership. Perhaps, what the president can do is just to make an announcement right now that she is willing to scrap Executive Order 464, which was misconstrued by the civil society groups as an armor to shield the government's image from being eroded further. With all these shanigans in government under close public scrutiny, there is no doubt that the people themselves will be fuming with anger in secrecy. This is dangerous in the sense that when the people's sentiments can no longer be contained, that's the end of it all. Well, the only thing that needs to be tested is the sincerity of the military and the police. For how long their pat...

The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has strongly urged President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to scrap Executive Order 464, or else it will be forced to declare to the people that the present administration is tolerating the incidence of rampant graft and corruption in the government. In a statement issued by the CBCP, it insisted that the present administration's unclear stance on the issuance of Executive Order No. 464, which bars government officials, including military and police officers, from testifying before public hearings called by Congress, could be misconstrued by the people as another way of protecting rampant illegal transactions involving top government officials. The civil society groups have shared the view of the CBCP that the continuous reluctance of President Arroyo to cancel EO 464 is meant to mussle the mouths of public officials who may have been privy or knowledgeable to some of graft and corrupt practices under the present administration. T...

Local government officials and other politicians in the Philippines have fungus faces. Many of them have also sold their principles and dignity to the great Lucifer. I'm referring to those who were called lately to attend an emergency briefing in Malacanang, presided by no less than the embattled President Arroyo herself. Reports said one of the agenda was to review the development needs of the constituents in the countrysides, a move many analysts considered as a means to shore up the image of the administration in light of the anomalous NBN-ZTE scandal and the alleged kidnapping of the Rodolfo Lozada Jr., the key witness in the ZTE deal. From the way it looked, the efforts of the disheartened people whose eagerness to oust the president, like what they did in Pakistan, had been in vain. Let alone, the callousness of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) whose members were suspected of having feasted on the donations given by unscrupulous government officials ju...

After a weeklong brouhaha on the ZTE-NBN scandal, where Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada was made an instant celebrity, nothing much had transpired but the usual pockets of rallies, the biggest of which was the one held at the Makati City commercial district where an estimated crowd of at least 10,000 people attended. Some concerned people have commented that unless some elements in the military and the police will lend support to the efforts being made by the ralliests, the true spirit of another People Power will just fissle out. From the point of view of the experts, the move to oust President Arroyo will only prosper if the Catholic Church and other religious groups like the El Shaddai and the Jesus Is Lord Movement (JIL), who have at least 10 million members nationwide, will come together to heed the call of other civil society groups to join them. But the expectations that JIL leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva would allow his millions of members to hit the streets on the anniversary of ...

There is a popular belief that saying something bad against your former boss is a reflection of your character as a person and an employee. But this is what the newly installed head of the Philippine Forest Corporation did to his former boss ZTE scandal whistle-blower Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr., who resigned his post amid the anomalous multi-million national broadband project between the Philippines and China. Like a child who was not given a lollipop, officer-in-charge Erwin Santos divulged Friday everything he knew about the illegal transactions allegedly made by his former boss at the PFC, just in time when most of Metro Manilans have expressed dissatisfaction over the way the present administration does its tactics to benefit from secret deals. Santos revealed that Lozada has used his position to grant some favors to some of his relatives and friends in awarding hundred of hectares of land for the planting of jatropha plants. He said that he had been complaining about thes...

Time and again, some public officials have dipped their hands in the murky world of graft and corruption, if only to gain something out of their sensitive positions in high government offices. The anomalous multi-million NBN-ZTE broadband scandal is not the first attempt to make the national government suffer for the ineptitude and insensitiveness of some public officials whose motives are only to make money at the expense of the millions of poor taxpayers who pay their taxes honestly without a choice, while the rich and the influentials get away with it. For many years now, the World Bank keeps on complaining on some of the inefficiencies of the national government in terms of collecting the much-needed revenues to finance the government expenditures, one of which is the repayment of past due loans and infrastructural developments in the countryside. In fact, it has made a series of studies on how the Philippine government fared in so far as the strengthening of its economic fundament...

Mixed emotions have taken their toll on the role players, immediate family members and critics after the controversial and anomalous NBN-ZTE scandal erupted in the country's political atmosphere. Not to be outfaced is the involvement of the Catholic Church in the scandal, that eventually resulted in the exchange of ginger shots between a popular running priest and a bishop in Nueva Ecija over ABS-CBN's early Friday morning program hosted by Mr. Anthony Taberna. Finally, Environment and Natural Resources Secretary Joselito Atienza admitted that he was the one who called up over the phone PNP Chief Avelino Razon to request police security for ZTE key witness Rodolfo Lozada. Atienza said that he acted on his own after Lozada, being an executive of a government-controlled corporation under his department, had sought his help to ensure that the key witness would not be harmed when he arrived at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, after a week-long trip in Hong Kong. While abroad...

After his ouster from the House Speakership, former Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia is expected to divulge more corruption in government, a normal reaction from anybody who has kept mum on sensitive issues that he felt could hurt the Arroyo Administration. Not anymore. After a long silence, he is prepared this time to unleash all these illegal transactions in government, especially those that involved the First Couple. De Venecia's determination to expose anomalous transactions in government was sparked by the coming into light of Rodolfo Lozada, president of Philippine Forest Corporation and technical consultant on the NBN-ZTE broadband project, allegations that former Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos, along with the First Gentleman, had masterminded the overpricing of the ZTE broadband deal. One of the bombshells that exploded during a privilege speech was the rigging of election results in 2004, which he said took place inside the Batasang Pambansa compound in Quezo...

After his ouster from the House Speakership, former Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia is expected to divulge more corruption in government, a normal reaction from anybody who has kept mum on sensitive issues that he felt could hurt the Arroyo Administration. Not anymore. After a long silence, he is prepared this time to unleash all these illegal transactions in government, especially those that involved the First Couple. De Venecia's determination to expose anomalous transactions in government was sparked by the coming into light of Rodolfo Lozada, president of Philippine Forest Corporation and technical consultant on the NBN-ZTE broadband project, allegations that former Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos, along with the First Gentleman, had masterminded the overpricing of the ZTE broadband deal. One of the bombshells that exploded during a privilege speech was the rigging of election results in 2004, which he said took place inside the Batasang Pambansa compound in Quezo...

Another key witness in the anomalous ZTE broadband deal between the Philippines and China, surfaced early dawn today at a catholic school in San Juan, Green Hills, Metro Manila, after he was allegedly abducted more than 20 hours ago by unknown individuals as he disembarked from a Cathay Pacific Airways at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, Philippines. Rodolfo Lozado, a technical adviser to the multi-million dollar ZTE boradband project and president of the Philippine Forest Development Council, an attached agency of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), told media during a press conference held inside the La Salle Catholic School in Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila that he was fetched by plainclothes men who introduced themselves as coming from the police security protection unit of the Philippine National Police. Reports said Lozada was whisked away without passing through the customs and immigration personnel who normally inspect each arriv...

The recent execution of China's head of the food and drug safety agency was a real eye opener for other Asian countries and elsewhere in the world to emulate. Perhaps, it also about time that laws against drug traffickers and dealers should be crafted to allow for their execution, even its against the will of God. According to the bible,, it is inhuman to execute any person just because he had done something terrible on this earth. Now, we can see the clear distinction between a christian country and China, whose belief in God is a myth. Records showed that China's policy on certain crimes committed by its citizens are met with harsh realities as what happened to the chief of the food and drug safety agency, whose primary task is to safeguard food and drug production in China. It wasn't the first time that China did it. There were a lot of times in the past when the government had executed hardened criminals, too. The question now is whether this type of harsh manifestation...

Picture out barefoot and malnourished children roaming the streets, begging for alms from passing motorists. As early as dawn, they are already out there, sans breakfast but dreams that they would be able to cope with the daily grinds of life. Hands outstretched, knocking at every window glass of cars stalled on traffic in the hope that any loose coins would trickle onto their tin cans. Day-in and day-out, this is their routine. Some of them, as young as four, while others are in their early grades, are already out-of-school. Reason? The parents can't afford to send them even to a public school. With jobless parents around, these children are left without a choice but to fend for themselves, anything that would keep them survive in the world's dog-eat-dog competition. The United Nations Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and so with various international organizations, have done their best to reach out for these street children, most engaged in drudgery just to survive, eve...