Guilt is the cause of fear

Hole of Justice

by Peter G. Jimenea

Guilt causes fear!

In 2001, the Iloilo City Government acquired a P120M PNB loan through bond floatation for the construction of 413 units of low-cost houses for the poor City Hall employees. The project is under the newly elected Mayor Jerry Trenas.

It is awarded to Ace Builders Construction owned by Alex Trinidad, a close friend of the mayor. There is no cash flow from the city coffers to the contractor in payment of his services as collection is direct to the bank.

But if there is a will there is a way. The PNB loan was transferred to the Philippine Veterans Bank (PVB). On why, only God knows. But it incurs a travel cost of - P12M. For documentation (kuno). Thus, our new loan obligation becomes P132M.

On what misfortune, the substandard materials used in the project construction were discovered by city council members who immediately passed a unanimous resolution urging the mayor to rescind the contract and sue the contractor.

But the mayor did not. Instead he continued paying the bill of the contractor.  Due to the deliberate neglect of the mayor, the city was obliged to pay a P17,000 daily interest of the loan to PVB for over a year including holidays!

Only the Ombudsman intervention has stopped him from paying the contractor who had pocketed P62.5M from the abandoned project. That’s it, despite the residual imperfection in the billing, their will was done!

Even for that suspicious bank interest alone, the city government has paid P24.7M. This injustice to the taxpayers is a crime that cries to God for vengeance. And it is written, that he who offends when drunk shall be punished when sober!

Under Article 1338 of the Civil Code, there is fraud when, through insidious words or machinations of one of the contracting parties, the other is induced to enter into a contract which, without them, he would not have agreed to.

But this fraud may be serious as the mayor seems a willing partner. As easily gleaned, he religiously paid the contractor’s billing when not even a unit of the 413 houses was built.  It is widely believed that Mayor Trenas is an accomplice to the crime.

Why did he not rescind the contract knowing a violation has been committed by the contractor? Article 1191 says the power to rescind obligations is implied in reciprocal ones, in case one of the obligors should not comply with what is incumbent upon him.

This is what got us so angry about. Being a lawyer and the most studios at that, he should have sued the contractor for breach of contract to the court of law. This could surely obviate public suspicion of his involvement to the crime.

Besides, as the injured party, he may choose between the fulfillment and the rescission, even after he has chosen fulfillment if the latter should become impossible. Yet, he preferred to ignore official accountability and responsibility attendant thereto. 

ART. 1385. Rescission creates the obligation to return the things which were the object of the contract, together with their fruits, and the price with its interest; consequently, it can be carried out only when he who demands rescission can return whatever he may be obliged to restore.

But if one noticed, Mayor Trenas had been religiously paying the contractor for the project that never was. As city mayor, he is a little president who personifies the law that holds his community together either bearable or miserable. But he chose the latter for us in exchange for… you know what!

Thus, the project that started in 2001 during his first term as mayor has ended a white elephant in 2009. In street-smart parlance, the project is a "hao shiao." True, exitus acta probat – the outcome justifies the deed. And what more absurd legacy can we ask?

Should one still wonder why Cong. Trenas is afraid to guest at my program KAPE kag ISYU aired live over Sky cable TV every Saturday morning? Guilt is the cause of fear, that’s it. Jurisprudence borne from experience tells us that perfect testimonies cannot be expected from imperfect senses (274 SCRA 208).

Barangay IRA Fund

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

Unjust Barangay IRA Deduction

The Internal Revenue Allocation (IRA) of the 180 barangays in Iloilo City, are automatically deducted a 4% bookkeeper’s share. As to who is this bookkeeper at the City Hall, we have yet to know. But surely, this person is a salaried employee of the city government.  

An official of a barangay reported that the amount deducted from their IRA under this 4% bookkeeper share is P16,000. Meaning, the deductions from those big and highly progressive barangays are higher ten times or more.

But cui bono? For whose benefit is this, for what good and for what purpose? The 4% bookkeeper share is not a cheap shot. Even if we consider only a P10,000 deduction from each barangay, the bookkeeper share of 4% from the 180 city barangays is no longer in thousands but millions.

In curiosity, the barangay official asked where will this 4% go. He was surprised when no one seems to have the answer, until a lady employee hesitantly came forward and told him that the 4% bookkeeper share will be reverted to the General Fund.

Whaaat? So many things can be done out of this P16,000 they deducted from the IRA of that poor barangay. Unless authorized by law, whoever invented this 4% bookkeeper share must be someone with large propensity to claim what rightfully belong to others.

It reminds me few months before the now Cong. Jerry Trenas stepped down as city mayor. The General Fund (GF) of the city government at the start of his last term has a record balance of P1.046billion. This amount does not include yet the cash balances in the Trust Fund and in the Special Education Fund.

But after audit, COA has discovered that P650,661,833.48 of the GF cannot be reconciled due to lack of supporting documents or having no document at all. This P650.6M is a wasted taxpayers’ money. Then why put the 4% bookkeeper share to the GF again? Trenas has a story that won't go away and this can drive an honest taxpayer to the brink of insanity!

I cannot understand how this mess happened under watch of officials preparing the releases of this fund. They are from the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG), the Department of Budget and Management (DBM), and COA. I don’t believe they have a share in the slice of the loot, but what about this mess they’re in?

Is this 4% deduction from barangay IRA fund the primary cause on why the releases are always delayed? The stake involved in this deceit virtually guaranteed the tawdry spectacle that followed. The ones who get screwed in the end are the poor taxpayers as usual.

This difference between principle and preference is rarely understood despite being explained in a clear and understandable language. Why? Everytime we hope for deliverance of dedicated services we ended up badly disillusioned.

A succession by camaraderial loyalty is condoning illegality. This reflects the character of public officials who are always asking compensation for what they never lost. What is somewhat missing in the empty lives of these people is to die with dignity!

If the 4% bookkeeper share being deducted from the IRA fund of each barangay is all in the name of standardizing allocation, then, this system might be a step forward in deregulation of thievery. That money is for the barangays, why get what rightfully belongs to them?

This maybe too extreme a conclusion though. But look, lowly city employees are most sorely tempted to steal but don’t. I hope the officials of the DILG, DBM and COA can find a way to keep these barangays away from the tentacles of this syndicate we are now dealing with.

The lady employee who said the 4% bookkeeper share will be reverted to the GF should know that lying won’t set her free. Remember, falsus in uno,falsus in omnibus  she who has lied about one thing is most likely to lie about everything. (Ramos vs. CA, 188 SCRA 450).

But I don’t blame her being merely an underling the boss had been tapping. Well, I hope to have made your day in this column. You ask for it. Unlike me and Dirty Harry who ask others to make our day!

The RH Bill

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

The war on RH Bill

The Iglesia Ni Kristo (INK) with millions of followers expressed support to the Reproductive Health Bill (RHB) despite the strong opposition of the Catholic Bishop Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). 

It is widely believe the Catholic Church is now losing the battle against the government in this RH Bill. The use of condom and oral contraceptives is now rampant among men and women who are aware of the risk and consequences of unwanted pregnancy.

Whether the CBCP accept it or not, RH Bill is now gaining a foothold among people who favor the limit of children in the family. The open challenge raised by two women against the Catholic Church to excommunicate them for supporting the RH Bill was already a sign of the trend.

In fact, watching the crying mothers on television begging for public support in order to save the lives of their endangered kids is what got me so angry about. Where are the CBCP now that life they claimed sacred and loved most is about to go? Where is their support?

Church leaders refused to accept the truth because more parishioners, more collection. But for all we know condoms and oral contraceptives are for prevention, not abortion as what the Church leaders' claim hinted at. For how can you kill a lifeless matter?  

Our government is having a hard time providing education, health care and other services to poor inhabitants. Then what about parents having no permanent job with five children and counting? Some of the kids will only become problem of the government.

Catholic Church leaders nitpick too much on the State's affair when their own backyards are in shambles. Why skip the scattered dirt of peers and continue interfering on government program not of their utmost concern?

The Christians communities have been paying the Church from birth to death. But what good had it delivered in return for the passivity of these flocks. Why not consider what’s good for the poor as the widening economic disparity is taking its toll on their side?

Our population growth is fast-getting closer to the pit of poverty and social disorder. The PNP report revealed the most committed crime in this country is theft, followed by robberies, physical injuries, murder, carnapping and rape. Criminals may be children of irresponsible parents who failed to raise them properly. Church leaders should also consider this.

I remember the Church role in the ouster of Pres. Ferdinand Marcos. Then Cardinal Sin called upon the people to support the rebel group led by Defense Secretary Juan Ponce Enrile and PC Chief Gen. Fidel Ramos. On what quirk of luck, the latter has become Chairman Emeritus of the Lakas-NUCP Party, the party of thieves!

When Pres. Ramos sold our government share in Petron to ARAMCO the CBCP was so silent about this betrayal of the Pilipino people. On why, only God knows. Now we are at the mercy of the big oil companies for their non-stop increases in oil prices.

The CBCP is also mum about the rampant corruption in the Arroyo administration. The P2B automation of the COMELEC, the most expensive boulevard in this country, the ZTE deal, the fertilizer scam, the “pabaon” for generals, the killing of 37 journalists, etc.

Their joining with PGMA to oust and incarcerate former Pres. Joseph Estrada was tainted with grave abuse of discretion. Plunder? The P200,000 money was from “jueteng,” not government fund. That intervention was not exercised in accordance with the tenets of justice and fair play but injustice that cries to God for vengeance!

Prudence dictates, anything in excess is bad, reason perhaps why the CBCP members who are already in the pot jump into the fire. With the recent turn of events that INK has finally decided to throw its support to RH Bill, it is widely believed the CBCP will eventually lose the battle.

A bigger population is good for the CBCP inter se – among themselves. But look at the women devotees who are now abandoning them in this RH Bill war. These women probably knew that the prize at stake in this CBCP battle is unworthy of the war they are fighting for!

Make my day!

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

A Messy Nursing School Mess!

The University of Iloilo-Nursing School managed by PHINMA, is now under fire from complaints filed by its fourth year graduating nursing class numbering 699. They resented the incorporation of their grades in Nursing Licensure Examination (NLE) Review to that of grades from legal school curriculum.

Prior to this mess, some students have already learned of their grades from instructors and were happy to imagine they will soon be marching for graduation rites. Never in mind there is an impending man-made calamity to bring them down.

A parent, however, noticed an insertion “Review Fee” in the school curriculum with corresponding amount of P15,000. She wrote to CHED if this is legal and whether the grades from this program can be included to school curriculum to constitute 40% of the students’ total passing grade for graduation. The CHED replied by citing Memorandum Ord. No. 13, Series of 2006, which states;

RE: “PROHIBITING HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS (HEIs) FROM FORCING THEIR GRADUATES AND GRADUATING STUDENTS TO ENROLL IN THEIR OWN REVIEW CENTERS AND/OR REVIEW CENTERS OF THEIR PREFERENCE.”

Deliberate or not, the nursing school coordinators fixed the glitches by changing the NLE Review into – Comprehensive Enhancement Program, same dog with different collars and the P15,000 as charged - stands. They announced the passing grade at 75% and RGO Review Center will handle the services.

To avoid animosity with school officials, the students took the Comprehensive Enhancement Program examination. But during the posting of results, nursing school coordinators increased the passing grade from 75% to 77% and said this will constitute 40% of the total passing of students.  On why, only God knows.

But those who prepared for their graduation rites exploded upon learning they failed. They may have no idea yet about the illegal program but they believed to have passed even on poor score of 75 or 76 percent. Thus, the sudden increase in passing grade stirs the peace of the graduating class.

UI-PHINMA nursing school coordinators have made P10,485,000 from the 699 graduating students who paid P15,000 each to their dog sporting two collars, NLE and CEP collars.

Then another P1,000 for Emergency Nursing Seminar when without a certificate of completion it is nothing. Despite the residual illegality, their will was done. This injustice to the students is a crime that cries to God for vengeance!

This is not what we think school business is all about. The coordinators who mixed the grades of CHED’s unrecognized program to grades of students under legal school curriculum made an impression that they did it in exchange for…. you know what. 

This is problem for people who have tasted the simulated thrill of making easy money. It is addictive and for that, we fear this mess may someday earn for their quarter a new name, departamento de los ladrones- a department of thieves!

Look, the Iloilo City Emergency Responders (ICER) who conducted the Emergency Nursing Seminar for free said they cannot issue certificates of completion to trainees without authority from the Philippine National Red Cross. Then why did these nursing school coordinators skip the legal way? Now where did that P699,000 paid by the 699 students go?

On why the UI-PHINMA nursing coordinator hired the services of RGO Review Center instead of the PNRC which is accredited to perform the task,... your guess is as good as mine.

Worse, the students paid P1,000 each for that useless seminar when the PNRC which is authorized to issue certificates charged only P298 to P400 per student.

These nursing school coordinators are already in the pot but jump into the fire. Had they graded their graduating students on subjects under CHED’s sanctioned school curriculum only, they could easily get out of this mess they’re in.

They say when money talks everybody listens. But in every rule there is an exception. Only rumor mills are grinding overnight that bundles of money are finding ways from the school to CHED and beyond – to Courts they cannot command.

This is too extreme a conclusion though. But these papers at my desk are already vital documents by which I shall judge them. It is written; qui peccat ebrius luat sobrius – he who offends when drunk shall be punished when sober!

The MIWD

 

Hole of Justice

Peter G. Jimenea

The cost of finding the truth (MIWD)

The Local Water Utilities Administration (LUWA) disclosed that Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) has failed to meet the 75% required service connections of consumers from 2006 to August 2010. So, as cited in Sec. 3(b) of PD 198, the rightful appointing authority for the Board of Directors (BoD) is not the mayor but the governor.

On November 11, 2010, LUWA declared the appointments of MIWD Board from 2006 to August 2010, to the present led by Mr. Celso Javelosa null and void ab initio. This started the legal battles between the management and members of the BoD.

City residents are aware of the plan by unscrupulous businessmen and few local officials to privatize the operation of the MIWD. They had been dreaming of enormous profit from the take-over of the water district once it is realized.

In fact, when still the mayor, Cong. Jerry Trenas bluntly said that the best way for MIWD to serve the water needs of the people of Iloilo City is to privatize its operation. Whom are they kidding? The people want production, not distribution.

This is probably the ultimate goal of Trenas once he stepped down from politics – to make easy money by bleeding his constituents. But he is not the only vampire in this horrible story. There are at least four or five of them comprising the syndicate we are dealing with.

After LUWA’s declaration, the BoD through their illegal… este legal counsel, sought relief from the RTC which trial judge easily acquiesced to their whims for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). It was only a misfortune that their prayer for the issuance of an injunction was denied.

Propelled by a burning desire for profit, the benefactors of the BoD tinkled their ass to find a solution. They know that drinking waters today cost more than bottled soft-drinks. The thought of BoD losing their post seems putting them in the brink of insanity!

True, whom the gods wish to destroy, they make them first insane. Rather than elevate the case to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) as the issue is position, the BoD jumped to the Court of Appeals for a remedy. On what misfortune, the CA told them… pack up and go away!

Perhaps, it is God’s will. The MIWD waters are for people in all walks of life. All living things in this world have the right for a share of the water. But the city mayor seems a willing victim of the syndicate to kill rather than cure the sick water district.

This is not what we think the business of a city mayor is all about. Why resent the law when it says the governor is the rightful authority to appoint the BoD of the local water district? Is the desire to abolish MIWD to get even with LUWA and the Court of Appeals for the unfavorable decision?

It is true that the 15-day period to file an appeal with the CSC has prescribed and the mayor’s appointed members of the BoD had been sacked. But does it justify his motive to kill the duck that had been laying golden-eggs for crooks in so long a time? And why not give the poor a break?

I still recall when the BoD issued a suspension order to Gen. Manager Le Jayme Jalbuena for alleged misdeed in office, two months ago. It was past four in the afternoon and the next day is holiday until the next three more days.

Jalbuena did not receive the suspension order as there was no quorum by the BoD. Its two members were sacked by LUWA. Perhaps it is God’s will as the time and motive of the suspension order when served was highly suspicious that evil, it can only be!

As noted, the unaware employees were saddened by the news of the suspension order for Jalbuena. But not until Monday morning when the general manager reported to his office, all employees and the guards shouted in jubilation upon seeing he returned.

It is the other way around for the BoD when they walked away. The tragedy is not to go but having no one to remember you. The employees are my vital gauge of the situation. When they flocked to the side of GM Jalbuena, it only proved - divisiveness is the cost of finding the truth!

Monalisa's Secrets

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

The secret of Monalisa

I learned that Mark Jalandoni, Deputy Ombudsman for Luzon resigned from his post. Good, this writer believes he, and not Monalis… ehe, este Merceditas Gutierrez is responsible for keeping the case of the Pavia Housing Scam in suspended animation.

Rumor mills are grinding overnight that this man is the contact person of former mayor now Cong. Jerry Trenas in the Office of the Ombudsman and not Monalis… este Merci, whom we suspect the classmate of former mayor of Iloilo City at the Ateneo Law School some years ago.  

But why the folder containing the charge-sheet and documented evidence against the culprits in the Pavia Housing Scam were reported to have been taken by the Ombudsman on the premise to review it personally inside her office?

This report triggered an erroneous suspicion without affirming the perception of a strange attachment between the Ombudsman and her deputy. She is supposed to assign that folder to deputies unless she has a personal interest in the case.

If it is Deputy Ombudsman Jalandoni who have interest in that case, say for instance that he and the former mayor of Iloilo City are close friends, what power has he over a superior in ordering Merci to take care of a friend’s request by letting it sleep inside her office?

The Pavia Housing Project anomaly involves P130 million of taxpayers’ money. It started at the very start of now Cong. Trenas first-term as elected city mayor in 2001. The construction of 413 units of low-cost houses for lowly city-government employees in 2001, has ended in 2009 without even a unit completely built. 

Not only that. The project bankrolled by the P120M loan from the Philippine National Bank (PNB), was immediately transferred to the Philippine Veterans Bank at the start of the construction. Other than the undisclosed finder’s fee, the expensive documentation (kuno) has increased our liability to P132M.

But the substandard materials being used by ACE Builders, the contractor, in building the houses was discovered. This propelled the City Council to pass a resolution urging Mayor Trenas to suspend the project and sue the contractor for deliberate violation of the contract.

As a result, the project was suspended. But the mayor cannot be intimidated by a mere resolution. Being a lawyer, he knows that a resolution is a mere recommendation, as in Latin, simplex commendatio non obligor – a mere recommendation is not binding.

He ignored the City Council and continued paying the contractor despite the suspension of the project. But the issue resurfaced when the contractor abandoned the project while continue receiving payment of his billings from the mayor.

Despite the blatant violation their will was done. Worse, the city was obliged to pay interest of the loan at P17,000 per day including holidays for over a year. But not until the contractor has pocketed a P64M plus without a single unit built out of the 413 low-cost houses under the contract.

This is corruption of the highest order under the very nose of our former mayor and now Cong. Trenas. The Ombudsman should know that the simplest way to curb corruption is, of course, to do away with the system that fosters it.

The Pavia Housing Scam was filed at the Office of Monalis… este Merci Gutierrez in 2004, yet nothing has been heard about it. By allowing cases to lie there and die there without seeing justice, Atty. Romeo Gerochi is correct to suggest that the Office of the Ombudsman should have a new name – The Office of Monalisa!

This is not what we think the business of the Ombudsman is all about. Worse, instead of the deputy to review the case, it was Monalis... este Merci who took the responsibility supposed to be that of Deputy Ombudsman Jalandoni, reportedly a friend of Cong. Trenas.

What really matters in this story is Deputy Ombudsman Jalandoni’s power in making his superior look like a sidekick at one click - to handle for him the case of a friend.  This is where the subplot of a strange relationship came into the picture! Does Monalisa have more secrets in her closet?

The recall of Mayor Jed Mabilog

Hole of Justice

By Peter G. Jimenea

The recall of Mayor Jed Mabilog

The signature gathering campaign of Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog is for the abolition of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD). This is a bad dream. City residents are not that dumb to miss the motive behind this rush to get one hundred thousand signatures for the purpose.

This plan to privatize the MIWD by a group of businessmen in the city, is to control the distribution of water among commercial, industrial and residential consumers. It started since 2008 yet, but perhaps, due to intervention of God, it did not push through.

God knows we need water production, not distribution. It is an inherent right of all living things on earth to have their share of water for free. Yet, our unscrupulous businessmen and corrupt local leaders who cannot resist the temptation of greed still want to bleed us in exchange for their souls to hell.

The water district is sick due to power-play between the Board of Directors and the management. But look, members of the board were hired not on managerial capability but merely on political expediency. So charges and counter-charges continue coming in and out of office which led to the dysfunction of the water district’s maintenance and operation.

As the city and metropolitan Iloilo were not properly served with seventy five (75%) percent of water connections,  the Local Water Utilities Administration (LUWA) declared that under PD 198, the rightful appointing authority for members of the board of directors is the governor, not the mayor.

The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals CA, which eventually upheld the stand of LUWA and all appointees of the city mayor were stripped of the title. Thus, Mayor Mabilog decided that rather than lost grip in the MIWD, it is better killed!

The campaign of Mayor Mabilog started soon for a one hundred thousand signatures. But this is only for his will to be done. He wants MIWD to rest in peace, forgetting that he has made prior remarks never to interfere again in the problem of the water district.

This propelled Atty. Romeo Gerochi to remind him that forgetfulness is the death of friendship. Dipping his finger again in MIWD problem destroyed his credibility as a man of words. Mayor Mabilog is already in the pot but jumps into the fire!

Atty. Gerochi’s recall campaign is now snowballing and taking its toll on the integrity of the mayor. In the recent survey on the air conducted by a radio station in the city, on the very first day, only 15 agreed for the abolition of MIWD but 400 are in favor of the mayor’s recall. This is not good for the heart of Mayor Mabilog.

If we try to analyze the effect of this campaign to Cong. Jerry Trenas and Vice Mayor Joe Espinosa, this is favorable to them. It is widely believe that they may even join Atty. Gerochi to get the target signatures for the mayor’s recall.

The same is true with former DOJ Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Sr.  The man has still loyal followers who may willingly sign for the recall of the mayor. This is a fast-moving campaign while that one for the abolition of MIWD is dragging. This is a tragedy. It endangers the integrity of Mayor Mabilog to become the last casualty!

Once the target number of signatories is met, regardless of the Comelec’s refusal to hold an election for lack of funds, the effect of successful recall is already a hounding issue that can put the political future of the young mayor in peril.

Whoever gives this idea to the mayor to start a signature campaign to kill rather than cure the sick water district is stupid. MIWD should be treated to survive, not to be killed just to get even with LUWA and the Court of Appeals which only abide with the rule of law - the rule of the right!

They who defied LUWA’s memo as to the rightful signatory for appointment of the Board of Directors must have been enlightened now. Lex fori –  a traditional notion that in the field of conflict of laws as a general rule, the law of the place where the case is tried should govern. Well, I hope to have made your day in this column, you ask for it, unlike me who ask others to make my day!