Aliases and thieves

In a touch of irony or poetic justice, the senator who harangued prosecution lawyer Mae Divinagracia last week on the use of aliases when at war is named after an alias – Robinhood Padilla.

In the last 700 years since 1262 in England, “Robinhood” has been in use as an alias – for thieves or criminals. And of course, Robin himself is a convicted criminal. Illegal possession of firearms. You can say his Robinhood lends gravitas to the use of a widely used alias for criminals and thieves.

“I think those national heroes whose aliases were referenced would probably be rolling in their graves after their nom de guerre were mentioned in the same context as the allegation of misuse of confidential funds,” prosecution spokesman Lanao del Sur Rep. Zia Alonto Adiong said at a press briefing on Aug. 27, protesting Robin’s lecture on Divinagracia, a lawyer who sees a fake when she sees one.

Adiong said the issue is not about patriotism but rather an audit problem: the Office of the Vice President and the Department of Education, when Vice President Sara Duterte sat as secretary, now have a problem with the Commission on Audit (COA).

The Muslim congressman pointed out that the real identities in the thousands of acknowledgment receipts used to support the disbursements can be secured and later checked by state auditors without being disclosed to the public.

“This is an auditing problem. No amount of confidential activity can ever weaken the constitutional mandate of the Commission on Audit (COA) in finding out what happened to the money of the people,” Alonto Adiong said.

Deputy Speaker Paolo Ortega V made the distinction more directly: heroes used aliases in furtherance of their struggle for our country and our people, and not to deceive people or abuse public money.

“Yung mga bayani po natin, yung ating mga hero, e nagkaroon po at gumamit po at binansagan po ng mga ganitong pangalan dahil pinaglalaban po nila yung bansa (Our heroes used aliases because they fought for our country),” Ortega stressed.

Our genuine heroes of old used aliases as noms de guerre or pseudonyms to disguise a real fighter’s or warrior’s identity.

Our heroes of old used the alias “para sa bayan” (for the country). In the case of VP Sara Duterte’s cash doleouts, the recipients used the alias “para sa bayad” (for the money). And a hero would think twice before allowing himself or herself to be named after a vagina or bad body odor. Or an outright thief.

Speaking of aliases, among our national heroes, Mariano Ponce used Tikbalang (werehorse) and Naning (Satan). Jose Rizal used Dimasalang (Touch Me Not) and Laon Laan; Andres Bonifacio, May Pagasa and Agapito Bagumbayan; Antonio Luna, Taga-Ilog; Emilio Jacinto, Di Masilaw and Tingkian; Graciano Lopez Jaena, Diego Laura; Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo, Magdalo; Juan Luna, Buan (obvious, Luna or Buan both meaning moon); Marcelo H. Del Pilar, Plaridel, Dolores Manapat and Piping Dilat.

Meanwhile, the World Bank’s latest mandate to the Philippines is: help the poor.

This is given the sharp economic slowdown, caused primarily by two factors: one, a decline in investment due to the flood control scandal (which forced the government to cut back on infra) and rising global and domestic policy uncertainty and two, the Middle East war, which spiked oil prices globally and weakened economic activity.

The World Bank projects GDP growth this year for the Philippines of 3.7 percent, down from an already slow 4.4 percent in 2025. After GDP growth hit 2.8 percent in the first quarter and 2.3 percent in the second, Moody’s sees 2026 growth trimmed to just three percent – the slowest in six years.

For the poor, the World Bank wants the government to do three things:

• On household protection, expanding targeted transfers is the most cost-effective near-term response; any fuel excise relief requires strict time limits and offsetting revenue measures.

• On fiscal consolidation, the preferred path prioritizes tax base broadening and expenditure quality over further capital compression, which would reinforce the investment contraction.

• On public investment, recovery depends on governance progress; in other words, stop the stealing.

The World Bank says: “The principal downside risk is a prolonged Strait of Hormuz disruption, which would reduce growth and keep inflation elevated.

“The trajectory of the conflict remains highly uncertain. Reversal in the global AI investment cycle poses a second distinct external risk, operating through export demand, technology FDI and financial stress channels. Persistent public infrastructure weakening and extreme climate events compound this exposure.”

The World Bank projects Philippine growth to slow to 3.7 percent in 2026, with fixed investment contracting and private consumption slowing as inflation erodes real incomes. Inflation is projected to average 5.8 percent for the year, with upward inflationary pressures in H2 continuing on the back of lagged energy effects on food prices and seasonal weather pressures.

The baseline projects a recovery to 5.2 percent in 2027, as governance conditions stabilize, public investment gradually recovers and the BSP resumes easing. Poverty continues to decline, but at a materially slower pace than the pre-shock trajectory.

Public debt stands at its highest level since 2005, and the projected 2026 deficit improvement reflects capital expenditure restraint.

The World Bank says: “Allowing global energy prices to pass through to domestic markets, rather than suppressing them through broad subsidies or price controls, helps moderate demand and preserve the commitment to fiscal sustainability.”

At the same time, targeted transfers protect the most vulnerable without creating unnecessary fiscal costs, the bank suggests.

The government’s UPLIFT program operationalizes this approach by keeping fuel subsidies limited, prioritizing temporary top-up transfers to poor households under the 4Ps program and enacting energy conservation programs, including a four-day public workweek.

The key gap in UPLIFT is social protection coverage. Expanding the 4Ps program to near-poor households not currently enrolled would reduce the projected poverty headcount increase by nearly half, at approximately one-third the fiscal cost of a full fuel excise suspension.

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