How to handle workers’ trust fund - DEMAND AND SUPPLY by Boo Chanco

Based on recent events, the Arroyo administration is faced with one more important matter: how to handle the pension funds of government and private sector workers. Past experience and also based on the confessions of the former top guys at both the SSS and the GSIS have shown that these pension funds have been raided.

It makes sense to have a panel of private sector investment professionals together with representatives from the labor sector form an oversight committee to look over what SSS and GSIS are doing. Any investment as big as what they made in Equitable PCI Bank and Belle Resources among others, should have the imprimatur of this oversight committee. I hate to place another layer of controls over presumably responsible people who ought to know what they are doing, but look what happened?

In fact, the magnitude of the raid during Erap’s watch is such that I am not sure it will serve the ends of justice if the managers are just given a slap on the wrist in exchange for being state witnesses. At the very least, they should be investigated and any unexplained wealth reverted to the treasuries of the pension funds. For all we know, these managers may be more guilty than Erap. Put another way, they could have used Erap’s name more times than actually instructed.

With the new administration, we can hope for a more professional, more honest handling of the pension funds. At least in SSS, I am confident that Lanny Nañagas is both competent and honest. I am not sure about his assistants who were part of the raiding party of the Erap regime. There could be a problem there.

In the GSIS, however, we have one who looks like an incompetent hothead in charge. From day 1, Sen. Serge Osmeña already warned that GMA’s appointment (on the behest of Serge’s cousin Lito) is not qualified to hold the top GSIS position. His appointment is a violation of the GSIS charter.

I don’t know him from Adam, so when GMA allowed the appointment to stand, I thought maybe he is puede na rin. Still, because he does not have a day’s experience in investment banking or insurance, his appointment is a violation of the law. It does not look good for GMA to actually countenance a blatant violation of the law.

Now this same man says he has written off P7 billion of GSIS money, and he no longer cares what happens to Equitable PCI Bank because he feels ignored by the board of directors. That’s stupid and reckless and even if only for that, he should be fired. As a custodian of P7 billion of government workers’ money, he ought to be more protective. Ano yun, tapon na lang?

It is his job to safeguard that money and he can do that by making sure the bank gets out of its present crisis. If he has problems with some other stockholders, he must work to resolve them amicably or, if that’s no longer possible, go to court. I tend to agree with his position that the Go family may be overrepresented in the board of directors. Maybe if he sought legal remedies, that can be corrected. But he cannot just throw P7 billion that isn’t even his money down the chute.

That’s what happens when a small town lawyer gets into the big league without preparation or without humility. He ends up putting his foot in his mouth. And embarrasses the GMA administration in the process.

One last thing… I really think the should drop Equitable in the bank name, if they are serious about sprucing up its tarnished image. I still hear people refer to it as "Aquitable Bank", with reference to its role in initially trying to acquit you-know-who.

PBSP

I received an e-mail from a good friend, Serge Montinola, about his experience with the PBSP. That’s the Philippine Business for Social Progress, supposedly the response of the business sector to the problems brought about by social inequity in our country. Here’s a portion of the e-mail of Serge.

I will give you my personal experience with PBSP. I donated a tunnel dryer for the tomato cooperative farmers of Liliw, Laguna last year worth P500,000. PBSP offered to run and operate the dryer for the farmers they were helping in that area.

One day they reported to me that the dryer burned. I knew then that PBSP allowed a modern, mechanized dryer to be operated by an incompetent farm hand. I also noticed PBSP was run by young, fresh people who had very little knowledge and competence in what they were supposed to do.

You are very right that the administrative cost outrun the project cost. Todate, they have not met with me to discuss the incident. The tomato drying project must have been shelved since. This is how PBSP works in most of their projects. A waste of good intentions, time and money.

Looks like Serge confirms my worse fears about some of these well meaning initiatives that go ningas cogon. The reasons the late Joe Carpio cited when he convinced local big business to put up the PBSP are as valid today as they were then. PBSP was probably among the first, if not the first NGO in this country.

I don’t know who is on top of PBSP now. But whoever he is, it is time to wake up the troops. Corporations would be more enthusiastic with entrusting to them the percentage of net profits set aside for social work projects if they knew PBSP has a measurable and palpable impact in the field. The corporate sector must be very visibly involved in anti-poverty projects, through PBSP or on their own.

New txt jokes

Dr. Ernie E takes a break today. Luckily, I got a couple of hilarious txt jokes on my cell over the past days. Here’s the first.

Reporter to Gringo: Bakit ayaw mo pang sumuko?

Gringo to Reporter: Kasi sabi ni Berroya he will put me in a cell with Maceda.

And here’s the other:

Miriam to Nani Perez: Sabi mo gagawin mo akong state witness. Bakit mo ako pina-aaresto ngayon?

Nani Perez to Miriam: I lied… Ha ha ha ha ha!

(Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is [email protected])