Erap’s new confessions must be acted upon

I am bothered by the fact that one week after Erap confessed to columnist Neal Cruz about attempts of deal makers to bribe him billions of pesos during his incumbency, nothing much was heard. The parties mentioned by Erap, a contractor for Napocor and a controversial garbage disposal company, have not even come out to deny Erap's allegations. The public officials suspected by Erap of having taken bribes from these companies before and after his term, have also been eerily quiet.

Worst of all, the Ombudsman, who should act on his own when reports of corruption are made public, also failed to react to the former President's charges. One may call Erap's revelations as acts of desperation. Perhaps, Erap intends to bring as many personalities down with him. But we, the taxpayers, deserve to be given details.

Somehow, the interview with Neal Cruz did not contain the material details of who and when and where. The former president merely repeated rumors we have heard in the coffee shops for years now. But now that someone like Erap has given these tales the authenticity of first-hand experience, we deserve to be told the gory details, if any. Otherwise, Erap is guilty of rumor mongering.

How come the congressional committees who investigate the most inconsequential things are also quiet about those bombshell revelations of Erap to Neal Cruz? Too hot to handle? Or maybe, they are just being Biblical, refusing to cast the first stone knowing they are guilty of such transgressions too. But we must know the truth. We have dismissed the rumors before as rumors. But with Erap saying as much, there must be more than a grain of truth to them.

Actually, Erap has a point in decrying the fact that he is the only one facing plunder charges when other officials, including a former president, must also clear their names. The Clark Centennial fiasco, with an ex-president's marginal notes to GFIs, deserves an Ombudsman hearing. If I were Erap, I'd feel bad too and would probably be saying the same things about the judicial system's bias.

Maybe Erap can do one last public service and give more details than he gave Neal. Tell us who, when, where and let's see the Ombudsman ignore that. Alternatively, if Erap refuses to give details, he should be accused of dereliction of duty. He was duty bound to have those who offered him bribes arrested on the spot. Even attempted bribery is a serious crime, or didn't he know that?

Napocor collections

Energy Secretary Vince Perez told me that with the new tough stance they have taken on long overdue accounts, the Napocor's collection of past dues have jumped from P20 million to P200 million out of a total past due accounts worth over P13 billion. There are no sacred cows, Vince explained. They can cut off any offending cooperative or direct connected customer. I am told that even the hoity toity Canlubang industrial estate had to settle its bills in a hurry recently.

This is just as well. Ordinary folks have been paying their electricity bills and shouldn't be made to carry the burden of the deadbeats. As in the co-op in Aklan that serves Boracay, government has finally awakened to the need to have a professional management in place. In many parts of the country, officials of electric co-ops use their position to advance political and personal advantage.

But Napocor should also give the complete story on that much despised purchased power adjustment or PPA. That's largely to cover the surplus in supply because Napocor contracted too much power from independent power producers or IPPs. That also covers the penalty for Napocor's failure to upgrade its transmission lines to dispatch the natural gas fired power plants fully and on time.

I do work for the Lopezes but in all fairness, they worked to finish the natural gas plants on time. More important, they made the commitment to do so, paving the way for Shell to develop that gas field in Palawan. Without the commitment to build Sta Rita and San Lorenzo, Shell wouldn't have plunked in the billion dollars or so needed for the development of Malampaya. We would not be enjoying this domestic energy resource. And government won't be enjoying the millions of dollars in royalty fees, so badly needed in this time of budget deficits.

First Gas made the original commitment after assurances from Napocor that the power can be transmitted on time. But unfortunately, Napocor failed to build the capacity to dispatch the power that can be produced from natural gas. In the meantime, there are loans to be paid and pre-agreed schedule of natural gas deliveries to be met.

Now Napocor has the gall to blame First Gas for a failure that is Napocor's alone. The best defense for Napocor is offense. Even if doing so is offensive to truth.

Ateneo school

I got this e-mail from a former American Peace Corps volunteer on the Ateneo Gokongwei donation. The Internet has certainly made The Philippine STAR accessible just about anywhere. Here's that e-mail from Jeff Jenks.

I think it’s wonderful that Mr. G is donating the P200 million to the Ateneo and wish others would do likewise and agree with your comments that showed up in Philippine Headline News. John Gokongwei sets a wonderful example that, hopefully, others will follow.

When I was a Peace Corps teacher in Mindanao I had the luxury of spending one summer at the Ateneo de Manila studying in the Graduate School when it was in downtown Manila. I had the brains of the Philippines as instructors –Bulatao, De La Costa, Lynch, Hollnsteiner and others. Young people growing up should have the opportunities to learn from the current brightest, and it costs money to train them and to retain them.

Mr. G’s development of Cebu Pacific and its linkage with Northwest have made a huge difference in creating a convenient and international air bridge to Cebu at a time when it is really needed, and I respect and appreciate Mr. G for doing that.

Golf shot

Dr. Ernie E. sent in this one today.

Eric and Phil were teeing off on the long par five seventh hole. Eric decided he was going to reach the green in two and took such a cut at the ball that he almost fell over. The ball skimmed out over the course about five feet above the ground, slicing into a tree and bouncing into the fairway about 150 yards out.

Phil said: "Nice condom shot."

Eric said: "What’s a condom shot."

Phil said: "Safe, but doesn’t feel good."

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