Money that big cannot be just for PR

I do not know why the senators allowed Piatco’s Cheng Yong to get away with claiming that the $200,000 a month retainer he paid the mysterious Mr. Alfonso Liongson was for PR services. They should have charged him for perjury, right then and there.

For one thing, a contract was uncovered between Piatco and Mr. Liongson that was clearly an influence peddling contract. It paid big bucks to Mr. Liongson based on milestones such as approvals being obtained from DOTC, Duty Free and other government agencies. Mr. Cheng should have been reminded that he was under oath and denying the obvious is simply perjury, and he can be criminally prosecuted. Mr. Cheng should have instead, invoked his right against self incrimination.

It is unlikely that a businessman as savvy as Mr. Cheng would pay big money for PR services. Surely, he would have checked how much such services cost and he would have found out that Mr. Liongson is more than just expensive.

Then again, he knew how the big bucks would be spent. He knew PR had nothing to do with Mr. Liongson’s mission. It is incredible that Mr. Cheng admitted he had not seen a piece of advertising, press release or anything related to PR produced by Mr. Liongson, given the huge sums of money he paid. He should be suing Mr. Liongson by now if that is true.

It is obvious to all but those who want to play blind, that money that big cannot be just to influence media through PR. The fact that it has to be deposited to a foreign bank account in Hong Kong, supports the suspicion that the money bought some amount of influence that Piatco needs to see their project through.

I have been in the PR business for a long time and that kind of money is unheard of, if we are only talking PR. You can throw in some government lobbying into the pot and it is still too big a sum. We should ask the help of anti-money laundering officials in Hong Kong to follow the trail of that money, if we want to know the real story that Mr. Cheng Yong claims to not know.

A foreign PR firm, with reasonable credentials, has offered to undertake a PR/lobbying program for Defense Secretary Angie Reyes in Washington DC for $50,000 a month. Piatco paid $200,000 and this Liongson fellow is not even known in the local PR business. I wonder how many editors know this Liongson or even heard of him before my publisher, Max Soliven, wrote about his outrageous contract with Piatco. In the meantime, maybe the Bureau of Internal Revenue should check if Piatco withheld the usual 10-percent tax on retainers like this and if this Liongson fellow paid the right taxes on that huge income.

In any case, that Liongson fellow is not a very effective PR man, despite the huge retainer he collected. Look at the mess the Piatco situation is in. Even its top man, Mr. Cheng Yong is now being grilled by a Senate investigation. An unconfirmed DOTC Secretary friendly to Piatco also had to give up his post. And the President herself had spoken against the contract. Surely, that huge PR retainer is money wasted.

Lokohan na ito. Ginagago na tayo. The public should not be made to pay the cost of corruption. I hope the senators, unlike some congressmen, will really get to the bottom of the Piatco case. The senators and the public should not be swayed by the squid tactics of the Piatco propagandists. Actually, even if Ms. Climaco has an axe to grind, that is still beside the point. The outrageous provisions she pointed out simply have to be renegotiated.

As Sen. Serge Osmena puts it, Erap’s revisions to the original contract gave Piatco a blank check to charge what they wanted. "That’s better than a platinum card," the senator observed. Serge noted that the revised contract signed by Erap DOTC Secretary Jun Rivera declared that the project is not a monopoly and is, therefore, not subject to the 12 percent cap on its return on rate base. Piatco can also borrow as much as it wants even after the airport is opened, and government is liable when Piatco fails to pay.

This is why the Piatco spokesman is also wrong when he said the stockholders should be left alone to sort out their problems. The airport project involves the public interest. President Arroyo and Secretary Nani Perez must protect the public interest and this justifies supposed government intrusion. We must pursue all avenues to get to the bottom of this mess. And let no one declare the investigation over until the Fat Man sings, so to speak.

Stock market

I got this e-mail from Graphic columnist John Mangun in reaction to my having cited his thoughts about the stock exchange in last Monday’s column:

Well, at least I know that ONE person reads my Graphic column. Thanks for your comments and NO, I am still optimistic about the country because I think that Filipinos are and can be the best . . with the right leadership. And, as you know, I am not fed up. I am merely annoyed and frustrated to the point of switching from beer to rum. Thanks again for your kind comments Boo. More power and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Best Regards, John

Okay, so I am the lone dark angel again. But wait a minute, my astrologer friend just confirmed to me her very dire predictions about to unfold this month. She sees a war in Iraq, for starters. Ah, there’s a darker angel.

Crimewatch

I received this e-mail from reader Richard Sinfuego about crime in the City of Manila.

Holduppers are rampant again in Manila. Last week my friend got held up near the post office of Manila right at the foot of the bridge, at 1 p.m. One of the holduppers was armed with knife and the other with gun. Just the other day another friend got held up in Dagupan St. Divisoria near Tutuban shopping mall at 4 pm. Holduppers were armed with knives.

Can you imagine that holduppers have the guts to do it even in daytime. Paging our "good policemen" of WPD. Please do something. Why are patrol cars of WPD roaming around Binondo at night concentrating on apprehending private motorists violating traffic lights, but not as vigilant when passenger jeepney drivers are the violators? Just asking.

I also got a text message that a 26-year-old woman was killed at the Katipunan and Libis area last week when two cars blocked her car and men with guns tried to force her out of her car. I haven’t verified that news but it sounds ominously similar to an incident that happened to an officemate.

She was driving down Katipunan and at the corner of Santolan had to stop when the traffic light turned red. It was early evening. Men with guns got off a van that blocked her car and tried to get her out of the car. She honked on her car horn instead to attract attention and the men left. But that took guts. And she was lucky.

That’s a pretty busy area. All we can say is, Central Police District… Hoy! Gising!.

Corruption

This Pinoy joke was e-mailed to me by Marilyn Mana-ay Robles.

What’s the difference between corruption in the USA and corruption in the Philippines? In the US, they go to jail. In the Philippines, they go to the US!

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