A Sigma Rho fight

Coffee shops are abuzz these days about a legal battle among three distinguished lawyers who once formed the respected Raval, Suplico and Lokin law office.

On one side of the conflict are young Iloilo solon Rolex Suplico and election lawyer Demaree Raval. On the other side is lawyer Luis Lokin, husband of a former sectoral representative, who is reportedly the subject of a Supreme Court sanction initiated by Suplico and Raval.

Not that coffee shop habitués are strangers to the sad saga of law partners ending up entangled in legal battles against one another. But the Suplico-Raval versus Lokin fight is much more than just a case of a partnership gone sour. Observers say there are many angles in the conflict that made it the current talk of the town.

Newspaper accounts say the fight is all about money – the alleged attorney’s fees that the law firm is supposed to have collected following a major court victory leading to the resolution of the Aerocom case.

What the newspaper reports do not say is that all three protagonists belong to one famous fraternity – the University of the Philippines College of Law-based Sigma Rho. Observers say this publicly displayed squabble among Sigma Rhoans was previously unheard of. The powerful fraternity is known to promote filial piety even among members from the opposite side of the political fence.

Those familiar with the case also lament the unfortunate "stray bullet" effect of the bitter quarrel among the three Sigma Rho standouts on their common career "godfather", former telecom executive Salvador Hizon. Ador, as he is fondly called by our media colleagues who once covered the telecom beat, is reportedly also a Sigma Rhoan.

And if the accounts now circulating the grapevine are true, Ador Hizon’s saga could turn out to be a sad story of fraternal ties broken by financial interest.

Our sources say Ador Hizon was not even a partner in the Raval, Suplico and Lokin law firm and may have been "unfairly" dragged into the legal tiff. Ador Hizon’s association with the three squabbling Sigma Rhoans, our sources add, was that of the proverbial father figure "siring" promising younger brods in the field of public service. Ador Hizon, they underscore, practically "fathered" the public service career of both Atty. Raval and Congressman Suplico.

Raval, they relate, was then a legal counsel for UP when his Sigma Rho brods went to Ador Hizon for help on Raval’s behalf. Raval, the story goes, was then in trouble with powerful squatter groups in UP who faced the specter of eviction. Ador eventually helped Raval land a job in the Senate where Raval eventually became deputy senate secretary – the beginning of his long and distinguished career in the Upper House. That was some time in 1987.

The break that Ador Hizon gave Raval, observers opine, may have been instrumental in introducing the latter to the inner workings of the legislature which made Raval a valuable asset to several Senate presidents, including fellow Sigma Rhoans Edgardo Angara and Franklin Drilon.

In fact, Raval served the Senate from 1988 to 1995 during which he joined PNB. Throughout all those years, he was what others might call an "absentee partner" in the law firm.

While his two other partners were pursuing careers in other fields, common friends say it was Lokin who virtually ran the law office almost single-handedly. Lokin, they pointed out, was uncomplaining since he was a junior in the Sigma Rho relative to Raval and, possibly, even to Suplico. Lokin was the proverbial work-horse who did the yeoman’s job of servicing clients and administering the office.

Observers also recall that Suplico likewise received his first major break in public service courtesy of Ador Hizon. The erstwhile future solon was recommended for a job at the Senate Secretary’s office then occupied by the late Atty. Edwin Acoba.

The Iloilo solon, our friends relate, had just finished his law studies but was still looking for work. They pointed out that Ador Hizon may have felt there was a lot of promise in the young Ilongo. And Ador was correct. Among the many young UP graduates that Ador "sired" in public service, only the feisty Rolex Suplico has made a name for himself in the field of politics, they point out.

It was Ador Hizon, the story goes on, who strongly encouraged Raval, Suplico and Lokin to put up a law firm. Ador, they underscore, never became a partner because he was then already a semi-retired lawyer who loved playing golf. In fact, Ador Hizon had brought in a good number of big clients to the firm, thanks to his passion for the sport.

So, given the father-and-son type of professional upbringing Ador Hizon has given the two prominent legal practitioners, kibitzers are wondering aloud as to what could be the real reason behind what appears to be a publicly-displayed crucifixion of the mentor by his disciples?

Our common friends recall that when the Aerocom case was finally settled in 1999, Raval had already left the partnership, having moved on to join the Philippine National Bank as vice president in 1998. When he left that year, they add, Raval never returned to the law firm.

The young Suplico, on the other hand, had then moved forward to pursue his now brilliant career in politics, a path he began to walk in 1995 when he ran for board member of Iloilo. He also reportedly never rejoined the law firm after his political career took off on a stellar note.

These are why kibitzers are wondering aloud how former partners in a dissolved law firm could run after supposed revenues generated by the office long after they have left. They noted that Suplico signed a "release, waiver and quitclaim" document in 2000, a year after the 1999 final ruling on the Aerocom case. We saw the document prominently published in a major daily recently,

Raval is also said to have executed a waiver in 2002, even mentioning his giving up of any claim related to the Aerocom case. People close to the defunct law firm disclosed that Raval, then out of job from the PNB after President Estrada left office, made the waiver at his own request following a plea to Lokin and Hizon for the two to cede to him possession of condominium unit which – in the first place – did not belong to the law firm. Raval supposedly made the urgent plea because he was out of work and needed his own office space.

Raval, they said, is today "in sole physical possession" of the said condominium unit. In the Raval waiver, our sources added, he specifically mentioned giving up his right to all law firm revenues including fees from the Aerocom case.

What makes the whole conflict funny, observers add, is that the president and the corporate secretary of Aerocom have denied in their own respective affidavits that Aerocom has paid the law firm the supposed fees that is now the subject of the Sigma Rho squabble. This might be a bitter fight over imagined money, observers say.

Observers further opine that the legal tiff between the mentor and the disciples could have simply been a case of misunderstanding. Unfortunately, the gang suspects that them embers of fraternal misunderstanding are being stoked by third parties.

What makes the conflict a lamentable affair is that there is now an assault on Ador Hizon’s personal reputation apparently to push him to the wall. Our in-the-know friends say Ador Hizon is in anguish not so much over the lawsuit but on account of the animosity being displayed by his erstwhile wards.

Observers, however, are optimistic that the publicly played-out fraternal conflict could still have a happy ending. They say it is possible that the protagonists would realize the futility of displaying the conflict in public. Sigma Rhoans, which include the likes of eminent statesman Juan Ponce Enrile, the late Marcelo Fernan, and of course, the venerable Franklin Drilon, are not known to reduce one another into smithereens.

In the meantime, we can only share the anguish of Ador Hizon.. It is sad to see mentors and disciples part ways. Even among us, kibitzers, a happy ending to stories such as this is the all-time favorite.

Another view of EO 474

While there have been favorable sentiments expressed towards Executive Order no. 474, creating the Philippine Strategic Oil, Gas, Energy Resources and Power Infrastructure Office (PSOGERPIO), it has generated quite a bit of negative reaction from varied sectors as well.

So we think it but fair to consider the alternative views on the matter – to strike a balance – and leave it to you, the reading public, to decide whether it would be really benefit us or not.

The claim of EO474 advocates is that the PSOGERPIO is meant to "arrange and negotiate financing from public finance, bilateral and multilateral Official Development Assistance institutions, and from the private sector, subject to existing procurement, accounting and auditing rules and regulations."

Put simply, it is meant to assist the Department of Energy in the specified areas.

To some though, this seems to imply that the Department of Energy, the Bureau of Energy Development and the PNOC-Energy Development Corp. have been inutile in as far as executing their mandates are concerned. It also tends to portray Energy Secretary Raphael Lotilla as inadequate despite all his experience and success during his stint as president of PSALM, the Power Sector Assets and Liabilities Management Corp., which is responsible for attracting investors for and selling the government’s energy generation and transmission assets.

Word going around is that the private sector was not consulted. Even Lotilla himself was unaware of the plan until he was asked for his inputs only a few days before it was signed and subsequently withdrawn due adverse reactions from certain sectors and palace consultants. And those against the energy superbody are no push-overs either.

Rep. Joey Salceda was first to voice objections saying it was wrong and "a product of a sick mind who just wants vast powers without accountability over a strategic industry."

Industrialist Raul Concepcion, another vocal critic, explained that the PSOGERPIO "sent a wrong signal to investors" as it invades the powers and functions of the Energy Department and its attached agencies, including Philippine National Oil Co. He even warned that it opened possibilities of negating policies under the Electric Power Industry Reform Act of 2001 (for the electricity sector) and the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998.

Just the other day, the Philippine Independent Power Producers Association (PIPPA) called on government "to remain true to the vision of creating a competitive environment for the power industry through the proper implementation of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA)", adding that "this, and not the creation of another layer of bureaucracy through EO 474, will solve the problems besetting the power industry."

The PIPPA views the EO as symptomatic of a government wanting to go back to central planning, a policy that has only given the country disastrous results.

The President was reported to have put the implementation of EO 474 on hold – calling for a review and further "fine-tuning" of the EO. And the group of independent power producers remain concerned about the damage the EO can inflict on the power industry should government finally push through with it and "condemns any and all efforts to undermine the goals and gains of EPIRA’s privatization and deregulation policies."

By and large, the adversaries of EO474 are in agreement with even some of our other colleagues in media who view the EPIRA and oil deregulation laws as probably the two most exhaustive and finest pieces of legislation in the energy sector today. And that the premises and designs of these two laws are more than enough to address the issues raised by the proponents of PSOGERPIO.

So there, now that you have both sides, you can decide.

Enough is enough

Nothing good can possibly come out of it.

I’m referring to Rep. Herminio Teves’ insistence that current House ways and means committee chair Rep. Jesli Lapus‚ time as committee head is up and that it is time for the elder Teves to take over.

What good can it do the country if the House ways and means committee, the body tasked with providing the necessary checks to the country’s fiscal policies, is chaired by the father of no less than the Secretary of Finance himself, Gary Teves.

From my limited knowledge of the principle of separation of powers and the corollary principle of check and balance, these constitutional principles would be rendered inutile if we have a father-and-son team overseeing the country’s finance and fiscal policies. Imagine, if the two decide on the fate of our nation over the dinner table. That would be disastrous.

The problem started when the respective political parties of Miniong Teves and Jesli Lapus imposed a term-sharing on the two, a ‘gentlemen’s agreement‚ entered into when nobody had any idea that Gary would eventually be the finance secretary. Now Miniong is saying that Jesli’s time is up and that he better honor the supposed gentlemen’s agreement. It is hard to imagine the immense influence Miniong will wield if the House Speaker does not come into the picture and remind everybody about these constitutional principles that are obviously more important than a mere gentlemen’s agreement.

It is therefore understandable that businessman and big corporations, and even foreign investors, are scared to death of the possible implications of a father-son tandem.

People at the BIR, finance department, and customs are already complaining that Miniong Teves has been throwing his weight around. He has reportedly been attending internal briefings at the DOF even during weekends. He is said to be practically holding office at the DOF and BIR and giving direct instructions to the personnel.

Jesli’s continued stay as chairman of the ways and means committee will do the country so much good. His performance has been outstanding. He is responsible for the introduction of many fiscal reform measures, is credited for conducting the most number of hearings in a committee and with the most number of crucial bills introduced. He should be allowed to remain as committee head.

For delicadeza’s sake, Gary should ask his dad to just let him do the work. A monopoly of fiscal policies will send the wrong signals to investors and we don’t need another nail on the coffin.

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