Surprising Tessie

A hot topic in coffee shops today is come-backing senatorial aspirant Tessie Aquino-Oreta whose laid-back campaign may have put her outside the radar screen of national consciousness were it not for the few surprises she has sprung lately.

Our coffee shop colleagues have been cajoling us to help dissect Tessie’s "surprises" in an apparent bid to find out whether or not what is now being perceived as a "new" Tessie Aquino-Oreta is for real.

Tessie has caused quite a dissonance with two recent pronouncements. The first has to do with that now infamous ASO jingle. The second, with her nephew Noynoy.

The coffee shop gang pointed out that the ASO jingle, crafted by the group of actor Rez Cortez, is not exactly a harmless piece of negative campaign material. It is, to say the least, unkind. We heard a few personalities air their concern about the possible negative repercussions that materials like Cortez’s ASO jingle might bring about in the otherwise tame and boring political campaign landscape.

MLQU professor Bayani Santos said it could revive the now-dead "bomba"-type campaigns where politicians hurled mud at one another — and where an amused public was simply entertained but not educated. Stock market guru Astro del Castillo was likewise concerned over the possible effects of the ASO jingle, saying it could trigger a view that the political exercise is "dirty" and shoo away investors. But the ASO jingle’s intended target Tessie had a different — and surprising — handling of the whole matter, as pointed out by our colleagues.

She floored many of her detractors with her "I forgive Rez Cortez" statement.

That was surprise number one. Tessie was expected to adopt the predictable fighting stance. To glower at her nemesis. To tear apart the guts of the gutter-level attack. To demolish every millimeter of her detractor’s person. But there was none of that. Instead, we had the "I forgive Rez Cortez" statement. For real?

Perhaps. For one, she did not join her fellow ASO jingle targets Ed Angara and Tito Sotto in filing a complaint before the Comelec.

Here’s surprise number two. A few days ago, Tessie’s nephew Noynoy told reporters in Batangas that he will petition the Comelec to declare all stand-alone "Aquino" votes in his favor.

Our colleagues pointed out that the Noynoy petition could have been the second chapter in what the public was expecting — a battle royale for the exclusive use of the "Aquino" name in the elections. The imagined intra-clan feud was supposed to have started with the debate on who should run for the senate — Tessie or Noynoy. That would have been a teledrama — like running news that the public would have devoured with gusto.

But Tessie, instead, delivered her now famous "I will not contest Noynoy’s petition" statement. There was no anger. Only a tame explanation that she believes her credentials and track record can speak for themselves.

For real? Well, she was overheard telling her lawyers over the phone to step aside and not contest the Noynoy petition.

Observers say that as an active member of the Victory Christian Fellowship under Pastor Steve Murrell, Tessie is definitely showing everyone that one can practice her Christian values and still be a politician. But are all of these for show or is it for real? You be the judge.

Our colleagues are unsure if the surprises which Tessie has sprung lately would translate into votes. But suffice it to say that, at this point, many are happy with the new her.

NAIA 3 defective?

If indeed NAIA 3 is structurally defective as found by two independent engineering firms commissioned by the government, then this finding has bolstered the Philippines’ defense against investment claims by Fraport and Piatco amounting to $1 billion pending before two international arbitral courts.

The Philippine legal panel submitted a statement of aviation and construction expert Richard Klenk to the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) revealing structural defects of the NAIA-3 due to inferior materials used and poor workmanship. It will recalled that a large portion of the ceiling near the entrance of the supposed world class terminal fell off during a test run in preparation for the soft opening last year.

Also submitted was the statement of fraud examiner Howard Silverstone saying the construction of the defective terminal was attended by massive anomalies. Silverstone also said that only a very small portion of the amount being claimed by the German firm could actually be traced to the construction of the airport terminal.

The TGCI Engineers, Inc. and Ove Arup & Partners HK Ltd., recommended to the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) the postponement of the opening of the terminal by the end of March due to life safety risks the terminal pose on its users especially in the event of a major earthquake.

The findings and corresponding recommendation of the engineering firms confirmed what the AEDC has been saying all along. Former AEDC lawyer Perfecto Yasay Jr. had been stressing that the construction of NAIA 3 was attended by massive graft and corruption, the reason the terminal is substandard and defective.

Yasay also said that this was the main reason Piatco would not open its books of accounts for scrutiny to determine the actual cost of construction. The books of accounts would reveal that the construction was made a milking cow based on a kickback scheme later discovered through trail documents linking ranking transportation officials.

AEDC has offered $200 million for the terminal provided the government would recognize its rights as original project proponent. And the offer stands despite the latest findings by the engineering firms. The offer seems plausible especially after a transportation department official said that the terminal was built for only $144 million.

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