Look who's talking

Whoever advised former President Fidel V. Ramos to ride on that bandwagon of criticism against President Arroyo’s foreign trips has certainly done FVR a great disservice.

Of all the brickbats that can be thrown by a deserting ally at the Chief Executive, why choose this one? Now, it seems that the catcall made by the ex-president has merely triggered a chorus of “look who’s talking”.

FVR’s latest reference to GMA’s foreign sorties was a statement he made when asked about a prospective meeting with Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Political Adviser Gabriel Claudio in the aftermath of the supposed Lakas breakaway from the coalition with KAMPI.

FVR said he is open to listening to what the two have to say, but that no “expensive dinners” could convince him to support the Lakas-Kampi merger. That was obviously a reference to the dinners in New York and Washington for which President Arroyo had come under much criticism.

But was FVR standing on solid “moral ground” when he picked on his erstwhile ally on that issue?

Probably not, some people say, when he himself may have spent close to P2 billion in people’s money for his own sorties abroad when he was president.

This is the reason why people have reacted to his sniping with the classic one-liner, “Look who’s talking?”.

It appears, based on government audit documents, that FVR made a total of 33 official foreign trips during his term, “official” meaning charged to taxpayer money. Those 33 Ramos sorties ate up a total of P1.03 billion if the cost of his trips, which were in precious dollars, were converted to pesos based on the exchange rate during his time – P26:$1.

If the audit reports are accurate, in 1997 alone, FVR would have charged the country’s coffers for his seven foreign trips to the tune of P455.47 million or almost half of the total travel expenditures he actually incurred during his entire term.

Here is the breakdown of FVR’s trips based on the audit report: P6.25 million in 1992 (travelled twice), P141.6 million in 1993 (flew seven times), P128.7 million in 1994 (jetted out five times), P228.8 million in 1995 (six sorties), P29.7 million in 1996 (globe-trotted four times), P455.5 million in 1997 (travelled seven times) and P43.97 million in 1998 (two last-minute trips just before he stepped down).

Based on the same documents, his single most expensive foreign trip was the November 18 to December 2 of 1997 trip. That particularly swing included Japan, the United States and Canada. The people of course picked up the tab which reached a staggering P131.3 million.

Keep in mind that those peso computation of the dollar-based expenditures were based on the P26:$1 exchange rate. Its P49:$1 on the average nowadays. Based on the latter, we spent close to P2 billion for Ramos’ trips.

Now, we are not faulting the ex-President for incurring these humongous expenses. He had always defended those trips as necessary for investments-generation, and we are not about to question the legacies of his administration.

We are merely saying that it is very awkward for the ex-president to raise the issue against the incumbent whose travel expenses pale in comparison to his.

Again, whoever advised him to hit GMA using this issue has definitely done the ex-president a great disservice. That swipe at GMA may have simply triggered a revival of the issue of the ex-president’s multi-billion foreign travel tab.

True, it is fashionable to criticize the incumbent’s foreign trips. But only when one has not spent more doing the same thing.

But we hope his advisers will pick up issues to raise against the administration that would not boomerang on FVR

In this particular faux pas, FVR will have to say that the audit reports are not true.

Or that his P2-billion worth of foreign trips had done much for the country.

But whichever fire-fighting mode his apologists take, harm has been done. They resurrected the dormant issue that the ex-president has spent a lot more for his foreign trips. A lot, lot more.

Waste of resources

Do we really need another Freeport in Central Luzon?

Leaders of Bataan province, led by former congressman and Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority chairman/administrator Felicito Payumo, who also happens to be the author of the PEZA law, together with former Bataan Rep. Antonino Roman, former Gov. Leonardo Roman, Marie Gonzales Oscar delos Reyes, and Mayor Nelson David, are opposing a bill that proposes to convert the Bataan Ecozone into a separate special economic zone and Freeport.

In their letter to the Senators, they pointed out that opening new Freeports in the heart of Central Luzon, close to the market of Metro Manila, will not only make customs administration difficult but will also present real dangers for contraband goods, such as prohibited drugs, to enter the customs territory.

The bill carries a P2 billion appropriation, which would also appear to be a huge waste of public resources. As pointed out by its oppositors, the Bataan Ecozone is already operational, with developed infrastructure. PEZA in fact has budgeted P250 million over two years for needed repairs. And what would prevent the congressmen of the three other operational PEZA administered ecozones, namely Cavite, Mactan, and Baguio from asking for similar treatment?

In the fact, the Chamber of Bataan Zone Manufacturers and Exporters has opposed the bill and some of its members have threatened to pull out of Bataan if the administration is taken away from PEZA because they know for sure that it will be the local government that will control it.

House Bill 1425 converting the Bataan Economic Zone into the Bataan Special Economic Zone and Freeport has been passed by the House of Representatives. It is now under deliberation in the Senate. The Department of Finance (DOF) is opposing it, and so are PEZA, the Export Processing Zone Chamber of Exporters and Manufacturers, Inc. and employees of the Bataan Economic Zone.

If indeed, the objectives of the bill are to improve, help create jobs, and attract tourists, a Freeport status is not necessary, Payumo pointed out.