A grand plan

Critics of House Bill No. 4820, which will carve a new province out of Camarines Sur to be called Nueva Camarines are convinced that this is just part of a grand plan by House Deputy Speaker Arnulfo Fuentebella to foist a new scam upon the people.

The first scam that the Fuentebellas allegedly imposed on Filipino taxpayers was the creation of the Partido Development Authority (PDA), which had further tightened the grip of this 100-year-old political dynasty on CamSur’s 4th district.

The second scam is the deputy speaker’s pivotal role in the passage of the Electric Power Industry Reform Act (EPIRA), which, instead of pulling down electricity rates, had actually jacked up the cost of power for Filipino consumers and made domestic electricity rates the highest in Asia. 

They say that the only “concrete” achievements that the Fuentebellas can show in their Partido turf are the systematic diversion of at least P80 million in public funds for the concreting of roads and other infrastructure projects in their sprawling properties in Tigaon and Sagnay towns.

The deputy speaker, along with his wife and sons, are now facing plunder charges before the Office of Ombudsman for the illicit diversion of public funds for the construction of roads, multi-purpose facilities and other public works projects in their estates.

The wife Evelyn and son Arnulf are the respective mayors of Sagnay and Tigaon. The other son Felix took his oath as chairman in 2007 of the PDA, and was just recently appointed as deputy secretary general of the Housing and Urban Development Coordination Council (HUDCC).

In the 15-page plunder complaint filed a week ago by CamSur Gov. Luis Raymund “L-Ray” Villafuerte Jr. before the Ombudsman, Fuentebella et al were accused of illicitly juggling taxpayers’ money to bankroll nearly P28 million-worth of infrastructure projects either within or leading to the Fuentebellas’ 50,000-square meter resort at Patitinan, and several projects more worth over P32 million combined in in Tigaon.

Villafuerte stressed that Fuentebella could not have amassed such wealth as an elective official, considering that his declared net worth is only P29.6 million.

Just recently, Villafuerte uncovered a scheme by the Fuentebellas to control the mining activities in the PDA, which was in gross violation of four laws plus an administrative order of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources that either vests such regulatory powers in provincial, city or municipal governments or in the DENR-attached Mines and Geosciences Bureau (MGB).

In a letter to DENR Secretary Ramon Paje, Villafuerte had warned that key officials of the DENR and the PDA could be held liable under the anti-graft law criminally and administratively liable for forging an greement that first, deprives the provincial government or its Sangguniang Panlalawigan of regulatory powers over all mining activities in CamSur and second, compels the MGB to abdicate its recommendatory and advisory functions to a three-member panel composed of PDA and bureau representatives.

The MOA actually contradicts a recent major policy pronouncement by the DENR itself that aims to restrict the powers of local government executives in issuing permits for small-scale mining.

Imagine what the Fuentebellas could accomplish if, on top of the PDA, they would also have an entirely new province to control?

Apparently sensing this dark scenario, the League of Vice Governors of the Philippines has formally appealed to the Senate to throw out HB 4820, on fears it would further pare the already shrinking Internal Revenue Allotment (IRA) share of all local government units and lead to double taxation in vesting illegal regulatory powers in the provincial government of the proposed Nueva Camarines.

Killed aspirations

Former congressman Rufino “Ruffy” Biazon has just taken his oath of office as Customs commissioner from President Benigno Simeon Aquino III. He is joined by fellow senatorial candidate Brig Gen. Danilo Lim.

Together, the two are in for the most difficult -- some say impossible task - of cleaning up the customs bureau. But since both gentlemen possess untarnished records in public service, Filipinos are expecting them to deliver where most, if not all, failed.

Their appointment also brings a sigh of relief that finally, all speculation has been put to rest as to Lito Alvarez’s replacement.

In not a few instances, a lady aspirant has been seen openly vying for  the post.

Although Malacanang sources say her chances of being appointed was virtually nil – save for the gushing endorsements of her close media allies – the aspirant never hid her interest to take on the job.

The  aspirant who’s currently in between jobs after “quitting” (or was it “fired”) from her lucrative post in the private sector, was reportedly casting a moist eye on the Bureau of Customs for quite some time.

The Customs post would have given the aspirant’s sagging career a much-needed shot in the arm. It was also the best chance to make life difficult for her former industry competitors.

But according to the grapevine, this aspirant didn’t even make it to Malacanang’s shortlist. The bid turned out to be a hype orchestrated by the media-savvy aspirant no less.

The trumped-up nomination was so transparent that Malacanang’s search committee didn’t even give the aspirant a second look. After all, it was an open secret that the aspirant had very little achievements and is best remembered for causing the break up of a decades-old industry association.

On two supposed friends

 Individuals should be more circumspect especially about partnering with individuals in business. A little over six years ago two unassuming but very successful brothers, whom we will refer to as the pros, learned this the hard way.

 The two unassuming brothers, the pros, were convinced by two other individuals, whom we’ll refer to as the cons, to invest in a company that would sell branded, high-value firearms. The arrangement was for the pros to come up with most of the equity while the cons would supposedly run the company.

Now fast forward to 2010. Little did they know, the cons had manipulated things to so that they had full control over the company and its multi-million peso resources. The situation turned nasty which led to suits and counter suits the pros and the cons threw at each other.

 People in the know were aghast at how the cons manipulated things with the help of talented ambulance-chasing lawyers who agreed to help them in exchange for a considerable percentage of the company’s assets (we hear there is still some P20 million worth of firearms and ammunition now on hold in Crame).

 About con number one. Named after his father, a retired police general, he was caught by the US Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms unit (ATF) and subsequently convicted (together with his brother who happens to be named after a former Philippine president) in the US for trafficking of firearms and ammunition in 1985.

Both were sentenced to serve time in federal prison and were subsequently deported back to the Philippines. Oh, and by the way, con number one’s son is also currently facing frustrated murder charges in Taguig after having stabbed the son of a prominent PR practitioner.

 Con number two in the meantime, is a happy-go-lucky guy who conveniently lives off his wife and resides in a posh residential subdivision in Makati. Many people refer to him as “the social climber.”

As this sad story goes, it was con number two who masterminded “stealing” the company from his partners, the pros. He event went to the extent of engaging at least three PR operators to malign the two pros. What con number two can’t figure out though is why no media practitioner bit the bait.

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