Miriam to Ramos: Stop blaming Cory for Smokey mess

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago asked former President Fidel Ramos yesterday to stop blaming former President Corazon Aquino for the Smokey Mountain Development and Reclamation Project (SMRDP) controversy, saying that Ramos was the one who created the "mess" himself.

"That trick is as old as Adam passing on the blame to Eve after he partook of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil," Santiago said.

She said that unlike Ramos, Aquino did not sign any contract with any contractor.

"She merely set the tone for a noble project, but it was Ramos who turned an ennobling program for the poor into an enabling scheme for the rich," Santiago said.

She also accused Ramos of confusing government coffers with the funds of construction magnate Reghis Romero II and R-II Builders Inc.

Santiago was reacting to a story published in The STAR quoting Ramos as telling the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee on Thursday that the funds used by R-II Builders "were not government funds, but investments in a commercial venture" through the so-called Smokey Mountain Asset Pool (SMAP).

"Mr. Ramos is splitting hairs, or whatever is left on his head. He refuses to admit that the investment he is referring to came from government financial institutions. As such, they are, as the Supreme Court rules in the case of the coconut levy funds, tainted with public interest," Santiago said.

Santiago debunked Ramos’ statement that government funds were not used to bankroll the SMDRP.

"Mr. Ramos cannot tell the difference between money that belongs to government and money that belongs to R-II Builders," Santiago said.

She also said it is not true that government financial institutions, such as the Social Security System (SSS) and Land Bank of the Philippines (LandBank), that have pumped money into the SMDRP already made profits.

She questioned how the SSS and LandBank could make profits "when the certificate or debt instruments they bought have not been redeemed by R-II Builders until now, five years after they expired."

Santiago said that the P2.9-billion certificates bought by the government financial institutions remain outstanding, promoting the Home Guaranty Corp. (HGC), which extended an unconditional guaranty on the certificates to pay at least a portion of the interest to SSS and the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA).

"Is Ramos saying that the money of Home Guaranty Corp. used to pay the earnings partially to SSS and OWWA also the money of R-II Builders? I wonder why Ramos has suddenly become the apologist for Romero. He must be very confused because HGC funds are also government funds and they are being used to pay losses incurred by government financial institutions (GFIs) in the Smokey Mountain scam. That is using money in your left pocket to pay for the money someone else took from your right pocket," Santiago said.

She debunked Ramos’ claims that R-II Builders has not recovered its investments in the SMDRP and that the certificates which remain outstanding are still fully secured by valuable real estate and other properties in the asset pool and may be encashed upon maturity.

Santiago said these bonds have long matured, but they have not been paid.

"On the other hand, R-II builders, according to its financial statements submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), already sold the land even before Ramos ended his term," she said.

"Based on its 1999 financial statements, R-II Builders in 1998 sold real estate properties at the Smokey Mountain Development and Reclamation Project totaling P4.6 billion for which it realized a gross profit of P755 million. The proceeds from the sales had gone up to P13 billion by 2001, according to the company’s 2002 financial statements," Santiago said.

She said that the same financial statements also showed that, while the total costs incurred by R-II Builders as of 1998 amounted to P4.67 billion, funds released from the asset pool and received by the company totaled P4.98 billion.

"Perhaps Mr. Ramos would care to explain why R-II Builders was overpaid by P310 million. By end 2001, the payments to R-II Builders had already reached P5.74 billion while the actual expenses reached only P5.31 billion. The overpayment had gone up to P430 million. Is Mr. Ramos saying that the financial statements of R-II Builders are lying?" Santiago asked.