Erap won’t be spending his birthday in jail - BY THE WAY by Max V. Soliven

It was a preliminary skirmish. Former President Joseph Estrada "surrendered" in response to a warrant of arrest on two lesser charges issued by the Sandiganbayan "anti-graft" court yesterday, got fingerprinted, posed for "mug shots" like any suspect, then posted bail – and was released. His respite is temporary, of course. There are six other far more serious charges pending, including that of "plunder", a heinous, non-bailable offense.

History, of sorts, was made, though. For the first time a former Philippine President has been issued a warrant of arrest – a precedent-making event. Will graver events follow? The betting is that Erap won’t be jailed "without bail", even if that’s in the cards, before the May 14 elections. I won’t comment further, since I don’t want to put the Sandiganbayan (and myself) in the predicament of holding back lest putting the deposed Chief Executive behind bars before the electorate goes to the polls creates a sympathy "backlash" that would give the opposition Puwersa ng Masa an advantage in the still very iffy contest in which at least five of the "pro-Erap" senatorial bets or more could make it to the Senate. That would prove an embarrassment to the new Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo administration which is still gingerly taking its first resolute steps.

What’s clear, at least, is that Mr. Estrada won’t be spending his 63rd birthday this Thursday in prison. The salutary development yesterday was that the scores of pro-Erap would-be demonstrators, who’ve been camped for days outside the gates of the North Greenhills subdivision and loudly vowed to form a "human barricade" to prevent Estrada from being seized from his Polk street residence and hustled off to jail, didn’t make a fuss about it. When push finally comes to shove, will these purportedly masa supporters of the ex-President really resist? That remains to be seen.

In the meantime, I suppose, the only amusement forthcoming will be the ranting and raving of Ombudsman Aniano Desierto who’s posing as the "Avenging Angel" of the nation – a u-turn from his previously pro-Erap stance before his fallen "idol" fell – and declaring that he’ll get Estrada, former First Lady, and their son, San Juan Mayor Jinggoy Estrada, locked up – with no ifs or buts about it.

Who can tell when that will happen? Or if that will happen? The late columnist Teodoro "Doroy" Valencia warned this writer when I began writing my first columns years ago: "Don’t be foolish, Max. Never predict anything until you know it already happened." That’s safe advice, even if Ka Doroy – may he rest in peace in the paradise to which, hopefully, all departed crystal-ball gazers go– didn’t follow it himself.

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One of the happiest persons I know these days is retired Justice Harriet O. Demetriou, the former Chairman (that’s how she labeled herself, so the gender-warriors among our femmes need not take umbrage) of the Commission on Elections. Harriet, who returned last week from a month-long vacation in San Francisco, California, was retired by the Supreme Court on February 2, 2001, so she’s cheerfully on the sidelines and won’t have to supervise the coming polls.

Former Chairman Demetriou, though, is incensed at reports that some P190 million, previously earmarked for the Comelec’s precinct-mapping project, remain unaccounted for or unliquidated. She said she was amazed that, after her departure, a full report on this was not submitted to the new Comelec Chairman Alfredo Benipayo.

She sent me a copy of Memorandum 2001-028 which she had issued on January 22, 2001, to Atty. Antonio Magsanay, the Commission on Audit (COA) resident auditor; Mrs. Fe. G. Campos, Director III, Finance Services Department; Mr. Gideon G. de Guzman, Chief Accountant, Accounting Division; and Ms. Zita Buena-Castillon, Asst. Chief Accountant, Accounting Division. The subject of her memo was: "Submission of Special Audit Report on the Financial Status of the National Precinct Mapping and Modernization Projects (Purchase of Motor Vehicles)."

In the memorandum, the former Chairman had stated: "Considering that my term will expire on February 02, 2001, you are hereby directed to submit your special audit report on the financial status of the National Precinct Mapping and Modernization Projects not later than said date (February 02, 2001) to enable a smooth transition of administrative and financial functions and responsibilities from my administration to that of my successor’s."

Another matter which annoys former Chairman Demetriou was the insinuation that went around blaming her for not heeding the original request of Senator Raul S. Roco (now Education Secretary) for a two-day "additional registration of new voters" which, it was suggested, should have been scheduled as early as February 17 and 18, 2001. On the contrary, Harriet asserted, she had done her best to push through the idea. Unfortunately, she recalled, although she had voted for the conduct of the so-called special registration and forwarded the question to be considered by the commission en banc, it was after her retirement that the commission finally decided the issue. When the matter was taken up by the Comelec en banc on February 8, 2001, she and two other commissioners – Teresita Dy-Liacco Flores and Julio F. Desamito – had already "retired." The remaining commissioners – Luzviminda Tancangco, Rufino Javier, Ralph Lantion, and Mehol Sadain – were therefore the ones who voted and promulgated Resolution No. 3584 denying the request to conduct an additional two-day registration of new voters.

That’s now all water under the bridge, of course. If it had acted swiftly, the Comelec might have accomplished a new registration. But by the time new Chairman Benipayo took charge, it was already too late. Therefore, Benipayo, who courageously nixed forcing through an eleventh-hour "new" registration was entirely justified in declaring there was no time left.

This should set the record straight. There were too many slips, as the old bard put it, twixt cup and lip.

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The other week, I complained in this corner that too many generals and retired military officers had been appointed by the President to head vital agencies in the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).

When the . . . well, exposé was written, there were already SIX agencies under "military command"; namely, the Land Transportation Office (LTO), the Air Transportation Office (ATO), the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), the Philippine Aerospace Development Corporation (PADC), the Philippine Postal Corporation and the DOTC Action Center.

Now, we hear to our dismay that another military retiree is being groomed for a top DOTC post, that of National Capital Region (NCR) director. This is Commodore "Boy" Maligalig of the Philippine Navy. Now, I’ve nothing against Maligalig, who is probably an officer and a gentleman of integrity. But don’t you think the DOTC is on the verge of becoming an "Old Soldiers’ Home" or a "Garrison State"?

There’s one agency, at least, which remains in civilian hands. This is the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB). This is because the ex officio chairman is DOTC Secretary Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez himself, and his executive director, in short the guy who runs the shop, is a 32-year-service career man, Manuel San Jose.

Bebot might be getting dizzy, though. With so many "star rank" retired officers surrounding him, he must be seeing stars.

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Alvarez deserves kudos, however, for being a "hands- on" DOTC chief. One of his crusades has been to abolish the innumerable "clearances" being required by government agencies which make inter-island travel insufferable.

Among the advantages of having been a Davao del Norte congressman, and, before that, a veteran commuter on private business on inter-island vessels as well as aboard domestic air carriers is first-hand knowledge of what commuters have to contend with. A chronic source of irritation, he told me yesterday, for car and other vehicle owners who must board their conveyances on ferry boats to cross from one island to another has been the requirement of "Ancar" clearances for each vehicle. This requirement was purportedly established, he noted, to prevent the transport of carnapped vehicles. Instead of accomplishing this, he fumed, the "Ancar" requirement had become a source of graft and corruption. Over the years, Alvarez discovered, the securing of the necessary "signatures" had ballooned into one big payola scheme. A "signature" could be secured, it developed, by the payment of P1,000 per vehicle, without any real "check" made on a vehicle. As soon as he took office, Alvarez requested President Arroyo to order this requirement scrapped, and this is exactly what GMA, relying on Alvarez’s judgement, did.

To cope with the Holy Week "rush", Bebot Alvarez mounted a Kaagapay sa Paglalakbay 2001 operation, enlisting the cooperation of the Philippine National Police (through PNP Operations Director, General Edgardo "Egay" Aglipay) and involving civic groups and local government units.

Kaagapay, it can be said, was successfully implemented as a component of Alvarez’s "OKS na OKS sa DOTC" program, an acronym standing for Organisado Kalinisan at Seguridad. Under his supervision, DOTC officials and personnel gave up their personal vacations to help the riding public avoid traffic gridlock or hassles during the holiday hiatus. Volunteers were dispatched to man "help desks" set up in bus terminals, seaports and airports. Emergency units were placed on standby to handle any exigencies that might arise.

The maritime transport sector, for instance, was handled by the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) and Marina. As a result, the problems generally encountered by passengers in the North Harbor area were minimized. One vessel, for example, the MV Princess Colleen carrying over 800 passengers which had tried to set sail without proper Coast Guard "authorization" was intercepted and held. The appropriate charges, Secretary Alvarez said, are being readied against the offending operator, Ship Shape Ferry Inc., and the Coast Guard has recommended the cancellation of its franchise.

Alvarez also commended the LTO, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and railway authorities for having effectively coped with the land transport sector’s usual problems. Vehicular traffic, although there was a slowdown owing to the increased volume of vehicles negotiating roads and highways (the usual three-hour land trip from Subic to Manila, for instance, took five hours at the height of last Sunday’s "return") went smoothly enough. When accidents occurred at the North and South Expressways, emergency units were on hand to respond within minutes.

"Next year," Alvarez vowed, "we’ll do even better. We’re learning as we go along!" That’s the right spirit.