Drilon’s gravy train

Hardly had Gloria Macapagal Arroyo been proclaimed winner of the May presidential elections, the scrambling for positions has begun. I am not surprised that it should begin in the much-discredited Senate if it is true that Senator Manny Villar is challenging the Senate presidency now occupied by Senator Frank Drilon. Villar is with the President’s party while Drilon heads the Liberal Party. (This was one of his last acts before the election campaign — that he properly belonged to a party!) Both are supposed to be pro-government and allies of President Arroyo. One would expect that they should begin by helping her consolidate the government’s platform. Senate President Frank Drilon is no leader. I confess I do not yet know how Senator Villar would perform as Senate president but he was a lackluster Speaker of the House.

I know and many people know that Sen. Frank Drilon was a failure. Remember more than a thousand bills, both local and national passed by the House, languished under his watch. It was also he who led the resistance against constitutional reform. When I told him that one of the suggested transitory provisions would respect unfinished terms, he looked at me with a scowl and said, "What for? We’re already parliamentarians. We do not need that." His arrogance is equal only to his abysmal ignorance. I am appalled by the sudden rush of "praise" releases talking about his "accomplishments". By sheer coincidence, I was in Mandarin’s Paseo Uno when Drilon was seen dining with Willie Fernandez, an aggressive publicist who once worked for Erap and Loren Legarda.

Not only is Drilon getting wide positive exposure in the media, attacks against Manny Villar are personal and scathing. The stories seem to be aimed at reminding the President who "delivered" the votes to her in West Visayas. If I were the President, I would feel insulted by the insinuation. You would think there are better reasons why he would want to be retained Senate President. The people are ill-served by the ignoble race for a role that requires wisdom and leadership that were simply not there during Drilon’s stewardship.

But perhaps dissatisfaction with Drilon’s performance calls in a wider, more serious discontent and that has to do with abolishing the Senate. It is a useless white elephant in the country’s governance. The only saving grace it might have in the days to come would be if its members were to band together and finally tackle the debate on constitutional reform that would pave the way for a shift to a unicameral parliamentary federal government. If it is too much to ask of the Senate to perform harakiri by abolishing themselves, well, at least we should not be fooled by their extravagant claims. We do not need a Senate. Indeed it is a burden on the country’s scarce resources. If we seriously want to address the deficit and spend less just to pass laws, we might consider scuttling a useless Senate and save our money instead for more useful things like schools, hospitals and roads or as Drilon states "much needed infrastructure". It does not need the assent of expensively paid senators where actors and celebrities who know nothing about governance get elected. That is one of the reasons why some political reformists would rather have had no elections. The elections just gave us more ignorant or undeserving senators to pamper and keep while they block political reform that would lift up the country. We will soon know just how seriously President GMA wants to tackle the country’s problems. These demand draconian measures which will not be helped if she were to think of the Senate presidency as a reward.

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Oil in Sulu? Here’s interesting information. According to reliable sources the local arm of US energy company Unocal Corporation has started drilling operations at its $14-million oil and gas exploration project in the Sulu Sea. With Unocal are Australian firm BHP Billiton, and local firms Sandakan Oil Corp., Basic Consolidated Inc., Oriental Petroleum and Mineral Corp., Philodrill Corp., Trans Asia Oil and Energy Development Corp., Anglo-Philippine Holdings Corp., PetroEnergy Resources Corp., South China Resources, Inc., Philex Mining Corp., and Universal Robina Corp. The same sources said that it is no secret. The information has been submitted to the Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) by listed firms Basic Consolidated, Anglo-Philippine Holdings and Philodrill. Work is so advanced that the group hopes to read its target in a week. Studies show that "Sulu Sea contains significant recoverable reserves for oil and gas". with similar geological structure as the oil and gas fields of Malaysia, Indonesia, and Brunei. Interest on drilling and oil exploration in Sulu Sea and off Palawan were encouraged by the $4.5-billion Malampaya natural gas project.

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Does that mean Filipino veterans benefits will be paid? It remains to be seen just how significant the choice of Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Anthony Principi to represent the Bush Administration's delegation to GMA’s inauguration will be. Filipino veterans have had a long and arduous campaign to benefits due them. Principi himself did not say much to the national coalition of Filipino American veterans groups except to say that " Bush has asked me to lead the Presidential delegation to President. Arroyo's inauguration. I look forward to my visit," Principi wrote to Arlington-based American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, Inc. Ganio, 83, president of the national coalition of leaders of major Filipino American veterans groups and supporters, said he was pleasantly surprised that Principi will lead the Bush delegation. Does that mean good news for the veterans? Let us wait and see. "We hope and pray Principi will convey to Mrs. Arroyo a positive reply from President Bush on her January 22 request for $22 million for Filipino veterans pensions," added Ganio, a Bataan and Corregidor defender in 1942.

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At a recent luncheon tendered by taipan George Ty for incoming ambassador for Saudi Arabia, Mohammad Ameen Wali, it was good to be reminded just how close our links are to this country. It is well known that almost a million Filipinos live and work in Saudi Arabia but this figure may have to be changed. It could be over a million by now. Most are contract workers who remit most of their money back home. Just how important Saudi Arabia is to the Philippines? One of the first acts of President GMA after she was proclaimed, was to receive Wali’s credentials.

Ambassador Wali conveyed the congratulations of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz and Crown Prince Abdullah Bin Abdul Azis al Saud to President Arroyo. It is expected that an invitation for President Arroyo since last year will be revived soon.

E-mail: cpedrosa@edsamail. com.ph