Fertilizer, ZTE scams so alike

Reader Pete de Guzman ([email protected]) shares a sad story in reaction to my piece on neglecting life and limb (Gotcha, 7 July 2010):

“Last May 6 my wife, two children and sister were traversing SCTEx at 100 kph when their rear left tire blew out. My son lost control of the wheel as the car rolled over five times, instantly killing my wife, seriously injuring my sister who died two hours later, and maiming my children. I write to bring to public attention the substandard quality of tires being sold in RP. From television news, numerous casualties result from blowouts. In our case the tire brand is well known. This is the third blowout; the first two happened in the city so we didn’t complain to the authorities then. Not this time when lives were lost and shattered. Other victims should come out and join forces to make our cases stronger.”

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Like Romy Neri and Ben Abalos before them for the ZTE scam, Cito Lorenzo and Jocjoc Bolante have been charged for the fertilizer fraud. The two scandals resemble. Both concerned huge public funds: $329 million in ZTE’s national broadband network, and P728 million in ghost purchases of fertilizer. Both involved cabinet men and cronies of Gloria Arroyo: Neri and Lorenzo were her economic and agriculture secretaries; Bolante and Abalos were her frequent golf-mates, once at ZTE Corp.’s fairway in Shenzhen. Both linked presidential spouse Mike: he yelled at a competitor to back off so that election chief Abalos allegedly could broker for ZTE in peace; he put Rotarian buddy Bolante in government purposely to racketeer.

There’s more. Both frauds were for Arroyo’s poll intents: fertilizer fund releases bankrolled her 2004 presidential run; a P10-billion kickback from ZTE would have reimbursed her 2007 party financier. Both somehow involved Arroyo herself: no government payout over P10 million can be made without presidential imprimatur. In both deals she acted very oddly: she supposedly knew nothing of Bolante’s P728-million spending despite her keen interest in the agriculture department which she directly headed for a while; she left her husband’s sick bed to witness the ZTE contract signing in China. One accused pointing to the other marked both: Neri testified that Abalos had tried to bribe him P200 million to endorse ZTE; Lorenzo stated that Bolante had bypassed him in withdrawing farm funds. Both led to evasion of investigation: Lorenzo and Bolante fled to America (the latter was extradited); Neri hid behind executive privilege.

Malacañang tried to cover up both. It withheld documents on the fertilizer disbursements, and claimed that the ZTE contract was stolen. Arroyo eluded impeachment in 2006 for the fertilizer scam, and in 2007 and 2008 for the ZTE sleaze by paying off congressmen. Four years of death threats kept him away, Lorenzo said upon homecoming the other weekend under a new President. Neri was given a sinecure as SSS boss; for good measure, six men in two vehicles strafed his house with assault rifles in broad daylight. In both harassments of cabinet men, the police nabbed no suspects. Palace PR operators spent big sums to silence the press. And the Ombudsman took four long years in the fertilizer case, and three in the ZTE instance, to file charges. Even then the raps were diluted with the exclusion of the Arroyos and their obvious bagmen.

Both the fertilizer and ZTE scams had associated rip-offs. The first paired with billion-peso ghost dispersal of piglets. ZTE Corp. unconstitutionally was permitted to mine gold in Mt. Diwalwal. Both led to other crimes: blatant perjury in Senate inquiries, abduction, death threats and false charges against whistleblowers. Both were stained with blood. The female journalist who first exposed the fertilizer scam was murdered; a government factotum who prepared the ZTE papers was ambushed.

So much for sickening similarities. In the ZTE scam Neri opts to cover up for Arroyo. Not only did he falsely invoke executive privilege, but also denies previous disclosures. He disavows having told Jun Lozada that Arroyo deleted soldiers’ housing and dam rehab from China’s aid list in order to accommodate the ZTE deal. Also, having assured Joey de Venecia that his build-operate-transfer bid was legal unlike to ZTE’s imposed terms. And, having cried to this writer that the President arm-twisted him to sign. Or, having confided to at least five associates about Arroyo’s direct criminal participation. Too, having told two senators and aides that Arroyo is evil. The throw of I-Ching sticks guides Neri’s decisions.

For his part Lorenzo vows to cooperate in judicial proceedings on the fertilizer sting. He was a classmate for a college semester of new President Noynoy Aquino, and a brother was a major campaign contributor. Having won on a platform to jail plunderers, Aquino says those factors will not exempt Lorenzo from baring all he knows. Lorenzo’s actions leave to be seen. Like Neri, he trained in the Jesuits’ Ateneo School. Will be, unlike Neri, sacrifice personal safety to be a man for others?

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Naga City ex-mayor Jessie Robredo has been nominated for World Mayor 2010. He is the only Philippine mayor short-listed for citation. Able leadership of the city in Bicol had also earned him a Magsaysay Award for good governance. His third term ended June 30, and P-Noy has recruited him to the cabinet as Secretary of Interior and Local Government.

Robredo’s fans may vote on-line: www.worldmayor.com.

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 “If your end justifies the means, your means may well spell your end.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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E-mail: [email protected]