Publish the names, pay of midnight appointees

In his State of the Nation Noynoy Aquino minced no words about shenanigans at the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage System:

“Our people recently lined up for water rations. At MWSS, officers rewarded themselves, even though they had yet to pay retirees’ pensions. In 2009 the MWSS payroll was P51.4 million. But they received P160.1 million more in allowances and benefits. In all they got P211.5 million. Only 24 percent of it was normal salary; the additional was 76 percent. Ordinary workers receive up to 13th-month pay plus cash gift. At MWSS they get up to the equivalent of 30 months from bonuses and allowances.

“The (appointive) members of the Board of Trustees are worse. Let’s look at their allowances. Just for sitting in a meeting of the Board of Trustees or a board committee, they get P14,000. This reaches P98,000 per month. Plus, they get P80,000 grocery incentive per year. In addition: midyear bonus, productivity bonus, anniversary bonus, yearend bonus, and financial assistance. Aside from Christmas bonus, they get a Christmas package. Each of these bonuses is worth P98,000.

“In sum each member of the Board gets about P2.5 million a year, aside from car plan, technical assistance, and loan. I repeat, they awarded themselves all this although they hadn’t paid MWSS retirees’ pensions.

“They didn’t spare the La Mesa Watershed. To have sufficient water supply we need to care for watersheds. In watersheds trees are needed. But instead of putting up trees, they put up houses for top MWSS officials.”

P-Noy used the MWSS example to illustrate his predecessor’s fiscal abuses. Gloria Arroyo’s administration officials had been so profligate in helping themselves to the national coffers as if it was their personal kitty. Political aides and allies frequently traveled abroad, to see, say, boxing bouts in Las Vegas, in breach of stringent government rules. Arroyo in her last trip to America in August with the usual hangers-on splurged a million pesos each in three wedding anniversary dinners in Washington DC and New York. All this, while one in five Filipino families suffered hunger and P100-a-day incomes. In nine-and-a-half years in power she spent P4 billion in overseas presidential travels; political pals spent more. Before Arroyo departed on June 30, she used up during the first half of 2010 60 percent of the whole year’s national budget. Included was 90 percent of the calamity fund; and it wasn’t even the typhoon season yet. This year alone Arroyo’s regime left behind a budget deficit of P350 billion.

Arroyo didn’t start out that way. To recall, in her third month in office in April 2001 she had issued Administrative Order No 3, enjoining political appointees to reign in their expenses. The edict prohibited her point men in the directors’ boards of government corporations from raising their allowances and bonuses. They did anyway. And instead of punishing them, Arroyo reappointed them over and over again. In 2005 she also had compelled them to attend seminars on corporate good governance. These being held mostly in tourist cities, she tolerated their shopping sprees using public funds.

In her last weeks in office Arroyo accelerated the reappointments in spite of the election ban. Cronies whose original terms in office had yet to expire were extended beyond her June 30 departure, while new pals were placed as well. Even her personal manicurist and gardener were given sinecures (although the former later declined). The malice was meant. She intended 977 subalterns to torment the incoming administration with even more lavish spending.

Filipinos seethed then upon learning of Arroyo and company’s abuses. They seethed again while listening to P-Noy’s exposé on the MWSS. They wanted blood.

P-Noy was careful though. He closed his discourse on the MWSS thus: “They (trustees) cannot be easily removed from office because they are among the midnight appointees of former President Arroyo. We are already investigating them. If they have any shame left, hopefully they voluntarily would leave office.”

Apparently the MWSS trustees did not have any shame left. They not only held onto office, but even sniped at new Public Works Sec. Rogelio Singson, falsely accusing him of midnight dealing with Pagcor.

Fortunately in the meantime, the independent Commission on Audit released a list of 41 highest paid government executives in 2009. All received more than P-Noy’s yearly salary of P1.2 million. Seven of them happened to be MWSS trustees: Oscar O. Garcia, P5.4 million; Diosdado Jose M. Allado, P4.9 million; Alfredo C. Reyes, P4.6 million; Ferdinand P. Mahusay, P4.6 million; Lorenzo S. Sulaik, P4.5 million; Aurora R. Arnaez, P4.5 million; and Macra A. Cruz, P4.3 million.

Some of the listed officials frantically tried to publicly justify their huge pay and perks in the light of widespread joblessness. Most probably lamely explained to spouses why they haven’t been declaring and taking home their true incomes. All must be cringing at the exposure of their clear abuse of public money. If that weren’t enough, the BIR must be examining their income tax returns by now.

P-Noy has been shown a stick to shoo away the midnight appointees. Their full names, agencies, pay and perks, tenures, and dates of irregular appointment must be made public. Sunlight kills most microbes.

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“The comfort of the saint is that he dies — for Someone. The discomfort of the sinner is — he dies.” Shafts of Light, Fr. Guido Arguelles, SJ

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