Namfrel did not get any money from US

MANILA, Philippines - I refer to the column of Ms. Carmen Pedrosa on February 7, 2010 about a supposed meeting of former President Cory Aquino with former US Ambassador Stephen Bosworth in the house of Manuel Morato before the 1986 “snap” elections. President Cory was supposed to have asked for financial assistance from the United States for her campaign. In addition, her column states:

“According to Morato she asked for an additional $25 million for NAMFREL that was headed by then Jose Concepcion and Christian Monsod (a Lopez man and now at the helm of opposition groups). In the conversation it was revealed that an initial $2 million had already been advanced. NAMFREL was the group organized as the non-governmental counterpart of the COMELEC. It would do a parallel counting and tallying of the votes.

Since this is double hearsay — Ms. Pedrosa heard from Morato who claimed to have heard it from President Cory, in a meeting where neither Joe nor I was present - how does one refute it? Moreover, on the issue of the “initial $2 million”, Ms. Pedrosa hides behind the phrase “it was revealed”. By whom? Bosworth? President Cory? 

All I can say is that I remember a meeting that Joe, other Namfrel officials and I had with Bosworth just before the 1986 elections. Bosworth wanted a briefing on Namfrel’s preparations (which Namfrel gave to every foreign mission which asked for it) and he asked about Namfrel’s finances. Our answer was that Namfrel indeed needed financing but that we would raise it from Filipinos themselves. We said that if we really wanted democracy to be restored, our volunteers would have to put themselves on the line and also provide the resources, in cash or in kind, in their own communities. And that is how the resources were raised. And I can say categorically that Namfrel did not get any money from the United States. To allege otherwise would be a lie and a disservice to the volunteers. And if necessary to settle the issue, I am willing to face anybody in front of Bosworth, from whom the allegation could have been easily verified by Ms. Pedrosa.

Incidentally, I am not with any opposition group, much more at the “helm of opposition groups”. That too is not true. But I did oppose the People’s Initiative that Ms. Pedrosa espoused.

I would appreciate if you published this in the interest of equal opportunity to reply. Thank you very much for your consideration. — Christian S. Monsod