The net-worth method vs the Arroyos
by Malou Mangahas
HE WAS one of the biggest guns in the Chicago crime scene, but for the longest time U.S. mobster Alfonse ‘Scarface’ Capone was practically untouchable by the authorities. And when he was finally sent to the slammer, the offense he was found guilty of committing had nothing to do with murder or mulcting money.
In the end, it took the U.S. Treasury Department to nail Capone, and it did so through a simple audit of his fabulous expenditures that led to the filing of tax evasion charges against him, his brother Ralph ‘Bottles’ Capone, Jake ‘Greasy Thumb’ Guzik, Frank Nitti, and other mobsters.
Sidebar
THE PUBLIC expectations are clear and well-founded. Malacañang under President Benigno Simeon Aquino III will uphold transparency in the conduct of its affairs. And perhaps, too, in the disclosure of documents imbued with public interest, not least of them the Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) of public officials.
Merci’s SALNs a big secret?
by Malou Mangahas and Karol Anne M. Ilagan
THEY are supposed to be the exemplars when it comes to compliance with the law requiring all civil servants to declare and disclose the full details of their assets, liabilities and net worth.
After all, the Office of the Ombudsman is vastly empowered by the Constitution to serve as the premier integrity and anti-graft agency of the land.
But only token compliance to absolute indifference to the law on the filing and disclosure of their Statement of Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) seems to be the attitude and conduct common to Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez and her 11 deputy and assistant Ombudsmen.
‘Blackmail’ raps spook impeach plaint
by Karol Anne M. Ilagan and Malou Mangahas
TOMORROW, March 16, the 283-member House of Representatives plans to vote in plenary on the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Ma. Merceditas N. Gutierrez. At least 95 votes are needed for the complaint to move to the Senate, which alone under the law may sit as the impeachment tribunal to try Gutierrez for several counts of alleged betrayal of the public trust.
Yet other than the vote, the effort to impeach Gutierrez – the third attempt in as many years by the House and the only one to move past its Committee on Justice – has unfolded with two discussion tracks as backdrop. The first is an exchange of allegations of blackmail between Gutierrez’s camp and the lawmakers. The second is a vigorous campaign being mounted by both sides to court public opinion against each other.
Photo Gallery
by Karol Anne M. Ilagan
[simpleviewer id=11 width=640 height=550]Click here to see related blog entry.
Photo Gallery
by Karol Anne M. Ilagan
[simpleviewer id=10 width=640 height=550]KOBE – When the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake struck on Jan. 17, 1995, this port city in western Japan was devastated in an instant, leaving 6,437 either dead or missing and about $100 billion worth of infrastructures damaged.Today there is not a trace of the tragic event in this city nestled in between […]
Video
by Ed Lingao
“Yung EDSA ’86 ba, kailan naganap?”
“Hindi ko po talaga alam, sir.”
The PCIJ asks young people what they know about the 1986 People Power revolution.
Out of the barracks and into the pits
by Ed Lingao and Malou Mangahas
IF MONEY is the root of all evil, particularly in the corruption-tainted Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), then perhaps the government might do well to deny soldiers access to cold cash.
At the same time, however, it must make sure that the logistics and supplies get to the battlefield in the right quantity at the right time.
Or perhaps the government might require that all military contracts for goods and services be covered by a strictly enforced electronic procurement system.
As well, if the logistics system is good and efficient, the government might ban the conversion of funds and congressional insertions in the AFP’s budget altogether.
Sidebar
by Winona Cueva
NORTH COTABATO – While senators and generals in Manila were bickering over who got more millions in pabaon among outgoing chiefs of staff of the Armed Forces, Sergeant Rolly was wondering why his meager salary had thinned some more.
And then his pay check showed that General Headquarters (GHQ) had made deductions for several loans that he never took out.
Sergeant Rolly is just one of more than 100,000 soldiers who have kept their ears cocked to the ongoing Senate investigation into the staggering amounts that some generals have allegedly stashed away in bank accounts and prime real estate here and abroad.
Out of the barracks and into the pits
by Malou Mangahas
EIGHT YEARS ago in 2003, the PCIJ had exposed how the soldiers themselves were arming the enemy, by selling bullets and guns at fat discounts to rebels. To make matters worse, the transactions transpired at the very heart of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) command: the General Headquarters at Camp Aguinaldo.
That early, a New People’s Army (NPA) cadre code-named Ricky visited Aguinaldo on and off to purchase wares of war from soldiers. The bullets went for P5 a pop, even though the government at the time spent P14 to make or purchase each one.
The sale of guns and bullets by some soldiers to rebel groups and warlords is an old cottage industry, according to contacts from the NPA and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Then and now, government arsenals have become a dipping pond for rebel groups, thanks to soldiers given to making quick money.
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| Posted Wednesday, February 23rd, 2011
