“The basis of such claims should be validated across the country and should reflect the real and actual conditions in the local level.”
by Ducky Paredes
It really is a good thing that PAGCOR Chair Cristino Naguiat has such a solid reputation that the snow job that former FBI Director Louis J. Freeh did on him only worked on those who do not know him.
Freeh did the made-to-order report for the Board of Stephen Wynn’s Resorts, which have casinos in Las Vegas and in Macau. Wynn had the made-to-order report written precisely to be able to cheat Kazuo Okada, Wynn’s Japanese partner, who was managing the Macau Casino, out of his substantial investment in Wynn’s companies.
But, that is not our concern. Okuda can take care of himself. What concerns us is how this affects the Philippines.
The Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI) supports PAGCOR when it denounces “in the strongest possible terms the irresponsible and unwarranted dragging of the Philippine Government in the private corporate squabble between Stephen Wynn and Kazuo Okada.
“The sweeping characterization of the Philippines as a corrupt nation on the sole basis of the allegation that a gaming license was granted to Mr. Kazuo Okada for a period of twenty five years for the Entertainment City Project in exchange for favors supposedly received by PAGCOR officials, does not depict a fair and accurate picture of the country and how the PAGCOR Project was actually processed. The basis of such claims should be validated across the country and should reflect the real and actual conditions in the local level.
“PCCI cited on-going reforms being implemented by the Aquino administration to ensure greater transparency and accountability and eliminate or reduce red tape and corruption. Among these are the implementation of the Philippine Business Registry by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), streamlining business process and licensing system (BPLS) by the DTI and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) - of which PCCI is also a part through its local chambers - greater transparency in bids and awards processes by the Department of Budget and Management, and various other reforms implemented by government line agencies.
“PCCI further noted the improving perception of the country as a place to do business including positive feedback from various credit rating agencies such as Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch’ Ratings.”
As far as the collateral damage intended to waylay PAGCOR’s Chairman Naguiat, Freeh’ report makes much of the fact that when three officials from PAGCOR arrived in Macau, only one was properly registered by the hotel: “Wynn Macau sends 1 Rolls Royce and 1 Elgrand to the airport, along with Masato Araki, Special Assistant to Mr. Okada; and Kenichiro Watanabe, another Universal associate, to meet arriving party, who arrived on Philippine Airline Flight 352 from Manila. They return with Chairman Cristino L. Naguiat, Rogelio Bangsil and Jeffrey Opinion at 14:45.79 Only Mr. Bangsil furnishes his name upon registration. Ms. Lai and Wynn Macau VIP Services Manager Beatrice Yeung thereafter checks PAGCOR website and identifies Chairman Naguiat’s name from his picture there.”
Big deal! Former FBI Director Freeh would have everyone believe that this was done to hide the fact that the PAGCOR Chairman was in Macau for an illegal purpose. Else, why the non-registration? It turns out that Wynn Macau’s clerks are smarter than the former FBI Director.
Knowing that the guest came from Manila, they checked the PAGCOR website for the names. End of story!
Unbeknownst, perhaps, to the former head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), non-registration is actually common practice when VIPs (even just businessmen) travel — even if they do so for the most ordinary activities.
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Reader Jose Ma. Santiago writes again, a bit piqued: “I understand that you are a very busy man so probably had no time to take a peek at the expenses/allowances that I mentioned to you sometime ago. Please find attached three samples submitted by the UK Prime Minister. Please notice the blacked-out portions. This is to address MPs’ previous concern — e.g. security — so addresses would have been blacked-out, signatures and others.
“Why re-invent the wheel? Let us try and persuade whoever decent lawmakers we still have left, to follow this lead. Then just maybe the others would be shamed/pressured to do likewise.”
If what Mr. Santiago wants to happen is that Legislators (who, in England and Australia, also are the members of the Prime Minister’s Cabinet and occupy other positions in Government) bare where they spent the government funds under their care on the internet, this will take not only a column or one columnist, but a full-blown campaign by civil society forces. I support this in my own little way.
I was briefly in government and can report that my Statements of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) were so uninteresting that I never even kept a file on them. It would also have been a waste of Internet space to allocate a place for them in any cloud.
Still, I agree that putting the details — receipts and photos — of where legislators’ pork barrels went would certainly go a long way in educating us all on good governance, besides also checking up on what our senators and congressmen are doing. And, yes, this should also include our city and municipal councilors and provincial board members who actually also have the equivalent of local pork barrels to their names.
Clearly, if we cannot put some discipline on where our paltry funds are spent, no matter how efficient we get in collecting taxes (sin taxes and otherwise) we will eventually realize that our present way of governing will surely make paupers of us all — except for those who are doing the spending — of what ought to be our common fund, as a country.
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hvp 02.29.12
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