August 2021 ~ THE LEADERS WE NEED IN 2022

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

KAPANGYARIHAN by BEN&BEN

Sen Ping Lacson - Duterte is in ‘panic mode’ after Senate’s probe of pandemic funds

MANILA, Philippines — Senator Panfilo Lacson on Tuesday brushed off President Rodrigo Duterte’s rants against him, saying the Chief Executive is now in “panic mode” and attempting to discourage the Senate from probing the purchase of “overpriced” pandemic response supplies.

“It is not difficult to think that he is in panic mode and is attempting, as he has already done earlier, to discourage the Senate from pursuing our investigation in the highly anomalous procurement of overpriced medical supplies that is starting to knock on the doors of Malacañang,” Lacson said in a statement.

Former presidential adviser on economic affairs Michael Yang was with President Duterte during a meeting with officials of Pharmally Pharmaceuticals in Davao City. Image from the March 18, 2017 video of RTVM Malacañang.

“The video showing Michael Yang, a Chinese national who had a signed contract as a presidential consultant, receiving a one-peso-a-year remuneration from the government and very casually introducing high officials of the controversial Pharmally Corp. is telling to say the least,” he added.

The Senate blue ribbon committee, chaired by Senator Richard Gordon, has been looking into the Department of Health’s (DOH) handling of pandemic funds.

“The Senate will not flinch on this one. There is a lot more to discover and pursue so that all those responsible for this abominable crime against the Filipino people who continue to suffer amid the pandemic will be exposed and charged in court at the proper time,” Lacson went on.

During the committee’s inquiry, senators questioned the DOH’s transfer of P42 billion to the Department of Budget and Management-Procurement Service for the procurement of needed medical supplies amid the pandemic, including allegedly overpriced items purchased from Pharmally Pharmaceutical Corp.

In last Friday’s hearing, Gordon showed a 2017 video of former presidential economic adviser MichaelYang and Pharmally officials meeting the President in Davao City.

In a taped address aired Tuesday, Duterte once again criticized senators for “showing off.” He singled out Gordon and Lacson and even picked on their appearance.

“I don’t know what President Duterte is talking about when he commented on my hairstyle. I haven’t changed the way I comb my hair, since long before he had lost his mind,” Lacson said.

“Many people I talked to have noticed his incoherence and senseless ad libs even in his formal addresses to the nation including the State of the Nation Address (SONA),” he added.

On the President's Insults Amid the Senate Investigation on the PS-DBM Mess

On the President's Insults Amid the Senate Investigation on the PS-DBM Mess

I don’t know what President Duterte is talking about when he commented on my hairstyle. I haven’t changed the way I comb my hair, since long before he had lost his mind. But his insulting rebuke only shows that he and Sen. Bong Go are one and the same, for better or for worse, in sickness and in health. They even probably have a joint bank account.

Many people I talked to have noticed his incoherence and senseless ad libs even in his formal addresses to the nation including the State of the Nation Address (SONA).

That said, it is not difficult to think that he is in panic mode and is attempting as he has already done earlier to discourage the Senate from pursuing our investigation in the highly anomalous procurement of overpriced medical supplies that is starting to knock on the doors of Malacañang. The video showing Michael Yang, a Chinese national who had a signed contract as a presidential consultant, receiving a one-peso-a-year remuneration from the government and very casually introducing high officials of the controversial Pharmally Corp. is telling to say the least.

But make no mistake. The Senate will not flinch on this one. There is a lot more to discover and pursue so that all those responsible for this abominable crime against the Filipino people who continue to suffer amid the pandemic will be exposed and charged in court at the proper time.

*****

Gov’t ain’t a family business: Lacson bats for reinvention of bureaucracy

The Philippines needs to reinvent the bureaucracy to combat some of the biggest scourges facing the nation, particularly the pandemic and corruption, Sen. Panfilo Lacson said.

Lacson said the current bureaucracy must be reshaped to one that empowers the citizens and commits to doing more with less.

“As one nation, we must reinvent our bureaucracy – one that innovates and empowers its citizens, and commits to doing more with less. Make no mistake: our government is not just any family business, it is our nation’s business,” he said in his speech before the Rotary Club of Parañaque North on Saturday evening.

“The first agenda is addressing the pandemic. We cannot see it ending soon. The second is addressing corruption, which has been on the top of my list ever since I started my public service – when you address corruption, you are halfway to solving the nation’s problems,” he added.

Lacson reiterated the need to adopt the practices of successful business corporations such as the zero-based budget planning, instead of handing down a budget ceiling on the different departments to work on.

The current system “consistently results in so much unutilized appropriations in the country’s national budget brought about by poor, inefficient and even lack of planning,” he noted.

Lacson also said the bureaucracy must do away with overregulation, which presents temptations “to make money through intimidation and suppression.”

“I believe it is time we should depart from the ‘more of the same’ mentality. It is time for the government to treat the business sector as partners instead of competitors,” he stressed.

He added policies based on science, research and development should be prioritized, with more resources going to research and development, which he lamented got only a miniscule 0.4 percent from our 2016 to 2021 annual national budgets.

Meanwhile, Lacson said digitization is needed to boost the economy and lessen opportunities for corruption by minimizing if not eliminating human intervention in government transactions, particularly in revenue collection.

“With things as they are, I have no doubt whatsoever that with science and evidence-based policies and decisive leadership, we will eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel, where COVID-19 will no longer be a scare,” he said.

Lacson said he wants to pursue these to leave a legacy where the next generation of Filipinos will regain their self-respect and dignity.

“How will we achieve this? Good government,” he said.

Lacson: Reinventing Bureaucracy Needed to Combat Biggest Problems

The Philippines needs to reinvent the bureaucracy to combat some of the biggest scourges facing the nation - namely the pandemic and corruption, Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson said.

Lacson said the current bureaucracy must be reshaped to one that empowers the citizens and commits to doing more with less.

"As one nation, we must reinvent our bureaucracy – one that innovates and empowers its citizens, and commits to doing more with less. Make no mistake: our government is not just any family business, it is our nation’s business," he said in his speech before the Rotary Club of Parañaque North on Saturday evening.

"The first agenda is addressing the pandemic. We cannot see it ending soon. The second is addressing corruption, which has been on the top of my list ever since I started my public service - when you address corruption, you are halfway to solving the nation's problems," he added.

Lacson reiterated the need to adopt the practices of successful business corporations such as the zero-based budget planning, instead of imposing the traditional and impractical practice of handing down a budget ceiling on the different departments to work on.

The current system "consistently results in so much unutilized appropriations in the country’s national budget brought about by poor, inefficient and even lack of planning," he noted.

Lacson also said the bureaucracy must do away with overregulation, which presents temptations "to make money through intimidation and suppression."

"I believe it is time we should depart from the 'more of the same' mentality. It is time for the government to treat the business sector as partners instead of competitors," he stressed.

"With things as they are, I have no doubt whatsoever that with science and evidence-based policies and decisive leadership, we will eventually see the light at the end of the tunnel, where COVID-19 will no longer be a scare," he said.

Lacson said he wants to pursue these to leave a legacy where the next generation of Filipinos will regain their self-respect and dignity. "How will we achieve this? Good government," he said.

*****

Duterte won ONLY by PLURALITY Votes

This is being circulated and i think, it’s directed to us. Let us counter this.

Here is a more exact tally from the Last 2016 Election

Duterte won ONLY by PLURALITY Votes

of only 16M i.e. Only 39%

NOT by a Majority!

Dυtεrtε ------------ 16.6M ( 39.02%)

Mαr Roxαs -------- 9.98M ( 23.45%)

Grαcε Poε --------- 9.10M ( 21.39%)

Jεjomαr Binαγ ---- 5.42M ( 12.73%)

Miriαm Sαntiαgo ---- 1.46M (3.42%)

===================================

Totαl ----------------42.55M (100% )

If you noticed from these figures,

the MAJORITY who did NOT want Duterte

was a total of 25.95M (60.98%)

But it is a fact, that MAJORITY's votes

were fragmented into several aspirants.

The votes alone for Mar and Grace (9.98M + 9.1M)

could have combined for an 19.08M Votes bigger than duterter's 16M

had they all voted just for one single candidate.

So Do not wonder

if there will be more TROJAN Candidates

--- who will pretend

to be ALTERNATIVES or OPPOSITION

-- who were intended

to do the create the same FRAGMENTATION of votes,

and _to SNATCH AWAY votes of those who did not like Duterte_

*away from the Legitimate Opposition*

Let us not be FOOLED because they all belong

-- to one and the same camp,

-- working for the same purpose of retaining the grab to power.

Let us not be DECEIVED by their zarzuelas and deceptive statements

-- that they are independent candidates

-- that they were ejected from their party, or had party intramurals

-- that they came from the solid north or solid south

-- that one will not run or have no intention to tun.

Their ploy now is "The More, The Merrier!"

-- again to fragment the votes away from the Opposition, and

-- to hope that at least one of the many pairs they are fielding-in will win.

Inauguration of Bloomberry Donated Hospital in Tacloban

Inauguration of Bloomberry Donated Hospital in Tacloban Sometime in 2015!

Barangay Captains, Other Local Officials in Davao Del Norte Join the Partido Reporma lead by

Gov Edwin Jubahib

Lacson calls for probe to unmask gov’t backers of favored supplier

MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Saturday called for a full-blown investigation of an obscure company and the people who were helping it “hit the jackpot” by cornering P8.7-billion worth of contracts to provide allegedly overpriced medical supplies needed in responding to the pandemic last year.

Lacson said the focus of the senators’ ongoing inquiry, which took off from the Commission on Audit’s report on the deficiencies in the handling of COVID-19 response funds by the Department of Health (DOH), should now shift to the Procurement Service of the Department of Budget and Management (PS-DBM) and Pharmally Pharmaceuticals Corp.

The former national police chief made the call after Sen. Richard Gordon played a video during Friday’s hearing showing Michael Yang, a former “economic adviser” of President Rodrigo Duterte, and officials of Pharmally meeting the President in Davao in 2017.

Gordon, chair of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee, said he showed the video to allow the public to “make the connectivities” on how Pharmally managed to bag deals despite its small capitalization.

Lacson said the Senate should look into the involvement of government officials in awarding of contracts to Pharmally, a “virtually unknown” company with a P625,000 capitalization.

“Those behind the plot were aiming to hit the jackpot in procuring supplies,” he said in a radio interview.

“It is clear that we are looking at large-scale corruption here. What makes it worse is that this is happening with some unscrupulous parties making gains for themselves right in the middle of a pandemic,” Lacson said.

Malacañang did not respond to the Inquirer’s request for comments on Yang’s role and the contracts with Pharm ally.

The PS-DBM had awarded contracts amounting to P8.7 billion to supply the DOH with face masks, personal protective equipment, and COVID-19 test kits to Pharm ally using P42 billion transferred to it by the DOH.

Senators were told on Friday that the company, which was incorporated in September 2019, had a fictitious office address. The Inquirer learned that the Pharm ally received its license from the Food and Drug Administration to operate as an importer-wholesaler of pharmaceuticals and medical devices only in January.

In June, the DOH awarded the company another to supply it with 2,005,860 million pieces of face shields, worth P37.9 million, or P18.88 each, according to a document on the health department’s website.

‘Who ordered transfer?’

Lacson said the reasons for transferring P42 billion in DOH funds for the purchase of “common-use supplies and equipment” such as face masks and shields to the PS-DBM should be thoroughly scrutinized.

“Who ordered the transfer of the P42 billion to PS-DBM? Is it not the DOH that has the competence to select the suppliers? Why pass that task to the PS-DBM?” he said. “We should continue to pursue this to its logical conclusion.”

The senator expressed his disgust at people in government and the private sector trying to make money while the country was struggling against the pandemic.

“Making matters even worse is that the money involved came from loans. Shouldn’t we taxpayers get angry over this?” he said.

According to Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, the Blue Ribbon committee should require Pharm ally officials to appear in its hearings to “unravel the mystery of these multi-billion peso transactions.”

“[Pharm ally] is the biggest supplier of the PS-DBM, so we need to find out who their government connections are,” he said.

A key personality that the senators are looking at for his involvement in concluding the supply contracts is former PS-DBM chief and Budget Undersecretary Lloyd Christopher Lao, who said during Friday’s he had no “backer” in getting that position, not even Sen. Bong Go, the president’s longtime aide under whom he had previously worked.

“I don’t want to speculate because we are really being fooled by Lao. He is saying he did not have a backer, and that he applied for the job, which of course, is rubbish. Senator Go, on the other hand, says he does not know anything, and Lao was not his aide,” Drilon said. “So, that’s the mystery. Something is being hidden, and someone is being shielded.”

Drilon questioned the deals for “overpriced” medical supplies.

Zero to P300M

In the case of face masks, he said the Philippine Red Cross buys them for only P5 pesos apiece, compared to P22 to P27 under those contracts, he said.

Drilon said Pharmally went from zero income to nearly P300 million in just one year after bagging the contracts. This was a clear indication that some people raked in profits, he said.

Yang, is another personality that the senators could investigate because of his links to Pharmally as shown in the 2017 video.

In November 2018, Malacañang confirmed that Yang, a Chinese national also known as Yang Hong Ming, was one of the President’s consultants on “particular matters” a month after denying that he was.

Then presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said Mr. Duterte was consulting Yang “every now and then.”

“He has a technical love on running [a] business and also because he is Chinese, he knows a lot of people the Chinese government. And he knows the psychology of China. On that aspect, the President needs people like him,” Panelo said.

Yang became controversial after he was linked to illegal drugs, but the President himself cleared his adviser of any involvement in the narcotics trade and that he was close to then Chinese Ambassador Zhao Jianhua.

In March 2019, Eduardo Acierto, the dismissed deputy director for administration of the police Drug Enforcement Group, linked Yang to the illegal drugs trade.

He accused the president and Sen. Ronald Dela Rosa, a former national police chief, of dismissing an intelligence report about Yang’s supposed links to illegal drugs.

But Malacañang maintained that Yang was not involved in illegal drugs.

A few days later, Malacañang announced that Yang was no longer an economic adviser of Mr. Duterte as his one peso per annum contract ended on Dec. 31, 2018.

—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

Lacson: Plot Thickens on PS-DBM Role in Large-Scale Corruption amid Pandemic

The plot thickens on the large-scale corruption by some parties exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic - and the Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service (PS-DBM) is turning out to be a major player.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson thus stressed Saturday the need for the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee to dig deeper on the role of the PS-DBM as it continues to investigate irregularities at the Department of Health (DOH).

"Maliwanag naman may tinutumbok tayo rito na large-scale corruption. What makes it worse, sa gitna ng pandemya, may kumikita (It is clear that we are looking at large-scale corruption here. What makes it worse is that this is happening with some unscrupulous parties making gains for themselves right in the middle of a pandemic)," Lacson said in an interview on DWIZ radio.

"At ang perang ito galing sa utang. Di ba magagalit ka (Making matters even worse is that the money involved came from loans. Shouldn't we taxpayers get angry over this)?" he added.

"Hindi natin dapat ito tatantanan (We should continue to pursue this to its logical conclusion)!" Lacson stressed.

Lacson said the Senate's investigation so far points to a plot to profit greatly from the pandemic, with Lloyd Christopher Lao getting the top post at the PS-DBM by applying for the job, with the knowledge that it was about to be vacated soon due to qualification issues of its former head.

Also, Lacson reiterated his observation that Lao - a lawyer - failed to conduct due diligence on Pharmally Pharma Corp., which got a whopping P8.6-billion contract despite being incorporated only in September 2019 and with a capital of some P600,000. "If he did not do due diligence and he is a lawyer, one will presume it is deliberate. Definitely one cannot consider it an oversight," he said.

Lacson questioned as well the possible role of Michael Yang, former presidential adviser for economic affairs who was shown in a video played during Friday's Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing, with officials of Pharmally.

"We want to focus on this particular issue. Sino ang involved sa napakalaking halaga na na-award sa virtually unknown company na ang director di mahagilap kasi fictitious ang address? Yun pa lang that’s already a crime (Who are involved in the awarding of a contract involving huge sums to a virtually unknown company whose director cannot be located after giving authorities a fictitious address)," he said.

"May target silang malaking pera para sa supplies (Those behind the plot were aiming to hit the jackpot in procuring supplies)," he added.

On the other hand, Lacson said they want to look deeper into the reason behind the transfer of P42 billion in DOH funds for the purchase of "common use supplies and equipment" to the PS-DBM in 2020.

"Who ordered the transfer of the P42 billion to PS-DBM to procure? Is it not the DOH that has the competence to select the suppliers? Why pass that task to the PS-DBM?" he said.

*****

SEN PING LACSON - ANG TUNAY AT TOTOONG LIDER!

Manggagawa sa Batangas City Pabor kay Lacson sa 2022

Pinangunahan ng The Forks - TASI sa Barangay Libjo, Batangas City ang pagsuporta ng mga manggagawang Pinoy kay Senator Lacson para sa 2022 presidential election.

Ang mahigit na 200 forklifters, wheel loaders, welders at scaffolders sa Batangas City na naka kontratang magtrabaho sa mga kompanya sa New Zealand at Australia ay nagkaisang si Lacson ang lider na kailangan ng ating bansa. May paninindigan, may isang salita at may pusong maka mamamayan anila.

Suportado ng Batangas City ang panukalang gawing mandatory sa LGUs ang pagkakaroon ng National Registry of Workers sa antas ng mga barangay, munisipyo at syudad. Magiging accessible anila ang serbisyo mula sa mga tubero, karpintero, mason, electrician kung kinakailangan.

-Photos courtesy of CGARR Network Calabarzon

Lacson: Former PS-DBM Head Failed to Do Due Diligence on Supplier

There was either a collusion - or an appalling lack of due diligence by former Department of Budget and Management Procurement Service chief Lloyd Christopher Lao in awarding a multibillion-peso contract involving face masks, face shields, test kits and personal protective equipment (PPEs) to a newly incorporated company.

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson raised these possibilities Friday after pinning Lao during the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee's hearing on red flags raised by the Commission on Audit on the Department of Health's transactions.

"Either there was lack of due diligence for reasons of collusion, or they are sloppy. I don’t know what to believe. Being the head of the PS-DBM, a trained and experienced procuring entity of government, yet not even detecting a fake address by the incorporators, I wonder how they were able to award the procurement of billions of pesos of items," Lacson said.

"You are dealing with billions of pesos worth of public funds... Your explanation will fail even an ordinary layman. We cannot accept that," he also told Lao.

Also, Lacson said he would support any move to cite Lao in contempt of the committee because he had been evasive. "Being evasive is a ground for citing in contempt... If anyone would move to cite him in contempt of this committee I will support, I will second the motion," he said.

Lacson questioned Lao's failure to do a due diligence check on Pharmally Pharma Corp., which Sen. Franklin M. Drilon said got a whopping P8.6-billion contract despite being incorporated only in September 2019 and with a capital of less than P600,000.

A check also showed one of the incorporators gave an address that turned out to be nonexistent, even as the company had no track record.

"You did not follow proper procedure. You threw out of the window all the requirements. Either you did it on your own or someone ordered you to award the contracts... Clearly there’s a collusion. How can you award billions of pesos worth of contracts to nonexistent addressees?" he told Lao.

Also, Lacson rejected Lao's explanation that the face shields were acquired at high prices because of an "issue of supply and demand."

"How can you justify high demand when the Philippines is the only country in the world that demands use of face shields?" he said.

On the other hand, Lacson questioned how Lao managed to barge into state-run People's Television (PTV)'s "Laging Handa" briefing just to explain his side.

"You were not connected with Malacanang or any government agency at the time... yet you were accommodated by 'Laging Handa' briefing. How lucky could you get?" he said.

*****

Lacson Dares DOH Chief: Put Foot Down vs 'Mafia-like' Irregularities in DOH

Lacson Dares DOH Chief: Put Foot Down vs 'Mafia-like' Irregularities in DOH

Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson on Wednesday challenged Health Secretary Francisco Duque III to put his foot down against the "Mafia-like" activities behind the recurring overstocking of medicines and other irregularities hounding the agency.

Lacson issued the challenge during a Senate Blue Ribbon committee hearing where he cited figures showing overstocked, expired and near-expiry medicines amounting to P2.736 billion - including P2.2 billion in 2019 alone.

"We wasted P2.736 billion in taxpayers' money. What’s the reason for this? Why are we overstocking? Why are we buying medicines near their expiration dates? What does this tell us? I’ve been an investigator all my life. To me, this indicates that there is probably a 'mafia' that is well-entrenched - can't be uprooted," he said.

"Unless the leadership of the DOH will put his foot down and do something about this, we won't see the end of this overstocking of medicines," he added.

Lacson cited data from the Commission on Audit indicating a wastage of P95,675,058.98 in 2020; P2,2 billion in 2019; P378,169,000 in 2018; P7,031,542 in 2017; P25,866,000 in 2016; P18,394,000 in 2015; P6,851,000 in 2014; and P4,442,000 in 2013.

He also reminded Duque that during his confirmation hearing in 2018, he had committed to address the problem of overstocking, which he said are recurring issues.

While Duque said he would look into the Mafia-like activities, Lacson said a better approach is to do a thorough scrutiny of the unit involved in the procurement.

"I think the better approach here is a thorough scrutiny of the unit under DOH that’s in charge of procuring drugs and medicines... It's wastage of public funds," Lacson said.

Lacson also questioned the deficiency in the management of Health Facilities Enhancement Program (HFEP) projects involving some P4.003 billion in sum since 2014.

"This may not be an issue of corruption. But this is an issue of inefficiency," he said. Duque promised to conduct an inventory of the projects.

Meanwhile, Lacson also raised concerns on the disbursement of operating units that did not comply with rules, procedures, policies and practices.

He cited figures indicating irregular, unnecessary and excessive expenditures in the management of HFEP infrastructure projects from 2016 to 2020 amounting to P956,769,748.22.

*****

Breaking news: Reactivate your voting record online

Good news for those of you who got de-listed and want to reactivate your registration records. COMELEC now allows you to do it online! This applies to those who are applying for:

a. Reactivation of their voting record;

b. Reactivation with correction of entries;

c. Reactivation with transfer within the same locality;

d. Reactivation with transfer within the same locality and correction of entries;

e. Reactivation with updating of senior citizens, Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) and Persons Deprived of Liberty (PDLs) records

Please read below the steps how to do it:

https://mb.com.ph/2021/08/25/breaking-news-reactivate-your-voting-record-online/

Suportado ng We Need A Leader 2022 movement… ‘Metro’ ni Ely Buendia, akma kay Ping Lacson

MULING inilabas ang kantang Metro ng sikat na bandang Eraserheads na ang bokalista pa nuon ay si Ely Buendia.

Last March, gumawa ng ingay ang political song ni Ely na “Metro,” na hingil sa pagpili ng susunod na lider ng bansa sa 2022.

Una nang ginamit ang kanta sa “We Need A Leader, 2022,” isang kilusan na nananawagan para sa mahusay na pagpili ng susunod na lider ng bansa sa 2022 elections.

Malaman at matapang ang mensahe ng kanta ni Ely gaya ng “Mga abuso sa kapangyarihan/At maling pamamalakad/Ang sagabal sa kaunlaran.” Mayroon ding, “Kapatid ‘di pa ba nagsasawa?/Tumatakbo ang metro/Isa lang ang iyong pagpipilian/Pangulo ba o panggulo?”

Dahil sa nasabing kanta ay may panawagan pa nga si Ely sa mga botante, “Panahon na upang imulat ang mata sa katotohanan/Pandemya at kawalan ng kabuhayan/Asan na ang nawawalang lupa’t pera/Bagsak ang ekonomiya/Di ka ba nagtataka?/Pinunong may talino, puso at tapang/Ito ang kailangan ng ating bayan.”

At ngayon ngang Agosto, inilabas muli ang video ng Metro. Pero ngayon ay makikita na ang pangalan at larawan ni Senador Ping Lacson na tatakbong pangulo sa 2022, na suportado ng “We Need A Leader, 2022” movement.

Para sa kanila ay taglay ni Ping ang talino, tapang, lakas ng loob, paninindigan at malasakit ng isang tunay na lider na kailangan ngayon ng bayan.

Please take time to read. It will make you cry

Mahar Mangahas

April 24, 2021

The grandest heist in our history is happening under our very eyes.

It is the perfect con: It is big, it is simple, it is scalable, it is recurring, it is unaccountable, it can go unnoticed for years. It is taking candy from a baby.

Every Government has a milking cow. In the Marcos era it was the coconut levy and sugar industry funds, in others it was the privatization of Government controlled corporations, the NFA rice cartel. But all these pale by comparison with the latest scam in terms of size, audacity and disgrace. The new idea is to take food directly from the mouths of the poor.

I am referring to the raid on our health and social institutions.

The 2020 budget for health and social services is P800 billion. This includes P173 billion for Universal Health Care, P109 billion for Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) and P37 billion for unconditional cash transfers. It totals some P5 trillion over 6 years of an Administration. It is a milking cow on steroids.

And the cow is getting fatter.

Under Bayanihan 1 Government has carved out from other departments an estimated P400 billion for COVID related expenses. This brings funds under DOH and DSWD control to over one trillion pesos.

And fatter.

Congress under ARISE has passed legislation increasing spending by P1.3 trillion largely for COVID. If implemented, in the two years leading to the 2022 election total funds under the discretion of the DOH and DSWD could increase to over two trillion pesos.

What does P2,000,000,000 look like? It is nine zeros. It is 10% of our annual GDP. It is P100,000 for every household of five. It is 20 times what 18 million families were supposed to receive from 4Ps but never did. It is the amount of money your children will have to pay, with interest, for the rest of their lives. At P1,000 per vote it is 2 billion votes even if only 30 million are needed.

And fatter.

The public - and of course the politicians - want the DOH budget increased to whatever it takes to fight COVID. It is politically the most popular fiscal initiative. The only person standing between a deficit tsunami and our fiscal home is DOF Sec. Dominguez for which he is being scoured by the pundits. Sonny knows it is only corrupt Government officials and their cabals who will see any of it. The victims of this standoff, unfortunately, are the poor whose social amelioration funds (SAFs) are now frozen.

The heist takes various forms.

There is the raid on social relief programs, the 4Ps and the unconditional cash transfers which this year reached some P400 billion. The LGUs are responsible for many of the distribution points. Millions of the intended recipients have still to receive the P5,000-8,000 promised them even as the Treasury says it has signed the checks.

Corruption in the social sector is chunky, it happens mainly in calamities. Corruption in the DOH is a regular occurrence, as much as P3 billion a week if you believe the head of the Philippine Anti-Corruption Commission.

Philhealth is the poster child of the malfeasance in the department. It is the Toys R' Us of corruption.

There is over pricing in procurement. Network switchers that cost P62,000 are purchased for P320,000. Test kits bought at P8,150 were available at a fraction of the price.

The President defended his Health Secretary Duque saying the kits were urgently required. The President recently asked this same person to organize the purchase of urgently required vaccines from Russia.

A Philhealth consultant, Thorrsson Keith, recently resigned from Philhealth testifying the agency’s ICT equipment was overpriced by P734 million. He said a “mafia” in Philhealth was involved in P15 billion of fraud over the years.

There is the padding for health care services. Stories of claims for unnecessary procedures for dialysis and ophthalmology amounting to P154 billion have been going around the medical community for years and continue unabated.

There are thousands of ghost patients. Some 5,000 Philhealth members, average age 130, reportedly still claim benefits.

Sen. Ping Lacson reported that millions of funds earmarked for COVID patients have been diverted to “maternity and dialysis centers”.

Sen. Zubiri disclosed a 10 bed hospital in Davao has been receiving P18 million yearly for God knows what.

There are the non-COVID deaths being passed as COVID so hospitals in collusion with Philhealth can hike their claims.

The Philhealth website cites its core values as integrity, innovation, service, and care. It does not mention lies, shame and corruption.

Philhealth is chaired by DOH Sec. Francisco Duque (yes him again) with Brig. Gen. Ricardo Morales as CEO and Annel de Jesus as COO. The latter two were subpoenaed by the Senate to testify over the anomalies but their medical conditions suddenly prevent them from doing so. It is the medical equivalent of taking the Fifth Amendment against self incrimination.

In the Philhealth 2018 annual report, its latest, Morales proudly wrote “he introduced reforms to safeguard Philhealth funds against abusive policies. Philhealth remained to be the most trusted agency in the country based on multiple citations and independent surveys conducted during the year”. I hate to think what the other agencies look like.

In 2018 Philhealth had a capital of P97 billion, paid claims of P121 billion with P49 billion pending. It did not disclose how much of the P170 billion in claims was real and how many imaginary. Philhealth received contributions of P132.5 billion from the hard earned money of its 53.8 million members. Now they are told the agency could go bankrupt by 2022.

There has never been a cookie jar in our history so large and so ready for the pickings. So now you know why the head of the DOH is so critical.

Philhealth is the mother of all scams, bigger than anything in Customs, the BIR or the so called anomalies in our water concessions; yet it never made it to the presidential SONA. It is a cesspool, a personal and possibly political slush fund masquerading as universal health care. It is a vulture feeding on the carcass of the weak and the poor. And nobody is accountable.

Fifty five lowly Barangay captains have been put on "preventive suspension" for suspected malversation of millions of SAF pesos while 5,526 addicts were officially gunned down for a few ounces of shabu. It does not pay to be poor in this country.

The President announced he will “run amok at the whiff of corruption” in any Government office. Surely billions of pesos in over-pricing, padded claims and stolen cash must qualify as a whiff if not a smoke or a fire.

It is economic sabotage of the highest order.

It should be termed as

TERRORISM PUNISHABLE WITHOUT WARRANT OR BAIL under the Anti-Terror bill.

If nothing should come of the announced investigations, the raid on our social and health coffers will indeed be the perfect heist.

Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Monday, August 30, 2021

Gov’t ain’t a family business: Lacson bats for reinvention of bureaucracy

Saturday, August 28, 2021

‘Who ordered transfer?’

Zero to P300M

—WITH A REPORT FROM INQUIRER RESEARCH

Friday, August 27, 2021

Wednesday, August 25, 2021

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

The Leadears We Need

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