PH PRESIDENT AQUINO: CROCODILE’S SMOKESCREEN

Erle Frayne D. Argonza

Noynoy Aquino, flagbearer of the Liberal Party for the presidency, has been in power for almost a year now. He continues to exude incorruptibility. True that may be, but as I declared in an article of mine writ during the campaign period, he is a mere smokescreen for crocodiles.

Aquino’s first year will be completed by June yet, and we already have reports of anomalous dealings by officials he appointed. Not only are many of his appointed cabinet members down to assistant secretaries highly incompetent, many of them have already shown their true colors as dirty corrupt officials. Let us wait for another eight (8) months or so, and see how the ‘short list’ of grafters will mutate to a ‘long list’.

Let’s reflect back on the article I wrote more than a year ago yet about the ‘crocodile syndrome’ among the people surrounding him then. As we reflect and discuss, insurgencies of the Maoists and Muslim secessionists continue, insurgencies that are part caused by ‘bureaucrat capitalism’ of graft & corruption.

[Philippines, 10 April 2011]

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NOYNOY: CROCODILES’ SMOKESCREEN

Prof. Erle Frayne D. Argonza
07 January 2010

Noynoy Aquino, presidential candidate of the Liberal Party, has been projecting an image of an anti-graft crusader for some couples of years now. To recall, he was cajoled by his Mama, the late president Corazon Aquino, to join the anti-GMA movement precisely on the issue of good governance.

After his Mama’s death, public sentiment blew the winds of electoral fortune for Noynoy to take on the Aquino’s unblemished mantle and run as president of the republic. Seeing this groundswell of public sympathy arising from his Mama’s departure, vested interests of every shade found a window of opportunity to reap future rewards as largesse of a would-be victorious campaign of Cory Aquino’s son.

Indeed, as shown by preliminary information that reached my ears late last year, Noynoy is surrounded by diverse vested interest groups that (a) couldn’t see each other eye-to-eye and (b) are in active search for a smokescreen for their largesse pursuits. Some of the leading elements were former Ramos- and Erap-era bureaucrats, while others served GMA during her early heydays. Some others represent ideological blocs that are known for their classic opportunism, obstructionism, factionalism, and ‘termite behavior’.

Anyone who is interested to do serious empirical studies on graft and rent-seeking is advised to start with the Noynoy camp. There are couples of circles surrounding Noynoy, all of which the bachelor has no control over.

• Friends and kins comprise a ring of influence-peddlers. This ‘circle’ alone comprises a diversity of “we-bulong” factions that somehow show a semblance of goodwill though on a superficial level. A Noynoy presidency would serve as bread-winning opportunity for the crocodiles within them, in case Noynoy wins.

• Experts comprise another ring of potential state carpetbaggers. While the first ring shows semblance of mutual goodwill, the experts’ ring hardly shows such goodwill at all. During the crafting of Noynoy’s platform, the factions couldn’t even see each other eye-to-eye to iron out the agenda. No wonder that the final platform turned out as a hodge-podge of mother statements that was haphazardly finished to meet the deadline of the Comelec for registration. All of these factions are crocodile nests.

• Civil society groups comprise yet another ring. The Black & White Movement, largely a social democratic-controlled coalition, seems to have the strongest “bulong power” which renders the other social democratic or ‘soc-dem’ factions ‘outside the kulambo’. The unconsolidated state of these diverse groups make it so tough for volunteers to join the Noynoy camp, as they are pressed to identify first of all which faction could be most friendly to them. The top crocodile here is led by a former GMA cabinet member whose coalition received funds from treasuries when her sibling was finance secretary.

• The Liberal Party comprises the final inner ring. Final, because this serves as Noynoy’s homebase group being a party-mate. Fr. Intengan’s ‘soc-dem’ cadres are well entrenched in the directorate and think-tank of the party (even as another Intengan ‘soc-dem’, Norbie Gonzales, is in the GMA camp). The same ‘soc-dems’ possess a lifeline in Europe—the Eurosocialists and Jesuits—who can use them for Europe’s own Bonapartist agenda. Meanwhile, other kibitzer liberals, who are simply eager to waft in the energy of the Noynoy upsurge to gain respective electoral mileage, are just that: kibitzers whose fragmentary opinions wouldn’t weigh as much as the Intengan Euro-bonding puppets and the stalwart oldies.

I was almost lured into the Noynoy trap right after the burial of the Tita Cory. But after receiving information about the inner rings and realizing the power of the Primal-Corruptitious among the crocodile leaders, I decided against this pro-Noynoy option.

Maybe Noynoy should present clear credentials of a true-and-honest saintliness that may make his words worth the salt of the earth. He is hardly any perfected human who merits my attention, which makes it all clear that the country needs a leader—a true leader who’s most experienced, prepared, and has made enormous sacrifices as prelude to his preparation for a feat with Destiny—other than Noynoy.
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PADERANGA & CO.: NOYNOY’S LIST OF INTELLECTUAL PROSTITUTES

Erle Frayne Argonza y Delago

Magandang hapon! Good afternoon!

In previous articles I tackled topics of (a) ‘crocodiles in Noynoy’s camp’ and (b) economists serving as consultants who crafted Noynoy’s agenda of governance (see: IKONOKLAST: http://erleargonza.blogspot.com).

I articulated in the first article that I almost supported Noynoy, driven as I was by the passion of post-Cory burial’s grief. In the months of September-October 2009, I began to uncover information about the people who were behind Noynoy’s candidacy, particularly the paid experts doing his agenda.

Added to the political factions and Kamag-anak Inc., the crocodiles surrounding Noynoy—who are in fact calling the shots in his candidacy and campaign—seem just too many to behold. By late October I simply lost my enthusiasm for supporting Noynoy and the Yellow Shirts, who to my mind were up to amassing largesse once they sit in power.

Words reached my ears about paid experts who were tasked to write the agenda of Noynoy and Erap (Estrada). An old co-teachers’ advocate from the UP NCPAG intimated to me that he was also among those who were being invited, but declined to do so, and instead referred experts he knew to the Noynoy camp. A lady professor from UP SOLAIR flatly told me that she was tasked to write the social agenda for Erap, and jokingly told me that “maybe you will draft the agenda for Noynoy or whoever.”

Quite recently, a group of economists openly endorsed Noynoy Aquino, an eventuality that has titillated the Noynoy supporter. Little do the same supporters know that the same experts were in fact involved in drafting Noynoy’s agenda, with a quid pro quo of taking the juicy positions and amassing largesse in the event that Aquino wins the presidency.

I wasn’t surprised at all to find out that the endorser economists—who made it appear that they are doing the endorsement as independent intellectuals—are in fact an entourage of experts with a track record of intellectual prostitution (see my article “Paderanga, Economists: Noynoy’s Intellectual Prostitutes).

The list is reproduced below, so people will know the WHO IS WHO in the line up of bureaucrats and advisers that must be zealously guarded in case Aquino wins the presidency. This is just a preliminary list, mind you. The factions of Prof. Mario Taguiwalo (UP School of Economics), former trade Sec. Purissima, and Albay Gov. Salceda (he’s bringing his own coterie of stooges) are not included in the list.

One would wonder how poverty can be alleviated and hunger be eliminated in case that the crony economists will take over the bureaucracy. As I said earlier, the leading economists (contained in the list) were responsible for liberal economic reforms—imposed by the IMF-World Bank Group—that led to more poverty, hunger, degradation of health services, and inequalities.

The likes of Alba and Paderanga served government before, and facts are so glaring about the ballooning of poverty with their kinds at the helm of state agencies. They fattened the purses of Big Capitalists & Landlords, their purses got fattened by the same capitalist-landlords, they sit in the board of the big business cronies, and what business have they eradicating poverty?

Experts’ List

Michael Alba
Fernando Aldaba
Filomeno Sta. Ana III
Cayetano Paderanga Ph.D.
Raul Fabella Ph.D.
Myrna Austria Ph.D.
Edita Tan Ph.D.
Vicente Paqueo Ph.D.
Teresa Jayme-Ho Ph.D.
Germelino Bautista Ph.D.
Ma. Socorro Gochoco-Bautista Ph.D.
Gilberto Llanto Ph.D.
Erlinda Medalla Ph.D.
Gwedolyn Tecson Ph.D.
Ernesto Pernia Ph.D.
Leonardo Lanzona Jr. Ph.D.
Fidelina Natividad Carlos Ph.D.
Carlos Bautista Ph.D.
Edsel Beja, Jr. Ph.D.
Emmanuel Esguerra Ph. D
Ruperto Majuca Ph.D.
Melanie Milo Ph.D.
Jose Ramon Albert Ph.D.
Rhoelano Briones Ph.D.
Rafaelita M. Aldaba Ph.D.
Rosalina Tan Ph.D.
Danilo Israel Ph.D.
Rouselle Lavado Ph.D.
Gerardo Largoza Ph.D.
Stella Quimbo Ph.D.
Ma. Joy Abrenica Ph.D.
Eduardo Gonzalez Ph.D.
Danilo Venida
Allan Borreo
Alexander Narciso
Meldin Al. G. Roy
Jessica Cantos-Reyes
Joseph Francia
Emilio Neri Jr.
Cristina Bautista
Philip Arnold Tuano
Romelia Neri
Reuel Hermoso
Joselito Sescon
Marilou Perez
Paulo Jose Mutuc
Sarah Grace See
Ramon Fernan III
Ernest Leung

[26 April 2010. See also: IKONOKLAST: http://erleargonza.blogspot.com, UNLADTAU: http://unladtau.wordpress.com]