Editorials:

Illustration by Jimbo Albano

Disservice

IT all began with a segment news anchor Ricky Carandang did for the February 19 edition of The Correspondents, a public-affairs program of ABS-CBN. Programs like it normally air well beyond the bedtime of most viewers, thus, Carandang’s report created hardly a ripple. It drew inspiration from an article that saw print in the January edition of a London-based business magazine, which had similarly gone largely unnoticed.

It was only after Carandang posted a summary of the segment in his blog days later that the report caught the eye of certain interested quarters—notably opposition politicians and civil-society types constantly on the lookout for dirt on President Arroyo and her administration.

Carandang’s report left several impressions: first, Malacańang had entered into a secretive arrangement with the Chinese who would be allowed to extract oil in the disputed Spratlys in exchange for $8 billion in soft loans, which could be a gold mine for unscrupulous characters in the administration; second, the deal involved only the Philippines and China; and, third, the deal amounted to “treason.”

As fresh ammunition for the President’s detractors, the allegation of treason that supposedly marked the so-called Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking (JMSU) was quick to develop a life of its own. The timing was uncanny.

The JMSU issue erupted just when public interest had begun to wane for the long-running Senate inquiry into the national broadband network (NBN) contract. The NBN-ZTE hearings opened up explosive accusations that angered many Filipinos. However, the level of public indignation—as reflected, some say magnified, by openly hostile newspapers and networks—failed to reach the kind of critical mass that in 1986 and 2001 climaxed in the ouster of two sitting presidents.

Even the interfaith rally of February 29—described as the first time leftists, rightists and centrists, as well as religious congregations, came together to openly condemn Mrs. Arroyo—was unable to muster enough warm bodies to compel the President to step down. Some people noted the absence in the protest action of the military, which had played pivotal roles in the two People Power uprisings.

The Palace has evidently been able to keep the Armed Forces, especially the high command, loyal to itself—for reasons that only the top civilian and military officials may know, besides their open declarations that they remain loyal because they are constitutionalists. And so, the NBN-ZTE scandal has thus far failed to excite the soldiery, notwithstanding claims made by star witness Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr., that funds were diverted from AFP and police housing projects for the purportedly crooked telecommunications contract.

The anti-GMA movement thus seems to have faced a quandary: how to get the AFP and the National Police sufficiently agitated for them to turn on their commander in chief. The defenders of the Republic and the keepers of law and order needed to have a reason compelling enough to make them violate the chain of command. And what better way is there to make the members of the armed services aim their weapons at their commanders than to accuse them of the most unspeakable crime: treason?

While we grant that there are sincere critics of the JMSU who may simply want to make sure we have not sold our territory in exchange for dirty loans, or still can’t make their way out of this latest complication and hence want hearings conducted, it’s apparent that certain other quarters made a conscious decision to pin this latest offense on the President—as may be gleaned from anonymous text messages flooding the country, calling on soldiers and police to withdraw their oath of loyalty to their allegedly treasonous commander in chief. Unfortunately for Mrs. Arroyo’s foes, the charge had tenuous basis in fact.

For one thing, no attempt was made to conceal the JMSU from public scrutiny. The agreement was actually signed at the Palace in a ceremony in 2005 that was well attended, not just by the officials of the countries concerned, but also by members of the diplomatic corps and media—including an ABS-CBN news crew.

Second, the parties to the agreement included not just the Philippines and China but also Vietnam, another claimant to the Spratly Islands and a fellow member in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, although a foreign news magazine said Vietnam was included only after it complained with Manila and Beijing about being left out. But that’s another story.

Third, if Mrs. Arroyo should be charged with treason over the JMSU, then so should Pangasinan Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr., former Energy Secretary Vincent Perez and other officials. At the time of the agreement’s signing, JdV, then-Speaker of the House of Representatives, was all praises for what he—in typically effusive fashion—hailed as a “win-win” solution, which it was. And while we’re at this, how explain also the apparent flip-flop of former Sen. Frank Drilon, as noted by Sen. Miriam Santiago, i.e., that he saw nothing wrong with a very similar scheme involving another foreign country, and yet later took issue with the JMSU?

The JMSU helped ease tensions in the South China Sea over the Spratlys. That the deal managed to bring together China and Vietnam, which had previously come to blows over the disputed islets and other issues in the not-too-distant past, was nothing less than a diplomatic coup.

The undertaking was actually signed by the CEOs of the national oil companies of the Philippines, China and Vietnam. Signing for the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC) was then-PNOC president Eduardo V. Mańalac, whose expertise and integrity have never come into question—until the Philippine Daily Inquirer mistakenly dragged him into the NBN-ZTE brouhaha.

In an article by this paper’s reporter Paul Anthony Isla, Mańalac explained that the JMSU, far from being a treasonous act, was part of the government’s effort to ensure the country’s security of energy supply. He said it “was a sincere effort on the part of three governments to find common ground for cooperation involving the South China Sea area; a desire to materialize this effort in terms of a concrete scientific study, the results of which could be of great value in determining overall consequences for the region; and a common determination to cement the friendships formed by opening further discussions beyond the JMSU.”

Above all, the JMSU does not authorize the actual extraction of oil and other minerals in the disputed islets. Exploration and production would have to be the subjects of other agreements—which now seem unlikely given the relentless bid by certain quarters to vilify China and its purported participation in crooked deals in the Philippines.

If treason needs to be attributed, consider attaching it to those who have irresponsibly imperiled our traditionally cordial relations with our neighbors and endangered efforts to secure energy independence for the country.

IT all began with a segment news anchor Ricky Carandang did for the February 19 edition of The Correspondents, a public-affairs program of ABS-CBN.

Here we go again. Consistent with every year before, our nation faces itself in the mirror as allegations from, this time, Jun Lozada, about corruption in the highest places have hogged the media channels these past few days. Whistle blowers always command the public’s attention, especially with a lot of help from the media.

Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. testified that Environment Secretary Lito Atienza phoned him during his joyride with his kidnappers and told him not to worry because he had been talking with “Ma’am” and “ES,” and they assured him they were on top of the situation.

The Way Forward: Beyond the ‘jeepney economy’

The term was first used by the Economist to describe our national economy which, in its view, was like the ubiquitous Filipino jeepney—“inefficient and easily overtaken.” For the better part of the last two decades, that’s how the prestigious magazine has looked at us—half-patronizing, half-amused and mainly skeptical that we will ever rise out of the shallows.

Sway: Matter of trust

In all relationships—whether personal, professional, business, or in relation to government—what’s most important is trust. And the very definition of the word trust tells us why: firm reliance on the integrity, ability or character of a person or thing.

Market Files: Bangko Sentral alert

A crisis in confidence with respect to the handling of the trust funds of preneed companies is threatening to engulf the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) relative to the closure of Bankwise.

Philip M. Lustre Jr.: Opposition in disarray

Expect the squabble between President Arroyo and her political enemies to last longer than expected. Don’t be surprised if the President completes her term in 2010.