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With the
national broadband network (NBN)-ZTE project now
officially cancelled, and one of the key players,
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Benjamin
Abalos Jr., having tendered his resignation following
allegations of bribery, should the Senate continue with
its probe of the scandal-ridden deal?
It
should continue if the senators seriously want to plug
the loopholes in the approval of Official Development
Assistance from other countries, particularly the issue
of tied loans, which is what lies at the root of the
controversy.
But it
should be terminated if the inquiry will be done only in
aid of political grandstanding and posturing for the
2010 elections.
What
several Senate hearings on the NBN project did was to
explode two bombshells that pinned down Abalos on
bribery charges and forced him to give up his seat as
Comelec chairman.
Losing
bidder Jose “Joey” de Venecia III cast the first stone
when he accused Abalos of offering him $10 million for
him to withdraw from the project, and later named the
President’s husband Jose Miguel Arroyo as the “mystery
man” who had told him to “back off” from the project.
Then it
was then-socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri’s
turn on the witness stand, alleging that Abalos had
offered him P200 million to approve the ZTE deal.
What
opposition senators really wanted, from the trend in the
questions that were posed during the lengthy inquiry
last week, was to link Mrs. Arroyo to the deal. But Neri,
now the Commission on Higher Education chairman,
repeatedly invoked “executive privilege” and foiled
opposition hopes of another “Edsa moment.”
In fact,
a number of presidential and vice presidential wannabes
among the senators seemed to relish all the attention
they were getting from the TV coverage of the hearings.
If
there’s any doubt that the presidential derby for 2010
has begun in earnest, the recent Senate hearings on the
NBN should put it to rest.
Abalos
has indicated he would not attend the Senate probe
scheduled for today and would rather face his accusers
in a court of law. Neri, for his part, has said he has
nothing more to say before the Senate.
But if
senators insist on further grilling them, they can
always invoke the Constitution. Sec. 21 of Article VI of
the fundamental law states: “The Senate or the House of
Representatives or any of its respective committees may
conduct inquiries in aid of legislation in accordance
with its duly published rules of procedure. The rights
of persons appearing in or affected by such inquiries
shall be respected.”
New cops
on the block
Over at
Camp Crame, there’s a new Philippine National Police
(PNP) chief, Deputy Director General Avelino Razon Jr.,
replacing Oscar C. Calderon who bowed out last Monday
upon reaching the mandatory retirement age.
From
news accounts, Razon assumes the post of top cop with
impressive credentials since he began his military
career in the mid-’70s after graduating from the
Philippine Military Academy.
But it’s
the program thrust he announced during the turnover
rites on Monday that merits our attention, because it
could significantly boost the fight against crime and
improve the peace and order situation so crucial to
investor confidence and sustained economic growth.
I refer
to the decision to field up to 90 percent of the PNP’s
total manpower complement of 116,000 to the streets and
communities, with only 10 percent to be assigned to desk
jobs or administrative work.
Even a
cursory look at the insides of Camp Crame offices would
reveal that far too many policemen seem to be busy
shuffling papers, when they should be in the frontlines
of the war against criminal syndicates as well as street
thugs victimizing the unwary and the unsuspecting.
You
would imagine, for instance, that bus robbery-holdup
gangs operating along the busy Edsa thoroughfare would
think twice before embarking on their nefarious trade if
patrol cars and beat policemen were regularly deployed
along this vital road artery.
But
severe limitations on the PNP’s operational capabilities
hamper anticrime capabilities. For one thing, what they
call the police-to-population ratio is far from ideal,
given the total number of cops in relation to our total
population of 85 million. Then there’s also the lack of
enough patrol vehicles, firearms and communications
equipment to run after criminals and terrorists due to
budgetary constraints.
By
deploying more cops to crime-prone areas, Razon will be
taking a big step forward in reducing crime, especially
in the metropolis. Businessmen and ordinary citizens
alike should benefit from the presence of new cops on
the block who will be on the lookout against syndicates
engaged in kidnap for ransom, bank robberies,
carjacking, hijacking and other criminal activities.
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