By Adolfo Quizon Paglinawan

 

Part One: Liquidation by Certification is Legalized Corruption

Less than three months after Francis “Chiz” Escudero assumed office as Senate president, suspicions that his election was pushed by first lady Liza Araneta Marcos have been recently confirmed when he joined the chorus demonizing Vice President Sara Duterte.

The suspicion started when Escudero was interviewed claiming sole credit and denying Malacanang intervention for the removal of his predecessor Migz Zubiri. What he did not notice was Undersecretary Bernardino Sayo of thePresidential Legislative Liaison Office was two steps behind over his right shoulder, listening to what he would tell media to immediately report back to PLLO Secretary Mark Mendoza at the Palace for quick transmittal to the first lady.

The suspicions increased in the body english between Escudero and Liza Araneta Marcos at the vin d’honneur portion during last June 12’s independence day celebrations. Upon arrival at the welcoming row, the latter swiped a glass out of the former’s hands and sipped the remaining wine in it. The incident did not only make Escudero look like a waiter but demonstrated to everyone present, her capture of the senate leadership. Unfortunately, the picture launched millions of vlog hits as it was covered live by PTV4.

Impeaching the Vice President

A trial balloon has been floated moving for the impeachment of VP Duterte for reasons still unknown. The deflection is necessary because Typhoon Carina exposed a monumental plunder by the Marcos Jr. administration of its P1.4 billion a day 2024 appropriation for 5,500 ghost flood control projects.

Now it appears Escudero is the president’s incoming designated survivor, a sort of prince-in-waiting and Liza’s Dobermann. 

All of a sudden, Keso de bola has become Inday Sara and Tatay Digong’s top detractor. The Dobermann said “What is perplexing is her questioning the absence of a flood masterplan two years into the administration of PBBM after the previous administration had six years to develop one, but was unable to do so.”

Now House of Representatives Assistant Majority Leader and Taguig 2nd District Rep. Pammy Zamora apes his position, “On flood control, let’s not forget that the Dutertes were in full control for 6 years. How can they be sidelined for crucial infra projects?

Zamora, however, turned his spat into a joke: “All of us in the House are ready to work hand in hand with all officials whose input are productive to the national agenda. Just like what Senate President Escudero said, I also encourage the Vice President to constructively use her position and resources.”

This is political garbage. Since when has Congress become less greedy and compassionate? The Senate and the House of Representatives for the past two years have shown nothing but servility to Malacanang. Both houses have not passed a single law of substance to the national concerns of the people for the past two years.

Nothing to curb inflation, nothing to reduce poverty and hunger, nothing to increase jobs and increase commensurate compensation of the workers, among the people and nothing to provide meaningful assistance to farmers, nothing to support entrepreneurs and protect OFWs.

Instead, both houses have become complicit to graft and corruption, violation of human rights, including utter discourtesy to their resource persons; the presidency’s unequal law enforcement and police harrassments, abuses of people’s right to free speech, assembly, movement, and freedom of the press, and support to the unpopular amendment of the Constitution and the proxy-war policies of the Marcos government.

 The trouble with Chiz and Pammy and their ilk of morons, is that they think the Filipino people will buy their lame narrative.

PRRD’s record on disasters

Was there any massive flooding in MegaManila during Duterte’s term? Was there any complaint from the public about how Digong handled the rescue, relief. recovery and rehabilitation aspects of any flooding and any disaster during his administration. Truth to tell there was not even a whimper, but lots of accolades, because the National Disaster Risk Reduction Management Council was days ahead greatly prepared, on-site, and was exceptionally efficient.                             

Very early in his administration, I remember the NDRRMC, its components from national down to the barangay levels, and the Philippine Coast Guard parading before the Luneta grandstand not only their massive force and new equipment acquired by Duterte to improve the capability of our first responders for any calamity. Even kids dressed in firefighter suits participated in the event.

In a country averaging 120 typhoons July 2016 to June 2022, this is how Duterte strategically choose how to deal with the flooding issue – not just from the aspects of control and prevention but emergency response.

We all know that it requires more than our national budget to fund to complete whatever masterplan we have against flooding in Mega Manila and other areas. But we can as a minimum equip our communities to protect our citizens with a better preparedness on how meet especially the tragedies of a disaster.

PRRD’s normative term: only 2 years

Escudero has acquired dementia on how two man-made calamities substantially reduced Duterte’s term on the ground. The Siege on Marawi City, and the attendant martial law, took longer, in fact five months, because PRRD wanted to achieve military victory over the Islamic terrorists without sacrificing civilian lives. PRRD also defeated the Covid-19 pandemic in terms of comparatively-low cases and deaths, under a state of health emergency that lasted three years and six months.

In a very real sense, the normative period of the Duterte presidency was only two years and one month. Be that as it may, unlike Marcos Jr., Duterte inherited a state of the nation that was almost in an irreversible social decay.

Yes, we were nearly a narco-state but his War on Drugs tremendously cut the supply and demand for doping substances. His War on Local Insurgencies, through ELCAC and BARMM has quieted the countryside. Independent foreign policy was enforced for the first time in our history, putting the US in its proper place while allowing Chinese and Russian economic assistance to flourish.

Despite austere budgets roads, bridges and dams were built to enhance infrastructure through grants and concessional soft loans. While it was premature to improve our PISA scores, he started the overhaul of curriculum and rationalization of teachers’ role and benefits, the completion of which would only manifest during BBM’s tenure through the Matatag Curriculum and related reforms.

Better police and military morale and preparedness was achieved through increased compensation and benefits, equipment modernization. Civil defense also enjoyed prioritized tooling and logistics for NDRRMC up to the barangay levels, the Philippine Coast Guard and the Bureaus of Fire Protection and their rescue and recovery component agencies and volunteers, thereby mitigating tragedies of the population as consequences of disasters. Public hospitals were refurbished and public access to their services were enhanced through the Malasakit Centers.

Duterte’s first two-year infrastructure record is definitely an improvement of past administrations.

For flood control, all 77 MMDA pumping stations of the agency were well-maintained and working at full capacity, with the necessary power and fuel in place. Flood-mitigation activities aimed at declogging and cleaning up waterways such as creeks and esteros are conducted all-year-round maximizing the conveyance capacity of open waterways and prevent flooding. This will explain why there was no violent protests on flooding from 2016 to 2022.

What is also significant is that Duterte paid attention to provincial flooding like construction of the Sipa flood mitigation structure along the Apayao River, construction of Flood Control along Cabugao River, in Baclig, Cabugao, Ilocos Sur; rehabilitation and improvement of the flood control wall along Binahaan River, Tanauan, Leyte and Kabankalan, Negros Oriental, among others.

From 2016 to 2021, DPWH reported building 13,224 flood control projects, but Duterte never boasted about these, nor feigned he has solved the country’s flooding problems. That is why on this issue, he did not fall flat on his face.

So now is my turn to be personal and ask Francis Escudero, in your 14 years as senator, what have done for flood control and disaster management?

In fairness I will credit you for asking in last year’s budget hearings why the 2024 budget for flood control is bigger than the allocations of other government agencies like the entire agriculture sector with P181 billion.

But you stopped there and took to task Rodrigo Duterte for an inventory of what he has done, what have you contributed to flood control and disaster management?

As for Keso de Bola, why did his flowers leave him after six years? After only four years, he took another heart. But please don’t send it anymore gallivanting with other birds in Paris, lest it flies again.

Be warned accordingly – stay clear of Inday Sara Duterte who will not grab your champagne glass and lace it with her saliva but instead drive a fist to your puny face leaving a dirty blackeye.

That said, your pact with the black snake has already been revealed.

To be continued. Next: Three billion pork each, liquidation by certification

Philippine Coast Guard

National Disaster Risk Reduction Management

Bureau of Fire Protection

   

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