Binay’s dilemma

PERRYSCOPE
Perry Diaz

The 2016 presidential election has the making of battle for supremacy among the dynastic political families.  And whoever wins would preside over a dysfunctional – to say the least -- government that is still rocking from the fallout of the pork barrel scam that has brought down some of the most prominent political dynasties.  Which makes one wonder where the hell the country is going?

Indeed, never in the history of the Philippines has the political landscape been dominated by characters who don’t have any business running the government.  Gone were the days when those running for political office were drawn from the country’s cream of the crop – the best and the finest produced by the country’s educational institutions.  To name a few we had Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmena, Manuel Roxas, Elpidio Quirino, Ramon Magsaysay, Claro M. Recto, Jose P. Laurel, Cornelio Villareal, Camilo Osias, and Quentin Paredes.  Trained in the art of statesmanship, they towered above all others.  

In today’s crop of politicians, you’d see them running for office not to serve the people but to enrich themselves. The recent scandals involving lawmakers who were accused of stealing from their pork barrel allocations has reduced the government to a criminal enterprise not unlike the La Cosa Nostra in America.   The only difference is that the La Cosa Nostra mobsters weren’t elected officials while the politicians were elected to serve the people.   

Given the kind of politicians that we have right now, it makes one wonder if our country will ever get out of the quagmire of corruption?  The massive corruption scandal that was unwittingly exposed by a certain BenhurLuy, a cousin of the alleged mastermind of the $10-billion pork barrel scam, Janet Lim Napoles, has put virtually all of the lawmakers suspect of plunder or malversation of public funds. Surmise it to say, what we’re seeing here is just the tip of the iceberg.  Indeed, it did not surprise anyone when the so-called “Napolist” was released showing the names of 20 senators and more than 120 congressmen.  Nowhere in the world did a wholesale corruption of this magnitude ever happen.

Yet the legislators are taking it in stride as if everything seems normal and it’s business as usual.  Indeed, the recent issuance of arrest warrants against senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Renato “Bong” Revilla Jr. didn’t seem to bother them.  Revilla and Estrada surrendered while Enrile sent feelers requesting “hospital detention” due to his advanced age.  And by the looks of it, President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III seems to grant the old fox’s wish, which begs the question: Is P-Noy going to do it because of compassion or political expediency?  But in politics, showing – nay, demonstrating – “compassion” is just another means to an end; that is, get elected.  It is not then uncommon for elected officials to dole out cash or goods to disaster victims, particularly the poor. 

Self-promotion

One of the best practitioners of the “art of compassion” is Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay.   As P-Noy’s appointed “Housing Czar,” Binay uses his office to promote his political ambitions.  Whenever there is a calamity like flood and earthquake, Binay is there giving out relief goods to the disaster victims.  There is nothing wrong with that.  But what is questionable is the way he promotes himself by printing his name and title on the goods that are being distributed.   The goods are funded by government money, not from Binay’s personal funds. 

Promoting one’s self using government money has been around for decades. This is being done through the pork barrel system.  Basically, the concept works as follows: Congress appropriates money to lump sum budget items requested by the Executive Branch (Office of the President), which are then allotted to projects benefitting the people.  The concept works perfectly up to this point.  But what happens next is massive corruption that involves legislators, the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) from the Office of the President, non-government organizations (NGOs), local government units (LGUs), vendors and contractors, legislative staff who serve as buffers to protect their bosses, and fixers and operators who make sure that the scam works.

For years, the perpetrators kept quiet; that is, they adhered to an Omerta-like unwritten code of silence. Why kill the goose that lays the golden egg?  There was enough money skimmed from the pork barrel allocations to keep all the “players “ of the scam happy.

But not all the “players” were happy.  The scammers forgot to keep the “runners” happy.  So when the scam operation was exposed, these runners blew the whistle on Janet Lim Napoles, the alleged operator of the P10-billion pork barrel scam.

Plunder

Now that Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla have been charged of plunder, the question that begs to be asked is: Would the graft court Sandiganbayan convict them? 

Given the pathetic record of the Sandiganbayan in prosecuting the sequestered Marcos properties, it makes one wonder if the graft court has the temerity to convict “Tanda,” “Pogi” and “Sexy” -- Enrile, Revilla, and Estrada, respectively?   It is interesting to note that these three stellar members of the Philippine Senate have proven electoral track records and political power, which could play a hand on how the cases against them would progress in the politically charged judicial system.

Having said that, whoever is the next president of the country could influence the outcome of these cases, which many believe are politically motivated, which brings to fore the question: If Binay wins, how will his presidency influence the outcome of these high-powered cases?  If so, Binay would be faced with a dilemma: where does his loyalty lie?  Family ties or political alliance?  

While Binay’s political upbringing has its roots in Cory Aquino’s revolutionary government, his political capital grew out of his strategic alliance with Erap Estrada and Enrile.  

During the 2013 mid-term elections, Enrile, Estrada, and Revilla were known as the “Three Kings.”  But they disbanded after the elections when the coalition they formed, the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA), won only three of the 12 Senate seats.  The three are: JV Ejercito Estrada, Gregorio Honasan, and Binay’s daughter Nancy. With his other daughter Mar-Len Abigail Binay serving in the House of Representatives and his son Jejomar “Junjun” Binay Jr. serving as mayor of Makati City, the Binay dynasty is ready for prime time. 

The question is: Is Binay going to sever his family’s umbilical cord to the Aquinos?  It is interesting to note that the Aquinos surreptitiously supported the vice presidential candidacy of Binay vs. Mar Roxas, P-Noy’s running mate.  That’s the kind of bonding Binay has with the Aquinos, which makes one wonder: Would P-Noy support – secretly – Binay vs. the Liberal Party’s standard-bearer?   

At the end of the day, Binay has to make a choice.  And this time around, there is no Solomonic solution to Binay’s dilemma. (PerryDiaz@gmail.com)