Reminders (for Noynoy):

OPINION

Reynaldo Arcilla

1) Filing of charges against officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) during Arroyo’s illegitimate regime. Noynoy himself said on several occasions that there is documentary evidence to prove the venalities in the past in that agency. That was more than five and a half years ago!

2) Order GSIS chief Robert “Pretty Boy” Vergara to report to him on COA’s findings that:

(a) Vergara received the obscenely excessive compensation of P16.36 million in 2012 making him the highest paid government servant then. He was also the highest paid in 2013 with P12.09 million and again in 2014 with about the same amount.

(b) That about three years ago, at least P4.13 billion in contributions and loan payments made by 12 government offices, maybe more by now, to the GSIS had not been credited to the offices as of Dec. 31, 2011.

COA also said that the amount of unrecorded remittances could go much higher because only 36 agencies have at that time responded out of the 186 that were sent confirmation requests by government auditors. Of the 36, 27 confirmed “discrepancies” in their premium and loan payments ledgers when compared with those of the GSIS.

There are three questions being raised when remittances, or parts thereof, of government agencies are not recorded by the GSIS on time: a) Where are these huge sums “parked” in the meantime?; b) Do they earn interest?; and c) To where (whom?) does the interest, if any, go?

Pray tell, Mr. Vergara, what is the present status of these funds, including those that may have been remitted since and not yet recorded by the GSIS? How long do you think you can “dedma” these questions?

I believe it is time for COA to follow up on what Vergara has done on the above findings so that affected GSIS members would know the status of their contributions!

Maybe the GSIS Board chairman, Renato de Guzman, could also look into this?

In this connection, I would like to address this question to COA Chief Michael Aguinaldo: “Is Vergara one of the sacred cows in Noynoy’s coterie whom you wouldn’t dare investigate?”

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Readers have asked me why the above Reminder (for Noynoy) portion is still part of this column.

The question, I think, is symptomatic of the Filipino psyche. He has a short memory and is wont to give up rather easily on a good cause. The present administration may not be paying attention to these items now because of its DaangBaluktot mantra. But, who knows, the next administration maybe more attentive. This is precisely meant as reminders to it too.

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Today is the 277th day of the ninth year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

I dread to think of how many more years it will take before Jonas’ disappearance is finally resolved. It is beginning to look more and more like the next administration will have to be reminded of it too. In the meantime, it would be interesting to know what our Commission on Human Rights and the Department of Justice are doing about it.

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From an internet friend:

A lady is trotting down the road in her horse and buggy when she is pulled over by the sheriff.

“Ma’am, I have to warn you, you have a broken stake on your wheel,” says the sheriff.

“Oh dear. I’ll let my husband, Jacob know as soon as I get home,” she replies.

“That’s fine,” he said. “Another thing, ma’am. I don’t like the way that one rein loops across the horse’s back and around one of his testicles. I consider that terrible cruelty to the animal. Have your husband take care of that right away!”

Later that day, the lady is home telling her husband about her encounter with the sheriff. ” Well, dear, what exactly did he say?” asked the husband.

“He said a stake is broken,” replied the wife.

“I can fix that in a heartbeat. What else?” asked the husband.

The wife replied: “I’m not sure, Jacob – something to do with the emergency brake.”

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Email: roacrosshairs@outlook.com FB: https://www.facebook.com/reynaldo.arcilla.9847