Third of 4 parts

IT’s all over but for his whining! My last two columns on the US elections hewed close to the polls predicting Joe Biden’s win. They came out fairly accurately, negating wholesale fraud. Even if there was, then Biden was a better cheat than Donald Trump. I went out on a limb on the following prognostications: that popular votes for Biden will be overwhelming while the electoral votes will be tight; that Trump will stick to his playbook declaring an early victory while the same-day vote counts were in his favor, agitating for a stoppage before mail-in votes are counted. Trump’s appearance on national television to claim victory at dawn when vote counting barely began was a study in absurdity and incoherence bordering on insanity — classic Trump. He wanted to stop the counting in some states where he was leading and continue in those where he was winning. He asserted that massive fraud, all unsubstantiated, was being perpetrated by the Democrats to steal the election. Trump’s ridiculous and pathetic post-midnight hysterics was unprecedented and unconscionable — even if solely for the consumption of his despairing base.

The election process was no rocket science. Trump advised his base to vote in person on election day while Biden cautioned the Democrats to mail in their ballots earlier, mindful of CDC protocols on social distancing, avoiding packed voting booths amid a pandemic. Thus, in most states, early counting results invariably favored GOP voters.

Where I was wrong was my speculation that this contrived mail-in voting fraud would precipitate immediate chaos spilling out to the streets. Thankfully, this did not happen. Biden’s soothing call to be patient and let the election process run its course was reassuring. While leading in the electoral college, he did not declare victory, unlike Trump. And more importantly, his first public appearance as President-elect in his home state on the night of his victory was simply inspiring. Biden’s exhortation that he will be president not for “the blue states or the red states” but for the United States of America was what people on both sides wanted to hear. The healing must begin.

In retrospect
American pundits are almost unanimous in their take that these elections were the most contentious and polarizing in the past 50 years since the height of the unpopular Vietnam war where President Lyndon Johnson, repudiated by his Democratic party, decided not to seek a second term in 1968.

The great paradox is that LBJ’s presidency ushered in the modern liberalism of his “Great Society.” Under his administration, the civil rights acts which he shepherded through Congress when he was majority leader was one of the centerpieces of his domestic policies. He initiated his “war on poverty” while growing the economy, in effect elevating millions of Americans from poverty. His Voting Rights Act protected African Americans and other minorities from being disenfranchised and reformed America’s immigration system through the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. He expanded Medicare and Medicaid — in some ways a precursor to the Affordable Care Act of 2010, or Obamacare — ensuring wider access by Americans to affordable health care.

The maverick
Trump tried to upend many of the gains of the last five Republican and three Democratic administrations painstakingly built over 50 years — from Nixon to Obama. But Trump, an outsider, burst into the American political scene like the proverbial “bull in a china shop,” repudiating even the Republican party’s conservatism substituting his egomaniacal doctrine — Trumpism (see “America’s precarious fling with Trump,” The Manila Times, Nov. 4, 2020). His erratic attempt at dismantling the politically familiar adversarial protocols in a two- party presidential system within a federal government structure surprisingly resonated with many of the voters in 2016 who were tired of the decades of “politics as usual” practiced by the denizens of D.C. partnering with Wall Street predators. The economic and political realities after the Obama regime demanded change. But the Democrat’s standard bearer, Hillary Clinton, wife of a successful Democratic president, but of another era, was viewed as the continuation of flawed governance dynamics — more of the same. More drastic change was needed.

Then Trump happened. A prisoner of a persona derivative of his reality-TV image of a no-nonsense business executive, he played this make-believe role to the hilt. Unable to extricate himself from this media-hyped creature, he became very attractive to the media-fed and TV-fare gorging Americans whom Hillary Clinton disparaged as a “basket of deplorables.” Projecting himself as a billionaire tycoon, boastful of gaming the system — although bankrupted several times — mocking his peers for paying taxes, he exuded extreme vanity, declaring himself a “very stable genius.” He played to this crowd, incongruously identifying himself among them —– a mix of racists, white supremacists, bigots, and plain ordinary white folks — providing this lot some sort of legitimacy and false hope. Possessed with charisma, his base and the spineless GOP stalwarts were mesmerized by a larger-than-life personality not seen before in US presidential politics, bullying his way around and intimidating his opponents within and outside of his political party. His declaration to “drain the swamp” at the political power and financial centers was a euphonious populist call to arms, tailor-fit to this segment of disenfranchised Americans.

He was given to tired old hyperbole with an impoverished vocabulary, boasting “I know words, a lot of words!” His lies and atrocious claims were gargantuan, beating Goebbels in his heyday. Policy statements reflecting gut instinct unvetted by the executive branch professionals spurted out through tweets daily. Bureaucrats had to divine his intentions as the man’s illiteracy was pervasive and was showing signs of cognitive decline. More than 30 of his professional cabinet, advisers and consultants — many career people experienced in governance, some in the world of business and the armed services — had to leave, fired, discredited and oftentimes publicly humiliated. Such was the messy profile of governance for several years. And this man with his complicit party mates and sycophants determined the direction of the American ship of state and, by inference, half of the Western world. In the past four years, he managed to weave an intricate fabric of a semblance of a structure of leadership underpinned by a castrated Republican party.

The emperor has no clothes
Then the pandemic arrived, exposing the weaknesses of this charlatan of a president, and this fabric began to unravel. Hundreds of thousands of Americans are dead. Many more will die. On constant denial, he obviously didn’t care. What was paramount was securing another four-year term. The US economy collapsed. Jobs disappeared. America was in dire straits.

This election had the greatest number of voters ever in US history who would kick him out. A popular vote of 74 million against 70 million. After last night, America’s experiment ended. Trump has not conceded and is now creating another alternative world. I’m afraid his strategy has morphed into “scorched earth.” If he goes down, he will bring the country with him — flawed democracy and all. There is no method to this man’s madness!

(To be continued)

Second of 4 parts

THIS article was submitted for publication four days before the US elections. Vote counting is ongoing, with partisans on both sides spinning whatever half-data is being captured by their respective media outlets: Fox News for Trump and CNN and MSNBC for Biden. In any case, the counting of the votes may take days or even weeks before the eventual winner is declared. And as Trump has planned all along, this will go to the courts.

America has degenerated to the status of a Third World country. Except for a massive voter suppression to negate Biden’s lead, the same playbook used in his successful 2016 campaign was simply recycled for 2020 substituting Biden for Hillary. Trump’s chant “Lock her up!” on Hillary’s indiscretions on the use of a private email server is now “Lock him up!” for a set of tapes of Hunter Biden’s personal email alleging anomalous payments to Joe Biden. Unless voter turnout for either candidate is overwhelming, particularly in the electoral college, this contrived voting fraud will precipitate chaos spilling out to the streets.

Trump’s dysfunctional election campaign
Trailing by double digits in the national polls and substantial margins in the swing states for the critical 270 electoral votes, the Trump campaign could not craft coherent messages that would resonate with the wider American voters. Thus, he reverts instead to his 2016 self-description as a “very stable genius” — presiding over an unprecedented US economic growth, one he actually inherited from President Obama. Except at this time, America’s economy is in shambles in the wake of the pandemic. And this is where the Donald’s leadership miserably failed, selling an ambiguous narrative in the twilight zone; repeating a dangerous mantra that the pandemic is “turning a corner” and may soon be over, glossing over the 250,000 deaths and the recent spike of infections in more than 40 states. Because of Trump’s bungling, erratic leadership and his continuous state of denial, American deaths may add another 200,000 before a transition government comes in on Jan. 20, 2021 — if ever there is one.

In a rambling sermon on the “700 Club,” the Rev. Pat Robertson, éminence grise of white evangelicals, predicted a win for Trump. Accordingly, after being sworn in, America will be torn apart by civil disobedience. Taking advantage of the chaos, China, Russia and North Korea will threaten war. And Iran will invade Israel. To cap it all, there will be two unsuccessful assassination attempts on Trump. Incongruently, a 1-kilomete radius asteroid will hit the earth. Then peace. And Jesus will descend in fulfillment of Isaiah 2:2-4 and Thessalonians 5:2-3. (Pat Robertson prophecy on 2020 US presidential elections and the aftermath – YouTube.)

Despite this foolish man’s incoherence, I am confident America will elect Joe Biden as its 46th president. This may be construed as a bias toward Biden. This is not entirely correct. I rely on various polls and surveys predicting a Biden win. I am not emotionally invested in either candidates, although I followed Trump’s colorful journey towards perdition, evaluating America’s exodus from its adherence to their founding fathers’ republican democratic ideals to what could simply be described as Trumpism — a compendium of warped beliefs underpinning a cult of personality, producing policies centered on the whims, caprices and behavior of this narcissistic US president. Overall, a perversion of the once vaunted conservative leanings of the Republican Party.

Four years of Trump
Trumpism entered American contemporary political lexicon carrying with it its vilest components that may permeate and divide the Republican party for years to come, its core belief indelibly etched in the 20 to 30 percent of what Hillary once described as a “basket of deplorables.”

Central to Trumpism is the inordinate unethical role of family at the center of power. The White House is treated as a family corporation where the president is the CEO and his children occupying positions straddling government and private business. Primus inter pares are daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared. These two were given responsibility and authority beyond their competence, continuing to dabble in their family enterprise while assuming high government posts. It is to the great chagrin of observers of US politics that a blatant display of nepotism with all its implications for rent-seeking are tolerated and even sanctioned by the Republican party of Trump.

Akin to a corporate structure, the appointed personnel populating the center of power, cabinet posts, presidential advisers, consultants, etc., are presidential alter egos invariably subject to his impulses, inclusive of his flaws and are simply absorbed by these sycophants.

Those that are defiant may find themselves outside the sphere of influence. So far this has resulted in close to 30 of the president’s men and women and simple “gofers” fired, some on a whim and others indicted or languishing in prison.

But the greater damage this dysfunctional cabal’s four-year fling with governance is that on America’s cherished political institutions. The separation of powers between the branches of government — one of the bedrocks of its democracy, providing for checks and balances — has been upended by Trump’s total dominance of the upper house. He has no compunction to bend the Senate to his will. What is tragic is oftentimes its acquiescence, as in the hypocritically hasty Senate confirmation of Amy Barrett to the US Supreme Court. Critical election disputes before the bar could be tilted in Trump’s favor.

Racism and bigotry
Racism and bigotry are Trump’s legacy after four years. From the very first day when he decided to run for president, he has signaled his intentions by playing to the fears of a small but loud segment of the American populace, one that could be described as WASP — “White Anglo-Saxon Protestants” — a quaint description of the once dominant upper-class with a disproportionate economic and political influence in American society. Popularized in the 1960s, particularly during the civil rights movements, this profile may no longer be exactly applicable with the drastic change in the country’s demographics. But in the wake of his Black American predecessor, he singularly revived immigration issues and by inference the racial divide with his promise to “build a wall — and Mexico will pay for it.”

This highly racist opening gambit was followed by his election promise to ban the entry of Muslims.

Trump’s racism and bigotry (R&B) often surfaces in his bold irresponsible pronouncements consistently throughout his administration as with his praise for a white nationalist violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017 with his infamous phrase about “very fine people” on both sides. And in January 2018, the African Union demanded an apology when he described people from Haiti and El Salvador as being from “shithole” nations, asking why America can’t have more immigrants from (white) Norway.

The year 2016 was meant to usher in a paradigm shift rejecting “politics as usual and draining the swamp” by installing a non-politician maverick businessman. Instead a political Frankenstein was created resurrecting long dormant prejudices from the fringes, now espoused as a political ideology. Whoever wins this current and future US elections will have to contend with this aberration as a permanent fixture. America is condemned to pay for this failed experiment.

(To be continued next week)

NEXT week Joe Biden will be America’s president-elect. He is not the best choice but anyone from the Democrats’ stable of “presidentiables” would be better than Trump. All the polls reflect the dominance of Biden in the popular vote. But the American system is somewhat complicated in that the winner is determined by the Electoral College, not by the plurality of the popular votes. Recent cases point to two Democrats who lost the US presidency through this mechanism — Hillary Clinton in 2016 and Al Gore in 2000. There were other similar outcomes in US political history, in the presidential elections of 1824, 1878 and 1888. But I leave this to history buffs to play around with. With 50 million voting early and after presidential debates where both candidates clashed — Trump vomiting lies and conspiracy theories and Biden sheepishly appearing presidential — polls predict Biden winning both the popular and the 270 electoral votes.

Conspiracy theory – failure of elections
But conspiracy theories (CT) abound regarding possible impediments to the winning Biden’s assuming his seat come Jan. 20, 2021. Trump has been laying the groundwork for his continued stay as president for a second term. He has been insinuating all along that he will be cheated massively by the Democrats through the mail-in ballots. Traditionally, a large number of minority voters — principally the black community, overwhelmingly Democrat — vote through this method while the Republicans vote on the day of the election itself. With this Covid-19 pandemic, pundits theorize that hordes of Democrat voters would stay home on November 3, having mailed in their votes weeks and days beforehand, avoiding the crowds at the polling places.

Without evidence of mail-in voting fraud, even in past elections, Trump has of late been sabotaging, with his complicit postmaster-general, the flow of the delivery of the ballots to and from the mail-in voters’ addresses. The counting of the November 3 ballots after the poll closing may reflect earlier Republican voting patterns giving Trump the lead — especially in the “swing states.” Trump can then declare an early victory, agitate for a stoppage in the counting before being swamped by the results of the mail-in ballots. Any controversy to stop the counting due to a perceived mail-in fraud may have to be litigated by the Supreme Court, where Trump has the majority — so the CT goes.

Since his call to arms to “Liberate Minnesota! Liberate Michigan! Liberate Virginia!” from the lockdowns — legally mandated preventive measures against the spread of the pandemic — sympathetic militia in full battle gear responded. These right-wing Trumpers also came in droves, many from out-of-state, as a counterforce against the “Black Lives Matter” protests in Portland, Oregon and other cities, exacerbating violence in the streets. At the first presidential debate, he primed his white supremacist cohorts “Stand back and stand by” and encouraged them to congregate in the polling places, not so much as poll watchers observing the voting process but perhaps to intimidate Biden sympathizers.

America’s winter of discontent
Analogous to the British crisis of 1978-1979, America’s would be much worse. The United Kingdom’s widespread trade union labor strikes and the ensuing economic and political turmoil may pale in comparison with what could happen in the United States. With the pandemic still raging, unemployment at an all-time high, the economy in shambles, America’s global reputation in tatters and above all these, the government presided over by a xenophobic president, the transition to a Biden presidency may not parallel that of England’s Margaret Thatcher taking over in the aftermath of the downfall of Prime Minister James Callaghan’s Labor Party. America’s six weeks lame-duck period between November 3 and the constitutional transfer of power on Jan. 20, 2021 may be the most volatile, putting the world in great peril — another defining moment for American democracy, or its final demise.

American expansion
America began to enforce its concepts of governance in the Philippines at the turn of the last century with its first taste of colonialism in the wake of Spain’s defeat. Its political doctrine of Manifest Destiny arrived in the mid-18th century, originally applied only to expanding its territory over North America, became its burning impetus in acquiring dominions, spreading democracy and capitalism worldwide. It reflected a smug and sanctimonious certainty of America’s correctness, of the superiority of the American system of governance and the firm belief that the people of the world would like to become Americans.

With its star in the ascendant after World War 1, the US has obdurately imposed its ideals and models and its political structures, consequently dominating economies as well. It assumed the role of a self-appointed policeman not without spilling blood — having caused and/or participated in five major wars since 1945 — Korea, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, Iraq and Afghanistan. It has involved itself in wars against terrorism in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria and Somalia, among others.

The rot within — four years of the Donald
It is inevitable that America will go into decline — the way other empires did — British, Spanish, Portuguese and the ancient Greek, Macedonian and Roman, among others. Great empires fall from within, rarely from conquest. And the inevitability of the fall of US hegemony is presaged by the ascent of a chauvinistic leader embodying the decay within. President Trump paradoxically embodies the polarization of America, the seeds of its impending demise.

In 2016, I watched him descend that Trump Tower escalator with trepidation, bursting into America’s consciousness during the primary debates — observing with disdain mixed with awe and alacrity his scorched-earth performance with nary a sense of civility, armed only with an overpowering ego and blatant narcissism.

Excerpts of an article I wrote, “OMG! Trump won!” (TMT, Nov 29, 2016):

“I have been entertained by the Donald from the time I read his book on The Art of the Deal through his shenanigans in New York with his flings and wives; his reality TV career and even his presidential run during the primaries. I never thought he was serious about anything except for advancing his brand, lest of all his presidential ambitions. But last Wednesday morning…I had a surprise coming — no, I was shocked! All the major US polls were wrong, the Fil-Am community was wrong, the whole world was wrong! Only the Donald was right.

“Tapping on the fears of the white disinherited forgotten voters, those at the peripheral, at the background of the American dream, Trump sure knew the winning combination to the presidency by accentuating the great disparity in the system, the long battle of financial insecurity and meager incomes. He also advocated for ‘massive tax reduction’ of those at the middle and working classes; this despite allegations of his own tax avoidance which surfaced during the campaign period.

“Trump’s notions of racism, disrespect for women and minorities and his preaching of hate may seep into US foreign policy psyche and may depart from decades-old American values.”

I asked myself then. Will this man foreshadow a new American era? Or is he a portent of its downfall? After four years, all my conjectures came to pass. My questions are no longer rhetorical.

To be continued

Last of 2 parts

IN my past two columns, we visited the only two issues of foreign policy significance impacting Philippine sovereignty. Both were concerns even before we were formally constituted a country. And both involved claims of territories; one validated by operations of international protocols defining our boundaries as mandated by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea or Unclos; and the other through a colonial legitimate acquisition of territory and cession of sovereignty effected by treaty and convention. The former delimits West Philippines Sea (WPS) territories within 12 to 200 miles as our exclusive economic zone or EEZ within which the Philippines has control over fisheries, their exploitation thereof and of the natural resources (oil/gas) within. But such has been negated by China usurping these Philippine-owned territories. The other through the machinations of once mighty Great Britain and Malaysia. Both have infringed on Philippine sovereignty.

The Philippines undertook similar civilized approaches on these territorial claims with different results. We sought relief at the international Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. We were gifted a victory over the disputed territories in declaring China’s “nine-dash line” encroachment upon our islands as illegal (“West Philippine Sea redux,” TMT, Oct. 7, 2020).

On the Sabah dispute, the International Court of Justice, upon the instigation of one of the parties (Malaysia) refused to allow the Philippines its proverbial “day in court.”

Prejudicial subsidiary case?
In late 1998, Indonesia and Malaysia both notified the Court of Special Agreement to rule over which of the two states have sovereignty over Pulau Ligitan and Pulau Sipadan, two islands off the coast of North Borneo (Sabah). The Philippines in March of 2001 requested permission to intervene in the case as it naturally wanted to safeguard its own claims to dominion and sovereignty over North Borneo (Sabah). Although a different case altogether, whatever decision the international court hands down on the case may have repercussions on our legitimate concerns. The Philippines made it clear that it had no interest in the two islands, except their implications on our claim to North Borneo (Sabah). The court, however, rejected the Philippine application for permission to intervene upon Malaysia’s prodding. Thus, the Philippines could not know whether its interests may in fact be prejudiced. A request for legal and legitimate relief was blocked.

Kiram ‘invasion’
It was the arrogance of Malaysia that precipitated Marcos to act as he did on Operation Merdeka (“Sabah is ours…but,” TMT, Oct. 14, 2020). Years of frustration prompted the descendants of the Sultanate of Sulu to take matters into their own hands. A claimant to the Sulu Sultanate, Kiram 3rd and his brother Agbimuddin Kiram raised an army of 200 heavily armed men and in 2013 infiltrated Lahad Datu, a town in Sabah “in an effort to assert the former Sulu Sultanate’s claim to the state.” Where Marcos aborted his own “Jabidah” plan, the Kirams recklessly proceeded, resulting in an unmitigated disaster. This Keystone Cop of a “mini-invasion” simply illustrated the tragic incompetence of the major Philippine actors — shades of the infamous “Bay of Pigs” fiasco of US President Kennedy in 1961, the botched CIA-orchestrated invasion of Fidel Castro’s Cuba.

In the Sabah fiasco, President Benigno “PNoy” Aquino 3rd and his intelligence apparatus were oblivious to the plans, thus unable to dissuade the Kirams. And the Armed Forces were in no position to help the Kirams in this wild adventure — as indeed the Philippines should not. President PNoy may have taken the right decision, but he suffered criticisms from Malaysia and may have jeopardized further negotiations. The “Royal Sultanate” became a laughingstock, as many Filipinos in Sabah and the Philippines were ambivalent.

Bitter lessons learned
As in the WPS conundrum, the Sabah debacle points to a sad truth — the Philippines is a weak state, politically and militarily. These territories are ours by historical right, yet we are unable to hold on and keep them. Our neighboring countries know pretty well we don’t possess a reliable, credible, and effective deterrent even for self-defense. There was a time when we had the respect of our neighbors. Now we don’t. And we have been sheepishly arrogant about our diplomatic and foreign relations with old reliable allies where we have existing defense treaties.

Even our defense policies are antiquated. An archipelago with shorelines longer than that of the US to protect, our armed forces development advanced in the wrong direction. We are biased toward fighting decades- old communist and Muslim insurgencies which in advanced countries fall within the purview of police work. So, our focus is on our armed forces oriented to fight our kin within, not the actual and imminent outside threat. Invariably, we don’t have the wherewithal, ships and maritime assets to patrol and guard our territories. Compared to our Asian neighbors, our military strength has deteriorated since we were under American tutelage. To exacerbate the situation, we continue erroneously to rely on America and its military equipment detritus even after we booted their bases out of Clark and Subic. Malaysia, militarily weak at the height of our konfrontasi over North Borneo, now possesses an armed force tremendously more advanced than ours. We lost our chance to take back Sabah.

As to our defense against conventional external threats, our mindset is still attuned to an obsolete National Defense Act promulgated 80 years ago when we were a commonwealth and protected by the US defense umbrella. The current Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenza has been making a case for changing “…the military structure to one that is more responsive to current and future non-conventional threats.” But our civilian government and its bureaucracy are set on different priorities.

Rafael Alunan 3rd, chairman of the Philippine Council for Foreign Relations, is among the few progressive politico-military strategists who has been reciting the same mantra for years to modernize the armed forces. This distinguished cabinet secretary of two presidents, has this to say: “…At least 2 percent of our annual GDP should be dedicated to retooling and modernizing our uniformed services until we attain optimal goals.” He understands the exigencies of the threats in the WPS against our fisherfolk and more importantly, the civilian component of the defense of our coasts. He has thrown the idea that to enforce maritime laws President Duterte caused the formation of 300 maritime Cafgu ships on a joint maritime task force of BFAR and Coast Guard vessels. This is the hard lesson learned when we lost Panatag Shoal/Bajo de Masinloc (Scarborough) to China’s maritime militia in a confrontation in 2012.

“This new defense posture would also be credible enough to persuade Malaysia to internationally sponsored negotiations to seek a lasting and fair solution to the North Borneo (Sabah) issue. The need to modernize our armed forces is not meant to project a new belligerency. As Alunan puts this succinctly, “… we need to protect our national interest to further the nation’s economic growth and sustainable development. We extend our hand of friendship, but we will defend our interests.” This is an apt message to both China and Malaysia in the WPS.

TWO numbers encapsulate how Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano has debased the House of Representatives in order to keep his post and why about 184 congressmen refused to accept his resignation when he offered to do so in September in a sickening charade. These are 24 and P1.6 billion.

Without an ounce of shame, Cayetano had increased the number of deputy speakers to 24. Yes, 24 deputy speakers. A deputy speaker title is not just an honorific. And they’re not just taking on additional work for love of country. A deputy speakership generates, by one estimate, an additional P5 million monthly in the form of allowances, honoraria, and “research” and “representation” expenses.

We just don’t know how much really and the integrity of this pillar of democracy is such that how it uses its P14-billion budget (for 2020) is secret, and even the Commission on Audit does not disclose its audit of Congress. Not a single congressman I contacted bothered to reply to me when I texted them to find out how much in funds the deputy speakers get from occupying that post. So much for transparency and integrity.

Cayetano appointed deputy speakers and 50 more vice chairmen of for each committee — the Appropriations committee, for instance, now has 37 vice chairmen from 21 during Pantaleon Alvarez’s speakership. Giving congressmen millions of pesos in additional funds has been Cayetano’s signature way of ensuring the loyalty of the House to him.

This brings us to that second number: P1.6 billion, which is the cost to us taxpayers of Cayetano’s way of buying congressmen’s loyalty in his first year in office. It could cost us P2 billion in the budget for next year if he gets his way.

It was Cavite Eighth District Rep. Abraham Tolentino who inadvertently disclosed this huge cost to us in 2019 when the House budget was presented when he said: “We did not expect after the State of the Nation Address that there will be additional deputy speakers. We did not expect that there will be additional vice chairs on appropriations and ways and means. We did not expect either that there will be newly created committees.”

To spread around his largesse as much as he could, Cayetano ordered eight more standing committees to be set up and four special committees on such questionable issues as “strategic intelligence” and “creative industry and performing arts.”

Communist cadres
The fact that even the communist cadres in Congress (aka Makabayan bloc) haven’t criticized Cayetano makes me very suspicious that he has struck some kind of agreement with them, indirectly helping the enemies of the state.

The impact of Cayetano’s virtual pay-offs was demonstrated when even a feisty party-list congressman declared that he and most of his colleagues loved the Speaker and wanted him to stay during that drama-skit they staged on September 30, where Cayetano offered to resign. The arrival of his rival Lord Allan Velasco the previous day had reminded Cayetano that under their term-sharing deal brokered by President Rodrigo Duterte, he should step down on October 14.

That congressman, representing a rather dubious never-before-heard-of party-list, is a member of 10 committees, chairman of one and vice chairman in seven, each of which gives him funds for research, representation and honoraria.

Bulacan Rep. Antonio Sy-Alvarado, who seconded the motion to call for a confidence vote for Cayetano, is in 11 committees, is chairman of the powerful Good Government and Public Accountability, (the so-called blue ribbon committee) and vice chairman of four committees.

Known to be Cayetano’s close ally, he would most likely be kicked out of those posts when Velasco becomes speaker.

Administration
During the term of Speaker Feliciano Belmonte under the Yellow administration, there were only six deputies, purportedly to represent the three major island groups and the National Capital Region, plus two VIPs of that regime, for example the late Henedina Abad, the wife of President Benigno Aquino 3rd’s brain- and money-trust Florencio Abad

Alvarez, the first speaker in the Duterte administration, appointed 12 deputies, purportedly to prepare for the creation of a federal republic, which would have 12 states, with two more of his allies put there. Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo chose not to rock the boat.

As soon as Cayetano assumed the speakership, though, he increased the number of speakers to 19 and a few months later to 24, without bothering to give any justification for such a preposterous set-up. Apparently, from the start of his speakership, his plan was to get the Congress’ gang-leaders under his vassalage that they would even defy Duterte, who brokered the term-sharing deal.

But Cayetano has grossly missed the tectonic shift in Philippine politics. As demonstrated by Pulse Asia’s report that 91 percent of Filipinos trust Duterte, this President has become just like the Caesars in the Roman Republic of yore: he doesn’t really need to bribe Congress for it to back him.

Cayetano thought that Duterte owed him as he was able to deliver the head of ABS-CBN Corp. to him on a silver platter a few months ago, with his close allies like Michael Defensor and deputy speaker Rodante Marcoleta expertly shredding to ribbons the broadcast firm’s claims to integrity and corporate citizenship.

Hubris
Cayetano’s hubris was such that he was even willing to have a reenacted national budget for next year — that is, the budget for this year will be that for 2021 — which will be the result of his move for the House to adjourn last week and convene only on November 16. He obviously thought that would give him time to find ways to block Velasco’s move to take over as speaker.

But that gives little time for both the House and the Senate to finalize a new budget. For Duterte, that was totally unacceptable as the 2020 budget — which would be the same for next year because of Cayetano’s greed for power — had not taken into account the huge expenses needed to address the coronavirus pandemic.

Last Thursday in a televised address, Duterte angrily ordered the House to convene a special session from October 13 to 16 to finalize the 2021 budget, lecturing the House: “Think of the Filipino in the hospital now because of the pandemic, needing medicine; think of the Filipinos dying because he doesn’t have the medicine.”

Being Speaker has gone to Cayetano’s head, and he has forgotten that he is in that post solely and only because Duterte ordered the congressmen to put him there. This episode is another confirmation of the truth of the adage, “Whom the gods choose to destroy, they first make mad.” I’m certain one of Duterte’s p***ng**as in his televised address was meant for Cayetano.

With the President livid over what he has done, and if he still has some reasoning functions in his head, Cayetano should pack up and leave and take his 24 vassals with him on his way out.

Postscript

After I had finished writing this column, veteran newsman and Cayetano friend, Sunday Punch publisher Ermin Garcia, whom I had asked to comment on the issue the other day,finally sent me his views on the issue. With my deadline close, I decided not to integrate it to my column and instead publish it verbatim, as follows:

“Cayetano is not hanging on. He. would never embarrass President Duterte. He got pissed off with Velasco with his black ops about having no palabra de honor since mid-September when the date of turnover is not till October 22, while insisting on his September 30 date.

“The last straw was when Velasco violated the understanding as directed by Duterte that it should be Alan who should make the announcement as a sign that he’s keeping his word on the term-sharing. But Velasco made the announcement even before Duterte left the place — evidently to embarrass Alan — that he was told off by the President. The decision to suspend session was to avert series of grandstanding on amendments that would delay passage of budget and attribute failure to him. This is why he now welcomes the President’s call for special session because Velasco will no longer be able to resort to delaying tactics. Expect him to resign after the budget…or accept a motion to make the post vacant.

“Btw, re Velasco’s meeting with the President last week, his PR was Duterte asked for the meeting with him. I asked [Palace] spokesman Harry [Roque Jr.] about it, and he said it was Velasco who requested for the mtg. This guy is scheming, manipulative.”

THIS pandemic turned out to be a convenient alibi for critical concerns to be shunted to the back burner. Foremost of these are the political reforms and constitutional revisions central to restructuring the institutions and mechanisms to eliminate the systemic rot causing the centuries-old ills of society, stark poverty, corruption in the bureaucracy and the myriad government deficits. We were hoping all along that the President, aware of the magnitude, understood fully well the need to lay the groundwork upon which subsequent reform-oriented political leaders may follow through; instead of resorting to palliatives tangential only to his agenda for change — pagbabago. In exasperation he has threatened to resign, overwhelmed particularly by corruption in the bureaucracy. And he has been reduced to refereeing the internecine conflict between two weak and whining, egotistical congressmen for the House speakership. What was then a matter of a “gentlemen’s agreement” turned out to be an oxymoron at the very least. But the latest is that one of the protagonists will not give in, supported by a congressional majority. This barefaced move has reduced the Deegong into a lame-duck president.

Coming from Mindanao, the periphery almost forgotten by central government and simply thrown scraps, he could have developed a wider horizon and a vision that goes beyond the tip of his nose correcting age-old iniquities. He has not. He was fixated and chained to his centerpiece program of eradicating the drug menace. A noteworthy endeavor had it not been for his “tokhang” deteriorating into a human rights disaster.

Thinking and acting globally
His aspirations to rise above his parochial concerns as a successful mayor ascending to the heights of a national leader of stature with global perspective did not fly. His earlier display of political will turned out to be mere theatrics (the Duterte doctrine on a “whiff of corruption” for one). Although this is not entirely of his own doing, it is a malfunction of the leadership apparatus. His inability to surround himself with lieutenants and alter-egos that could complement his strengths and rectify his weaknesses has been an utter failure. Except for a handful, he didn’t choose his people well.

His penchant for populating government’s higher echelons with factotums and sycophants was patently ego-driven; some choices no doubt influenced by his fetish for the military uniform with characters possessing the mindset of a homogeneous clique. These are people proficient in the use of force possessing a demeanor of warriors; the President “fancies himself to be one among them.” Again, as I have said in my past columns, this is not to disparage the patriotism of these former generals. Many are decent exemplary leaders suited for a specialized purpose. But this government, or any republican and democratically structured political entity, was meant to be civilian.

But we have gone over these matters ad nauseam these past four years. In the twilight years of this presidency, in fairness, I am compelled to review a near disaster he has managed to convert into a singular triumph.

West Philippine Sea
Praises have been thrown the President’s way for that powerful speech before the United Nations General Assembly. It should go down in the books signaling his coming out in the global scene — four long years after the arbitral award. He might have been biding his time all along waiting for the right moment. “The award is now part of international law beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon.” And it did come. Proclaimed to the right audience — the family of nations — but directed toward China, it was not so much as to confront and shame as to challenge the rising hegemon on the exigencies of the rule of law. This speech affirmed the Philippine position and it carries a heavy weight – although in no way did the president detract or add to the legitimacy of the decision of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at The Hague. The universality of the ruling applied to all aggrieved parties and claimants in the West Philippine Sea, isolating China as the culprit, but marking the Philippines as upholding the prerogatives for the beleaguered Asian states.

And this, coming on the heels of President Duterte’s “urong-sulong” posture on diplomacy — pivoting away from the US towards China, and a reversal, pivoting back towards the US. The DDS — Die-hard Duterte Supporters — would credit this to Duterte’s strategic genius as the Yellows will dismiss this as a fluke “tsamba” It doesn’t matter really, as the Deegong has put China on the defensive, and for whatever it’s worth, this identified China as a usurper of islands in the West Philippine Sea.

The intervening four years when Duterte played China’s game and was tentative in taking the high ground took a toll on the country’s position and even self-respect. And the President was not entirely at fault as Xi Jinping was playing his “mendicancy card,” dangling the financing of the Build, Build, Build program and other goodies that a developing economy salivated for, which unfortunately did not materialize. In short, we’ve been had.

A serendipitous legacy
In a webinar with former justice Antonio Carpio this Tuesday, sponsored by the Ateneo de Manila and Davao classes ‘60 and ‘61, he revealed some interesting insights. The United States will not come to our rescue if the Philippine Navy initiates aggressive acts even against our Chinese-usurped islands already in Beijing’s possession. Only when China attacks or sinks a Philippine Navy vessel will this trigger the US-Philippine Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT). This is precisely the reason why the floating junk of a warship, the BRP Sierra Madre, is still in the active status as a Philippine Navy vessel. It was deliberately run aground in one of the islands of the Spratlys manned by the Philippine Marines to assert our sovereignty. Any aggressive move by China to dislodge this vessel to occupy the rest of the islands will trigger a response from the US through the MDT. China may have to wait for the decaying vessel to sink by itself before sending civilian vessels over like they did in April 2012 at the Panatag Shoal (Scarborough). The monumental bungling of the Aquino 3rd administration at that time cost us Panatag. (Rigoberto Tiglao, The Manila Times, June 18, 2018.)

But the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China, the Philippines and the US-based Forum Energy Technologies for the extraction of gas and oil at the Reed Bank, where the Philippines get to own 40 percent to 60 percent of the deal may be a game changer. Although within China’s nine-dash line, this could be a template for some sort of solution to the West Philippine Sea conundrum. The MoU may be silent on Philippine sovereignty. Justice Carpio even advanced the notion that the Deegong will leave a legacy as the implementer of the arbitral award.

And if all parties wait long enough without armed conflict, global warming may occur, melting the ice caps causing the seas to rise. This could drown all the China-usurped islands, leaving the Philippines in control of the 200-mile (370 kilometers) exclusive economic zone or EEZ. This may come in the next five to six decades, when all the major West Philippine Sea dramatis personae would have died out. Tongue-in- cheek, but this could be the final solution.

Last of 3 parts

SEN. Panfilo Lacson recently disclosed that close to 3,000 Chinese linked to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) are now in the country for an “immersion mission.” They came in through the Philippine offshore gaming operators program. He compared this to the Japanese Imperial Army’s fifth column that infiltrated the country many years before World War 2. Mingling with the Japanese abaca traders and agricultural workers, particularly in Davao, many intermarried with the locals. This strategy proved to be appropriate. When war erupted, the Japanese forces had an easy time taking over. These days could be a semblance of yesteryears.

China’s usurpation of our islands has transformed the West Philippine Sea into an exclusive Chinese lake. We are being drawn inexorably into China’s embrace — a potential Chinese province — in all but in name. Our pivot away from America and near-abrogation of our defense treaties leave us singularly vulnerable. And the Deegong’s preference for Xi Jinping could not be more articulated in his delusional declaration of “the Philippines, China and Russia against the world.” If Lacson’s assertions prove to be correct, things could fall in place to China’s benefit. And unlike the Japanese infiltration, we may already have in place a fifth column – the taipans!

Fifth column
This is by no means an indictment or denigration of the patriotism of the taipans and the Tsinoy community. But taken in context in the light of the Deegong’s biases, particularly his preferential treatment for blacklisted Chinese companies partnering with the taipans (“The Chinese taipans,” TMT, September 16), and their unmitigated acquiescence, this is a logical conjecture. From the very start of DU30’s regime, the Pinoy oligarchy — a phrase used simply to distinguish it from the Tsinoy oligarchy — was his bete noire, not the latter.

The Deegong never did confront the taipans the same way he did the Pinoy oligarchy. He was curiously taciturn, except for the intermittent threats to Lucio Tan to pay up on PAL’s debts. The taipan’s forking over P6 billion for his tax liabilities erased the tax cases against him going back to the Marcos regime amounting to many billions more. And the President declared another off-the-cuff doctrine in absolving Tan — “I will allow compromises even those with evasion of taxes cases.” The implication is toxic. Evade taxes for as long as you can; bribe the bureaucracy and compromise fora lesser amount.

Myths, falsehoods, factoids
This brings us to the tales propagated by both Tsinoys and Pinoys, particularly on the way business is conducted. Many of these are racially motivated, no doubt, spanning centuries since the Chinese came to these shores.

It is almost impossible in this day and age to differentiate between the original Pinoys and Chinese. With generations of intermarriages, one seldom finds authentic Pinoys and Chinese. But the disparities linger ingrained in historical distrust, linguistic disconnection, and ethos. But in fact, many of the Pinoys have Chinese blood running through their veins; similarly many Tsinoys have some Pinoy blood. But the contemporary use of the appellation Pinoy and Tsinoy persists reflecting the prejudices of both which must be confronted, the better to understand each other and lessen conflicts.

Current evaluation of this relationship must rely on both anecdotal acuities and empirical data. From the Forbes list of the wealthiest Filipinos, more than 60 percentof the wealth are in the hands of the Tsinoys. This could be extrapolated for the economy. But in terms of population density, this could easily translate dangerously to a growing gap between the rich and poor — the proverbial seething economic and social cauldron.

The anecdotal perception reinforcing this contention is that one seldom sees poor and homeless Tsinoys in the country – not even in Binondo. A controversial notion too is the proverbial lazy Pinoy depicted in the apocryphal tale of Juan Tamad as contrasted with the hardworking and penny-pinching Chinese “magbobote” and “magtataho.”And the polemical: Pinoys are ingrained with crab mentality, Tsinoys are not.

Assimilation vs integration
Another subjective observation is the refusal of a segment of the Tsinoys to assimilate over the centuries. Assimilation presupposes adopting cultural values and practices of the dominant ethnic group, eventually becoming part of that society. By contrast, many tended to take a different path, that of integration; not adopting but instead preserving the original culture, language and traditional practices erroneously perceived as superior traits.

The Tsinoys’ insistence on marrying off their sons and daughters with clansmen and fellow Tsinoys has persisted for a millennium. A common belief is that this is the Tsinoys’ way of preserving wealth within the clanship passing on the privileges of the rich to exclusive progeny. This drive for integration in lieu of assimilation suggests boundaries between races which from the very beginning perhaps reflect the need to pass on Confucian virtues of filial piety and ancestor worship to one’s own. Thus, the subtle divide that persists up to the present.

Tsinoys and governance
The Tsinoys are perceived to be outside or above the purview of governance. Business is their métier and must be pursued relentlessly. Government is almost anathema to the conduct of business. Taxes are an inconvenience and short of evasion, must be avoided. It was the Tsinoy businessmen who introduced the “two sets of books” system; one fraudulently as a basis for paying taxes, if they must, and the other reflecting real transactions. Tsinoys lose face if they go insolvent; better to burn down their businesses and collect insurance. No doubt, the Tsinoy successes in running businesses elicit jealousy among the competitors on both sides of the racial divide. All these sentiments are either myths or veracities driven by whatever collective inner demons both races possess to begin with.

But it is in politics and governance that their creative practices lay them vulnerable to government leeches. On the other hand, corruption was endemic in the ancient Middle Kingdom dynastic bureaucracy and the proficiency to convert systemic governmental rot to their advantage has been culturally honed to perfection. They invariably take the long view, while most governments have much shorter horizons. A case in point is that the taipans seldom run for any elective posts, preferring instead to finance candidates — betting on both sides, invariably playing the odds. In the end, they win. Thus, enforcing the almost universal belief that the Chinese are the most profligate gamblers on earth.

Be that as it may, the country today is faced with ambiguities impelled by the Deegong’s singular attraction towards China like the proverbial moth to the flame. But DU30’s recent address to the United Nations General Assembly maybe a game changer. It is not only welcome but gives the Filipino hope that he is beginning to find his footing. He has at last affirmed the 2016 arbitral award he once discarded. “The award is now part of international law, beyond compromise and beyond the reach of passing governments to dilute, diminish or abandon. We firmly reject attempts to undermine it.” Coming now to the twilight of his regime, he can reconstruct his legacy. And he could still be a great president.

And so, the questions arise: Are our taipans in the same page? Are their primordial interests aligned with that of their country – the Philippines? Or with the “motherland”?

Second of 3 parts

PRIOR to Spain’s arrival in what is now the Philippines, trade with China was flourishing in the 10th century or even as early as the 2nd century. Artifacts date the presence of Chinese for 2,000 years during the Song and Ming dynasties. It was perhaps to the credit of both ethnic groups, the pre-Hispanic Filipinos and the Chinese, that relations were protected by diplomacy where its abundant natural resources were never subject to conflicts — except perhaps internecine clashes among local tribes. Historical records also show that tribal leaders regularly visited the Chinese capital; perhaps to pay homage to the Chinese emperors.

Not until after we were colonized were the social structures demarcated along racial lines. Natives were classified into indios, indigenous Filipinos, a somewhat derogatory appellation; mestizos, Filipinos of mixed blood; insulares, Spaniards born in the islands; and peninsulares, Spaniards born in Spain. The Chinese were in a class of their own, referred to as Sangley (businessmen or migrants) or Intsik (venerable uncle) and those that intermarried as mestizo de Sangley, not pejorative at first though it assumed racial undertones over time.

Parian 1500s
The first true overt act of racism was in the 1580s when the Sangleys were forcibly relocated outside Intramuros and assigned to Parians — ghetto-like quarters. These in time became the thriving Sangley markets, precursor to the present Binondo, Tondo and Baybay areas. Residents were not allowed within the gates after dark except for those domestic staff of Spanish households and other exceptional professions (cooks, bakers, etc.). The intent was not to assimilate the Sangleys.

Historical records show the Sangley shops growing to around 1,000 in less than two decades. And even in the labor sector, they provided important services “as gardeners, carpenters, bakers, butchers, painters, smiths and goldsmiths, or produced bricks and lime,” working for the “encomenderos, landowners, merchants, bureaucrats or ecclesiastical authorities.”(www.opinion.inquirer.net/119247/the-chinese-of-spanish-era-manila); https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Binondo)

But more importantly, having earlier involved themselves in silver trading, they segued into moneylending, virtually capitalizing merchants investing in the Galleon trade, the yearlong route to and from Mexico.

In retrospect the Sangleys/Intsik were hardened by the underlying discrimination imposed by the Spanish colonials and planted the seeds of what would later morph into the typical segregated Chinese business mores of hardworking people keeping to themselves and their tightly knit clans. It is also a sad episode in our history that during these decades “23,000 Sangleys were massacred by the Spanish colonials as they were becoming too numerous and too rich.”

This was only eclipsed by the Chinese pogrom in Indonesia in 1965-1966 which killed an estimated 500,000 Chinese supporters of the Indonesian Communist Party (PKI) during an attempt at a coup similar to a “RevGov” encouraged by President Sukarno himself. Indonesian intellectuals and political scientists also attributed this to a widespread distrust and racism fueled by the successes of the Indonesian Chinese.

Rise of mestizo de Sangley, sari-sari stores
It has always been a misconception that the humble sari-sari was a native original invention. Historians point out that even at the start of the Spanish colonial period, the Sangleys were already thriving in the local business scene. Their relocation to the Parians stripped them of their lands forcing the enterprising Intsik to set up roadside stalls hawking their wares even within Intramuros during the day when they were allowed inside walls. But the phenomenon that helped propel business to thrive in the islands is the later emergence of the mestizo de Sangley through intermarriage. It is noted that Sangleys were not allowed to own land, but their native wives could. Playing a crucial role, they shaped the economy from an agrarian to a light industrial one. Richer than most of the natives, they had access to education and travel overseas, broadening their perspectives and helping to frame the concept of Filipino nationhood and emerging self-identity. Our revolutionary pantheon of heroes had Chinese blood or were mestizo de Sangley — Rizal, Bonifacio, Mabini and del Pilar, among others.

Despite their contribution to enrich our society, racism was always seething underneath. And this is replicated in Southeast Asia where Chinese came in droves, settled and became more successful than the natives.

The American century brought with it the cultural baggage of racism toward the Chinese. These were their experiences too in California gold-rush mines and the great opening of the west when Chinese emigrants were needed to do the menial jobs in the railroad constructions.

As the mestizo de Sangley were reluctantly slowly assimilated, the waves of emigrants from Fujian and adjoining provinces in China due to China’s civil wars, were not. The inability to distinguish these migrants from the Tsinoys — Chinese Filipinos — who were becoming dominant in business persuaded the government to pass a “Nationalization of the Retail Trade Law” which forbade Chinese sari-sari store owners from passing their businesses on to their children, driving many to abandon the sari-sari stores, impelling fixed intermarriages and perhaps the birth of the system of front men and dummies. Thus, acquisition of Filipino citizenship by naturalization or otherwise became imperative, causing bureaucratic corruption and scandals in government particularly in the 1950s to the 1970s.

PH industrialization
This proved to be a blessing in disguise. Curtailment of merchant activities, breaking their affiliation to the sari-sari store, hawking wares, and agricultural goods, etc. spurred Tsinoys and the other Chinese merchants to take risks and move to alternative livelihood to survive, outside of the traditional sugar and tobacco processing into manufacturing, agribusiness, and exports.

Raising capital from the predominantly Spanish and European banks was restrictive. Access to credit for the Tsinoys were made possible by their age-old clanship network where trust and traditional family ties were more important than formal written contracts. This Confucian ethos in fact gave the Tsinoys their biggest advantage. Their word were their bond and reputation, their collateral. And the critical fact that profits were frugally plowed back into the local economy rather than stashed abroad.

Thus, the advent of the original taipans, borne out of the crucible of adversity, deprivation and latent racism but fortified by their Confucian values. Henry Sy from Xiamen who started with his father a sari-sari store transforming this into the biggest conglomerate in the country. John Gokongwei Jr., born rich of a family from Fujian but later became destitute but fought his way up as a trader from Cebu and formed a business empire, the JG Summit Holdings. And Lucio Tan, also from Xiamen, was a factory worker who built a tobacco company parlaying this into a “liquor, tobacco, aviation, banking and real estate” empire. Other taipans no less extraordinary came into their own, George Ty, Ramon Ang, Andrew Tan and Tony Tan Caktiong completing the list of the wealthiest Tsinoys.

These are the taipans — the core of the Tsinoy oligarchy who dominate business, perforce the economy. By definition those who control the economy control the levers of political power. Do they? And are they instruments for the country’s good or only of their family and clans. And in this regime where the political leadership has shamelessly flirted with, and is now dangerously in the arms of, Xi Jinping, where will we find ourselves in the coming years. In the vernacular, “Saan tayo pupulutin!”

First of 3 parts

MY columns last month centered on the Philippine oligarchy and political dynasties. This week opens with the “Taipans,” a complimentary term referring to the powerful billionaire-founders of Chinese Filipino business empires. Originally, the appellation referred to foreign entrepreneurs and carpetbaggers operating in 18th and 19th century China and Hong Kong. For this column’s purposes, the term “taipan” is broadened to include the local Chinese Filipinos in the Forbes magazine list of 50 wealthiest Filipino entrepreneurs. (www.forbes.com/philippines-billionaires/list/#tab:overall)

It is worth noting that when President Rodrigo “Deegong” Roa Duterte (PRRD) boasted that he had dismantled the oligarchy, he mentioned only the Lopez family and in passing, the Zobel de Ayalas, the Rufino-Prietos and Roberto Ongpin. One wonders why not one taipan was mentioned. The first 10 names in the Forbes list include six taipans with total net worth of $34.25 billion (P1.665 trillion); two of Filipino-Spanish/American bloodlines, $8.8 billion (P428 billion); and two, I expediently term ethnic Pinoys — non-Chinese/Spanish/American lineages, $9.40 billion (P457 billion).

“Chinese Filipinos dominate the Philippine economy. Different reports estimate their share of local business at more than 50 percent, or even as high as 90 percent. Their major investments cover a wide range of activities, like retail, light manufacturing, banking, food, consumer products, electronics, and real estate… they own more than 30 percent of the country’s top 1000 corporations controlling more than half of the publicly listed companies.” This, according to former senator Manny Villar (Business Mirror, Nov. 22, 2016), an oligarch himself, married to incumbent Senator Cynthia, father of Public Works Secretary Mark and Representative Camille.

Philippine brands that have gained international recognition are the Emperador brandy (Andrew Tan); and Jollibee Foods (Tony Tan Caktiong), popular among the Filipino communities abroad. It has eclipsed the McDonald’s franchise in the Philippines.

The SM Prime Holdings of the late Henry Sy holds the top spot and owns some of the biggest real-estate projects and large shopping malls in the country with an estimated 9.24 million gross floor area (GFA) with 17,230 tenants and seven malls in mainland China with 1,867 tenants, as of end 2019. It is the Philippines’ biggest employer (ref. “SM through the Years,” SM Prime Holdings, Inc. annual report).

Mainland Chinese connection

But the Forbes list does not tell the whole story. There is a sinister reality unfolding, of infiltration by mainland Chinese companies encroaching into legitimate businesses in collusion with the taipans. This, by the sufferance of the complacent and fawning attitude of the government itself. We all know by now the entry of the Chinese Philippine offshore gaming operations, or POGOs, the online platform that caters mainly to mainland Chinese — satisfying their compulsive craving for gambling. The downside to this is the influx of criminality, corruption, and prostitution. This is similarly being replicated on a massive scale but surreptitiously creeping into the country.

Belt and Road Initiative

On the macro level no less than the President, enamored with China as his Build, Build, Build (BBB) initiative relies on Chinese capital goods, grant, and loans, is being drawn into Xi Jingping’s deadly embrace. China’s aggressive use of concessionary loans and bribes to gain influence is its main tool. When the country can’t pay, China takes over the project. This formula was used to chilling effect over the Port of Hambantota in Sri Lanka. China’s Belt and Road (BRI) global investment and lending program amounts to a debt trap for vulnerable countries around the world, fueling corruption and autocratic behavior in struggling democracies.

This is also happening now in Laos. Vientiane has been borrowing heavily from China to build its first hydropower dam to sell electricity to neighboring countries. As usual, big kickbacks were paid to politicians for the government to sign off on the project. Now Laos can’t pay its debt to China. The state-owned Electricite du Laos is about to cede control of its electricity grid to China Southern Power Grid Co.

Which brings to mind that in the Philippines, the transmission of electricity across the Philippines is now in the hands of taipans (Sy/Coyiuto), the National Grid Corp. of the Philippines (NGCP) in partnership with the State Grid Corp. of China. The latter’s 40 percent stake in the NGCP is a controversial issue in the country today as the 19,490 kilometers of power transmission lines can be held hostage to Chinese interference. This paranoia is not entirely without basis as four-fifths of all households and practically all industries draw electricity from several power generation and distribution companies but relying solely on the NGCP transmission system.

Blacklisted notorious Chinese behemoths

But what could be unconscionable are that Chinese companies blacklisted by the United States and World Bank are welcomed by PRRD to bid for the BBB projects, with the taipans as the main proponents. A case in point is the notorious China Communications Construction Co. and its subsidiary, China Road and Bridge Corp. involved “in the anomalous awarding of a contract under phase one of the Philippines’ National Roads Improvement and Management Project.” The World Bank in 2011 barred these companies from participating in projects financed by the institution. True, as Duterte’s bromance with China bloomed, financing came easily from China. But just the same, why deal with companies already internationally banned?

And these are the same notorious companies that were also blacklisted by the US Department of Commerce “for their roles in constructing artificial islands in the disputed South China Sea that infringed on other nations’ claims,” including the Philippines’ Kalayaan island group in the Spratlys and Pag-asa (Scarborough Shoal). PRRD has allowed those companies, complicit in China’s usurpation of Philippine-owned islands in the West Philippine Sea to bid projects even on Clark and Subic Bay and Sangley International Airport. This is verging on the criminal if not immoral!

China State Construction Engineering Corp. and China Geo Engineering Corp. were barred by the World Bank from participating in projects financed by the bank for colluding with local companies in the Philippines to rig the bidding of road projects in 2009. In 2004, our very own Department of Public Works and Highways blacklisted these companies for violations of the procurement law. “The two companies are now part of the Bangon Marawi Consortium, a group of Chinese and Filipino companies handpicked by the government to rebuild areas [in Marawi].…”

Now they are out to screw our Muslim brothers!

And our government is shamelessly nonchalant about it all.

The presidential spokesperson made clear the Philippine position: “The US government can enforce its blacklists of Chinese companies in American territory, but he (PRRD) will not follow the directives of the Americans because we are a free and independent nation and we need investors from China.”

This is of course understandable as PRRD has already declared long ago his fealty to Xi Jinping even laying aside our advantage at the arbitral court. It is unfortunate though that the President chooses to take sides with the taipans — Chinese-Filipino oligarchs — against the Filipino people. And the method used here is the world’s oldest quid pro quo. This type of transactions is locally known as prostitution — and the Deegong is the éminence grise — the “bugaw.”

To be continued next week