Sison: VP Binay dubs corruption as ‘Unkindest Theft’
April 30, 2011
THE Republic of the Philippines suffers from widespread corruption. Means of corruption include graft, bribery, embezzlement, backdoor deals, nepotism, and patronage.
According to a World Bank study in 2008, corruption in the Philippines is considered to be the worst among East Asia’s leading economies and the country has sunk even lower among those seen to be lagging in governance reforms. The 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index published by global watchdog Transparency International, showed that the situation in the country had improved slightly but still remained serious.
The Philippines ranked 139th among 180 countries included in the index, up from its previous 141st ranking in 2008. The nation scored 2.4 in the TI index, compared to 2.3 in 2008, which ranked it equal to Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Baltic state of Belarus (Wikipedia).
Vice President Jejomar C. Binay dubbed corruption as the “unkindest theft” against the people and urged top executives to help fight it by cultivating a culture of integrity in their own organizations.
“Corruption, whether in government or in private organizations, is the unkindest theft we can suffer since it robs the poor and the needy before anyone else,” Binay told members of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP).
Binay stressed that corruption denies Filipino children access to a decent education, steal the elders’ access to health and medical services, reduces relief assistance, and further contributes to hunger.
He said industry leaders can promote proper values and virtues in their respective companies as they are not mere employers or bosses but educators who influence the people they work with.
“The culture you establish in the workplace plots the course of every person in your firms. On this seedbed, the proper values and virtue can be planted and cultivated if you so choose,” Binay said.
He pointed out that Filipinos should practice the values of frugality and tolerance in order to eradicate corruption.
“While corruption may initially be fueled by need, it is perpetuated by want,” Binay said, noting that frugality or simple living tempers the desire to want things even at the expense of other people. He also emphasized that Filipinos need to be forbearing in the face of a long and tedious fight against corruption.
“Over time, many of us have succumbed to fatigue against corruption’s onslaught… But if this is indeed a social cancer, then we are in a position to prevail over it if we refuse to let it take root in our personal lives,” he said. As chair of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council, Binay said he vowed to make housing projects and programs transparent through constant consultations with stakeholders.
“This was important for us not only to get a wide view of the issues in the housing sector and obtain feedback on the performance of the shelter agencies, but also to receive reports of irregular activities and transactions,” said the housing czar.
Binay ordered last year the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) and the Home Development Mutual Fund (Pag-IBIG) to file charges of syndicated estafa constituting economic sabotage against property developer Globe Asiatique (GA). GA allegedly used fake documents and ghost borrowers to deceive Pag-Ibig into releasing P6.6 billion worth of housing loans for the realty firms’ Xevera project in Pampanga.
Meanwhile, as Presidential Adviser on Overseas Filipino Workers’ concerns, Binay said he worked closely with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) to pursue human traffickers.
The United States Department recently recognized the progress of the Philippine government in the fight against human trafficking, noting the 21 convictions it had secured within nine months of the Aquino administration.
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Vice President Binay ordered security measures at Xevera Homes following complaints of threats received by homeowners who had filed syndicated estafa charges against developer Delfin Lee and other officials of GA. He also appealed to other double sale victims not to accept any offers of settlement coming from GA and instead join the Pag-IBIG Fund in filing cases against GA.
Binay also urged the homeowners to remain calm even after receiving threats and being harassed by unknown individuals. He tasked the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB) to immediately take steps to provide security for the homeowners at the Xevera Homes in Mabalacat and Bacolor, Pampanga. He also said that he will ask assistance from the municipalities of Mabalacat and Bacolor in order to help maintain peace and ensure the safety of the homeowners. Binay stressed that the victims’ transaction with GA was a result of fraudulent acts and that GA should be held accountable. He also said that for cash buyers, Pag-Ibig will try to initially shoulder the amounts they paid to GA by considering these payments as payments directly made to Pag-Ibig. He also said that GA’s problems are not limited to Pag-Ibig but also with banks. He said that to their knowledge, most if not all of the housing units of GA, which are not subject of its transactions with Pag-Ibig have been foreclosed by creditors.
Earlier this month, clarificatory hearings of the Department of Justice (DOJ) on the syndicated estafa cases against GA exposed a “modified Ponzi” scheme used by the realty firm to siphon off money amounting to P6.6 billion from the Pag-Ibig to develop its Xevera projects in Pampanga. According to Pag-Ibig chief executive officer Darlene Marie Berberabe, a Ponzi scheme “is a fraudulent investment operation that pays returns to separate investors, not from any actual profit earned by the organization, but from their own money or money paid by subsequent investors.”
Aside from using fake borrowers, GA was also found to be double selling home units taken out by Pag-Ibig to its in-house buyers, or vice-versa. Alleged victims filed complaints with Pag-Ibig and NBI. Currently, Lee, some GA officials and a Pag-Ibig lawyer are facing three charges of syndicated estafa constituting economic sabotage, a non-bailable offense.
Moreover, Pag-Ibig has sought DOJ’s denial to the request of Lee to leave for the United States to undergo “medical treatment,” saying the controversial property developer has failed to submit proof of a medical condition. In a report to Binay, Berberabe said the agency filed its opposition before the DOJ “for utter lack of merit.”
In his motion, Lee claimed that he needs to go to the US on May 4 to undergo medical treatment and would be returning on May 21. However, Pag-Ibig argued that Lee failed to provide “any exceptional reasons necessitating the issuance of an Authority to Travel.”
Pag-Ibig cited Section 7 of the DOJ Circular No. 41, which allows a person under a Hold Departure Order (HDO) to travel outside the country “for exceptional reasons.” According to the counter motion filed by the agency, “Lee failed to substantiate his motion for issuance of Authority to Travel that his travel to the US is for exceptional reasons allegedly ‘to undergo medical treatment’ as the instant motion is bereft of any medical certificate or medical report issued by a duly licensed physician that his alleged ‘medical treatment’ in the US is necessary and/or that the said medical treatment cannot be undertaken by a physician in the country.”
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/opinion/2011/04/29/sison-vp-binay-dubs-corruption-unkindest-theft-152750
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