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Remonde requires slippers during Palace presscons?

BLURBAL THRUSTS

Louie Logarta

02/08/2009

There is this proposal being floated by some parents’ groups that aside from students being subjected to drug testing, why not also the members of the Philippine National Police (PNP), some of whom are the biggest crooks that you can find?

Yes, and why not? This is a really brilliant idea. And then maybe we’ll see just how well they will fare in the random drug testing in comparison to the poor students.

Incidentally, whatever became of the “euro generals” issue where former PNP Director Eliseo de la Paz was found to have violated existing Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) rules limiting an airline passenger to carrying a maximum of only $10,000 or its equivalent?

According to Monetary Board member Ignacio Bunye, General De la Paz clearly violated BSP Circular 308 which mandates that anyone who brings in or out of the Philippines anything exceeding $10,000 or its equivalent “must declare” this in writing using the prescribed foreign currency declaration form that is easily available at the NAIA. Failure to observe this rule shall make the violator liable under Section 36 of Republic Act 7653 which prescribes a penalty of a fine ranging from P50,000 to P200,000 or imprisonment from two to 10 years.

Over the past two weeks, the normally-staid Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) — formerly known as the Central Bank of the Philippines until it assumed its current name pursuant to the New Central Bank Act of 1993 — has been at the forefront of the news, the recipient of unwanted publicity (because it isn’t accustomed to negative newsstories being written about it) which have rudely jarred the granite foundation on which it has been standing for the longest time, threatening even the continued tenure of Gov. Amando Tetangco Jr.

The first broadside fired against the BSP had to do with the recent Supreme Court (SC) decision allowing the Aguirre-owned Banco Filipino (BF), which used to be the country’s biggest bank in its class with some 3.5 million depositors and 89 branches nationwide before it was ordered shut down and placed under receivership in 1985 by the late CB Gov. Jobo Fernandez, to pusue its massive P18.8-billion damage claim suit against the institution. Back in 1991, the SC had ruled with finality that BF’s closure was illegal and ordered full restitution of its multi-billion assets, but CB officials managed to delay implementation of the ruling by resorting to dilatory tactics. They tried for 18 years to wiggle out of their predicament by claiming that the BSP wasn’t the “successor-in-interest” of the old CB, but their arguments were struck down by the SC Third Division which said that their 1991 judgment must be observed.

This was quickly followed by the claims made by Mayor Celso de los Angeles of Sto. Domingo, Albay before a Senate hearing that certain CB officials had been extorting money from him on a regular basis, in effect turning him into their private ATM or automatic teller machine. He identified them as Deputy Gov. Nestor Espenilla Jr. (whom he alleged also owned a bank) as well as a certain Efren Reyes, said to be the brother of former Deputy Gov. Alberto Reyes, who heads the examination department. The extortion by BSP officials, De los Angeles said, was among the main causes for the collapse of his Legacy Group of Companies composed of 13 rural banks, a pre-need company and a clutch of investment firms, which has resulted in losses amounting to several billions for over 50,000 clients and depositors.

De los Angeles’ revelations before senators about the questionable activities of certain BSP officials mark the first and only time in recent memory that such a serious issue has been raised in this regard.

We totally agree with former Senator Maceda that it is about time the heretofore sacrosanct BSP is subjected to the cruel glare of public scrutiny. After all BSP honchos are only human and were responsible for some horrible decisions in the past that resulted in huge foreign exchange trading losses which we ordinary taxpayers are obliged to shoulder; and thus they should be held accountable for their miscalculations.

There are unconfirmed reports that newly-minted Press Secretary Cerge Remonde is planning to require Malacañang reporters to wear super-soft bedroom booties, such as the type usually issued to passengers riding in the first and business class sections of long-haul international flights so their feet won’t get cold when they doze off, during press conferences where the attendance of Mrs. Arroyo is expected.

The idea here, we were told, is that the Palace wishes to avoid a repetition of the shoe-throwing incidents that have plagued unpopular world leaders such as US President Bush and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during recent public speaking engagements.

The fad started when an Iraqi journalist named Muntazer al-Zaidi, a Shiite, shocked the world by throwing his shoes at Bush during a Baghdad press conference last December to protest his Iraq policy that has resulted in the death of thousands of Iraqis.The throwing shoes at someone is said to be the worst possible insult in Arab culture.

Premier Wen suffered the same fate last week in England when a protester, mad over China’s oppressive policies at home and abroad, threw a shoe in his direction while speaking in Cambridge University.

In any case, who can blame Remonde if he wishes to implement security measures during the scheduled weekly press briefings in Malacañang to avoid any embarrassing incident?

The President, after all, isn’t exactly a beloved figure among Filipinos for a variety of reasons, foremost of which is having allegedly cheated her way to victory in the 2004 presidential elections.