Aquino’s corruption classmates

It was a terrible truism typical of the corruption scandals during the term of a laidback and laggard president. Where corruption is directly attributed to Benigno Aquino III’s circle of friends, classmates and shooting buddies, there is shared accountability. So shared that someday co-conspirators at the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR), the sole gambling franchiser, casino operator and regulator might co-habit a prison cell for their crimes.

“On this issue of petty impropriety, Aquino, wielding immense powers as the President of the Republic quickly cleared his classmate by saying the designer bag meant for Naguiat’s wife was returned.

This one is especially illustrative of how Aquino nurtured corruption. Ironically former Budget secretary Florencio Abad once told the Associated Press, “He (Aquino) campaigned on a strong anti-graft platform, promising to start prosecuting corrupt officials within weeks of his election and restore integrity to Congress and the judiciary. This means he really has to deal with the problem of corruption.”

A couple of weeks ago, upon a whiff of corruption at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office Rodrigo Duterte immediately closed down operations to forestall continuous losses and protect the vulnerable public. He reopened it, and only because of innocent franchises caught in the crossfire, when various other agencies took the presidential cue and started their own investigations. Contrast that with Aquino’s limp-wrist responses where his buddies are implicated.

Former state casino operator and gambling regulator Cristino Naguiat Jr was perhaps one of Aquino’s closest buddies from the Ateneo de Manila. He was a close friend, a buddy and a classmate — characteristics that elevate him among others thus meriting repeated appointments to the PAGCOR not simply from the ordinary bucket of trustworthy career professionals nor from the list of competent technocrats, but from a shared youth.

Both were namesakes of their fathers. That compelled a degree of responsibility to maintain the respect, dignity and reputation their fathers might have bequeathed them. Both share growing up under the tutelage of an illustrious Jesuit institution that strove to inculcate in both deep Ignatian principles, honesty, integrity and that uniquely Atenean concept of being “Men for Others.”

Apparently the Jesuits failed. The failures are in both questions of ethics and questions of corruption.

Discern the data. In 2012 one of today’s government critics cited “Aquino’s anti-corruption drive is selective and just rhetoric. Aquino’s classmates in the administration are not held up to strict standards of accountability.”

The accusations range from the petty to the plunderous.

The petty involves the impropriety of Naguiat, his family and their nanny receiving over-the-top luxurious $6,000/night accommodations reserved for high rollers, grand dinners valued over $1,673, $20,000 in cash as gifts and a $1,878 Chanel bag. While Naguiat claims that these are industry practices and perks among operators, these are covered under Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act applicable to all.

On this issue of petty impropriety, Aquino, wielding immense powers as the President of the Republic quickly cleared his classmate by saying the designer bag meant for Naguiat’s wife was returned. A graft report however declared that Naguiat “insinuated that his wife wanted such a bag; Okada’s people bought the bag and showed it to Naguiat. Okada’s man later reported that Mrs. Naguiat did not like the bag and, hence, did not accept it.”

Okada is Kazuo Okada whose casino in the Philippines was then awaiting permanent PAGCOR licensing.

The plunderous neither involved a Chanel bag nor the nanny.

Citing a P3.2 billion lease between PAGCOR and a casino developer, the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) charged Aquino’s classmate, including an Aquino relative, with violations under Executive Order 423, the Government Procurement Reform Act, and RA 9184, the Government Procurement Reform Act.

The VACC cited a Commission on Audit (CoA) report declaring that “considering that there was no leased premises to speak of, the disbursement of P234,000,000 (by PAGCOR) was irregular and, therefore, disallowable pursuant to CoA Circular 2012-003 dated 29 October 2012.”

Corruption meets impropriety. The property in question is a national historical landmark and was part of the Museo ng Maynila. Turning it into a gambling den is doubly improper.