By: Noel Esquela

How ironic that it had to take a current Senate President and the only President ever impeached, convicted and pardoned, to access otherwise confidential PSE records and testimonies that debunk former Senate President Villar’s protestations of innocence in connection with his role in Vista Land’s IPO affair.

A reminder about Erap’s impeachment and eventual conviction is timely and relevant. After all, cynics are saying, how ridiculous and inappropriate of Erap himself to be Villar’s denouncer for the very same classes of impeachable offense. We can’t blame them.

But if we look at this Erap-Enrile expose from a wider but more reflecting perspective, we would actually see a completely different message, albeit one unarticulated by the denouncers themselves.

To be sure, while it may be the business of candidates to inform us of their platforms and motives, it is our responsibility as voters to discern higher meanings in circumstances that present themselves, as they present themselves, even if those meanings may be completely unintended.

What might Erap not know he’s saying?

To put things in better perspective, let us recall that two of the articles for which Erap was successfully impeached were graft and corrupt practices as well as betrayal of public trust. From the document, “Complaint for Impeachment Against President Joseph Ejercito Estrada” http://www.chanrobles.com/legal11impeachmentcomplaint.htm, we read:

“II. That respondent committed graft and corrupt practices.

“President Joseph E. Estrada violated the Constitution and stands guilty of graft and corruption when he participated directly in the real estate business thru family-controlled corporation which constructed 36 townhouses in Vermont Park, Executive Village, Antipolo City, as shown in the PCIJ in the article on President Joseph E. Estrada’s family and financial interest. He also violated the Anti-Graft Law he is sworn to uphold. He filed his Statement of “Assets and Liabilities for the year 1999, stating therein that he and his wife and children have business interests in only three (3) corporations. The President by that sworn statement also committed perjury and the offense of unexplained wealth because records show that he and his wife and mistresses and their children have other interests in other companies outside of the firms listed in his Statement of Assets and Liabilities. (Annex “C” hereof).

“III. That respondent betrayed the public trust.

“President Joseph E. Estrada betrayed public trust and violated his own oath of office when he unduly intervened in the Securities and Exchange Commission on behalf of a presidential crony.

“Barely two months after assuming office in 1998, the President referred to the Philippine Gaming and Amusement Board (Pagcor) the application for an online bingo of Best World Gaming and Entertainment Corp. Despite absence of any bidding or notice to the public, Pagcor acted expeditiously and granted said corporation an exclusive franchise to operate online bingo nationwide on December 3, 1998 (Annex “D” hereof).

“Therefore, in view of alleged stock manipulation on BW shares, the Securities and Exchange Commission started an investigation.

>“On or about November 1999, President Estrada called Chairman Perfecto Yasay, Jr. of the Securities and Exchange Commission to intercede for BW, claiming that its principal and majority stockholder Dante Tan was not a manipulator but a victim of transactions which resulted in the rise and fall of BW shares, as shown by the affidavit of former Securities and Exchange Commissioner Perfecto Yasay, Jr., which is hereto attached as Annex “E”.

“The President called Chairman Yasay not once but five times. The act of the President violated his solemn oath of office to execute the law. He obstructed justice because he intervened with the duties of a public servant who was investigating transactions as a quasi judicial officer pursuant to the mandate of the law.

…

“President Estrada betrayed the public trust and his oath of office when he disobeyed the strict mandate of the Constitution that he sternly avoid conflict of interest in the conduct of his office.”

So where lies the irony? Well, Villar is now condemned by the President who knows how it is done and why it should never again be allowed to be done by a more predisposed man who now wants to be President. Does it still seem ironic?

Without assuming our most meditative poses, a momentary flight in reflection might allow us to discern Erap’s unarticulated statement (pity that Erap doesn’t know he’s saying it):

“Now, look here guys. Don’t look any farther than me; been there, done that. I WAS impeached and convicted for having committed the same illegalities AFTER I was elected and WHILE I was President. Now, are you really, seriously considering voting for this Villar guy who has already shown a proclivity for exactly the same acts LONG BEFORE he has become president? If he had been doing these things without holding ANY of the vast powers of the presidency, what makes you think he will restrain himself any better once he wields ALL the powers of the president? And when Villar commits an impeachable act while President, as these acts show us he likely would, are you telling me you want a repeat of the impeachment trial outrage?”

Erap may have never said it, perhaps he never will or can, but that’s what I hear. But don’t take my word for it; I don’t hear right. In fact, I still can’t hear Villar himself. But Erap and Enrile say PSE and SEC certainly heard him. Over the phone. Villar called them, didn’t he? And look how much he got. And what he got is not even in his SALN.

Funny thing is, his 2001-08 SALNs even assert he has absolutely no liabilities whatsoever. But why did he tell Karen Davila on TV Patrol (16 April) that he used P2B out of the P10B IPO proceeds to pay off his debts, that’s why he has no liabilities? What debts was he talking about and why were they not in his SALNs, either? Between me being poor in comprehension and being poor in hearing, I’ll accept the hearing defect anytime; I’m not that addled. Yet.

So, it bothers me that, if we don’t hear, much less heed, the unstated message, I wonder what we’ll get if Villar becomes (another) Depressing Dent in our national psyche.

Ah, but we’ve had a lot of practice working the streets to impeach corrupt presidents, don’t we? But when will we ever learn not to put them there in the first place?

Related articles:
1.) Manny Villar’s P10 Billion Vista Land IPO proceeds
2.) Kursong walang matrikula: The basics of IPO (initial public offering)

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reynz is one Uragon and a Filipino-American, has many years of public accounting & auditing, broadcast investments, housing tax credits and equity investments as his background. Based in the US, he maintains his personal and humor blog at reyna elena dot com. A graduate of Aquinas U, he went to GWU and Temple U in the United States.