The Philippines plays but a minor role, serving as a mere backdrop, in the emerging scandal involving ranking present and former US Navy officers and personnel.
In exchange for classified information that gave him an edge in his dealings with the US government, Leonard Francis, a Malaysian contractor known to many as “Fat Leonard” (because of his generous girth) is alleged to have paid for lavish entertainment and meals, even offering the services of prostitutes, and paying vast sums in bribes, to ranking US Navy officers and personnel.
Charged in the latest indictment prepared by prosecutors are nine current and former military officers, including Adm. Bruce Loveless who recently retired and became the second admiral caught in the prosecutorial noose. The latest revelations bring to 20 the number of those caught in what news reports call “one of the Navy’s worst corruption scandals.”
And what is the Philippines’ role in this hot-to-trot story? During a port of call in Manila, the indictment says, US Navy officers and sailors were allegedly provided with local sex workers procured by “Fat Leonard” to party in the historic Manila Hotel’s MacArthur suite. Among the more salacious details is that some of the memorabilia items found inside the suite were used as “sex toys” during what must have been a mad orgy. Another local hotel, the upscale Manila Shangri-La (located in Makati), is also said to have been the site of a wild party that lasted for several days, during which the revelers reportedly finished off the hotel’s entire stock of expensive champagne.
Elsewhere in the region, the same crew of conspirators, who called themselves variously as the “Lion King’s Harem,” the “Wolfpack,” the “Cool Kids” and “The Brotherhood,” were treated to lavish meals.
And what did “Fat Leonard” hope to gain from all this expensive entertainment? The documents say the supplier was able to make some $35 million in profits by overcharging for services, including stocking US Navy ships and submarines with food, water, fuel and other necessities.
US naval authorities expectedly rushed to mitigate the damage caused by the scandal. Adm. John Richardson, the US Navy’s present head, said the behavior detailed in the indictments was “inconsistent with our standards and the expectations the nation has for us military professionals.” He added: “[The scandal] damages the trust that the nation places in us, and is an embarrassment to the Navy.” Well, he can certainly say that again!
We Filipinos may be but bystanders in these events. And we can’t be blamed for being amused by some of the creepier details of the events outlined in the prosecutors’ documents.
But we mustn’t forget that Filipino women—and perhaps some men who helped “Fat Leonard” procure the services of the sex workers—play a huge role in the scandal. American troops may no longer be based in Clark or Subic, but later agreements still allow their presence on our shores, and our own soldiers, sailors, marines and pilots still participate in joint exercises with them.
That visiting American naval authorities saw nothing wrong or unseemly in taking part in orgies sponsored by a corrupt supplier, including partying in a suite dedicated to the memory of one of America’s greatest military leaders, speaks volumes about what little regard they have for the country and for us, their supposed friends and allies.
During the run-up to the Senate vote on the voiding of the US bases agreement, then Sen. Jose W. Diokno starred in a documentary by the BBC, tackling the sex trade that centered on the presence of American troopers on “R and R.” Standing in front of a row of honky-tonk clubs in Olongapo, Diokno faced the camera and asked: “Is this what you do to a friend?”
The scandal centering on allegations of corruption and information-trading involving the US Navy may be an “internal” affair for the American armed forces. But once again, they have proven what little regard they have for their friends and allies.