Failed T-shirt swap

There are whistleblowers and whistleblowers. “Governments must create an environment that encourages, instead of penalizes, citizens who denounce venality,” the Philippines and 134 countries agreed at the 9th Durham conference.

What’s the nitty-gritty for this lofty principle? For a start, winnow legitimate whistleblowers from scumbags. Weeds that sprout with the grain choke it, the parable cautions.

Remember the 1968 “Jabidah Massacre’s” sole survivor, Jibin Arula? He swam from Corregidor Island where 59 other Moro youths were slain in a secret camp. Arula exposed Ferdinand Marcos’ covert Sabah operation plan.

After auditor Heidi Mendoza bared the Armed Forces conversion scam, she was shunned. President Aquino named her commissioner of the Commission on Audit.

Banker Clarissa Ocampo got threats when she fingered “Jose Velarde,” in Joseph Estrada’s impeachment trial. As BRP Bacolod cargomaster, Ensign Philip Pestaño denounced the loading of hot timber and drugs on navy vessels. He was murdered in September 1995, Senate Report 800 states. The UN Council on Human Rights denounced the whitewash.

A decade after Durham, “the support that a legitimate whistleblower should be able to expect (remains) unclear,” concludes the Asian Institute of Management study, “Whistle Blowing in the Philippines.”

That hasn’t deterred former ARMM Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and fugitive Maguindanao elections supervisor Lintang Bedol. Both would swap Witness Protection Program T-shirts for “truth” about criminal acts, from the Ampatuans’ hand in the Maguindanao Massacre, the 2004 presidential election rigging, to the dagdag-bawas that handed a 12-0 vote for Palace senatorial candidates.

That 2007 shutout lacked credibility. Juan Miguel Zubiri racked up more votes in Maguindanao than in his home turf of Bukidnon, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism has noted. “Zubiri’s vote-percentage share, in all 22 Maguindanao towns, averages at 95 percent,” PCIJ’s Avigail Olarte wrote. “In Zubiri’s hometown, Maramag, 84 percent of voters cast their ballots in his favor.” How come?

Edged out by a sliver of 18,372 votes for the 12th senatorial slot, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel wants to know. Other citizens welcome hard data to confirm the widely held perception that votes are often rigged in Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Sulu.

Zaldy Ampatuan also itches to “tell the truth,” albeit two years late. He would squeal about the role his father and brother played in the November 2009 massacre of 58 civilians. “I am innocent,” he swears.

As bonus, Zaldy would testify about racketeering in public works funds and back up good old Lintang Bedol on the rigging of the 2004 polls. He would ventilate instigation by Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, husband of the former president, to doctor results.

In a tearful TV interview, Zaldy Ampatuan wailed about spending sleepless nights and the pain felt by his family. His family has asked the courts to change the Ampatuan surname for family members. “Deny thy father and refuse they name,” Juliet tells Romeo in the 1596 play. “What’s in a name? / A rose by another name would smell as sweet.”

But where’s the beef? All Ampatuan or Bedol has done, so far, is to titillate interest. Both haven’t produced a shred of evidence. Private counsel for Maguindanao massacre victims Harry Roque warns: “Zaldy is the most dangerous of the Ampatuans because he not only has a gun but also a brain.”

Add to that lethal combination money.

The first of four special audits by the COA, for example, found that Zaldy Ampatuan’s office misallocated P2.55 billion. And that’s just between 2008 and 2009. Rules that payments must be made by check were ignored. One accountable officer held P99.8 million in cold cash.

Cash advances made up eight out of every P10 disbursed by his office And he burned P29.2 million yearly to maintain a Manila liaison office. He also dispensed with public bidding for projects involving P650.9 million.

About P1.3 million in travel expenses remains unliquidated. Audit of current transactions amounting to P741 million showed they were supported by spurious receipts. The same rot infected the Special Purpose Fund (P153.4 million) as well as disbursements from the Trust Fund (P50.1 million). “Non implementation” is the COA jargon for ghost projects.

Wait, there’s more. Sans fanfare, Solicitor General Jose Cadiz parried bids by Ampatuans to pry loose an estimated P1 billion stashed in 34 accounts. These are in banks, pawnshops, insurance companies and an electric cooperative. On June 6, the court froze these interlocking accounts.

On behalf of the Anti-Money Laundering Council, Cadiz and his team told the Court of Appeals that motions to lift the June 6 freeze order have no legal basis.

Those trying to access locked-up funds include Rep. Bai Sandra Sinsuat Ampatuan Sema, Bai Monadja Ampatuan Abdullah, Soraida Biruar Ampatuan, the Maguindanao Electric Cooperative (Magelco) and Dr. Tahir Sulaik.

The widow of the late Mayor Datu Saudi Ampatuan, for example, served as ARMM social welfare secretary. Records show that she has four bank accounts. “Withdrawals amounting to P9 million and deposits amounting to P11 million are deemed suspicious,” Cadiz said.

Justice Secretary Leila de Lima was not born yesterday. “We’re willing to listen,” she said. But to swap a WPP T-shirt for dubious information is out. Crooks would escape punishment.

The cash that the COA is trying to trace is a “a lot o’ scratch,” as “Charlie the Horse” would say in a Damon Runyon short story. That is why this WPP T-shirt swap won’t fly.

(Email: juanlmercado@gmail.com )