Arroyo's Gangster Regime (just so we won't forget) - Feb. '08

Greed is defined as an excessive or uncontrolled desire for or pursuit of money, wealth, food, or other possessions especially when this denies the same goods to others. It is reprehensible acquisitiveness, an insatiable longing for power, and supremacy in order to advance individual interests at the cost of other’s well being.

Arroyo’s Greed has a Name: ILLEGITIMATE DEBT

February 2008

But greed is not just about Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the First Gentleman and other greedy officials.

If the Filipino public ought to be learning something from the recent revelation of whistle-blower Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. over the aborted $329-million ZTE National Broadband Network (NBN) project, it is that our flawed political and economic system perpetuates this greed and makes wealth accumulation and concentration at the expense of the people not only possible but a persistent and dominant feature of the political landscape.



Indeed, Lozada’s testimony is an astounding tale of greed and corruption. But we should not just focus on the staggering amount of $130 million that was to be the “commission” of Abalos, not just the brazen power and influence of “FG,” nor just the complicity of many other officials.

In truth, the ZTE-NBN deal reveals the deeply imbedded flaws of the system that has led to the accumulation of ILLEGITIMATE DEBT such as what we would have contracted had the ZTE-NBN Project pushed through. And what is this system?

• Government projects are not primarily determined by our people’s needs and national priorities, but are corrupted by profit-making agenda of public officials, foreign lenders and private multinational and even big local corporations. A government that places highest priority on DEBT SERVICE and fully dependent on heavy borrowings is even more vulnerable to wrong priorities, fixated with chasing after “foreign-assisted” projects, and driven by external funding.
• The bidding process is more dysfunctional than all the players care to admit. Many public officials and their close relatives get involved in vying for government contracts. 
• The President’s powers to approve contract and implement projects and loans are non-transparent and unregulated. We all know that the ZTE-NBN deal is neither the first nor the last. These powers must be curtailed, redefined and subject to rigorous checks. 
• The practice of giving and receiving“commissions” is widespread, well entrenched, and involve several layers for every project. 
• Lenders are driven by their own agenda often at the expense of our national interest. Many loans come with conditionalities. In the ZTE-NBN case – it was tied to the purchase of services and technology from the same country, and even from specific companies. Lenders promote and perpetuate corruption by practicing bribery and including the cost of the so-called commissions into the project cost. In many cases, lenders pass on overpriced, unnecessary and/or flawed products.

Truly, the government is highly vulnerable to plunderers who see the system as a lucrative source of business opportunities and huge kickbacks, precisely because it is a government dominated by rent-seeking elites, colluding with rapacious foreign big business, financial institutions and their governments.

Without doubt, greed has a new name: ILLEGITIMATE DEBT.

We say, enough is enough! We call on the people to come out and end the debt addiction of Mrs. Arroyo’s gangster regime. The best way to honor and give meaning to the courage and selflessness of Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. is not by merely extolling his good deeds, but by replicating it with the same act of daring.

Now is the time!

Comprehensive audit of all public debt now!
Repeal the Automatic Debt payment provisions of the Revised Administrative Code of 1987!
Stop payment of all Illegitimate Debts!
End the debt addiction of Arroyo’s Gangster Regime!

Freedom from Debt Coalition (FDC), People Against Illegitimate Debt (PAID!), Assembly of Faith-based Organizations Against Immoral Debts (now FCAID), Youth Against Debt (YAD)


For more information, please contact us at: 
9246399 or 9211895