Jun Torres

Joker calls Palace spokesperson stupid

Sen. Joker arroyo yesterday called a presidential spokesperson “stupid” for saying that executive privilege would be invoked if the Senate pushed through with its plan to reopen its inquiry into the $500-million North Luzon Railways (NorthRail) project.

Lorelei Fajardo, a deputy of Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, told reporters last week that Cabinet officials would not think twice about invoking executive privilege should the Senate pursue its investigation into the NorthRail project, denounced as overpriced and anomalous. Ermita is President Macapagal-Arroyo’s spokesperson.

Fajardo made the statement indicating the Palace’s elation following back-to-back wins scored by the Arroyo administration this year in the Supreme Court, which upheld the confidentiality of diplomatic negotiations involving the scuttled $329-million National Broadband Network deal with China’s ZTE Corp. and the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement.

“It’s really stupid,” Arroyo said in an interview with the INQUIRER
“How can you invoke executive privilege on something when there is no question yet? Thse people just talk and talk without knowing what they are talking about. No wonder the President is getting such a bad reputation because of the people around her,” he added.

Arroyo likened the situation to a lawyer declaring an objection when the opposing side had yet to state a case.

Tha administration senator said that Ms Arroyo should ask her spokespersons not to invoke executive priviledge on practically every conversation regarding the Chief Executive because it “cheapens” this potent power of confidentiality.

Arroyo agreed that the President must continue to have recourse to secrecy on confidential matters or else no president or prime minister would talk to a Philipine leader now or after 2010.

Use privilege sparingly

“I think she should use this power sparingly because this is very important. Only the President should invoke this and not her officials. It cheapens this power,” Arroyo said.

He said that the 13th Congress, which investigated NorthRail and its housing component, should have come out with a Senate committee report.

“The testimony of our resources, especially those from UP (University of the Philippines), were all wasted because these were stored in a warehouse since no report was made of the findings,” Arroyo said.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. found it “distasteful” for Malacañang to suppress information related to projects or transactions being reviewed or investigated by the Senate is only inflaming the feeling of distrust, frustration and alienation among the people,” Pimentel said.

He cited the negative 38-percent public satisfaction rating for Ms Arroyo in the Social Weather Stations survey in the second quarter this year, the lowest among all post-Edsa Revolution leaders.

He said it was “ludicrous” for Malacañang to refuse to talk about NorthRail despite reports of an internal dispute with its contractor, China National Machineries and Equipment Group (CNMEG).

Flaws in the deal

The Chinese contractor has suspended civil works pending the Philippine’s approval of an additional $299-million funding on top of the $400 million from China and the $103-million counterpart funding from Manila government. Phase 1 of the project runs between Caloocan and Malolos in Bulacan, a distance of 32.2 kilometers.

Pimentel said the government should decide soon whether it was in the best interest to continue the project with additional costs or just simply terminate it.

He said NorthRail’s troubles illustrated the risks involved in a government’s refusal to discuss terms of government contracts.

Had the deal been placed under more scrutiny, the government would have not been forced to accept onerous terms in the NorthRail contract, Pimentel said.

He said for example that China’s Export-Import Bank was given the right to award NorthRail to the contractor of its choice without a bidding or a feasibility study or design contract.

He said the Chinese Eximbank paid the contractor directly from the loan proceeds without government consent and that the government ceded to Chinese courts and Chinese laws any disputes arising from the project.

Pimentel said lack of transparency was the reason the NorthRail project was now “mired in acute troubles.”

“The fate of the project is now uncertain. The CNMEG is asking for additional funding, and yet it has not even started actual construction of the railway system about four years after the project agreement was signed,” he said.