Read My Lips

Manila Standard

Monday, December 7, 1998

By OSCAR S.VILLADOLID

In what could have been an exasperated call for nagging reporters to “read my lips,” President Joseph Estrada sought once and for all to end “speculations” he was favoring a “crony,” alleged tax evader Lucio Tan. “I have no crony,” a visibly irritated Chief Executive snapped, adding that Tan must pay his taxes like everyone else.

Interviewed at his Greenhills residence the other day, Mr. Estrada – who has been plagued by growing public criticism because of the company he keeps with Tan, plastics king William Gatchalian and his presidential adviser for Mindanao, Leping Wee, among others – declared the Estrada administration was “bent on pursuing tax evasion cases against anyone as long as the evidence was strong.” In measured pitch and cadence, the President underlined unequivocally to inquiring reporters, “Nobody is exempted. They (his critics) are the only ones saying that there are exemptions. They are the ones talking about cronyism. I have no crony. Even if they are my brothers and sisters, even if they are my children, if they have done wrong, they will be charged.”

Former President Fidel V. Ramos, fresh from a lecture-tour of Australia, was not spared by his successor. Ramos had mentioned during his talk at the Carlos P. Romulo Foundation’s annual international meeting at ACCEED that foreign investors were becoming uncomfortable over the continued trend toward cronyism, especially of the Marcos variety, in the business and investments scene. Mr. Estrada fears this impression, rightly or wrongly, might put a hold on investments here. The President also singled out the statement of former US Ambassador Nicolas Platt, now head of the influential American Asia Society, that the return of cronyism could be a negative factor in the growing interest of US investors here. Mr. Estrada reiterated he had no cronies and that his impression has come about because of irresponsible media talk.

On commercial agent Tan, whose reported gross mismanagement of Philippine Airlines (PAL) brought about its ignominious downfall, but who managed some kind of resurrection after the President played a direct hand in giving new life to the 57-year-old Philippine flag carrier, the Chief Executive chided newsmen in an interview, following their insistence that this “crony” would beat the 25-billion tax evasion rap which the Department of Justice (DoJ), over the objections of the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Chief Beethoven Rualo, had filed with the Antipolo City Regional Trial Court headed by Judge Alex Ruiz. He brushed aside Rualo’s claim of “weak evidence” against Tan and his dummy operations in allegedly defrauding the government of taxes from 1990, 1991 and 1992 and pointed out that since the DoJ under secretary Serafin Cuevas declared there was evidence of wrongdoing, then it would be up to the courts to decide. Tan and 69 of his co-accused have been ordered to file bail for their provisional liberties.

It will be interesting to see how this re-filed case of tax evasion against Tan will turn out in court. The BIR chief, who is now the object of a possible beheading in certain circles of Congress for allegedly extending protection to Tan instead of upholding the national interest, particularly the poor, refuses to sign the charge sheet. (Three legislators, Reps. Jose Miguel Zubiri, Robert Ace Barbers, Prospero Pichay, Magtanggol Guinigundo and Danton Bueser, have asked President Erap to fire Raulo, claiming it was “highly irregular” and a “sellout” for him to recommend the dismissal of Tan’s cases as the BIR is mandated to pursue such cases to raise revenues). Under the National Internal Revenue Code, Rualo’s signature is needed in filing the charges in court. But Cuevas, a former Supreme Court Justice, does not believe so since the authority to file or not is lodged with the DoJ. A panel of prosecutors led by Senior State Prosecutor Paulita Villarante expressed confidence the charges would prosper and the government could in the end collect the P25 billion urgently needed by President Estrada for his pro-poor programs.

But the Tan case, together with the revival of PAL with Tan still calling the shots, is the acid test for President Estrada and his vociferous claim that cronyism has not reared its ugly head in his administration. Over his weekly SNN TV program, Jeep ni Erap, the President challenged his critics and detractors to prove their claims or to shut up. Even in the PAL case, the President indicated he was against any government money to bail out PAL and stressed he was meeting anew with Cathay Pacific Airlines’ top executives to broker a final agreement of business cooperation. He downgraded claims by his finance secretary, Edgardo Espiritu, that the government would throw good money after a bad to keep PAL flying at all cost.

With his display of sincere intentions in upholding the national interest in the appointment of new Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.