Navigating the Crimes of the Plunder Mastermind - by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago

8/13/2019 Navigating the Crimes of the Plunder Mastermind - by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago

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Navigating the Crimes of the Plunder Mastermind

By Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago

(Privilege speech on 4 December 2013)

Mr. President, ldies nd gentlemen o! the "ente#

Mastermind of Plunder

$t comes rrely in the li!e o! the ntion tht people, %nder the trvils o! developing co%ntrystt%s, ided by providence, !ind it in themselves to rise bove the morss o! politicl corr%ption,nd to b%ild the rchitect%re !or !resh nd shining territory &here people live !ree o! the !orceso! dr'ness.

ody, the time hs come. t lst &e stnd t the very hert o! the epic por' brrel corr%ption inthe *ongress, specilly the "ente. +hy re the proportions o! corr%ption so epic in scle -o&did the criminls mnge to stel some P10 billion pesos o! the peoples money in /%st ten yers

+ho is the mstermind

%ided by !ith in /%st od nd in the r%le o! l&, doens o! &histleblo&ers hve testi!ied in&riting nd provided s%pporting doc%ments to prove tht the very hert o! dr'ness is theledership o! the "ente itsel!. horo%gh B$ investigtion hs led the Deprtment o! %stice to!ile !orml chrges o! pl%nder ginst the !irst btch o! s%spects, led by no less thn the "entePresident t tht time, "en. %n Ponce nrile. he 5mb%dsmn is cond%cting preliminryinvestigtion, nd hs ss%red the p%blic tht /%stice &ill not be denied# the resol%tion &ill beiss%ed by the end o! this month.

otbly, the 5mb%dsmn hs dmitted receiving memornd%m o! over 200 pges pinpointing

nrile s the mstermind o! pl%nder. ht o!!icil memornd%m vlidtes the chrge $ ired inthe ltest hering o! the Bl%e 6ibbon *ommittee, &here $ !irst mde tht very sme cc%stion, bsed on the l&yers tho%ght process o! enlightened s'epticism. $! he smrted ginst thecc%stion, nrile co%ld hve re7%ested !or n dditionl hering &here he co%ld be personlly present nd interpellte net poles, &ho ppers to be his B88, or Best 8riend 8orever. B%the chooses to sty &y nd 'eep silent, bec%se he is immobilied by !er nd h%milition.

$nsted o! presenting evidence to the p%blic o! his hypocriticl protesttions o! innocence, nrileonce gin chose to steer p%blic ttention to &ht he hopes &ill be diversion# the lies nd blc' propgnd h%rled ginst me d%ring the 1992 presidentil cmpign. his mn, contrry tologic nd common sense, hopes to evde criminl prosec%tion nd p%blic o%trge over his

pl%nder, by res%rrecting cmpign dirt ginst me &hich re over 21 yers old: Drem on, oldmn, ' nd.

nrile tried to portry me in the blc'est terms. -e pointedly ignored the !ct tht $ m l%reteo! the sin obel Prie, the 19;; Mgsysy &rd !or government service. ccording to theo!!icil cittion, the &rd <recognies her bold nd morl ledership in clening %p gr!t=ridden government gency.> Medi hs noted tht $ m reportedly <the most &rded 8ilipino p%blic o!!icil,> bec%se $ &on s%ch &rds s 5?M, 5+", nd @.P.s most o%tstnding

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l& l%mn%s. nrile never reched these levels o! pro!essionl recognition. Plese !eel !ree tocompre my res%me to his, since my biogrphy ppers in +i'ipedi.

his &s not only bringing prlimentry debte to the lo&est level. $t is violtion o! everycnon o! civility nd decency in p%blic disco%rse. Prlimentry r%les strictly !orbid rg%ments

d hominem, b%t my ttc'er delivered n entire speech by ppeling to personl pre/%dicesrther thn to resonA nd by ttc'ing my chrcter rther thn my ssertion tht he is themstermind o! the pl%nder. $n !ct, my ttc'er is g%ilty o! violting the "ente 6%les, 6%le 34,"ec. 94# o "entor, %nder ny circ%mstnces, shll %se o!!ensive or improper lng%ge ginstnother "entor or ginst ny p%blic instit%tion. (mphsis dded). @nder 6%le 34, he hscommitted the o!!ense o! %nprlimentry cts nd lng%ge, nd $ shll chrge him &ithdisorderly behvio%r &ith the thics or the 6%les *ommittee, p%nishble by s%spension !or C0dys.

Enrile's Total Lack of Credibilit

My ttc'er is the icon o! shmeless lying. @nder President 8erdinnd Mrcos, he climed thts de!ense secretry he &s mb%shed, th%s lying the gro%nd !or the imposition o! mrtil l&.@nder President *oron 7%ino, he retrcted nd dmitted tht his mb%sh &s !'ed ndstged. hen %nder President Benigno 7%ino $$$, he retrcted gin nd he no& clims in hismemoirs tht the mb%sh &s gen%ine !ter ll. -e ets his o&n &ords !or bre'!st. $n the l&o! evidence, he hs bsol%tely no credibility. 8ls%s in %no, !ls%s in omnib%s. 8lse in one thing,!lse in ll things.

he "%preme *o%rt hs r%led# <8or evidence to be believed, it m%st not only proceed !rom themo%th o! credible &itness, b%t m%st be credible in itsel!, s%ch s the common eperience ndobservtion o! mn'ind cn pprove s probble %nder the circ%mstnces.> People v. Eorieg,32C "*6 CFG (2000).

nriles b%ngled ttempt t revisionist history nd his bltnt disin!ormtion hs been &idelycondemned by ll sectors o! society. he mn is n incorrigible lir nd criminl, s bro%ght o%t by the litny o! his crimes ginst the 8ilipino people. ccordingly, $ respect!%lly %rge the /%sticesecretry to order n immedite nd eh%stive investigtion into the !ollo&ing crimes %nder thePenl *ode committed by nrile#

1. *ommnd responsibility !or deth nd disppernce d%ring mrtil l&.

$n 2012, the *omm%nist Prty o! the Philippines sent n emil to medi, &ith the !ollo&ingcondemntion o! nrile s del%sionl in his notorio%s memoirs# <nrile &s Mrcos htchetmn nd the one &ho signed co%ntless &rrnts tht led to the cpt%re nd detention o! tho%snds

o! !ormer leders, &or'ers, st%dents, ctivists in the *h%rch, nd other critics nd opponents o!mrtil l&. nriles hnds re !orever stined &ith the blood o! close to 4,000 people Hslvgedd%ring Mrcos reign o! terror . . . . nrile eposed himsel! s lir.> ($n7%irer Iisys, 105ctober 2012).

D%ring mrtil l&, nrile &s the lmighty de!ense secretry, &hen $ &s ppointed theyo%ngest 6* /%dge in the mecc o! /%dges, Metro Mnil, serving in J%eon *ity. $n 19;G,&hen gsoline prices &ent %p, some !i!ty st%dents !rom @P nd teneo /oined street






demonstrtion in *%bo to protest the mrtil l& regime. Most o! them &ere seniors sched%ledto t'e their !inl ems nd to grd%te !rom college. nrile ordered the militry to rrest thest%dents, on the bsis o! mrtil l& presidentil decree tht de!ined the crime o! illeglssembly s ny gthering opposed to the dministrtion, nd tht imposed the deth penlty.

$ &s ssigned to the cse. $ s%spended tril in ll other cses nd contin%o%sly herd the illeglssembly cse morning, !ternoon, nd evening. he iss%e &s# Does mrtil l& %tomticllycncel the right to bil My decisive ns&er &s no, nd $ ordered the relese o! the st%dents.-o&ever, the militry de!ied my relese order, nd in !ct !iled second chrge o! inciting tosedition. he cc%sed ppeled, nd the "%preme *o%rt in e!!ect %pheld me. his &s the 1990cse o! Broc', *ervntes, et l. v. nrile, 6mos, et l., 192 "*6 1;3 (1990).

8rom the very beginning, nrile hs l&ys resented tht "%preme *o%rt decision nd held itginst me, !or re!%sing to 'o&to& to him even d%ring the dr' dys o! mrtil l&, &hen hes&ggered ro%nd to&n s i! he o&ned it. he "%preme *o%rt slpped him do&n, r%ling# <thtthe criminl proceedings hd become cse o! persec%tion, hving been %ndert'en by stteo!!icils in bd !ith.> he *o%rt pointed !inger t nrile, nd criticied <respondents bd !ithnd mlicio%s intent. he *o%rt &rned nrile tht he did not hve license to r%n ro%ghshodover citiens bsic constit%tionl rights, s%ch s d%e process, or mnip%lte the l& to s%itdicttoril tendencies. (mphsis dded). his &s nd remins nriles rrognt, tyrnniclttit%de to yo%ng people# persec%tion in bd !ith, mlice, nd dicttoril. -e hs never chnged.Broc' v. nrile, t p. 1;9.

2. Mstermind o! the biggest pl%nder cse in Philippine history.

$n %ne 2013, the Deprtment o! B%dget nd Mngement relesed sttistics sho&ing tht in !ive=yer period !or 200G to 2013, nrile &s the biggest recipient o! por' brrel, mo%nting to totl o! P1.1;9 billion. ccording to &histleblo&ers, nrile gve the syndictes o! d%mmy 5s

r%n by net poles, ccess to his por' brrel in no less thn 22 instnces. $n ll, nrilereportedly gve PC41.CG million !rom his por' brrel !%nds to d%mmy corportions !o%nded by poles. Merlin "%Ks, &histleblo&er, testi!ied tht poles personlly tl'ed to the sentorconcerned, or the chie! o! st!!. "%Ks lso testi!ied tht in 2012, her d%mmy !o%ndtion receivedPG million in por' brrel !%nds !rom nrile.

he *ommission on %dit iss%ed PD8 report tht in 2011, nrile &s one o! !o%rgovernment o!!icils &ho gve some P20C million in por' brrel !%nds thro%gh the Deprtmento! gric%lt%re to 7%estionble 5 !rom 2009=2010. he $n7%irer story sid# <nrile &ithheld!%rther comment, %ntil he hd chec'ed his records.> @ntil no&, nrile hs cl%ng to his right toremin silent, c%sing gro%p o! netiens to strt movement clled L%mibo L mn, nrile,

or !or short, LL.

$n the midst o! ll the dmning evidence ginst him, nrile hs 'ept silent s co&ering mo%se.-e co%ld very &ell hve delivered privilege speech proving his innocence. $nsted, his speech&s directed t me, rehshing blc' propgnd invented ginst me d%ring the 1992 presidentilcmpign. ?o% &ill remember $ led in the co%nting !or the !irst !ive dys, b%t &s cheted o! the presidency. $ !iled n electorl protest, b%t it &s dismissed by the "%preme *o%rt, !ter $ &selected sentor. -e is silent on the evidence, b%t vol%ble on mlice. -is speech mo%nted to






verbl violence ginst &omn con!ined to her sic'bed, &hile he preened in the "ente,demonstrting his s'ill s the Drm Ling o! corr%pt politics.

3. Ling o! sm%ggling empire.

$n 199G, then 6epresenttive nrile, ntive o! ong, *gyn, %thored 6.. o. F922,creting the *gyn conomic one %thority or *. "ection C pr (!) gives to * theright <to operte . . . to%rism=relted ctivities, incl%ding gmes, m%sements, recretionl ndsports !cilities s%ch s horse=rcing, dog rcing, gmbling csinos, gol! co%rses, nd others,%nder priorities nd stndrds set by *. (mphsis dded).

he !ree port occ%pies 441,000 hectres, n re lmost three times the sie o! J%eon *ity.nrile climed tht the port &o%ld become the h%b in "o%thest si o! interctive gming,shipping, nd ecoto%rism. he Port $rene *5 is nriles reltive ose Mri Ponce. ccording tonrile himsel!, his <representtive> in the port is his son=in=l&, mes Locher, n mericn&ho, ccording to !ormer @" mbssdor Lristie Lenney, <r%ns n %to import opertion in the port, nd is s%spected o! involvement in sm%ggling.> (6elesed by +i'ile's on @.". embssy*ble 0; Mnil 141F sent by Lenney to the @" Deprtment o! "tte on 13 %ne 200;.) nrile,ccording to the cble, presided t "ente hering nd ind%lged himsel! by repetedly nd!iercely sho%ting t representtives o! the oint 8oreign *hmbers o! *ommerce, bec%se the!oreign b%sinessmen hd complined bo%t sm%ggling in Port $rene.

5n 12 December 2002, President lori rroyo iss%ed ec%tive 5rder o. 1GC, imposing prtil bn on the importtion o! %sed crs. $n the 200C cse o! ec%tive "ecretry v."o%th&ing, in e!!ect the "%preme *o%rt %pheld the vlidity o! the bn. nd in the 2013 cse o!ec%tive "ecretry v. 8orer%nner, the "%preme *o%rt gin %pheld the vlidity o! the l&.

D%ring ll this time, in open de!ince o! the "%preme *o%rt r%lings bnning importtion o! %sed

crs, * contin%ed its importtions. $n 2012, cr trders imported some G,400 vehiclescontined in 1; shipments. $n 8ebr%ry 2013, pnese crgo ship set o!! !or Port $rene, &ith shipment o! -%mmers, Porches, BM+s, Mercedes Benes, 8errri, Emborghini, nd other%sed l%%ry crs. he government re!%sed to iss%e clernce !or registrtion o! the shipments,nd * &s !orced to re=eport C00 %sed crs.

Pres%mbly, bec%se o! ll the illegl shennigns in Port $rene, /%st lst month, "entor "ergio5smeK, chir o! s%bcommittee B o! the !innce committee, recommended c%t !rom the * b%dget o! P;00 million. 5n nriles ppel, 5smeK greed to restore this mo%nt o! nerly P1 billion, s%b/ect to certin conditions. hts ho& m%ch o! the tpyers money go to !inncenriles sm%ggling empire.

4. nticipted 'ing o! gmbling empire.

* opertes online gming o%tside the /%risdiction o! Pgcor. he *gyn ecoone is theonly ecoone in the co%ntry tht is llo&ed by the nrile l& to host nd iss%e online gmblinglicenses to o!!shore compnies. "%ch !oreigners re not re7%ired to live in o%r co%ntry, or toincorporte s Philippine compny. hey only need n interctive gming licensee nd to registers * enterprise. es%s Disini, president o! the $nternet nd "ociety Progrm o! the @.P.






college o! l&, hs lredy &rned tht * sho%ld eercise d%e diligence in giving o%tlicenses, &hich my be eploited by %nscr%p%lo%s entities. -e sid tht * might %n&ittinglygive these compnies the legitimcy to operte leglly.

%st lst month, $n7%irer col%mnist 6mon %l!o reported tht police rided nd rrested some

F00 persons, incl%ding some eptrites, in their M'ti nd J%eon *ity o!!ices. llegedly, the!irms &ere operting %nder license !rom 8irst *gyn Eicense nd 6esort *orportion in *($n7%irer 22 ov. 2013 t =24).

Est 8ebr%ry 2013, the * dministrtor dmitted tht he hs &rded <mster license> to8irst *gyn to operte internet gming. he mster license llo&s 8irst *gyn to iss%eseven=yer licenses to !oreign entities to operte online gmbling. "o !r, it ppers tht it hs&rded licenses to seven !oreign corportions, b%t it clims tht it cn iss%e s mny licenses sit &nts. he !vored corportions py nn%l !ees o! N40,000. dmitting tht only thePhilippine m%sement nd ming *orportion (Pgcor) hs been given the mndte to opertelegl gmbling in the co%ntry, * clims tht it gives licenses only to !oreign=bsedcorportions.

$n brie!, * promotes online gmbling, or &ht it clls interctive gming, &hich hs beendescribed s < l%crtive niche mr'et.> $t hs prtnered &ith telecomm%nictions compnies too!!er <high 7%lity, high speed $nternet connectivity.> he * dministrtor hs bostedbrod tht 8irst *gyn <o!!ers stte=o!=the=rt $nternet dt center !cilities in *gyn ndlso in Mnil,> nd tht there is <direct connectivity to the @.". nd %rope.> (<5nlinegmbling h%b spro%ts north o! P-> by Melvin *ling, e&sbytes 2G 8ebr%ry 2013).

G. Ling o! Mrtil E& $llegl Eogging mpire.

D%ring mrtil l&, the lrgest logging concession covering 9G,FF0 hectres &s &rded to

nrile s o&ner o! "n ose E%mber. -is license epired in 200F. -is illegl logging opertions&ere reportedly protected by the <Eost *ommnd> heded by renegde then P* *ol. *rlosEedesm, ' *ommnder Proceso. he logging concession shred border &ith Brngy "g=od, Es vs to&n in northern "mr. $n "eptember 19;1, the Eost *ommnd llegedly !ig%redin the msscre o! 4G people.

C. Psychopthic -yperse%lied "eril +omnier.

5n 30 n%ry 199;, the *hicgo rib%ne reported on nrile# <he sentor, in his erly F0s ndr%mored to be m%ltimillionire . . . &s de!ense minister %nder Mrcos, b%t helped to bringdo&n the dicttor. -is &i!e, *ristin, socilite, &l'ed o%t on him this month, !ter chrging

d%ltery. he Hother &omn is reported to be igi onles=6eyes, chie! o! st!! o! his "enteo!!ice, nd bo%t 30 yers his /%nior.> *ristin &s reported s sying <tht she no longer co%ldtolerte his chsing !ter other &omen, incl%ding domestic helpers, coo's, nd ssistnts.>(mphsis dded). his is eye&itness testimony tht nrile is psychopthic nd %rgently needstretment !or his se ddiction.

$n n intervie& &ith nrile on 2G n%ry 2012, the $n7%irer sid tht !ter igi erned her l&degree in 19;;, she /oined the nrile l& !irm. t tht time, igi &s mrried to l&yer 6odol!o






<$n'y> 6eyes. nrile c%sed $n'y to be ppointed to the *, locted t the northestern tip o!E%on minlnd, bo%t C20 'm. north o! Mnil. he 6eyes co%ple event%lly seprted.

t one point in his glittering creer s "ente President, nrile hd the %dcity to thro& birthdy prty t !ive=str M'ti hotel !or his conc%bine, to &hich he &s ble to drg

President 7%ino. Photos o! the decdent prty &ere splshed in the !ront pges o! topne&sppers. nd this libertine ponti!ictes bo%t morlity

o &in the so=clled *tholic vote, he pretended to be determined enemy o! the reprod%ctivehelth l&. ll to n%ght, bec%se his son, &hom he groomed to t'e over the !milys !b%lo%s!inncil empire, &s convincingly de!eted t the lst "ente elections, despite reportedcmpign epenses o! P1G0.F9F million O the highest epense o! ny sentoril cndidte.

igi, together &ith nrile, hs been chrged &ith pl%nder, nd hs !led brod. $n her bsence,the nrile cmp iss%ed sttement tht only igi, not nrile, sho%ld be cc%sed o! pl%nder.

F. nrile in 2012 @nder=declred et +orth t only P11; million.

Despite ll his post%ring, nriles specilty is only t l&. -ence, ll his properties re eitherbrod, in the nme o! others, or in the nme o! corportions. $n 19FG, d%ring mrtil l&, he b%ilt residence in ecl%sive DsmriKs Iillge. &o yers lter, he b%ilt ho%se in IlleIerde, registered in the nme o! ' $nvestments *orp., his !mily !irm. $n 19;G, he b%ilt h%ge bech ho%se in his prime bech!ront property in tip%n, s%gb%, Btngs. B%t in his "E2012, belying his &nton li!estyle, incl%ding corr%pt minions nd privte rmy on his pyroll,he declred net &orth o! only P11; million. -is legl epertise is obvio%sly t evsion.

!mbudsman "esolution this Month #ill Decide Truth

Mr. nrile nd $ re engged in n epic bttle to revel the tr%th to the 8ilipino people. 5n my

side, $ hve %niversity st%dents, socil medi netiens, Metro Mnil nd Iisyn comm%nities,nd the cro&ds in the m/or shopping mlls &ho instntly gther nd %rge me to contin%e thegood !ight. 5n his side, he hs the corr%pt /o%rnlists in his pyroll, corr%pt militry o!!icils&ho constit%te his privte rmy, his minions in the c%stoms b%re% nd the internl reven%e b%re%, both o! &hich he %sed to hed nd consider to be his !ie!doms, s &ell s 'ey ppointiveo!!icils in locl government nd the diplomtic service, &ho serve s his sycophntic spies. $hope tht this clsh o! titns in the "ente &ill led to n rmgeddon in Philippine politics.

By the end o! December, the 5mb%dsmn &ill resolve &hether to dismiss the pl%nder cse, or to!ile complint !or pl%nder &ith the nti=gr!t co%rt 'no&n s "ndignbyn. $! the5mb%dsmn !iles the cse in co%rt, Mr. nrile &ill %tomticlly be s%spended !rom the "ente

by order o! the "ndignbyn. D%ring tril, he &ill li'ely remin in detention, bec%se he &o%ldhve no constit%tionl right to bil, prtic%lrly i! the co%rt !inds tht the evidence is strong. $!convicted, he &ill be /iled !or 30 yers, nd his ill=gotten &elth, epected to be in the billions,&ill be !or!eited in !vor o! the stte.

Bec%se he is over F0 yers old, he cn pled the mitigting circ%mstnce o! ge, in order tolo&er the sentence. lso bec%se o! his ge, he cn pply !or eec%tive clemency. B%t it is nottr%e tht his dvnced ge eempts him !rom criminl libility. -e hs to py !or his sins, %nless






he t%rns stte &itness nd rts on "en. inggoy strd, "en. Bong 6evill, nd his other co=cc%sed in the pl%nder cse.

!ter his poisono%s personl ttc's ginst me, nrile epects tht $ shll be co&ed into silence by his %s%l bl%!! nd bl%ster. ht is not going to hppen. -e mde no mention t ll o! the

siling tl' o! the to&n tht he is the rel mstermind o! the por' brrel pl%nder. nrile sho%ldget rel.

$n *gyn, it is sid tht &hen he &s bby, his mother dropped him on his hed. o& he isthe poster boy o! stem cell tretment tht hs long gone pst its epiry dte. -e loo's li'e !emle llm s%rprised in her bth. -e reminds me o! nothing so m%ch s ded !ish, be!ore iths time to sti!!en. $! he hs the co%rge, he sho%ld s&itch plce &ith me# -e sho%ld be !%nny,nd $ll be the sshole.

8or the most pt description o! this dmged cret%re, $ 7%ote#

8or yers $ve regrded his very eistence s mon%ment to ll the rncid genes nd bro'en

chromosomes tht corr%pt the possibilities o! (in o%r cse) the 8ilipino Drem# he &s !o%lcrict%re o! himsel!, mn &ith no so%l, no inner convictions, &ith the integrity o! hyen ndthe style o! poison tod.

$is Charges are %& ears !ld

he Prince o! Dr'ness, hving no mens o! demolishing innocent, l&=biding, od=!ering people li'e me, hs recycled r%mors ginst me tht &ere ired, nd &hich $ ns&ered, more thn20 yers go, &hen $ rn !or president. Mybe he is s%!!ering !rom ge=pproprite dementigin.

Mr. Dementi tries in his cl%msy &y to rise s%spicions bo%t my mentl helth. $ pper

!re7%ently on I, nd $ m &idely eposed in other medi. nd yet, despite the repetedinn%endoes d%ring election cmpigns, the 8ilipinos hve elected nd reelected me to the "ente.Most recently, $ &s elected by the @.. enerl ssembly to be /%dge o! the $nterntionl*riminl *o%rt. $ &ill be the !irst 8ilipino there. $ &s elected o. 1 /%dge, trib%te to myco%ntry, nd the res%lt o! demnding sched%le o! lect%res by me, nd 7%estions !rom the%dience, t seprte gtherings o! @.. delegtes gro%ped in geogrphicl order. Bycomprison, nrile &ith his eternl philndering nd %neplined &elth despertely needs shrin', s mentl helth mes%re. -is mind is sic', sic', sic'.

nrile violted the l&, &hen he tried to press%re my h%sbnd, then c%stoms collector, torelese sm%ggled oyot cr, !or!eited !or !il%re to py correct c%stoms d%ties nd chrges. t

tht time, the policy o! the B%re% o! *%stoms &s to !or!eit sm%ggled crs, nd to %se them so!!icil vehicles !or %thoried senior st!!. My h%sbnd &s only one o! the mny st!! &hoerned this privilege by eemplry &or', evidenced by nn%l certi!ictes o! commendtioniss%ed by the c%stoms commissioner. nd yet nrile eroed in only on my h%sbnd. nrile 'eptthretening to oppose my con!irmtion s grrin re!orm secretry, %nless my h%sbnd relesedthe sm%ggled cr to the sm%ggler. s !ormer c%stoms commissioner, nrile &nted to bend thel& !or his illegl clients. $n time, my h%sbnd nd other senior st!! ret%rned the sm%ggled crsto the B5*.






$ o&ned nd drove Mercedes &hen $ &s tril /%dge. nriles chrge tht $ registered thesm%ggled cr in my nme in rlc is inne, nd the prod%ct o! his !ebrile imgintion. Myh%sbnd lredy o&ned nd drove 8ord M%stng sportscr s senior in l& school. his tleo! oyot is non=iss%e.

$n his speech, s is his nnoying hbit, nrile prised himsel! by bosting o! his lleged mrtilrts pro&ess, &hich he hs never displyed. -e lso bosted o! his high grde in the br em,&ith the non se7%it%r tht $ hd lo& grde. $n @.P., t tht time, mny o! o%r pro!essors t%ght%s to devote o%rselves to the "ocrtic method, nd py no ttention to the br, &hich they belittled. "o $ pid no ttention, prtic%lrly since &ht $ &nted to do, contrry to my !thers&ishes, &s to vil o! rre scholrship to Mosco&.

$n the @nited "ttes, the br em is considered clericl. ny den o! dmission o! top l&school ignores ny clim by 8ilipino pplicnts o! chievement in the br em, nd res%rprised &hen n pplicnt !rom the Philippines p%ts it in his res%me. $nsted, the criterion o!choice is membership in the l& /o%rnl, &hich is the cid test o! cdemic ecellence inmeric nd %rope.

nrile demnds tht $ sho%ld ns&er the chrges o! his ttc' dog, !ormer "en. Pn!ilo Ecson.Mr. Dementi hs !orgotten tht the "ente legl o!!ice this yer promptly %pheld me in &rittenopinion. he "ente s mtter o! policy llo&s sentors to mintin stellite o!!ices in premiseso&ned by the sentor. he legl opinion reveled tht the mo%nt $ chrge O PF0,000 monthly !or403 s7%re meters on the !o%rth !loor o! the o!!ice b%ilding O is one o! the lo&est in the "ente.

he other chrge is tht $ o&n the m%ltip%rpose hll o! the 6il provincil government.ogether &ith !e& other sentors, $ gve modest mo%nt o! por' brrel to help !%nd itsconstr%ction, %ndert'en by the 6il provincil government. his chrge is sinine. Ecson, li'ehis mstermind, seems to be pproching dementi, too.

Eet me tell yo% bo%t the rel Ecson. s PP chie!, he coveted the post o! D$E secretry,&hich t tht time &s occ%pied by 6onldo P%no. $n his over&helming desire to becomeinterior secretry, Ecson gthered n incriminting !ile o! doc%ments sho&ing tht P%no orderedll policemen ntion&ide to t'e dr%g test O b%t only &ith certin speci!ic lbortory, &hicht%rned o%t to be smll, chep prtment. he c%nning nd scheming Ecson gve me the !ile.

$ eposed the corr%pt scndl, nd engged in bitter &ord &r &ith P%no, &ho hired l&yer!or the sole p%rpose o! chrcter ssssintion. D%ring this time o! poisono%s hostilities mostly!o%ght in medi, Ecson hopped on plne to -ong'ong, in order to void ny s%spicion o!complicity in the epose. -e ret%rned !ter it &s ll over, nd P%no hd been dmged. -is

co&rdly retret !rom this proy bttle is stndrd /o'e in gtherings o! his clssmtes t thePhilippine Militry cdemy (PM).

+hy is nrile so close to Ecson +hen Mnil 6egionl ril *o%rt iss%ed &rrnt o! rrestginst Ecson, he /%mped bil nd becme !%gitive !rom /%stice. I repetedly sho&ed !ootge o! Ecson leving the irport. B%t mny believe tht nrile provided s!e hven toEcson in *gyn. ht is &hy these t&o men re so close tht it cn only be clled reltionship &ith !eelings.






his erly, Ecsons propgnd tem is lredy to%ting him s presidentil cndidte !or 201C.-is credentil is tht he hs been given n dministrtive /ob in disster relie! e!!orts in theIisys. MlcKng iss%ed the ppointment, /%st to bort the endless strem o! his sel!=serving press releses &henever there &s vcncy in c%stoms, immigrtion, or even in the non=vcnt post o! nti=crime cr, lredy held by the ec%tive "ecretry. -is ltest cper too' his

cmpign t sel!=pro/ection to the level o! the bs%rd, &hen his o&n press relese reported tht s !ormer policemn, he delivered lect%re on constit%tionl l&, s prt o! nriles e!!ort to shi!tttention !rom PD8 to DP.

Challenge to Public Debate

!ter this speech, $ respect!%lly decline to yield the !loor !or interpelltion. $ rose to ns&er the personl ttc' ginst me, nd interpelltion &ill merely serve to &ste the time o! the "ente. $shll lso leve immeditely !ter the speech, bec%se $ m ill &ith chronic !tig%e syndrome.

$n concl%sion, s $ did in the pst, $ chllenge nrile to p%blic televised debte on the pl%nderchrge ginst him, incl%ding his illegl nd immorl %se o! the "ente Presidents discretionry!%nd to distrib%te nerly P2 million s *hristms bon%s lst yer to ech sentor, ecept !or !o%rsentors, &hom he considers his politicl enemies, led by me. $t sho%ld be held t the @PMlcolm heter, nd only st%dents &ith vlid $Ds sho%ld be llo&ed, to prevent nrile !romrenting prtisn cro&d.

he !irst time $ chllenged nrile to debte, he declined nd insted clled on Ecson to sho&erme &ith ner=illiterte ins%lts, incl%ding n oymoron. $! this second time nrile gin evdesdebte, tht &ill be n dmission tht he is the mstermind o! the pl%nder o! some P10 billion o!the tpyers moneyA nd tht he is ins%lting me on personl level, s diversionry tctic,nd s smo'escreen !or his criminlity.

o mtter ho& devilish his po&er nd no mtter ho& !b%lo%s his ill=gotten &elth, $ re!%se to be

coerced by nrile: %stice sho%ld be done, tho%gh the hevens !ll. $ m !orti!ied by my !ith.ccording to the poet#

Mine eyes hve seen the glory o! the coming o! the Eord,

-e is trmpling o%t the vintge &here the grpes o! &rth re storedA

-e hth loosed the !te!%l lightning o! -is terrible s&i!t s&ord,

-is tr%th is mrching on.



Documents

Navigating the Crimes of the Plunder Mastermind - by Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago