Arroyo's husband tied to corruption

This is from the Tribune. Another article on the same issue is in Malaya.

To many corruption and Arroyo and spouse have long been associated but this is a new confirmation from the World Bank.

Big league criminals
EDITORIAL
C
02/06/2009
Excerpts of what appears to be an investigation paper that is highly likely the World Bank (WB) report on the bid rigging on a road project involving local and Chinese firms, had the name of First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo all over it as the principal proponent of the corrupt practice.
What was new in the documents were the tentacles of the collusion in the rigging of bids that involved legislators aside from the expected officials of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH).
If indeed the papers were part of the WB report, then the syndicate that the financial institution referred to in its decision in blacklisting three local construction firms, contractor Eduardo de Luna, and four giant Chinese firms for collusive practices was that which was led by Mike Arroyo.
What was also apparent in the report was that the syndicate is a fixture in any big road project -- and not just the WB road projects.
But the National Road Improvement and Management Program was a major catch for the syndicate since the overall cost of the project, which was originally planned to run from 2000 to 2009, all under Gloria, was a staggering $2 billion in which the WB and other international financial institutions contribute to the funding.
It would be interesting to find out whether the project was designed specifically for Gloria and if so, it would tend to prove the foresight of Gloria and her cabal that was set for a nine-year administration way before the “Hello Garci” tape episode.
It is to be remembered that Gloria had admitted in February 2001, that as early as January 2000, she and her coup conspirators had already been plotting the ouster of then sitting President Joseph Estrada. The timing was such that she would be able to run for the same office in 2004, which would give her nine years in the presidential saddle.
The existence of the Big Mike syndicate was also obviously the reason behind the Department of Finance (DoF) and the Office of the Ombudsman’s reluctance to touch the report that the WB said it had provided both offices since late 2007.
During the Senate inquiry in the bid rigging scandal, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez said her office was still in the preliminary investigation stage on the documents furnished by the WB.
Gutierrez who had dragged her feet on all cases that involve her Palace masters such as that of the fertilizer fund scam and many others, would, without doubt, exonerate one and all in the syndicate once she finds an argument to throw out the WB findings.
It would be hard to surmise that the WB report on the collusive practices lacked details for the two government agencies, aside from the DPWH, not to act on it until now.
If the report that landed in the senators’ hands is the same as that which the WB had furnished the DoF and the Ombudsman, which is all of 400 or more pages detailing the way the Big Mike syndicate operates, Gutierrez would have a hard time in her job to dispute the allegations.
The fact that a foreign entity always figures in allegations of large-scale corruption involving Gloria and her cabal does not prove the lack of vigilance of those in the local front; it only takes more effort for the cabal to cover up and dispute the allegations coming from overseas.
All the same, the imprint of corruption on the country under Gloria becomes more pronounced with the WB findings on corrupt practices involving Big Mike’s syndicate.
The syndicate is, however, not limited to road projects as it proved time and again that it has a stranglehold on the whole government structure, the reason it thrives in its corrupt ways without fear. The whole Arroyo administration may even be the syndicate itself.
It does not seem to be a coincidence that Gloria fired up her Charter change engines just as the WB scandal is slowly unfolding.
With all the clear proof of corrupt practices piling up on Gloria and Big Mike, a different president next year would be hard-pressed not to give in to public clamor that the plundering couple face charges in court.
That fateful day is less than 15 months away.