Pure chutzpah

Trying to speak with the voice of integrity, Senator Joel Villanueva said it was “inaccurate” to compare the House rejection of ABS-CBN’s franchise bid to the “dismantling of oligarchy,” which was in apparent reference to a statement of President Rodrigo Duterte.

Without naming the President, the sanctimonious legislator said the House decision on the franchise application of the Lopez crown jewel, “which have been cleared of violations, sends a signal that politicians can stop a business operation on a whim.”

“To some people who want to equate the non-renewal of the franchise to dismantling of oligarchy is inaccurate. It has more negative effects to the economy and the business climate,” he parroted the line of yellow apologists.

Villanueva added he has not seen a “significant change in oligarchs dominating the economy in the past decades,” which he attributed to “institutional and legal arrangements that do not facilitate enough competition to challenge the market control of the few.”

“If we don’t address institutional and legal constraints, we will just replace one oligarch with another,” he further said.

Villanueva, however, could be believable if he had shown consistency in his claimed crusade against government excesses and corruption.

In the previous administration, he was closely identified with President Noynoy Aquino and their frequent bachelor night outs.

Regarding the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP), which was a P200 billion abomination of the national budget, not a peep came out of Villanueva against it.

DAP was created in October 2011, from which P5 billion was used for the post-trial “incentive” for members of Congress to oust the late Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Of the amount, P1 billion or P50 million for each senator-judge of the impeachment court who voted to convict Corona was allotted.

Then Department of Budget and Management secretary Butch Abad defended that the DAP money went to projects of senators to “help stimulate spending.”

Another P4 billion was disbursed to congressmen, at P15 million each, for having filed the impeachment case against Corona.

In effect, Noynoy bought off the senators to convict Corona using the DAP Fund, which was known as the Aquino pork barrel, since it was controlled by him alone, unauthorized by Congress.

There had been no Commission on Audit (CoA) examination of the DAP Fund, and its use was only reported when disbursements were made to government agencies.

Disbursements included P2 billion in 2012 for the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao apparently to fatten allies as Noynoy tried to wrangle a Bangsamoro deal. Another P1 billion was disbursed to the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), then headed by Villanueva.

The CoA then later on found the DAP windfall was used for ghost TESDA projects and scholars.

In 2014, a Supreme Court landmark decision ruled the method in creating the DAP was unconstitutional and ordered that those responsible for it be prosecuted.

Before she retired, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales filed in 2018 light “usurpation of powers” charges on Aquino and Abad, and light administrative charges on Abad and his underlings.

If there should be a personification of the biblical false prophet in the Senate, it would be Villanueva.

“Commission on Audit then later on found the DAP windfall was used for ghost TESDA projects and scholars.

“Villanueva added he has not seen a significant change in oligarchs dominating the economy in the past decades.