Where in the world is Gerry Limlingan

It is not a game… it is the question of the hour: Where in the world is Gerry Limlingan? Reputed to be the trusted finance man of VP Jojo, he has disappeared at about the time the Senate started hearing the case of the Makati parking buildings.

Suspicious transactions have been revealed by AMLC. Credible explanations, not mere denials, are required. It is not enough for Limlingan’s lawyers to say he is a legitimate businessman who paid for legitimate transactions for services of third parties including market research firms. I am sure Haydee Yorac, whose name is still in the law firm’s letterhead, would have agreed.

Limlingan must come out and say so himself and tell us the source of the billions of pesos in money transfers he was dealing with. The Binays can claim Jojo only has five accounts among those frozen but until Limlingan surfaces and explains the accounts under his name and some with Jojo and other aides of Jojo, a serious cloud of doubt remains over the integrity of the VP’s finances.

According to abs- cbnnews. com, “what really caught the attention of the AMLC were the 95 bank accounts of Limlingan, either individually or jointly with other alleged Binay dummies, including a certain Bebeng Baloloy. The AMLC noted that many of these transactions did not have financial justifications, and most of the transfers were done on cash basis.”

On face value and because Limlingan is nowhere to provide good explanations, the AMLC revelations look like money laundering done by a trusted aide. To prove that suspicion wrong, Limlingan must surface and answer tough questions on the circumstances of those accounts and money transfers.

Gerry owes it to himself and his family to clear his name. His brother is a respected professor of business who also runs a reputable stock brokerage company. The AMLC report could somehow affect the reputation of the family in a negative way. Hence, there is need to clear the air.

But where in the world is Gerry Limlingan? Is he still in one of the 7,100 islands of the Republic? Or has he fled abroad before the scandal broke out? With so much inside knowledge that some people may not want revealed, there is a lot to worry about. It should be difficult for him to sleep nights. That’s bad for his health.

Canadian financial and banking authorities also have some explaining to do. Why was Canada the destination of choice for those large money transfers uncovered by AMLC? Did the receiving banks require explanations for the large transfers? I remember having to fill out a very inquisitive form to remit less amounts for my son’s housing when he was studying in Cambridge University.

Isn’t Canada part of that Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international anti money laundering organization that gave us a hard time some years ago? I recall FATF threatening to blacklist us unless we complied with some tough anti money laundering practices that eventually gave teeth to the AMLC law.

If AMLC hasn’t done so yet, it is a good idea to ask Canadian authorities for information about those money transfers. I am sure Canada will recognize an obligation to cooperate in a corruption investigation specially because it often pontificates on the need for Third World countries like ours to fight corruption in government.

Canada also owes us one, after insulting the country by allowing that shipment of Canadian garbage it won’t take back. That too, is in violation of international covenants covering shipments of wastes from developed to developing countries.

This freezing of accounts is an important development leading to the presidential election next year. The VP cannot just claim political harassment but must directly respond to what looks like a well documented massive transfer of funds well in excess of normal for a public official.

Despite its limitations, we have the AMLC law that is being implemented by the BSP, the most trusted of government institutions. I believe the Anti- Money Laundering Council or AMLC is truly an independent and competent government agency that investigated and filed the petition on the request of the Ombudsman.

This is just one of the many cases filed by the AMLC after investigation in accordance with the Anti-Money Laundering Act. It so happened this now involves a key politician. It makes sense for us to follow the line of investigation suggested by the money transfers the AMLC has uncovered.

Jojo cannot just dismiss the accuracy of AMLC findings or say AMLC is not telling the truth. The AMLC has more credibility than any politician.

Historically, AMLC has shown it only works on facts culled from documents. Those bank transfers happened and AMLC has the documents to prove that. What we don’t know is the purpose of those transfers or the source of the billions of pesos transferred. We need Gerry Limlingan to shed light on those details.

Is Jojo’s candidacy compromised? By the weight of the hard evidence uncovered by AMLC, it should be… but given our political culture and our high level of poverty, Jojo may still win the election. Former newsman Bobby Capco related this observation on Facebook:

“I have ridden many taxicabs whose drivers, when asked who they prefer to take over Malacanang, said they prefer Binay, because “kahit corrupt siya, napaganda naman niya ang Makati. Isa pa, lahat

naman sila pare-pareho lang (even if he is corrupt, he made Makati beautiful. Besides, all politicians are the same).”

This is where statesmanship comes in. This will test Jojo if he loves his country more than his ambition. I am sure Jojo knows that even if he wins, he will preside over a bitterly divided nation. A large portion of the urban professional class will have this serious doubt about Jojo’s integrity. Even if not as numerous as the masa, the influence of this class on his ability to govern cannot be disregarded. Marcos did and had to suffer EDSA. Erap tried and experienced EDSA Dos.

Worse, the international image of the country will turn from positive to negative simply on the perception that we have a corrupt president in power. That will affect inflows of much needed capital. We could end up a pariah not just in Asean but in the world and we need all the help we can get.

Gerry Limlingan must surface before the October deadline for the filing of candidacies. Otherwise, the election campaign will be a bitter one.

The more the VP’s lawyers resort to legal obfuscation, the more they are damaging the cause of Jojo to be President. Threatening media the way they did last week is also counterproductive as it makes Jojo look afraid and vindictive.

There must be no cloud of doubt hovering over the head of whoever would be our President or we could find ourselves living dangerously in rather unstable times.

El Gamma Penumbra

I watched with awe and admiration El Gamma Penumbra’s performance in the finals of Asia’s Got Talent. I couldn’t help wondering how a group from a country that thrives in chaos and puede na can come up with a group presentation that demands discipline, precision, impeccable coordination.

The artistic part is almost expected of Filipinos. But that is such a complicated act that demands group work with every participant thinking in terms of the group instead of individual egos. We can do it pala if we just want to.

But it took a performance on the international stage for us to recognize the talent and worth not just of El Gamma Penumbra but also of the somewhat operatic singer Gerphil Flores. I understand when they participated in the local version of the show, the showbiz judges even insulted them… nilait ng katakot takot.

I guess one can’t be a prophet or be appreciated in one’s hometown or country. This is specially true in our case because we have this need to get foreign affirmation, perhaps out of a sort of national inferiority complex we can’t seem to shake off from our colonial experience our international stars like Lea Salonga seem to be more appreciated abroad than here.

I think it is also because in our entertainment scene, those involved in the creative aspects are afraid to get out of the worn out formulas that made money. Innovation involves risks and we are not risk takers but seguristas. There is also so much inbreeding in our entertainment industry in a way that locks out fresh talent and creativity.

Congratulations to this group from Batangas. What they did should be shown nationwide. All movie theaters and TV networks should show the nation El Gamma’s winning performance so our people can see what putting group interest above individual egos can accomplish.

Viagra From a Facebook post. A pharmaceutical delivery truck full of Viagra was hijacked.

The police issued an all points bulletin that requested the public to be on the look out for hardened criminals. Boo Chanco’s e-mail address is bchanco@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @boochanco