By Harvey Keh

ON MY way to work this morning, I heard some disturbing news about the results of a supposedly Malacanang-commissioned confidential survey on the early ranking of possible Presidentiables showing that former President Joseph “Erap” Estrada was on top with a 23 percent rating. The survey also showed Vice-President Noli De Castro in second place with Senators Francis Escudero, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda and Mar Roxas lagging behind.

I am personally saddened by the results of this survey if indeed this was conducted scientifically and accurately. I’m wondering if Filipinos have actually forgotten the crimes that former President Estrada has committed, including his involvement with illegal gambling operations that eventually led to his ouster in 2001. Have we also forgotten that this was the same man that was convicted of Plunder charges just a year ago?

Yet as I reflect further on the results of this survey, it appears that majority of Filipinos are now very disgusted and disillusioned with the present administration that they are willing to bring back a convicted plunderer in the hopes that he will do a much better job of running the affairs of our country. While I agree that many of us have lost hope and trust in the Arroyo administration, have we also lost patience in looking for new leaders who can effectively and ethically lead our country that we have to settle for former President Estrada? Have we chosen to give up and just accept that we can never find a better leader other than Erap? I would like to continue to believe that there are still many good, effective and well-meaning government leaders in our country who may not be as popular as Erap, but can do a much better job in helping our country move forward at the pace of our Asian neighbors such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan, China and Vietnam.

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By Harvey S. Keh

THE recent “Road to Nowhere” controversy that has been exposed by Senator Panfilo Lacson and broadcast journalist Korina Sanchez has again brought to light the continuing lack of transparency and accountability in our government dealings and systems.

The main bone of contention in this controversy is a “double entry” of P200 million on the national budget for the extension of the C-5 road. Allegations are being hurled right now at Senate President Manny Villar that his company, which is engaged in the real estate development business has benefited from certain infrastructure appropriations and projects.

Senators led by Senator Lacson and Senator Mar Roxas are now asking for an investigation to take place to ensure that the main culprits are found and charged accordingly. Allies of Senator Villar in the Senate, such as Blue Ribbon Committee Chairperson Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, have defended him saying that this is all part of trying to put down Senator Villar’s bid to become President in 2010.

Whether this is part of politicking for 2010 or not, this issue needs to be resolved as transparently as possible by the Senate. While we are still more than 19 months away from the May 2010 National Elections, this will be a good opportunity for us to see how our national leaders will fare in promoting greater transparency and accountability when it comes to dealing with the taxpayers’ hard earned money. Let us never forget that the lack of transparency and accountability have continued to hound the present Arroyo administration as seen by Hello Garci, the Fertilizer Scam and more recently, the NBN-ZTE Deal.
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By Harvey Keh

For the past two weeks our group, Kaya Natin! A Movement for Genuine Change and Ethical Leadership released a stand supporting Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio on the recall petition filed against him by his political opponents in Pampanga.

Since that time, several political leaders led by Vice-Governor Yeng Guiao and Candaba Mayor Jerry Pelayo have come out in media telling us to stay away from this issue since we are not from Pampanga.

In an interview over a national radio program wherein Vice-Governor Guiao and I were interviewed one after the other, Vice-Governor Guiao said that it is wrong for people outside Pampanga to meddle in issues such as this which should only concern the people of Pampanga.
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