WB witnesses link FG to bid rigging!

[scharnhorst]

Headline ng MB today:

HOUSE REFUSES TO CALL FG FOR WORLD BANK PROBE

okay.

[ghosthunter]

the current issue with the FG is reminding me of an old movie, Lethal Weapon 4 (I think) where the good guys are after an eastern block country ambassador who claims diplomatic immunity everytime he or his henchmen gets caught by the movie heroes.

Of course, by the end of the movie the baddie, while claiming diplomatic immunity, gets a bullet in the head.

[Galactus]

^^^ AFAIK, the ambassador wasn't from Eastern Europe. He was from South Africa.

I remember that scene. It was on a docked ship. Riggs (Mel Gibson) was about to shoot (or arrest?) him, but he claimed diplomatic immunity. Riggs shot him anyway.

[shadow]

ang tagaaaaaaaaaaaaaaallll ng 2010.


http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx...bCategoryId=63

'Money must be paid as high up as the president'
By Aurea Calica Updated February 06, 2009 12:00 AM
The Japanese contractor who provided information to World Bank (WB) investigators regarding alleged rigging of the bidding for road projects said he was told that bribes had to be paid to officials as high as “the president.”
The Japanese contractor, whose name had been publicly announced as Tomatu Suzuka, told WB investigators that in one meeting with the late Sen. Robert Barbers, it was made clear to him that there would be no business in the Philippines without paying money.
“Money would have to be paid as high up as the president, senior government officials and politicians in order to do any further business in the country. To win a contract it would be necessary to pay the head of the bureau and politicians several million yen (several tens of thousands of US dollars),” the excerpts, provided by government sources, stated.
But Suzuka said he did not have any direct contact with President Arroyo and only met with Barbers and First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, who “first discussed bribes” and that they had a “rough approach.”
Excerpts of the WB report on the blacklisting of three Filipino and four Chinese construction firms for collusive practices in the bidding for WB-funded government projects did not only name names of politicians and government officials involved in the anomalous practice, but also provided leads that investigators could pursue.
The Japanese witness, who left the country in 2002, “learned that money was important to do business in the Philippines,” which was “a fundamental difference in their way of thinking.”
Suzuka’s local agent, who was identified as Trix Lim, said he would have to pay to get a contract and that dollars would resolve any problems with the WB.
The Japanese said he met Lim in 2001 at the Diamond Hotel with policemen and public officials and “Tito Miranda,” identified as an assistant director of the Department of Public Works and Highways-Region 4, to discuss the payments.
“Mr. Suzuka thought Mr. Miranda was a secretary to Senator Barbers; Mr. Miranda asked Mr. Suzuka to pay the cost of a trip to Japan for Sen. Barbers; Mr. Suzuka refused,” the report said.
Filipino, Korean and Chinese contractors interviewed by the WB in their probe had the same version of how to bag a contract for infrastructure projects in the country – through the right connections at the right price.
They also lamented that it was an open secret that contractors would have to adhere to the process or they would be kicked out of the loop. They expressed helplessness because despite the vulgarity of the bribery and collusion, it seemed that no one was in charge to put an end to it.
An informant of the WB said: “The corruption in the bidding is extensively from FG (First Gentleman, Mr. Arroyo), congressmen to DWPH officer and contractors.”
“No one have (sic) the ability to stop it,” the report said.
A Filipino contractor said that in the past, projects could be awarded to a contractor after bribing individuals within the agency. But he said the system had changed and in many instances, politicians organized the bidding.

[oliver1013]

O diba SOP?

Pero hindi lang yan sa Arroyo admin , mula pa yan nung sina unang panahon...Ang difference lang ngayon garapalan, ika nga sa column sa taas "ROUGH"!! Kapal muks..wala man lang effort maging swabe

[Zeus]

Tapos tahimik at walang ginagawa ang Ombudsman, na sa kanila na pala ang WB report

[Horsepower]

kaibigan sya ng first family (omb) so malabo pa sa pasig river na gumawa sya ng kahit ano.

I wonder what those useless rebels are doing. They could assassinate the first family and do the public some good.

[ghosthunter]

^^^ AFAIK, the ambassador wasn't from Eastern Europe. He was from South Africa.

Ah! yup thats the one.

I remember that scene. It was on a docked ship. Riggs (Mel Gibson) was about to shoot (or arrest?) him, but he claimed diplomatic immunity. Riggs shot him anyway.

I so wish that would happen to the FG.

[Zeus]

Tuloy ang Senate investigation sa Thu Feb 12, 2009, iniinbita na rin sina FG, Pichay at iba pa... pupunta kaya si FG?

[Horsepower]

Tatanong daw sa doctor kung papayagan. Kung ordinary tao ka, kahit may cancer ka, aarestuhin ka para umattend. Itong si Fat Guy daming special treatment.