IT no longer comes as a surprise to read in the news that another woman, identified only as a certain Tina Yu, is said to be wielding influence at the Bureau of Customs (BOC), one of the government agencies notorious for corruption.
Based on a news report, Ms. Tina Yu, otherwise fondly called as “Ma’am T,” is behind the under-the-table deals in the BOC, causing the agency more than P5 billion a year in foregone revenues due to the undervaluation of imported plastic manufacturing materials she purportedly controls.
Last month, another woman was pinpointed as wielding influence among the judges and justices with huge pay-offs either in hefty sum of cash or expensive gifts in exchange of favorable court decisions of her clients. The woman was later on identified as Arlene Angeles Lerma, popularly referred to as “Ma’am Arlene” in the judiciary who hosts lavish dinners and parties and capitalizes on her close associations with some government and court officials.
The presence of Ma’am Tina and Ma’am Arlene in the BOC and the Judiciary, respectively, reminds us so much of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles who purportedly cornered most
multi-million development projects funded by pork barrel fund of our lawmakers. Napoles, also called as “Ma’am Janet,” had devised an alleged nefarious scheme where lawmakers’ pork barrel fund for their respective pet projects are coursed through fake
non-governmental organizations she controlled and ghost projects she created.
These three influence-peddling women are now being investigated by the government for allegedly corrupting the government system of procurement to fatten their pockets as well as their benefactors in Congress as well as in other government departments.
A reliable source has intimated that another woman is also wielding influence in the Land Transportation Office (LTO), an attached agency of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
The source claimed that prospective contractors at the LTO-DOTC need to have “good will representation” with this influential woman before they can be awarded with any contracts whether they are small or big.
One cannot help but ask whether this woman is the reason behind why DOTC has yet to award most of its
multi-million projects unless prospective bidders have to “speak” with her and win her graces on behalf of her benefactors in that department.
Many good people I know are happy that the Aquino administration has uncovered Ma’am Janet ‘s alleged nefarious activities in Congress, but they are left wondering whether it could also muster enough political will to run after Ma’am Tina and Ma’am Lerma.
With more than two years left before President Aquino bows down from office in June 2016, he should prove that his administration’s electoral promise to fight corruption and end poverty is not just empty words meant to win our votes.
The Filipino electorate are getting impatient to see not only policy and structural reforms to be instituted but real conviction among those who stole our taxpayers’ hard-earned money at least in our lifetime.
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.. Continue: Remate.ph (source)
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