SAME TRAPO: As I write this, we are awaiting the smoke of battle to settle and reveal the choice of majority of congressmen as Speaker of the House of Representatives -- either Jose de Venecia of Pangasinan or Prospero Nograles of Davao City.

To many jaded observers, however, it does not matter who of the contenders -- both stalwarts of the administration coalition -- is elected Speaker. They both represent the same old school of Traditional Politicians (“trapos”).

The way the battle royal is being played in media and the corridors of power, there are no indications that the victory of either will mean a leaner and less corrupt House, more jobs and livelihood projects, more affordable food and shelter, a more secure community, and a more caring government.

Note that De Venecia's tenure is being challenged not on the basis of what is good for the people, but on what is best for the Arroyo administration and the politicians living off it.

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FALSITIES: Comes now Piterio M. Reig -- mentioned by Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile as lawyer of the Locsin Group in the Philcomsat Holdings Corp. and of its chief legal officer Luis Lokin -- belying the accusations of the senator against him and his clients.

Lokin was described by Enrile as having been suspended from practice and facing disbarment and contempt charges. He and his law firm allegedly got almost P5 million from PHC, aside from some P31 million as compensation, fees, allowances, reimbursements and cash advances including P2 million for a Sandiganbayan TRO and another P2 million for “PR” for a Supreme Court injunction.

In a letter emailed to us, Reig described as “fabricated falsities” the senator's remarks about Lokin and his statement that some PHC directors have received gargantuan compensation, fees, allowances, cash advances and reimbursements.

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ABSURD: Reig said Lokin did not receive a P31-million cash advance and did not pay the Supreme Court, or any court, for securing a Temporary Restraining Order, injunction or any other court order.

He said: “The claim is absurd since he (Lokin) is not even involved in the case filed by the Philippine Overseas Telecommunications Corp. and the Philippine Communications Satellite Corp. before the Sandiganbayan in September 2005.

“It is on record that Atty. Lokin was never the counsel of PHC and he is not handling any of the PHC cases. For the record, the corporation's counsel is the law firm of Castillo Laman Tan Pantaleon and San Jose. Atty. Lokin did not handle any injunction case for PHC, POTC and/or Philcomsat before the Supreme Court that was filed in August 2006.”

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TAKEOVER: Reig said Enrile's accusations in his privilege speech last Jan. 29 were “baseless and malicious.” He added:

“The PHC, its directors and/or officers, do not engage in bribery, nor have they committed plunder. Such accusation has no basis and is clearly intended to malign the names and reputation of the duly-elected members of the board of PHC.”

He said the speech of Enrile came from biased sources “whose agenda, among others, is to take over -- at all costs -- the management of PHC and effectively seize the control from the legitimate board of directors led by Ms. Concepcion A. Poblador and Mr. Enrique L. Locsin.”

“The members of the legitimate board of PHC are continually being exposed to a barrage of negative and fictitious allegations in several paid advertisements imputing criminal acts against them.

“There is no 'thievery' committed in PHC. Being an audited corporation, PHC has always been transparent in its affairs and all the disbursements and other expenses are accounted for.”

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PAPERS SEIZED: Reig continued: “The biased sources are apparently the same group who took over the parent companies of PHC, Philcomsat and POTC. lt is in fact this losing group which continually refuses to submit to an audit.

“Furthermore, they have consistently and wantonly disregarded court processes, as they even forcibly and illegally broke into the premises of PHC in the Pacific Star building on two separate occasions.

“The documents and papers seized from the ransacking of the office of PHC are now being manipulated, twisted and tampered with to maliciously make it appear to the public that the members of legitimate board have 'looted' the corporate coffers, when this is farthest from the truth.

“It is a fact the members of the Board are entitled to travel allowances and other privileges as were previously approved and ratified by the board of PHC. The figures, however, were patently bloated to make it appear that the directors were 'engaged in plunder.'”

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RECORDS INTACT: However, PHC president Erlinda Bildner said that her group has “all the documents, plus original check stubs, bank statements, internal management report called 'Cash Disbursement Book' that lists every check entry by date, check number, disbursement voucher, and purpose.”

“We also have the Disbursement Voucher Book,” Bildner said. “All these original source documents have been inventoried and certified as to authenticity, although not as to veracity, by SGV (Sycip Gorres Velayo) and are under our custody in a bank vault.”

“They will come in very handy for the estafa, AMLA (anti-money laundering), and other cases that are being readied, she added as she confirmed the financial details in Enrile's speech.

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