‘Unexplained poverty’

VOW OF POVERTY: Having witnessed the ostentatious display of overflowing wealth among officials in the past, I was appalled by reports that many members of the Official Family of President Noynoy Aquino are poor by today’s standards.

Education Secretary Armin Luistro reported a net worth of P89,393.34 (note the centavos!). But as a La Sallian brother, he must have taken a vow of poverty — which might explain his being the poorest among Aquino’s apostles.

I wonder what vow Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has taken, but her having only P50,000 (note the round figure!) in cash on hand and in the bank leaves me gasping. Even her van and jewelry worth P1.5 million do not make up for her apparent poverty.

Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman appears like a walking charity case. She said under oath she has only P100,000 in the bank. Despite her having two cars, I think she qualifies for social welfare doles.

Acting Environment Secretary Ramon Paje declared having P500,000 in cash as of 2008 and jewelry worth P80,000. Considering his environment, he must be telling the truth.

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UNINITIATED: Two things come to mind:

• If the Cabinet members’ lifestyle does not change in time and they stick to the straight and narrow (Noynoy’s avowed “daang matuwid”), many of them might end up being questioned for “unexplained poverty.”

But that is better than being hailed to court for unexplained wealth.

• Many of Noynoy’s camp followers seem to be uninitiated. Normally, a new official pads his declared assets so that, anong malay natin, when he earns a few dirty millions, the increment would be unnoticed because of the bloated earlier declaration.

To get the true value of a Cabinet official who has been in office “n” number of years, multiply by “n” his declared net worth (or assets minus liabilities). Applying this formula, if he has been up there five years, multiply his declared net worth by 5.

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PURE AND RICH: Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima declared cash and cash investments amounting to P85.11 million and valued his family’s jewelry and art collection at P10.2 million. That makes him the richest member of the Cabinet.

Actually, a finance secretary should be much richer than that. With less than P100 million in assets, he should really explain his comparative poverty.

If the finance secretary has not amassed an impressive personal fortune before joining the Cabinet, he cannot use his personal situation as proof of his capability to make money for the cash-strapped government.

Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said he has 15 vehicles, Energy Secretary Jose Rene Almendras four cars and Agrarian Reform Secretary Virgilio delos Reyes, like Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, three cars.

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PADDED PAYROLL: That point about cars will soon be irrelevant to them. Taxpayers will supply them with official cars, complete with chauffeur, gasoline and incidentals paid by the people, including the motorists that they bully on the road.

In fact, many officials, especially in Congress, list their maids and cooks, family drivers, gardener, yaya and utility men on their office payroll. The more imaginative ones eat out endlessly with friends and families charged to taxpayers.

The signing of restaurant bills is blatantly abused. We newsmen sometimes get our names listed in the liquidation papers even if we were not there. Worse, some officials just gather and use receipts without actually dining out. –Federico D. Pascual Jr. (The Philippine Star)