Showing posts with label Noli de Castro. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Noli de Castro. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon Emerging candidates for the 2010 presidential election

6/02/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


A year before the Philippine presidential election on May 2010, the Pulse Asia survey declared that the top contenders to replace Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo with almost equal nationwide public appeal are: vice president Noli de Castro (18 %,) Sen. Francis Chiz Escudero (17%) and former pres. Erap Estrada (14%). All three possible candidates haven’t officially expressed their plan to run.

Sen. Manuel Villar, Jr. and Sen. Manuel Roxas II, two hopefuls who have declared their intention to join the presidential race got 14% and 13% respectively.

“One of the administration’s probable standard bearer, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, got a measly one percent rating in the same survey. Sen. Richard Gordon obtained the same 1 percent score. All others, namely chief Justice Reynato Puno, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, Bayani Fernando, Bro, Mike Velarde and Pampanga priest-governor “Among” Ed” Panlilio all scored with less than 1 percent.“----Daily Tribune (06/02/09)

For many Filipinos, what they seek is a president who can tackle the pernicious problem of corruption and the many challenges that go with widespread poverty. More challenging economic problems await the next president like the lack of employment, healthcare, pollution, sluggish tax collection, population explosion, and deteriorating standards of education among others.

With shaky political platforms to stand, warring parties form, merge, and dissolve at the whim of influential personalities not so much because they have something good to offer to the people, but more to strategize on winning (or rigging) the election. Groups like the Joint Foreign Chambers (JFC) notes how the country lags behind because of weak leadership compared to its neighbors. (Photo Credit: Storm Crypt) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon A Spate of Rural Bank Closures and a Bad Legacy

1/23/2009 | Posted by myty555 | Edit Post

A new wave of pessimism and outrage about rural banks and pre-need plans is engulfing the country including Bicol. This came about after the string of rural banks failed and the Legacy pre-need plans group closed shop without approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). And Legacy is controlled by one Celso de los Angeles.

Who is Celso de los Angeles? Currently, he is the mayor of the small town of Sto. Domingo, Albay. But I heard that when he ran last elections the question was why a non-native would be running for mayor. I also heard the rumor that he needs it for "protection".

It seems Celso de los Angeles has a checkered past to say the least. In the mid-80s he was barred by the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas after three banks under his wing collapsed. The BSP cited him for unsound banking practices.

What the guy next did was to buy Legacy Scholarship Pension Plan and Consolidated Plans in the late 80s. Later the two firms were merged.

He next emerged as the chairman of the National Housing and Mortgage Finance Corporation (NHMFC) which is the government's agency tasked in assisting the so-called housing businessmen. Vice-president Noli de Castro, who was Gloria's "housing czar", brought him there.

One will wonder how a banned person could be appointed to such position (It also speaks about Kabayan's capacity to choose people.) And this is after Chavit Singson tagged one "Celso de los Angeles" as a jueteng operator.

He did not last long in NHMFC because malodorous smell immediately leaked. One of his executives got busted for extortion. The agency was immediately politicized--palakasan became the norm and politicians' recommendations (and for sure there are no audits involved in this) became important in transactions. Another two officials were later charged in court in connection with a land-titling scam. Housing NGOs strenously complained and protested against his mismanagement of the government agency.

That's when he metamorphosed into a town mayor. It seems the guy was born in the Year of the Butterfly.

Then 10 apparently disparate and geographically dispersed (in Bicol, Luzon and Visayas) rural banks began to fail one after the other. Those banks were offering "double-your-money schemes" in 5 years. And all were traced to be connected to the Legacy group of Celso de los Angeles, the guy banned by the BSP for unsound banking practices.

Now it appears that Legacy is dipping its hand into the coffers of the banks. A big chunk of the banks chain's fund seems to have been loaned to Legacy. And now Legacy closed shop. If that is not a scam then what is that?

Now the PDIC (Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation) buffer fund is threatened with the need to reimburse all these banks' depositors (to the tune of up to P250,000). These types of rural banks have already learned to split big deposits into P250,000 chunks. So in the end it will be taxpayers who will have to pay for this scam.

At least Bernard Madoff was already arrested and now under custody of the court. And in the US the scammers have almost no way to wiggle out of the judgment of the courts. But here scammers are protected by a wall of lawyers, politician-patrons and TROs (temporary restraining orders).

Yes, the Philippines is a developing country. Developing in the wrong direction.


[Photo credit: Bullit Marquez, AP]
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