Macapagal keeps political
patronage alive and well

THE UNSAVORY revelation last week that film and music star Nora Aunor had accepted a check for 6.4 million pesos from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to support her in her reelection effort, came as no surprise to many Filipinos who are used to political patronage gone mad.

Photocopies of the canceled check and a Department of Budget and Management voucher were literally handed over to the opposition coalition KNP by an anonymous person, possibly a Fernando Poe Jr. supporter in the presidential palace, who wanted to expose the sleazy money politics that the president is practicing.

The check of government-owned Land Bank of the Philippines, written out to Nora Villamayor, the actress' real name, was dated March 4, 2004, the day Aunor was announced as coming on board the Macapagal-Arroyo reelection campaign. The check was issued for "payment of actual services rendered in the Office of the President."

As soon as this news was broadcast, President Macapagal-Arroyo's foul-mouthed spokesperson Ignacio Bunye (remember what he called a presidential assistant a few weeks ago?) immediately denied it, claiming the opposition was cooking up black propaganda against the administration. The problem is that he did admit that La Aunor did in fact get a check for services rendered for the Macapagal-Arroyo's social programs, except that he claimed the check was for only 620,000 pesos. Macapagal-Arroyo's campaign spokesman Mike Defensor also admitted that a check had been given to Aunor, but again for only the smaller amount.

The next day, Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman denied ever having given Aunor any work to do on behalf of her department. So who is telling the truth? If making short appearances at political rallies and singing a few songs is now considered social work, I pity the recipients of government services in the poorer areas of the country.

Just watching Aunor's face when she appears at rallies with the president is enough to discern how fake her smiles are, and that she is only campaigning for Macapagal-Arroyo for the money and not out of conviction.

I still remember Aunor, a former die-hard supporter of Joseph Estrada, singing at the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah in December 1997 in support of then vice president Estrada, who was campaigning for the presidency.

Now, don't get me wrong. I have always been a big fan of Aunor. She is one of the greatest actresses and singers that the country has ever had. I only object to her insincere attempts at campaigning for a candidate that she clearly does not believe in 100 percent. I also object to Malacañang's feeble denials that it paid Aunor a huge amount to campaign for the president. As Time magazine correctly pointed out this week, the President lacks charisma and popularity while Poe has bucket-loads of charm and star power. I guess that's why the President has to pay for star support, while Poe doesn't.

What I find truly shocking is that most Filipinos are resigned to political corruption and actually anticipate it in almost everyone, especially during election campaigns. It is a sad fact that vote buying, like support-buying, has become standard practice if not in all polling places, at least in the minds of the electorate.

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Massacre in Yanbu

I WAS channel-surfing last Saturday morning when I stopped at the Sky News channel when a piece of breaking news caught my attention. "Six Westerners killed in terrorist attack in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia," said the newsflash. I immediately called my Filipino friend, whom I shall call "Lito," who works as a secretary at one of the petrochemical firms that operate in the industrial hub there.

"We are stuck here in the office. The whole area has been sealed off. Two Americans were shot dead and one had his body dragged through the streets behind a car," Lito told me. "A suicide bomber blew himself up in downtown Yanbu, and the McDonald's was attacked. At least 17 people were injured in the attack," he told me.

I called Lito back several times during the day, switching to his office landline when he told me that his cell phone was "low-batt." Food was brought in to feed him and the rest of the staff, but they were allowed to go home by 4 p.m. that day, a 30-minute ride from the industrial city to downtown Yanbu.

Everything Lito had told me unfortunately turned out to be true. Six Saudis, several of whom actually worked for an oil firm in the industrial city, entered the guarded offices of US contractor ABB-Lommus at 6:40 a.m., wearing Saudi Coast Guard uniforms and using fake IDs. They immediately separated the Saudi staff from the Westerners, and then began shooting. Two Americans, two Britons and an Australian were killed. The terrorists then dragged the naked body of one of the Americans through the streets of Yanbu, while being chased by Saudi police. They split themselves up in several cars. In the end, four of them were killed, while two managed to escape. A police officer was also killed in the clashes.

I had once visited Yanbu, around 15 years ago, to interview amateur scuba divers who worked for one of the oil companies there. Only 20 minutes away from Jeddah by plane, Yanbu then was a tiny, sleepy fishing village that was later put on the map after the Saudi government built a huge industrial city there. Now I could only wonder at how several well-educated Saudis, with high-paying jobs, could be so easily brainwashed into undertaking such a nasty and brutal attack on Westerners who were helping run the country's petrochemical plants.

Twenty Filipinos working for ABB-Lommus have, understandably, opted to leave after the attack, joining the many American and European employees and their dependents who have also left. It's just too bad that years of development and stability in the Kingdom are being put back in only a few hours of grisly and insane attacks.

Comments or questions? E-mail me at rasheed@arabnews.com.