WEDNESDAY |FEBRUARY 11, 2009 | PHILIPPINES

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Brazening it out


Editorial

‘Stealing from the World Bank, in effect, is stealing from practically all members of the UN.’

It is probably naïve to suppose that Gloria Arroyo, this late in the day, will have an epiphany and start looking with all seriousness and sincerity into the latest accusation of thievery against her husband. Her standard reaction to charges of wrongdoing is to brazen it out, accusing critics of muckraking purely to gain cheap political points.

This has been so from the start (remember Mike’s undeclared stash running to hundreds of millions in some local banks?). She’ll brazen it out to the finish, which hopefully would be not long soon. Unless, of course, she succeeds in mangling the Constitution.

The latest case of large-scale corruption linking her husband, however, involves the World Bank, a multilateral institution under the United Nations umbrella. While the United States and other developed countries hold the largest subscriptions to the capital of the World Bank, all members of the concert of nations are co-owners of the institution.

Stealing from the World Bank, in effect, is stealing from practically all members of the UN. While Gloria and Mike have the hide of elephants and could not care less about the disgrace they have brought upon themselves, the Republic and its people continue to value their good name. The Philippines is a proud founding member of the UN. It was active in the efforts to set up multilateral institutions under the aegis of the UN that would help rebuild the post-war world – the International Bank of Reconstruction and Development as the World Bank is formally known, among them.

And the new-born Republic’s support for the World Bank has been rewarded many times over. After Europe was back on itS feet, the World Bank shifted its focus into helping newly independent UN members build infrastructure necessary for their development. The Philippines from the 1950s until the 1970s was among the largest recipients, if not the largest recipient, of World Bank assistance in this part of the world. Think roads, bridges, airports and seaports. The key ones were funded by the World Bank. The electrification of the whole country was also largely bankrolled by the World Bank.

Gloria would now dismiss the corruption reported by the World Bank and the uproar it has generated as part of politicking?

Sen. Mar Roxas has called for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor to investigate the anomalies. While we do not expect Gloria to do such a thing, our sentiments are with Roxas when he said:

"We cannot dismiss this as simply part of our hyperactive politics. This is not one charge, if true, that is leveled by one political party or one domestic group versus the administration. If true, the allegations contained in this World Bank report portray the Philippines, the Philippine government and the presidential spouse as being part of an effort to steal this money that has been lent to the nation."

 


 







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