Stonewalling only raises
more suspicions

‘By stonewalling, Golez only succeeded in triggering the suspicion that thievery is again at work.’
 

Detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV the other day alleged that a Chinese oil exploration company had tied up with the Philippine National Oil Co.-Exploration Corp. and taken a 51 percent interest in an exploration contract in the Calamianes in northern Palawan. He said the sharing was a "gross violation" of the Constitution which reserves the exploitation of natural resources to Filipinos.

Golez’ answer? Come up with the evidence and go to court.

It’s rather bizarre hearing a government spokesman calling on one who came out with allegation of wrongdoing to dig up the evidence himself and file charges in court. A proper response would be to look into the allegations. If the allegation is false, then the government should at least deign to say why the accuser was talking through his hat.

But that’s how – so sue us -- allegations of criminal behavior in the highest offices of government are being answered nowadays. Here is the proof if there remains any lingering doubt that the Palace has lost the war for the people’s trust and belief.

Frankly, we thought Trillanes was shooting from the hip. The 2006 deal struck by the Chinese National Overseas Oil Co. (the same company involved in the seismic survey in the Spratly deal) was in the form of a "farm-in" arrangement. The 51 percent "working interest," we guess, refers to the Chinese firm’s portion of what PNOC-EC stands to gain under a production sharing agreement if commercially viable oil deposits are discovered in its contract area.

We know for a fact that service contracts awarded by the government provide for a 60:40 sharing in favor of the government. The wiggle room in the standard contracts is on how fast the contractor can recover costs before the 60:40 sharing kicks in.

In this case, there is no violation of the Constitution because the 60 percent share that goes to the government already meets the nationality requirement. Foreign companies can even own all the remaining 40 percent, but the deal has to be reported to Congress within 30 days as a financial and technical assistance arrangement.

So why didn’t Golez explain and thus show up Trillanes as an ignoramus?