I can’t help wondering how Romulo’s presence in New York can possibly change the final results of the election at this late stage. What sort of campaign will he be conducting? At this time, hardly any of his counterparts would still be in New York. Will he then be lobbying personally with the various permanent representatives there? That’s the job of our own permanent representative.

However, if he feels that the presence there of Santiago requires his presence too, that’s another matter, although for practical reasons, it really is not necessary. (With harder times ahead, Romulo should set the example for his staff to be more judicious in their foreign travels.)

I know for a fact that the DFA has pulled all stops in the campaign for Santiago’s candidature, sparing no time, effort and money in the process. The campaign is quarterbacked by Romulo’s most trusted undersecretary. Ironically, he was the same official who was berated and humiliated by Santiago during a Senate hearing not too long ago.

Ms. Arroyo herself went out of her way to buttonhole heads of state/government during her foreign sorties lobbying for Santiago’s bid.

As a Filipino, I would like to see the Philippines get the seat, although I have some trepidation about Santiago being our candidate. There is little doubt that technically she is qualified for the post. One cannot help thinking though if she would be able to curb her propensity to engage in theatrics and her tendency to utter uncalled-for remarks during deliberations in the World Court if she were elected. She will embarrass not only herself but also the country with the kind of antics and outbursts she has often displayed in the Senate.

Space limitation prevents me from including here details on the number of seats up for grabs, the number of candidates, the election rules and most importantly, the dynamics involved in the election process. If warranted, we will do a post-mortem next week.

***

GSIS head Winston Garcia "triumphantly" announced last week that San Miguel Corporation (SMC) bought the pension fund’s remaining 27 percent stake in Manila Electric Company for P30 billion payable over three years.

Many were surprised by the sale. Whatever happened to Garcia’s attempt to take over Meralco management? Why the sudden turn-around? Is there something more than meets the eye in the sale?

"We are happy about this sale. We are happy that we are able to sell this in the worst time. We worked hard for this deal and I hope our members are happy about this," Garcia said.

He added: "Realizing P9.7 billion in trading gains in just three weeks has never happened before in the past 69 years of GSIS. The GSIS members will benefit from this. We’re now reaping the fruits of our hard labor. Many good things will come out of this." Three cheers for Winston!

One of the good things that Garcia can do is to use some of the sale proceeds to pay post-haste the old-age pensioners, both here and abroad, their pension accrued over the last two years or more . In the United States alone, GSIS said there are around 700 pensioners who have not been paid for over two years. At an average of P300,000 per pensioner, a conservative figure, that amounts to P210,000,000. Here in the Philippines , only GSIS knows how many have not been paid their pension, refunds and dividends. But judging from the numerous complaints I have received from members and the much-publicized complaints of various teachers’ associations, there must be thousands of others to whom GSIS owes money.

***

Take for instance the long-standing and unresolved case of Bienvenido C. Aldonza (BCAldonza@neda.gov.ph) of NEDA. Below is a letter of Aldonza to Ms. Elenita Castro of GSIS (emcastro@gsis.gov.ph):

Dear Ms. Castro,

"Hanggang ngayon araw na ito, Oct. 27, hindi pa updated ang nasa website tungkol sa Computation Net Proceed Loan ko. Lalong nabawasan ang net proceed ko – naging P23,805.66 na dati ay P24,998.16. Bakit ganun? Sa halip madagdagan lalong lumiit, dahil siguro hindi na naman kayo nag-post at kapag late posting kayo nag-automatic yun sa inyong database dahil nakaprogram. Pati interest lumaki – naging P3,329.95 na dati ay P2,512.66. At ang arrears ko ay lumaki rin naging – P1,361.18 na dati ay P1,022.50 dahil nga late posting kayo. Bakit ganun? At hindi pa rin nagbago yung dati kong loan na P96,120.00. Kailangan ko nang mag-renew ngayon araw na ito para ipambayad ko sa operasyon ng kapatid. Gusto kong pumunta sa KIOSK ngayon para pumindot kahit P23,805.66 lang dahil kailangan ko na, pero sana naman ibalik o i-refund sa akin yung kulang dahil sa computation ko, dapat ang ma-ne-net ko ay P45,108.93 at walang arrears dito sa computation ko at nakabayad na ako ng P23,259.60, for 12 months mula October 2007 to September 2008. Kasama na dito yung interest na P2,512.66, service fee na P272.63, renewal fee na P919.47 at processing fee na P50.00, kaya ang total deduction ko lahat ay P74,101.07. At kung i-minus mo ito doon sa maximum loanable amount na P119,210.00, ang magiging net proceed ko dapat ay P45,108.07. Ang mga ito ay nasa website ninyo. Kaya kung tutuusin, i-bawas po ninyo ang lahat na nabanggit ko. Kung atin i-minus sa P45,108.07 ang P23,805.66 na nasa website ninyo, dapat ang i-refund pa ninyo ay P21,302.41."

***

General Eduardo Ermita (Ret.), Executive Secretary, said his boss, Ms. Gloria Arroyo, had not lost sleep over the return of Jocelyn "Joke Joke" Bolante.

He should have watched her on TV the day following Bolante’s arrival last week when she addressed the Global Forum on Migration and Development. She sure didn’t look like she had any sleep at all.

I mean, why lie about it? So what if she hadn’t slept at all? That would be only natural for anybody in her position. After all, she’s still human.

***

After a seemingly long hibernation, Senator Edgardo Angara has finally surfaced with the return of Jocelyn "Joke-Joke" Bolante.

Angara who is chairman of the Senate committee on agriculture is echoing the Arroyo regime’s line that Bolante should be brought to the Ombudsman instead of the Senate.

As I’m sure Angara is aware, the Ombudsman has a track record of not acting on cases brought before it involving Ms. Arroyo’s known allies. Consigning the Bolante case to the Ombudsman is obviously intended to just let it gather dust there up to and even beyond June 2010. Neat.

What the honorable senators, particularly Senate President Manuel Villar, will do bears watching.

The Supreme Court too. Will it grant Bolante’s petition questioning the Senate’s warrant of arrest issued during the 13th Congress and the jurisdiction of the Senate?

***

The militarization (to include former policemen) of Arroyo’s regime continues. The latest to be appointed is recently-retired PNP chief Avelino Razon as No. 2 man in the National Security Council. Earlier, two ex-generals, Noe Wong and Generoso Senga, were appointed as ambassador to Cambodia and Iran , respectively. (Incidentally, is it true that ex-Admiral Ernesto de Leon, ambassador to Australia, has been going to graduate school in Canberra on official time?)

Ex-military and police officials are now in high positions in nearly all agencies of the government. No wonder the military keeps saying that coup d’etats are a thing of the past. They must be musing: "What for? We’re already here!" Oo nga naman.

***

Ms. Arroyo’s prolonged visit to China to attend the summit of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) recently did not seem to produce concrete results in terms of selling the country as an investment destination for the Chinese.

Aside from broad indications that some Chinese firms have expressed interest in investing in this and that area, nothing else was mentioned by her trumpeters except… hold your breath… "halo-halo", a very popular Filipino summertime snack.

That is quite a comedown from the big ticket deals that were supposed to have been the results of Arroyo’s previous visits to China, such as the ZTE-NBN deal, the Cyber-Ed project, a joint mining venture, etc.

Well, at least we do not have to be wary this time.

***

A good friend, Ambassador Armando D. Manalo, passed away last week. He was 88.

Armando was a quiet and unassuming renaissance man, one with extraordinarily broad and comprehensive knowledge in both the arts and the sciences. He was an intellectual giant in a rather small and frail body.

He was first a journalist before he became the compleat diplomat that he was, having served in various capacities in the Department of Foreign Affairs and was at one time ambassador to Belgium and Luxemburg .

"I never ceased to be amazed by the depth and breath of his intellect," said his widow, Ambassador Rosario G. Manalo, an equally proficient diplomat and former DFA under-secretary who, although officially retired from the DFA, still is very active in the academe and in the world of diplomacy. She was the one who shepherded the crafting of the Asean Charter which I originally proposed way back in 1989 when I was DFA Assistant Secretary for Asean Affairs. The Charter is expected to be adopted next month.

Armando also sired the present DFA Undersecretary for Policy, Enrique Manalo, another accomplished diplomat whose last foreign posting was as Permanent Representative (Ambassador) to the United Nations in Geneva .

Farewell, dear friend.

***

Today is the 202nd day of the second year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

One can well imagine how the families and friends of "desaparecidos" like Jonas must have felt over the weekend, All Saints Day and All Souls Day. Not knowing whether or not their loved ones are still alive, they must have felt doubly lost. To begin with, they had no graves to go to. That must be an awful feeling.

Nonetheless, I learned from Jonas’ mother, Edita, that families of the desaparecidos lit candles and offered flowers for their missing loved ones at the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran last Sunday.