Rats leaving a sinking ship (Latest Sabong News)

A little more than three months before President Rodrigo “Digong” Duterte steps down, some of those close to him have made overtures to presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. to spare them from persecution. Former senator Bongbong Marcos – BBM to his supporters – is leading by a mile ahead of his closest rival, Vice President Leni Robredo; 60 percent against Leni’s 15 percent in the latest survey by the reputable Pulse Asia. Even if Leni and the other presidential candidates closed ranks, their combined votes would still be less than BBM’s. That is, if Marcos holds his lead until May 9, election day. Anyway, one of Digong’s trusted officials reportedly went to Marcos and asked that the latter protect him from being charged before the International Criminal Court. What a jerk! Another official close to Digong is trying his best to kowtow to BBM. This guy was part of a team within the President’s inner circle who blocked Marcos from seeing Digong at every turn. Another jerk! The above-cited officials and others like them are like rats leaving a sinking ship. Tsk, tsk, tsk! A powerful person attracts all kinds of characters, most of them bootlickers. When that same person is no longer in power, he is abandoned. * * * I remember that time at a famous restaurant serving Peking duck in Beijing, when Marcos wanted to join Digong at the presidential table. Mr. Duterte, on his first official visit to China in Oct. 18-21, 2016, decided to have lunch at the restaurant near the hotel where the President and his entourage were staying. Nobody paid attention to Bongbong, who came just a few minutes late before the guests had warmed their seats. This, despite the fact that he was one of Digong’s running mates in the 2016 election, the other being Alan Peter Cayetano. (Both were defeated by Leni Robredo in that controversial election which, many think, was won by Marcos). Sen. Bong Go, then the special assistant to the President, and Cayetano, could have asked one of the guests at the presidential round table – who had no business being there, anyway – to transfer to another table to accommodate Bongbong Marcos. This columnist can’t forget that embarrassing moment for Bongbong, who left in a huff. Bongbong won’t take humiliations that he has suffered during the Duterte administration against those who “oppressed” him. Unlike the Aquinos – Cory and her son Noynoy – who were vindictive, Marcos told me during a dinner some time ago that he would be magnanimous should he win. * * * BBM’s lead over his rivals for the presidency is a phenomenon. Why is it that despite all the criticisms hurled against him, including the kitchen sink, he leads in surveys for “presidentiables?” The answer to that is people have become sick and tired of all the criticisms against the Marcoses. The detractors of the Marcoses have made them the underdog. BBM has kept quiet while the enemies of the Marcoses are having a field day hurling invectives at them. Bongbong is being linked by his detractors to his father’s martial law regime, but he was only 15 years old when it was declared on Sept. 21, 1972. (As they say, why should the son be punished for the sins of the father?) People have also compared theaccomplishments of BBM’s Old Man to those of the Aquinos who were found lacking. * * * Most of the presidential candidates pointed to the Bureau of Customs as the most corrupt and its personnel would be investigated should any of them win. Reacting, Customs Commissioner Rey Leonardo Guerrero said the candidates were “just talking through their hats.” In a way, Guerrero is right. The most corrupt agency is the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR). While personnel at the Bureau of Customs receive bribes from smugglers, the amount they’re given is peanuts compared to those extorted by BIR officials and employees from businesses. BIR personnel extort tens of millions of pesos from tax cheats compared to hundreds of thousands customs personnel get from smugglers. BIR personnel pore over accounting books of small and big corporations and always find something to blackmail them with. The taxmen collaborate with tax evaders by having them pay token amounts to the government and dividing the correct tax money between them and the tax cheats. Corrupt BIR people are much wiser than their customs counterparts in that they hide their ill-gotten wealth, whereas the latter flaunt their loot. Most BIR personnel retire as multimillionaires while customs people retire only as millionaires. Take note of the word “multimillionaires.” Several years ago, there was a spate of kidnappings involving active or retired BIR personnel for victims. The kidnappers were able to extract millions of pesos in ransom from their BIR victims. The victims could not report the kidnapping to the authorities lest their hidden wealth was found out. So, whoever is elected president should focus more on the BIR than on customs because the government loses more revenues from corrupt taxmen. Billions of pesos are lost more in unpaid taxes than in underpaid customs duties. * * * The government will soon give a P200 monthly subsidy to the poorest of the poor as a hedge against higher prices of goods due to the hike in the prices of fuel. Believe me, that money will only go to e-sabong or spent on gin or rum. Sorry about being blunt, but that’s a reality in the barrios: People while away their time gambling or bingeing on alcoholic drinks.