Makati Business Club urges public to join fight vs gov’t greed

The Makati Business Club (MBC) on Tuesday urged the public to join the clamor for change by ending corruption and greed in the government. “We call on all Filipinos to proclaim, tama na ang kasinungalingan, sobra na ang kasakiman, manindigan na, bayan (enough with lies, greediness is already too much, let us fight)" the MBC said in a statement. The MBC made the call amid the Senate inquiry into the alleged anomalies in the National Broadband Network (NBN) project that was linked to the husband of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The MBC said it could not content itself with the rise of the peso amid the moral collapse of the government. “As business people, we cannot console ourselves in the strength of the peso and the mirage of inequitable growth. These are ephemeral gains that have not translated into a better life for most Filipinos," it said. “What is being compromised is the moral fabric of our society. It is not a question of guilt; instead, it is a matter of good old fashioned delicadeza and personal morality," the MBC added. In the same statement, the MBC praised Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr for overcoming his fear of the consequences of his revelation on the NBN controversy. Lozada testified before the Senate that Benjamin Abalos Sr, former chairman of the Commission on Elections, asked for a $130-million "commission" from the $329.48-million project. He said Abalos also called up the President’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo to tell him of the refusal of the National Economic Development Authority to bankroll the NBN project through a loan. He also claimed that on February 5, he was snatched out of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City, minutes after his arrival from Hong Kong, in an apparent bid to prevent him from testifying before the Senate. The MBC also asked Jose “Lito" Atienza, secretary of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and Romulo Neri, chairman of the Commission on Higher Education, to resign for allegedly taking part in a “conspiracy" to prevent Lozada from attending the Senate inquiry. - FIDEL JIMENEZ, GMANews.TV