Apply the same formula

Counterpoint

Apply the same formula

By Alvin Capino

We wonder how many people will continue to condemn the controversial Political Affairs Adviser Secretary Ronald Llamas if we apply the biblical edict that he who has no fault should cast the first stone.

Llamas is once again media fodder after a newspaper report came out that he was caught on a cell phone camera buying pirated DVDs on a Quezon City mall.

The problem of condemning Llamas is that themajority of Filipinos, wrong as it may be because ofthe intellectual property rights issues, are patrons ofpirated DVDs and looking for somebody who will castthe first stone might be a very difficult task.

The problem with buying only original DVDs ofmovies or television series is, first, the cost. A pirated DVD sells only for P40 to P30 compared to the cost oforiginals which sells for 10 times more.

Another problem is availability. New and classic movies which are readily available from your friendly neighborhood DVD seller, an industry that is curiously dominated by our brother Muslims from Mindanao, are simply not available in stores selling original DVDs.

One lawyer friend has adopted a personal policy that takes into consideration the problem of the local entertainment industry. He makes it a point not to buy pirated DVDs of local movies. He buys only pirated DVDs of foreign films and TV shows.

He explains that the local movie industry should be supported and one way to do this is not to buy pirated DVDs of Philippine movies. On the other hand the impact of pirated DVDs on Hollywood films is just a drop in the bucket of what they’ve already earned and he does not mind buying a pirated DVD especially when the titles are not available in stores selling originals.

But going back to Llamas, there are some people who because of that incident where he was seen buying pirated DVDs want him to resign his Cabinet post or if he refuses for President Aquino to fire him.

This is making a mountain out of a molehill. Llamas might be guilty of some indiscretion but it should also be clear that in buying pirated DVDs just like millions of Filipinos do every day he did not commit a crime or anything illegal under our laws.

Lawyer Coco Padilla, chief of the legal division of theOptical Media Board, the government agency with jurisdiction over the issue of pirated DVDs, in a media interview said that individuals who purchase copies ofpirated DVDs for their personal use have no legal liabilities.

He said there is no provision in Republic Act 9239 orthe Optical Media Act of 2003 penalizing buyers ofpirated DVDs.

His boss, OMB chief Ronnie Ricketts have explained that only those who buy five or more copies of one DVD title are liable under the law because in such a case the presumption is that the person is engaged in selling pirated DVDs.

It is unfortunate that Llamas who plays a major role in many issues involving the Aquino administration including the Corona impeachment, the peace process, the West Philippine Sea, disaster response, peace and order among others would be involved in a minor controversy like this pirated DVD issue.

It would seem that he enjoys the full trust and confidence of the President who apparently finds hisadvice and support for the administration’s various political initiatives very useful.

President Aquino’s critics would be happy to see Llamas go but apparently the President is not about to do that on a minor issue.

What Llamas can do right now is to acknowledge his lapse of judgment and for him to issue an apology. He is seen as one of the more effective officials in government right now and he should not hope the Aquino administration critics would stop asking for his resignation even after he does this. Even without this issue, they want him out of the administration.

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Malacañang should respond to the mounting challenge that the President’s critics are making for the application of the same standards that his allies are using against Chief Justice Renato Corona. Corona’s impeachment, the critics believe, was instigated andis being pushed by no less than the President himself.

The Corona impeachment prosecutors have gone to town after President Aquino himself authorized the release to the impeachment court of the Income Tax Return of Corona and his wife Cristina to advance their mathematical formula that the Statement ofAssets, Liabilities and Net Worth minus ITR equals graft.

Some people are saying that in the interest of transparency and the “tuwid na daan” principle being advocated by the President, the same formula should be applied to Mr. Aquino who might have even more explaining to do than Corona.

The impeachment prosecutors have been making a big deal about the hefty increase in the net worth of, Corona which, based on his SALN, was only P14.96 million in 2002 when he was appointed as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court but has ballooned to P22.938 million in 2010 after he was appointed Chief Justice.

The prosecutors say that Corona’s increase in net worth cannot be justified by the gross income he has received based on his ITR and they concluded that thediscrepancy shows that he has illegally acquired millions of pesos worth of property.

Corona spokesmen said that the formula being bandied by the prosecutors is simplistic and wrong since the ITR only shows proof of income and not other financial resources.

President Aquino, based on his SALN, has an even more dramatic increase in his net worth. So that thepublic will not be misled into making wrong conclusions, his spokesmen should explain how thishas come about.

The records show that Mr. Aquino declared a net worth of P8.7 million in 1998 when he was a memberof the House of Representatives but his net worth has ballooned to P55 million in 2010 when he became President of the Philippines.

In fact in just one year’s time his net worth more than trebled. In 2009 his net worth was P15.4 million but in 2010 it has increased to P55 million.

We’re sure there is a valid and reasonable explanation for the increase in assets of the President. Some people are saying that it is because of the inheritance he got from the late President Cory Aquino as well as his divestment of his shares from Hacienda Luisita. Others say that the increase is partly because of unspent contributions.

Malacañang can clear up things by coming up with a detailed explanation of the reasons for the President’s net worth increase based on his SALN in the same way that Corona is being asked to justify his increased net worth.

Of course Malacañang should also come up with the details of the ITR of the President and explain the difference between the net worth in his SALN and the income he declared in his ITR.

We’re sure that again the explanation that isforthcoming would be valid and acceptable and would show that the ITR would only reflect income but notthe President’s other resources that would explain the difference.