How a Corrupt Politico Enriches Himself

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

Many mayors did not only enrich themselves through the S.O.P (heck no! Not the standard operation procedure but a bastardize euphemism of the Pinoys for “cut”) given by suppliers and contractors for their local government unit. Some of these Hizzoners are smarter than their counterparts because they become the suppliers and contractors themselves through a dummy. Aside from getting the 10% to 20% cut from the suppliers and contractors, they get too the profit the same merchants would earn in dealing with the “municipio” or city hall. That’s, salamabit, a double whammy!

Photo credit: Esquire 

A mayor who used to have a big construction business told me that he no longer deals with the projects of the provincial government because his governor –patron lost in the last year’s election.

But I jocularly told him everything was not lost to him because he still has the municipio where his dummies can do businesses and give him the dough that he can give too – the crumbs - to the indigents and where he can have the wherewithal – called ‘money for vote buying - for his reelection in 2025.

Woe to those mayors who did not only lose their governor –benefactor but lose, too, the mayorship election last year. I know a Hizzoner who borrowed tens of millions of pesos to win his reelection in the 2019 poll and borrowed again and still lost the May 9, 2022 election that left him mired with his 2019 and 2022 debts. This happened because of his desire to win an election that gives only more or less a salary of P150,000 a month in the first class town.

“Nagkalugi-lugi na sila mayor tapos iyong mga contractors at suppliers na nagbigay ng advance pay doon sa supposed deal pag nanalo siya nga-nga sila,” a source told me about another chief executive who lost the election.

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How can a miscreant mayor enriched himself in a limited turf despite losing his contracting business in the Capitol?

With the 20% development or infrastructure projects (Section 287 Local Government Code) in a P350 million 2023 budgeted town, the Hizzoner can get a cut as high as 20 percent from the contractors on that P70 million a year or P210 million or more a year in his three years’ stint.

Twenty-percent of that dirty monies is P42 million – his juggernaut to ingratiate in patronage politics and vote buying.

As what my friend Dong told me about what his wife’s uncle told him: Pag upo pa lang ng Mayor umpisa na iyan sa pag ipon ng pera galing sa S.O.P sa suppliers at contractors, sa ingreso sa jueteng (the perennial’s illegal number game), at iba pang mapagkikitaan.

His seasoned uncle-politician and a lawyer however became poorer after he retired in politics.

“Pati mga ancestral properties pinagbebenta para may pang-gastos lang sa kanyang reelection,” Dong said.

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Aside from the corruption taken from the 20% development fund yearly, the mayor can still get his dirty monies from the following below:

-               P54. 6 million kickbacks - P1.4 million in one month or P18.2 million in year that includes the workers’ 13^th Month Pay, or P54.6 million in his three years’ term if out of the 400 public personnel half of them are “ghost” employees who received a P7,000 average monthly salary.

-          “Have you heard about a third class town with 400 workers? According to critics that 400 personnel are bigger than those workers of a city. A first class town in Pangasinan has more than 200 personnel only, how come a third class town has this scandalous number?” another mayor, who asked on conditioned of anonymity, posed to me.

-          - 10% to 20% cut in the 5% Calamity Fund.

-          - 10% to 20% cut from the total budget of gender and development (GAD).

-           Aside from the percentages that I mentioned above, the politico can still purloin some percentages on the Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE) in the different offices on the supplies there where he, as the Bids & Award Committee (BAC) chairman, in conspiracy with the treasurer, the accountant, the budget officer, general services officer, and the head of office who are members jack-up the prices of a laptop computer worth P30,000 to P120,000 apiece (ala those national DepEd officials), and others and even tinker with the 2% and 1%  of the Discretionary Fund and Special Education Fund.

READ MY OTHER BLOG:

The Lethal, Costly Weapons of a Cobra

MORTZ C. ORTIGOZA

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I am a twenty years seasoned Op-Ed Political Writer in various newspapers and Blogger exposing government corruptions, public officials's idiocy and hypocrisies, and analyzing local and international issues. I have a master’s degree in Public Administration and professional government eligibility. I taught for a decade Political Science and Economics in universities in Metro Manila and cities of Urdaneta, Pangasinan and Dagupan. Follow me on Twitter @totoMortz or email me at totomortz@yahoo.com.