Napoles tried to bribe Letty Magsanoc
”DOJ turns cold on Napoles bid for transfer to a safe house” — headline
I learned that Napoles tried to bribe the late Inquirer Editor in Chief Letty Jimenez-Magsanoc when the businesswoman went to the Inquirer office to explain her side on the P10-billion pork barrel scam, which was this paper’s continuing story.
However, Magsanoc, sensing the attempt to hand her the bribe money in her in office, called the other Inquirer editors and interviewed Napoles at the conference room.
I was told by a source close to the plunder suspect that Napoles had a bag filled with P20 million in cash for Letty, ready in her car that was parked nearby.
“Hindi niya kayang lagyan si (She couldn’t bribe) Magsanoc,” said the source.
If Napoles tried to bribe Letty to make the Inquirer go easy on her, so to speak, there’s no telling that she tried bribing the former Justice Secretary Vit Aguirre so she could become a state witness and be moved from the Camp Bagong Diwa detention facility to a government safe house.
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One of the guys President Digong referred to when he said that some of his supporters were shamelessly taking advantage of their positions was probably Aguirre, who was kicked out recently.
Describing the officials he had given the boot, the President said they had egged him to run for the country’s highest post when he was Davao City mayor.
He bemoaned the fact that these were the very same people who are abusing their power after he appointed them to office.
Aguirre, who was Digong’s classmate at San Beda Law School, went with candidate Rody Duterte on the campaign trail.
Expect more Digong supporters, who are now in government, to be kicked out soon for corruption.
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Labor Undersecretary Dominador Say resigned recently to spare himself the shame of being kicked out for alleged corruption.
Say knew he was about to be given the boot so he preempted it by filing his resignation.
Sources in Malacañang had told me earlier that a labor official, whom they didn’t identify, would be fired for demanding bribes.
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To officials who show hubris — an exaggerated sense of pride or self-confidence — due to the lofty positions that they hold, here’s a reminder: sic transit gloria mundi.
“Thus passes the glory of the world.”
In a moment, power is gone.
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The government should find a middle ground between putting a stop to “endo” or contractualization and attracting foreign investors.
The country needs foreign investors at this time and giving in to the demands of militant labor would drive them away.
On the other hand, workers need a sense of belonging in the company that employs them.
Contractual workers have no security of tenure as they are not directly hired by some companies but are taken in through service agencies; they can be fired anytime.
