Romulo Neri was appointed the new chairman of the SSS by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. You probably remember him from the NBN-ZTE scandal wherein he himself branded the President as “Evil”. When the time came to finally make a stand for the country, he buckled from the pressure and decided to shut up to protect the President. It doesn’t matter anymore if Neri is actually competent and good at what he does. In the eyes of the people, this is another blatant payback by the current administration. This is literally “payment” for Neri’s silence. This made me think… can Romulo Neri actually sleep at night? Does his conscience allow him enough peace that he can actually look his loved ones in the eye with integrity? I’m not the only one who’s against this. Check out what our senators and congressmen said after the jump.
From Inquirer.net:
Senator Manuel “Mar” Roxas II said: “It is unwise. I would not have made that appointment. These are turbulent times for the country. The stock market is volatile. The peso is losing steam. We are beset with global uncertainties.”
“It is not the time to appoint someone with minimal, real life work experience in the marketplace to sit atop the SSS which has nearly 30 million members. Besides, this appointment will just drive unneeded political controversy,” he said.
Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero, for his part, is worried (“nangangamba”) about Neri’s appointment to a company responsible for private monies of SSS members. He said political interest should not get in the way of the proper administration of SSS.
He recalled how Neri had put the President’s interest above the country’s when he refused to reveal the details of the chief executive’s instructions to him on the NBN agreement as he invoked executive privilege.
“Kung siya nga ang itatalaga nawa’y huwag magamit ang pondo ng SSS para sa pamumulitika, para sa interes ng iilan. Iisa lamang dapat ang konsiderasyon kung siya nga ang mamumuno nyan, interes ng mga miyembro at ma-secure ang pondo nila at hindi malustay o magamit sa pamumulitika [If he is indeed appointed there, I hope that SSS funds won't be used for political purposes or for the interest of the few. The only consideration if he is to head it is the interest of the members, to secure their funds, and not to be wasted or spent on politicking],” Escudero said.
At the House of Representatives, Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño called Neri’s appointment a “big bribe” to silence him.
“Romulo Neri’s appointment as SSS president is a big bribe to keep his mouth shut on the anomalies of the GMA [Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo] administration,” Casiño said in a text message when sought for his reaction.
“This also assures GMA that she has an SSS head that will look the other way and keep silent as she and her minions plunder the pension funds of the private sector workers,” Casiño said.
With all the problems our country is facing, it’s amazing how PGMA can still make unpopular decisions like this one. It really smacks of corruption and I can’t wait for the day that we finally get her out of power and replace her with someone who has a conscience and is actually God-fearing.
As for you, Sec. Neri, I hope you can still look yourself in the mirror.
kalokohan na naman ng gobyerno ito
Neri was placed at SSS for a purpose, hindi naman siguro lalong sisirain lang ng Arroyo government ang sarili nila sa harap ng mamamayang pilipino sa pagsira ng SSS o paggamit ng pondo nito sa pansariling interes.
payback man o hindi, Neri is still one of the most competent cabinet member.
is he still have concience?
This is irony at its finest right here..
Neri sucks ass, big time. Yeah, what a prick, in exchange for fatter pockets, he traded the chance for the Filipinos to have a better leader. Talk about a motherf-in payback. Just shows how PGMA doesn’t think of her decisions, or how she views the Filipino people as plain stupid. Oi mahiya naman kayo di kami tanga.