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THE Air Materiel Wing Savings and Loan Association, Inc. is a
cooperative designed to help soldiers and policemen in times of
emergencies. It is a nonstock, nonprofit group of some 220,000
investors and members. It’s almost like a medium-sized bank,
holding about P14 billion in trust.
Something challenging happened to the group in
the year 2005. Its board members, 11 of them, resigned to obtain a
fresh mandate from a membership that was disappointed with a scandal
that led to mistrust. This was during the term of retired Col. Luvin
S. Manay, then the chairman and president.
In a special election set on Oct. 14, 2005, the
resigned 11 directors and 35 ordinary members ran for office. But on
election day, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas ordered the suspension
of several directors. Among them were Manay, Anselmo Geronimo, Jose
Elaurza, Johnson Nestor Ocfemia and Antonio Mantuano.
These directors were disqualified from running.
Reasons: The BSP suspension order and because they failed to submit
the clearances required for their candidacies. Manay and his group
went to court which started a legal battle in the regional trial
court, in the Court of Appeals, and finally in the Supreme Court.
But the suits and the filing of cases did not
deter the organization from continuing with the Oct. 14, 2005
election. Elected were Ricardo Nolasco Jr., Thaddeus Estalilla,
Ismael Abad, Morado Mercado, Ricardo Perido, Cedric Reyes, Cesar
Toledanes, Antonio Gumba, Rolando Cacabelos, Ruben Estepa, Domingo
Dimapilis Jr. and Angel Tapac. Since the 11th slot was won by
Dimapilis and Tapac, the two decided to split the term of office.
No leadership vacuum occurred in the
organization, with Nolasco’s group assuming office. But in the
legal battles, Nolasco’s group lost the initial fight—in the
regional trial court and then in the Court of Appeals. But it gained
the upperhand in December 2006 when it obtained a status quo ante
order from the Supreme Court.
In October 2007, the Supreme Court handed down
its decision directing Nolasco, Estalilla, Mercado, Manay,Geronimo,
Elauza, Ocfemia, and Mantuano as holdover directors until an
election is held. A last-minute legal maneuver by the Manay group to
return to office before the scheduled elections, via a petition
before the Court of Appeals, failed.
Implementing the SC decision, the board of
trustees set an election on Jan. 18, 2008, to fill-up eight of the
total eleven seats in the board. All members were notified and the
scheduled election was published in the newspapers as required by
the by-laws of the association.
Despite the presence of a notice, a democratic
procedure required in cases of this kind, Manay and his group
boycotted the polls. But the process had to continue. Of the 18
candidates for the eight positions in the board (the posts of the
eight holdover directors per SC decision), Nolasco, Mercado, Estalilla,
Abad, Perido, Tapac, Gumba, and Toledanes were elected by the
members. The eight elected directors, together with Rolando
Cacabelos, Odelon Mendoza, and Cedric Reyes who were elected in
early 2007, now compose the 11-member board of trustees.
Immediately, the association notified the
Supreme Court of compliance with the October 2007 decision. Manay
and his group did not challenge scheduled election on Jan.18, 2008,
or questioned the result of the election before the regional trial
court. This group went directly to the Supreme Court to have the
election annulled that had been conducted with the winners already
proclaimed and have assumed office.
Why the Manay group went directly to the Supreme
Court, instead of following the rule on jurisdictions, is not clear
at the moment. But I think that the issue of leadership of the
organization has already been decided by the mass membership.
Cory should relax
“Cory rebounds, vows to pursue fight for
truth,” one newspaper said yesterday. I think that former
President Cory Aquino should relax and reduce, if not stop, her
political activities. The same advice goes to President Fidel V.
Ramos and President Joseph Estrada.
In terms of ethics, it should be awkward for a
former President to call for the resignation of the incumbent, even
under the guise of the search for truth or in the name of “supreme
sacrifice.” Do the former presidents have a hidden agenda? Do they
want to rule beyond their terms? Or do they want to hide their own
shortcomings during their own terms?
In the United States, former presidents rarely
talk about the incumbent. They understand the challenges of
leadership, that is why they keep their mouths shut. If I were Cory,
I would leave it to future historians to judge the term of President
GMA. After all, President Aquino and others will also be judged by
objective scholars.
President Aquino should not attack others, but
should instead try to defend her own legacy. During her term, there
were a lot of criticisms: the debilitating coups, her shameful stand
on the bases treaty, the massacre at Mendiola and the questionable
arrangements at Hacienda Luisita that could be a problem at the
expiry of land reform. These should be her concerns, not hitting
successor governments.
jules42na@yahoo.com
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