Facilitating

From Earth Times-

Manila - The chairman of the Philippines' Commission on Elections (Comelec) on Monday resigned amid allegations he offered bribes to ensure that a Chinese firm won a government contract for a national broadband deal. Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, accused by a businessman and a cabinet secretary of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo of offering them multimillion-dollar bribes, said his resignation was effective immediately.

"The time has come to separate my person from the office I now occupy," he told a hastily called press conference at his home in Manila. "I am resigning effective immediately."

"I am not admitting guilty or anything," he added, vowing to fight to clear his name.

Abalos has been at the centre of a bribery scandal involving a 329-million-dollar contract to establish a national broadband network, which was awarded to Chinese firm ZTE Corp.

He allegedly offered a 10-million-dollar bribe to businessman Jose De Venecia III to drop his company's bid for the project and a 200-million-peso (4.44-million-dollar) bribe to former socio-economic planning secretary Romulo Neri to facilitate the contract.

Abalos has denied all the allegations, but admitted facilitating several meetings between ZTE representatives and senior government officials.

Facilitating? Abalos really means- I got caught taking a kickback.

I love the Philippines and its people. The politicians I can do without. Corruption pervades almost every level of government, where officials operate under the principle 'What is in this for me?' My wife has a favorite saying- Same Dog, different collar.

There is plenty of corruption in US politics, but to me its far worse in the Philippines. For the simple reason, that most of the Filipino people live at the poverty level. These crooks, elected or appointed, should burn in hell one day. People can barely eat, and people like Abalos line their pockets with millions.

Linked to- Bullwinkle, Cao, Perri Nelson,