Bam Aquino Column in Manila Bulletin

The money trail back to Bangladesh

We are finally making headway in locating portions of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh and siphoned into the Philippines.

So far we have confirmed that Solaire Resort & Casino received P1.365 billion ($30 million) and Eastern Hawaii Leisure Company, owned by casino junket operator Kim Wong, received P1 billion ($23 million) of the stolen money.

Based on money transfer firm PhilRem’s testimony before the committee, it was alleged that around $30.64 million, broken down to $18 million and P600 million, was delivered to Weikang Xu over 6 tranches.

It was only during the Senate hearing last March 29 that we were able to dissect further the location of a portion of the stolen money with the testimony of Kim Wong.

Wong contested PhilRem’s testimony and claimed that they only released P400 million and $5 million over 4 tranches.

Wong also testified to receiving P1 billion from Philrem: P450 million ($9.7 million), which he accepted as payment for a debt of one Shuhua Gao, and P550 million entered to Midas Hotel and Casino. However, of the P550 million, P510 million was lost to Midas and only P40 million is left.

Since his statement, Wong has already turned over P38 million ($863,000) and $4.63 million to the Anti-Money Laundering Council (AMLC) for safekeeping. He has also stated his willingness to return the P450 million or $9.7 million paid to him to cover Gao’s debt, but requested for a month to deliver.

Today, a total of about $5.5 million has already been reclaimed from Wong. And once he is able to return the additional $9.7 million, we will have recovered $15.2 million of the $81 million stolen from Bangladesh.

On the other hand, PhilRem offered to return the P10.47 million (about $232,000) representing the fee they purportedly received for conducting the transactions. However, this was rejected by Bangladesh.

In the case of Bloomberry Resorts, operator of Solaire, they’ve stated that they were able to freeze $2.33 million or P107 million of the stolen money in their casino – another amount we can add to the pot for Bangladesh, should they agree to turn it over.

We will continue to probe the money trail through Solaire and will seek to verify if there is still recoverable dirty money in Midas.

Plus, there is the issue of the other junket operators that are still in the process of confirming receipt of over P1 billion from Solaire.

In the next few weeks, we should be able to pinpoint the rest of the illicit funds so we can return as much as we can to Bangladesh.

The AMLC already said that it is within their powers to reclaim money that is laundered ‘regardless of where the money went. However, they would need to go through a court process and the necessary legal proceedings, which will inevitably take time.

The question is whether these institutions will contest a possible civil forfeiture of laundered money still within their coffers.

If I were them, instead of fighting the court case, I would, in good faith, turn over to the AMLC all illicit funds that coursed through their internal systems.

“Yung maduming pera, dapat ibalik,” said Wong. We can hope everyone shares this sentiment.

This flagrant crime perpetrated in our shores with the involvement of Philippine individuals and institutions has tarnished our country’s reputation and now the world is watching our every move.

A crucial step in redeeming ourselves is to return as much of the stolen money to Bangladesh at the soonest possible time.

Are you following the investigation of the stolen $81 million from Bangladesh? Whose story do you believe? What questions would you ask the resource persons?

First Published on Manila Bulletin

Driving Philippine taxis forward

As you read this, there might be yet another story about an altercation between a passenger and a taxi driver.

I find this quite startling because back in the day, when I rode taxis to get to and from meetings, I had great experiences traveling around the Metro and even looked forward to picking up some wisdom from my driver’s many stories.

Reports these days are worrying to the riding public as many have expressed their discontent with their taxi experiences on social media, even filing complaints to the LTFRB.

It seems the relationship between driver and passenger has turned toxic, exacerbating the already infuriating issue of Metro Manila traffic.

Frustrated taxi drivers, scraping for sufficient pay, unload their dissatisfaction on passengers and, in turn, passengers become increasingly suspicious and more likely to shift to ride-sharing – the taxi industry’s new archenemy.

However, all is not lost on this front and there are still stories of pleasant cab experiences circulating on the Web. Stories like that of Mr. Eugenio Estrella, a 63-year-old taxi driver who takes any passenger and even refuses tips, has garnered over 100,000 shares on Facebook.

This is in direct contrast to the stories of drivers berating passengers and is, instead, an example of what a Filipino driver could and should be. Well-mannered cab drivers who value their passengers and play by the rules should be the norm rather than the exception.

But a lot of drivers have long been complaining about insufficient income for the amount of time and energy they spend chauffeuring passengers.

They earn their pay through the boundary system with a ‘boundary’ or set quota paid to the taxi company, which ranges from P1,200 to P1,700 every 24 hours depending on the make of their vehicle. On top of this, they also assume the fuel and other daily expenses.

Taxi drivers have no choice but to work for as many hours as they can in a day to shoulder the boundary and gas expenses while still earning enough to sustain their family.

The boundary system has long ruled the Philippine public transport arena – an area in our development that, we all know, leaves much to be desired. Perhaps it is time to rethink the system and introduce effectual reforms.

Today, there is an undercurrent of Filipinos waiting to see change in the industry and are eager to adopt new technologies and systems, even willing to pay a premium for convenience and security.

To improve the Philippine taxi experience and to ensure the security and convenience the riding public is clamoring for, drivers must be offered a fair shake through a fair process.

Finally, with the advent of ridesharing services, we are seeing novel income arrangements as drivers and car-owners utilize profit-sharing or percentage-of-revenue schemes that are favorable to both parties.

Perhaps this is why we see Filipinos gravitating to ridesharing services like Uber and GrabCar; because they offer an innovative system, security, convenience, and satisfaction to passengers while providing a better option for our drivers.

When we look at the rise of new systems to replace the old, there is a period of resistance wherein proponents of the old system fight any form of change.

But through this tension, we can also hope for a period of realization where there is recognition of the need to rid longstanding structures of the pieces that hold it back from keeping relevant with the times.

Maybe with more equitable sharing systems for drivers, the end benefit will be to the riding public – that they can finally enjoy a safe, reliable, and comfortable commuting experience.

First Published on Manila Bulletin

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