When Prof. Leonor “Nang Liling” Briones speaks, everybody listens.
Speaking to the concerned members of the Rotary Club of Dumaguete (Mother Club led by newly inducted President Antonio E. Sy Jr.), Nang Liling recognized the record of public services that Rotary is known for locally and internationally, as well as specific projects addressing pressing social and economic problems.
Still being the social activist to the core, the Professor Emeritus of the College of Public Administration of the University of the Philippines Diliman hurled a challenge to the mix of active politicians, retired government functionaries, returning balikbayans, and countrymen/women in general to answer the call to help alleviate the problem of poverty, especially since Negros Oriental remains in the list of the poorest provinces.
A known voice against the excesses of government even during Martial Law, her soft-spoken, motherly voice is as loud as the loudest speaker when speaking about “people stealing public funds”.
Nang Liling knows by heart what she speaks of, and time has proven her right, as per the latest report, in an article written by British writer Caroline Kennedy (wife of National Artist-visual arts Bencab Cabrera), The Marcoses and the Missing Filipino Millons, listed:
“….The official customs list drawn up when they arrived into exile in Hawaii reads like pure fantasy: 22 crates of cash valued at $717 million, 300 crates of assorted jewellery (value undetermined),$4 million worth of unset precious gems contained in Pampers diaper boxes, $7.7 million worth of jewellery, including a gold crown encrusted with diamonds, three tiaras, 65 Seiko and Cartier watches, a box, measuring 12 feet by 4 feet, crammed full of real pearls, a three-foot solid gold statue covered in diamonds and other precious stones, $200,000 in gold bullion and nearly $1 million worth in Philippine pesos.
“Discovered among their luggage, too, were deposit slips worth $124 million for banks in the US, Switzerland, and the Cayman Islands.
A week ahead of their departure, 2,000 tons of gold, worth $22 billion, had been dispatched to Australia but on a tip off, was intercepted by the vigilant Australian Customs. Weekly shuttle flights, transporting crates containing money, Period furniture, antiques and Old Master paintings were reported to have flown to Hong Kong during the six months prior to their downfall in February 1986.
A further $250 million worth of jewelry was also confiscated from a friend of Imelda’s who was caught smuggling them out of the country for her….”
This was not all, read more about it, and with the current PDAF scam controversy, no wonder a Japanese dignitary commented, “Filipino officials really rob (love) their country!”
Nang Liling, thank you for your continuing advocacy!
Congratulations to President Antonio Sy and the newly-inducted officers of the Rotary Club of Dumaguete (Mother Club).
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Author’s email: whelmayap@yahoo.com
