Malacañang confirmed to buy a new Jet for GMA

[Tarmac]

---

Stripping the issue of any political or socio-economic color, here's how it stands:

1) It is the Office of the President, the executive branch of government, that is soliciting bids for the new aircraft, not PGMA personally.

By the time the aircraft arrives, which may be a year or two from now, PGMA will no longer be in office. She is therefore not the beneficiary of this purchase. (And let's not dwell on that cha-cha bull anymore. There's no way she or her allies are going to pull it off, nor will the Filipinos stand for it)

2) The Presidential Airlift Wing uses aging aircraft which are getting more and more difficult and expensive to maintain to a standard of reliability and safety needed to transport the Chief Executive. Production of that aircraft ceased a long time ago and spare parts will get more and more difficult to come by with each passing year. Not only that, the aging presidential jet--purchased when Marcos was still President--is a gas-guzzler.

It is not inconceivable that sometime in the future one of our presidents will go down in that clunky old Marcos-era Fokker 28 (which hardly anyone is flying anymore in commercial service, much less as VIP transport). Only then will people wonder why a new plane wasn't purchased when the funds were there. Okay lang if di ta ganahan sa presidente, pero what if that president happens to be someone as loved as Magsaysay?

3) Because the PAF aircraft designated to transport the President is old, Malacanang is forced to charter or borrow modern executive jets from prominent businessmen or corporations--San Miguel, Zamora, Alvarez, Aboitiz, Consunji, Rodriguez, Lucio Tan, etc... That's pathetic, don't you think? That's the equivalent of the Chief Executive thumbing a ride or taking a taxi.

But the worst part is, these entities will collect far more than what the Office of the President owes them for the cost of fuel for the flight. Naa pa gyud utang na loob. The Office of the President, in using the aircraft of these entities, will incur political debt. Certainly any political debts to be paid will amount to more than the P1.2B that the new presidential aircraft will cost.

Repayment will come in the form of favored status on bidding for projects like new power plants, or automated election machines, or defense-related materiel, or mining permits, or telecommunications equipment, or tollway and mass transit infrastructure. Taken altogether, these cost trillions of pesos.

Considering the above, the purchase of a new Presidential aircraft is not a simple exercise in frivolity or excess.

[samsungster]

Arroyo scraps plan to buy new jet


MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has cancelled an order for a presidential jet amid public outrage over her alleged extravagant lifestyle during a financial crisis, her spokesman said Sunday. The make and price of the aircraft were not disclosed but her spokesman, Cerge Remonde, said Arroyo "does not want more criticism about her spending." "I am formally announcing the president has ordered the cancellation of the purchase of a presidential jet," Remonde said.

Arroyo came under intense criticism after the New York Post reported this week that she and her officials ran up a $20,000 (almost one million pesos) tab for dinner at a restaurant while on an official visit to the US. The report triggered public condemnation and street protests in the Philippines, where, according to official data, about one third of the country's 90 million population lives on one dollar or less a day. The presidential palace denied public funds had been spent on the dinner at the Le Cirque restaurant last month, saying that a rich Filipino architect whose brother is a political ally of Arroyo had paid the bill.

Remonde said Sunday the purchase of the jet had been cancelled even though this "would have benefited the next presidents." He said Arroyo's office was also preparing a report for Congress on expenses incurred during her trip to the US, where she became the first Southeast Asian leader to meet President Barack Obama. Arroyo was swept to power in 2001 after a military-backed popular revolt ousted her corruption-tainted predecessor, Joseph Estrada. She served Estrada's remaining term in office and in 2004 won a highly contested second term amid allegations of cheating. Her popularity has continued to drop since 2004, with her family accused of using the presidential office to enrich themselves.

Arroyo scraps plan to buy new jet - INQUIRER.net, Philippine News for Filipinos

[zenneo]

ngano buy pa man?? diba she has just a few months left as a pwesident?? or basin tinuod nga magamit pa na niya after sa election kay prime minister na sad siya

hala hakpa, imu na lang tanan nang!!!!

[zenneo]

Stripping the issue of any political or socio-economic color, here's how it stands:

1) It is the Office of the President, the executive branch of government, that is soliciting bids for the new aircraft, not PGMA personally.

By the time the aircraft arrives, which may be a year or two from now, PGMA will no longer be in office. She is therefore not the beneficiary of this purchase. (And let's not dwell on that cha-cha bull anymore. There's no way she or her allies are going to pull it off, nor will the Filipinos stand for it)

2) The Presidential Airlift Wing uses aging aircraft which are getting more and more difficult and expensive to maintain to a standard of reliability and safety needed to transport the Chief Executive. Production of that aircraft ceased a long time ago and spare parts will get more and more difficult to come by with each passing year. Not only that, the aging presidential jet--purchased when Marcos was still President--is a gas-guzzler.

It is not inconceivable that sometime in the future one of our presidents will go down in that clunky old Marcos-era Fokker 28 (which hardly anyone is flying anymore in commercial service, much less as VIP transport). Only then will people wonder why a new plane wasn't purchased when the funds were there. Okay lang if di ta ganahan sa presidente, pero what if that president happens to be someone as loved as Magsaysay?

3) Because the PAF aircraft designated to transport the President is old, Malacanang is forced to charter or borrow modern executive jets from prominent businessmen or corporations--San Miguel, Zamora, Alvarez, Aboitiz, Consunji, Rodriguez, Lucio Tan, etc... That's pathetic, don't you think? That's the equivalent of the Chief Executive thumbing a ride or taking a taxi.

But the worst part is, these entities will collect far more than what the Office of the President owes them for the cost of fuel for the flight. Naa pa gyud utang na loob. The Office of the President, in using the aircraft of these entities, will incur political debt. Certainly any political debts to be paid will amount to more than the P1.2B that the new presidential aircraft will cost.

Repayment will come in the form of favored status on bidding for projects like new power plants, or automated election machines, or defense-related materiel, or mining permits, or telecommunications equipment, or tollway and mass transit infrastructure. Taken altogether, these cost trillions of pesos.

Considering the above, the purchase of a new Presidential aircraft is not a simple exercise in frivolity or excess.

very well said...

[samamar21]

dapat dili na gyod siya mopalit kay less than a year na lang.

[KASAAC]

nganung ang mga politiko magpa aruhay man jud...pwede man sad sila mag airplane diba kung naay mga events sa laing country...unnecessary na bitaw tsk tsk...wala man gale kapalit ug bag-ong equipment para sa pag-asa unya aircraft na hinuon ang siguroun biya ani nila oi...

[mique]

sus.. mao ra ni pasingad2an sa ato taxes? a**ya aning gloria..

[BananaQ]

Maayo pud ug i cancel na lang... because PGMA's term is almost over...

If the delivery is for the next president, ma pareha na sad ni sa NAIA Terminal 3 fiasco... tinudlo-ay na pud mo kung kinsay nangurakot ug nganong kaning supplier inyong gipili ug naka deliver pa gyud na sila sa order specifications.

[KASAAC]

^basin.... I smell anomalies

[raski]

If this is really supposed to be for the benefit of the next president then logic dictates that the purchase can wait for the next president to arrive. I don't see the benefit to Gloria personally in buying this plane, she can still go on her multibillion peso junkets without this plane anyway and wouldn't be any more unpopular than she already is. So I'm wont to believe that her intention here is not merely for her convenience but for something else, whether it is entirely just for the benefit of her successors or for some other shadier reason who knows...