Ricky Razon and the May 10, 2010 Presidential elections

Mr. Ricky Razon
with a pro golfer

What was the role played by Enrique "Ricky" Razon in the last May 10 presidential elections? Ricky Razon, if you remember, became a national celebrity when he figured prominently in the ZTE-NBN deal expose led by his friend, Joey de Venecia III. 


However, even prior to the ZTE-NBN scandal, Ricky Razon's name came up as the "business genius" behind the world-wide expansion of the only Filipino international port operator. Razon, who belonged to the old Spanish rich families, is one of the country's richest men. He got his wealth through sheer hard work. Some friends who know him, tells of a man who is very intelligent and is PR savvy. He is the quintessential business genius, who quietly carved his empire without encountering any major problems with government, unlike other businessmen who used their clout just to get economic concessions.


For Razon, his role in Philippine society is of a kingmaker. Yes, Mr. Enrique "Ricky" Razon is a political player, a Machivelli of sorts, who knows how to play the game and play it like a pro.


A Forbes article described him as a tough cookie, a "tough sonavagun." And he is. 


Everyone knows that Razon is a very close associate of former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. He is a strong supporter of the former president's administration because his business, which is port operations, rise and fall, depending on who's in power. The Arroyos are not just Razon's business or political ally, the Razons are close family friends. 


As a family friend, Razon treated the Arroyos to extravagant and lavish dinners, one of them, the infamous Le Cirque dinner.


Some tongues wag that Razon's role in the Arroyo administration was not just the one who gets a wad of money from his own pocket to finance a last supper, oh, no. 


Razon was, according to sources, a close confidante, whose counsel in terms of investments was clearly valued by the former official family. 


Fact is, according to deep sources, Razon was the one who orchestrated the ZTE-NBN deal. He chose the players there, and his New York connections were used in solidifying the deal which would have given the Philippines a very stable communications network.


Some say that Razon knows the Arroyos investments abroad. And some of the money from these investments, wagging tongues say, were used to finance not Gloria Arroyo's candidate, oh no. 


Razon's money, according to malicious insiders, were used to fund Aquino's presidential campaign.


Here is what happened, according to deep business sources.


Sometime in November of 2009, Razon through certain friends from the Aquino camp, offered to finance his campaign. Aquino, according to sources, reportedly rejected the offer. 


Razon, by this time, according to sources, hold certain aces in the operation of the elections, including source codes and all. Razon, says these unimpeachable sources, is not just full of money, he also knows how to reportedly manipulate the results of the elections.


So, it was not just money that Razon was reportedly offering. It was the very prospect of winning the elections.


Despite Aquino's rebuff, two very close Aquino supporters led by Tonyboy Cojuangco and Rapa Lopa, continued liaising with the Razon camp. 


Tonyboy, says sources, opened the backdoor for Razon's "investments" and his "election operators" to take part in the yellow campaign. He was, based on stories shared by very close operators during the elections, very active as a silent representative of the previous administration and that of the FVR group.


Razon's role became extremely important during the most crucial moment of counting the votes. Some very deep Comelec sources say that the real winner of the May 10, 2010 presidential elections was former president Joseph Estrada. The real score, says these sources, was of Erap leading Noynoy Aquino by roughly 800,000 votes. 


During those crucial midnight hours, it was decided that the win should be given to Noynoy since an Erap win would cause instability. 


Certain quarters say that the real winning score was that of Binay's. The rest of the winners, including those who won the Senatorial race, were reportedly manipulated to favor the May pre-election survey results. This, says certain sources, was done to divert attention away from what was happening in the presidential results, which were being manipulated. The quieter sectors are, the best it was for the operators of the presidential results.


Now, the question really is--what was the compromise given to Erap to "shut his mouth" and not "contest the results of the May 10, 2010 presidential elections"?


I know, I know. This sounds as something out of a "conspiracy" movie. But, if you only know who shared these stories to this writer, you'll probably believe them since these people are quite prominent. 


The only question is, what were the concessions made by Razon with the Aquino camp? Does this include the non-prosecution of Gloria Arroyo and her mafia gang? Does this include the stay of many of Arroyo's trusted lieutenants in the government bureaucracy?


2011 will be a very crucial year for the new Aquino administration for two (2) things: one, the expected Cabinet revamp. Will Aquino replace his current Cabinet with those nominated by business groups surrounding him?

Teodoro is No. 1--FVR

Yesterday's affair saw former president Fidel V. Ramos giving Defense secretary Gilbert "Gibo" Teodoro his trademark thumb up sign. In FVR's mind, Teodoro is truly qualified to run for the presidency, but cut short of endorsing him, saying that he reserves that right until November 15, the day when political configurations are clearer.

Honestly, I share FVR's belief about Gibo. Among all the candidates, Gibo is, I think, the most intelligent, the most idealistic and the most straight-forward of all of them. What's best about him is he knows the system very, very well, and knows how to actually cure its infirmities. And he has this fire in his belly and the glitter in his eyes that tells you this person has the qualities of a great Leader.

What Teodoro however does not have is the right moral compass.

Teodoro thinks like an American. Look at how he views things. He says he will continue what Mrs. Arroyo accomplished and more.

If he opens his eyes a little bit, Teodoro would have seen how devastated the people are when Mrs. Arroyo's government fails to do its mandate of somewhat regulating markets. Teodoro is a typical technocrat who mouths vision without going to the market or the grocery first to see first-hand the problems.

Teodoro failed to see how Mrs. Arroyo's war policies have put the lives of thousands of Bangsamoro families in jeopardy. Teodoro only knows the language of war.

Teodoro does not see anything wrong with those scandals involving Mrs. Arroyo and her husband. He finds nothing wrong with the ZTE-NBN deal, nor does he sees anything immoral with the Joc-Joc Bolante fertilizer scam. And surely, Teodoro thinks that Hello Garci is as normal as any other telephone call.

Teodoro fails to get it when people always thumb Mrs. Arroyo's policies down. For him, okey if Mrs. Arroyo's government allows cartelization of services. Okey if families such as the Aboitizes go scot-free despite their ships killing scores of Filipinos. Okey if businessmen such as Danding Cojuangco controls most of the economy or people like Ricky Razon or Cesar Quiambao corner most government contracts.

For Teodoro, it is okey to allow Mrs. Arroyo to just fade away, allow her to enjoy retirement with monies amassed during her term.

Teodoro may have the brains. The defense secretary may have the right war strategems to use against his own people. And Teodoro may have the fire in his belly to do the right things.

But, what he does not have is the right appreciation of Philippine reality.