Some weeks ago, President Aquino appointed Atty. Mabel Mamba to the board of PCSO. For those who are in the tobacco control community, we know her as a spokesperson of the tobacco industry, particularly as the Government Relations Manager of Philip Morris Philippines, though she apparently had resigned earlier this year, as evidenced from the notes below.
Given her (past?) relationship with Philip Morris, it is quite obvious that her appointment to the PCSO board seems contrary to the vision and mission of PCSO, that is to uplift the quality of life of the Filipino people by providing medical and health services to the disadvantaged sectors of society through a professional workforce with integrity, competence, a deep sense of accountability and transparency in all its official transactions (http://www.pcso.gov.ph/vision-mission.html). It is also in violation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which the Philippines and 168 other countries are Parties. Article 5.3 is a general obligation and states: "In setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law."
Given her (past?) relationship with Philip Morris, it is quite obvious that her appointment to the PCSO board seems contrary to the vision and mission of PCSO, that is to uplift the quality of life of the Filipino people by providing medical and health services to the disadvantaged sectors of society through a professional workforce with integrity, competence, a deep sense of accountability and transparency in all its official transactions (http://www.pcso.gov.ph/vision-mission.html). It is also in violation of Article 5.3 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), to which the Philippines and 168 other countries are Parties. Article 5.3 is a general obligation and states: "In setting and implementing their public health policies with respect to tobacco control, Parties shall act to protect these policies from commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry in accordance with national law."
Thus Atty. Debby Sy, a staunch tobacco control advocate, wrote a private e-mail to other public health advocates to alert them to this situation. How a private email ended up in the hands of Atty. Mamba is anybody's guess, but it did, and she was apparently "shocked, offended and upset" when she read it. In response, she wrote a note on her Facebook page appended with a verbatim pasting of Debby's e-mail. I have taken the liberty of pasting her note below (including Debby's e-mail), interspersed with my own comments.
Please take time to read up to comment #19.
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ASK FIRST
by Mabel P. Villarica-Mamba on Wednesday, July 28, 2010 at 7:49pm
I was appointed Member of the Board of Directors of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) by President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III on July 19, 2010. This is the fourth position I held in government.
After passing the bar, I ran for Vice Mayor of Marilao, Bulacan. It was my first time to participate in the election as a candidate although my family has been in public service since Marilao became an independent Municipality. I won by a large margin and I would have ran for higher office the following election. However, I got married in 1997 and relocated to Cagayan.
In 1998, President Joseph Ejercito Estrada appointed me Presidential Adviser on Youth Affairs. One of the programs we conceptualized which received numerous international awards and made a huge impact on high school student leaders was the “Responsible Students for Active Governance”, an inter-active leadership training workshop given to all public secondary student government officers nationwide. I was appointed concurrent Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Youth Commission (NYC) in 2000 and served until the expiration of my 3-year term in 2003.
[Dr. Yul's comment #1: What do these previous government appointments mean? These came before her partnership and employment with Philip Morris. Do they remove the fact that for a long time, she represented the interests of a large, well-resourced, and vile tobacco company, which is primarily a purveyor of disease, disability, and death among Filipinos?]
When I was elected as the first and so far only female National President of the Junior Chamber International Philippines (Philippine Jaycees), I embarked on various projects and activities which sought to give a face and a voice to the more than 200 JC chapters all over Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. Under my term, we distributed more than 1,000 shallow tube wells to provide potable water to public schools all over the country. Together with PHINMA, we implemented a project to benefit prisoners in provincial, city and municipal jails by providing their basic necessities, livelihood training and counselling. We also partnered with Philip Morris Philippines Manufacturing Inc. (PMPMI) on the Youth Smoking Prevention (YSP) Program in cooperation with the Sangguniang Kabataan National Federation. All projects received major awards in international JC conferences.
[Dr. Yul's comment #2: If she did such a great job, why does she feel the need to emphasize being the "first and so far only female National President of the Junior Chamber International Philippines (Philippine Jaycees)"? Tooting her own horn...? See below re YSP.]
I was invited to join PMPMI when my term in the NYC ended. PMPMI was looking for a consultant familiar with the tobacco growing areas and Cagayan is one of the leading producers of burley tobacco. Moreover, I got to know more about the company and its principles because of our YSP Program. It sponsored the YSP program, including television advertisements and JC Creed and Prayer billboards, without requiring its company name and products to be acknowledged or included.
[Dr. Yul's comment #3: I believe Philip Morris targeted Mamba because she is a bright lawyer with community standing. They are always on the lookout to hire bright and upcoming professionals, particularly lawyers, as well as people who are looked upon as community leaders, so that their company will appear to be a "socially responsible" company in spite of the many harms that it causes through its manufacture, promotions, and sales of cigarettes.]
[Dr. Yul's comment #4: Tobacco companies are really experts at spinning their Youth Smoking Prevention (YSP) programs, because they are able to fool many people into thinking that these are genuine efforts at preventing youth smoking. Think about it though: if these YSP programs are really successful, then there will be no future smokers, and tobacco companies like Philip Morris would go out of business! See my other blog entry regarding the truth about Philip Morris's (and other tobacco companies') YSP program.]
From being a consultant, I was asked to formally join the company in 2004 as Community Relations Manager. I was later promoted to Government Relations Manager in 2006 although I still continued to manage some of our community development projects. Despite the fact that there are a lot of career growth opportunities at PMPMI, I resigned on March 22, 2010 to work full-time on my husband’s campaign. I also felt that I have to devote more time to my family, especially so that our kids are in the formative age. Our eldest son is about to enter Grade 1 and we have a 1.8 year old toddler.
I will always be proud of my 7-year stay at PMPMI. PM is a responsible company although anti-smoking advocates may disagree with me. It has always conducted its affairs within the bounds of the law and its company policies are often stricter than the government’s. It informs the public about the risks and dangers of smoking, and has definite positions on various issues that are levelled against it.
[Dr. Yul's comment #5: Atty. Mamba "will always be proud" of her work with PMPMI. Can we take this to mean that she will always defend this company and its actions? If so, then her relationship with the company has not really ended, has it? Her succeeding sentences already show her defending the "legitimacy" of the company.]
[Dr. Yul's comment #6: Philip Morris has not always conducted its affairs with the bounds of the law. It has been brought to court in the EU and USA and been found guilty in the US federal court on charges of cigarette smuggling and racketeering. In 2004, Philip Morris agreed to pay US$ 1.25 billion in exchange for the dropping of money laundering and smuggling charges against the company. Sure, it didn't admit liability, but why pay such a big amount if you're innocent? And what about the famous 1998 US Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) that Philip Morris and other US tobacco companies agreed to?]
[Dr. Yul's comment #7: Since when did a tobacco company like Philip Morris support regulatory policies that are stricter than the government's? As a result of the US MSA, millions of internal industry documents from Philip Morris and other companies have been made available to the public, and these show that Philip Morris has and will continue to fight government regulation with all its resources. Very recently, Philip Morris brought the Philippine Department of Health to court to stop DOH from implementing its order requiring tobacco companies to print pictorial health information on its packs. Also this year, Philip Morris has sued the government of Uruguay over its law requiring large pictorial warnings. (Note: Over 35 countries and jurisdictions now require pictorial warnings on cigarette packs.) All over the world, Philip Morris also continues to fight bans on smoking in public, bans on advertising, tobacco tax increases, as well as a whole range of other evidence-based government regulatory efforts which are included in the WHO FCTC. Philip Morris is always careful to say that it supports "sensible regulation," but it appears that its own interpretation of what is "sensible" is often not what is good for public health but only what is good for the company's profits. Of course, the company has "definite positions on various issues that are levelled against it." What company would not come out with "positions" when it is being assailed for the devastating health, social, economic, and environmental harms of its product?]
[Dr. Yul's comment #8: Does Philip Morris really inform the public about the risks and dangers of smoking? I sincerely doubt that. The internal documents from the US MSA show that companies like Philip Morris publicly denied for many years the many health harms of smoking, despite knowing about these harms for decades. And aren't health warnings placed to inform smokers about the harms of smoking, and doesn't Philip Morris have a long history of fighting health warnings? See: http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/content/12/suppl_3/iii13.full for an excellent analysis of how tobacco companies including Philip Morris fought health warning regulations for many years in Australia. If Philip Morris was sincere about informing the public about the dangers of smoking, it should say "stop smoking" instead of "smoking is an adult choice". Isn't Philip Morris saying it's okay to smoke as long as you're 18 years old or older? It's like saying "Here's poison. Take it if you like. We only sell it."]
While I maintain my friendship with the wonderful people I met in the company, I no longer have any ties with PMPMI or with any tobacco company or agency. If there is any remaining link with the tobacco industry, it is the fact that there are tobacco farms in some municipalities of Cagayan, including my husband’s hometown of Tuao. Our farms are planted with rice and corn as far as we are concerned. We are not engaged in any business that has to do with tobacco or cigarettes.
[Dr. Yul's comment #9: Hmm. Sure, technically, on paper, that sounds right, but see comment #5 above. What if PMPMI asks Atty. Mamba to help form a PMPMI-PCSO partnership, in violation of the WHO FCTC, as well as the joint memorandum circular issued by the Civil Service Commission and DOH prohibiting such a partnership? Have those ties really been cut?]
Ever since we were very young, my father has made sure that my brothers and I know about our family and how it kept the family’s name clean and bereft of any controversy. When I married into the Mamba family, I found out that they also never took advantage of their position or got entangled in corruption. Because of these, my husband and I are starting to educate our own children to be upright, honest and responsible Filipinos.
[Dr. Yul's comment #10: My parents, God-fearing Catholics, also raised us to be upright, honest, and responsible Filipinos. We can hope then that "upright, honest, and responsible Filipinos" will realize that companies like Philip Morris are only taking advantage of Filipinos in order to make a profit.]
I was, thus, shocked, offended and upset when I was given a hard copy of an e-mail sent by Debby Sy entitled “Pa-forward sa network ni PNoy”. She unfairly criticized the President by alleging that he appointed a representative of the tobacco industry to the PCSO, a government owned and controlled corporation that provides funds to the government’s health programs. She went further on to say that my appointment violates the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control’s provision prohibiting tobacco industry’s interference in government.
[Dr. Yul's comment #11: Atty. Mamba shouldn't be so thin-skinned. She chose to work for Philip Morris; she should accept the criticism that comes with such a decision. Furthermore, Debby Sy's email does not make a personal attack on her but rather laments the conflict of interest arising from the appointment of a (former) tobacco industry executive to a health-related government agency.]
[Dr. Yul's comment #12: Was Debby Sy unfairly criticizing the President? I've read her email several times, and I don't think she was.]
According to Debby Sy, ‘Atty Mamba, the PM Government Relations Mgr, is known in the tobacco control community as one who uses her network to defeat 100% Smoke Free initiatives in the local government level. She is the one who clinched the deal between Philip Morris and DOST last year to make it appear that they have a "partnership."
I have some friends in the tobacco control community such as Atty. Theodore Te and Atty. Rudy Quimbo, the former Chief of Staff of the original anti-smoking advocate, Sen. Juan Flavier. Like Debby Sy, I am also a graduate of the University of the Philippines. Teddy and Rudy can attest to who and what I am. I can easily make friends, I am good with names and faces, and I value and treasure friendships. Because of my affiliations, the government positions I have held in the past, my family’s and my husband’s political history and my work in the private sector, I had a chance to meet people from all over the country and around the world.
[Dr. Yul's comment #13: Good for you, Atty. Mamba. I'm also a UP graduate. So was Marcos.]
I do not believe that I am the only friendly person in the entire country whom the tobacco control community would single out to have a network that can defeat her organizations’ multi-million dollar funded projects. There are more than 3,000 municipalities, almost 80 cities and around 79 provinces (plus or minus a few here and there) in the Philippines. Further, the local chief executives and local legislative councils are elected officials. How can I, even with my charm and wit (ehem-ehem), defeat the anti-tobacco community? Who am I to dictate upon the local government units? I can only present the company’s position, if and when allowed, but the decision to pass or not to pass an ordinance is not within my control.
[Dr. Yul's comment #14: Doesn't being a Philip Morris Community Relations Manager and then Government Relations Manager require fostering vast networks as part of the job? Anyway, I also don't believe that Atty. Mamba is the "only friendly [sic] person in the entire country" to be singled out by the tobacco control community. That is because, unlike multi-million dollar transnational tobacco companies (and Philip Morris is the biggest one of them all), tobacco control advocates do not have money to waste on a single individual (some NGOs and individuals even have no money but depend on voluntary contributions). Tobacco corporations, however, have millions/billions of dollars to spend on campaigns that include lunches and dinners with politicians and media practitioners, promotions of the company's so-called CSR, crafting sophisticated plans to circumvent tobacco advertising bans, visiting local chief executives to defeat smoke-free local legislation, etc. I dare Philip Morris to publicly disclose how much they spend on advertising, promotions, sponsorships, CSR, and lobbying. True, Atty. Mamba's "charm and wit" will not defeat the tobacco control community (we've been around long enough not to be fooled, and while we do not have millions like Philip Morris, we have the truth and public good on our side), but coupled with the distorted views the company presents to local government councils, they could unduly influence local government officials, who are not familiar with the many disguises and tactics employed by the industry. For an overview and more info about tobacco industry interference, see: http://tobaccofreecenter.org/industry_watch/facts.]
With respect to the DOST (Department of Science and Technology), Debby Sy is again gravely mistaken. Our only partnership with DOST is limited to doing a research on possible uses of used cigarette butts. Since cigarette butts is said to be one of the leading polluters in the world, we designed a project which includes collection of used cigarette butts, recycling and education. DOST conducted tests to analyze the materials that make up the cigarette butt and what can be done with it. There is another project involving grants to health research in the provinces but it is not in partnership with DOST, but with some Regional Health Research and Development Consortia outside Metro-Manila.
[Dr. Yul's comment #15: Debby Sy talked about a PMPMI-DOST partnership, and Atty. Mamba confirmed it. How can Debby Sy be "gravely mistaken"? Additionally, the best way to deal with cigarette butts (which indeed are the #1 polluters of coastlines and other environments) is to encourage smokers to quit smoking. This is why Philip Morris is looking into "recycling, education, etc.", because it wants to deceive the government and the public into thinking that these are the proper solutions and that it is being a "responsible" company. This is the same for health research. Why else would a company that is the cause of so much disease and death want to support health research? Because it wants people to think it is "responsible". The truth is that smoking, promoted by Philip Morris, is responsible for the deaths of at least 10 Filipinos every hour and 5.4 million deaths worldwide every year.]
[Dr. Yul's comment #15: Debby Sy talked about a PMPMI-DOST partnership, and Atty. Mamba confirmed it. How can Debby Sy be "gravely mistaken"? Additionally, the best way to deal with cigarette butts (which indeed are the #1 polluters of coastlines and other environments) is to encourage smokers to quit smoking. This is why Philip Morris is looking into "recycling, education, etc.", because it wants to deceive the government and the public into thinking that these are the proper solutions and that it is being a "responsible" company. This is the same for health research. Why else would a company that is the cause of so much disease and death want to support health research? Because it wants people to think it is "responsible". The truth is that smoking, promoted by Philip Morris, is responsible for the deaths of at least 10 Filipinos every hour and 5.4 million deaths worldwide every year.]
Early in Debby Sy’s discussion, she avers that “I am sure PNoy, an advocate of anti-corruption, did not intend any of these violations, nor did he intend to be associated with an industry that has historically, even globally, been associated with corrupt officials. And that as soon as he realizes this, he would revoke the appointment of Atty Mamba.” If I understand Debby Sy’s argument correctly, she seems to be saying that the President should revoke my appointment because I am connected with PMPMI which belongs to an industry that she alleges is associated with corrupt officials. Where is the logic here?
Actually, I do not even have to expound on my discussion. It would have been enough to defeat (yet again?) her entire argument by simply saying that I am not the Government Relations Manager of PMPMI since March 22, 2010. After all, the whole point of her malicious, baseless and poorly researched e-mail is that I am an employee of PMPMI and therefore, I should not be appointed.
[Dr. Yul's comment #16: Technically, Atty. Mamba appears to be correct, having resigned from PMPMI in March 2010. But as I said above, does her resignation mean that she will no longer promote the interests of Philip Morris? How can we be sure?]
[Dr. Yul's comment #17: Atty. Mamba is missing the point of Debby Sy's email, which is the issue of conflict of interest on the part of a government official, who had (?) ties to a tobacco company. There is a basis. And is Atty. Mamba sure the email was sent with malice? Is this a real accusation, or simply a venting of seeming frustration? See comments #18 and 19 below.]
One does not have to be a lawyer to know that before we assume anything, ask first. How hard is it to do?
[Dr. Yul's comment #18: What if I, a non-lawyer, had wanted to write such an email? Who would I ask?]
Unfortunately for Debby Sy, she failed to ask. And unfortunately for me, I am having sleepless nights, anxiety attacks and unproductive working hours due to Debby Sy’s recklessness (or is it intentional on her part to besmirch my reputation?). This is even made much worse when a certain Anna Leah posted Debby Sy’s e-mail on her Facebook Account. Now, it is not only the President’s network that is being misled by Debby Sy. It also includes Anna Leah’s Facebook friends, and who know who else’s, and on which social networking site.
Dean Marvic Leonen and I have a common friend, Atty. Kenneth Benedicto. Kenneth is a good friend from the Jaycees. He suggested I add Dean Leonen as a friend on Facebook. I did not and I just let Dean Leonen’s picture and name stay in the list of suggested friends for so many months. At that time, a group of UP Law Students filed a case against PMPMI. I believed it was improper to add him as a friend because it might be misunderstood that I was trying to get him on the side of PMPMI. I never post anything about PMPMI’s positions on my Facebook account but I do not want to be misinterpreted of improper behavior. It was only when Dean Leonen himself added me as a friend that I clicked on the confirm button. I thought that this cannot be taken against me anymore even if I was a PMPMI employee when I made the confirmation. My profile includes my employment history.
[Dr. Yul's comment #19: I can't speak for Debby Sy, but I would never have thought to look up Atty. Mamba (or any other tobacco industry executive) on Facebook! And unfortunately, it seems that her FB page is the only place on the internet where anyone might see that she stopped working for PMPMI last March. Anyone else who was not a friend of Atty. Mamba would have come to the same conclusion that she was still working for PMPMI as its Government Relations Manager.]
I have informed Dr. Jaime Montoya of the DOST about Debby Sy’s e-mail, as well as Teddy, Atty. Jay-jay Disini, Atty. Lindeza Rogero-Gavino, Atty. Glenda Biazon and Atty. Rowie Morales. Teddy asked me if I want to talk to her. I declined. I told Teddy that I do not want to be difficult but Debby Sy wrote and spread her e-mail before she even bothered to ask. How sure am I that she won’t concoct a different story about our meeting, if I agree to meet with her.
[Dr. Yul's comment #20: Interesting, since it is tobacco companies like Philip Morris that have a reputation for spinning half-truths out of the whole truth. This is why tobacco control advocates worldwide refuse to meet with tobacco executives outside of a public hearing. This is also why the Article 5.3 of the FCTC calls for protection of public health policies from the commercial and other vested interests of the tobacco industry.]
I hope that her network will find out what she has done to me and my family. I am still not sure if I will file a case against her. This is serious business which can potentially ruin her career, both as a lawyer and as an anti-smoking activist. I do not want to do this to a fellow female lawyer. That is why I am taking the time to ASK FIRST my lawyer-BFFs .
[Dr. Yul's comment #19: It's very easy to claim emotional and psychological distress (sleepless nights, anxiety attacks and unproductive working hours), but since I do not know Atty. Mamba and her family, I can't comment on the veracity of the claim. But what about the emotional and psychological distress brought about by more than just a single email? I'm talking about putting oneself in the shoes of the wife or child of a smoker who is suffering from emphysema or lung cancer, or is debilitated from a heart attack or stroke brought about by smoking cigarettes made by Philip Morris? It's not just the thought of the high cost of his medications, the debts incurred to pay his hospital bill, or the loss of income when the family breadwinner dies...it's the loss of a husband, father, and brother. Multiply that by the thousands and millions every year. That's what we should be distressed about.]
Here is Debby Sy's letter:
What is worse than Philip Morris offering help to PNoy..... is PNoy appointing the Philip Morris (PM) Government Relations Manager to the Board of Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO)!
Appointing such a prominent person from the tobacco industry to a government post that provides funds for health programs, violates the treaty obligation to protect public health policies from the vested interests of the tobacco industry(Article 5.3 of the WHO FCTC).
It also violates the principle behind the recent issuance of the Civil Service Commission to protect the government from tobacco industry interference in order to promote transparency and integrity in government.
I am sure PNoy, an advocate of anti-corruption, did not intend any of these violations, nor did he intend to be associated with an industry that has historically, even globally, been associated with corrupt officials. And that as soon as he realizes this, he would revoke the appointment of Atty Mamba.
In the past months, the government has been clear about its position against tobacco industry interference. Early this year, the DOH warned government agencies of the dangers and conflict of interest of "partnering with or receiving contributions from the tobacco industry." Early this month, the CSC-DOH Joint Memo to Protect the Bureaucracy from Tobacco Industry Interference took effect. The DOH Memo on the same topic has also been in effect since last month. Both Orders, consistent with Article 5.3 of the FCTC, prohibit government personnel from interacting with the tobacco industry unless strictly necessary for its regulation or control.
The tobacco industry on the other hand, has been clear about its position against the government. Philip Morris and Fortune Tobacco sued the government for issuing an order to require that Tobacco Industry to place Graphic Health Information on cigarette packs to promote the right to health information. These cigarette companies also threatened to sue local governments which try to implement laws to promote the right to health.
So I am almost certain that PNoy did not mean to ignore the government position to protect the bureaucracy against tobacco industry interference by promoting a high ranking tobacco industry official to a government position. He may have just overlooked Atty Mamba's credentials.
Atty Mamba, the PM Government Relations Mgr, is known in the tobacco control community as one who uses her network to defeat 100% Smoke Free initiatives in the local government level. She is the one who clinched the deal between Philip Morris and DOST last year to make it appear that they have a "partnership."
By definition, "tobacco industry" is one who works to further the interests of the tobacco industry and this includes Atty Mamba. This appointment exposes public officials and employees to possible violation of the CSC Memo by forcing them to deal with this member of the tobacco industry.
Because of the nature of PCSOs work in the health field ( providing funds for health programs), there is apparent conflict of interest and bad taste in putting an official known to be from an industry responsible for death/diseases in the said agency.
The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) is the principal government agency for raising and providing funds for health programs, medical assistance and services, and charities of national character.
We need to take immediate action on this to have the appointment revoked. I hope someone can start a petition or send a letter to PNoy...
Best,
debby
The graphic images have the most powerful deterrent effect on youth. It is one of the recommendations of the World Health Organization’s framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which demands the 168 signatories, like the Philippines, to “implement large, rotating health warnings on all tobacco packaging and labeling”. Already 38 countries have implemented the picture-based warnings and the 27 member European Union has recommended each member to implement it.
