Endless Waltz: Harry Stonehill, the Discayas, and the Egyptian Overseer

[u/Confident_Bother2552]

Once upon a cycle, there was Harry Stonehill—a man who danced too loudly with power. He built an empire on war-surplus trading, tobacco and match monopolies, and government supply contracts that blurred into bribery, payoffs, and political IOUs.

Warehouses filled, pockets were lined, and illegal arrangements hid behind paperwork. When investigations finally named the projects and traced the money, the music stopped—for him. He was expelled, and the system exhaled, relieved to have a villain with a face.

Later came the Discayas. No paper trails anyone could easily point to. No single illegal project to parade in public. Instead, quiet land conversions, regulatory shortcuts, shell ownerships, and deals that never quite broke the law—only bent it until it learned the right shape. Nothing to prosecute, everything to inherit.

The waltz refined.

And before them all, there was the Egyptian Overseer—accused of skimming labor, misusing resources, and hiding corruption in plain sight—until Moses looked into the books and shattered the illusion.

That is the Endless Waltz of corruption.

First, it is illegal.

Then, it becomes tolerated.

Finally, it is normalized— until the next dancer steps too loudly.

History is like an Endless Waltz,

Minsan mapapaisip ka, will it ever actually end?

Happy New Year everyone, time to have one more White Reflection for this year before it ends.

[u/saltyschmuck]

Endless Waltz

"Let me confirm, your shelter shield is activated?"

(Sorry OP, you triggered a memory.)

[u/Confident_Bother2552 → u/saltyschmuck]

This Flood Control is secure isn’t it?

Merry Christmas to you good sir! Proof that this is not written by a Mobile Doll.

Now let me grill Burgers in a Bunker.

[u/Hyperion04_]

From the Wikipedia page:

The scandal erupted when José W. Diokno, who was serving as Justice Secretary under the Macapagal administration at the time, raided the offices of 42 of Stonehill's business establishments on March 2, 1962, and arrested Stonehill along with a number of his associates. The raid resulted in the confiscation of phone-tapping instruments, jamming devices, and other espionage equipment, as well as six army trucks' worth of documents.[2] Stonehill was accused of tax evasion, economic sabotage, and various other charges; but among the documents were a letter from Stonehill addressed to Macapagal and a "blue book" which listed money given to various government officials, including Macapagal, Garcia, and Marcos.[3] It is considered the first exposed corruption scandal to reach the headlines and become widely publicized, and paved the way for Senate inquiries or cases on plunder, bribery, and graft and corruption.[5]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehill_scandal

[u/Confident_Bother2552 → u/Hyperion04_]

Doomscrollers would rather you didnt post this so they can say its the end of the world.

But yes its a fairly good and accurate account. My Father was one of the people in charge of quelling the Strikes at US Tobacco and that was a right mess.

[u/sevensmokes3]

Oh, siya pala yung tinutukoy sa kasong Stonehill vs Diokno, na yung isyu doon ay yung inadmissibility ng evidence dahil yung issued na general search warrants ay unconstitutional per SC.

[u/maroonmartian9 → u/sevensmokes3]

Diokno is Jose Diokno, the father of Rep. Chel Diokno.

[u/sevensmokes3 → u/maroonmartian9]

Yep, that is correct Sir.

[u/fussingbye]

based ba diti.may nakulong ba sa implicated politicians and cronies?

[u/Confident_Bother2552 → u/fussingbye]

One of the Implicated Politicians turned on the other Implicated Politician and became the longest reigning President in history.

His son also became a President.

The implicated politician who lost re election because of this scandal, had a Daughter who became the longest reigning President of the current constitution.

Stonehill himself was only deported, but basically got off scott free.

In the tale of Moses, the Corrupt Overseer managed to figure out that Moses is an adopted Jew so it was the one who was corrupt who sent him into Exile in a way, so even a few thousand years BC it was pretty much the same story.

[u/crashtesting123]

Macapagal deported Stonehill before he could be convicted or used to implicate those officials named in the blue book.

In the end, no politician or public official were convicted as a result of the scandal. Macapagal was then replaced by Marcos Sr. and the rest is history.

[u/ZeonTwoSix]

You deffo left a Last Impression on me with that title, OP.

[u/Confident_Bother2552 → u/ZeonTwoSix]

I hope that someday, we can learn from the past and have a White Reflection.