We, democracy and freedom-loving Filipinos, fully stand by Isabela Governor Grace Padaca who we believe is the legitimate winner of the 2007 gubernatorial elections in the said province amid an unfair ruling by the Commission on Elections Second Division composed of Commissioners Nicodemo Ferrer, Lucenito Tagle and Elias Yusoph.

As fellow Filipinos, we believe that this resolution to unseat Governor Padaca in favor of former Governor Benjamin Dy is highly questionable and the evidence raised forth against Padaca raises significant doubt as to the validity of Dy’s claims of electoral fraud resulting to his loss.

The May 2007 elections saw Governor Padaca win by 17,007 votes over Benjamin Dy. Had Governor Padaca used dishonest means, this kind of margin will be next to impossible to pull off given that Padaca’s resources are scant and her political machinery nonexistent. If there is a candidate with a vast campaign fund and an organized machinery, it would most certainly be the Dy family who have been in power in Isabela for over forty years, until Padaca defeated them in the 2004 elections.

Governor Padaca has shown integrity as the highest government official of the province, not to mention efficiency and strong political will, all without dubious, illegal transactions. Her campaign against illegal logging in the Sierra Madre mountains has so far proven successful especially after Typhoon Pepeng hit Northern Luzon late this year. Her other programs have greatly benefited the people of Isabela, including health, education, good governance and electoral reforms.

In the past five and a half years that Governor Padaca has served as the local chief executive of Isabela, she has encountered numerous unnecessary problems, among them flagrant non-cooperation by some government offices with the provincial government leading to conflicts. These particular offices are not known to support Governor Padaca; however that does not give them an excuse to disregard common courtesy and protocol and fulfill their duties as required by law.

This should not be the case for any government official. Padaca won in 2007 via a clean and honest election and deserves to be treated as such. The Comelec’s resolution ousting Padaca is not the first attempt of her opponents at regaining control of Isabela. However, the people of Isabela themselves have shown that they have chosen Padaca to govern them for another term, and they, along with the rest of the Filipinos who believe in her and in justice, will not rest until the truth prevails.

We call on all supporters of Governor Padaca as well as Filipinos who believe in good governance to fight against corruption and injustice being done to a good Filipino leader. We believe that this issue is not confined solely to the borders of Isabela, but concerns all Filipinos. We cannot let this happen in Isabela inasmuch as we refuse to let it happen in our own provinces, cities, and municipalities. The fight here is between right and wrong, between good governance and corruption, between truth and falsehood. If we let this injustice happen, we will continue to be at the mercy of a corrupt system that seeks to destroy democratic institutions which were established to serve the needs of the people, not the interests of a selfish few. As citizens of the Philippines, we have the duty to preserve the integrity of our democratic institutions and hold accountable officials who fail to uphold the truth.

Let us not allow evil to triumph and together let us take a stand for the truth, for justice, and for good governance. The fight of Isabela is a fight of the entire Philippines.

(If you wish to contribute to have the statement published, you may send your donations to:

Please fax the deposit slip to 02-4265657 or email a scanned copy to kai.pastores@yahoo.com for proper accounting. Thank you very much and we hope you can help disseminate this!:)

Priest-turned-governor Among Ed Panlilio of Pampanga is now considering running for president in 2010 with Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca as his running mate, says an Inquirer report.

Both Panlilio and Padaca are non-trapos who defeated powerful politicians in their respective provinces.

Panlilio and Padaca, with other reform-oriented public servants, have been practicing and preaching good governance.

Are they the change that the Philippines needs?

He told CBCPNews that all he stated was, according to the teachings of the Church, a public sinner should not be given communion.

He had earlier wrote on his blog:

“This is why as a matter of doctrinal principle and moral norm, someone known to the public as reasonably perceived or actually known guilty not simply of one, neither only three nor merely five but more grave or mortal sins of such as gross stealing, flagrant graft and corrupt practices, and other glaring big moral misdeeds with extensive and intensive adverse effects to society, fits the reality of a public sinner. To conclude otherwise, i.e., that the person concerned is holy or saintly, is not only irrational but also futile. And to give the Most Sacred Body and Blood of Christ to the same, is not simply highly offensive to the sensitivity of the simple Christian faithful in general but also—and primarily so—means a big contempt of inherent divinity and intrinsic sanctity of Christ Himself. That is why giving Holy Communion in public to a public sinner is a public scandal.

Romulo Macalintal, Arroyo’s election lawyer, said the archbishop’s statement was judgmental. He said a lay minister does not have the right to refuse the Holy Communion to anyone.

“Walang karapatan ang lay minister na tanggihan ang pagbibigay ng Holy Communion sa taong ‘yan. Kahit sa paningin ng isang pari o lay minister na ‘yan ay makasalanan, hindi niya problema ‘yan.Problema na noong kumukuha ng komunyon at ng kanyang Diyos,” Macalintal said in a GMA-7 report.

But Archbishop Cruz, a canon lawyer and former president of the Catholic Bishops’ of the Philippines, also wrote:

It is the responsibility and accountability of the Minister of Holy Communion to decide whom to give Holy Communion due to presumption of the worthiness of the recipient, and whom to deny it on account of sound conviction of unworthiness by reason of publicly known serious objective moral offenses—particularly those with wide and intensive adverse social impacts.

I think a canon lawyer, more than an election lawyer, would know the rules governing an issue of faith.

Meanwhile, Fr. Bel San Luis, in his column for the administration-friendly Manila Bulletin, wrote: “In Jesus’ parable of the self-righteous Pharisee and publican (public sinner), Archbishop Cruz, by his judgmental stance, would be the epitome of the Pharisee who condemned the poor publican.”

“But the Lord said: It was the tax collector, the self-accused sinner who “went down to his house justified rather than the other” (Lk 18:14).”

Fr. San Luis missed something. The tax collector, as he wrote, was a “self-accused sinner.” That is the reason the Lord defended him. But the public sinner Archbishop Cruz was probably referring to would rather lie than admit her sins against the people.

San Luis further wrote:

Archbishop Cruz should be more careful in judging “known” sinners. In the first place, how can he be sure they are sinners? Does he have a third eye to discern what’s inside the heart of a person? What if a particular sinner is trying hard to make peace with the Lord unknown to the prelate and others?

Duh?! Where you live, Father? In Enchanted Kingdom?

That is why it is disappointing to hear its possible standard bearer in 2010, Mar Roxas, say that they are “open to talking with everyone” when asked about former president and convicted plunderer Joseph Estrada’s multi-party opposition nomination process.

I hope that LP Chair Francis Pangilinan is sincere when he said his party should veer away from such a multi-party arrangement.

“The LP should consider going it alone as an option if aligning with other groups or parties only serves to perpetuate the bankrupt and hopelessly inutile ‘politics as usual,” Pangilinan was quoted as saying by GMANews.tv.

Why would a real party even negotiate with the trapos?

If the LP really wants to coalesce with other groups, it should instead approach alternative ang reform-oriented opposition groups such as Black and White Movement, Aksyon Demokratiko/Alyansa ng Pag-asa, Bayan Muna, Akbayan, Sanlakas, Laban ng Masa, Bangon Pilipinas/Cibac, Ang Kapatiran and even Magdalo.

Many of the individuals in these organizations and parties were the same people who supported Bangon! nationalist movement, the “third force” group which Vice President Teofisto Guingona–also former LP member–founded and later abandoned when he joined Fernando Poe Jr’s camp.

LP should redeem its mistake of supporting Gloria Arroyo instead of Raul Roco in 2004. It should avoid Estrada’s UNO and Gloria’s Lakas, Lakas-Pala, and Kampi bloc.

As of this writing, Trillanes Lim is reading a statement calling for the people’s solidarity in their call for Arroyo’s removal from the presidency.

7:20 pm update: Ellen Tordesillas on media arrests after the mutiny

Read additional info from the rebel soldiers at Sundalo Tagapagtanggol ng Pilipino.

Let’s hope the state security agents will not attempt to harm them. We don’t need dead heroes like Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio, and Ninoy Aquino. We need living leaders like them.

The media announcements must be bola lang. Why should Lakas Pala members be invited to a Liberal Party meeting? They should just join Lakas and Kampi and form a new party called “Lakas Pala Kampi Kay Gloria”.

More than 800 activists and journalists have been killed since the start of the Arroyo administration in 2001. The killers have also targeted lawyers and judges–and now, even civil servants like Dalaig. As long as the culture of impunity remains, this series of violence will most likely not be broken.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) – Cite This Source – Share This im·pu·ni·ty Audio Help /ɪmˈpyunɪti/ Pronunciation Key – Show Spelled Pronunciation[im-pyoo-ni-tee] Pronunciation Key – Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun

1.	exemption from punishment.

2.	immunity from detrimental effects, as of an action.

---

[Origin: 1525–35; < L impūnitās, equiv. to im- im-² + pūnitās punishment (pūn- (s. of punīre to punish) + -itās -ity); see punitive]

Comelec spokesperson James Jimenez wrote a personal tribute for Dalaig on his blog. Here’s an excerpt:

He was one of the last of his breed – a COMELEC warrior who dealt with politicians fiercely and firmly, had only snarling patience for those who gratuitously bad-mouthed the COMELEC and its personnel, but who was gentler than strangers imagined, and who was every COMELEC employee’s friend.

Jun Macarambon, son of newly appointed Comelec Comissioner Moslemen Macarambon, said the “news is kinda scary“. They learned of Dalaig’s killing while celebrating his father’s appointment.

The Glorietta bombing, the bribery in Malacañang, the bishops’ call for her resignation, the ZTE broadband deal, and the Estrada pardon were among the recent issues touched by the article. It also mentioned the Hello Garci controversy to substantiate its statement that almost since Arroyo became president, “her administration has been buffeted by allegations of corruption every bit as audacious as Estrada’s.”

The article also quoted fellow blogger and Inquirer columnist Manolo Quezon as saying Arroyo may be able to finish her term due to people’s apathy.

Read the article here: “Crisis — Again — for the Philippines’ Arroyo”

The group will do a nationwide campaign to exert pressure on the Arroyo government “to allow detained senator Antonio Trillanes IV to perform his duties as a lawmaker.” Trillanes, Paglingkurin! movement’s unity statement is reposted on Tinig.com, and the group could be contacted at trillanespaglingkurin@gmail.com.

The Senate has earlier adopted a resolution with a similar call, and Senator Miriam Santiago warned them that they may be courting contempt of court. While their cause is just–and will surely be popular–I’m concerned that VP Guingona, Ka Dodong and other personalities in Trillanes, Paglingkurin! movement are doing the same. I hope my lawyer online friends would enlighten me.

A solicited advice to the group: you may want to get the OFWs and bloggers to join your cause. The Malu Fernandez controversy illustrates why.

Yesterday, the Commission on Elections proclaimed him as the 12th winner in the senatorial race in last month’s elections. This was after the Supreme Court denied opposition senatorial candidate Koko Pimentel’s request for a temporary restraining order on Zubiri’s proclamation. Pimentel has been claiming there was cheating in Maguindanao, where the administration’s Team Unity won by 12-0.

Zubiri’s legislative record as congressman is impressive. It’s just sad that his victory in the Senate seems tainted.

He should try telling that to the relatives of the more than 800 extrajudicial killing victims, who are mostly critics of the government.

Trillanes’ inclusion in the list of winners in the senatorial race came as a surprise for many reasons: one, he consistently ranked outside the magic 12 in the pre-election surveys of SWS, Pulse Asia, and other polling firms; two, he was in detention and was not able to campaign; and of course, the Magdalo’s method was regarded by many as too radical.

Despite all these, Trillanes still made it. The people seemed so united in placing the rebel, who is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy and the University of the Philippines, to the upper house of Congress.

Senator Trillanes’ proclamation was hailed even by the leftists, according to a GMANews.tv report.

“The votes for Trillanes are undoubtedly votes against the Arroyo regime. He is the most vocal in calling for the ouster of Arroyo,” Bayan chair Carol Araullo said in a statement.

For their part, the Partido ng Manggagawa said: “We believe workers, together with the people, supported the campaign of Trillanes because they found him credible as a modern-day rebel with a cause. The workers expect Trillanes to take up the cause of the workers as much as of the soldiers and the people.”

In an interview with reporters, Senator Trillanes said his victory “is solely the people’s victory.”

“Wala akong gagawin kundi suklian ito ng serbisyo publiko (I will return the favor with public service),” he said.

Among the Magdalo soldiers, it was Trillanes who is most consistent in his anti-Arroyo stance. He vowed to work for Arroyo’s ouster and promised to leave his pork barrel untouched.

In the circus that was the Philippine 2007 national elections, Trillanes’ victory–like that of Isabela Gov. Grace Padaca and Pampanga Gov. Fr. Ed Panlilio–is an oddity. Yet, it reflects a little ray of hope in the usually pointless political activity: People Power–genuine people power–could sometimes be demonstrated in the Philippine elections.

In a resolution promulgated today, the Supreme Court granted Sen. Franklin Drilon’s petition to prevent the Comelec from implementing its resolution ordering a new election of Liberal Party officers.

The high court said Drilon has until November 30, 2007 to serve his term as LP president under Daza-Drilon constitution, which replaced the Liberal Party’s Salonga constitution. (Source: GMANews.tv report)

Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, head of the Atienza faction referred to by critics as Lakas Pala, said his camp will file a motion for reconsideration.

The full text of the SC resolution with separate opinions is available at the SC website.

G.R. No. 174992 and G.R. No. 175546 (THE LIBERAL PARTY, represented by its President, FRANKLIN M. DRILON, v. COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS, JOSE L. ATIENZA, JR., MICHAEL T. DEFENSOR, ROLANDO G. ANDAYA, JR., ERIC D. SINGSON, HARLIN C. ABAYON, RODOLFO G. VALENCIA, FEDERICO S. SANDOVAL II, DANTON Q. BUESER, DANILO E. SUAREZ, FLORENCIO T. MIRAFLORES, SOLOMON R. CHUANGLAO, ANTONIO EDUARDO B. NACHURA, RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO, and ELEAZAR P. QUINTO) and G.R. No. 175546 (JOSE L. ATIENZA, JR., MICHAEL T. DEFENSOR, ROLANDO G. ANDAYA, JR., ERIC D. SINGSON, HARLIN C. ABAYON, RODOLFO G. VALENCIA, FEDERICO S. SANDOVAL II, DANTON Q. BUESER, DANILO E. SUAREZ, FLORENCIO T. MIRAFLORES, SOLOMON R. CHUANGLAO, ANTONIO EDUARDO B. NACHURA, RIGOBERTO D. TIGLAO, and ELEAZAR P. QUINTO, as the duly elected officers of the Liberal Party v. THE HONORABLE COMMISSION ON ELECTIONS and FRANKLIN M. DRILON)

Promulgated:

April 17, 2007

x- – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - – - x

RESOLUTION

The Court considered and acted on the following issues:

1. Whether the COMELEC has jurisdiction over the Drilon petition in COMELEC Case SPP No. 06-002;

2. Whether the Daza-Drilon amendments to the Salonga Liberal Party Constitution were validly ratified; and

3. Whether the COMELEC has jurisdiction to order the Liberal Party to hold the election of its officers.

On the first issue, the Court voted 7-6 that the COMELEC has jurisdiction over the Drilon petition. On the second issue, the Court voted 9-5 that the Daza-Drilon amendments were validly ratified. In view of the voting on the second issue, the third issue has become academic.

The individual Opinions of the Justices are attached to this Resolution.

WHEREFORE, the petition of Senator Franklin M. Drilon in G.R. No. 174992 is GRANTED and the petition of Mayor Jose L. Atienza, Jr., et al. in G.R. No. 175546 is DENIED.

SO ORDERED.

More from the same survey:

- 57% of registered voters have much interest in the coming elections,
- 30% have moderate interest
9% have only a little interest

- Interest in the elections this year is slightly higher this time
- In February 2004, there were 49% with much interest in the election.
- Prior to the senatorial election of 2001, 51% had much interest in the election

More details in the media release posted on the SWS website.

• Around one out of every two Filipino registered voters (53%) has heard or read something about the party-list system at one time or another.
• If the May 2007 elections were held today, ten of the 93 party-list groups vying for congressional seats would have a statistical chance of sending at least one of their nominees (out of a maximum of three) to the House of Representatives.
• Three representatives:
  - Bayan Muna with an overall voter preference of 13.7%
  - Anak Pawis (9.4%).
  - Gabriela Women’s Party (6.0%)
• Two representatives:
  - Akbayan! Citizens’ Action Party (5.3%)
  - Angat Ating Kabuhayan Pilipinas, Inc. (4.2%)
• One representative:
  - Buhay Hayaang Yumabong (3.4%)
  - Advocacy for Teacher Empowerment Through Action,
  Cooperation, and Harmony Towards Educational Reforms, Inc. (2.7%)
  - Filipinos for Peace, Justice, and Progress Movement (2.7%)
  - Citizens’ Battle Against Corruption (2.4%)
  - Ahon Pinoy (2.0%)

Note that left-leaning and anti-Arroyo groups Bayan Muna, Anak Pawis, Gabriela, and Akbayan topped the survey. Bayan Muna is led by Satur Ocampo, who was arrested and mishandled by the police last March over multiple murder charges. On April 3, the Supreme Court ordered his release.

Here are the percentage shares of other groups with similar orientation:

Kabataan – 0.9%
Suara Bangsamoro – 0.8%
Sanlakas – 0.6%
Partido ng Manggagawa – 0.3%

We’re starting a “Pierce the Candidates” series to help our readers get to know our senatorial candidates better. Each posting will be updated as we gather new information about a particular candidate. For our first piercing, we’d like to start with administration bet Prospero “Butch” A. Pichay, Jr.

Pichay was born on June 20, 1950 in Cantilan, Surigao del Sur. He has a son named Carlo, who is proud of his father.

Pichay, a Commerce graduate of De la Salle University, has been the representative of the first district of Surigao del Sur since 1998. Before entering the Congress he was a businessman. He was the owner of Carlo Commercial Printing and Carlo Publishing, which reportedly published the tabloid Remate.
Aside from being Pro-Pinoy, Pichay could also be described as pro-night clubs. SunStar reported that in 2003, when the Justice department wanted to bar government officials from going to bars and girlie joints, Pichay vehemently opposed the plan. According to SunStar, he said that preventing government officials from going to bars is the “highest form of hypocrisy” and violates the right to privacy. “Moralizing is very subjective. We should not mix it with governance,” Pichay was quoted as saying.

The laws of which he is the primary authors are Republic Act 9355, which created the Province of Dinagat Islands; RA 9340, which amended RA 9164 to extend the terms of office of barangay officials and reset the date of barangay elections, and RA 9344, the Juvenile Justice and Welfare Act. Here is a link to the list of his bills and resolutions in the 13th Congress.

The TEAM Unity candidate and vocal defender of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo says it is his dream to make the Filipinos’ dreams come true. His official biography says Pichay believes that a dream ceases to be one when you will it. Arroyo said Pichay will work for the development of Mindanao. In the TEAM Unity website, listed as Pichay’s platforms are:

* Livelihood
* Education
* Disaster management and environment
* Alternative energy resources
* Defense and National Security
* Youth and sports development

Pinoy Votester 2007 reports that Pichay

Stood for implementation of Mining Act of 1995 and Charter Change, and supported mining and logging companies in his province; called for a review of the VFA but with US permission; opposed calls for commercial log ban, does not believe in the culpability of the military on extrajudicial killings.

Being the current president of the National Chess Federation of the Philippines, his present motto is: “Make the Right Move, Play Chess!”

Despite his television ads that are aired very often, Pichay fails to make in the top 12 in the surveys. In the latest Pulse Asia survey, he is only one rank ahead of Antonio Trillanes, who cannot campaign because he is in jail .

Pichay doesn’t seem to very popular among Filipino bloggers, too. Search Pichay on Technorati and you will find comments like this:

“I am not saying that he is a trapo (traditional politician) so that he may be called a dino politician – meaning, a totally ancient and extinct politician. I am also not saying that I won’t vote for him. Though, it’s pretty obvious huh?” (dreamshadow)

Despite this, however, we have to admit that Pichay has one of the best election ads on YouTube. His theme song, Bagong Umaga, was performed by the popular band 6cyclemind. His ad has also spawned funny spoofs on YouTube, such as this and this.

Official website

Pichay’s profile at GMANews.tv

Pichay’s profile at Inquirer.net

This press statement released on March 20 (Tuesday) was signed by 18 faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) led by Dean
Elena Pernia. For verification, please call the UP CMC Department of Journalism at 920-6852.

The undersigned faculty members of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UP CMC) condemn in the strongest possible terms the filing of multiple murder charges against Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo which resulted in his arrest and detention last March 16.

That the charges were filed during the election season is already questionable, especially since
Ocampo’s Bayan Muna Partylist group is running for representation in the House of Representatives and has been repeatedly accused by the powers-that-be as a communist front. The situation is preposterous as the crimes he allegedly committed happened more than
two decades ago while he was in detention.

The authorities even had the audacity to push for his transfer to Hilongos, Leyte — where the case against him was filed — despite the scheduled oral arguments before the Supreme Court on
March 23. If Rep. Ocampo can be denied due process, what kind of treatment can others similarly accused expect from this government?

Rep. Ocampo’s wife, Prof. Carolina Malay, was a faculty member of the UP CMC Department of Journalism from 1992 to 2000, during the last five years of which she was department chair. We
admired Prof. Malay then for her dedication to the teaching and journalism profession, and we commend her at this point for her strength and unwavering resolve to fight for truth
and justice. We join her in her struggle to uphold and protect our basic freedom.

We call on the authorities to stop harassing Ocampo and his co-accused and to respect their basic rights. An administration that claims to be both legitimate and serving the interest of
the people is expected to do no less.

Dr. Elena E. Pernia, dean
Dr. Lourdes Portus, college secretary
Dr. Arminda Santiago, chair, graduate studies
Prof. Fernando Austria, chair, broadcast communication department
Dr. Nicanor Tiongson, professor, Film Institute
Dr. Georgina R. Encanto, professor, journalism department
Prof. Luis V. Teodoro, professor, journalism department
Dr. Jose R. Lacson, professor, communication research department
Dr. Roland Tolentino, professor, Film Institute
Dr. Perlita Manalili, associate professor, broadcast communication department
Prof. Danilo A. Arao, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Marichu C. Lambino, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Yvonne T. Chua, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Ma. Cristina I. Rara, assistant professor, journalism department
Prof. Violeda A. Umali, assistant professor, communication research department
Prof. Jane Vinculado, assistant professor, broadcast communication department
Prof. Shirley P. Evidente, assistant professor, broadcast communication department
Prof. Andres Sevilla, lecturer, communication research department

I also received another one saying the police’s treatment of Ocampo was very reminiscent of martial law. Ocampo was forcibly taken from the general assignments section to a van that would take him to the airport. The police, who said it was their job to present Ocampo to the court, had to literally drag the congressman, who refused to go to Leyte fearing that his life would be in danger. Ocampo’s fear was not unfounded, given the state security forces’ passion for neutralizing its perceived enemies.

A Leyte court has issued a warrant of arrest against Ocampo on charges of multiple murder for his alleged involvement in the purge of suspected deep penetration agents in the communist movement in the 1980s. The military claimed it has uncovered a mass grave of purge victims in Inopacan town in Leyte last year. A military witness also accused Ocampo–who was in prison at that time– of personally directing the purge in 1985. The National Democratic Front called the Leyte mass grave “a massive hoax”.

Ocampo’s supporters have pointed out the irregularities in the legal process that led to his arrest last week. “The warrant of arrest is illegal because the judge did not examine the affidavit executed by the witnesses,” said the Inquirer quoted former Sen. Tañada as saying. It seems like things were done in haste.

Last year, the administration filed rebellion charges against Ocampo and his colleagues. It earlier accused them–without presenting a single evidence–of funelling their pork barrel to the New People’s Army. When these charges did not prosper, it came out with the Leyte mass graves.

Watching the video of Congressman Ocampo being dragged and shoved into a van by the police, I can’t help but ask myself why things such as this happen in this country rumored to be a democracy.

Meanwhile, here are other bloggers’ thoughts on this:

Also, is it me or is the military and the police now in charge of our government, given how they’ve ignored the usual judicial processes? But seeing how our government seems to be incompetent in dealing with these things, no wonder they’re in charge. –Banzai Cat

There’s nothing wrong about a prisoner transfer, without a court order, being funded out of someone’s personal funds? –Uniffors

Now they realize, they made a fool of themselves in their effort to persecute Satur. paano kasi kung ano-anong scapegoat ang hinahanap sa mga palpak nila. Lalong pumapalpak. –Ellen Tordesillas

Blame it on Bayan Muna Representative Satur Ocampo for fighting for civil liberties. –Nealyn Reyes

“Upon landing back in Manila,
Satur was greeted by the news
that the latest survey of Pulse Asia:
it ranked BAYAN MUNA as the #1 Party List group
in the May elections,” – spanx

Ang Kapatiran or Alliance for Common Good, a lesser-known political party that promotes “politics of virtue” and “politics of duty”, appears to be popular in cyberspace. Its website was not functioning properly when I visited it yesterday. Today, it reports that it has “experienced a surge in members wanting to register, and have run into problems with our new website.”

“We were overwhelmed by the groundswell of support for our party and our candidates even here in cyberspace,” the party’s webteam said, explaining that they are moving to a new server.

Its index page links to an older version of the website.

Ang Kapatiran needs to translate this online popularity into votes in real life for it to send to the Senate its candidates led by Zosimo Paredes, who resigned from the VFA Commission after criticizing the Malacañang-backed “rescue” of convicted rapist Daniel Smith.

From that interview, we could conclude that in Imelda’s world, the following are inalienable truth:

• Martial Law gave us not only freedom, justice, and democracy but also dignity and identity.
• The dictator’s reign was peaceful.
• Imelda was never extravagant.
• Martial Law was one of the greatest periods in Philippine history.

On the other hand, these are fiction:

• Tens of thousands of detractors of marcos were jailed, tortured and executed without due process. Human rights were violated.
• The freedom of expression, including the freedom of the press was curtailed.
• Ferdinand Marcos plundered between five and 10 billion dollars from the national coffers and left us in poverty.
• The Marcos regime left huge debts that we are still paying until now.
• Martial Law instituted a culture of lies and corruption.

Image from Guardian Unlimited @ Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004

No matter how much she denies it, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo just loves giving deadlines.

A news release posted on the government’s official website said the President on Friday gave newly-installed Customs Commissioner George Jereos “two months to stamp out smuggling.”

“Let’s zero in once again on smuggling… While we clean up our finances, we shall also rid society of its dregs and misfits,” the President was quoted as saying during the 50th anniversary celebration of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated (FFCCCII).

Another release posted today on the same site said the Palace will closely monitor the Bureau of Custom’s compliance to the President’s order.

Oh really? Wish ko lang!

It must remembered that on February 28 last year, Arroyo gave the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) 90 days to wipe out the Abu Sayyaf. Nothing came out of that deadline. The Abu Sayyaf is still in Mindanao and an alleged ranking leader was even reportedly arrested just this month.

Early in her term–on April 2001–she “urged” the communist rebels to set October 2002 as a deadline for the completion of the peace talks. It looks like she later gave another deadline because CyberDyaryo on January 2002 published a statement by the Leftist Bagong Alyansang Makabayan reacting to a six-month deadline on peace talks.

Meanwhile, a May 13, 2003 OPS report said Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye “disclosed moves to impose on the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) a two-week deadline to make a categorical stand on whether or not they want to pursue the peace talks.” A week later, while she was in the US, Arroyo denied giving such a deadline.

“Doing a Thaksin,” as Prof. Luis Teodoro puts it, Arroyo on June 19, 2003 also gave the police 90 days to neutralize big fishes in the drug business. She later clarified that it was not a deadline but just a “work program at the end of which there must be a strategic and convincing results.” Okay Very nice palusot! She must have realized that in this country full of corrupt people, it is impossible to stop those evil drug lords and pushers in just three months. To announce you could do such is just making “papogi.”

Later in the year, when Lieutenant Antonio Trillanes and his group staged the Oakwood siege, the President warned them to surrender on or before 5 o’clock of July 27. But as the BBC reported, the mutineers defied this deadline. It was of course extended. I think though, that in this particular case, such extension was justified since Arroyo wanted to prevent bloodshed.

With the President’s latest deadline, let’s see how much her new Customs commissioner could do to stop smuggling — which, according to the Fair Trade Alliance — robs the country of P174.17 billion a year!

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo shakes hands with Robin Sy, president of the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Incorporated. (FFCCCII), upon her arrival at the 50th Anniversary of the FFCCCII held Thursday evening (September 17) at the Grand Ballroom of the Manila Hotel in Manila. Looking on are FFCCCII chairman emeritus Dr. Lucio Tan (center) and Manila Mayor Joselito Atienza (right). (Malacanang Photo)

This proposal however still needs to be approved by all the 236 members of the House of Representatives. The people have long been calling for the abolition of the pork barrel system, officially known as the Priority Development Assistance Fund. With the initiative already taken by their leaders, will the lawmakers finally yield to the public’s clamor?

We hope so. Many of them will surely raise ostentatious and obviously self-serving concerns. They will say–as Bohol Rep. Roberto Cajest had already did–that the abolition of the pork barrel system will “adversely affect basic services and economic growth.” Duh? Wouldn’t the delivery of basic services and our economy improve when we’ve finally disposed of that corruption-ridden system?

If this proposal succeeds, maybe some of them would choose to resign–as Zambales Representative Antonio Diaz did when he did not become deputy speaker–as they would no longer have access to the juicy funds. We’ll, let’s just keep track of the names and statements of these “honorable” men and women in Congress.

Another good news from Congress, this time from the upper house: Senate President Franklin Drilon said he had refiled a bill that will impose a limit on domestic and foreign borrowings.

“Debt servicing has been eating a substantial portion of the annual government budget,” INQ7 quoted Drilon as saying. “Because of mandatory interest payments, there is little room for expenditures in the national budget for urgent social and physical infrastructures needed to stimulate the economy.”

From P78 billion in 1997, interest payments surged to P223 billion or 28 percent of the total budget in 2003, the report said. We need such a bill now. In fact, NGOs like the Freedom from Debt Coalition have been calling for the repeal of the Automatic Appropriations Law.

In 2001, she said:

Politics and political power as traditionally practiced and used in the Philippines are among the roots of the social and economic inequities that characterize our national problems. Thus, to achieve true reforms, we need to outgrow our traditional brand of politics based on patronage and personality. Traditional politics is the politics of the status quo. It is a structural part of the problem.

We need to promote a new politics of true party programs and platforms, of an institutional process of dialogue with our citizenry. This new politics is the politics of genuine reform. It is a structural part of the solution.

It was the best thing to say at that time.

During her first three years in office, however, the nation has witnessed patronage politics at its worst. From Vice President Teofisto Guingona‘s forced resignation from the foreign affairs department to the failed impeachment case against Chief Justice Hilario Davide, the trapo stench filled the country’s political atmosphere.

Now, after winning in an election believed by many as fraudulent, the President is at it again: she accepted the resignation of Department of Interior and Local Government secretary Joey Lina, who apparently failed to gather enough votes for her in Laguna. Lina was replaced by former Defense secretary Angelo Reyes. It must be recalled that under the Estrada regime, Reyes led the destructive all-out war against the Moro rebels in Mindanao. He was also among the causes of discontent of young military officers who staged a failed power grab last year. And his 10-million mansion has been investigated by the Presidential Anti-Graft Commission. Despite these, Reyes remains among the president’s favored men.

Then, she reappointed Virgilio Garcillano and Emmanuel Barcelona to the Commission on Elections. The appointment of these two are being questioned by critics because of Garcillano’s links to dagdag-bawas operations in Mindanao and Barcelona’s close connections with the first family.

Most recently, Arroyo let go of Department of Social Welfare and Development Secretary Dinky Soliman–a qualified, competent and dedicated official–to accomodate the wishes of her running mate Noli de Castro.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer, which expressed its disappointment in today’s editorial, reported that Soliman, an active participant in the EDSA People Power 2 that installed Arroyo into the presidency, felt betrayed.

Nothing else is new. This is just the latest of Arroyo’s betrayal of her EDSA promises.

After being proclaimed, Arroyo called for unity: “This is the time for forgiveness and letting-go-of-the-past,” she said.

But how could she call on the people to forgive and forget when doubts on the credibility of the recent elections that made her remain in power persist?