Remember Lt. Col. Archie Segumalian, the marine officer who issued a plaintive cry, “Gusto lang naman namin ay malinis na election” (We just want clean elections), at the height of the standoff in Fort Bonifacio last Feb. 26?
For upholding the integrity of the Marines, Segumalian and his battalion are being shipped off to Tawi-Tawi. (Click here for Malaya’s news story.)
Segumalian was one of the officers who, together with Col. Ariel Querubin, protested the relief of Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, which sparked the Feb. 26 standoff.
Segumalian’s tawi-Tawi assignment came on heels of the resignation of Col. Orlando de Leon as Marines chief of staff. In his strongly-worded resignation letter, de Leon said, “. Survival and threats reign over principles and honor of many officers who rather suppress the truth just to push some personal agenda.”
Addressing his superior, Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga, who is now known as the man who whitewashed the complicity of military officials in the rigging of the 2004 elections, De Leon said, “Survival, according to the most respected Officer-In-Command, is now the rule that governs the behavior of almost everybody in the AFP. I’m sorry, Sir, but please don’t count me in.”
In Washington D.C., meanwhile, the Fil-American community in Washington D.C. has written Gloria Arroyo expressing their disappointment over the manner Ambassador Albert del Rosario was dismissed.
Their open letter dated June 21, 2006:
Dear President Arroyo,
We are deeply saddened that Ambassador Albert del Rosario has been unceremoniously dismissed from his post as the official representative of the Philippine Government to the United States.
The news of his untimely removal was particularly shocking to us, coming as it did at the height of our Filipino American Centennial Celebration. He has played a highly visible role in projecting a positive image of Filipinos in America and in nurturing the historic friendship between the U.S. and the Philippines.
But what is more dismaying is the unprincipled manner in which his exemplary service has been abruptly terminated. Common decency and respect require that a head of state treat her official representative with high professional standards befitting his stature.
Ambassador del Rosario has certainly upheld those standards throughout his five years in Washington, D.C., even to the extent of defending your administration’s integrity in the face of withering criticism.
We are utterly disappointed that despite his loyalty and dedication you chose to treat him so shabbily. It’s simply beneath the dignity of your office, Madam President. How could you stoop so low as to not even give him the courtesy of a personal call informing him of your action.
This is truly disheartening given the ambassador’s abiding faith in your administration’s mandate to represent the best interest of the Filipino people. Your actions fuel even more cynicism and mistrust at a time when we are being asked to give your leadership the benefit of the doubt.
Ambassador del Rosario has served his country in many extraordinary ways and we will always remember him with much affection and respect.
The Filipino American Community of Metro Washington, D.C.
gloria has lost the trust of the Filipinos here and abroad. Politics is the name of the game, specially in government service. I wish the Fil. community in Washington, D.C. will do something to deny entry of whoever is replacing Amb. Del Rosario, be it angelo reyes or hilarious davide. Lt. Col.Segumalian transfer to Tawi-tawi is a clear manifestation of (again) politics among the men in uniform. And what else is new? This fake adminstration of gloria, the black magic woman, is entirely a mess!! The mess that goes to her stomach….and will soon dehydrates her to the fullest. To hell with her!!!
It is sad that Respect, the best trait in human in now even lost in the Struggle for power, and to stay in power. The dismissal of Ambassador de Rosario smacked right being unrespectful. Even George Bush, despise by many, is not cabable of disrespecting his own diplomatic corps, public officials. You may fire your employee, but you have to do it the proper way. I have been an employee here for a long time, but I never experienced disrespect as the one I experienced in my vacation in Phil. in April, which i will relate here.
I was standing in line in a money changer somewhere opposite Sta. Lucia Mall, then suddenly a screaming boss was giving it all to one of her employee. I overheard the cause of the commution as the lateness of such employee and she reason that she can’t text because she’s either out of load or power. But the Boss has none of it and keep her diatribe, not minding that there was a long line up of customers. I was embarrassed to the point, that I just have to leave. The process should have been as simple as calling an employee to private talk, a verbal warning, next a written one, and if the behaviour persists, then he or she may have to let go. From the President down to the offices of the land, Lets redeem that Trait.
Only an insecure person would act the way that money changer did. Same thing with Gloria Arroyo. She is a very insecure person. Her insecurities show in her actions that are more noise than substance.
Vic:
Davide was not dismissed. He had to leave his seat at the Supreme Court because he had reached the age limit for judges there. But he is being given a meaty position that the Commission on Appointments will not give him, and that is good for the Filipino people. You don’t trust this person, who go above the law, with the interest of the Philippine people and assign him to important positions so he can continue to abuse the power vested in him.
These people do not understand undoubtedly what democracy, really is, but call themselves democratic. They do not even care to follow the law, but make their own laws for their own personal gains while they keep the majority of the Filipinos in chain even of the chain of immorality, ignorance and impropriety.
You and I, and all the rest of us in this loop have the moral obligation to make sure that all these evils that are being paraded before our eyes are stopped once and for all. I, for one, as a citizen of a country that has put a lot of stakes in the Philippines, and with our taxpayers’ money being shared and distributed in countries like the Philippines in forms of grants and loans, have the right to demand for an honest to goodness accounting of those monies that we know are not being properly utilized to ease the burdens and hardship of ALL Filipinos.
I go to the Philippines once a year to attend forums, seminars and conferences sponsored by concerned NGOs that have been burdened with responsibilities that the Philippine government should have been attending to. What I see definitely do not encourage me to retire there someday, especially when I am faced with the reality that I may not even be able to meet my Maker the natural way!
Oops, this should read: “I go to the Philippines once a year to attend forums, seminars and conferences sponsored by concerned NGOs that have been burdened with responsibilities that the Philippine government should have been attending to. What I see definitely do not encourage me to retire there someday, especially when I am faced with the reality that I may not even be able to meet my Maker THERE the natural way! Over here, I can die in peace in my own good time surrounded by loving relatives and friends!”
You bet, I would not give the Bansot the opportunity to use my death, for example, for a photo-op the way she did to the corpse of that Moslem they tagged as a terrorist for I am not!
Ellen:
I have actually questioned the number of military people being assigned to positions that should have been held by civilians, especially when these people do not even resign as members of the Philippine Military.
Unfortunately, despite this penchant of many to debate politics even at the peril of their lives, which is reflected in fact in the number of Filipinos who die during elections, we know that Filipinos do not even care nor show real distaste and abhorrence for these evils right before their eyes, and allow these crooks to hoodwink and swindle them the way they are in fact being swindled and duped now!
Hopefully, the Philippines will not become like Burma, where the people have seemingly and hopelessly fighting their government (SLORC) in vain.
It is the sign of the time, I know, but still, we are duty-bound to do something even just to prevent us from being snared and engulfed into this evil scheme before it is too late!
Thank God for people like you, Ellen! I pray that He will preserve you!
I should say “evil trap” rather than “evil scheme.”
umiiyak ang puso ko sa tuwing nababalitaan ko ang pagsisikap ng kalapit nating bansa pagdating sa edukasyon, hindi sa inggit kundi ang panghihinayang sa kakayahan ng ating mga anak na hindi nabibigyan ng suporta. bakyang-bakya ang sistema ng ating gobyerno.
http://technology.inq7.net/infotech/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=6290
Yuko, (re:Davide was not dismissed. He had to leave his seat at the Supreme Court because he had reached the age limit for judges there.)
It was Amb. del Rosario who was dismissed. He did not resign.
Yes, Ellen, I know. He reached the age limit and so he had to step down, and the other god-pretender, Art Panganiban, whom I believe is a relative of the Bansot, taking his place.
Octavian and All:
sharing lang …. http://www.seewindowsvista.com/
dati rin akong windows basher, pero na-realize ko na mapa-windows or open source, dapat dumami ang trabaho ng mga pilipino.
tama ang sabi mo octavian, dapat na mabigyan ng suporta ang ating mga kabataan.
iyong mga alipores ni GMA, nangangalap yan ng info para sa SONA nya next month.
What is a windows basher?
Ellen,
Troops foreseen by the adminstration as hostile to it will definitely moved away from Manila to avoid any successful coup. I think windows basher is about the Windows OS. As we all now that Linux was developed to give consumers another option for their pc. I hope I’m right.
Good day ate Ellen,
This is my first time to do this thing writing things happening within our country. Im just a simple servant and a protector of democracy. As we could see now, all around the corners opposition are making things to cause distabilization in our country.They have tried this before but they lost on legal battle. In my own point of view, we are in a democratic country. This are the following reasons why i could say that the opositions are causing the distabilization;
1.In order for them to gain popular support, they are allowing themselves to be used by the leftist groups.
2.In filing their new complaints, look at those who join the vigils, they are not oppositions. They are the extreme left organization supporting their fight. Who are this extreme left. This are the legal fronts of the CPP/NPA. They are the sectoral organizations, a component of the Bagong Alyansang Makabayan which is the propaganda machinery of the CPP/NPA.
3.As we could feel now, the CPP/NPA/NDF are joining thier ranks in their complaints.
4.As what they keep on saying, they are the voice of the masses, wherein im one of it. I dont believe that they represent the masses, they represent their own vested interest and use the masses to push through with their goal.
4.They are elected representatives of different district, but they have done nothing to serve their constituents. They pour all their time in resources in destroying the government.
5.They use the peoples money in distroying the government wherein the people comprises it.
Hoping they will win the legal battle without being used by the Extreme left.
MABUHAY ANG DEMOKRASYA, IBAGSAK ANG KOMYUNISTA
deltafox
yes you are right octavian…kawawa ang mga kabataan na walang chance makapag-aral. where do these things stem up from:
1. population growth: every year (or i’d say everyday), nadadagdagan ang palamunin ng govt (but may pampakain ba sila!!!!!!)and ano ang sagot? family planning is a “SIN”!!!! eh sino ba ang magpapakain sa mga batang lansangan na nag-ru-rugby, nagbubugaw, etc….mga nsa DSWD kuno na mga matrona – where are u? in the Vatican!!!!!????? Mga congressladies, where are u – in the spa??????!!!!!..nakatuntong na ba kayo sa baseco, sa payatas, kahit sa Luneta ng dis-oras na walang bodyguard na hindi naka pajero and see for yourselves what is reality…
it doesnt end here bec of pop-growth: kulang ng school, kulang ng books, kulang ng supplies, kulang ng maayos na tirahan, marami ang basurang nagkalat, maya’t-maya baha, mahina ang kita, matraffic,late sa school, late sa work, natanggal sa trabaho, nahinto sa school, naging snathcher,mandurukot,prosti, kidnapper, nakapatay, nakulong, tabon sa bilibid….then WHAT!!!!!!…this is the future Filipino?????
we cant blame the soldiers in cahoots with rebels whether they are left/right/communist/npa…san may pera, san sila kikita para ipadala sa family nila and to have decent uniforms a nd shoes which the govt should be providing. Kahit bala, if it were not from donations from the biggy countries (bec they have latest firearms and what they give us are mga pinaglumaan…palakpak naman ang mga uto-utong opisyal natin!!!). i have a nephew in the marines, anf he himself says sobra talaga ang palakasan sa loob. the appointees are the best na nakikinabang and kailangan malakas kang sumipsip to the max. kaya sometimes, they dont care na pinapatapon sila sa tawi-tawi or saang bundok, coz theyr sick and tired of the govt that theyre supposed to be protecting. they are just being used and abused, merely used as decorations when the need arises and itatambak when their not needed.