The resignation of Defense Secretary Avelino “Nonong” Cruz Jr. signals a situation more destructive and dangerous than the bickerings over the People’s Initiative that was junked by the Supreme Court as fraudulent.
Reliable sources said Cruz felt he was losing control over the armed forces to members of the cabinet who want to use the military for the Arroyo administration to survive at all cost.
Cruz is aware of the strong sentiments among military officers about being used in the cheating operations as what happened in the 2004 elections and he feels “he could no longer guarantee to officers that the military will be insulated” from electoral fraud that Malacañang operators would be perpetrating in the 2007 elections.
Cruz must be aware of what Arroyo and her advisers are up for the 2007 elections. Which means that despite all the bravado of Cha-Cha proponents Raul Lambino of Sigaw ng Bayan and House Speaker Jose de Venecia, Malacañang knows the insurmountable odds and is preparing for the elections.
Gabriel Claudio, presidential adviser for political affairs, last week warned that the administration would use its superior political machinery to avenge the defeat of its charter change campaign. “Whether the elections are senatorial or parliamentary, the administration will have the advantage of nationwide political machinery eager for vindication or revenge,” he bragged.
Claudio and his team would have a lot of tampering to do because surveys show that being aligned with Malacañang is a kiss of death for 2007 senatorial candidates. Sen. Edgardo Angara who is perceived as pro-Arroyo is way out of the Magic 12 circle despite his advantage as an incumbent senator. Number One is Loren Legarda, who ran in the opposition in 2004 as vice president of Fernando Poe, Jr. Others in the top 12 are Francis Pangilinan, Ping Lacson, Manny Villar, Ralph Recto, Vicente Sotto, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, Alan Peter Cayetano, Gringo Honasan, and JV Ejercito-Estrada.
In the 2004 elections, the military was used extensively in Malacañang’s cheating operations as heard in the “Hello Garci” tapes. In one conversation between Arroyo and Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, the latter was complaining that Gen. Gabriel Habacon and his men were clumsy in their tampering of election results resulting in figures in the Election Returns not matching with those in the Certificate of Canvass.
Gen. Francisco Gudani and Col. Alexander Balutan confirmed instructions from higher authorities to “slow down” in their job of ensuring clean elections.
During the Fort Bonifacio standoff last February Col. Archie Segumalian blurted out, “Gusto lang namin malinis na election (All we want is a clean election.). It was a plaintive cry to restore professionalism in the armed forces.
The Constitution states that “The Armed Forces shall be insulated from partisan politics. No member of the military shall engage directly or indirectly in any partisan activity, except vote.”
For articulating the sentiments of many in the military, Segumalian is now among those detained (he is in Fort San Felipe in Cavite) although no charges have yet been filed against him.
Former Defense Secretary Renato de Villa, who was also former AFP chief of staff, said never was the military used so degradingly as cheating operators in an election as by Arroyo in the 2004 elections. He said even Ferdinand Marcos didn’t humiliate the military as Arroyo did. “Marcos used warlords to cheat for him. He had more respect for the military.”
Knowing the resentment among members of the military about being used contrary to their Constitutional mandate, Cruz signed a memorandum of agreement with Comelec chair Benjamin Abalos limiting the involvement of the AFP in elections. Among other things, the agreement provides that the canvassing of election results should not be held inside military camps as what happened in 2004.
During the signing of that MOA, Abalos indirectly confirmed the illegal use of the military in the 2004 elections when he said that “with the role of the military now well defined, there will be no more ‘Hello Garci’ controversy.” Present during the signing of the agreement was AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon, who was mentioned in the “Hello Garci” tapes.
Former Social Welfare Secretary Dinky Soliman, one of the 10 cabinet members who resigned shortly after the “Hello Garci” tapes surfaced in June 2005, said the resignation of Cruz “deepens the division inside the cabinet. Those who are advocating survival at all cost are winning.”
For Arroyo to survive at all cost, she will use the military.
Survival at all cost? Well, when the costs become too high, her political life won’t be worth a farthing of anyone’s penny…
And off she goes to where she belongs – to the gallows.
Survival at all cost might be the real reason why “the president needs muscle now, not brains”, and not to subdue/end communism as they’re want people to believe.
Well, the fake president is threading a very fine line now. It’s interesting to watch where she’s going.
Rumors have it that to avoid further ramblings in the AFP, a former police chief will be named in Cruz’s place. The PNP has more interaction with the local communities thus the logic behind such appointment. The PNP is more reliable should the administration use its machinery. Now this will change the entire picture should this happen. To avoid using the AFP in the elections will also temper down the restiveness of idealistic junior officers therefore avoiding a coup. Magaling talaga ang mga planners ng mandaraya sa Ilog Pasig. The henchmen of Garcillano have also been appointed to juicier posts. I expect the administration to employ every trick in the book to insure the triumph of its minions. At least through Claudio’s statements, we now know how massive the cheating will be this coming May.
Schumey,
I must admit, that’s a brilliant plan they’re hatching for a sure win. This May elections may yet become the worst in the history of the country’s elections, if they would pursue this massive cheating plan. So cunning, so devious!
No matter how brilliant the cheaters are, they will have their match………let’s see how far they can go with their cheating machineries…..bansot will be hanged by the people. If she doesn’t want to be killed in the street she better go now to where she belongs………Lilliputan kingdom!!!
Yes, goldenlion. There’s a loophole even in the most ironclad plan, and that’s what I’m hoping for.
Gloria has got to go – what she practices is not governance at all but survival of the fittest.
She will drag the country down if left to her devious schemes.
Her cabinet is in disarray; her people fighting like piranhas for a piece of government; they fight like dogs to be able to lick her heels; her allies are jumping ship; all the while she ransacks the coffers of the nation in preparation for a costly battle – the elections – so that she can hold on to power.
What will be left when the dust has settled? Nothing but more poverty, more killings, more cheating…
Where are the good people? Nowhere, they’re jaded, apathetic!
As Yuko says, kawawang bansa!
sa tingin ko lang, ang mga militar ay nag-aabang lang…..
si lacson at ermita…..militar
===========================================EVEN AS THE opposition is actively seeking out political allies of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to join its slate in next year’s elections, Malacañang may be quietly wooing some of its members as well.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita yesterday confirmed that he had met with Senator Panfilo Lacson, a nemesis of Ms Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, and that the possibility of the senator seeking the mayoral seat of Manila cropped up during their talk.
Ermita, however, denied that he had asked Lacson a slot in the administration senatorial ticket.
Lacson joined the presidential race in 2004 but lost to Ms Arroyo amid allegations that the elections were marred by widespread fraud. The President denied the charges.
A source privy to the meeting on Monday at the Manila Hotel quoted Ermita as telling Lacson: “If you will run for mayor (of Manila), Malacañang will not interfere.”
“In the course of our discussion, of course, we asked each other — I asked if he was running for mayor and he asked (about reports that) I was running for senator. But I did not make an offer, how can I?” Ermita told the Inquirer in an interview before the hearing on the Office of the President’s budget at the Senate.
Media reports earlier identified several possible candidates for Manila mayor, including Senator Alfredo Lim, Manila Representatives Joey Hizon and Rodolfo Bacani, Vice Mayor Danilo Lacuna, former Manila Representative Mark Jimenez and Arnold “Ali” Atienza, son of incumbent Mayor Lito Atienza.
Ilocos Norte Representative Imee Marcos had said her mother, former first lady Imelda Marcos, who was crowned Muse of Manila in 1953, was “seriously” considering running for city mayor but gave way to her grandson, Martin “Borgy” Manotoc.
Manotoc, 23, the lawmaker’s son, later said the rumor was just a joke that was blown out of proportion.
Personal matters
When Senate reporters yesterday asked Ermita and Lacson separately about what they had talked about, they gave slightly different answers.
“Personal and official matters,” Lacson said.
“It was a personal thing, nothing important that you should know,” Ermita said.
The senator said Ermita sought him out over the weekend to discuss an “urgent concern in the Senate.”
“There was urgency in his call, but I promised him I will not talk about it (with the media),” Lacson said.
The source said Ermita had been bothered by a derogatory text message about him and contacted Lacson, whom he knew when they were both serving in the military and police establishments during martial law in the 1970s.
With Inquirer Research
Copyright 2006 Inquirer. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Any election with glurilla in malacanang is an exercise of the absurd. When will the opposition ever learn. All these jockeying for elective slots are mere moro moro – the results are very obvious – who bother? Because there is no leader worth his salt to stand up against glurilla. Tama si Yuko – kawawang pilipino. Dapat gisingin si Andres Bonifacio. Malapit na ang kanyang Day … 23 days na lang.
talagang kawawa naman ang pinoy………
The former first lady of the Philippines Imelda Marcos once made headlines for her vast shoe collection. Now she is embarking on a new project – a fashion line. Marcos, the 77-year- old widow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, announced in Manila this week that she planned to launch “The Imelda Collection” of fashion jewelry and accessories on Nov. 18. The line will “not yet” include shoes, said her daughter, Imee Marcos. Imelda Marcos became notorious for her trips to ritzy shops during the 1970s and ’80s while her country suffered from extreme poverty and the pressures of martial law. (AP)
Anna,
The good people are fighting that is why the country looks chaotic. At least, talking to Ocampo, I got that impression although I see that there is no use for the Midget’s bragging of getting rid of the CPP-NPA. The truth is a lot of them originals have aged and are now feeling the effects of long-time hiding in the mountains and getting malnourished, etc. in fighting for what they believed to be true and right regardless of whether or not they were right.
What the Midget should have done has been to recognize the communists, et al, and give them the opportunity to prove whether they are right or not to do what they think is right for the country like what the Japanese government has decided done with the Communists and Socialists in Japan—turn them into useful citizens of Japan.
But then, of course, the Midget does not want that. She knows that with the socialists and communists there, she will not be able to do what she has been doing since she took control of the government. Besides, she does not have the heart nor the brains for that.
All that she and her cohorts, including the husband, want is to get rich quick, and brag about it in the same way that the husband now seems to brag that no one can put him down, and that they should all do as he says or they face the court and pay him big sum of money that a lot many of the 43 journalists that he is suing cannot afford to pay because the truth is they have stolen them all as being proved by investigations conducted by the Philippine Senate.
Por dies, por singko, please patalsikin na!
Back to the airport incident involving Luliit and the immigration officer: Guess what Luliit told the guy…It was not “Do you know who I am?” but “Do you know who you are?”. That second question angered the guy.
daming mga kaaliwaswasan ang gobyernong ito na pilit isinasalba ng pagwawalang bahala sa mga karaingan ng taong bayan. napakaraming pondo na ang nalustay na ang nakinabang ay ang mga gahamang walang iniisip kundi gawing bakang gatasan ang kani kanilang mga departamento subalit kapag nabisto at ipinaghain ng reklamo ay pilit ipinagsasanggalang ng kunsintidorang pekeng presidente. ang pinakahuli ay ang ONE HUNDRED THIRTEEN MILLION PESOS UNLIQUIDATED CASH ADVANCES ni national insecurity adviser berto goonzalez na kabilang sa QUESTIONABLE FIVE BILLION PESOS EXPENSES ng office of the president. tapos sasabihing GUMAGANDA ANG EKONOMIYA?
08 November 2006
I’m just wondering??? that now it is clear that sen. villar will runs for reelection under the coalition of pres erap, my wondering is de castro??? what will be his position, everybody knows that villar is de castro’s friend from their wednesday group.
just wondering???
prans
Ellen,
The Purple Phoenix just posted some “chismis” on her blog. I suppose she got the news from her uncle Danton who was with midget in China. You may want to check it out. (http://www.tinaparepublic.blogspot.com/)
Gumagandang ekonomiya? Neknek niya! Now we know, it is more like utang-bayad-utang-bayad economy lang! Even without the revelation from the senators, everybody knows this all along. They are just in what psychological termed as a state of denial! Sabi nga nila, walang magagawa. Managinip ka na lang ng gising like my dear Alitaptap, who is calling for Bonifacio from his grave! Amen! 😛
DND confident AFP will not allow itself to be used in election cheating
(Malaya, Nov. 8, 2006)
BY VICTOR REYES
Walang maniniwala, maliban sa diehard Gluerians, kahit anong propaganda/press release na ipalabas ng DND na hindi gagamitin ang militar sa May mid-elections ng Bruhang Tianak na naninirahan sa tabi ng ilog-pasig. Buhay na buhay pa ang mga Garci Generals, at habang may malaking perang ipapantapal ang Bruha, maraming pang magpapatapal na heneral.
Ayon nga kay Alitaptap, panahon na upang magising si ANDRES BONIFACIO, isama na rin si GABRIELA SILANG
Parang Corpse Bride ha! Lalabas sa libingan para ipaglaban ang buhay! Susmalosep! Puede gumala na sa Malacanang iyong mga namatay doon!
The question then is, will the military allow itself to be raped again? Imagine, a midget and a pig who enjoy raping!
A “survival at all cost” is, to my mind, the last act of this opera. Let’s just wait for the fat woman to sing.
The Armed Forces should NOT be USED BY ANYBODY for the elections come 2007, especially by the administration. What the Armed Forces should ENSURE is that there will be fair elections in 2007. The people expect NOTHING LESS.
The Filipino people will do its best to make sure that the elections in 2007 is fair and honest, but will be helpless against armed goons used by the administration. As it is already, the administration is on DESPERADO-mode. We must come together and not be decieved by a Trojan Horse that is approaching. We must fight and not flight this evil empire.
ystakei,
‘panahon na upang magising si ANDRES BONIFACIO, isama na rin si GABRIELA SILANG’, could symbolically mean “magising na ang TUNAY na matatapang para sumagupa sa malacanang”.
matagal nang minumulto ang malacanang, at matitigil lang marahil kung ang titira ay tunay na makabayan :).
ooopps, masyado yatang malakas ang katagang sumagupa :).
instead “…ipaglaban ang mamamayan sa pang-aapi ng mga tenants ng malacanang”.
ystakei,
You said, “The truth is a lot of them originals have aged and are now feeling the effects of long-time hiding in the mountains and getting malnourished, etc. in fighting for what they believed to be true and right regardless of whether or not they were right.”
The reason why “what the president needs now is musccle, not brain” to subdue communism is so unbelievable. Mantakin mo na uugud-ugod na iyang gagamitan ng muscles! Pakulo lang talaga para ang mucles ay gamitin sa May elections. Hay, sabi mo nga ‘kawawang bansa’.
Sabi mo pa, Chi. Estupida nga e. Makapagpasikat lang pati matanda hindi pinatatawad. Tignan mo na lang ang ginagawa kay Crispin Beltran, na hindi tumitikim ng grasya na ipinamumudmod ni Bansot sa Tongress. Complete and total graft and corruption ang ginagawa ng mag-asawang sakim.
Hopefully, the election there will be like the election this year in the USA. The people will express their true sentiments through their votes. “We want change. WE WANT ALL THE VULTURES OUT!” hopefully will be the message in their votes! Let’s continue to pray.
Yeah, ystakei.. i’m enjoying the counting of votes from where i am right now, in the colorful mountains of North Carolina.
inggit na inggit nga ako sa counting of votes, at the same time ay lungkot what will happen to the pinoy votes in May.
Ellen,
DND confident that AFP will not allow themselves to be used in elections?
Well, I really cannot comment on whether they are GENUINELY confident or speaking tongue in cheek. Heck, DND may feel all the confidence they want but Esperon is Gloria’s man. He tells the troops, go and cheat, they will go and cheat, he tells them shut up, they will shut up, he tells them to grunt, they will grunt.
You don’t need tens of thousands of grunt-grunts to cheat for Gloria – you need just but a few determined scalawags in military uniform.
What the heck does DND know? How will they know over there if the navy vessels are being used to transport ballot boxes, already filled with Gloria ballots to replace the other ballot boxes?
How does DND know when AFP logistics, i.e., gazoline, choppers, communication systems are being used by Esperon to ensure Gloria’s victory?
Nice of DND to say they are confident that AFP won’t let themselves be used but it’s one thing to ensure that THE AFP IS NOT USED…
And sorry to say but I have no confidence whatsoever that Esperon and Tolentino are honourable enough NOT TO BE cowed by the dimunitive pugilist commander in chief they have: GLORIA, the immoral bansot!
Nangangatog na ang tumbong ni Pandak dahil sa naging resulta ng election sa U.S. – natalo ang partido ni Dubya Bush. Ganyan ang pinangangambahan niyang mangyayari sa maka-administration na mga kandidato sa May 2007 election.
Kaya nga angkop na angkop ang titulo nitong article na ito – Survival at all cost! Gagawin ang lahat manatili lamang sa pwesto. Kaya nga si Prospero Calabasa este Pechay kahit na hindi isang abogado ay ang lakas ng loob na magbalangkas ng proposal sa Constitutional Assembly.
Hay! Naku! Pahiram ng salita mo Yuko, ha – KAWAWANG BANSA! Mabuti na lang at marami ang OFWs na siyang bumubuhay sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas!
hindinapinoy Says:
November 8th, 2006 at 9:03 am
“sa tingin ko lang, ang mga militar ay nag-aabang lang…..
“si lacson at ermita…..militar”
Correction Hindinapinoy!
Hindinasila militar ngayon. Technically, you can call them retired military officers. They were formerly with the military and are therefore no longer WITH the military.
Ano kaya ang iniisip ni Glue ngayong dominated ng democrats ang US house? One priority of democrats as we all know is to check on human rights violations, etc that is not Glueria, patay siyang pandak s’ya!
Emilio,
Tama ka diyan! “Mabuti na lang at marami ang OFWs na siyang bumubuhay sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas!”
Kung wala ang mga OFWs bagsak ang Pinas.
The 13 billion dollar remittances by OFWs can not be equalled by the dollar intake of Philippine big businesses put them together.
This is why Gloria wanted to export 100,000 Pinoys to Spain (her agenda, remember prior to visiting St Therese d’Avila) and her program of supermaids… Without OFWs, paano ang Pinas? Of course, puwede pa rin niyang ibenta ang Pilipinas sa mga gambling lords ng buong mundo – may direct personal cut sa gambling income pa itong baboy na asawa at pamilya niya.
Anna, “This is why Gloria wanted to export 100,000 Pinoys to Spain ..” Is this for real? What’s your source? Am interested in this story.
“The 13 billion dollar remittances by OFWs can not be equalled by the dollar intake of Philippine big businesses put them together.” If you include the informal channels, it could go much more. The $12 billion is just the recorded info from bank channels.
Agreed! I tried to do research on this, and found out that remittances are 11 times greater than all the foreign direct investments coming in to RP in the last few years. (The ideal and doable FDI is $3 billion per year, but nowhere is the country coming any close to this.)
Yes, Hawaiian guy, if you google for news related to Gloria before her or visit to Spain, she clearly said in one of the releases that she was going to work for the admittance of 100,000 OFWs to Spain to work… Ellen should have it in her records too.
Ooops, I posted my reply under the wrong thread so am posting again here, thanks, Ellen.
Hawaiianguy:
Here is an item I googled: May 23 2006PGMA to visit Madrid in late June, eyes 100000 jobs for OFWs in Spain tourist industry. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo announced today that she will …
http://www.news.ops.gov.ph/archives2006/may23.htm – 40k – Cached – Similar pages
[ More results from http://www.news.ops.gov.ph ]
Another one: Sun.Star Manila – Spain opens jobs for 100000 Pinoy health workersTomas, who accompanied President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her trip to Europe, … (OFWs), saying they are the most hardworking people and that Spain needs …
Anna, Ystakei. Ty for that. I need it for my research, that’s why. Pasabat-sabat lang ako, kasi gusto kong mag concentrate sa gawain ko ngayon. Saka na ako mag blogging ng husto pag natapos ko ito.
Hawaiianguy, Another one right in Ellen’s blog:
Ellen Tordesillas » Blog Archive » Wish raw ng Santo PapaIf the media in Spain learn about Gloria’s plan to sell or dumb 100000 OFWs to Spain, Spanish citizenry themselves might stage a revolt and call for her …
http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=332 – 110k – Cached – Similar pages
But nothing more was said about Gloria’s grand scheme to export 100,000 Pinoys and Pinays to Spain following her return home because I knew that Spain COULD NOT COMMIT admittance of 100,000 foreign workers because it would be against EU regulations.
That announcement and media humbugging by Gloria prior to a her trip to Spain was a clear lie! She was using the press for pure pressure effect and to show her in good light.
God! She was absolutely crazy if she thinks she could bamboozled the Ministry of Labor of Spain to sign an agreement whereby Spain would agree to import 100,000 foreign labor – NO WAY! There’s problems here too…
Gloria is macapal ang mukha sa pagsisinungaling!
Come to think of it, why would Cruz quit if indeed he wanted to prevent the AFP from being used as a tool for cheating in the 2007 election? Would it be not better for him to stay there and see that it be stopped?
Common sense lang naman. Kaya siya magkwi-quit kasi siguro naawa na lang siya sa sarili niya. Golly, ang liit noong babae pero ang laki naman ng asawa kaya hindi niya mabatukan kapag iniinsulto siya. Balak pa nga palitan daw ang mga sundalo ng ire-recruit ng mag-asawang bayawak. 300,000 daw sabi ng mga nakausap ko. Imagine kung kakalapin nila lahat ang mga mamamataytao sa Pilipinas at tuturuan ang mga pilipino na kung gusto nilang magkapera pataying nila ang mga kalaban o kumakalaban sa kanila, aba e talo nga ang lahat! Hindi nga sila makakaabante. Tignan mo na lang ang takot ng mga hukom ng Pilipinas ngayon na hindi makahirit doon sa Tabatsoy! Dito iyan malaking batikos iyan ng media dito. Sibak ang mag-asawa pagnagkataon. But then, of course, iba kasi sa Japan! Hindi uubra ang kalokohan ni Tabatsoy. Pero balita ko ang husay talagang mag-corrupt ng tao ang mga ungas!
Chi,
I’ll be in SFO during the Christmas holidays to be with my Mother, who is 88 now, and still going strong. I’ve promised to spend Christmas with her until she dies. Her sister is 92 going on 93, and still surviving. Parang nanay ni Erap na 102 na.
North Carolina, ang layo mo! The truth is I haven’t been to the East Coast. I was planning to take my mother there on the way to UK, but she has declined. Hindi na raw niya kaya. Gusto ko kasing makita niya ang bansa ng isa sa mga nuno niya. I spent some time there in fact as a student. O baka sabihin na naman nagyayabang ako na intellectual ako! Susmalosep! Talaga naman ang mga crab mentality!
Anyway, I plan to attend the PPT (Permanent People’s Tribunal) at the Hague next year with some Japanese representatives. Hopefully, I can meet Anna there. This one the cannot ignore because it has big names running the show!
Magandang labanan ito pag nagkataon! You bet, Emilio, malaki ang effect ng talo ni Bush sa struggle na ito!!!
Gotta add, ang Diyos talaga hindi natutulog! Kaya Ocayvalle, all, nakikita na ang liwanag sa dilim! Dasal lang! Hindi naman puedeng magtagumpay ang mga salbahe at demonyo kailanman!
Ellen, ingat! God will be on your side, you bet! Baka bukas maatake ang judge na hahatol sa iyo ng mali! I don’t know how but surely God will not allow evil to prevail! Will continue to pray and fast for you.
ystakei,
Did you say you have a sis in Florida? Most of the Floridians drive up here for 9 hours. Come and visit, so you can see the other side of the US. We chose to stay here because the hubby, a university professor, is hikain and his doc advised us to avoid the big cities. Anyway, we go and visit Denmark every summer since we are kind of adopted son and daughter, still connected there, you know :). NY is also 9 hrs drive, DC and VA 5 hrs.
come, come, come!
Sorry guys, my last entry was off topic. Pero iyong hika is also connected with Ellen :).
Offtopic din: Chi, unfair yan ha? Hindi mo ba ako iimbitahin?
Honestly, I plan to go to NC sometime next year; also visit DC to see some oldtime friends there.
hawaiianguy,
I’ll be glad to have you here, of course! Anytime :).
Chi,
Balak namin na umuwi kapag natanggal si Bansot. Usapan na namin iyan nina Emilio, Alitaptap, Cory, et al. Magandang mag-reunion tayo and then have a sitdown with those who would be given rein of government and share with them what we know.
Kaya handa ninyo na ang mga term papers ninyo based on your expertise. Wala namang masama na mag-share tayo sa mga tao doon na nasanay lang sa kurakot.
Uwi din kayo ng Mr. mo. Ang saya siguro. Tapos “Mutya” natin si Ellen to whom we are grateful for bringing all of us closer together.
Sorry, I don’t have a sibling in Florida but I have property in Baja California in Mexico, a few hours from Yuma, Arizona. Malayo pa rin sa iyo. My folks are in the Bay Area.
Anna: Kung wala ang mga OFWs bagsak ang Pinas. The 13 billion dollar remittances by OFWs can not be equalled by the dollar intake of Philippine big businesses put them together.
*****
You said it, Anna. At ang isa pang ginagamit ni Bansot ay iyong mga inuutang niya na pangtakip ng butas niya. Parang katulad noong istorya ng isang batang inulusot ang daliri niya sa butas ng breakwater sa Holland that was a fantastic story as fantastic a story in fact of the bayad-utang of the Bansot!
In addition, ang laki ng mga balato from gambling, pati na iyong boxing ni PacMan. Wow, bet win daw 250,000 dollars noong January fight niya. Hindi ko lang matandaan kung tig-iisa silang 250,000 dollar na bet money ni Singson, pero ang laki daw ng bet, at binigyan ng first preference to the detriment of others who also wanted to bet but were able to bet only a few thousand.
Iyong bata, nilusot ang daliri niya sa butas ng breakwater para hindi makapasok ang tubig at lumubog ang bansa niyang below sea level. Ganyan ang parang ginagawa ni Bansot to make it look na kunyari may improvement ang economy ng Pilipinas. Mangungutang para ipambayad sa ibang utang lalo na iyong lampas na sa deadline. Akala tuloy nag-improve nga ang economy kasi kasabwat niya iyong mga tao na nasa Finance Office na pati nga bidding tungkol sa mga patrimonies sa Japan ayaw ipakita kahit kanino.
BTW, iyong agreement daw sa JPEPA ayaw ipakita ni Pandak. Bakit akala ba niya hindi ipapakita iyong ng Japan kung hingiin ng mga Diet members dito, opposition man o hindi? Bakit niya itinatago kung wala siyang kapalpakan ginawa?
Ellen, paki-follow ito sa mga reporters ninyo. Will give you a follow up naman namin dito via your email.
If the mother is 88 years old, my guess was correct that our friend here is now over 60. But just because the mother and other family members live long doesn’t mean the rest will live that long too.
Chi, can you give me your email addy? If you can’t post it here, give it to Ellen, pls. I will get it from her. (Ellen, pls forward it to mine.)
Sure, ystakei.
Ellen,
How true is the report that the JPEPA agreement is being withheld by the Bansot and the members of the Opposition in Congress like the partylist congressmen are not provided with a copy of it? Will check this with Senator Pimentel, too.
I’ll see if I can get a copy from the members of the Diet here, and will send you a copy by email after scanning it. Greenpeace, I understand, has been provided a copy especially in connection with the toxic waste.
Hawaiianguy,
With the instability and no more good quality workers to do the jobs for these foreign companies as the older employees are recruited for jobs overseas, most investors who are no longer used to child slavery as investors from Japan can really be wary of investing in the Philippines.
I was able to translate a video interview of young boys and girls applying as factory hands in a Japanese company in the Calabarzon, and this company in fact has been there since the time of Marcos (in short, no new investment actually) because of this situation of no qualified workers especially when the investor produces high quality precision products. Malay ng mga dalaginding o binatilyo na kumalikot diyan!
Another problem in fact are the policies that are not really secured, guaranteed and friendly to foreign investments. Mauubos ang investment mo hindi ka pa nakatubo. This is in fact what my friends in Japan have discovered dealing with the Filipinos (mostly tsinoys and mestisos as a matter of fact). In short, nakakatakot especially with the Bansot there having the tendency to grab profits!!!
Ang daming gastos to establish a company there. Ubos na ang investment hindi ka pa nakatayo ng kompanya mo. I should know because I have translated and written a lot of legal papers for Japanese investors swindled there. Kahit nga may asawang pilipino, walang guarantee e.
chabeli, you should have said: “the AFP heirarchy should not allow its officers and men to be used by anybody in any election, even the administration”.
ang nangyayari ngayon, lalo na at ang alagang si bantay ni gloria ang CSAFP, basta matapunan lang ng kapirasong buto, panay kawag ang buntot at dila sa kamay ng amo!
Hindi pa ba police state. Ang dami nang napatay at nakulong na parang Gestapo style, hindi pa ba police state ang Pilipinas? Nagulat ang mga hapon na nakausap namin and presented the petition for action re the more than 750 journalists, human rightists, et al na pinapatay ng administrasyon na ito compared to the lesser numbers noong panahon ng Martial Law. Ang tanong nila, “May Martial Law na ba?”
“I should know because I have translated and written a lot of legal papers for Japanese investors swindled..”
I have a feeling that one plausible reason why investments are slow in coming is that investors are not only swindled by Pinoy entrepreneurs but also milked by ranking govt. officials. Ramos succeeded in eliciting investments (to the tune of $20 billion, or an average of more than $3 billion a year) during his time, but at a great cost. He was the most travelled of all RP presidents. Even Marco Polo, Genghis Khan and Limahong combined would pale in comparison with the distance he negotiated. In his time, he managed to pass the Magna Carta for overseas workers for greater protection (kuno), but could not save Flor Contemplacion from the gallows, although he succeeded in lowering the penalty for Sarah Balabagan. Of course, we also know those scams under his admin. His 4 Ds (deregulation, etc.) and unthinking liberalization policies literally sold the Philippines to the world, even made it harder for ordinary folks to live because of his excessive VAT (raised taxes from 4% to 10%), and the solution to the power crisis that has only made cost of electricity very expensive until now (electric power is now pay the second most expensive in Asia, next to Japan).
Under Gloria, life for most Filipinos became harder. She not only mimicked FVR, she outdid him in many respects. For one, she raised VAT even higher to 12%. Why? this is the trade off for borrowing more money from the IMF/World Bank.
Under Gloria, the govt could hardly get a $1 billion foreign investment a year. One time she only scored a few hundred million dollars. And she has the gut to blame the opposition and so-called destabilizers for all her economic woes.
Given these facts, and the widespread complaint of Filipinos how poor they have become, the upgrade of RP’s corruption status from less corrupt to more corrupt (lucky, it still beats Indonesia and Myanmar on this), and other indicators of worse governance, how can one say that life has become better under this woman? She only changed the gender of RP’s status, but it is still the sick (wo)man of Asia getting sicker every day.
Should read: (electric power we now pay is the second most expensive in Asia, next to Japan). Feelin groggy na yata ako.
Hawaiianguy:
Mahal ang ilaw pero mataas din ang sueldo kaya hindi napapansin. At saka mahusay naman ang service kaya hindi ka makareklamo.
Dito, kung mababa naman ang cost of running for example the electric supplier, binababaan naman ang rate ng ilaw. Sa totoo nga mababa ang mga presyo ng ibang bilihin ngayon because people are being careful of their money and are not buying things they do not actually need.
Sa Pilipinas, wala na ngang pera ang mga tao, sinasagad pa rin. Labas tuloy manloko ang karamihan para makatipid. Mismong electric company o water company, magnanakaw kaya iyong consumer ang tendency, magnakaw na rin. Magnanakaw VS magnanakaw ang labas lalo na ngayon with a leadership that cheats, lies and steals.
Hawaiianguy: I have a feeling that one plausible reason why investments are slow in coming is that investors are not only swindled by Pinoy entrepreneurs but also milked by ranking govt. officials.
*****
Sinabi mo pa. Sony, for example, was about to make a big investment in the Philippines in 1995 or 1996 when Ramos was the president. Umurong! No reason was given, but a lot of my friends here suspect it is because of the asking price of the government officials involved in granting Sony permit to operate there. The project was transferred to another country in Asia. I guess to Malaysia when Mahatir was the PM. and it was securer there to invest.
Binababaan ang prices dito to encourage the consumers to buy more. Iyan din kasi ang paraan na ma-buoy up ang economy, ang mamili ang mga tao. Kahit nga sa Pilipinas, kapag Christmas nabo-buoy up ang economy kasi nagbibilihan ng regalo, etc. ang mga tao, tapos nag-uuwian pa ang mga balikbayan, but that is not because the Bansot is so good an economist. Ang bobo nga ng dating e. Golly, major export industry human trafficking! Saan ang iginanda ng Philippine economy diyan? Bugaw!
Wala na si Pandak, iniwanan na ng kanyang mga ka alyado. The only manalo ang mga kandidato nya ay mandaya na naman.
Lokal vocal,
Hindi ka pa nakakasiguro. May bagong perang nautang si Bansot para pangsuhol sa mga kukunin niyang kapalit noong mga sawa nang magpa-insulto sa kaniya. Dasal ka na lang muna.
Related topic— Here’s a news item from Tribune:
Gov’t asks SC to reconsider PI ruling
By Benjamin B. Pulta
11/11/2006
State lawyers yesterday filed a motion before the Supreme Court (SC) to appeal its recent ruling to disallow the Palace-backed “people’s initiative” to amend the Constitution.
In a 33-page motion for reconsideration, Solicitor General Eduardo Antonio Nachura said the court’s ruling improperly took up factual questions when it decided the case.
“This honorable court is not a trier of facts yet it discussed and resolved contentious factual matters which properly pertain to the Comelec’s (Commission on Elections) constitutional authority,” the Solgen stressed.
Nachura said the more than six million signatures verified by the Comelec, which is used to support the initiative “should count for something and should not have been given a short shrift.”
“Indeed, at the end of the day, it will be the populace and the citizenry at large who will ultimately vote for or reject the proposed amendments in a plebiscite to be held as ordained by the Constitution. Whether the initial moves are done by a Constitutional Convention, a Constituent Assembly (Con-ass) or a people’s initiative, in the end
every amendment, however insubstantial or radical, must be submitted to a plebiscite,” the petition said.
The Solgen pointed out that the “constitutional right of the people to propose amendments to the Constitution should not be unreasonably curtailed by technicalities, or blurred by vague provisions of law.”
The government lawyer added the changes being proposed merely involve amendments, not revisions, and “are therefore the proper subject of a people’s initiative.”
Nachura stressed that the high court itself in its decision conceded that there is no fixed rule on whether a change is an amendment or revision.
“Indeed, the constitutional commission deliberations relied upon by the majority decision, while perhaps expressive of the views of individual commissioners and the reason for their votes, cannot be a reliable gauge of what differentiates ‘simple’ and ‘substantial’ amendments, on one hand, and ‘substantial” amendments amounting to revision, on the other,” he added.
According to him, the proposed changes in the 1987 Constitution, through the people’s initiative, do not contemplate a major overhaul of the Charter and do not involve any plan or intention of supplanting the Constitution, or changing in its entirety,” adding the proposal merely involved “a shift from the present bicameral-presidential system to a unicameral-parliamentary system of government,” which affects only Articles VI and VII of the Constitution.
The solgen said the SC is duty bound to allow the constitutional right of the initiative.
“It is respectfully submitted that the people’ right to directly propose changes to the Constitution should not be restricted by declaring a law inadequate simply for lack of a sub-heading and other grammatical but insignificant omissions,” the petitioner said.
Nachura stressed it is the duty of the high tribunal to give a statute an interpretation which meets constitutional requirements if it can be reasonably done. “Otherwise, the constitutional intent to empower the people will be severely emasculated, if not rendered illusory,” he added.
Meanwhile, the opposition also yesterday expressed confidence the motion for reconsideration filed the other day by the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap) and Sigaw ng Bayan movement would be junked with finality by the high court.
Former Sen. Francisco Tatad, during a press conference, said what they are waiting for is that the minority justices who had expressed dissenting decision would change sides and support the majority who junked the initiative.
“I’m an advocate for a constitutional reform in the last 25 years that I’ve been in a government position. I’ve been pushing a constitutional reform… In fact I’m a proponent of a federal parliamentary form of government but not in Mrs. Arroyo’s term who along with her allies had entrenched themselves in power to destroy it (Constitution),” he stressed.
Malacañang, however, is optimistic the high tribunal would have a change of heart because Mrs. Arroyo has been at the forefront in revising the Constitution, “not to her interest but to the welfare of the Filipino people.”
“The Palace’s stand on this Charter change issue is clear, our President generally favors Charter change because this is part of her political reform agenda. This is what she wanted to implement,” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye yesterday said.
He added they would exhaust all means to push Cha-cha even if the high tribunal junks the it with finality.
“There are ways and the timing in which the Charter change relies on, but our President would leave that to the capable hands of the institutions who will decide on it. Regardless of the actions of the Supreme Court, I believe the underlying position is one in pushing Charter change, it depends on what mode would be feasible,” he said referring to the Con-ass that may be convened by both houses of Congress to push Cha-cha.
Bunye also downplayed the opposition’s claims that Mrs. Arroyo has been centered in politicking rather than governance.
“On their (opposition) allegations that only those who support Charter change receives ‘pork’ have no basis… I think that is an unfair assertion. This should be raised by the opposition to the House leadership,” he said. Sherwin C. Olaes
*****
Akala ko ba hindi nakikialam ang Malacanang dito? Sinungaling talaga si Bansot at mga kakutsaba niya, ano? Hindi pa ba nagsasawa ang mga pilipino sa kawalanghiyaan ng mga ito?
PATALSIKIN NA, NOW NA!
I learned from the banking, business and investment sources that foreign loans and money are about to pour into Arroyo’s government. Among these countries are: The US, Japan, Australia and Canada. The big question is: WHY ?