April 2008 – Page 5 – ellen tordesillas

Prosecution agrees to review charges vs Miranda et al

Published by Ellen on April 5, 2008

From Malaya:

by Victor Reyes

The prosecution on Thursday agreed to review the charges against 28 Marine and Army officers who are facing trial for the alleged attempt to grab power in February 2006 based on the “special plea” of former Marine commandant Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, alleged plot leader.

At Miranda’s arraignment yesterday, military defense counsel Lt. Col. Basilio Pooten moved for the withdrawal of the charges (noli proseque), citing lack of evidence against the accused, after Miranda was asked for his special plea.

The offers

Published by Ellen on April 3, 2008

In the past weeks, Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and his fellow detainees at the ISAFP compound in Camp Aguinaldo have been visited by officers with a message from someone “at the top”.

A source said there were two proposals. The first was for the officers to plead guilty to conduct unbecoming of an officer in exchange for the dismissal of the charge of mutiny. Punishment for conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman (Articles of War 96) is dismissal from service while mutiny is life imprisonment.

The Baseline issue:a position paper

Published by Ellen on April 3, 2008

by Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV

Last August 2007, this author filed Senate Bill No. 1467 entitled “An Act Defining the Archipelagic Baselines of the Philippine Archipelago, Amending for the Purpose Republic Act No. 3046, as Amended by Republic Act No. 5446.” or otherwise known as the “Archipelagic Baselines Law of the Philippines.” The bill was the result of a series of consultations primarily with former Senator Leticia Ramos-Shahani, who first pushed for the Baselines bill way back in 1993. It basically defines the archipelagic baselines to include the Scarborough Shoal and designates the Kalayaan Island Group (KIG) as a “regime of islands.” To further facilitate the passing of the bill, the technical details provided by the National Mapping and Resource Information Authority (NAMRIA) as enumerated in House Bill No. 1202 filed by Congressman Antonio V. Cuenco as well as its other provisions were adopted in toto. Congress, however, filed HB 3216 that substituted for HB 1202.

Kumain ng binlid

Published by Ellen on April 2, 2008

May litrato sa Malaya noong Miyerkoles ng mga sakong bigas mula sa Estado Unidos na nire-repack sa National Food Authority. Ang nakalagay “U.S No. 2 quality long grain, 4% broken”.

Kapag sinabing “broken”, may halong binlid. Yung maliliit na bigas. “Broken” ang tawag kasi parang yun ang mga basag na bigas. Kapag four per cent, good quality pa yan. Ibebenta ng NFA ang 4 per cent broken ng P25 isang kilo.

Ngayong linggo, darating ang panibagong importasyon galing ng Amerika.Twenty-five per cent broken. One fourth ng isang sakong bigas ay binlid at ibebenta ito ng P18 bawat kilo.

OSG asks SC to dismiss journalists’petition for amparo

Published by Ellen on April 2, 2008

Government lawyers said Puno, Razon, Gonzalez et al were thinking of the safety of the officers when they were ordered to vacate the hotel. My foot!

From Malaya:

by Evangeline de Vera

The Office of the Solicitor General asked the Supreme Court to dismiss the consolidated petitions for Amparo and prohibition filed by print and broadcast journalists led by Ces Drilon and Raoul Esperas in connection with the arrest of mediamen at the height of the Manila Peninsula standoff last Nov. 29.

Nine former Magdalo officers plead guilty to coup d’etat

Published by Ellen on April 2, 2008

The nine have long been expelled from the Magdalo group. Their plea of guilty smells of a deal. Let’s watch in the following days or weeks.

From Malaya:

by Ashzel Hachero

In a move that caught the defense lawyers by surprise, nine Magdalo junior officers including two of the group’s core leaders changed their plea to guilty on the charge of coup d’etat for their participation in the 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

Dire warnings

Published by Ellen on April 1, 2008

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said if the Supreme Court’s ruling on Romulo Neri’s taking refuge under the cloak of executive privilege to hide the involvement of Gloria Arroyo in a scandalously overpriced telecommunications deal, becomes final and executory, “the Blue Ribbon committee will henceforth be powerless to conduct its inquiries on alleged wrongdoing involving high ranking government officials. All the executive secretary has to do is send a similar letter he sent in the Neri case by giving a general reason for invoking the privilege, then we in the Senate can no longer ask questions on the issue.”

Namamayagpag ang masama

Published by Ellen on March 31, 2008

Isang matalinong ginoo sa Europa na nangangalang Edmund Burke ang nagsabi na “All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Sa Tagalog, “Ang kailangan lang ng demonyo na manalo ay ang mga taong mabuti na magsawalang kibo.”

Namamayagpag ngayon si Gloria Arroyo dahil marami sa mga taong akala natin mabuti at nagsasawalangkibo.

Month: April 2008