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Month: July 2008

CBCP may adopt no-communion ban policy to pro-abortion politicians

A communion ban imposed by Ozamis Archbishop Jesus Dosado on Catholic politicians pushing for abortion may be adopted by all bishops across the country.

Roman Catholic politicians who support a proposed law should no longer receive communion, Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz said on Monday.

He said Dosado’s policy, which stopped short of saying the politicians should face formal excommunication, may be implemented in other dioceses if bishops deem it necessary.

Mas buwaya

Habang tumatagal ang imbestigasyon ng paglubog ng MV Princess of Stars na hanggang ngayon ay nakataob pa malapit sa Sibuyan Island Romblon kasama ang mga 700 na bangkay, lumalabas na marami na palang palpak itong Sulpicio Lines ngunit palagi lang nakakalusot.

Sa report ng Inquirer noong Linggo, nalaman sa website ng maritime insurance na Lloyds na mula noong 1980, may 45 na aksidente ang nangyari sa mga barko ng Sulpicio Lines na ikinamatay ng sobra 4,500 na tao. Ang pinaka-malagim ay ang bungguan ng Doña Paz sa isang oil tanker na ikinamatay ng sobra 4,000 na tao.

Illusion of U.S support

Gloria Arroyo’s issuance of Executive Order 731 two weeks before her trip to the United States last month gives credence to talks that she was anticipating trouble that would be caused by soaring gas prices and she sought the support of U.S. President Bush in case she would have to resort to measures akin to martial law..

E.O. 731, issued June 7, 2008 but made public only last week is titled “Activating and Reorganizing the Energy Operations Board into the Energy Contingency Task Force Under the National Food and Energy Council”. It is based on the premise that “global clouds on the horizon are driving the cost of oil and food.”

Bistadong lokohan

Palibhasa’y madali naloko nila ni Gloria ang taumbayan noong Enero 2001 sa kanilang “People Power 2” kuno kaya nahirapan si Angelo Reyes, energy secretary ngayon, intindihin kung bakit hindi bilib ang mga tao sa kanilang moro-moro na rollback sa presyo ng gasolina noong isang linggo.

Pagkatapos na linggo-linggong pagtaas ng presyo ng gasolina na talaga naman ikina-ngitngit na ng mga tao, biglang nag anunsyo ng rollback na piso sa bawat litro ang mga gasoline companies. Nakapagtataka dahil hindi naman bumaba ang presyo sa world market na siyang ginagamit palaging rason kung bakit hindi nila mapigilan ang pagtaas linggo-linggo ng presyo.

Salivating over SSS P234 billion funds

To ensure the silence of Romy Neri on her role on the NBN-ZTE deal, Gloria Arroyo had to give him a cabinet rank so he would be covered by executive privilege. Since being SSS chair is not a cabinet rank, she formed a National Welfare Council headed by an SSS administrator to be vested with cabinet rank. Randy David said Arroyo is able to get away with it “Because we allow it”. Click on the highlighted title to read his column.

Malaya editorial:

neri-stripping.jpg

Romulo Neri was quick to bristle at accusations that his appointment as
president/administrator of the Social Security System
was a “gift” from Gloria Arroyo. Indeed it was not gift, defined as something voluntarily given without compensation. His appointment is payment for keeping his mouth shut on the role of Arroyo in the aborted $329 million raid on the treasury via the national broadband deal.

It’s strictly an exchange of things of value between the two. Neri gets a sinecure; Gloria gets to sleep soundly at night, free from fears she would be fingered as the real mastermind of the NBN deal with Chinas ZTE corporation.

The Air Force’s maddening silence

Losing a member of the family is hard enough to bear. But for a loved one to disappear in your life without you knowing where he is or if he is really dead, that’s unbearable.

Maria Fe Gerlie Mercado, wife of Capt. Gavino B. Mercado PMA Class ’99), one of the two Philippine Air Force pilots whose plane disappeared November 26 last year, has written Brig. Gen.Eduardo Oban Jr., wing commander of Basa Air Base, pouring out her grief over being kept in the dark of the fate of her husband and her co-pilot, Capt.Bonifacio Soriano III (PMA Class 2000)

Mrs. Mercado said Oban is the immediate superior of her husband.

AFP court discharges 11 Magdalos from service

From GMA News:

The general court martial on Thursday ordered 11 Magdalo soldiers discharged from the military service, more than a month after the accused military officers changed their not guilty plea in connection with the failed July 27, 2003 Oakwood mutiny.

The sentence was promulgated against 11 junior military officers who faced charges for violating Articles of War 96 or conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman.

Underwhelming credentials

Former Rep. Zenaida Ducut, from Lubao, Pampanga to be named chair of the Energy Regulatory Commission.

Malaya editorial:

A month back, we wrote: “When the replacement of (Energy Regulatory chair) Rodolfo Albano is named next month, we have one question to ask. How is the WACC calculated? If he could not provide an answer, thats it. Its bayad utang time, and to hell with power users.”

The background for that piece is the need for people at the ERC who must have an understanding of the complicated business of determining power rates based on cost of power generation, transmission and distribution plus some reasonable profit.