by Lito Banayo
Malaya
Speculations and spins always fly whenever something takes everyone by surprise. Thus did the Senate “coup” which replaced Manuel Villar as its president with 84-year old Juan Ponce Enrile come to most everyone.
One paper bannered an Erap hand in the coup, banking only on the supposed membership of Enrile in the latter’s party, and the perceived “closeness” of the two, which isn’t exactly true. They are friends, but they are not that close. Even when only the two of them survived the Cory juggernaut in the first elections under the 1987 Constitution that re-installed a two-chamber Congress, they were not that close. Estrada, who tries to be friendly with everybody, and forgives anyone and everyone at the drop of a tear, fake or feigned, knew the political value of the wise Ponce Enrile, so that even if the latter did not support his presidential run in 1998, he reached out. He needed the cooperation of the Senate, and so politically, he bedded even with other unlikely political “friends” as Miriam Defensor Santiago. That paper cited an “administration senator” as its source, but the guy, who can easily be identified by any political observer, was also just speculating.
Truth is, Erap never knew until the night before, when his son Jinggoy told him. Did he inform his friend Manny V, the guy he made speaker, also the guy who impeached him with one dramatic bang of his speaker’s gavel? Obviously not.
Our friend and colleague Ellen Tordesillas probably had the closest narration of the events that led to Villar’s fall from the Senate presidency. Even speculations about Cha-Cha, and Villar’s supposed hand in Joc Joc’s arrest are all drivel, insofar as they are related to the latest Senate golpe.
Uneasy lies the crown, always, on the Senate presidency’s head. My friend Caloy Padilla remembers history when he cites Manuel Roxas’ ouster from the speakership and his quote “fell from the rostrum into the arms of the people”. My friend Caloy insults the memory of Mar’s lolo by making such an odious comparison. Manuel Roxas was far more eloquent (the late Speaker Pepito Laurel, Caloy’s mentor as much as mine, described him as such a “great and fiery orator” and a sharp mind) than the head of the Nacionalista Party now. And no historian has ever attributed “conflict of interest” or “self-dealing” or some other such pecuniary peccadilloes to the first elected president of the Republic. Neither his son, Gerardo, who also became a highly respected senator of the realm. And Mar of the third generation does not self-deal either, nor has he ever been accused of dipping his fingers into the “kaban ng bayan”.
With stealth and cunning purpose did Manuel Villar deal with the administration caboodle in the Senate immediately after he was re-elected to the Senate as an adopted candidate of the Genuine Opposition a year and six months ago. He refused to sit down with his GO team mates, Lacson and Legarda, nor oppositionists Roxas, Madrigal, Biazon, Aquino and Pimentel to discuss the politics of a chamber where they had an inch of a majority, assuming he and fellow “independent” Kiko Pangilinan, and Alan Peter Cayetano’s sister, would go on board. Even after Nene Pimentel, the initial candidate of the oppositionists, was no longer in the running. He chose his boys – Alan Peter and Chiz Escudero, and bedded them with his Wednesday Group led by Joker Arroyo, then talked turkey with JPE, Angara, and Gordon. Then they presented their combination of disparate forces to the stinking palace beside the stinking river, and got its imprimatur, along with which came the votes of Lapid, Revilla, Zubiri and Miriam. All along of course, he was briefing Erap, and promised the prestigious if useless role of “President Pro-tempore” to son Jinggoy. It was a brilliant political move – leaving out his perceived presidential competitors out in the cold.
So Gilbert Remulla (spokesman of Manny Villar), don’t give the public any of that drivel, about your boss’ order of arrest for Joc Joc, and the resumption of the fertilizer scam hearings. Your boss tarried and tarried in doing all these, and only when his indecision became obvious, and some other senators in caucus started challenging such indecision, did he act. Ask your Joker. He knows.
Going back to my friend Caloy’s recollection of the first Manuel A. Roxas, he eventually became Senate President as an ally of Manuel Luis Quezon, president of the Commonwealth when the Pacific war broke out. After the war and a brief interregnum before the elections that pitted him against MLQ’s successor, the taciturn Sergio Osmeña Sr. of Cebu, Roxas was yet technically the Senate President. So was the great MLQ when he was elected president. So was Ferdinand Marcos, who stole the Senate presidency from Amang Rodriguez past an unsuspecting Diosdado Macapagal, and from that perch, challenged the latter and won. But someone who fell from his perch, Senate President Jose Avelino of Samar and Bulacan, challenged his president, Elpidio Quirino, put up his own Avelino wing of the Liberal Party, and lost miserably in 1949. Why did Avelino place a miserable third, after Quirino and Laurel of the Nacionalistas, even if he was representing the Roxas loyalists of the Liberal Party, as he claimed? “What are we in power for?”, his famous quote. In truth, even Avelino did not do anything the likes of which Manny Villar is accused of these days. His only fault was political candor, spoken in Castillian, “Para que estamos en poder?” to party mates, but an intrepid journalist scooped him. And in those days, you couldn’t buy off reporters.
The presidency of the Senate was no longer as important a vantage point from which to aim at the presidency after Cory Aquino was installed by people power. Salonga fell from his rostrum, and a year later, also lost his presidential bid. Maceda lost his Senate crown, and later lost his bid for the mayoralty of Manila. Angara, who also lost the Senate presidency, likewise lost his vice-presidential bid to then Sen. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Truth is, the senators compared Villar with his immediate predecessor, Frank Drilon, who steered the chamber in a far better manner. Villar’s leadership begins and ends in a caucus, eschewing floor debates, very boardroom, very “tayo-tayo.” And the minority, as well as those in the majority with whom he was not too hunky-dory, always felt left out. The resentments already seethed in the second quarter of 2008.
Then the C-5 double insertion came up, which Ping Lacson thought was a DBM trick to impound savings for the Doña and/or Andaya to toy with. It turned out to be a smoking gun that led to the mystery of the road called C-5. When Jamby Madrigal got hold of documents from the DPWH, the mystery unravelled, and out came Villar’s self-dealing. In the wake of such devious manipulations, the Republic lost at least 1.2 billion pesos in consummated road right-of-way payments to Bro. Mike Velarde , because Manny Villar wanted the C-5 re-routed to another longer, more snake-like thoroughfare, each bend designed to pass through his corporation’s properties. And got paid for it too, again from the kaban ng bayan, more than another legislator, Ompong Plaza of Agusan del Sur, whose family properties were paid 4,000 per square meter versus 15,000 for Villar’s. And who negotiated with the DPWH, for and in behalf of the other property owners? Why, according to the documents, Manny Villar and his spouse, Cynthia, congresswoman of Las Piñas!
At that point, Villar’s numbers started to cave in. A senator from his side observed to a cabinet member in the Senate when the JPEPA was ratified after waiting for Jamby Madrigal’s expose in a privilege speech – “open and shut.” To which the cabinet member replied, “Masyadong reckless”. (I heard it. This is a first person account. And they didn’t mind sharing their conversation with me in the gallery.)
“C-5 at Taga” was the straw that broke the camel’s back. It gave reason to the senators increasingly disenchanted with Villar’s “leadership” style to plot and count numbers. The wonder of it all is how they managed to keep it a secret from Manny Villar and his staunch allies until the last minute. Probably that explains why the numbers were deliberately kept at just nine senators when the Senate resumed session on November 10. And after the bolantic encounter last week, the nine senators started to talk in earnest to the “soft-core” supporters of Villar, treading very carefully, practicing the same stealth with which Villar blacked them out in June of 2007.
Which is why Erap found out last. And the last 13th vote was ascertained only in the morning of the putsch. Lito Lapid was never “consulted.” Baka malaman pa ng Malacañang, and a monkey wrench is thrown. Kanya pala bumoto muna kay JPE, tapos binawi. Tulak nang puso, kabig ng Malacañang?
Now Villar’s media friends ascribe baser motives to the new majority. Par for the course. Squabbling daw over committee chairs. Perhaps a little wrangling here and there, because unlike in 2007, where the administration-opposition coalition was cobbled by Villar through chair-dealing, this was not, because there was a common purpose, and there was a need for absolute secrecy. Naturally, the spoils come after. In 2007, the spoils were partitioned before the presidency. Note that Alan Peter Cayetano was given the Blue Ribbon, plus education. Wow! And Pia Cayetano had Health, plus Environment, plus Accounts, plus Ethics. Wow again!
The political pot boils. Some are boiled, some are merely scalded
***
The morning after, Manny Villar pushed through with a campaign stump. He invited the barangay chairpersons of the City of Manila to an eatery called Tramway in Quezon City. (One barangay chairman from the third district refused to go – “Bakit, wala bang kainan sa Maynila?” asked he.) Of Manila’s 900 barangay chairs, some 370 came, but the place overflowed with former barangay chairmen and kagawads who made sabit to their chairmen. In all, there must have been 800, packing the place, and many had to leave because the place had become an oven. Cynthia sobbed, recounting the fall of her husband from the Senate presidency. But Manny forced a smile, and preened about his latest survey numbers.
The chairmen chatted throughout, and favourite topic was C-5 at Taga. In the end, they waited for the envelope, but none was forthcoming. I guess that’s the problem when you’re filthy rich. Everyone comes expecting.
O tempora, O mores!, the Romans would have rued. Such is the Philippine political system. No money, no honey, as the GI Joes would say. Ah, but Manny has plenty.
Lito Banayo is one journalist that I also admire. After Edsa 2, he turned down offers from Malacanang and remains to be an outspoken critic of this evil administration. It’s true he’s Ping Lacson’s close adviser, but Ka Lito’s conviction is worth emulating. That’s why posting his article here (I regularly read his column) is a good idea. He and Ellen share so many things. How many journalists are on the same class as they today?
Accept the fact, di na tayo nasanay sa mundo ng pulitika sa Pinas.
Sabi nga ni Erap, “Weather weather lang”! Kaya ang political maturity sa ating bansa eh paurong sa halip na umunlad sa pangpulitikang kaalaman.
Sa totoo lang, pera-pera at partihan yan ang tunay na rason sa pagbagsak ni Sen. Villar.
Text from an UNO member:
Bitchevil,
As you said, spin-a-win! I like Lito Banayo’s column, almost everyday na binabasa ko ito. Yong iba eh wala akong panahon, mas mabuti pang mag friendster kaysa basahin ang kanilang walang kwentang balita.
I have the answer why Angara wants the Finance Committee…to finance himself and his other friend in the Senate. Why did he let go of the Committee on Agriculture? He’s been holding that for a while and was even a former Agri Secretary. Well, he wants to have nothing to do with Bolante’s case.
It’s good to see you blogging again, Balweg?
I wonder where Ka Lito’s buddy Ka Nixon Kua is. After losing his candidacy for councilor in Manila, Nixon no longer writes and has become inactive. I hope he’s well.
Hi Maám Ellen, i’m back and happy to be here again!
I’m curious and aware about the recent happening in the Senate, so at this time… i have no comment about the realignment and reorganization of their rank.
I’m still following the situation. why? and what’s their real agenda na sipain si Villar? People around us continuously talking about the cause of his ouster, but still a gossip until he is proven guilty?
We all know that 2010 is coming very soon, so political groups are realigning themselves now to prepare for the highest office.
Nothing new, but we all know it’s a sarsuela of Pinoy politics.
There goes Ping Lacson again and his penchant for destruction.
Remember what he did in 2004 when he went on with his presidential bid even when his campaign was not doing well? it divided the opposition and allowed Gloria to cheat.
If he withdrew for FPJ, it would not have been easy for Gloria to cheat because the lead would have been massive.
He is at it again, enticing the opposition to destruction.
I don’t want to think he is for Gloria Arroyo but his the results of his actions favor Arroyo.
Thank you very much Maám Ellen, at na miss ko kayong lahat but still halos araw-araw eh binabasa ko ang inyong column at dito sa Ellenville plus yong regular na column nýo na ipinadadala sa aking e-mail.
I’m very happy na maka share ko uli kayong lahat. Mabuhay po kayo! Best Regards to all!
Al,
You have a nice thread, i agree with you kasi nga if Lascon run with FPJ eh dapat siya ngayon ang presidente. Ang kaso, ang taas ng ambisyon gusto kaagad eh bosing siya. Nawa eh natuto na siya at if he is planning to run again for President sa palagay ko di siya mananalo.
Binay for President sa 2010 yan ang nakikita kong senaryo, let’s wait and see!
Lacson did not want to settle for Vice President. INC’s Bishop Manalo also warned the two to unite and run as a team or else INC would switch to GMA. And that was what happened. My sources told me that it was Angara, Tito Soto and their group that sabotaged FPJ’s campaign. Lacson did not want to join FPJ’s camp because of Angara. And Lacson was proven right. Until now, the money donated by the Tsinoy Community were not accounted for by Angara. So, we cannot entirely blame Lacson for his decision to go on his own plus the fact that he was the first to declare his candidacy and FPJ just appeared from nowhere.
Ang sarap pag-untugin ang ulo nitong mga opposition senators.
The UNO member is right.The opposition senators wasted the mandate the people gave them by fighting with each other and sleeping with the enemy.
Last July Loren said, “hindi tayo patatawarin ng taumbayan na bomoto sa atin bilang opposition to GMA.” Ano ngayon, they gave control of the Senate Gloria’s men.
Katangahan but yan o kasakiman?
Many of those Senators who claim to be with the opposition won under Genuine Opposition Team. And GO was strong mainly due to people’s support for Erap. Now that they are elected Senators, fake opposition like the Cayetanos have been unmasked. During the impeachment complaint against GMA at Congress, it was Lacson who fed Alan Cayetano with most of the information and evidences against GMA. Alan kept asking for Lacson’s advice. Alan together with Escudero’s popularity was due to their active participation in the impeachment. Today, Alan doesn’t seem to look back at what Lacson has helped him. And so, I don’t blame Lacson for being very disappointed with Alan.
Nice source bitchevil,
Nabanggit mo si Angara eh wild card yan, in other word “TRAPO”, kung saan makikinabang eh doon siya kakampi.
Look sa 2010, makikiticket yan kina Mayor Binay itaga mo sa bato?
No political camp trusts Angara today. He can’t even go near to Erap. It was Angara’s diary that brought down Erap. No one would ever pick Angara as running mate…only Loren Legarda. Like Enrile, Angara is a goner.
Nakakaramdam na ibang aspirant for President na nasa hanay ng opposition kasi nga based on Erap’s Lakbay Pasasalamat eh sino ba ang laging kasama sa trip? Di ba, si Mayor Binay!
Kaya may kanya-kanya nang demolition team ang mga iyan para sirain ang bawat isa.
For sure kung sino ang susuportahan ni Erap, malaki ang change to win at kita naman sa survey.
Its Erap the issue is about. He is polarising towards Villar. So anything on Erap is becoming negative to the opposition. Even that of the brash senator son.
Everybody seems to have developed a fetish for elections. I am still of the belief that there will be NONE…though I hope that there will be one. We must still be vigilant of the sneaky activities of te congressmen to railroad Cha-Cha. In the meantime, we should also be vigilant on the candidates for SC justice. When everything else fails, count on Malacanang to opt for emergency rule. A drowning person will grab at straws.
Wasn’t it Villar who first alienated this opposition bloc and coalesced with the administration in a maneuver that destroyed the opposition’s expected stranglehold on the Senate? The whole admin 11-man senate bloc (Team Unity + Wednesday Club + holdovers) was behind him because he salvaged them from irrelevance. It was therefore an administration Senate led by someone who claims to be opposition. Cayetano, Jinggoy, and Chiz merely completed the cast.
Compare that Villar-headed-majority lineup with this present one:
Lacson
Madrigal
Roxas
Legarda
Estrada
Escudero
Biazon
Honasan
Angara
Gordon
Zubiri
Revilla
Now, which one is more anti-Gloria?
If Villar really wanted an opposition-dominated Senate after the 2007 elections, whether it may be dangerous to his own political agenda or ambition, or not, the last five names could have been his, the 2 Cayetanos’, Trillanes’, and Pimentel’s. But no, it was him who made sure there was no level playing field between him his future presidential opponents and then settle for a Pimentel leadership which the Lacson-Roxas bloc was pushing. His Senate presidency was courtesy of Gloria’s boys. So much for an opposition Senate!
Now why would it be wrong now, as many anti-gloria folks are bitching about, if there are more opposition in the majority than in Villar’s stint? Definitely it’s not a lineup that Malacañang should take credit for or make it Gloria’s dying wish, am I right?
So, stand up straight and shake your brains. When you hear loose screws, tighten up. The sellout didn’t happen just this Monday, it happened when Villar fucked the voters in 2007. Get that fact straight.
**********
By the way the labels opposition – administration don’t really apply here, the dividing line is actually pro- or anti-Gloria. Better defined are the labels majority – minority, and it is based on who your choice for Senate president is. These people don’t vote by bloc or party lines. There are basically 24 one-man political parties with each having one constituent: themselves.
Villar’s bias was very evident when he gave multiple committees to the two Cayetanos.
Ping Lacson is a lone ranger, i think he is a frustrated movie star, obvious na may star complex kaya matigas ang ulo. He was the mastermind of the coup against Villar because he is sore since most of his loyal supporters have defected to the Villar Camp. His financial backer, the Zamora brothers, Vice Gov Rolex Suplico and Rep. Caloy Padilla have all left him and joined the Villar camp. He is left with Lito Banayo and Nixon Kua.
Sayang ang tapang niya, most of the time his star complex gets the better of him. I am not saying the coup against Villar shouldn’t have happened, but there are inside stories like the one i mentioned which eventually led to the coup in the Senate. Na-karma lang din si Villar sa ginawa niya kay Erap noong 2001!
The bottom line is that its all about self-interest! Lahat kasi ng Senador akala nila presidentiable sila eh!
Andres, where is Nixon Kua now?
TT,
All the while I thought the opposition or ‘protestants’ could be a majority or minority that is not aligned with the administration’s policies or they are just allergic with the face of the boss at all angles.
Lito Banayo can give 101 reasons why Manny Villar had to be
replaced and I would probably agree.
BUT he can’t even give ONE GOOD REASON why Manny had to be replaced,of all people by Juan Ponce Enrile, Marcos’ right-hand man!
Who is really the true opposition in Philippine Political arena? I guess right now every politicians are running their own agendas.
After Edsa I, the Banana Republic of the Philippines has cleverly come up with a series of layers of fake opposition created to ensure that when Filipinos look for opposition, they will find a fake, designed to distract, right in front of their eyes. The fake opposition is well educated and equipped with money and knowledge of how to deal with Politics.. There are so skillful that even the most veteran journalists, researchers and former politicians have a hard time distinguishing between the real and the fake.
Fake opposition has secured a place among Filipino politicians. They are able to lobby and interact with Congress and the Senate and have essentially become the source of information for many politicians. There are many shades of fake opposition. Examining them all is not possible in a short article. They are the hyenas; not the bravest or most skilled hunters individually but as a pack they contrive to bring down their opponents; differing from hyenas in that they target the most active opposition, whereas hyenas attack the weakest prey.
There is no united voice for opposition. Everyone seems to be doing something, often in opposite directions, competing for attention, it has been forgotten that the mission is to expose the system and get relief for real political reform, not for petty criminals who deserve none.
Filipinos are not afraid of change. They’re yearning for it. That’s highly debatable: the Filipino people might have been ready for change in the Philippines following the famed of corruption and discontent, Filipinos are fed up and willing to support true reforms. On issue after issue,
Until the opposition do become willing to unite, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be in the position of a doctor forcing an unruly child to swallow bitter but necessary medicine that would restore the child to health. It is a thankless but necessary task that becomes far more arduous when the child can choose to replace his doctor.
The Equalizer,
I agree with you. There are perfectly good reasons for replacing Villar. The C5 double insertion mess is a legitimate issue that needs to be pursued. It goes to the very heart of what we have all been hueing and crying for: good governance.
Enrile? Hahahahahaha.
Lito Banayo’s boss well rewarded! CONGRATS!
“Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, who played a key role in the ouster of then Senate President Manny Villar, will get three committee chairmanships, the incumbent Juan Ponce-Enrile announced on Thursday”
In order for opposition to unite, They don’t need to love each other, they don’t even have to like one another but to bring down and defeat the present Arroyo regime they must respect each other differences.
History teaches us that all those who successfully fought for war respected their enemy. When that respect disappears, they become over-inflated with confidence and miscalculate the capability of their counterpart. Gloria Arroyo is cunning and smart and has proven it by staying in power. For the sake of the country they love and the history they cherish, they must not let anger provoke them to start a division in the opposition rank because, by the time this Pidal administration and Dureza finish the prayer , there won’t be anything left of opposition to elect next president.
Who’s the real opposition today?
The Filipino people who are suffering from hunger, from the abuses commited by the so called leaders of this country. The Filipino who wanted to have a better life in their own country, who wanted a better future for their children. These Filipinos are the real opposition to this unwanted leaders.
Ayos na ang buto buto
That’s good Mike: the real opposition are the Filipino people….
Tongue, okay, the majority today is opposition dominated. But look at who controls the premium committees? Gloria’s allies. Majority floorleader is that fake senator Zubiri.
Blue Ribbon committee is Gordon who did not show any enthusiasm to find out the truth in the NBN/ZTE deal, the fertilizer scam. Sumali na lang siya sa hearing because they knew that the public was following the issue closely. But if only for him and his colleagues, they would not have insisted in making Bolante face the Senate.
Ping, Mar, Loren and Jamby wanted Villar out. They succeeded. But by replacing him with Enrile, the shrewdest of all Judases, it’s a case of jumping from the frying pan to the fire.
The UNO member said it’s like burning the house to catch a rat.
It’s also like cutting off your nose to spite your face.
Who’s the real opposition today? asked by Mike!
We all knows that the word opposition it means, “a person or a party who opposed or did not accept the majority winner or else proposal(s) of any group or political ball game.
Whatever you will become an oppositionist or adminstration allies, is not a big deal coz’ Pinoy style politic is really a balimbingan and lipatan ng partido.
Unlike with uncle Sam sytle of democracy, mayroon silang dignidad in terms of political maturity and love to their party appellation.
Sa Pinas eh wala nito, gusto ng nakararami eh may sarili silang partido o kaya maging bosing sila. Malayo sa hinagap ng tunay na paninindigan sa pangplitikal na paninindigan.
Pera-pera lang ang katapat mostly nang mga politiko today! Kapal muks at manhid sa katotohanan, in short wala silang bait sa sarili.
You know, AL lack of substance ang word “OPPOSITION”, with regards to Pinoy style politics!
Nakakita ka na ba ng hunyango? Kapag ito eh nagpalipat-lipat ng puno diba nag iiba ang kanyang kulay… yan ang mga politiko natin today.
Wala as NOTHING who is real oppositionist now a days in our Political set-up today? Di ba winasak ito ng multi-party system, unlike long time ago mayroon lamang na two-party system, but after EDSA 1…revolutionary gov’t of Cory changed or ammended our constitution together with apo Macoy ang marial law dictatorial constitution.
Tama si Mike, sino nga ba ang tunay na Oposisyon? WALA di ba, kasi ang mga nagsasabi na oposisyon sila eh appeliated yan as Leftist, Centrist, Rightist, Walang paki, at ano pa?
Kaya ang hirap espilengin ng political mindset ng kasalukuyang sistema ng ating politika today! Pag-ayam mo lundag bakod at pag-IN ka kakampi mo si JOKE JOKE, GARCI, Euro Generals, at maging member ka ng “Ang Dalawang Daan ministry ni Bro. Abalos”, etc. etc.
Yan ang mukha ng kawalang direksyon ng pangpulitikal na kaunawaan at paninindigan ng Pinoy politics!
Kaya si juan de la cruz eh confuse at dedma lang sa mga nangyayari sa kasalukuyan, pero reklamo dito…reklamo doon na always bukang-bibig mahirap daw ang buhay.
Eh ang tanong? Natuto na ba ang taong-bayan sa lip-serving ng mga politiko today, di ba wala? So ano ang dapat gawin, ito ngayon ang magandang tanong? Sa kamay ng taong-bayan nakasalalay ang kapalaran ng mga politiko natin so dapat lang MATUTO na sa pagboto para walang SISIHAN!
these supposed to be opposition senators are composed of egocentrics who put personal ambition above everything else.
Korek norpil…walang tulak-kabigin di ba! Sa PULA, sa PUTI…ang babaw ng kaligayahan nila.
Walang dignidad at kapal mukz, ayaw na nang taong-bayan eh hayon kapit-tuko sa pwesto. Pero konting hirit ha…alam mo, ang dapat sisihin eh ang Pinoy din kasi nga kung di nila ibinoto ang mga iyan eh wala sila sa pwesto.
Itong ang siste, ang word “AKALA” sa tagalog eh marami ang napapahamak doon sa mga gumagamit nito. Kita mo naman, ano ba ang estado ng Pinas sa kasalukuyang panahon…di ba paurong at lalong naghihirap. Eh nasaan na ba yang mga nasabi pang mga edukado pero mapupurol pala ang utak, in other word mga BOPOL ang sakit pakinggan di ba pero ito ang totoo.
Mahirap kasing lunukin ang word na “TOTOO” kasi nga baka ito ang tumapos sa kanilang career di ba. Kaya heto maglubid ka ng KASINUNGALINGAN ang dami mong mapapaniwala at magiging kasangga.
Yong nagsasabi ng TOTOO eh namaalam na sa mundong ibabaw at yon manang iba eh PISO lang ang katapat at may pwesto pa sa gobyerno.
Many good people after joining politics or military are eaten by the corrupt system. It’s very contagious. Ping Lacson used to be unlike the rest; but now has become a Trapo like them. Many young PMAers are known for their professionalism and idealism; but the longer they are in the service and as they grow up the ladder, they become like the rest of their superiors.
There’s a saying that goes… “if you can’t beat them, join them.” That’s what is happening to these so called politicians. They try their darnedest best to correct what is right, but unfortunately their best is still lacking and they can’t simply beat the odds.
Ang landi papunta naman ngayon sa Peru. Ilan na naman ang isasama ng talipandas na iyan? Pero bilib ka sa mga pilipino sa totoo lang. Uma-attend ng mga pakulo ni Gloria Yabang kahit na alam nilang ang perang nilulustay ng ungas ay galing sa buwis na binabayad nila.
Me? Kahit ako kumbidahin sa pakulo ni Gloria via the Philippine Embassy, hindi ako pumupunta. Nandoon ako sa picket at protesta laban sa paglalandi at pagwawaldas ng kriminal! Dito kasi sa amin sa Japan, may freedom of speech and assembly!!! Walang binatbat si Lim sa mga mayor namin dito. Dito kasi pag napalpak, talsik agad, even to Kingdom Come! Iyan ang may hiya!!!
Sa Pilipinas, pakapalan ng mukha. Nasanay na sa pagiging walanghiya! Yuck!!!
I bet you the Evil Bitch will speak Spanish in Peru.
grizzy,
Magkabagang nga itong si Tabako at Pandakakok sa kalulustay ng pera ng Bayan.
Alam mo ba na lisanin ni Tabako ang Malacanang eh zero balance at negative pa ang central bank…tingnan natin sa 2010, sakit lang nang susunod na Pangulo ng bansa.
Si Erap ang sumalo sa bangkaroteng pondo na iniwan ni Tabako at magyayabang pa na naging maayos ang ekonomia during his watch, eh puro drawing lang.
Erap was doing okay in the economy until his ouster. He had a great cabinet team. His economic advisers were excellent.
Tongue, I can not seem to see any justification to the senate coup! I still can not trust this logging operator who enriched himself through and through. Hindi na magbabago yang si Enrile. TRAPO IN, TRAPO OUT!
And I was surprised why Jamby Madrigal also voted for him. Wasn’t she the one who exposed his illegal logging business that irked the Gentleman from Cagayan so much?
Oo nga BE, di ba paiyak iyak pa si Jamby dahil sinabi ni senile Enrile na nakinabang din ang mga magulang ni Jamby kay Makoy at pasayaw sayaw pa sila palagi sa palasyo. Ngayon magkasama na sila ulit. Ano ba ito? But I am all for reconciliation as long as it is for the betterment of the nation. Kaya lang if this “chummy-chummy” nila is to eventually end up in getting the opposition to rally behind Enrile to support the midget, yan ang hindi natin alam.
I am not a pro-Enrile in fact I have a lot of reason to dislike him, but it’s not fair to judge him by his past and previous acts and associations. Who knows, he might spring a surprise for everybody. Anybody is capable of making changes however late in life. Am willing to give him a chance at his age and he can not just use the position as a spring board for the senate to dance the cha cha. Opposition still outnumbered the admins in the senate, and the only thing that separates them is in the composition of the majority and minority, but when it comes to voting the admins in the minority will vote as one with the admins in the majority and so with the opposition. It does not mean that the majority will vote as one, the same with the minority.
As I said before, due to circumstances beyond anybody’s control, he was placed in a position as his last chance to do something worthwhile for the Filipino people, maybe this is it.
skip Says, @ November 20th, 2008 at 11:08 am
The Equalizer,
I agree with you. There are perfectly good reasons for replacing Villar. The C5 double insertion mess is a legitimate issue that needs to be pursued. It goes to the very heart of what we have all been hueing and crying for: good governance.
Enrile? Hahahahahaha.
********
and I think, this point too, needs to be studied seriously:
Sen. Edong Angara, as Senate Finance Chair.
Angara’s, ACCRA (the law firm he founded) handles ZTE multi-billion dollar contract interests with the Philippine government. A fact, that he does not deny.
in many occasions in the past, Angara, publicly defended ZTE contract as Aboveboard, Advantageous to the Republic; even during time when hideously details of the contract went public, and the nation already got roiled !
to this day, Edong Angara, still, did not apologized nor repudiated his stance on ZTE-NBN contract scam.
and NO reprieve from slimy deals is expected from him, either.
in fact, ACCRA has a pending prayer before the supremely cursed— Supreme Court, to order the government honor its scandal-ridden contract with China-based ZTE Corp !!
all these, yet, Enrile-Lacson-Gringo triumvirate fan(s), wants my head to be examined, instead?
to the troika apologists, may i ask, what did they promised you that i do not know?
florry,
for the love of my country, i hope am mistaken, and that you are right.
but what, if you are wrong?
teka, nakalimutan ko bang sabihin—- na ito din yung Edong Angara—- bilang nakaraang Chair ng Agriculture Committee ng Senado, ang pinaka-mabilis, pinaka-una mag-deklara, bago pa ang isang pormal na imbestigasyon, na walang sala si Jocjoc Bolate ?!
Correct, zen2. That’s why Angara lets go his Committee Agriculture chairmanship now and gave it to her best friend, Loren Legarda.
Enrile/Lacson/Gringo, add Biazon pa – they may not be the angels from heaven, more like the four horsemen or anything apocalyptic even…but who else can or will do anything right now? What if by a stroke of dumb luck, the best option for political reforms is still through constitutional means? More wheeling and dealing, power brokering, alliance shifts, etc? I don’t think we can see any people power in the making, the ones with the guts to do so (with 11million voters to boot) is behind bars.
Its really funny, we all want to fight, we all want to revolt, but when someone really stands up to the bat we leave him out to dry? Where were we, brave anti Gloria enthusiasts when push came to shove?
I’m afraid if anyone stands up to Gloria again, he’ll find out the hard way – he stands alone, while most will be content with anonymous, silent, albeit extremely passionate cyber dissent.
That is why I am not too eager to push anyone in the hero seat, he suffers for nothing really…
I’ll just look at the events unfolding naturally, looking at the actors/actresses weave through this never-ending melodrama of Philippine politics, not to be taken seriously…
I can smell a Roxas-Lacson team. They seem to be discussing who would run as President and Vice.
be, is Roxas economy savvy?
Roxas, other than very obedient to his family and fiance Korina, has no serious bad record. A Roxas-Lacson or Lacson-Roxas team is not too bad.
jug,
on Roxas: he knows economics stuff, all right, being schooled at Wharton.
he used to be the youngest elected member of Congress, at age 25, representing Roxas City, in Capiz province, in the island of Panay.
since then, Mar Roxas, never left the government service, having been DTI Secretary twice in 2 presidencies, trade & industry comm. chair in the Senate, etc.
maybe the more relevant question should have been:
was he effective in what he does as economic czar? effective for whom?
just look at his vast family holdings— listen to stories how it survived the bubbles—in one hand, and observe the lot of the majority of the people, on the other.
methinks, you could capably answer then the question yourself, if viewed this way.
zen2,
What if I am wrong?
Well, what can I say, but it will not be the end of the world and life will go on. And in that case, the man is not really worth any thing.