Month: January 2009

Nawawalang trabaho

Published by Ellen on January 24, 2009

Noong isang buwan, nang unang bumulaga ang krisis pinansyal sa Amerika na kumalat na sa ibang parte ng mundo, sinabi ni Gloria Arroyo hindi raw masyadong apektado ang Pilipinas dahil malakas daw ang pundasyon ng ating ekonomiya.

“Fundametals are strong”, yan lang palagi ang kanyang pinagyayabang. At yan daw dahil magaling daw siyang ekonomista kahit na garapalan ang kurakutan sa kanyang administrasyon.

Anong “strong fundamentals” ang pinagsasabi niya samantalang alam naman natin lahat na ang bumubuhay lang sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas ay ang mga dolyares na pinapadala ng mga Overseas Filipino Workers na hindi bababa sa sampung milyon sa lahat na parte ng mundo, kahit sa kasulok-sulokan ng Alaska at Africa.

Obama’s message

Published by Ellen on January 22, 2009

I love U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech especially the part where he said, “To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history; but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist.”

Gloria Arroyo’s fake presidency fits the description to a T.

She grabbed power from an elected president in January 2001, something that she herself is ashamed of it. Now, she wants the people to forget about it while she continues to cling to power.

Prosecutor probed on P800,000 bank deposit

Published by Ellen on January 22, 2009

Updates:

Golez wants Resado probed.
Resado resorts to the classic strategy: when trapped, create confusion.
At the House hearing Friday, Resado claimed he was offered a bride by PDEA lawyer Alvaro Lazaro.

by Evangeline de Vera

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez yesterday ordered the NBI to reopen its probe on John Resado, one of the state prosecutors who dismissed the drug charges against the so-called Alabang Boys after allegedly receiving bribe money.

Gonzalez asked the Anti-Money Laundering Council for advise over the bank deposits of Resado following the circulation of a one-page anonymous letter faxed to his office, and to NBI Director Nestor Mantaring and ABS-CBN news anchor Ces Drilon.

The letter sender, signed “Juan dela Cruz,” claimed that he has personal knowledge of the alleged P800,000 deposit to the joint account of Resado and his wife Rowena in Banco de Oro (BDO) in Bacoor, Cavite.

Sige, Raul G, magkalat ka pa

Published by Ellen on January 21, 2009

raul-g-ang-gma

Natawa ako sa reaction ni Rep. Roilo Golez sa rekomendasyon ng Integrated Bar of the Philippines na suspindihin ang justice secretary ni Gloria Arroyo na si Raul Gonzalez.

Sabi ni Golez, dahil sa rekomendasyon ng IBP, dapat ng mag-resign si Gonzalez dahil yan ay galing sa kapwa niya abogado. Hindi lang magiging mababa ang paningin sa knayna gpagkatao, pati na rin ang posisyon.

Inulit ni Golez, na kababayan ni Gonzalez (pareho silang Ilonggo), ang kanyang panawagan na ang natira na lamang na marangal na alternatibo para sa kanya ay mag-resign.

Rigodon in cabinet

Published by Ellen on January 21, 2009

From Malaya:
Gloria Arroyo yesterday reshuffled three Cabinet positions, naming Presidential Management Staff chief Cerge Remonde as press secretary vice Jesus Dureza, who is now the chief presidential legal counsel, and Hermogenes Esperon as Remonde’s replacement.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita said Avelino Razon, National Security Council deputy director for the National Peace and Order Council, takes the place of Esperon as presidential adviser on the peace process.

Ermita said Transportation Undersecretary Ma. Elena Bautista was named administrator of the Maritime Industry Authority, a post she used to head as officer in charge, while Land Transportation Office chief Alberto Suansing was transferred to the DOTC as undersecretary.

US President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech

Published by Ellen on January 20, 2009

(Photo from MSNBC)

Fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

IBP to SC: suspend Gonzalez for misconduct

Published by Ellen on January 20, 2009

Update from Malaya: Comelec pins down Gonzalez

See story in comments.

Case was his 2007 elections offer of P10,000 for 12-0 win of administration senatorial candidates

by Evangeline de Vera

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has recommended the suspension of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for obstruction of electoral processes.

In a one-page notice, the IBP Commission on Bar Discipline through its national secretary Tomas Prado took note of the Board of Governors’ Resolution dated Nov. 20, 2008 that “resolved to reverse… the Report and Recommendation of the Investigating Commissioner and approve the suspension from the practice of law for one year of Gonzalez for his reprehensible conduct of openly and publicly offering P10,000 to any barrio captain in his area (Iloilo) of political influence who can give a 12-0 vote in favor of President Arroyo’s senatorial candidates and taking into consideration his previous professional misconduct.”

As mandated, the IBP through the Commission on Bar Discipline acted as prosecutor in the complaint that investigated the case for finding of probable cause.

The Marine who said “No”

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By Ellen Tordesillas
VERA Files

The soldier who stirred a hornet’s nest by accusing Department of Justice officials of bribery in the so-called “Alabang Boys” case could have been a millionaire by now.

Marine Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, chief of the Special Enforcement Service of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, has experienced being bribed by smugglers, politicians and drug dealers in his 14-year career as a military officer.

But Marcelino, who belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1994, said he has made it a point to give back the thick envelopes stuffed with cash, and was not even curious enough to count the money and see how much he is worth.

Interagency feud weakens anti-drug campaign

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By VERA Files

(Conclusion)

Last Jan. 13, President Arroyo proclaimed herself the country’s anti-drug czar, stepping into the feud between the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Justice over the “Alabang Boys,” the three young men arrested and detained for illegal drug pushing and who allegedly tried to bribe their way to freedom.

Except for ordering DOJ officials and prosecutors to go on leave, Arroyo has kept mum on the charges of bribery, inefficiency and conflicts of interest that were exchanged between prosecutors and antinarcotics officials and agents. Her move has resulted in an uneasy peace between warring agencies that are supposed to work closely together in the anti-drug effort.

“The anti-drug campaign requires a united front, a harmonious relationship with other agencies,” a senior police official said. But he lamented that the attacks on both the PDEA and DOJ have “destroyed institution(s), including those who are innocent.”

Law enforcers say there has been a long running feud, with antinarcotics agents frustrated at the frequency with which prosecutors drop charges against suspects, and prosecutors complaining that law enforcers fail to build cases strong enough to stand up in court. Judges have also been accused of acquitting known drug lords.

As “shabu” price rises, Ecstasy use up

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By VERA Files

(First of two parts)

The trade in crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” in the Philippines has grown into a P1 billion-a-day industry, but the drug has now become more expensive, making it “the poor man’s cocaine no more,” antinarcotics officials and international drug reports said.

The price of shabu has doubled to between P8,000 and P10,000 per gram since law enforcers dismantled several “mega-laboratories” in 2006 and 2007.

But government successes in curbing shabu production have been offset by another problem: Users are now turning to the amphetamine-type stimulant Ecstasy, which sells for P750 to P800 per tablet, and cocaine, which sells for P2,500 per gram, the kinds of drugs that were seized from “Alabang Boys” Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Ramirez Tecson by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in a drug-bust operation last September.