By Luz Rimban and Artha Kira Paredes VERA Files BANGUED, Abra.—A spate of killings here has left at least five people dead in a span…
Making life worth living.
Month: February 2011
Nakatanggap ako kahapon ng text galing kay dating Army Capt. Dante Langkit, isa sa napawalang sala noong Lunes sa court martial na naglilitis ng mutiny pag-aklas daw laban kay Gloria Arroyo noong Pebrero 2006 pagkatapos mabulgar na nandaya siya noong 2004 na eleksyun gamit ang military.
Sobra apat na taon ding nakakulong si Langkit. Nakalabas siya kasama ang kapwa niyang akusado nang naalis na sa Malacañang si Gloria Arroyo. Pinayagan siyang lumabas din noong kampanya dahil tumakbo siya bilang gubernador ng Kalinga. Natalo siya.
Ito ang kanyang text para sa amin ni Charmaine Deogracias ng NHK TV: “ Thank you for your support. All through the times of our ordeal you were there. In fact it was in those times that we came to know one another. You were one of the very few whose presence we felt.
“Those moments were bleak as though the right things which we believed in as basically right and noble for our country were not right after all. Our older brothers became our executioners and PMA was silent when we were unjustly incarcerated.
The court martial hearing the case of remaining nine officers accused of committing mutiny against Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 denied “for lack of merit” the motion to dismiss by retired Marine Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim, and Col. Ariel Querubin.
Not acquitted
The court however acquitted Scout Rangers Maj. Jason Aquino, former Capt. Dante Langkit, Captains Montano Almodovar, Isagani Criste, Joey Fontiveros, and James Sababan.
A cavalier, a term used for graduates of the Philippine Military Academy, forwarded to me a series of texts.The first one was this:”Let us not forget the uncavalier act of Antonio Trillanes that humiliated and shamed Cav Reyes to the public.
“When the proper time comes, let every cavalier judge Antonio Trillanes and put him where he rightfully belongs.The time of reckoning is about to come.”
It was followed by other Trillanes demolition texts which were circulated immediately after the 2003 Oakwood incident and revived during the 2007 senatorial campaign. It’s about the finances and rifts in Magdalo. Those misinformations have been answered by Trillanes.
One PMAer also texted me that in the forthcoming PMA alumni homecoming, there’s a plan by some to put up a streamer, “Let’s boycott Trillanes in the next national election. Be a wise voter!”
Former AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon (Class ’74) has chimed in and said he was also hurt of the treatment by Trillanes (Class ’95) of Reyes (Class ’66). He said, “Sobrang yabang ng batang ‘yan” (That young man is so arrogant.)
Nagmumura ang aking mga kaibigan ng nanunuod siya ng necrological service para kay dating AFP Chief Angelo Reyes noong Sabado ng gabi sa na kinuber ng ANC ng live.
Sabi niya sa mga papuri ng mga matataas na opisyal ng military kay Reyes, na nagpakamatay noong Martes, lumalabas na despalinghado ang pagiisip nitong mga opisyal na sinuswelduhan ng taumbayan.
Sabi ko “huwag ka na kasi manood para huwag ka na ma-stress.” May pagkamasukista naman itong aking kaibigan, nanood pa rin pero text siya ng text sa akin na minumura ang mga nagsasalita.
Statement of former government officials
Unlike other cultures, our Filipino culture does not accord suicides by public figures one clear and definitive meaning.
Thus the message of a Filipino dying in public by his own hand often ends up being contested, improvised and twisted by various interested parties. And so it is with the tragic death of General Angelo Reyes. Did he put a bullet through his heart in an ultimate admission of personal responsibility for whatever wrong he had committed? Or was his willful termination of his own life a sublime act of protest to assert his innocence against unfair yet unremitting persecution?
The death of someone like Gen. Reyes who served our country for most of his life deserves our respect, prayers and reflection. This is a tragedy to one person, to his family and to many who believed and admired him for his personal, professional and public life. For his fellow Filipinos that Gen. Reyes left behind, his chosen timing and manner of exiting the public stage and this mortal world challenges us to seek some meaning and purpose from such a tragic loss. We, former senior government officials, choose to see the death of Gen. Reyes in the light of the principle that public office is a public trust.
1. We find no honor in a death without meaning to the welfare of our nation.
From MSN:
CAIRO — Hosni Mubarak has resigned as president of Egypt, the country’s vice president said in a brief statement Friday.
Omar Suleiman, speaking on state television, said Mubarak had decided to hand power to the military.
“In these grave circumstances that the country is passing through, President Hosni Mubarak has decided to leave his position as president of the republic,” a grim-looking Suleiman said. “He has mandated the Armed Forces Supreme Council to run the state. God is our protector and succor.”
The news swept the country and Tahrir Square, home of the protest movement, erupted in celebration.
The mysterious powerful man behind Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia is once again mentioned in the news following the outburst of retired Commodore Rex Robles after the suicide of former Armed Forces Chief Angelo Reyes.
Robles, who belongs to Philippine Military Class ’65 said his closeness to Reyes goes back to PMA days because he was the yearling, the academy lingo for mentor, of Reyes who was in Class ’66.
Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV yesterday said investigations into alleged diversion and conversion of the military budget might lead to Malacañang during the administration of former president and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo.
“Masyadong malaki yung perang involved na imposibleng nasa level lang ni late General (Angelo) Reyes…sa Malacañang lang nagre-release ng ganung level,” Trillanes said.
The following version of that controversy which has now involved Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV , PMA Class ’95, is the result of my interviews with Robles, Trillanes and talk with other sources even before the Ombudsman entered into a plea bargain agreement with Garcia, the subject of the congressional investigation which has led to more revelations of corruption in the military.
I enjoyed this article as much as when I was watching the game on TV last night.
by Sid Ventura
For Yahoo! Southeast Asia
I can’t tell you how exhilarating it was to be at Panaad Stadium for the Philippines-Mongolia AFC Challenge Cup match. I can’t tell you because I don’t know.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/video/sports/02/09/11/azkals-vs-blue-wolves-first-half-highlights
I was unable to fly to Bacolod, so I had planned to catch the game at home. But Sky Cable chose this day, of all days, to have a massive service interruption, forcing me to find an establishment that was showing the match.
It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because there are few things in this world that are more fun to do than watch the Azkals with a bunch of strangers, collectively cheer and scream, slap high fives, slowly get intoxicated, and listen to one of them adoringly compare Chieffy Caligdong to Pele.
by VERA Files News that former Defense Secretary and Armed Forces of the Philippines Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes on Tuesday committed suicide shocked the…