Not because it was legal as Abad and his spokesmen aver but simply because he controls both chambers of Congress. And for the very reason that he makes everybody happy with the releases that he finds himself now in hot waters.
The DAP was “discovered” by the public after a few days of twisting by Malacacañang and its allies on the P50 million releases to each senator (it turned out others got more like Senators Franklin Drilon, P100 million, Chiz Escudero P99 million, and Juan Ponce Enrile, P92 million) after the impeachment of Supreme Court Renato Corona in May 2012 that Estrada revealed in his speech, “Untold story of PDAF”
Santiago said DAP violates the Constitution and she is in the same line with other legal experts including Fr. Joaquin Bernas, S.J who said the creation of the DAP to fund new budget items is unconstitutional because the law limits the president to realign savings only in existing budget items.
Bernas cited Article 6, Section 25 of the Constitution states that “the President… may, by law be authorized to augment any item in the general appropriations law for their respective offices from savings in other items of their respective appropriations.”
“The word used in the law is ‘to augment savings.’ This means that that there are already items which can be augmented and this also means that you cannot create new items. If you create new items, it means you’re already making an appropriation. That can be done only by Congress,” he said in a TV interview.
But she herself said impeaching Aquino would not be easy because “he controls all the House and the Senate. And remember that people who want him impeached would have to get one-third vote in the House and two-thirds vote in the Senate so that’s not going to be practical. It will only be theoretical.”
Worse,the money in that illegal fund was given to congressmen and senators, the people who would be voting on the impeachment complaint. No way that any impeachment related to DAP would succeed. That’s the reason why Aquino dares challenge his critics to impeach him.
But that doesn’t mean no one would try just what happened to Gloria Arroyo. Several impeachment complaints were filed against her but not one prospered and reached the Senate because she was good at satisfying the greed of the congressmen. Aquino might have to do the same because he is dealing with almost the same personalities – politicians who are truly non-partisan, whose loyalty is only to themselves.
When Estrada delivered his “Untold story of PDAF”, many derided it as a dud. Kwitis pala, hindi bomba, they said.
They laughed at him for not presenting anything to deny his alleged multi-million take from the alleged brains of the pork barrel scam Janet Napoles.
They expected Estrada to deny his links with Napoles. Estrada didn’t do that because he had a different battle plan and apparently it’s a “scorched earth strategy.”
When Estrada questioned, why only the three of us (together with Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla, Jr. and Juan Ponce-Enrile),he must have thought of the President’s justification when the latter accompanied Napoles to Camp Crame, “… damay damay na.”
Damay na nga lahat.
Indeed, it turned out that Jinggoy’s speech was a huge bomb that rocked the entire Senate. The impact is being felt now. Whether or not his expose was masterminded by his Ninong Juan is irrelevant. The so called DAP was still a bribery before or after Corona’s impeachment. A bribe in the form of reward could be before or after the act.
Jinggoy’s action was no different from a criminal who after being arrested squealed on his colleagues. Many criminals were arrested and convicted because of one who squeled on them.
Would the case prosper? I absolutely agree with Miriam Santiago that there’s no way. Like GMA, the current administration is in control of both Houses so much so that not even the powerful INC was able to succeed influencing other lawmakers whom she helped elected many times in the past. Money now has become much more important that a religious group’s block voting. Because money can buy votes.
The only way even if there’s a slim chance for this case to prosper is the combined effort of the public and media. Once people’s cry is louder and louder, something good may still come out of this even if we’re not completely satisfied. If there’s got to be change, it is now.
He’s RAT
Sige ka sumbong mo ako sumbong rin kita.
favorite Motto or Words ng mga politiko ay “M”
1)Magnakaw
2)Mandaya
3)Mandugas
4)Mangurakot
5)Manlinlang
6)Mangako
7)Mang-isa
8)Manloko
9)Mag bulsa
10)Manggulo
10)?
But sometimes, you need a rat to bring out other rats especially the bigger ones.
sana naman ibalik ang mga ninakaw at makulong sila…nakakasuka ang ganitong sistema.
Jinggoy “rattings” is a blessing that confirmed what already been known, that none of them is Untouched…and DAP yet to be tested for constitutionality (just don’t rely on Miriam’s Opinion as we all knew she too is a SENATOR) but what is beyond question is the Robbing of Filipino of their rightful taxes and that is a very serious crime..don’t get distracted as diversion strategies will be raining from everywhere..
Bakit ang mga Mandurugas, Magnanakaw , Manlolokong mga politicians sa atin ay kapag nabibisto ay lalo lang nila binabaon ang sarili nila at kahit na ipag tanggol nila ang sarili ay sila pa ang nagpapalunod lalo sa sarili nila.
May mga pinag aralan naman pero di ginagamit ang mga utak. Gamit lang ang utak nila sa pag kulimbat ng pera at doon sila magagaling.
Halimbawa lang si Sirator Jinggoy imbes na ipag tanggol ang sarili ay binaon pa niya sa kahihiyan ang pag katao niya ngayon.
Sa isip niya ay sumbungan na lang tayo belat sa iyo. 🙂
Jinggoy’s expose was nothing new. Those senators were already on the COA’s list. But since the first ones to be charged were Jinggoy and the other two, it’s understandable why Jinggoy was agitated. The first ones have the most impact. They’re the first to be crucified or burnt depending on which side you are. The next senators to be charged would have less impact because Jinggoy and company got the first salvo.
NO sacred pig este no sacred cow and not “sacrificial lamb” dapat ang sinabi ni badboy robin pertaining to his showbiz colleagues (sen.pogi at siga). Magnanakaw lahat yan e!
Former Bad Boy Robin Padilla might be thinking about running for the Senate in 2016.
you cannot criminalize the allocation of pork because it’s legal. kahit na sa USA may pork barrel rin.
the best outcome out of this is the end of pork barrel practice from now on.
re #10
That’s the sad part. We knew that so-called “pork barrel” is peoples money misused! You’re thinking right, stop this allocation at once….. now!
Gentlemen, Pork Barrel per se is not bad. It’s how it’s being used.
“……..Worse,the money in that illegal fund was given to congressmen and senators, the people who would be voting on the impeachment complaint. No way that any impeachment related to DAP would succeed. That’s the reason why Aquino dares challenge his critics to impeach him…..”
in politics, money REALLY matters much these days. ass long ass anyone in power bribes any and all his/her allies in both houses, he/she is safe from being impeached. gloria arroyo had done that before and now being enjoyed by the penoy.
HINDI NAMAN MAKAKAPAL ang mukha nila parepareho, eh!
MAGKAKATULAD la’ang na WALANG KAHIHIYAN!
What’s sickening is the charges and accusations thrown at the previous administrations are the same ones being done by the current Pnoy administration. This is not to say that GMA and her crook allies were not wrong. But the cycle is over and over again. They kicked out Erap for jueteng and corruption. He was replaced by GMA who was much worse.
Ang kahirapan ng bansa ay pinagkakakitaan lang ng ibang politiko. Kawawa ang mga lugar na marami dapat gawan proyekto pero binubulsa lamang ng ilang politiko. Kung alam lang ng mga bayani ang kahihinatnan ng babsa sa hinaharap na panahon lalo ang mga pilipino siguro hindi sila nakipaglaban sa mga dayuhan. Tiyak asenso pa ang bansa sa kanila na mamumo.
Sa pamumuno ni Marcos maraming kalsada an pinasemento, mga tulay nagpagawa kagaya ng san juanico bridge at iba pa. Ang mga sumunod na administrasyon ay wala ng dapat pang gawin masyado kasi nagawa na ni Marcos. Ang ginawa na lang ay pagkaperahan ang bansa. Iyan ang napala sa pagpapatalsik kay Marcos.
Arvin, I do share your opinion about Marcos and what he did. The problem is if one speaks well of Marcos and tries to defend him, he’s branded as Marcos loyalist. The lies that have been planted in people’s minds are now very difficult to erase not only in this generation but generations to come. They used to say history would be kinder to Marcos. While some are beginning to realize that all the allegations against him are not exactly true, those who were not around in his time especially the youth today, thanks and no thanks to the parents, continue to believe the lies. There’s a saying that a lie that’s repeatedly said becomes the truth.
A clear example was the tragic Plaza Miranda bombing that was blamed on Marcos for several decades. Long after the tragic incident, no less than former Sen. Jovito Salonga and retired Gen. Victor Corpus admitted that it was not Marcos who masterminded it but Joma Sison’s NPA. It would be interesting to know that the late Ninoy whose heroism was only based on his assassination was absent that night when the bombing occurred. Coincidence or not, it’s up to the people to decide.
“What’s sickening is the charges and accusations thrown at the previous administrations are the same ones being done by the current Pnoy administration. This is not to say that GMA and her crook allies were not wrong. But the cycle is over and over again. They kicked out Erap for jueteng and corruption. He was replaced by GMA who was much worse.”
but none of GMA and her allies were arrested for using pork. arroyo is under arrest for FAR worse crimes than just handing out PDAF. that is not to say PDAF can be a corrupting influence on congress, and the practice should be severely limited or even abolished.
but we can all agree, using PDAF to get kickbacks or fatten your bank account is a CRIME. let’s focus first on those who used illegally taxpayers money to get rich.
then we end the practice and culture of “pork barrel” politics.
Ang mga tao na malaki ang naging papel para mapatalsik si Marcos ay magaganda na ang kalagayan ng buhay sa ngayon. Kung pera ang pag uusapan ay marami ang pera. Samantala ang mga tao na naging uto uto na sumama sa pag rally ay hindi maganda ang kalagayan ng buhay sa ngayon. Sila ay nakarma, pero ang mga nag impluwensya sa kanila na mayayaman sa ngayon ay hindi nakakarma. Bakit kaya? Iyon ay dahil sa kalagayan ng bansa sa ngayon dahil wala na ang diktador na si Marcos ay may pera lang ang puwede na makaangat talaga. Magagawa ang gusto dahil sa pesteng kalayaan na nakamit dahil napatalsik nila si Marcos.
Hi Arvin, #19 di yan nalalayo sa kalagayan ng mga kababayan nating sumusuporta sa MNLF MILF BMIF etc.. nasa aircondition rooms at masasarap na pagkain ang kinalalagyan ng mga pinuno nila, habang nasa bahay kubo at walang ilaw ang mga supporters nila,, dati isang kahit isang tuka, ngayun ay pati kakahigin ay wala na din.
There is no “pork” system similar anywhere in Canada, but there are government funded projects that are negotiated by Human person. and in the Province of Quebec recently 106 of these humans were tempted to enrich themselves at the expense of the taxpayers.. They will be forfeiting their Liberty and they will be sued for the money back.
In Ontario, the Government funded Air ambulance Orange, caused the downfall of a very long and colorful medical carrier of its founder and dragged many decent individuals at the sight of the gold glittering and if not for the Vigilance of the Fourth Estate may have gotten away in their overpriced Air Ambulances.. They were disgraced and eventually will face Justice and will be remembered as the scalawags among us..
Right now our Premier is going to make its Mark with massive Infra project in a province larger than the Western Europe put together.. 18 billions alone in Metro transit …future energy in the Wind..and Natural Gas instead of just relying on Nuclear..yes we have at present 18 reactors..converting our health records into megabits (that is a few billions project) that is not a pork but any enterprising conspirator can make them their Milking Cows..The provincial Auditor and the OPP (Ontario Provincial Police) will be ready and is is the 4th Estate..
Vic, I heard a Toronto Mayos is also in hot water for corruption or something.
#18 Sir, I absolutely agree with you that not one of GMA crooks are convicted. But their cases including that of GMA are pending. For how long, only God knows.
Ng mawala si Macoy ay bilyon bilyon ang nawala sa atin at ang yumaman ay ang mga nag patalksik ka Lakay.
Kung tutuusin ay mayaman na bansa pala tayo kung di nanakaw ang pera para sa bansa.
Sa Bilyon Bilyon na ninakaw mila sa atin pamahalaan ay tutuusin ay marami mapapagamot na mahihirap. maraming magagawang trabaho para sa mahihirap. Isa pa ay uunlad ang bansa natin.
Pati ang mga galamay ng politician halimbawa ang mga staff ay tiyak na magaganda ang buhay nila at magaganda ang bahay at mapera. Dahil kung magnanakaw ang politician na iyan ay tiyak mag bibigay sa mga staff niya para di kumanta.
More Fun in the Philippines
Puro Sampa ng kaso ni isa ay walang napapakulong.
Hustiya natin ay bulok.
Ang pangulo natin ngayon ay doble cara di malaman ang gagawin kung sasampahan ang mga kasamahan niya. Puro dada ng dada pero ni isang gawa ay walang natupad.
Not only that sir, the case is pending for too long and before the case is even put on trial, the accused is already dead. Take Leandro Mendoza for example.
Si Lakay Macoy ng mawala,
Nawala na rin ang disiplina ng mga tao.
Mas mataas ang crime rate natin ngayon.
at Lalong mas mataas ang corruptions natin.
May kanta si Florante na ang pamagat ay “UPUAN”.
Pakingan ninyo.
Bye bye na ang kaso ni Mendoza in the same way na bye bye na rin ang kaso ni Reyes noon. All the looted money mapapasa-pamilya na lang nila. No questions asked. Ang swerte talaga ni bansot, lahat ng kasama niya sa krimen eh nangamatay na. Magaling siyang magdasal. Pati si fatso na asawa niya na super hina na ang puso eh buhay pa! Sa bagay, mas gusto kong maghirap muna siya sa kanyang detention para maramdaman niya ang pakiramdam ng walang “freedom” katulad ng mga ikinulong niyang mga sundalo ng limang taon!
damay damay na nga. ngunit ang problema ni junggoy ay dahil wala namang epekto kay PNoy ang pasabog nya. hindi nadadagdagan ang bilang ng mga mamamayan na galit kay PNoy. constant pa rin ito, the same ones from the noisy Left and the extreme Right, the Marcos loyalists, and those who did not vote for him in the first place. galit lamang ang bayan sa mga magnanakaw at alam ng bayan na hindi magnanakaw si PNoy. que ano pang birada tungkol sa DAP na yan, walang ebidensyang nagsasabi na may sinikwat si PNoy dyan. sorry, junggoy, better luck next time.
SSS chief defends bonuses; says another bonus likely for 2013
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/10/08/13/sss-chief-defends-bonuses-says-another-bonus-likely-2013
hindi sila nangagkakaiba.
walang mga iniisip KUNDI mapasakanila ang salaping dapat ay para sa mga mahihirap na nagpapakahirap upang merong asahan sa oras ng pangangailangan.
aba’y milyon ang suweldo sa loob ng isang taon, GUSTO pa’y halos araw araw na bonus?
performance bonus daw, ha?
tsk. tsk. tsk.
nakakaawa nga pala sila. kulang ‘yung pinapasuweldo kaya dapat mag-isip kung paano maiaagdon ang karampot na milyon!
tangnanila! walang kabusugan at pagkasawa!
‘yung anak ko, nagtext sa akin at kailangan daw ang pang-tuition upang makakuha ng prelim at final exam dahil hindi daw sila binibigyan ng konsiderasyon ng eskuwelahan kahit walang naisalba mula sa nasunog naming bahay dahil sa paglusob ng MNLF. at ngayon ay lubog ang zamboanga city dahil sa baha.
nasaan na ang kanilang habag sa mga biktima ng sunod sunod na kalamidad?
Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao may mga nangungurakot. Kakurakutan na talaga ngayon.
Isa sa mga nagbunyi na si Marcos ay napatalsik ang mga may ari ng pahayagan. Ano ang kalagayan ng mg may ari ng pahayagan sa ngayon. Maganda ang buhay nila. Pero maraming tao na hanggang tingin lang sa diaryo. Hindi makabasa kasi walang piso pambayad. Kung mayroon man ay di pwede igasto pagbasa sa diaryo.
Like Marcos, Erap was ousted due to grand conspiracy among many groups and one of them was the media.
I used to think that land mines were planted by Arroyo and are now exploding under this Pnoy administration. But with corruption still rampant and now fat bonuses for the SSS executives, I now believe that this administration is no different. SSS members are lining up every day and early in the morning. Many travel from afar to get their little benefits they’re entitled to receive after contributing all those years. And there’s only one or two clerks attending to hundreds of members. In the meantime, the executives are staying comfortably in their air conditioned doing nothing and shall be paid far bonuses.
Comatose OFW from UAE gets help from gov’t
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/global-filipino/10/09/13/comatose-ofw-uae-gets-help-govt
putanginang letseng kung sino mang kinauukulang opisyal ng bgobyerno!
para lamang masabing tumutulong sa nangangailangan KAYA napilitang bigyang ayuda ang kawawang patay na buhay na OFW.
ano’ng silbi?
A low-ranking official in Beijing was sacked for hosting a lavish wedding banquet, Chinese state media said, becoming the latest target of a high-profile official crackdown on corruption and waste.
The costly celebration came as China’s new leaders have vowed to tackle widespread official graft, which President Xi Jinping has warned could undermine the ruling Communist Party.
Ma Linxiang, a deputy village chief in a suburb of the capital, saw his son married off at the China National Convention Centre feted by famous performers, the official news agency Xinhua reported Tuesday.
It quoted Ma as saying he spent 200,000 yuan ($33,000) to treat friends and neighbours to two days of banquets, with the rest of the costs paid by the bride’s family.
But Xinhua added, citing local anti-corruption authorities: “The extravagant wedding has caused negative social effects and has violated the gov ernment’s rule opposing extravagance and waste.”
The Beijing News said the wedding may have cost 1.6 million yuan altogether — calling that a “conservative estimate”.
Ma remains under investigation although there is currently no evidence that he embezzled public funds, Xinhua said.
The much-publicised anti-corruption campaign by China’s new leaders has netted a raft of low-ranking officials and a handful of senior figures, but no systematic reforms have yet been introduced.
What’s $33,000? It’s peanut compared to Napoles’ extravagant tabs with her corrupt government cohorts. But what China is doing is asking government officials to set a good example. Exercise some restraint and practice austerity, no matter the source of their ‘wealth.’
Pnoy can take the cue from here and ask his officials to act as good role models.
Mannie, here are three articles that might interest you:
Like lolo like father like son?
(Ronald Roy / Comment / The Daily Tribune / 04-22-2010 THU)
In a way, I feel sorry for Noynoy. He looks like a little boy suddenly thrust in the man-size war zone of politics. Egged on by opportunists, misguided clerics, arrogant elitists, and lately the meddlesome Time Magazine, he now basks in the vanishing afterglow of Edsa I, proclaiming a right to the presidency on the basis of family relations. He would have us vote him for president because he is the son of Ninoy the slain martyr and Cory the revered saint, the grandson of a public servant named Benigno Aquino, Sr., the brother of famous TV host Kris and the brother-in-law of basketball superstar James Yap.
Unfortunately, Noynoy has nothing much to show for himself except as an alleged participant in the massacre of farmers in the family-owned Hacienda Luisita and the owner of a sub-standard legislative record. The scary part is he now threatens to hose down a nation on fire. But for the fact that Noynoy seriously exalts his lineage as the underpinning of his quest for the presidency, I would hate to rake up the past of dead people. However, we now stand in the electoral doorway to freedom, and it would be rank treason if I chose not to uphold the truth that is supposed to set us free.
See any old folk if you care to know if Benigno Aquino, Sr. was a despised traitor to Filipinos during World War II. I remember my grandfather and his friends telling stories about Ninoy’s father being a “Makapili” undercover agent (a Japanese collaborator) who spied on the secret activities of Filipino guerillas, and that it was for this treasonous behavior that he was often jeered and stoned in public. He was a member of the Philippine puppet government whose son Ninoy and grandson Noynoy would in their respective times be similarly lured into politics.
In this connection, it is interesting to note that certain traits, genetic or otherwise, do run through generations within a family. Don’t voters now have the right to apply the modified aphorism “like lolo, like father, like son?” I now speak from personal knowledge if not with moral certainty: I share the view of countless others that Ninoy Aquino was a ruthless man. To believe what had then become folklore, I had to actually see and hear him brag how some suspected cattle rustlers writhed to death from a poison he had laced their food with.
More horrendous is the lingering widespread suspicion that he purposely did not attend an LP miting de avance at Plaza Miranda which he was supposed to emcee. Already believable is: Ninoy knew the communists would bomb the makeshift stage at 10 in the evening to annihilate the party’s bigwigs, blame President Ferdinand Marcos for the carnage, and groom him as the sole surviving opposition challenger to the reelectionist Marcos. And where was Ninoy at 10 that night? At an insignificant despedida de soltera — to which I had also been invited — watching the rally on TV and looking fidgety until the grenades exploded shortly past 10.
During the years that followed, Doy Laurel and I would share the same suspicions about Ninoy — until the communists eventually announced the carnage was their handiwork.
Ninoy once urged me to build a private army which the Roys could use to gain political supremacy in Tarlac’s first district. For starters, he offered me half a dozen hitmen and gangsters — probably communists — but I flatly rejected the offer. I told him we were a non-violent family in full support of Danding Cojuangco’s armed struggle to drive the Reds out of the province.
Obviously, Ninoy had hoped to sow intrigue between the Cojuangcos and the Roys in order to gain control of the district; but he failed. It was the same old Machiavellian divide-and-rule tactic which triggered a shootout between the rebel forces of Huk Kumander Alibasbas and those of Huk Kumander Sumulong. From the resulting disarray emerged a unifying commie leader in the persona of Ninoy. The Reds would henceforth remain supportive of Ninoy’s consuming obsession to be president of the country.
This piece cannot end without citing the case of Rafael Suarez, a charismatic wealthy haciendero who ran for mayor of Concepcion, Tarlac, under the NP flag. Failing to convince Suarez to run as an LP candidate, Ninoy warned Suarez he would not assume office if he won. Suarez handily beat Ninoy’s candidate. Shortly thereafter, Suarez miraculously survived a highway ambush that killed his driver. Who did it, John Dillinger? Suarez incidentally was my late brother’s father-in-law.
Noynoy for president? Think again. Not even Cory would endorse him if a certain Dr. Armando Armas were to be believed in his forthcoming explosive book. Think again, if you don’t want this country to be run by Joma Sison and his Maoist comrades.
The other two:
Truth is worth dying for
(Ronald Roy / Musings by Roy / OpinYon / 02-28-2013 THU)
Even before President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos (FEM) issued Presidential Proclamation No. 1081 that placed the entire country under a state of martial law, government military forces had already been waging a war on two fronts, namely, against the New People’s Army (NPA, the military arm of the Communist Party of the Philippines, of which the spiritual and political head was Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr.) and against Muslim secessionist rebels in the southern island of Mindanao.
Atrocities were committed by soldiers and rebels alike, with civilians being killed and wounded as intended quarries, if not collateral damage. It was not unusual for captured soldiers to be decapitated, disemboweled, forced to eat their own roasted penises, bled to death with all four limbs shorn off, or otherwise made to undergo all possible forms of unspeakable torture. That’s one side of Martial Law.
The other side is fully documented with names of victims of martial law enforcers that included a nationwide network of government-supported Barrio Self Defense Units (BSDU). These victims have come out with their stories, and we rejoice as they will soon be compensated, along with the families of those who lost their lives or are now presumed dead after so many years of disappearance. It is gladdening that the government will implement this long delayed recompense as soon as the Human Rights Victims Reparation and Recognition Act of 2013 is signed into law by Pres. Noynoy Aquino.
However, what I find profoundly disturbing is that the said Act’s creation, known as the Human Rights Violation Memorial Commission, is tasked with the coordination with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education to ensure that the teaching of martial law atrocities, the lives and sacrifices of victims of human rights violations in our history, is included in the basic, secondary and tertiary education curricula.
This, to be sure, is systematic and forcible indoctrination of the present and future generations—no more, no less—into accepting as “fact” that Marcos was an evil man, and Ninoy Aquino a good man who died for Filipinos like Jose P. Rizal did, or like Jesus Christ for mankind on Calvary.
I’m sorry, but I just happened to know Ninoy a bit too well to believe the crap that he was an authentic martyr-hero who, like other recognized national heroes, offered his life for love of country. Ninoy was an overly ambitious politician who so coveted the presidency the he co-opted the Communist Party of the Philippines to help him implement a way of becoming the republic’s president, notably: the infamous Plaza Miranda bombing of the Liberal Party’s Miting de Avance.
The brainwashing of elementary graders actually started shortly after Cory Aquino became the Palace’s chief occupant. Sometime in 1987, I spoke with an eight-year old girl studying in a Catholic school to find out what she knew about Marcos—scuttlebutt had then been circulating that martial law atrocities were being taught to children—and she told me “Marcos is a murderer. He killed many people.” And I would soon learn that little children everywhere were being taught n school that Marcos was a monster who had murdered countless Filipinos.
The move to oust FEM started with the charismatic Jaime Cardinal Sin’s public declarations that God had directed him to pronounce Marcos as an evil tyrant who deserved to be removed from office. Consequently, the dictator’s fall from power rapidly took place, followed by a brainwashing program of students who, now in their mid-thirties, believe he was a murderer and that, in effect, Ninoy Aquino was a martyr-hero.
In time, however, the indoctrination program would wane through the post-Cory presidencies. But now that Ninoy’s son is the republic’s president, it is no wonder that the PNoy-controlled legislature, through its enactment of the cited indoctrination law, has officially condemned Marcos’ memory as satanic and Ninoy’s as hallowed.
This presidential gall—indecency, if you will—is reminiscent of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s ignominious naming of avenues after her parents, and ordering of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to create a two-hundred peso bank note carrying her father’s picture on its face.
Tales depicting Ninoy’s violent nature have gathered cobwebs down the last few decades and, for sure, the tales will eventually be forgotten after his son breathes life into the indoctrination statute with a stroke of his pen. It is, however, extremely doubtful at this point if PNoy can avoid a waterloo on his daan na matuwid as he plods on with nary a concern for things that are true.
Truth—like the stars and the sunset, the storms and the silver lining—is not “legislatable.” It behooves all men of goodwill, especially those with personal knowledge of anything true, to uphold it, and shield it against the self-promoting plotters of its alteration.
I am among a few remaining witnesses to Ninoy Aquino’s dark side, and I rise to bare it in the name of truth, albeit with a heavy heart, for after all he was still a friend, even though he was a ruthless Machiavelli. Consider the following.
One: By his own admission, made before me and a few others that included my father, Ninoy delighted in beholding the spectacle of six cattle rustlers spasmodically dying with froth in their mouths after eating the meals he had prepared for them.
Two: He had conspired with communists to bomb Plaza Miranda in a bid to permanently incapacitate the Liberal Party’s leading stalwarts (like Jovy Salonga and Gerry Roxas) so that he would be the only viable candidate left to challenge the strongman in a forthcoming presidential election.
Three: Believing that I was an ambitious man, Ninoy offered me a private army consisting of two truck loads of fully armed men from Cavite, with which to challenge the political supremacy of Danding Cojuangco in the province of Tarlac—an offer I flatly rejected.
I wrote an article about a year ago “Ninoy’s Dark Side, Joma’s Stripes” and another one titled “Like Lolo, Like Father, Like Son?” further back in 2010 detailing Ninoy Aquino’s not-so-hallowed character.
The foregoing are but a few of numerous true accounts that linger among the aging crop of senior citizens. Since religion has it that people develop greater adherence to truth as they age, truth seekers are encouraged to hear what senior Tarlaqueños have to say about PNoy’s father.
A close friend tried to dissuade me from writing this article, warning that I could lose some friends and even get hurt if I did. I replied: “Pardner, truth is worth dying for.”
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Ninoy’s dark side, Joma’s stripes
(Ronald Roy / Musings by Roy / The Musings of Ronald Roy / 02-29-2012 WED)
Further to this writer’s column last week in reference to a senior law student’s concern that “… we have a President who thinks he is above the Rule of Law…” we should not be all surprised that at the recent celebration of the 26th Anniversary of the EDSA People Power Revolution, PNoy rabble-roused all citizens to rise up against the Judiciary, obviously in an extended broadside against the impeached Chief Justice Renato C. Corona.
By inciting the people to seditiously turn against the Judiciary, PNoy stands impeachable for Betrayal of Public Trust and/or Culpable Violation of the Constitution.
PNoy reveals a dictatorial proclivity by shrugging off his mother’s 1987 Constitution which guarantees CJ Corona’s inviolable right to Due Process.
PNoy is acting like an extremely foolish, impetuous and dangerous madman who cares not for the wellbeing of Filipinos as he goads them into internecine warfare (i.e. Filipinos vs Filipinos)—the very disunity the so-called spirit of EDSA professes to disdain.
This de facto dictator is clever because he knows his numbers in the Lower House are more than enough to shield him against impeachment. But this is precisely what makes him dangerous.
He can now transgress with impunity the very Constitution that guarantees the Rule of Law and Due Process, and get away with it because of his numbers, the very same way GMA often cheated impeachment attempts throughout her time as President.
PNoy may be congratulated for an effective “hakot” of crowds that packed the commemoration sites. Ironically, it was President Erap Estrada’s Executive Order that required the annual celebration of the EDSA People Power Revolution, so much so that practically the entire officialdom of the Republic had to be there last February 25, either in person or by proxy.
The hoopla was so professionally staged and lavishly funded from state coffers, that it must be seriously questioned if this systematic brainwashing should be allowed to continue.
Would that the festivities were converted from a legal obligation to a tradition in order to allow a spontaneous flow of a people’s admiration and gratitude for their national heroes?
All that today’s young people in their mid-thirties will tell you is that they’ve all been taught in school that Ninoy Aquino was a martyred hero and Ferdinand Marcos was a monstrous murderer. Year after year after year after year, the Aquinos have been worshipped and the Marcoses have been demonized.
This is neither the way to heal the wounds of a nation nor forge love among its people. Rather, it is a way of breeding a culture of hatred and distrust that impedes national progress.
I was a Marcos appointee but was never his loyalist, as I am one person known not to be anyone’s fan. I saw him as a great leader and not as a murderer. Not only was he a gentleman; he was a gentle person who never cussed in vulgar language, his most offensive utterance being: “lintik ka” or “nalintikan na tayo” (meaning: you’re a trouble-maker or we’re already in trouble, “lintik” literally meaning lightning).
I regarded Ninoy as a friend, but I saw him as a demagogue who died by the gun because he lived by the gun. For my personal glimpses into his very dark side, my piece entitled “Like Lolo, Like Father, Like Son?” will give you a substantial and shocking dose of them.
Texter #0881, I don’t think renegade Jose Maria Sison is still an ideological communist of the Maoist variety. He has long morphed into a capitalist who lapped up the good life in all the years he stayed in the Netherlands from where he has been directing the New Peoples Army’s rebellious operations in the country.
Maoism is dead, and just like present-day China that has become a capitalist society in recent years, Sison is free to return to pursue a business life of his own.
As a populist [?] president, PNoy should be able to evaluate Sison’s worth as a contributor to his administration’s social justice agenda, a program perhaps better understood as a healthy democratic balance between the haves and the have-nots.
In the political spectrum, PNoy is ideally posited at the center where he can best draw constructive advice from such reformist groups as the leftist Akbayan. Likewise he can use rightist big business organizations, for instance, as allies in his vision for rapid economic development.
Critical therefore is PNoy’s judgment on how to handle Joma Sison’s purported desire to return to the fold of the law. Surely, it will not be a bad idea for him to assess Sison’s proposals, should he have any, on how to narrow the gap between the rich and the poor.
In this regard, however, PNoy should not ignore the fact that Sison is a criminal recidivist who fled to the Netherlands right after he was released from incarceration on the strength of a Church-proposed amnesty granted him by Cory.
Can Sison, an extreme radical activist espousing violent means, supposedly to attain social justice, be trusted on his return?
The Ilocano strongman once raised the warning: “Once a communist, always a communist! Like a tiger, he can never change his stripes!”
Has Jose Maria Sison already changed his stripes? Is it true he is back but will surface only when PNoy tells him the time is ripe to do so?
One final note: Last week’s “show of force” by the Iglesia Ni Cristo was no more, no less than a political threat of electoral power that may well undermine PNoy’s sovereign mandate, and the terrifying question is: whether he will take it sitting down.
#37 & #38: I think I’ve to agree with you. Have you ever wondered why Ninoy was so popular and Marcos was so unpopular? There could be an unseen hand behind such portrayal. Let’s be reminded of the late President Ramon Magsaysay who was praised in high heaven by the press and media courtesy of Uncle Sam. Yes, no doubt he was Uncle Sam’s guy. Until this day, there’s still a mystery to his untimely plane crash like that of JFK’s assassination.
When Marcos rebelled against the US first by cutting down the US bases term then disobeying her dictates unlike what he did for more than 10 years. The US had to find an alternative. Who could be that one if not Ninoy who was Marcos’ worst enemy then?
The threats from NPA and Muslim rebels were real. Marcos had to make a move. Even though he might have other agendas in mind like staying in power, he needed to take action against the threats. And the US supported his decision.
Mannie, I’ve heard that the late strongman’s rule can be divided into Marcos I and Marcos II, where he was a US ‘tuta’ during the first half and then someone who followed a more nationalist development path in the latter years–hence, the several attempts by the US to destabilize his regime in the run-up to 1986.
#40 You hit the bull’s eye. The US has the history of removing an unfriendly leader politically or by force through her CIA and local operatives of the country. Another good example was Panama’s Gen. Noriega who suffered the same fate as Marcos.