Month: September 2017

Who interfered with Salalima?

Published by Ellen on September 25, 2017

Now, I pity Presidential spokesperson Ernesto Abella.

I used to admire him for his manner of speaking that is in sharp contrast with the language of his principal. I used to be amused by his creativeness in dodging issues about President Duterte like telling media to use their “creative imagination” when Duterte contradicts himself or spews out outrageous claims and justifying the President’s lying about the bank deposits of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV as as matter of “style.”

But as reports of corruption and incompetence persist in the 15-month old Duterte presidency, it’s not amusing anymore to listen to Abella talking about “Good governance being the North Star of the Duterte administration” as he urged just-resigned secretary of Information and Communications Technology Secretary, Rodolfo Salalima to shed light on his allegations of corruption in the agency.

Abella’s statement shows that he is not within the power circle in Malacañang. He is far from the snake pit that Salalima found himself in and decided to be out of it.

In his farewell talk with employees of the Department of Information and Communications Technology) last week, Salalima, who was a schoolmate of Duterte, said that his deal with the President when he accepted the position of the new agency was “no interference, no corruption.”

Resigned DICT Secretary Rodolfo Salalima. Screengrab from ANC.

Is Duterte unraveling?

Published by Ellen on September 19, 2017

President Duterte admits alleged Trillanes offshore accounts were products of his imaginaion. Screengrab from PTV4.

President Duterte never ceases to stun us.

Yesterday, he admitted that his story about the offshore accounts of Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV was a product of his imagination.
“Wala ito. Produkto ng isip ko ito. Tinanggalan ko talaga. Ginamit mo. Nag-issue ka ng waiver… Iba ang account number, iba ang totoo. Sinadya ko iyan,” he said after Trillanes went to Singapore and proved that the two bank accounts supposedly based in Singapore in the list Duterte read to the public were non-existent.

His admission made him a manufacturer of fake news.

If that was not jarring enough, he bragged that he has fooled Trillanes.”Kita mo siya ngayon. He’s desperate. Pumunta ng Singapore, mag-gastos lang para propaganda lang,” he further said.

We thought only a fool would do that.

‘Me Pulis sa ilalim ng tulay ‘ in times of EJK

Published by Ellen on September 17, 2017

When things are difficult, you laugh and you sing.

Those are coping mechanisms that Filipinos have developed into art.

There’s a song going around social media that is so much fun. It’s a new version of an old game song “May Pulis sa Ilalim ng Tulay.”

The song is usually sang in a party where each one adds a line to the original sentence about a policeman under the bridge. Often, as each one adds a sentence depending on his or her views and wit, the song becomes a sharp commentary.

CHR explained

Published by Ellen on September 14, 2017

When the House of Representatives voted 119 against 32 last Tuesday to give only P1, 000 budget for the Commission on Human Rights for 2018, it showed that stupidity is not the monopoly of its speaker.

Lambasted in social media, some of the congressmen who voted “Yes” have started explaining their vote and they all showed their ignorance of the mandate of the CHR just like Alvarez.

Alvarez lambasted the CHR for not running after those who killed the policemen, military and government officials.
“Kailangan nilang protektahan at pangalagaan ang karapatang pantao ng sinuman, di lang isang sektor, di lang sa karapatang pantao ng mga kriminal, pati ang innocent victims. Kumikibo lang sila kapag against the military, against the police, against government officials. Hindi naman ganun ang mandato nila. Ang mandato nila ay lahat ng karapatang pantao ay protektahan nila at pangalagaan,” he said.

Actually, Alvarez and the 119 congressmen who voted to strangle CHR by withholding funding , are not the only ones who are misinformed of the role of the Human Rights Commission. They are actually only echoing the ignorance that President Duterte has been articulating in many of his speeches.

Duterte clutches at fake news to get back at Trillanes

Published by Ellen on September 12, 2017

In his desperation to get back at Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, President Duterte resorts to fake news.

In last Thursday’s Senate investigation of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee of the 604 kilos of shabu that slipped through the Bureau of Customs, Trillanes presented bank accounts of presidential son Paolo Duterte, vice mayor of Davao City (totaling P104,2812.165 made in 2011 to 2015) and presidential son-in-law Atty. Manases Carpio (totaling 211,109,236 made in 2003 to 2012). The two neither confirmed nor denied the deposits invoking “right to privacy.”

Last Saturday, in a speech at the closing ceremony of the Mindanao Business Conference, Saturday said Duterte said he will also expose Trillanes’ bank accounts abroad.

Pres. Rodrigo Duterte addresses 26th Mindanao Business Conference in Cagayan de Oro City on September 9, 2017. Malacanang photo by Ace Morandante.

Grief and rage

Published by Ellen on September 8, 2017

14-year old Reynato De Guzman, found dead with 30 stab wounds.

Reynaldo de Guzman, 14 years old. Kian Delos Santos, 17 years old.

They are children under the definition of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Carl Angelo Arnaiz and Raymart Siapo, both 19 years old, just passed their childhood.

They are all dead. Killed brutally by persons who have lost their humanity.

Paolo Duterte’s silence would be a deafening confirmation of his role in ‘Davao group’

Published by Ellen on September 6, 2017

Malacanang photo of Pres. Duterte’s first family at his inauguration June 30, 2016. Presidential son-in-law Atty. Manases Carpio is at extreme left and presidential son Paolo, second from the right.

The saying “A fish is caught by its mouth” applies to President Duterte on the issue of the alleged involvement of his son, Davao City Mayor Paolo Duterte, and his son-in-law, Atty. Manases Carpio in the release without inspection by the Bureau of Customs of a shipment containing 604 kilos of shabu worth P6.2 billion last May.

Duterte told reporters Sunday, “Ang advice ko kay Pulong? Punta ka doon. And then pagdating mo, dun sa questions, sabihin mo, ‘I will not answer you.’ I’m invoking my right of silence kasi noong eleksyon pa, hindi pa Presidente tatay ko, binibira mo na kami. So if you want evidence, do not get it from the mouth of other people. Go somewhere else.”

Pulong is the nickname of Paolo.

Taguba in no position to clear Paolo and Mans

Published by Ellen on September 3, 2017

26-year old customs broker Mark Taguba at the Senate hearing Aug. 31.

Last Friday, 26-year old customs broker Mark Taguba, through lawyer Raymond Fortun, released the following statement:

“I have been informed of the circulation of fake news that have been deviously spread on social media relative to my testimony at the Blue Ribbon Committee hearing of the Philippine Senate yesterday (31st august 2017).

“I wish to categorically make it clear that:

1) I had never testified, nor will I ever testify that Vice-Mayor Paolo Dterte and/or Atty. Manse Crpio were involved in the shipment of illegal drugs into the country. Neither have i testified, nor will I ever testify that the aforementioned individuals were involved in the “tara system” that was in-place at the Bureau of Customs.

2) The names of Vice-Mayor Duterte and/or Atty. Manases Carpio were merely mentioned by the “Davao group” whose direct contacts to me were ‘Tita nannie’ and ‘Jack’. As I had repeatedly stated before Congress and the Senate, the alleged involvement of the aforementioned individuals are hearsay in nature.

3) At no time have I met either Vice-Mayor Dterte or Atty. Carpio in person, much less discuss any illegal transaction at the bureau of customs with them.

4) To this day, I contest that the container that my company caused to be released on May 24,2017 contained the 605 kilograms of shabu. As I have repeatedly testified, the contents of the container (otherwise known as the “packing list”) which was duly certified to be correct by the port of Xiamen under the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement will reflect that it only contained general household items and not the five (5) cylinders where the shabu was discovered.

“I am making this statement to clear Vice-mayor Paolo Duterte and Atty. Manse Carpio from any involvement in the shipment of illegal drugs into the country, and any anomalies in the Bureau of Customs. I also hereby apologize to Vice-Mayor Duterte, Atty. Carpio and to the first family for the proliferation of fake news arising out of my testimony at the senate yesterday.”

Blue Ribbon committee becomes ‘Comite de absuelto’- Trillanes

Published by Ellen on August 31, 2017

It was obvious in Thursday’s Senate Blue Ribbon hearing on the 604 kilos of shabu that slipped through the watch of the Bureau of Customs under then Commissioner Nicanor Faeldon, that Committee Chair Sen. Richard Gordon does not want the truth to come out since the trail was leading to the direction of the Davao Group which allegedly involves not only presidential son and Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte but also presidential son-in-law lawyer Mans Carpio.

During the hearing, it was very noticeable that Gordon was soft on Davao Councilor Nilo “Small” Abellera, a very good friend of Paolo, who admitted having met Customs broker Mark Taguba and a certain Jack in a restaurant in Davao City.

Taguba claimed that in the Davao meeting, he gave P5 million to Abellera as “enrolment fee” for the Davao group that facilitates release of shipment at the Bureau of Customs. He gave the money in Abellera’s car after they had lunch. They again met in the evening at a restobar.

Taguba said Abellera complained about another customs broker who reneged on their agreement. The councilor denied Taguba’s narration of the meeting saying they met only in the evening.He also denied receiving money from Taguba.