Category: General

This is what you call adding insult to injury.

By Veronica Uy in Inquirer.net

The police director for Western Visayas has recommended awards for the policemen who stormed the Iloilo provincial capitol last week in an attempt to physically evict Governor Niel Tupas Sr.

Chief Superintendent Wilfredo Dulay admitted this before the Senate hearing on the capitol assault, which many quarters have dubbed an “overkill” based on television footage of the incident which showed heavily armed Regional Mobile Group personnel training their weapons on unarmed civilians, among them Tupas’ son and namesake, who is also a member of the Provincial Board.

In his letter to the Philippine National Police (PNP) Director General Oscar Calderon dated January 21, Dulay “recommended appropriate awards for all tasked personnel for carrying out successfully the lawful order of higher PNP authority.”

Continue readingIloilo storm troopers recommended for award

Last January 19, some 134 concerned citizens gathered at the Asian Social Institute in Malate, Manila for a whole day of “discernment for the common good”.

They came out with a call to the Catholic Bishops of the Philippines titled “A Cry for Shepherds”

I.The Signs of the Times

Mike Arroyo’s defenders are going on a junket to Germany, charge to the Filipino people. Objective:”The halls of this institution should be protected at all costs,” Rep. Eduardo Gullas said.

This report by Wendell Vigilia in Malaya:

Congressmen will go out of their way in their search for the truth behind the alleged multi-million bank account the family of President Arroyo is hiding in Germany.

The House committee on ethics yesterday decided at the resumption of the hearing on the expulsion case filed against Rep. Allan Cayetano (NP, Taguig-Pateros) to send a five-man team to verify the alleged account in HypoVereinsbank in Munich.

Hey, Hey, look at this admonition from Gloria Arroyo’s chief security guard:

THE Presidential Security Group today told President Arroyo’s critics to respect her office if they cannot respect the person.

PSG chief Col. Romeo Prestoza made the appeal in a radio interview two days after Arroyo was booed during the Il Divo concert at the Philippine International Convention Center.

“Regardless kung ano ang political affiliation mo, yung pananaw, dapat bigyan mo pa rin palagi ng paggalang ang opisina, hindi ang pagkatao ng Presidente,” he said.

There’s no question that corrupt officials should be removed. Malacañang said there are no sacred cows. Really? Read this story by Norman Bordadora in the Inquirer.

THE Ombudsman has in its dockets at least nine criminal and administrative complaints against Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, according to a letter from the Special Prosecutor to the Senate.

They include two administrative cases for graft and a criminal complaint of plunder, Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio wrote in a letter he sent last December to Sen. Franklin Drilon, chair of the Senate finance committee.

Got this from two friends: Gloria Arroyo was loudly booed and heckled twice by the audience at the Il Divo concert at the PICC last…

Since today is the 6th anniversary of Edsa Dos, we are reprinting the interview of Mike Arroyo by the eminent Nick Joaquin which appeared in the March 5,2001 issue of Philippine Graphic. This first appeared in my column in Malaya on March 5, 2001.

She had really left the Cabinet at the right moment: the timing was perfect. If she had tarried a moment longer, she would have been too late for EDSA: she would have made it there as an opportunist. And as for the ill-feeling in Metro Manila, we tackled that by going back to the door-to-door campaign: she went from barangay to barangay explaining her motives, outlining her program. And it worked. Then came the impeachment trial, and from there, tuloy-tuloy na.

There was a time honestly, when I felt I erred in advising her to resign from the Cabinet. The masa in Manila apparently wanted her to stick it out with Erap. And when she started attacking him, everything fell on us – grabe!- everything! But I told myself: it’s now or never; if we lose here we’re totally destroyed and it’s goodbye to her political career – but if we win here, she becomes President! So we really fought.

Continue readingThe power grab that was Edsa Dos, as related by Mike Arroyo

Under the topic, “Swiss trip is the reason” (Jan. 12, 2007), I mentioned about the info I got that in Davos, Switzerland, where Gloria Arroyo will be going on Jan. 25 for the World Economic Forum, she will be a guest in a dinner to be hosted by Maurice Amon, chairman of SIPCA.

SIPCA is Swiss firm whose inks are used in 90 percent of the world’s bank notes.

Anna asked if I had any info about Romela Bengzon going to Davos at the same time that Arroyo would be there. Bengzon is formerly a member of the Consultative Commission that drafted a Constitution shifting to parliamentary system and cancelling the May 2007, and is into consultancy business.

Former Foreign Secretary Roberto Romulo resigned yesterday as presidential adviser on international competitiveness following his joining the international strategic advisory firm, Kissinger McLarty Associates,as a member of its Board of Counselors.

Roberto Romulo, known as “Bobby” or RRR, is the cousin of the current foreign secretary, Alberto Romulo.

In his resignation letter dated Jan. 18, 2007, Romulo said, “In the course of examining our client base and current professional enagements, it came to me that there may be potential for conflict of interest arising from my involvement with KMA.”