Category: Graft and corruption

Merci impeachment moves forward in House, Senate iffy

Published by Ellen on March 8, 2011

Update: Senate Blue Ribbon Committee recommends the resignation and impeachment of Gutierrez over plea bargain agreement with former military comptroller Carlos Garcia.

The approval by the House Justice Committee of the impeachment complaint against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez shows momentum in the fight to make government officials accountable of their actions.

Thirty-nine of the 55 members of the Justice committee found there are “reasonable grounds that an impeachable offense has been committed “by Gutierrez and that she is “probably guilty” and that she should face trial.”

The committee voted on two complaints against Gutierrez. The first one was filed by Akbayan led by former Rep. Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel alleged that Gutierrez betrayed public trust as shown by the low conviction rates of the Office of the Ombudsman under her leadership; inaction on the $329.5 million controversial National Broadband Network-ZTE telecommunications deal; inaction on the 1995 death of Navy Ensign Phillip Pestaño.

Mataas ang tsansang lusot si Merci sa Senado

Published by Ellen on March 6, 2011

May basehan si Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez kung bakit sa isip niya, mas pag-asang siyang mas may laban siya sa Senado kaysa sa House of Representatives sa impeachment na kanyang hinaharap.

Sa ngayon kasi, alam na ng mga kongresista na gusto ng Malacañang maalis si Gutierrez dahil walang mangyayari sa mga kaso ng kurakutan na sabi si Gloria Arroyo habang si Gutierrez ang Ombudsman. Alam naman natin sa House, kung ano ang kumpas ng Malacañang, kahit anong administrasyon, susunod yan dahil sa kanilang pork barrel. Itong klaseng impluwensya ng Malacañang ay maaring gamiting sa kabutihan, maa-aring ring gamiting sa masama katulad ng pagggamit ni Arroyo sa paghadlang ng katotohanan nang siya ang nasa Malacañang.

Ang Senado naman, talagang may kasaysayan din namang may sariling diskarte. Lalo pa ngayon na iilan lang ang kapartido ni Pangulong Aquino. Kaya nga ang senate president ay si Juan Ponce-Enrile na hindi kapartido ni Aquino dahil kulang sila sa numero.

Walang katapusang pag-aaral

Published by Ellen on March 5, 2011

Tinanong ni Sen. Franklin Drilon at Sen. Jinggoy Estrada ang representative ng Ombudsman sa hearing ng Blue Ribbon Committee na nagi-imbestiga ngayon ng plea bargain agreement kay dating military comptroller Carlos Garcia kung ano na ang nangyari sa kanilang pangako ng bawiin o ipahinto sa Sandiganbayan ang kontrobersyal na kasunduan.

Sagot ng kinatawan ng Ombudsman, “pinag-aaralan pa.”

Hindi ko nakuha ang pangalan ng Ombudsman dahil nagbrownout sa amin at lumipat ako sa radyo. Medyo inis ang dalawang senador dahil mag-iisang buwan na mula ng nangako sila na pag-aaralan ang pagbawi ng plea bargain agreement halatang namang talong-talo ang mamamayang Pilipino. Biruin mo sa P303 milyon na nahuling nakaw na yaman ni Garcia, pumayag ang Ombudsman na P135 lang ang ibalik. Pwedeng nang itago ni Garcia ang P168 milyon.

You get Gutierrez, you get Arroyo

Published by Ellen on March 3, 2011

Until the House committee on justice voted (41-12) last Tuesday that the two impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez have sufficient grounds, Gloria Arroyo and her family had reasons to be confident that they would get away with the crimes she committed against the Filipino people.

I seriously doubt if she is as confident now.

The impeachment complaint against Gutierrez still has to go through another voting in the committee level. It needs one third of the House members (94 out of 283) to have it passed and bring to the Senate.

But once it gets to the Senate, Gutierrez is in trouble. Sentiments against her in the light of the controversial plea bargain her office entered into with former military comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia are high among most of the senators. Even if that particular issue is not included in the complaint, that would be a factor in the decision of the senators.

Statement of Sen. Panfilo Lacson on ‘pabaon’

Published by Ellen on February 16, 2011

Following statement was sent by Sen. Panfilo Lacson. I have verified it to be his statement.

No welcome, no send off

When I took over the helm of the Philippine National Police in November 1999,I was told that there was P40M per year in “commander’s reserve” at the exclusive disposal of the C,PNP. I was never interested. I instructed my Director for Comptrollership, then Police Director, now Congressman Romeo Acop of Antipolo City to treat that reserved fund as part and parcel of the general fund for personnel welfare and other operational activities of the command.

The monthly gas allowance for the C, PNP was equivalent to the consumption of 50 vehicles or more even if allowed to run 24 hours a day. Mindful of complaints that police cars often ran out of gas, I ordered the excess allowance downloaded to front line units.

I was likewise presented with a high limit credit card with the information that I could swipe it both for personal and official purposes. Again, I asked my office administrative officer, then Chief Insp. Asper Cabula to return the credit card with clear instructions not to activate it.

Pinagdidiskitahan ng mga kasamahan ni Reyes si Trillanes

Published by Ellen on February 13, 2011

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.

Corruption killed Angelo Reyes

Published by Ellen on February 11, 2011

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.

The unnamed powerful man behind Maj.Gen. Carlos Garcia

Published by Ellen on February 10, 2011

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.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/feb11/news2.html

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.

Real men cry

Published by Ellen on February 6, 2011

I like men who cry. It makes them very humane and vulnerable. And manly.

Air Force Col. Antonio Ramon “Sonny” Lim couldn’t hold back his tears when he testified at the hearing of the Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigating the controversial plea bargain agreement of the Ombudsman with the retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia.

He said in Pilipino that ever since the news about the corruption in the military broke out, he had been thinking of coming out with what he knew and decided that under Aquino’s reformist administration, “Panahon na na malaman ng sambayanang Pilipino ang katotohanan. (It’s time that people know the truth)”

Lim was the assistant of retired Lt. Col. George Rabusa, former budget officer, who had earlier spilled the beans on three AFP chiefs of staff – Angelo Reyes, Diomedio Villanueva, and Roy Cimatu – getting bienvenida and despedida money ranging from P50 million to as high as P150 million and monthly allowances of P10 million.

We salute Heidi Mendoza

Published by Ellen on February 1, 2011

heidi mendoza at House hearing — Thanks to ABS-CBN for this photo

As long as there is a Heidi Mendoza, there is hope for the Filipino nation.

As astounding as the courage of Heidi Mendoza, former state auditor who investigated the case of retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, was the refusal of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and the government prosecutors to acknowledge the evidence even if they were staring on their face.

Mendoza’s testimony about the pressures she had to put up in uncovering military corruption was so moving especially when she tearfully appealed to spare her family from harm. “Maawa kayo sa akin. Maawa kayo sa mnga anak ko,” she pleaded adding that in coming out she didn’t want to hurt anybody.

A daughter of a policeman, she said she took on the challenge of investigating corruption in the military “to give honor to the soldiers who risk their lives in defense of the country.”