A happy President Aquino and Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario.At the Christmas Party of Metro Pacific Investment Corporation last month at J.W. Marriott Hotel in Hongkong, the company’s chairman, Manuel V. Pangilinan (MVP) made special mention of Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario saying, “he will soon be rejoining us in the private sector.”
MVP’s remark intrigued other guests who asked each other, “Why, is he resigning?”
(Del Rosario’s statement on this article released in Malacañang: “In my talks with my trusted friend Manny Pangilinan, in December, he is fully supportive of my decision to continue in public service for as long as the President wishes for me to do so.”)
Actually, del Rosario had resigned twice in his almost three years as foreign secretary. (He served as ambassador to the United States during the time of Gloria Arroyo.) The first was in June 2012 after the standoff with China at Scarborough Shoal (also known as Bajo de Masinloc or Panatag shoal) which brought into the picture, much to the resentment of del Rosario, Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.
There’s a compelling reason for President Aquino to make sure that that he would be able to influence the people’s choice of his successor otherwise he would suffer the same fate that befell the two presidents before him.
His predecessor, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, is in jail – hospital arrest, actually- facing plunder and electoral sabotage charges.
Arroyo’s predecessor, Joseph Estrada, spent six years in detention- much of it under house arrest – for plunder. Convicted, he was later pardoned. He nearly made a comeback as president in 2010, placing second to Aquino. He is now mayor of the city of Manila.
Surely, Aquino knows that in his position, it’s not a matter of good intentions as his “Tuwid na Daan” slogan trumpets. As president, he makes decisions, sometimes resorting to legal brinkmanship. Example is the Disbursement Acceleration Program, the legality of which is being questioned in the Supreme Court.
Update: The Philippine Daily Inquirer reported that Lacson has accepted Aquino’s offer to be the Rehabilitation Czar.
The Rehabilitation CzarIt has been reported that President Aquino is considering former Sen. Panfilo Lacson to head the awesome task of rebuilding part of Visayas devastated by typhoon Yolanda.
The report has not yet been confirmed by Malacañang but if it’s true, that would be an indication that Aquino understands the gravity of the situation and the challenges of the rebuilding of the ruined and shattered communities, most especially in Leyte and Samar.
Let’s hope that partisan politics, particularly the 2016 presidential race, do not again get in the way of this more urgent task. Aquino fumbled bigtime in dealing with immediate impact of the Yolanda-created crisis but he can still redeem himself in the reconstruction of the destroyed communities.
If it’s not Lacson, it is hoped that he does not make the mistake of giving the job of the reconstruction czar to retired Army Gen. Eduardo del Rosario, executive director of National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council, the body that was supposed to oversee efforts in coping with disasters but acted helpless at the time when they were needed most.
Photos from ABS-CBN video Tacloban children displaced by YolandaWhat has been feared by human rights advocates is now happening in Tacloban: human trafficker vultures are on a prowl preying on the hapless victims of typhoon Yolanda.
ANC had a report of a human trafficking attempt in Tacloban. DSWD Assistant Secretary Cheche Cabrera related about two cases which they were able to stop. “A very beautiful girl was escorted by two burly looking guys,” she said.
Cabrera said together with the International Organization for Migration and the United Nations, they are setting up a desk in Tacloban Tacloban City, Ormoc and Guiuan, Eastern Samar.“There are lots of possibilities where very young girls will be trafficked,” she said.
Arthur and Christina Espiritu aboard a Philippine Navy ship to bring relief goods to Llorente, Samar.Tenor Arthur Espiritu and his wife, Christina, are in Llorente, Eastern Samar to distribute the truckload of goods they have gathered from friends to the victims of typhoon Yolanda.
Why Llorente?
Llorente is one of the municipalities badly hit by Yolanda but has not been reported as prominently as Tacloban. Christina is from that place.
The Espiritus left Manila last Saturday late afternoon. From Arthur’s Facebook post, it has not been an easy journey, by water and by land.
Arthur posted that that they were in Bulan Port in Sorsogon Sunday waiting for their truck to be loaded together with more than 20 other trucks. While waiting, they enjoyed the pier scenery. One was people watching the Pacquiao-Rios fight. “Everyone was there. It’s really fun to see Pinoys come together when there’s a Pacquiao fight.”
Later, Arthur, the only Filipino tenor who has sang at La Scala, the world renowned opera house in Milan, Italy, reported that they were finally loading the trucks.”Christina Espiritu is happy,” he said. He counted more blessing: “Yehey. Still have signal while on ship.”
His next post was when they were approaching San Isidro port in Northern Samar: “We came in at 4:30 pm then engine failed. Stuck about 1 km away from shore. Then got power back but it was high tide already. Ramp was too high for trucks to disembark. Now we have to sleep in the ship till 4 am which is low tide. Then we could go. Problem is, all the restaurants and markets around are closed. Just diet for now w peanuts and skyflakes and coffee. Staying strong.”
AcedilloWe can give value to all the sufferings caused by typhoon Yolanda and the initial ineptness of the government if we learn lessons from it that can benefit not only us in the future but also the generations to come.
As The Prophet, said, “Suffering is in the grand scheme of things. It is meant to teach a lesson. Sometimes it takes a lot of repeating until the lesson is learned. Both good and bad people reap the benefits of the sunshine. Both good and bad people receive rain for their crops. Chaos and disaster befalls both the good and the bad. The difference in the aftermath of tragedy is the lesson learned or not learned.”
Now that finally, relief efforts in places devastated by typhoon Yolanda seems to be moving , it’s time to use lessons learned to improve our capability to cope with natural disasters.
Retired Marine Col. Ariel QuerubinMy first person account last Monday on being duped by a con artist who introduces himself as “Mon Tulfo” elicited responses, two of them from fellow victims.
One was retired Marine Col. Ariel Querubin.
Remember last August, there was a news report of death threats to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, National Bureau of Investigation Nonnatus Rojas, and Atty. Levito Baligod, lawyer of whistleblowers in pork barrel scandal involving businesswoman Janet Napoles?
Querubin said a “Mon Tulfo”, who really sounded very much like tri-media personality Ramon Tulfo, called him up saying that the hired assassin to De Lima, Rojas, and Baligod contacted him and said he was backing out of the contract. “Mon Tulfo” said he and his men were bringing the person to Manila and they will have a press conference at max restaurant near the DOJ.
Photo by Luis Liwanag, VERA Files.The anguish and misery caused by typhoon Yolanda has not at all diminished the wit and sense of humor of Filipinos. d I saw this suggestion, a brilliant solution not only to the breakdown of peace and order in Tacloban, still reeling from the destruction wrought by typhoon Yolanda week ago but also how to recover the people’s money from those who pocketed the Priority Development Assistance Fund or PDAF.
It’s the post by Edwin Molina in Ace Esmeralda’s wall. I’m sharing this without Molina’s permission.
He said: “We now need the so-called masterminds of the looters to run the show in Tacloban for their organizational/motivational skills, foresight, sense of urgency and swift, decisive actions after Yolanda hit the area.
Santiago questioning Napoles. Photo by Voltaire Domingo NPPA Image. From Yahoo.The quote of the day from Thursday’s Senate Blue Ribbon hearing was Sen. Miriam Santiago’s “Ignorance can be treated, but stupid is forever. ”
Santiago was spot on in her observation that Napoles could not be stupid considering the pork barrel operator’s rise from her humble beginnings in Basilan to her being filthy rich today. In a press conference, Santiago said she thinks Napoles’ gall diverting money intended for the poor to private pockets of lawmakers, government officials as well as hers comes from ignorance. She said Napoles is used to cutting deals and she thinks she will be able to get away with plunder, which could put her in prison for 20 to 40 years, by cutting another deal.
One of those who monitored the hearing, Ginny Fabie, a member of the Concerned Citizens Movement, observed that Santiago used military interrogation tactics. Scaring her one moment (“Gusto nilang patayin ka, andiyan sa utak mong ‘yan ang pagkakasira ng, di lamang kayaman, pati buhay nila. Importante malagyan duct tape ang mukha mo” ) and giving her advice to turn state witness another moment after she got the businesswoman to admit that she is not the most guilty (“Gantihan mo na habang buhay ka pa.”)
Aquino and Gazmin: loyalty is what mattersAmid rumors that Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin would be replaced next year, President Aquino heaped him praises during ceremonies to honor those who have battled with members of Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front in Zamboanga last month. He called Gazmin the “timon ng ating mga kawal sa tuwid na daan (the rudder that will steer the soldiers to stay in the right path). “
Aquino said when the Zamboanga siege happened, Gazmin immediately reported to him and did not hesitate to be in the frontline. He asked: “Sinong hindi matutuwa sa tulad niyang walang pinipiling panahon sa paglilingkod? (Who would not be happy with someone like him who knows no time when it comes to service?)
As he reminded soldiers of the supremacy of civilian authority over the military, Aquino recalled again (as he has recalled in past occasions) his traumatic experience during several coup attempts against his mother, Cory Aquino.
