Category: Peace and Order

Tinimbang ngunit kulang

Published by Ellen on October 2, 2010

Sa Biyernes, Oktubre 8, isang daang araw na ang administrasyon ni Pangulong Benigno Aquino III.

Alam naman natin na maigsi naman ang isang daang araw para ayusin ang bansa lalo na sa siyam na taon na pang-aabuso at pagsalaula ni Gloria Arroyo ng mga institusyon pangdemokrasya katulad ng eleksyun at hustisya.

Ganun din sa larangan ng pang-ekonomiya. Sadlak tayo sa utang. Ang nagbubuhay sa atin ay ang padala ng ating mga kababayan sa ibang bansa. Pera na kabayaran ng kanilang dugo at pawis.

Kahit na wala namang umaasa na malutas ni PNoy ang problema ng bansa sa kanyang unang tatlong buwan, dapat nakikita na ng taumbayan ang direksyun na ating pinatutunguhan.

Pinangako ni PNoy noong kampanya na siya ay maging iba kaysa kay Arroyo. Sinabi rin niya na pananagutin niya si Arroyo sa kanyang perwisyo sa bayan.

Journo

Published by Ellen on October 2, 2010

There’s a new program in ABC 5, Tuesday 10 p.m :”Journo”. It’s produced by Che-Che Lazaro’s Probe TV team. It’s hosted by Luchi Cruz, who now heads the re-energization of ABC-5 under businessman Manny Pangilinan.

Two weeks ago, they interviewed me on what I wrote about President Aquino’s choice of people that would supposedly help him as he leads the Filipino people through “the matuwid na daan”. We took off from the jueteng issue.

Verzosa as ambassador to Russia?

Published by Ellen on September 26, 2010

Three days after the Aug. 23 hostage-taking fiasco that left eight tourists from Hongkong dead, the survivors were accompanied by Malacañang officials to the airport for their flight back home.

At that time, tempers were high in Hongkong against the bungling of the Philippine government that turned their compatriot’s holiday into a tragedy. The survivors and their relatives couldn’t help expressing their disgust over the post-tragedy attitude of the Aquino government. They wondered why nobody was taking responsibility. All that they were getting were excuses and justifications for the incompetence that was witnessed live by the whole world.

Despite statements of condolences, the impression that the survivors and their relatives got was, the Aquino government was not serious in making officials be accountable for the debacle. They cited the melamine scandal in China in 2008 when two persons found responsible for the contamination of the infant formula that caused the death of six babies and illness to thousands were executed.

That sentiment was relayed by a Malacañang official to officials involved in the debacle. The official said, then PNP Chief Jesus Verzosa replied, in his typical emotion-devoid manner of speaking, “Okay, I’ll let Magtibay go.”

A whitewash?

Published by Ellen on September 26, 2010

Malaya editorial:

Palace officials said they are “alarmed” over the leak of the withheld portions of the reports of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee but their focus now is on completing a review and submitting their findings to President Aquino when he arrives from the United States tomorrow.

It’s the officials’ necks and Noynoy’s credibility which are on the block so they are free to do as they wish. They should be prepared, however, for some major efforts to contain the firestorm that will sure to erupt when the review assigned to Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. and chief presidential legal counsel Eduardo de Mesa is finished.

Ochoa and De Mesa have a limited choice: Affirm the findings and recommendations of the committee chaired by Justice Secretary Leila de Lima or trash them. Selective endorsement of the recommendations will not do because if the committee erred in some, then it conceivably was wrong in all its findings.

The issue boils down to what regulations or laws have been violated and whether there is sufficient evidence to nail down the offenders. If the Palace rules substantially against the recommendations of the panel, then it leaves no room for De Lima but to resign.

Ano ang hawak ni Puno at Verzosa kay Pnoy?

Published by Ellen on September 25, 2010

Huwag sanang magkamali si Pangulong Aquino na balewalain ang rekomendasyun ng Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) na siyang inatasan niyang mag-imbestiga sa nangyaring panghu-hostage ng mga turistang galing Hongkong noong Agosto 23.

Kung mangyari yun, kini-kinita ko, panibagong krisis ang haharapin ni Aquino. Dapat nyang malaman na ang taas na ng frustration level ng maraming sumuporta sa kanya noong eleksyun.

Sa kabila ng maraming palpak ng kanyang halos mag-isang daan araw ng kanyang administrasyon, hindi pa sya iniiwanan ng umaasa ng reporma sa pamahalaan dahil kumakapit pa rin ang marami sa kanyang pangako na matuwid na daan ang tatahakin niya.

Ngunit hindi bulag ang taumbayan na susunod lang sa kanya kahit lumilihis na siya ng daan at mukhang pumupunta sa baku-baku na daan. Baka dumeretso pa ito sa bangin.

No more New York hotdogs for P-Noy

Published by Ellen on September 23, 2010

By Benjamin Pimentel
Inquirer.net

CALIFORNIA, United States—Maybe P-Noy should lay off the New York hotdogs. It’s making him talk strange.

Consider what he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer when asked about his friend, Undersecretary Rico Puno, who’s in hot water over alleged links to gambling and his role in the bungled Luneta rescue.

“One thing we have to watch out for is if these people who have been with us when we were still in the harassed opposition and who joined us in our struggles…if all these people who are close to us are removed and replaced by those who are not as close, the next group could already be our enemies,” he said.

Now, that was one jumbled, scary statement. You can read it on so many levels, few of them flattering to the chief executive of the country.

For the Philippine President basically admitted that, despite what appeared to be a pretty hefty mandate, he’s really relying on a very small circle of people to do his job.

Aquino scores in transparency

Published by Ellen on September 23, 2010

One good thing that can be said of the almost three-month old Aquino presidency is transparency.

Sometimes, too transparent to a fault but openness is still better than keeping people in the dark.

Aquino bungled big-time the Aug. 23 hostage crisis, wasted a lot of time trying to justify the bungling before finally doing something right: asking Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to head a panel that would investigate the fiasco.

Another correct decision was releasing the report to the public a few days after it was submitted to him. The release of the report to the Chinese Embassy ahead of releasing it to the Filipino public could have been handled better, of course. Also,he could have released the whole report including the recommendations.

Compare that to how Gloria Arroyo handled the “Hello Garci” scandal and the report of the Vice Admiral Mateo Mayuga who investigated the involvement of the military in the tampering of the results of the 20004 election in Arroyo’s favor. Up to this day, we have yet to see the full report although I’m not expecting much from it.

IIRC recommendations: only Lim cited for criminal sanction

Published by Ellen on September 23, 2010

Following are the recommendations of the Incident Investigation and Review Committee that investigated the Aug. 23 hostage tragedy. This was withheld when President Aquino released the fact-finding part of the report. The recommendations are being reviewed by the presidential legal panel headed by Executive Secretary Jojo Ochoa and Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Eduardo de Mesa.

Recommendations

In light of the preceding discussions on the accountability of the above-mentioned public officials, PNP officers and private individuals based on their corresponding acts and omissions during the August 23, 2010 Rizal Park Hostage-taking crisis, the Committee hereby recommends the following actions:

1. Against PCSUPT (General) Rodolfo Y. Magtibay, the initiation of the corresponding administrative proceedings is recommended based on the following grounds:

a. Serious Irregularities in the Performance of Duties – for countermanding the order of his superior officer, Police Director (General) Leocadio Santiago Jr. to use the PNP SAF-CRG in the assault of the hostaged bus, and in direct opposition to the clear and categorical order of the President to do so as relayed through said superior officer;

b. Gross incompetence – for manifest lack of adequate ability and fitness to satisfactorily perform his police duties as ground commander in the hostage-taking incident as established in this investigation, resulting in the needless and tragic death of eight (8) foreign tourists and the injury of seven (7) others;

Mayor Lim: miserably unrepentant

Published by Ellen on September 21, 2010

Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim has become a pathetic figure – a far cry from the anti-crime crusading character that earned for him the compliment “Dirty Harry”, the alias of the fictional character of San Francisco policeman, Harold Francis Callahan, played in several films by Clint Eastwood.

IIRC recommended harshest sanction on Lim

In recommending administrative and criminal proceedings, the IIRC held Lim liable for “assuming the authority of the on-scene commander in negotiations and tactical action… for negligence in his failure to organize and constitute the CMC (crisis management committee), for issuing an illegal order the arrest of Gregorio Mendoza, for abandoning and ordering the on-scene commander to abandon the Advance Command Post at the height of the hostage crisis and, in general, for failure to perform his duties as CMC Chairman… constituting dereliction of duty and gross negligence.”

“Dirty Harry” endeared himself to the audience by stomping on the inept bureaucracy, even taking the law in his hands, to give justice to the underprivileged.

Lim became a legend when he cleared known criminal havens of undesirable elements. For that, he was rewarded a political career after he retired from the police service. He was manila mayor from 1992 to 1998 and senator from 2004 to 2007. He returned as Manila mayor in 2007 and got re-elected last May.

One would think that with his long years as local chief executive, Lim would have handled the Aug. 23 hostage incident with competence and wisdom. What we saw was “utak pulbura” at work.

Showbiz ang hearing ng jueteng

Published by Ellen on September 21, 2010

Tungkol sana sa report ng Incident Investigation and Review Committee (IIRC) ang aking kolum ngayong araw at sinimulan ko na habang ako ay nagmu-monitor sa TV ng hearing sa Senado ng imbestigasyon sa jueteng.

Aba, biglang narinig ko ang pangalan ni Gretchen Barretto . Mas interesante ito, sabi ko.

Actually, hindi sangkot si Gretchen sa jueteng. Lumabas ang pangalan niya kasi tinanong ni Sen. Jinggoy Estrada si retired Archbishop Oscar Cruz kung may kuma-usap sa kanya na maghinay-hinay sa pagtuligsa kay Interior Undersecretary Rico E. Puno.

Hindi primero naintindihan o narinig ng husto ni Cruz ang tanong. Sinabi niya “Wala.” Nang maintindihan niya, sinabi niya “Meron.” Nang tanungin niya kung sino, hindi niya kaagad maala-ala ang pangalan. Nagtanong siya sa kanyang kasama na nasa likuran niya. Ngunit dahil bukas ang mike, naririnig ang kanyang tanong, “yung partner ni Barretto?”

Sabi nga ni Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, showbiz na rin pala ito.