It took him four days to say something about the worst tragedy in the history of the country’s police force and when the bodies of the fallen police officers arrived at Villamor Air Base yesterday, President Aquino was at Mitsubishi plant Sta Rosa, Laguna inspecting and enjoying the classic cars on display.
What kind of a leader do we have?
Social media was raging over Aquino’s callousness.
Last Monday, Direk Joey Reyes posted this in his Facebook wall: “Dear Janet, Now you can be at ease. There is another woman more hated than you in the Philippines.Take care.”
Janet, of course, is Janet Napoles, the pork barrel queen through whom senators and congressmen robbed billions of the people’s money.
Thinking it was Social Services Secretary Dinky Soliman, who rounded up almost 500 destitute families in Pasay and Manila and brought them away from the sight of Pope Francis and the foreign press during the Papal visit two weeks ago, I commented, “Korek, Direk.”
Mangyayari kaya dito sa Pilipinas ang nangyari kay Heather Co, ang anak ng chairman ng Korean Airlines na humingi ng tawad sa publiko sa ginawa niyang pagsuplada at pag-inarte sa sarili nilang airline?
Malabo.
Sinuspindi. Sa halip na mag-fade away na lang, sinubukan pang ipahinto ang suspension.
Ang Pangulong Aquino naman, na binabandera ang kanyang “Tuwid na Daan”, depensa ng depensa kay Purisima. Kahit na nasuspindi na, pinipilit pa rin na pumirma lang naman daw si Purisima. Baka nalusutan lang daw.
“Nilalagay ko ang sarili ko sa lugar niya? Usisain ko ba lahat na papeles na dumadaan sa agin para pirmahan?” sabi ni Aquino.
While we are riveted to the splendor of Hacienda Binay’s Kew Gardens and air-conditioned piggery, let us not forget Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima and his questionable acts as a public official.
Talking with reporters in Indonesia, Aquino said, “Natuwa ako noong sinama niya lahat sa bahay niya sa Nueva Ecija. Iyon, gawain ng tao na hindi nagtatago.”
What kind of logic is that? Allowing media to see his vacation villa in a 4.5 hectare property in Nueva Ecija does not answer the questions of how he acquired it at a cheap price and how he was able to build a nice four-bedroom vacation house complete with swimming pool, gazebo and a nipa hut out of his salary as a police officer.
It is PR.
The incident involving car model Alyzza Agustin and Police Chief Superintendent Alexander Ignacio is one example of something good coming out of a stupid act.
God works in mysterious ways indeed.
Last Sept. 28, Agustin, who apparently enjoys social media but does not comprehend it’s power and perils proudly posted in her Facebook and Instagram accounts that she was able to get away violating the number coding traffic scheme in Metro Manila by using a calling card Ignacio gave her.
She bragged: “Nahuli na naman ako dahil coding but because of you Boss Alex wala ng huli-huli. Thank you so much sa napaka-useful mong card with matching dedication pa.”
While in New York last week, Aquino described the PNP Chief as ““not capricious.” Back in Manila after information about the luxurious Nueva Ecija vacation house with an attic on a 4.5 hectare property with a separate pavilion, separate four- car garage with quarters, a 7.5m x 15m pool, Aquino maintains the line that criticisms against his administration are really meant to block reforms that he is instituting.
It should be recalled that in order to install Purisima as PNP chief before the 2013 elections, then PNP Chief Nicanor Bartolome was forced to retire three months before his retirement age of 56.
We wish these three reports were April Fools Day jokes:
In its April 1 entry titled “Silly blog concedes writes 30”, the media watchdog wrote, “There’s no going around it, beating around the bush, and running in circles. With bitterness, sadness, and deep regret, we have decided to shut down The Spin Busters. For good.”
Except for the fact that the persons behind the witty blog were anonymous (and therefore deliberately avoiding accountability) I like their scathing criticisms of media.
I will miss it.
By Rem Zamora of ABS-CBN.com
This is from Rem’s touching account of the circumstances behind that photo of PO1 Joselito Sevilla, the cop who cried in the midst of a rally dispersal yesterday:
It was a long and tiring dispersal. People were injured. But amidst all of this, I saw a scenario which I thought I will never see during a dispersal….
Suddenly the officer cried. The foreigner kept on shouting at this officer. He was still crying. He was trying to hold his tears but he can’t.
A second round of dispersal erupted and while every other anti-riot policemen are pushing and shoving trying to remove the protesters from the ground, the crying cop simply stood ground. He was still holding his shield firmly. Still weeping. Sobbing.
By Ace Esmeralda,VERA Files
As of this writing, the Mandaluyong police have claimed to have “identified” two of the six suspects in the robbery. But in reality, they don’t have the two suspects’ names and addresses yet. What they have are cartographic sketches that matched the images captured by the CCTV and confirmed by the sales ladies of The Jeweler and F&C Jewelry stores. Ironically, the police were quick to tag the Martilyo (Hammer) Gang as suspects without knowing that pipe wrenches were used to smash the glass displays and that they haven’t identified by name and other personal details any of the robbers.
How did it happen?
At around 6:56 p.m. of that Saturday, the first of the six suspects entered the mall thru a supermarket entrance where the security guards on duty were performing their mandatory and required bag check and frisking. Five others were seen thru CCTV review to have entered the same door, seconds apart each other.
Their being armed is supposed to protect citizens from lawless elements. It goes without saying that they should have a high value for life and respect for human rights.
That’s why we hope and pray that Police Supt. Hansel Marantan is an exception in the police force.
Consider his notorious record:
On Nov. 7, 2005, operatives of the national police Traffic Management Group killed Francis Xavier Manzano, Anton Cu-Unjieng and Brian Anthony Dulay while inside a maroon Nissan Exalta at the Ortigas Business District in Pasig City.
Police said they were suspected members of the Valle Verde car theft gang and that they were under surveillance for sometime before that fateful day when they were stopped at a checkpoint. Police said the three opened fire at them.
Their claim would have passed if not for UNTV crew who happened to be there and took video of what turned out to be cold-blooded murder.