ellen tordesillas – Page 137 – Making life worth living.

Paano isulong ni Brillantes ang reporma sa Comelec?

Published by Ellen on September 10, 2011

Comelec commissioners integrity — COMELEC Chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. hands over the COMELEC’s Integrity Pledge to Makati Business Club (MBC) Chairman Ramon del Rosario Jr. Also present in the photo are representatives of the MBC and the European Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (ECCP) and COMELEC Commissioners Lucenito Tagle, Christian Robert Lim and Augusto Lagman.

Ang isang malaking kasalanan ni Gloria Arroyo sa sambayanang Pilipino ay ang pagsira ng mga institusyon pangdemokrasya para lamang manatili siya sa kapangyarihan.

Sinira niya ang military nang ginamit niya ito para mandaya para sa kanya noong 2004 na eleksyun. Sinira niya ang institusyon ng hustisya sa pamamagitan ng paglagay ng mga taong kulang sa integridad basta lang susunod sa gusto niya.

Sinira niya ang Comelec sa paggamit niya para mandaya sa kanya.

Ang mandato ng Comelec ay ang siguraduhin na magkaroon ng maayos, malinis, at kapani-paniwala na eleksyun na magpapalabas ng kagustuhan ng taumbayan. Ang eleksyun ay isang mahalagang elemento ng demokrasya. Ang eleksyun ang nagbibigay buhay sa sinabi ni Abraham Lincoln, dating president ng Estados Unidos, na ang demokrasya ay “pamahalaan ng taumbayan, na pinapamahalaan ng taumbayan, para sa taumbayan.”

Comelec chief accused of unethical behavior

Published by Ellen on September 8, 2011

I did the following article for VERA Files. It’s also in the Manila Times, TV5’s Interaksyon, and Yahoo.

The displaced director of the Commission on Elections’ Law Department has accused Chairman Sixto S. Brillantes Jr. of unethical behavior for allegedly requesting him to help absolve two Comelec officials ordered suspended by the Office of the Ombudsman for approving the P690 million contract to purchase ballot secrecy folders for the 2010 elections.

Lawyer Ferdinand Rafanan, who served as head of the Comelec Law Department for three years until he was relieved on Aug. 15, said Brillantes had asked him pointblank to talk to the Ombudsman’s spokesman on how to clear Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) members Maria Lea Alarkon and Allen Abaya of charges of “simple neglect of duty, simple misconduct and conduct prejudicial to the best interest of the service.”

The irony is, it was Rafanan who had investigated the transaction and concluded an overprice.

Former chief justice rates a leak in WikiLeaks

Published by Ellen on September 8, 2011

I love Wikileaks.

It unmasks the two-faced. It reveals the double-life of many of the officials that we respect.

Take this one from Paul Jones, who served deputy chief of mission of the US Embassy in Manila. His cable in Sept. 2006 indicated that former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban was the protector of Filipino-Chinese businessman Mariano Nocom, whose malls were said to have been selling pirated goods.

Piracy undermines legitimate business and deprives the government of revenues.

The cable was about the demotion of Judge Antonio Eugenio who was handling intellectual property rights (IPR) cases.

Chance for Mikey Arroyo to do something good

Published by Ellen on September 6, 2011

Update:Out of fear, security guard won’t pursue charges vs solon

muhammad hussein pangandaman — Power-tripping Pangandaman

A constituent of Rep. Mikey Arroyo of Ang Galing Pinoy partylist, supposedly representing security guards and tricycle drivers, was mauled by his fellow member of the House of Representatives.

The blotter report from the Quezon City Police District Detachment 9 in Anonas, Quezon City has this entry:

“Aug 31 935pm: This time and date SG Ricardo Bonayog y Gate 33 years old SG of Eagle Watch posted at Ayala Technohub UP Campus Diliman Quezon City appeared personally before this stn and requested to be placed on records to wit. That at 430pm Aug 31 2011 while he was performing his duty one Porsche Carrera colored silver was with plate number 8 appeared with the company of one Innova Red PCI 150 allegedly on said TDPO the occupant of the Porsche Carrera approached him and with reasons of his own got irked then boxed him several times causing him to fell on the ground in the presence of some witness.”

Fascinating assessments from US Embassy, Manila

Published by Ellen on September 4, 2011

Kristie kenney wd esperon — Kenney with the Hermogenes she admires

I’m fascinated by the Wikileaks releases of the cables from the US Embassy in Manila.

The latest I’ve read was then ambassador Kristie Kenney’s assessment of Hermogenes Ebdane, Jr. as the defense secretary written in March 2007. It was one insult after another.

It said, “Tongue-tied and reticent, Defense Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane stands in stark contrast to his articulate and sophisticated predecessor, Avelino “Nonong” Cruz. “

It continued: “Ebdane was far from the best choice President Arroyo could have made to succeed former Secretary Cruz. He is clearly no intellect, but a through-and-through loyalist, a quality that the president, who only a year ago faced down a coup attempt, treasures. “

Wikileaks:Ramos got P5M campaign contribution from Gaddafy

Published by Ellen on September 2, 2011

Fidel Ramos2 — Got illegal foreign election contribution?

Former Libyan strongman Moammar Gaddafy contributed P5 million to the campaign of former President Ramos in 1992, according to a US Embassy report exposed by Wikileaks.

The Omnibus Election Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa 881) prohibits accepting contribution from foreigners.

The US Embassy report, written by then Deputy Chief of Mission Raymond Burghardt, quoted extensively a conversation with Joel de los Santos, who served as consultant to the Ramos administration.

“It was a well-kept secret, according to De Los Santos, that Ramos had received five million pesos (about dols 200,000) From the libyans to finance his presidential campaign in 1992,” the US Embassy cable said.

Dapat may panagutan si De Castro sa anomalya sa Pag-ibig

Published by Ellen on August 31, 2011

Tama naman si Sen. Serge Osmeña na imposible naman na mangyari ang multi-bilyon na anomaly sa Pag-ibig na walang pananagutan si dating Bise-presidente Noli de Castro , ang hepe ng Home Development Mutual Fund nang administrasyon ni Gloria Arroyo.

Vice president and concurrent chair of the Housing Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) Jejomar Binay said there’s no evidence that would link his predecessor former vice president Noli de Castro to the multibillion-peso anomalies at the Home Development Mutual Fund, also known as Pag-Ibig Fund, involving a housing firm.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/50625/binay-no-evidence-vs-de-castro

Sabi ni Osmeña, “Totoo, walang nagsabi na binayaran niya si Noli ngunit hindi naman siguro mangyari ang ganung anomalya na walang kalokohan sa itaas. Siya ang chairman ay may responsibilidad siya.”

Ito ang kaso ng Globe Asiatique na pag-aari ni Delfin Lee na ayon sa imbestigasyon ay umutang sa HDMF (Pag-ibig) ng P6.6 bilyon para daw ipatayo ng 9,000 na mga bahay para sa mga miyembro ng Pag-ibig. Ang kanilang proyekto na ang pangalan ay Xevera ay nasa Bacolor at Mabalacat, Pampanga.

Lee didn’t make it as envoy to China

Published by Ellen on August 28, 2011

domingo lee photo — Going to China but not as ambassador yet

The Commission on Appointments was not able to take up the nomination of Domingo Lee as ambassador to China in its hearing last Wednesday so he won’t be able to assume the post in time for the visit of President Aquino starting tomorrow up to Sept. 2.

To justify Lee’s inclusion in the official delegation, President Aquino appointed him “presidential adviser for the China visit.”

We are sure the Chinese will perfectly understand.

The next CA meeting will be on Sept. 7. If any member of the CA invokes Sec. 20 (Suspension of action by the Commission on any nomination), Lee would have to wait for the November hearing for him to take on his much-coveted post which he got with a lot of help from presidential brother-in-law Eldon Cruz.

That should give him time to make his assets and income tax payments jibe because we heard a CA member noticed the big discrepancy and would like to ask him about it.

Sana magkaroon ng katuturan ang pagpalaya sa Alabang Boys

Published by Ellen on August 28, 2011

Santiago and Marcelino: a good team at PDEA

Maayos naman ang mga reaksyun ng dating hepe ng Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency na si Dionisio Santiago at ni Marine Major Ferdinand Marcelino ng dating hepe ng PDEA Special Enforcement Service sa pagpawalang sala sa dalawa sa tatlong akusado sa grupong tinagurian ng media na “Alabang Boys.”

Pinalaya na sina Jorge Joseph at Richard Brodett , kabilang sa mga mayayaman na pamilya,pagkatapos ma- absuwelto ng Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Judge Juanita Guerrero ng paglabag ng Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act ng 2002.

Maala-ala na nahuli sila sa isang buy-bust operation na nagbe-benta ng shabu sa ahente ng PDEA noong Septyembre 20, 2008 sa Ayala Alabang, tirahang eksklusibo para sa mga mayayaman. Ang isa pa nilang kasama na si Joseph Tecson ay nahuli sa magkaibang operasyun sa Quezon City. Naghihintay na rin ng desisyun ng korte si Tecson.

‘Alabang Boys’ acquitted on technicality

Published by Ellen on August 26, 2011

Joseph and Brodett — Jorge Joseph and Richard Brodett. Photo from the Inquirer

By Marlon Ramos, Miko Morelos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

A “glaring blunder” in the handling of evidence has led to the acquittal of two of the so-called “Alabang Boys” arrested in 2008 for the alleged possession and sale of 60 “ecstasy” tablets.

“That (breach) in the chain of custody of evidence became a fatal flaw,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said Friday after a Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court judge dismissed the charges against Richard Brodett and Jorge Joseph, citing the prosecution’s failure to prove guilt beyond reasonable doubt.

Relatives of the two young men gave out a whoops of relief and joy after the court handed down the verdict, ending a two-year, 11-month legal battle marked by charges of bribery and the intervention at one point of then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

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