ellen tordesillas – Page 141 – Making life worth living.

Zaldy and Bedol under WPP: a stinking package deal

Published by Ellen on July 17, 2011

Surely, Justice Secretary Lilia de Lima knows the ramifications of her willingness to consider Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao and one of the 196 persons accused in connection with the Maguindanao massacre, as state witness in a possible election fraud case against Gloria Arroyo.

“That is a new case, a totally different case and we can consider them, or whoever, it is Zaldy Ampatuan or Lintang Bedol. It would depend on the extent of their participation, “ De Lima said a day after Zaldy and former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol said in separate interviews with ABS-CBN’s Anthony Taberna where they dangled information everybody knew about cheating in the 2004 and 2007 elections. Nothing in the published reports, though, directly implicates Gloria Arroyo.

De Lima also echoed Malacañang’s assurance that Zaldy will not be considered state witness in the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre that killed at least 58 persons, 32 of them journalists. This was despite the offer of Zaldy that he was willing to turn his back on his father, Andal Ampatuan Sr, identified by witnesses as the mastermind of the gruesome murders, and his brother, Andal Jr, identified as the triggerman.

Malalim ang drama ni Zaldy Ampatuan at Bedol

Published by Ellen on July 16, 2011

bedol july 2011 — Photo from ABS-CBN online. Thanks.

Sa unang pahayag ni dating Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol tungkol sa dayaan noong 2004 at 2007 na eleksyun, bistado na kaagad ang mali ng kanyang mga detalye.

Maaring may totoo doon sa sinabi niya, ngunit mukhang hindi tama ang pagsama niya kay Comelec Commissioner Rene Sarmiento doon saan biyahe sa Gen. Santos City para mag-authenticate ng Election returns noong 2007.

Hindi natin masabi kung talagang sadya niyang guluhin ang sarili niyang pahayag o talagang sa sobrang sanay niya sa pagsisinungaling ay naghalo-halo na ang katotohanan at ang mga inimbento niya at siya mismo hindi na niya malaman kung alin ang totoo.

Ngunit kahit paano naman, may kabutihan na ring nangyari dahil ngayon gusto na ni Sen. Chiz Escudero na magkaroon ulit ng imbestigasyun ang Senado tungkol doon para malaman ng taumbayan ang buong katotohanan.

Hotdog Reunion: The Repeat

Published by Ellen on July 16, 2011

I did this story for VERA Files

Hotdog Repeat — Hotdog reunites in a repeat gig. Front row, from left: lead vocalists Joy Reyes, Maso Diez, Gina Montes and Rita Trinidad. Back, from left: Bassist Dennis Garcia, lead guitarist/vocalist Rene Garcia and drummer Jess Garcia. Front row, from left: lead vocalists Joy Reyes, Maso Diez, Gina Montes and Rita Trinidad.

Musician and advertising executive Dennis Garcia said there are five simple reasons why you should be at Dusit Thani at 8 p.m on July 26, Tuesday:

One, you will enjoy one and a half hours of fond memories;

Two, you will enjoy more hits than going to a concert of any other group – past or present;

Three, the core original members who truly molded the success of the legendary Hotdog band will be there plus Gina Montes, straight from London and Nadia Moore from Canada;

Four, maybe, this would be Hotdog’s time together on stage;

Five, you only live once.

Dennis , is one of the founders of trailblazing Pinoy pop-rock band Hotdog that delighted and have been delighting Filipinos with their exuberant music the past four decades.

Hotdog is the band behind such classics as “Pers Lab”, “Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko”, “Bongga Ka ’Day”, “Annie Batungbakal”, “Beh Buti Nga”, “Bitin Sa Iyo”, “Langit Na Naman”, “O, Lumapit Ka” and that ageless ditty beloved by homesick Filipinos,” Manila”.

SAF commandos confirm 2004 poll fraud coverup

Published by Ellen on July 15, 2011

Former Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol, in an interview with ABS-CBN’s Anthony Taberna said that investigation in the 2004 election fraud should look into the supposed ballot box-switching at the House of Representatives.

“Importante masyado iyun to find out whether or not nagkaroon nga tayo ng totoong presidente o hindi,” Bedol said. “Kasi doon, meron movement of ballot boxes. Sa tingin, ko baka switching yan. Pag switching yan, fake naman … ngayon kung mga peke ang dokumento e siguro may pekeng presidente … yan ang gusto kong patunayan.”

I’m reposting here the two-part special report on that subject I did for VERA Files on July 28 and 29, 2008.

SAF commandos confirm 2004 poll fraud coverup

(First of two parts)

When Gloria Macapagal Arroyo delivers her eighth State of the Nation Address at the Batasang Pambansa session hall today, she will be standing close to where, three years ago, police commandos say they replaced genuine election returns (ERs) with fake ones in ballot boxes that were being readied for a recount of the 2004 presidential election.

The ER switching at the Batasan had been talked about and reported on since 2005, when Arroyo apologized for talking to an election official while the votes were being counted, in what has since been known as the “Hello, Garci” scandal.

Recently, some of those who took part in that clandestine operation have sought legal refuge, executing affidavits and taped testimonies of their involvement. Others told friends in confidence, while a few boasted about it in drinking sessions.

Truth is catching up on Migs Zubiri

Published by Ellen on July 14, 2011

Never have I seen Juan Miguel Zubiri, long referred to as the senator from Maguindanao, looking so harassed than in his press briefing yesterday at the Senate to debunk the very damaging revelations of Zaldy Ampatuan, former governor of the Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao and Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol that they were both involved in the shaving of votes from senatorial candidates Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Benigno Aquino III, and Alan Peter Cayetano in favor of Zubiri in the 2007 elections.

The votes that Zubiri got in Maguindanao enabled him to edge out Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III from the number 12 slot.

That’s the reason he is in the Senate and Pimentel is left struggling it out at the Senate Electoral Tribunal which last year upheld the counter-protest of Zubiri based on what he claims were irregularities in Metro Manila which to many are nothing but dilatory tactics to wear out Pimentel and for him to complete the six-year term under a fake mandate.

Mikey unseats Ledesma as top absentee

Published by Ellen on July 14, 2011

By Wendell Vigilia Malaya Ang Galing Pinoy party-list Rep. Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo has dethroned Negros Occidental Rep. Jules Ledesma as the congressman with the…

No closure without truth about ‘Hello Garci’

Published by Ellen on July 12, 2011

I don’t know if Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano has a hidden agenda in questioning the refusal of Chairman Sixto Brillantes of the Commission on Elections to his call for revival of the investigation on the “Hello Garci” scandal but I see the merits of his proposal because all the anomalies that are now coming out can be traced to Gloria Arroyo’s original sin which was stealing the presidency.

Nothing can be more eloquent than the fiery accusation of Susan Roces, widow of Fernando Poe Jr.: “You stole the presidency not once but twice!”

All that Arroyo could say was, “I am sorry.” To this day, we don’t know what she was sorry about.

FPJ was the second victim of Arroyo’s theft of the people’s mandate. The first was Joseph Estrada, from whom Arroyo grabbed power in 2001 with the help of civil society groups that have since discovered her true colors and have become her critics.

Joint use in Spratlys: ‘What is mine is mine and what is yours, we share’

Published by Ellen on July 11, 2011

JMSU map sent by Golez — The red line is the coverage of the JMSU. The area to the right of the blue line is Philippine-claimed territory.

Retired Philippine diplomat Alberto Encomienda quipped when he delivered his paper “The South China Sea: Back to the Future through Cooperation” that with all meetings and conferences, as many as 20 in one year, being held on the South China Sea, it’s no longer “confidence building.”

We are now experiencing “conference building,” he said.

But as Winston Churchill wisely said, “To jaw-jaw always is better than to war-war.”

The organizers of last week’s Manila Conference on the South China Sea deserve congratulations for a substantial program. They got excellent speakers. Even if many of the papers presented overlapped with each other, which cannot be avoided because they revolved around one subject, they all helped in the deepening of understanding of the issue that keeps on popping up on an otherwise stable region.

China hardliners to teach Spratly intruders ‘a lesson’

Published by Ellen on July 11, 2011

(I did this story for VERA Files. It was sent to all media outlets.)

9-dash line — China's map of its claim in the South China Sea. Take note that it includes waters near the Philippines.

Hardliners in the Chinese Military Academy are raring to teach China’s neighbors “a lesson” for intruding into the South China Sea, which they consider part of their national territory, a Chinese Southeast Asian expert said.

Shen Hong-Fang, professor and senior research fellow at the Center of Southeast Asian studies at Xiamen University, spoke of “a new upsurge” of Chinese nationalism set off by claims made by some Asian countries, including the Philippines, over territory China considers its own.

“Some suggested that it is the right time to adopt necessary measures to teach some countries a lesson,” Shen said, startling participants at the two-day Conference on the South China Sea held in Manila last week.

She added there are those who think it justifiable “for China to launch a war against the invaders.”

The Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia have staked claims over some of the 160 islands that constitute the Spratlys in the South China Sea. These countries, along with Indonesia which is a non-claimant, have filed protests before the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) over the “nine-dash line map” China submitted to prove its claim.

Anong moralidad ang pinapa-iral ng simbahang Katoliko?

Published by Ellen on July 10, 2011

CBCP”s Pastoral statement: A time of pain, a time of grace (Full text is in Comments)

gma with bishops — Gloria Arroyo in good company

Ang pagtanggap ng mga Obispo ng mga sasakyan at pera galing sa Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office ay angkop sa kanilang baluktot na patakaran na okay lang tumanggap ng pera na galing sa sugal basta gagamitin lang sa pagtulong sa mga mahihirap.

Dismayado ako nang unang narinig ko itong patakaran sa yumaong Jaime Cardinal Sin. At noon, dahil mabango si Sin kay Pangulong Cory Aquino tahimik lang tayo.

Jueteng noon ang pinag-usapan. Kung okay lang tumanggap ng pera ng jueteng para itulong sa mga mahihirap, bakit natin ipahinto ang jueteng at ibang klaseng sugal?

Kung okay na tumanggap ng pera galing sa jueteng, anong masama kung galing sa pamahalaan kahit pa korap ang opisyal na nagbibigay?

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