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Military takeover

Published by Ellen on March 20, 2010

Now, they are trying to quell the fires they ignited. Related links:

AFP denies Malacañang’s military takeover claim.
Bangit and Versoza meet
Malacañang flirts with military revolt

Malacañang sees military takeover if election fails

Heto na naman tayo. Papalutang na naman ng lagim si Gloria Arroyo.

Testing the waters. Tinitingnan nila ang reaksyun ng mga tao para malaman kung paano nila ipatupad ang kanilang maitim na balak.

Noong Biyernes, sinabi Undersecretary Charito Planas,deputy presidential spokesperson na posibleng magkaroon ng military takeover kung magkaroon ng total na failure of elections sa Mayo.

Ito ang sinabi ni Planas: “It is possible that the military might take over. That is possible … Military juntas have taken over in several countries, especially in Southeast Asia.”

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Legalizing the illegal

Published by Ellen on March 18, 2010

This is what is disturbing about the Supreme Court decision allowing Gloria Arroyo to make a midnight appointment to succeed Chief Justice Reynato Puno: Arroyo can do anything illegal to stay in power beyond June 2010 and the Supreme Court will give it a mantle of legality.

Supreme court rally2
Photo by Mario Ignacio for VERA Files

This is the scenario that we are looking: There will be partial failure of election. Only in the national level. That means no president, vice president and senators would be proclaimed by June 30, 2010.

Since the term of incumbent Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile will end on June 30, there will be no Senate President, who is third in the Constitutional order of succession. (There have been calls for Enrile to do the patriotic act of resigning as senate president so that someone whose term will end in 2013 could be elected senate president but he has refused.)
Meanwhile, there would be proclamation of winners in the local posts including members of the House of Representatives.

There have been reports of Gloria Arroyo subsidizing the campaign of a huge number of congressmen to make sure that she gets elected as speaker.

The speaker of the House is fourth in the line of succession.

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Lalong sira na ang Korte Suprema

Published by Ellen on March 17, 2010

Wala na. Sira na talaga itong Korte Suprema.

Kahapon, nagdesisyun sila na maari daw mag-appoint si Gloria Arroyo ng kapalit ni Chief Justice Reynato Puno na magre-retiro sa Mayo 17.

Siyempre, sigurado yan i-appoint ni Arroyo ang kanyang paboritong Supreme Court justice na si Renato Corona. Kaya sigurado yan, kahit wala na sa Malacañang si Arroyo, protektado siya sa mga kaso niya.

Nandiyan si Merceditas Gutierrez na protektor ni Arroyo at ng kanyang pamilya sa Ombudsman. Ngayon nandyan si Corona ang magiging hepe ng Korte Suprema. Ayos ang sambayanang Pilipino.

Tandaan nyo itong siyam na mga pangalan ng Supreme Court justices na kasama sa pagbabastos ng demokrasya at ng taumbayan: Roberto Abad, Lucas Bersamin,Arturo Brion, Teresita De Castro,Mariano Del Castillo, Jose Mendoza, ,Diosdado Peralta, Jose Perez,at Martin Villarama Jr.

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SC: Arroyo can appoint new chief justice

Published by Ellen on March 17, 2010

Click to this link for the decision: http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/2010/march2010/191002.htm

With breaking News from ABS-CBN online:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday gave President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo a go signal to appoint the replacement of retiring Chief Justice Reynato Puno.

A radio dzMM report said that SC magistrates ruled that President Arroyo can appoint any vacant positions in the judiciary until her term ends in June 30. The decision came after an hour of closed door deliberations by the Court en banc.

The voting:

Nine justices said ‘yes” (Roberto Abad, Lucas Bersamin,Arturo Brion, Teresita De Castro,Mariano Del Castillo, Jose Mendoza, ,Diosdado Peralta, Jose Perez,and Martin Villarama Jr,)

One dissented (Conchita J Carpio-Morales);

Three inhibited (Chief Justice Reynato Puno, Antonio Carpio, Renato Corona);

Two said case is premature as there is no justiciable controversy (Presbitero Velasco and Antonio Eduardo Nachura).

The justices also ordered the Judicial Bar and Council to submit to President Arroyo its shortlist of possible nominees for Chief Justice. Puno, the incumbent Chief Justice, is retiring on May 17.

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Confused national identity

Published by Ellen on March 16, 2010

In a way, I’m glad that deviation from the original composition in the singing of the Philippine national anthem is causing controversy.

That means that people still care very much about our national anthem, which is one of our patriotic symbols.

The latest in the “Lupang Hinirang” controversy is the version of much- admired Arnel Pineda (of the international band “The Journey”) sang last Sunday at the Pacquiao-Clottey fight at the Dallas Cowboys stadium in Texas.

I only caught up with Arnel’s performance in Monday’s evening news reports (I don’t watch boxing fights) but here’s the comment of the musically-inclined journalist Inday Espina-Varona in her Facebook wall: “The first two notes of Arnel’s Lupang Hinirang had us betting he wouldn’t hit the high notes. He was fine with the first high notes, sang the anthem straight and pure, and then he had to do the runs… ayan, sablay.”

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