ellen tordesillas – Page 273 – Making life worth living.

US President Barack Obama’s inaugural speech

Published by Ellen on January 20, 2009

(Photo from MSNBC)

Fellow citizens:

I stand here today humbled by the task before us, grateful for the trust you have bestowed, mindful of the sacrifices borne by our ancestors. I thank President Bush for his service to our nation, as well as the generosity and cooperation he has shown throughout this transition.

Forty-four Americans have now taken the presidential oath. The words have been spoken during rising tides of prosperity and the still waters of peace. Yet, every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms. At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because we the people have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears, and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans.

IBP to SC: suspend Gonzalez for misconduct

Published by Ellen on January 20, 2009

Update from Malaya: Comelec pins down Gonzalez

See story in comments.

Case was his 2007 elections offer of P10,000 for 12-0 win of administration senatorial candidates

by Evangeline de Vera

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has recommended the suspension of Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez for obstruction of electoral processes.

In a one-page notice, the IBP Commission on Bar Discipline through its national secretary Tomas Prado took note of the Board of Governors’ Resolution dated Nov. 20, 2008 that “resolved to reverse… the Report and Recommendation of the Investigating Commissioner and approve the suspension from the practice of law for one year of Gonzalez for his reprehensible conduct of openly and publicly offering P10,000 to any barrio captain in his area (Iloilo) of political influence who can give a 12-0 vote in favor of President Arroyo’s senatorial candidates and taking into consideration his previous professional misconduct.”

As mandated, the IBP through the Commission on Bar Discipline acted as prosecutor in the complaint that investigated the case for finding of probable cause.

The Marine who said “No”

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By Ellen Tordesillas
VERA Files

The soldier who stirred a hornet’s nest by accusing Department of Justice officials of bribery in the so-called “Alabang Boys” case could have been a millionaire by now.

Marine Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino, chief of the Special Enforcement Service of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, has experienced being bribed by smugglers, politicians and drug dealers in his 14-year career as a military officer.

But Marcelino, who belongs to the Philippine Military Academy Class of 1994, said he has made it a point to give back the thick envelopes stuffed with cash, and was not even curious enough to count the money and see how much he is worth.

Interagency feud weakens anti-drug campaign

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By VERA Files

(Conclusion)

Last Jan. 13, President Arroyo proclaimed herself the country’s anti-drug czar, stepping into the feud between the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency and the Department of Justice over the “Alabang Boys,” the three young men arrested and detained for illegal drug pushing and who allegedly tried to bribe their way to freedom.

Except for ordering DOJ officials and prosecutors to go on leave, Arroyo has kept mum on the charges of bribery, inefficiency and conflicts of interest that were exchanged between prosecutors and antinarcotics officials and agents. Her move has resulted in an uneasy peace between warring agencies that are supposed to work closely together in the anti-drug effort.

“The anti-drug campaign requires a united front, a harmonious relationship with other agencies,” a senior police official said. But he lamented that the attacks on both the PDEA and DOJ have “destroyed institution(s), including those who are innocent.”

Law enforcers say there has been a long running feud, with antinarcotics agents frustrated at the frequency with which prosecutors drop charges against suspects, and prosecutors complaining that law enforcers fail to build cases strong enough to stand up in court. Judges have also been accused of acquitting known drug lords.

As “shabu” price rises, Ecstasy use up

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

By VERA Files

(First of two parts)

The trade in crystal methamphetamine hydrochloride or “shabu” in the Philippines has grown into a P1 billion-a-day industry, but the drug has now become more expensive, making it “the poor man’s cocaine no more,” antinarcotics officials and international drug reports said.

The price of shabu has doubled to between P8,000 and P10,000 per gram since law enforcers dismantled several “mega-laboratories” in 2006 and 2007.

But government successes in curbing shabu production have been offset by another problem: Users are now turning to the amphetamine-type stimulant Ecstasy, which sells for P750 to P800 per tablet, and cocaine, which sells for P2,500 per gram, the kinds of drugs that were seized from “Alabang Boys” Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Ramirez Tecson by agents of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in a drug-bust operation last September.

Si Obama sa buhay ng mga Pilipino

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

Excited ngayon ang mga Amerikano para sa inauguration ni Barack Obama bilang 44th na presidente ng United States of America.

Live mamayang hatinggabi o baka abutin na ng ala-una ng umaga ang Obama inauguration.Makasaysayan ang pagka-presidente ni Obama. Siya ang unang itim na presidente ng America kung saan maraming dekada ang nakaraan, hindi makaboto ang mga itim. Hindi nga sila makakain sa restaurant na kinakainan ng mga puti. Kahit sa pag-ihi, hindi sila maaring gumamit ng palikuran na gamit rin ng mga puti.

Kung isipin mo ang sitwasyon ng mga itim noong unang panahon, talagang hindi kapani-paniwala na ang manunumpa ngayon ay isang batang itim na presidente. Talagang makasaysayan ang araw na ito para sa Amerika.

NBI clears prosecutors, says Marcelino obstructed probe

Published by Ellen on January 19, 2009

Related story: Arroyo gags PDEA regional official

by Evangeline de Vera
Malaya

The National Bureau of Investigation has submitted its report to the Department of Justice clearing state prosecutors implicated in the bribery scandal involving the so-called “Alabang Boys.”

But the NBI, which is under the justice department, found basis to charge Marines Maj. Ferdinand Marcelino with obstruction of justice for refusing to appear before its investigators.

Marcelino, head of the Special Enforcement Services of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency, led buy-bust operations in September last year, which resulted in the arrest of Richard Brodett, Joseph Tecson and Jorge Joseph.

Not signing on for Puno-for-president

Published by Ellen on January 18, 2009

I’m wary about calls for Chief Justice Reynato Puno to run for president in 2010.

I share the suspicion of Sen. Kiko Pangilinan that “the Arroyo government is quietly encouraging the moves to draft Puno” for president.

Sen. Ping Lacson has endorsed Puno for president saying that he is willing to subordinate his own presidential ambitions to the chief justice. Nilo Tayag, student- activist-turned- religious- preacher has launched a Puno-for-president movement.

Paghahanap ng bayani

Published by Ellen on January 17, 2009

Paborito ko ang eksena sa stage play na “Galileo” na sinulat ng German playwright na si Bertolt Brecht kung saan sinabi ng isang dismayadong karakter (pangalan ay Andrea), “Kawawa naman ang bayan na walang bayani.”

Sagot ni Galileo, “Hindi Andrea, kawawa ang bayan na nangangailangan ng bayani.”

Totoo yun. Ang bayani ay lumalabas sa pakikipaglaban para masugpo ang katiwalian, ang pagmamalabis ng nasa kapangyarihan, at para magkaroon ng hustisya.

Miracle on the Hudson

Published by Ellen on January 17, 2009

I find this amazing.Landing on the wings of prayers.

Photo by Reuters

Fron New York Times: In a split second, a pilot becomes a hero.

From Newsday:

They all got out alive.

The 155 passengers and crew aboard US Airways Flight 1549 scrambled to safety yesterday after the jet’s pilot coolly landed the aircraft in the frigid waters of the Hudson River and a fleet of ferry boats helped pluck the passengers off the wings, where they stood waiting.

Just three minutes after taking off from LaGuardia at 3:24 p.m. and bound for Charlotte, N.C., pilot Chesley Sullenberger radioed the tower that both engines on the twin-engine Airbus A320 had shut down after it apparently flew into a flock of geese. At 3:31 p.m., the pilot landed the craft in the Hudson, avoiding Manhattan’s crowded west side.

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