Marami ang nagulat sa pormal na deklarasyon ni Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay bilang kandidato sa pagka-presidente.
Okay ang timing. Idinikit pa ng kanyang mga promoters sa panalo ni Barack Obama sa pagka-presidente sa Amerika.
Sinakyan nila ang biro na kung may Barack Obama ang Amerika, ang una-unang itim (African-American) na presidente, mgkakaroon din ang Pilipinas. Little black president pa.
In many of the exhortations to former Agriculture Secretary Jocelyn “Joc-joc” Bolante to tell the truth about the P728 million fertilizer scam, he is always reminded of the Rotary’s four way test: Is it the truth? Is it fair to all concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendships? Will it be beneficial to all concerned?
Many Rotarians are dismayed that the name of the prestigious organization has been dragged into this Bolante mess. As director of Rotary International, Bolante had used his official Rotary duties in evading Senate arrest.
Napadalas yata ang biyahe ni Gloria Arroyo sa Amerika, ah.
Noong Septiembre nandoon din siya kahit na katakot-takot na batikos ang nakuha niya sa biyahe niya doon noong Hunyo sa gitna ng bagyong “Frank”.
Kagabi umalis na naman siya papuntang New York para raw dumalo sa Interfaith conference. Nakahanap lang siya ng rason para pumunta ulit sa Amerika.
I think Col. Feliciano Loy’s tantrum near the end of last Friday’s court martial hearing of the mutiny case against Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda and 27 other officers was more panic than anything else as reality dawned on him that what he has is a losing case.
“We believe that the prosecution has been trapped, We will have to withdraw from the pre-trial,” he said eliciting surprise, disgust, anger and amusement from the defense lawyers.
Col. Loy is the head of the prosecution team implementing the order of former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon to have the 28 officers convicted for allegedly planning to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006 following the revelations in the “Hello Garci” tapes that she cheated in the 2004 elections.
The head of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) rejected over the weekend Malacañang’s call for a political ceasefire, once again stressing that the issue was about corruption.
CBCP president and Jaro archbishop Angel Lagdameo said the call for a change in government that he and four other bishops made is not for political but for moral change.
“Kung ang ating sinasabi ay pagpuna sa mga maling gawain, hindi lang naman yan sa government kundi sa lahat na pati sa lahat ng antas or level ng ating society. Sapagkat ang corruption ay hindi lang naman nasa gobyerno kundi maging sa iba’t-ibang antas ng ating society,” Lagdameo said over Church-run Radio Veritas.
Ito ang nasabi ng abogadong si Harry Roque nang malaman niya na ibinasura ng Ombudsman ang kasong isinampa ni Marlene Esperat laban kina Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap, dating Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, sa salang ilegal na paggamit ng pondo ng bayan.
Ito ang kasong kaugnay sa P728 milyon para sa abono ng mahihirap na magsasaka na ginamit para pambili ng boto para kay Gloria Arroyo noong eleksyon ng 2004.
Ang resolusyon ay inaprubahan ni Overall Deputy Ombudsman Orlando Casimiro at Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus Jr base sa rekomendasyon ni Director Elvira Chua ng Preliminary Investigation, Administrative Adjudication and Monitoring Bureau ng Ombudsman.
Siyempre lahat yun aprubado ni Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez na kaklase at matalik na kaibigan ni Mike Arroyo.
Ratified.org, one of the leading blog ranking sites in the Philippine blogosphere, recently released the list of the Philippines Top 100 Blogs of 2008. The said list contains the top blogs that has had the most growth during the year of 2008 based on their Ratified statistics.
Here is the top 100 list:
There are two parts in this report. The first one focused on the top fifty blogs where we have established some base data at the start of this year. We wrote to the bloggers that made it to the first part of the list for further information, asking them to share the story behind their growth, and be featured here. Here are some of them.
1. Jehzlau Concepts (http://www.jehzlau-concepts.com)
2. Selaplana (http://www.selaplana.com)
3. Pinoy R.N (http://filipinonurse.blogspot.com)
4. Gio’s WeBlog (http://www.isulongseophil.com)
5. Yugatech (http://www.yugatech.com/blog)
6. Macuha (http://www.macuha.com)
7. Our Awesome Planet (http://www.ourawesomeplanet.com)
8. EntrePinoys Atbp. (http://www.mixph.com)
9. PinoyBlogoSphere (http://www.pinoyblogosphere.com)
10. Ellen Tordesillas (http://www.ellentordesillas.com)
11. Blog ni Inday (http://www.blogniinday.com)
12. Make Money Online with a 13 Year Old (http://www.carlocab.com)
13. The Filipino Entrepreneur (http://www.thefilipinoentrepreneur.com)
14. Tech At Hand (http://www.techathand.net)
15. Philippine Travel Blog (http://www.pinoytravelblog.com)
16. Julia Aquino (http://julia-aquino.blogspot.com)
17. PinoyBlogero (http://www.pinoyblogero.com)
18. Bakla Ako, May Reklamo? (http://www.baklaako.com)
19. FruityOaty (http://www.fruityoaty.com)
20. 5ThirthyOne (http://www.5thirtyone.com)
Related article in Verafiles : Coverup, whitewash seen in Bolante case
by Johanna Camille Sisante
GMANews.TV
The Office of the Ombudsman on Friday junked the 2004 case filed by slain journalist Marlene Esperat against Agriculture Sec. Arthur Yap, former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc-Joc” Bolante, and other officials over the illegal use of public funds.
In a telephone interview with GMANews.TV, Anna Sanchez – media officer of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez – confirmed the ruling on Esperat’s complaint but did not disclose any further details, saying a press conference will be held Monday regarding the resolution.
Lawyer Harry Roque, who has made it a personal crusade to find truth and justice in the fertilizer scam, said: “I hope that Merceditas Gutierrez can explain that to the children of Marlene Esperat who all witnessed her gruesome murder.
The prosecution in the court martial trial of 28 officers accused of mutiny in February 2006 said they were “trapped” into giving out their evidence which were “hypothetically” accepted by the defense as true. The defense is going to use the prosecution’s evidence as basis to ask the court to dismiss the case because they cannot sustain the charge of mutiny.
More of this in my column Monday.
Malaya’s report:
Mutiny lawyer to file motion to dismiss
by Victor Reyes
The defense panel in the court martial of 28 Army and Marine officers linked to the alleged attempt to overthrow the Arroyo government in 2004 yesterday renewed its bid for the military tribunal to dismiss the mutiny charges against the accused.
Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya went to see Archbishop Angel Lagdameo Tuesday night, a week after the latter called for the people to prepare for a “new government now.” Andaya told reporters that they have forged a “partnership” with the CBCP. Lagdameo denies it.
Archbishop Angel Lagdameo yesterday said the Church has not agreed to forge a “partnership” with the government in monitoring the implementation of projects and programs as part of efforts to prevent corruption.
What was discussed with government officials, led by Budget Secretary Rolando Andaya, Tuesday night was that the Church would be given a list of ongoing projects, said Lagdameo, president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines.