ellen tordesillas – Page 289 – Making life worth living.

More pabulum from Gloria

Published by Ellen on October 1, 2008

The local markets are in turmoil as the US financial crisis spreads. Investors, lenders and borrowers need information. They are desperately seeking assurance from anybody in government credible enough to be believable.

What they are getting instead is more of the pabulum that Gloria Arroyo dished out to businessmen during the economic briefing she and her Cabinet conducted before she went to the United States purportedly to gather a deeper insight into the crisis and, consequently, come up with measures that would minimize damage to the local economy.

Here’s Gloria’s take direct from Samar: To insulate the Philippines from the effects of the US crisis, the government will focus on easing inflationary pressures, providing safety nets, creating jobs, generating revenues and strengthening the banking system.

Standing up to Gloria

Published by Ellen on September 30, 2008

Gloria Arroyo is used to having her way with the Malacañang Press Corps that she thinks she can impose the same control with all members of media, even the foreign media.

A week ago, Malacañang invited members of the Foreign Correspondents of the Philippines to an exclusive press conference in Malacañang on October 2, at 11 a.m. More than 50 Focap members signed on for the Arroyo’s first presscon in more than a year.

Last Monday, Press Undersecretary Martin Crisostomo notified Focap that it was “all systems go for the October 2 press briefing with PGMA.”

However, he set a condition: “The President will NOT entertain political questions, but will answer other questions, including those specifically pertaining to the economy and how the current US financial crisis is affecting the Philippines and other Asian countries.”

Nabuhayan ng pag-asa

Published by Ellen on September 29, 2008

Kung kailan parang wala na tayong maasahan na hustisya sa ating mga korte dumating itong desisyon ng 7th division ng Court of Appeals na laban sa petisyon ni Mike Arroyo na i-dismiss ang kaso ng mga journalist na kanyang pinirwisyo sa pamamagitan ng pag-file ng libel suits kaliwa’t-kanan.

Mabuti naman. Parang sinag ng araw pagkatapos ng madilim na ulap. Sana tuluy-tuluy na.

Noong isang buwan, nagmistulang bulag at bingi ang Court of Appeals sa kanilang desisyon ng idinismis ang petisyon ni NBN/ZTE star witness Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada laban sa mga tauhan ng Philippine National Police na nagtangkang kumidnap sa kanya sa airport nang dumating siya galing Hongkong.Pagkatapos lumabas ang eskandalo tungkol sa Meralco at GSIS, hindi nakapagtataka ang ganoong desisyon.

Mike’s bid to dismiss journalists’ complaint nixed

Published by Ellen on September 29, 2008

Click here for copy of CA decision

ABS-CBN Online report

by Evangeline de Vera
Malaya

Journalists who filed a P12.5 million damage suit in December 2006 against Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo won Round 2 after the Court of Appeals denied Arroyo’s petition to stop, for lack of merit, the Makati RTC from admitting the amended complaint after complainants failed to pay the correct docket fees.

The CA’s Seventh Division lifted the writ of preliminary injunction it earlier issued and remanded the case to the Makati RTC, which was ordered to “conduct further proceedings with dispatch.”

Harry Roque, counsel for over 40 media practitioners who joined the class suit, said: “This is the beginning of the end of impunity. Those who will use libel as a tool to infringe on freedom of the press, beware. Democracy has fought back and democracy won.”

Breastfeeding gets a boost

Published by Ellen on September 29, 2008

Once again something good is coming out of a bad thing.

The upside in this tainted-milk-from-China disaster is that women are realizing the merits of breastfeeding.

This is good because breastfeeding was becoming a vanishing practice here in the Philippines. In a forum last year, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said studies show that less and less Filipino mothers are breastfeeding because of the power of false, malicious claims being peddled by multinational milk companies.

Kasakiman

Published by Ellen on September 27, 2008

Kung titingnan natin ang dahilan ng financial crisis sa Amerika at ang eskandalo sa nakakalason na gatas sa China na yumayanig ngayon sa buong mundo, ang puno’t dulo ay kasakiman. Ang walang kabusugan na pagnanasa ng ilang tao sa pera.

Hindi ko masyado alam ang pasikot-sikot sa mga bagay na financial (kaya hindi talaga ako yayaman) ngunit ang pagka-intindi ko sa nangyari sa Amerika ay ang malalaking mga investment firms katulad ng Lehman Brothers ay pera sa mga sinasabi nilang “subprimes” o mga negosyo na hindi masyadong establisado ngunit malaki ang tubo. Yan ang magic word: malaki ang tubo.

Dito sa mundo, lahat may kapalit. Kung gusto mo sigurado, wala masyadong risk, maliit lang ang tubo. Kung gusto mo malaking tubo sa maigsing panahon, sumali ka sa mahilig sumugal. Kapag tsumamba, jackpot. Kapag minalas naman, bagsak. Ganun ang nangyari ngayon sa Amerika.

Don’t buy these milk products

Published by Ellen on September 26, 2008

BFAD net yields a mixed catch
by Gerard Naval
Malaya

The Bureau of Food Drugs yesterday released a partial list of products that it said it was testing for possible melamine contamination.

BFAD said although these products did not originate from China, their manufacturers might have sourced raw materials from China.

The list of 54 products includes some of the more popular brands such as Snickers, Anlene, Nestlé, M&M and Anchor.

Warning from Nature

Published by Ellen on September 25, 2008

Japanese Ambassador Makoto Katsura and Senator Loren Legarda led the symbolic groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of housing units for typhoon victims. Looking on are Antique Governor Salvacion Perez and other provincial government officials.

Very seldom does our province, Antique, merit mention in national TV and newspapers.

But three days ago, Antique was in the early evening news . It was about two persons who drowned when their banca capsized in the rampaging waters of Kangaranan river. The next day, there was another story about families in the coastal town of Belison evacuating to higher grounds.

Swerteng malas

Published by Ellen on September 24, 2008

Nasa balita na ang isang lotto winner ay pinatay ng kanyang asawa. Iyan ang sinasabing swerteng malas. Nanalo nga ng milyon-milyon na pera, patay ang lalaki, nasa kulungan naman ang babae. Ano ngayon ang mangyari sa kanilang mga anak? Mabuti pa hindi na lang nanalo.

Ayun sa Caloocan City Police, natagpuang patay si Eleuterio Pamo, 39 taong-gulang, na may tama sa batok. Nasa tabi niya ang baril na nakarehistro sa kanyang pangalan.

Noong una ang sabi ng asawa na si Rosemarie ay suicide. Kaya lang medyo duda ang mga pulis. Sa batok, suicide? Parang Ninoy Aquino yan a. Sa batok ang tama pero ang linya ng military ni Marcos, binaril siya habang bumababa sa hagdanan ni Galman na sa ground.

Queenmaker, kingmaker?

Published by Ellen on September 24, 2008

by Lito Banayo
Malaya

After Joseph Ejercito Estrada was all but sworn in as the 13th president of the Philippines, his announced Executive Secretary, Ronaldo B. Zamora, instructed Elmer Mercado, Jimmy Policarpio and myself, among others I presume, to start working for the election of Joker Arroyo, the congressman of the first district of Makati, as speaker of the House of Representatives. This was a campaign commitment, as soft of course as political commitments go, made by then candidate Erap to Joker.

At about the same time, Mrs. Cynthia Villar of the landowning Aguilar clan of Las Piñas and Muntinglupa suddenly became a regular fixture at the incoming president’s Polk address in North Greenhills. Her husband Manuel was elected virtually unopposed for his third term as representative of Las Piñas, the family fiefdom. Villar openly supported Jose de Venecia of his party Lakas for president. Of course Erap swept all of Metro Manila including Las Piñas, but that was no thanks to the Aguilar-Villar clan. Erap maintained that Nene Aguilar “secretly” supported him, but then, even if the latter did not, all of Luzon except Pangasinan was swept by Erap. Surely the residents of the fiefdom of Las Piñas are not the unthinking robots of their landowners.

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