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ellen tordesillas Posts

Ilabas ang video tape

Mukha talagang kasinungalingan ang sinasabi ng Philippine National Police na may video tape sila na pruweba raw na tinulungan ng isang babaeng reporter si Capt. Nicanor Faeldon tumakas,

Mukhang namimingwit lang ang mga pulis at ang nakakalungkot nito ang ibang miyembro ng media ay kumagat at sa gusto lang magka-scoop kahit mali, tinutulungan ang mga pulis na ikakalat sa madla ang kasinungalingan.

Dapat ang media, hamunin si Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez at si PNP Chief Avelino Razon na ilabas ang viedo tape na yun, kung meron talaga. Kung wala naman, pwede ba tigilin na itong pagsasabog nila ng lagim.

Arrested media seeks “amparo” protection

Abante column:

Resbak ng taga-media

Nagsampa kahapon sa Supreme Court ang labin-isang personnel ng ABS-CBN ng kaso laban sa mga opisyal ng pamahalaan na sangkot sa pag-aresto at pagposas sa mga mamamahayag noong Nov. 29 na insidente sa Manila Peninsula.

Humingi sila ng writ of amparo or pagbabawal sa mga kapulisan at sino mang opisyal ng pamahalaan na kasuhan sila tungkol sa nangyari noong Nov. 29 at ulitin ang kanilang ginawa na panggigipit sa media sa mga coverages na mangyari balang-araw.

Disputing government lies

Army Capt. Ruben Guinolbay, who is detained in Camp Capinpin in connection with the alleged plan to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo in February 2006, sent us a note to dispute what he said were the lies that the government is peddling against his “men” who were arrested last week and charged for allegedly planning to stage a coup.

The soldiers are former Army Rangers Sgt. Orlando Valencia, Corporals Ramon Perania, Redantel Maranan, and Walter Francisco. They once belonged to the Third Scout Rangers battalion that Guinolbay commanded.

A civilian driver, Kim Agas, who was mistaken as a former soldier, was also dragged in.

Mapayapang protesta

Related story in Inquirer: Ermita: Forget Edsa II

Mapayapang idinaos kahapon ng iba’t-ibang grupo ng mga manggagawa, estudyante, mga miyembro ng simbahan at ng tinatawag nating “civil society” ang protest rally sa paggunita ng Edsa Dos na naglukluk kay Gloria Arroyo sa Malacañang kahit hindi binoto ng taumbayan pitong taon na ang nakaraan.

Nagsimula ang protest rally sa talakayan sa canteen ng De la Salle University sa Greenhills mga ika-apat ng hapon, tapos nag martsa patungong Edsa Shrine mga 6:30 ng gabi. Plano sana nila ay magtirik ng kandila sa Edsa Shrine mismo bilang simbolo ng pagdadalamhati ng bayan sa mapanupil na rehimen ni Arroyo ngunit hindi sila pinayagan ng mga anti-riot police na nakapaligid sa Shrine.

Mike A’s bid to quash journalists’ case junked

by DJ Yap
Inquirer

Journalists who sued the President’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, for damages over alleged press freedom violations scored a legal victory after a Makati court junked Arroyo’s motion seeking the dismissal of the case.

But they also suffered a setback when Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 143 Judge Zenaida Galapate-Laguilles dismissed their motion to quash a previous court order requiting the media practitioners to produce all the stories they wrote about Arroyo.

In an order dated Dec. 19 but released only last week, Laguilles denied Arroyo’s omnibus motion to dismiss the case on the ground of “liberality.”

Wanted: A better scriptwriter

Update on coup plot, click here for Victor Reyes’ story

As I’m writing this column,
it was announced by the Department of Justice that former Scout Ranger Sgt. Orlando Valencia has been ordered released after their initial investigation showed “no probable cause” for charges filed against him by the PNP Criminal Intelligence and Detection Group.

Valencia, together with three other former Scout Rangers Corporals Ramon Perania, Walter Francisco, and Redantel Mara-nan and a civilian driver Kim Agas were arrested Tuesday afternoon by elements of ISAFP (Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines) for allegedly plotting a coup.

Mga kawawang sangkalan

click below for:

Malaya story

Inquirer story

Kung hindi lang buhay ng mga mahihirap na tao ang apektado, maari nang pagtawanan itong mga pakulo ng mga alagad ni Gloria Arroyo.

Kaya lang hindi nakakatawa itong ginagawa nilang kung ano-anong pakulo para lang magkaroon ng rason para magawa nila ang gusto nilang mag-emergency rule o martial law at isantabi ang batas para sila ay manatili sa kapangyarihan habambuhay.

Kanina may ipineresenta silang limang mga sundalo, mga enlisted men at sinabi nila na na kasama raw sa nagbabanta mag-coup. Susmaryosep. Isang sarhento sa active service apat na kaka-discharge lang na enlisted men.

To extend or not to extend


It looks like AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon’s
intense (some even say “shameless”) lobbying for extension of his services is for nothing. Two of Gloria Arroyo’s influential advisers have told her to let go of Esperon when he retires on February 9.

Our usual reliable sources said Rear Adm. Leonardo Calderon, AFP deputy chief of staff for intelligence, and national security adviser Norberto Gonzales discussed with GMA the pros and cons of extending Esperon’s services and the cons outweighed the pros.

Press photogs group declares DOJ chief ‘persona non grata’

Related story: PNP to “force out” media ignoring orders to leave

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez has been declared as “persona non grata” by the Press Photographers of the Philippines following his media advisory that stated journalists may incur criminal liability should they fail to heed the order of authorities during emergency situations.

“We cry foul! We vehemently denounce such statement! And we declared Sec. Raul Gonzalez ‘persona non grata’,” said the PPP in a statement.

Enough of the “moro-moro”

Related story: “Plot” seen as ploy to extend Esperon -Biazon

Malaya editorial:

If Gen. Hermogenes Esperon is obsessed with staying as AFP chief after his scheduled retirement next month and if Gloria Arroyo is inclined to grant his wish as payment for services rendered, why don’t the two of them get it done away with?

It’s not the first time an AFP chief wants to stick to his post like a leech (think Fabian Ver). It’s also not the first time a widely discredited president wants to keep a trusted man at the AFP helm (think Ferdinand Marcos). So there’s a precedent.