Philstar photo by Boy Santos.
The picture we are referring to is that of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas hoisting a sack of NFA rice residue during an inspection of a rice warehouse in Muntinlupa.
Some say that picture, which has gone viral, is photoshopped. We had the photo analyzed by professional photographers and they said it’s genuine, not digitally tampered with.
They explained that the reason Roxas hoisting of the sack looked effortless was because the content as indicated in the sack was not regular rice but “broken rice residue” or darak used for animal feed.
Lawyer Edward Serapio, former presidential counsel during the Estrada administration, once told me when he was under detention in Camp Crame in connection with Estrada’s plunder case way back in 2001, that he was so grateful for the wife of then Philippine National Police head Leandro Mendoza serving him coffee when he surrendered early in the morning at the White House, the PNP chief’s residence.
Sen. Juan Ponce-Enrile surrenders. From Yahoo.phOne can imagine Serapio’s level of stress at that moment and he said Mrs. Mendoza’s act of kindness did a lot to calm him down. He said he’ll never forget it.
Yesterday, Sen. Juan Ponce- Enrile thanked the PNP for treating him kindly, allowing him to stay at the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame upon his surrender last Friday and allowing him to have his check up at the Asian Eye Institute in Makati the next day.
At this time when the popular sentiment is to throw stones at all those accused in the plunder of people’s money (Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla et al), any act kindness to those who are down is the true essence of humanity.
It is not about the guilt of the accused. It is humaneness.
While we should be vigilant that justice is obtained in the pork barrel scam, we should also be conscious of the danger that in pursuing justice, we become hardened and lose our sense of humanity. That would be a tragedy.
PAGCOR Chairman Cristino “Bong” NaguiatLast week Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares together with Archbishop Oscar Cruz, fellow Rep. Carlos Zarate, former Bayan Muna Rep. Teddy Casiño, BAYAN Secretary General Renato Reyes and COURAGE President Ferdinand Gaite, filed a letter of opposition to the reappointment of the whole Philippine Amusement and Gaming board led by Rep. Neri Colmenaresits chairman Christino Naguiat before the Governance Commission for Government-Owned or Controlled Corporation.
Colmenares said among the among their complaints was PAGCOR‘s non-payment of P5.14B tax.
Worse, he said, PAGCOR paid for the income tax of big time casinos like Travellers International Hotel Groups, Inc., MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corporation, Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. and Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc.
This is against its mandate “to help the poor and the needy,” he said.
SC decision on DAP: reminder to Aquino that good intentions do not necessarily mean right and legal.With the Supreme Court’s ruling that President Aquino and Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad’s baby- the Disbursement Acceleration Program – is unconstitutional, expect impeachment charges against Aquino to be filed soon.
The progressive groups –Anakbayan and Kilusang Mayo Uno- have hinted on impeachment in their statements hailing the High Court’s decision on DAP.
Anakbayan’s Vencer Crisostomo said, “Aquino and his pork gang should resign now in shame. Calls for him to be removed from office via impeachment or via a people’s uprising is growing and is increasingly justified. Aquino and his pork gang should be ousted.”
KMU’s Elmer Labog said, “The SC ruling could only further fuel calls for the Pork Barrel King’s resignation, if not ouster from office.”
My P500 peso mistake.
“There’s a sucker born every minute” exhibition promoter David Hannum once said.
I’m included in that perpetually increasing list of suckers.
Past midnight last Wednesday,June 25, 1:27 a.m. I got this text message from +639752279723:
GlobeAlert: You’re the one lucky selected postpaid plan that has given 40% discount on your billing. To avail your 40%discount just forward your 3-digits pin code to 29752279723. You will receive the 3 digits pin code on next message.
UNICEF PH Rep Lotta SylwanderFor Lotta Sylwander, her assignment to the Philippines as UNICEF Representative, is actually a homecoming.
Sylwander, from Sweden, was a backpack tourist way back in the 70’s and 80’s. She met and married (they are now divorced) someone from the Rojas family of Cavite. They have two children.
Sylwander arrived in Manila last April and has since immersed herself in UNICEF’s various projects with major focus on typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan)–ravaged areas.
An anthropologist, Sylwander was previously assigned in Vietnam and Zambia.
She is with Bangladeshi Zafrin Chowdhury, chief of Communication and Private Fundraising and Partnership, UNICEF Philippines, who arrived here more than eight months ago, just before the super typhoon struck the Philippines claimed the lives of some 10,000 people, and displaced tens of thousands more.
President Aquino and his minions should not wave the legal banner about the Chief Executive’s power not to uphold the recommendation of the National Commission on Culture and Arts and the Cultural Center in conferring the National Artist awards to Filipino individuals who have made significant contributions to the development of Philippine arts.
The issue is: did he use that power judiciously in deleting the name of movie actress Nora Aunor from the list submitted by the NCCA and CCP for the National Artist awards?
Press Secretary Herminio Coloma cited the 2013 ruling of the Supreme Court on a 2009 National Artist controversy (former NCCA Chair Cecile G. Alvarez inserted her name to the list submitted jointly by NCCA and CCP to Malacañang which Gloria Arroyo upheld) which, he said, states that the President does not have to justify his decision.
Coloma should be reminded that Aquino is not a King who reigns without accountability to the people.
The press secretary should also be reminded that Aquino won on the platform of transparency. He has time and again told the people, “Kayo ang Boss ko.” He now feels superior over his “Boss” that he does not have to explain his action?
Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario: his policy is to ‘shame” China.Statements coming from Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario betray helplessness over the situation in the South China Sea.
The Philippines is losing the battle that he led the country to wage against China.
Yesterday Del Rosario said that the Philippines will ask the United Nations Arbitral Court to hasten the resolution of the 2013 suit it filed questioning the legality of China’s nine-dash line map in the light of the latter’s expansion activities on islands they are occupying in the disputed areas of the Spratlys in the South China Sea.
Solicitor General Francis Jardeleza had said that they expect the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea to rule on both jurisdiction and merit of the Philippine claim “between 2015 to 2016.” China has refused to participate in the Philippine case.
When God blessed the earth, he must have been standing near and facing Palawan because the province is so rich in natural resources and possesses spectacular sceneries – on the ground, underground, on the water, underwater.
In the northern part of Palawan is El Nido, a municipality of almost 40,000 in an area covering 92,326 hectares. The town is named after Swiflets (local name is Balinsasayaw) nests made from the bird’s saliva found in the crevices of the limestone’s cliffs in the area.
The mountain islands of El Nido are simply breathtaking. They are towers of stone so high they almost kiss the clouds.They come in all shapes and forms, depending on your imagination.
Chinese oil rig in Paracels. Thanks to www.upi.com
By Yun Sun
In recent months, China’s unilateral actions asserting its claims in the South China Sea (SCS) have driven regional tensions to a new high. China’s well-calculated moves are motivated by multiple internal and external factors. These include boosting President Xi Jinping’s prestige and authority for his domestic reform agenda, along with an assumption that the United States is extremely unlikely to intervene at this moment in time. Other than the overt actions to assert its claims in the SCS, official statements and legal studies analysis from within China also reflect a recalibrated determination to uphold the country’s controversial nine-dashed line in the South China Sea.
From a Chinese perspective, the most transparent and direct explanation of China’s rising assertiveness in the South China Sea is simple: China believes that its past unilateral restraint has done nothing to improve China’s position regarding SCS disputes and these inactions have in fact resulted in other claimant countries strengthening their presence and claims. Therefore, for China to improve its position in the current climate or for future negotiations, it must first change the status-quo through all available means necessary.
China prefers to utilize civilian and paramilitary approaches but does not reject military coercion if required. An advantaged position and certain exclusive privilege in the South China Sea are both believed to be indispensable for China’s aspiration to become a “strong maritime power,” a “key task” stipulated by the 18th Party Congress in 2012 and a policy personally endorsed by Xi. While China’s aspirations for a “Blue Water Navy” and naval expansion face multiple choke points along its east coast from Japan down to the Philippines, the South China Sea is considered to offer China a much larger and less constrained maritime domain for naval maneuvers.
