If you think that forcing GMA to resign will be a cakewalk, think again. Now that she realized na isang malaking political blunder ang ginawa niyang phony apology, she and her spindoctors will make the necessary adjustments to correct their mistake and fight back.
I mean, you didn't expect GMA to go down this easily, do you? Marami kasing madadamay eh. She, her family, the military and their civil society allies like CODE-NGO and NAMFREL has too much to lose if she steps down.
At medyo matatagalan tayo sa laban natin against this fake president because for one thing -- unlike during Erap's time -- the Mainstream Media like GMA7, PDI (except for one or two of it's columnists), ABS-CBN and Philstar are on the administration's side this time around.
That PDI, Philstar, GMA7 and ABS-CBN have not even made a serious attempt at telling us the truth re GLORIAGATE and the tapes, will only make our job even harder. Matagal nang kalat ang Paguia at Ong tapes, pero ayaw pa rin nilang ipa-verify ito sa experts kung authentic o hindi. So why can't they play the tapes on TV and invite their experts to check the authenticity of the tapes? What the fck are they afraid of? The truth? Why aren't they analyzing the tapes to look for clues and try to see if there are any corroborating evidence to back up the taped conversations?
The fact that tinalo pa sila ng isang blog pagdating sa GLORIAGATE coverage is very telling.
And you notice that the Pro-Arroyo media people and bloggers keep telling us na palpak raw ang GLORIAGATE dahil walang "people power" na nangyari during the early days of GLORIAGATE, even though none of the major opposition personalities have called for another Edsa to overthrow this admin so far.
AFAIK, all they’re asking is for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign na and for the designated "acting president" to call for new presidential elections.
Besides, it's too premature to call GLORIAGATE a “huge failure” when most of Filipinos haven't heard the contents of the tapes yet.
We haven't even begun informing and educating the public about the seriousness and scope of this administration's crimes (or explored the GLORIAGATE details thru the tapes).
So, to those who think that GLORIAGATE will be over within 4 days just like Edsa Dos, you're not being realistic. This will be a LONG, HARD FIGHT.
But as long as we just keep telling the truth about this administration and their allies, in the end, babagsak rin ang corrupt at mandarayang "presidente" na ito.
Previous:
- To the "GMA cheated, So What" crowd, mahiya naman kayo!
- CBCP: We don't support Archbishop Cruz's Juetengate expose
- More on COMELEC Commissioner Ben Abalos
- Conrado de Quiros on NAMFREL and "Civil Society"
- 2004 Presidential Elections "Absolutely Credible" - NAMFREL's Bill Luz
- Civil Society's blind loyalty gives Arroyo false hope
- Cory: GMA deserves "Maximum benefit of the doubt"
- Ano? Wala pa rin, ABS-CBN, GMA7, PDI and Philstar?
- Philstar's pro-GMA columnists give their advice
- PDI's Hypocrisy
- More Classic PDI Editorials
- Why RP's Big Media is not as "free" as one thinks
- Potential GLORIAGATE suspects galing sa Military at PNP na dapat imbestigahan
- Dan Songco and CODE-NGO forms "truth commission"
- More on the "non-partisan" CODE-NGO group
- Move to investigate NAMFREL gains support
Thursday, June 30, 2005
GLORIAGATE UPDATE and ROUNDUP
Susan Roces tells Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to quit.
Gloria Allies block vote on playing of GLORIAGATE tapes.
Roilo Golez bolts Arroyo party.
And Ernesto Maceda fisks Arroyo's speech:
AN angry Susan Roces yesterday unleashed a mouthful against President Arroyo after the latter’s admission and apology for her "lapse of judgment" in phoning an election commissioner several times right after the 2004 presidential elections.
Roces, who spoke to her supporters and reporters at the Club Filipino in Greenhills, San Juan, called Arroyo arrogant ("arogante") and insensitive ("manhid").
She said the President is guilty of cheating in the last elections and has shamed and betrayed the trust of the people. The only honorable thing for her to do, she said, is to resign.
"You have embarrassed the Filipino people enough. There is nothing we can find that we can be proud of that you have done for us from your Day 1 to the present. You are full of empty promises. Obviously, you have no love for your country. The greatest thing that you have done is that you have stolen the presidency, not once, but twice," Roces said.
Gloria Allies block vote on playing of GLORIAGATE tapes.
In a move to stop the public playing of the "Hello Garci’ tapes before the five House committees investigating the scandal, President Arroyo’s allies yesterday voted to adjourn the joint inquiry right after the minority moved for the playing of the recordings.
Minority leader Francis Escudero said the administration was trying to "block the truth."
"Kinatatakutan nila ito (playing of the tape)," he said. "Matapos umamin ang Pangulo, paano kami maniniwala sa kanyang sinseridad dahil yung kanyang mga kaalyado at kapartido ay tila pursigido pa rin sa pagkubli sa katotohanan?"
President Arroyo on Monday night admitted it was her voice in the recordings which allegedly show she cheated in the May 2004 elections. She described as a "lapse in judgment" her calling up a "Comelec official" during the canvassing of the results of the polls and apologized for it.
Roilo Golez bolts Arroyo party.
A key ally of embattled President Arroyo yesterday broke away from the ruling coalition and resigned as chairman of the House committee on national defense, one of the five panels investigating the wiretapped conversations between Mrs. Arroyo and a Commission on Elections official reportedly to rig the last May elections.
Parañaque City Rep. Roilo Golez, Mrs. Arroyo's former National Security adviser, rocked the President by turning in his “irrevocable resignation” as member of the Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), the political party of the Chief Executive.
“My departure from Kampi and my sentiments on the issue at hand make it untenable for me to remain as chairman of the House committee on national defense. I am also hereby resigning from that chairmanship. It's a price that I must pay,” Golez told the joint members of the five committees investigating the controversial tapes.
And Ernesto Maceda fisks Arroyo's speech:
Half truths. GMA admits making a call to a Comelec official. Half true. She did not admit it was Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
“I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I am sorry,” GMA said. She did not make only “any such call,” she called Commissioner Garcillano 15 times. 1/15th true.
“The election results were already in and the votes have been counted,” GMA claimed. No, Madame, your tape partner Commissioner Garcillano told you seven municipalities in Lanao are still to come and you requested him to make sure your “margin” of victory reached one million. Garcillano answered “Pipilitin namin, Ma'm.” So both of you clearly believed the counting was not yet over. Admission by clear implications.
“I was anxious to protect my votes.” GMA stressed. If the election results were in and the votes have been counted as you said, why are you still anxious to protect your votes? Because you knew that the election returns, the statement of votes and the certificates of canvass can still be changed and substituted. And why did you not call Chairman Benjamin Abalos or Commissioner Noli Barcelona who was in charge of Mindanao? Unacceptable.
“The outcome has been predicted by every major public opinion poll.” Yes, by Social Weather Stations and Pulse Asia, including a 7-8 percent margin for you in Metro Manila. The result in Metro Manila was the reverse, an 8 percent lead for FPJ in spite of questionable Quezon City returns. Gotcha!
“Adjudged free, fair and decisive by our own Namfrel,” GMA declared. Yes, Namfrel is your “own,” with Namfrel Chairman Jose Concepcion seen meeting with Speaker Jose de Venecia and your campaign managers at his Dasmariñas Village residence. Yes, your own Namfrel that stopped counting after reaching only 83 percent of the votes. Seventeen percent not counted, which if they were trending would have been mostly for FPJ. Thanks for confirming.
“I regret taking so long to speak to you on this matter.” Yes, you took 22 days because you tried to preempt and cover up but you miserably failed. Hello Gary...
Yes, it took you so long because your advisers took so long to craft a confession of constructive guilt. You took so long because you panicked and it took you so long to recover your senses. Sign of weakness.
“I take full responsibility for my actions,” GMA concluded. Is that the reason you cannot fire Ignacio Bunye, Raul Gonzalez, Reynaldo Wycoco, Arturo Lomibao, Ronald Solis and company? Why you cannot discipline M1, M2 and JS7? Because everything they did or said was ordered or cleared by you? Gotcha!
GMA promised an “expansion of anti-corruption efforts and lifestyle checks.” How? The new lifestyle of Mike Arroyo, Mikey Arroyo, Iggy Arroyo, Victor Garcillano, Ephraim Genuino and police generals are staring you in the face. Two big mansions have just been built in front of your La Vista home. Hands tied?
“I have redoubled my efforts to serve the nation and earn your trust.” Thank you for admitting that up to this point, you still have to earn the people's trust.
Half-truths are lies in every sense of the word. You're not only constructively guilty, Madame President. You are guilty beyond reasonable doubt and must be meted the maximum penalty because you are not truly sorry for your sins.
The day Tita Cory lost her credibility
From Conrado de Quiros:
Well said. The stuff on Miriam is hilarious too.
Previous:
- Cory: GMA deserves "Maximum benefit of the doubt"
TRULY, this country has no end of monumental ironies to offer. Last Tuesday I saw a most astounding sight. Two people who had lost a presidential election before and had railed bitterly at the cheating done to them were now defending, or ignoring, a breathtaking case of it with breathtaking ease. Those two were Corazon Aquino and Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
Well, I wasn't completely astounded that Miriam did so. That is one person God gave a head, if a much-unhinged one, but not a heart. That is one person who has developed a capacity to quote law but not to glimpse justice. She it was who also defended Joseph Estrada to high heavens during his impeachment trial, using her lawyerly skills and apparently constitutional expertise to hide the truth rather than burnish it. No, I am not surprised that she should now reprise the same role with much the same passion in much the same circumstances. With probably much the same results, which is only to see her patron ousted by an angry populace.
Miriam
was telling TV channel ANC that she saw nothing insidious in the drift of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's conversation with Virgilio Garcillano. She singled out the part where the President was telling Garcillano that Rodolfo Biazon was threatening to expose fraud in Tawi-Tawi and elsewhere and was asking if it would affect her adversely ("baka madale ako"). What's wrong with that? Miriam asked. All that showed was that Ms Arroyo was anxious that none of the intramurals below would affect her.
Now, assuming there is nothing criminal in the simple fact that Ms Arroyo was having a conversation with a official of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) about election results during the actual counting-and you would imagine a constitutional expert would know better-had Miriam gone on to read further, she would have come to the point where Ms Arroyo expressly tells Garcillano: "Hindi kaya pwedeng ma-delay 'yung senatorial canvassing... [Can't we delay the senatorial canvassing]?" I mean, Ma'am, that is not directly interfering with Comelec work?
Indeed, had Miriam gone on to read further, she would have come to the part where Garcillano says: "Dun naman sa Basilan at Lanao Sur, ito ho yung ginawa nilang magpataas sa inyo, maayos naman ang paggawa e.... Sa Basilan, alam nyo naman ang mga military dun eh, hindi masyadong marunong kasi silang gumawa e." I cannot imagine that it is merely Miriam's being an Ilonggo that makes her fail to grasp the atrocious meaning of that statement. That is something by the way Franklin Drilon shares with her: He too is an Ilonggo, and he too finds nothing wrong with Ms Arroyo's exchanges with Garcillano. Poor Ilonggos, to be represented by people whose powers of comprehension are severely limited.
Though I am a Bicolano, I can at least assure them that by "magpataas sa inyo," Garcillano was not talking about increasing Ms Arroyo's height. I can assure them that by "yung military dun hindi masyadong marunong gumawa," Garcillano was not talking of a military contingent not knowing how to make the right kind of elevator shoes to make Ms Arroyo look tall.
As I said before, the hardest person to wake up is the one who is pretending to be asleep. The hardest lawyer to convince to see the truth is the one who is determined to prove the lie. But that Miriam should claim to have been cheated by Fidel Ramos during the 1992 elections and shout her head off for years over it with no more proof than her say-so and now deny cheating when hearing the words straight from the horse's mouth, not entirely figuratively -- well, they call her "Brenda."
But Cory Aquino is the real disappointment. She didn't exactly defend Ms Arroyo but she did ask us to just resort to prayer and move on. Didn't Cory protest bitterly that she was cheated blind by Ferdinand Marcos in the "snap election" in nearly exactly the same circumstances? Marcos refused to step down as president to run on an even field, Ms Arroyo refused to step down as president to run on an even field, the latter notwithstanding the Constitution's ban on an incumbent running, which was tacit in provision for a president holding only a single term. Marcos owned Leonie Perez, Ms Arroyo owned Benjie Abalos, or as turns out now to be the real power in the Comelec, Virgie Garcillano. Marcos unleashed guns, goons and gold in that order, Ms Arroyo unleashed gold, goons and guns in that order. Marcos rigged the counting, which led to principled Comelec people staging a walkout. Ms Arroyo rigged the counting, which led to -- well, Cory saying let's pray for those who sinned and get on with our lives.
How can any life go on that is weighed down by injustice? When Ninoy Aquino was gunned down on the tarmac by soldiers shouting "Pusila! Pusila!" did we say let's forgive and forget, the dead can't be brought back to life, life has to go on? No, we said, "Hindi ka nagiisa [You are not alone]," your death is the death of all of us, finding justice for you is resurrecting all of us. No, we said, "Tama na, sobra na, palitan na [Enough already, too much already, replace already]," we've had enough of corruption and rottenness and indecency, it's time we stopped it, life cannot go on with it. Is there any difference between the murder of a man and the murder of a nation? Is it viler to gun down a man while he walks in the sun than to strangle the nation while it sleeps in the night?
The equation is never "first the economy, then justice." It is always "first justice, then the economy." At the very least that is so because you can never have economic progress with crooks. The people who are messing up the economy are not those who are protesting the iniquity, they are those who are ruling iniquitously. At the very most that is so because before you can eat, you have to breathe. Justice is the air we breathe.
But that the symbol of the struggle for justice should now urge us to just struggle to subsist-that is the most unkindest cut of all.
Well said. The stuff on Miriam is hilarious too.
Previous:
- Cory: GMA deserves "Maximum benefit of the doubt"
Move to investigate NAMFREL gains support
From the Daily Tribune:
Move to probe Namfrel’s ‘Joecon,’ Luz gains support
Thursday, 06 30, 2005
The United Opposition (UNO) yesterday supported the call of Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., himself once a victim of dagdag-bawas (vote-shaving and vote-padding), for an inquiry into the veracity of allegations of election fraud committed by the National Citizens' Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel) lodged by provincial chairman for Lanao del Sur Hadji Abdullah Dalidig.
According to UNO president Makati City Jejomar Binay, Namfrel, the official election arm of the Commission on Elections, because of its critical role of confirming election results officially put out by the Comelec, should be beyond suspicion. But the statements made by Dalidig, he stressed, had put a serious cloud of doubt on the integrity of the Namfrel leadership.
Dalidig claimed he had actual possession of the official Namfrel copies of election returns (ERs) of 38 of the 39 municipalities in his province, and that they did not tally with the corresponding certificates of canvass.
He made the statement in a press conference he held in Marawi City immediately after the May 2004 elections.
Prompted by the “Gloriagate” tapes, the Namfrel official reiterated his claim in the regular Ciudad Fernandina media forum last week.
Dalidig said he brought the discrepancy to the attention of Jose Concepcion and Guillermo Luz, Namfrel national chairman and secretary general, respectively, in a letter duly received by them, but he was totally ignored.
In fact, he noted, the two had issued public statements that the elections in Mindanao were generally peaceful and there was no evidence of election fraud.
More on the "non-partisan" CODE-NGO group
that wants to whitewash, este... investigate the GLORIAGATE scandal.
=======================================
Wrong choice of acronym for CODE-NGO
2/8/2002
By Alvin Capino
COUNTERPOINT
The acronym “code-ngo” might have been a bad choice as name for the umbrella group of some 3,000 nongovernmental organizations which earned P1.4 billion in the controversial sale of the so-called peace bonds.
As we all know “Code” is usually part of the name used by the CIA or other organizations engaged in covert espionage and counterespionage. The use of the name code-ngo gives the group a furtive and sinister image.
However, some people who are not exactly enamored with the people and organizations composing code-ngo believe that its ominous name is appropriate, especially if you consider the way it was able to cook the peace bond deal which earned it P1.4 billion.
The sinister image of the name “code-ngo” is also quite apt, given the way it cooked the deal à la lutong macao. The information being ferreted out in the Senate investigation shows that code-ngo has indeed made such a huge killing. Sen. Tessie Aquino Oreta has described it as nothing more than “laway at koneksyon” as “puhunan.”
If other parties had been involved in exactly the same deal, code-ngo and the other members of “civil society” would have denounced the transaction as a “crony deal.” We all know how those in civil society hate crony deals except when they themselves do it. In their case, crony tactics are allowed because what they earn would be used to finance worthwhile projects for the poor and other less privileged members of our society—after setting aside a substantial sum for administrative costs and consultancy fees, of course.
The first two hearings of the John Osmeña committee in the Senate drew out some very interesting facts on what is building up as a case study of a crony deal.
The hearings have established that code-ngo designed the peace bonds and had worked on the Bureau of Treasury and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to approve the first-ever issuance by the Philippine government of zero-coupon bonds with several “sweeteners” that would make it a profitable investment for whoever gets the bonds. Among the special features of the bond is that it is exempted from the payment of the 20-percent withholding tax and its eligibility as secondary reserves.
Code-ngo, led by its chairman, Maria Socorro Camacho Reyes, sister of Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, had wanted a negotiated sale of the bonds. But because of the strong objections of the national treasurer, it agreed to have the bond sold in open bidding.
The public bidding, however, was held in such a way that rcbc, which code-ngo contracted as its agent bank, cornered the bidding. The bank knew about the sale of the bonds as well as their features months ahead of everybody else. Apparently the other bond dealers were kept in the dark about the peace bond offering until the last minute.
The analogy used by Osmeña explains what happened. He said that the situation is akin to prospective buyers, except a favored one, being told that there is a house for sale in Quezon City without mentioning that the sale includes the cars in the garage as well as all the furnishings.
Osmeña said that the deal is clearly lutong macao because code-ngo and its agent bank, rcbc, had been deeply involved in the project for more than six months before the actual bidding, contrary to normal practice wherein the Bureau of Treasury designs the whole thing and informs bidders only a few days before the actual auction.
Oreta, who authored the resolution that led to the Senate investigation, said it was actually a “done deal” even before the actual bidding. This is clear from the admission of rcbc Capital’s Valentin Agustin during the hearing that code-ngo and rcbc Capital had arranged the bid of 11 percent as early as April 2001, or a full six months before the public auction on October 16.
Ironically for code-ngo, its allies in civil society—Action for Economic Reform, Freedom from Debt Coalition and Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection—are most critical of this deal.
The people might be lost in all the explanations about the intricacies of this peace bond deal, but they can easily understand what the Freedom from Debt Coalition points out. What’s wrong with the deal is that code-ngo would earn P1.4 billion but the taxpayers would be paying P25 billion for this accommodation to code-ngo after 10 years.
Indeed, the claim of code-ngo that it will be able to give out P100 million yearly for the propoor projects of their member organizations sounds preposterous when we consider that the government would have to set aside P2.5 billion every year to pay for the interest on the peace bonds.
=======================================
Wrong choice of acronym for CODE-NGO
2/8/2002
By Alvin Capino
COUNTERPOINT
The acronym “code-ngo” might have been a bad choice as name for the umbrella group of some 3,000 nongovernmental organizations which earned P1.4 billion in the controversial sale of the so-called peace bonds.
As we all know “Code” is usually part of the name used by the CIA or other organizations engaged in covert espionage and counterespionage. The use of the name code-ngo gives the group a furtive and sinister image.
However, some people who are not exactly enamored with the people and organizations composing code-ngo believe that its ominous name is appropriate, especially if you consider the way it was able to cook the peace bond deal which earned it P1.4 billion.
The sinister image of the name “code-ngo” is also quite apt, given the way it cooked the deal à la lutong macao. The information being ferreted out in the Senate investigation shows that code-ngo has indeed made such a huge killing. Sen. Tessie Aquino Oreta has described it as nothing more than “laway at koneksyon” as “puhunan.”
If other parties had been involved in exactly the same deal, code-ngo and the other members of “civil society” would have denounced the transaction as a “crony deal.” We all know how those in civil society hate crony deals except when they themselves do it. In their case, crony tactics are allowed because what they earn would be used to finance worthwhile projects for the poor and other less privileged members of our society—after setting aside a substantial sum for administrative costs and consultancy fees, of course.
The first two hearings of the John Osmeña committee in the Senate drew out some very interesting facts on what is building up as a case study of a crony deal.
The hearings have established that code-ngo designed the peace bonds and had worked on the Bureau of Treasury and the Bureau of Internal Revenue to approve the first-ever issuance by the Philippine government of zero-coupon bonds with several “sweeteners” that would make it a profitable investment for whoever gets the bonds. Among the special features of the bond is that it is exempted from the payment of the 20-percent withholding tax and its eligibility as secondary reserves.
Code-ngo, led by its chairman, Maria Socorro Camacho Reyes, sister of Finance Secretary Jose Isidro Camacho, had wanted a negotiated sale of the bonds. But because of the strong objections of the national treasurer, it agreed to have the bond sold in open bidding.
The public bidding, however, was held in such a way that rcbc, which code-ngo contracted as its agent bank, cornered the bidding. The bank knew about the sale of the bonds as well as their features months ahead of everybody else. Apparently the other bond dealers were kept in the dark about the peace bond offering until the last minute.
The analogy used by Osmeña explains what happened. He said that the situation is akin to prospective buyers, except a favored one, being told that there is a house for sale in Quezon City without mentioning that the sale includes the cars in the garage as well as all the furnishings.
Osmeña said that the deal is clearly lutong macao because code-ngo and its agent bank, rcbc, had been deeply involved in the project for more than six months before the actual bidding, contrary to normal practice wherein the Bureau of Treasury designs the whole thing and informs bidders only a few days before the actual auction.
Oreta, who authored the resolution that led to the Senate investigation, said it was actually a “done deal” even before the actual bidding. This is clear from the admission of rcbc Capital’s Valentin Agustin during the hearing that code-ngo and rcbc Capital had arranged the bid of 11 percent as early as April 2001, or a full six months before the public auction on October 16.
Ironically for code-ngo, its allies in civil society—Action for Economic Reform, Freedom from Debt Coalition and Citizens Alliance for Consumer Protection—are most critical of this deal.
The people might be lost in all the explanations about the intricacies of this peace bond deal, but they can easily understand what the Freedom from Debt Coalition points out. What’s wrong with the deal is that code-ngo would earn P1.4 billion but the taxpayers would be paying P25 billion for this accommodation to code-ngo after 10 years.
Indeed, the claim of code-ngo that it will be able to give out P100 million yearly for the propoor projects of their member organizations sounds preposterous when we consider that the government would have to set aside P2.5 billion every year to pay for the interest on the peace bonds.
Dan Songco and CODE-NGO forms "truth commission"
From the Inquirer:
Uh-huh... here's more:
"Independent" and "unquestionable integrity" are not the first words that come to my mind when I think of Dan Songco and CODE-NGO. Songco and CODE-NGO benefitted greatly from it's connections with the Arroyo Administration.
Remember PEACE Bonds? CODE-NGO's Mr. Songco and Marissa Camacho's (former finance secretary's sister) "laway and koneksyon" earned them about P1.4 billion (that we Filipino taxpayers will eventually pay) thru "lutong makaw".
Plus, here's Dan Songco on the PEACE Bonds:
CIVIL society groups that helped install Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as President in 2001 will form a "truth commission" to look into the wiretapped tapes linking her to election fraud.
The groups said they would invite former president Corazon Aquino to help the fact-finding body whose members could possibly be composed of retired justices and other legal and technical experts.
Saying that the Arroyo administration has a "serious credibility problem," the convenors of the commission said that only an independent body composed of persons of "unquestionable integrity could fully resolve the vital questions surrounding the tapes."
Uh-huh... here's more:
"Only the truth will lay to rest the brewing political crisis brought about by the controversy surrounding the tapes," said Dan Songco of the group Pagbabago@Pilipinas, a newly formed alliance of civil society organizations.
On Thursday, the groups will hold a Citizens' Assembly (C4T) at the Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City to choose the commission members. The convenors of the assembly include Pagbabago@Pilipinas and the Bishop-Businessmen's Conference for Human Development.
Sixdon Macasaet of the Caucus of Development of NGO Networks (Code NGO) said the commission would investigate the tapes with or without Malacanang's backing.
Macasaet said they believed the President should break her silence to arrest people's doubts that she cheated in the May 2004 election.
Tañada said the commission would first determine the authenticity of the tapes to determine if it was the President's voice.
She said the commission would ask local and foreign experts to examine the tapes. "Then maybe, we can also examine its contents."
Songco said that civil society members had various views on the current political turmoil, with some taking the extreme position of asking the President to step down.
But majority are supportive of the formation of the commission as a way of finding out the truth, Songco said.
Asked to describe their relationship with the President, Macasaet said many of them were "dissatisfied" with the pace of her reforms, particularly in the areas of agrarian reform and socialized housing.
Songco however said it was "premature" to call for her resignation.
A number of Cabinet officials of the Arroyo administration came from the civil society -- Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Juliano Soliman and Adviser on Peace Process Teresita Deles, among them.
"Independent" and "unquestionable integrity" are not the first words that come to my mind when I think of Dan Songco and CODE-NGO. Songco and CODE-NGO benefitted greatly from it's connections with the Arroyo Administration.
Remember PEACE Bonds? CODE-NGO's Mr. Songco and Marissa Camacho's (former finance secretary's sister) "laway and koneksyon" earned them about P1.4 billion (that we Filipino taxpayers will eventually pay) thru "lutong makaw".
THE P35 billion Peace Bonds were sold at public auction. There are strict rules governing the conduct of public auctions by the government. If these rules are not followed or enforced, then a crime is committed, some officials are criminally responsible and the subsequent award is legally questionable and may be invalidated.
The character of the winning bidder or the nobility of the purpose is irrelevant. The only relevant issue is: Were the rules followed? After just one hearing by the Senate Finance Committee, it is very clear that the auction conducted by National Treasurer Sergio Edeza was rigged, or was "lutong macao" as described by Sen. John Osmeña. The following facts came out:
1) Instead of the usual tamper- proof electronic bidding procedure, a manual system using fax transmissions was used.
2) The announcement of bidding conditions was made just one day before the auction on Oct. 16. Bureau of Treasury rules call for at least three working days notice.
3) Some of the favorable features of the bond issue were not announced to all, with only RCBC/Code NGO knowing them well in advance.
4) In the 50-year history of the Bureau of Treasury, this is the first time that a single bidder (RCBC) won all the bids for such a big amount.
5) The winning bid of RCBC was way below the other bidders at 16.5 to 17.5 percent, thus confirming that in this very exclusive field of expert securities dealers, the other bidders did not know all the favorable terms and conditions, like tax exemption and eligibility for reserve requirements.
6) It was admitted that RCBC/Code NGO was the one which proposed all the conditions for the bond issuance, secured the approvals from the government offices concerned. One approval, that of the Insurance Commission, was secured by RCBC/Code NGO only one month after the auction on Oct. 16. But it was clear that was committed to Code/NGO before the bid and obviously unknown to other bidders.
7) RCBC Vice President Valentin Bagatsing testified that as early as March, they had priced the correct bid at 11 percent.
8) The winning bid was submitted at 12.75 percent with a guaranteed "profit" to Code NGO of P1.8 billion.
9) The 2 percent commission to RCBC was high, considering the amount of the bond issued which was P10 billion. Usual rate would be one-half percent.
10) RCBC was sure to win the bid because it had already lined up clients to immediately buy from RCBC Capital instantaneously after the completion of the auction.
11) This winning bidder, beneficiary, Code NGO, is headed by a sister of the Secretary of Finance whose department conducted and awarded the bonds. This was a deal designed to make money from the government for a private organization, Code NGO, something which Marissa Camacho Reyes and Dan Songco proudly admit.
There is no clearer proof of irregularity. The question is: Will Ombudsman Desierto dare take cognizance of this case? Will he include all of those government officials who approved the deal?
One fundamental question must be raised: What did we need P10 billion so badly that we had to issue zero coupon bonds when the same money could have been source through the regular treasury bills auctions at interest rates 3 to 4 percent lower?
***
After Fr. Tito Caluag, S.J., was tricked and burned in the Ador Mawanay fiasco, Ateneo alumni are wondering why Fr. Noel Vasquez, treasurer of Ateneo University, got involved in this deal by agreeing to be the chair of the newly formed Peace Foundation.
As a matter of fact, Code NGO lists its office address at Ateneo, Loyola Heights.
Sen.. John Osmeña has questioned the transfer of funds from Code NGO to Peace Foundation as irregular. He observed that the Peace Foundation is composed of ten people, four of whom are Marissa Camacho Reyes and her brother, Lito as well as DSWD Secretary Dinky Soliman and her husband, Atty. Hector Soliman.
Atty. Tito Tanjuatco, Red Mayo and Bobby Guevarra are smart guys. For a few months work in these times of economic depression, they made P100 million.
But what was the P20 million "donation" daw to Code NGO for? Was that negotiated before the deal by Dan Songco too?
Plus, here's Dan Songco on the PEACE Bonds:
Myth: Delicadeza was a major issue for Code-NGO.
Fact: False. Not at least to Danilo Songco, executive director of Code-NGO:
“[W]e were on the verge of making P1.3 billion and we would give up the opportunity out of delicadeza? Sobra naman yata yun. Kung personal kaming makikinabang pwede pa but it was potentially all of civil society that would gain from the fund....I will ask those who will raise it: If you were in our shoes, would you have quit at that point out of delicadeza?”
“We just couldn't turn back because of delicadeza. There was too much to lose in exchange for virtues which we would have foolishly imposed on ourselves when no one else in government bothers to do the same.”
Wednesday, June 29, 2005
Potential GLORIAGATE suspects galing sa Military at PNP na dapat imbestigahan
These are some of the potential GLORIAGATE suspects (galing sa Military at Police) na dapat imbestigahan if we want seriously to get to the bottom of this Election fraud mess:
There were other conversations as well with Garci in those tapes that covered even the military and police generals, as well as other poll officials and senatorial bets to rig the polls. What was that all about then? Also a judgmental lapse on the part of Generals Ebdane, Esperon, Kiamko, Lomibao and others or was it a deliberate act to steal the elections for Gloria, and in the case of a senatorial candidate, Robert Barbers and his P2-million payoff to make him win?
And can one imagine just how prostituted the military and police are today that they have to be led in the case of the police, a Lomibao who was tagged in the taped conversations as being part of the cheating force for Gloria, and in the case of the Armed Forces of the Philippines' Army Gen. Esperon who was also tagged as having cheated for Gloria, becoming the Army chief who may, in less than a year's time, become the AFP chief of staff!
And military and police reforms are being spoken of under such a tarred leadership?
And Ebdane? He who was seen escorting Garci out of Cagayan de Oro to ensure that he keep his silence? He not only became the Philippine National Police chief, but the country's national security adviser and now its public works secretary. And these are our supposed national leaders?
More Gloriagate links
Read this. And this on Roco's reaction.
Your apology is "noted", Mrs. Arroyo. Time to resign.
And from the Malaya Editorial:
Your apology is "noted", Mrs. Arroyo. Time to resign.
And from the Malaya Editorial:
OK, it’s time for the nation to move forward. The people should step up calls for the felon in Malacañang to resign. If she doesn’t, they should stop paying their taxes, abandon their workplaces, march in the streets and paralyze government and business.
Gloria Arroyo in her nationwide address the other night apologized for her "lapse in judgment" in calling a Comelec official. Apology is "noted." Many are even prepared to forgive not only the lapse of judgment but even the clear crime of doctoring the 2004 election results.
But forgiveness does not mean absolution of a crime committed. Much less does it mean that one who stole the election should be allowed to enjoy the fruits of her thievery.
In her "apology," Gloria could not even dare say what offenses she has committed against the Filipino people. She talked to a Comelec official. That was improper. And that’s it. It’s time to move on, she said.
It reminds us of her Georgetown University classmate who denied he had sex with "that woman." Gloria had a conversation with "a Comelec official." Why couldn’t she say it was Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano?
Because Garcillano was a cheating artist she had appointed to the Comelec despite the reputation that had preceded him. Because Garcillano had no business poking his dirty fingers in the canvassing in Mindanao (he was supposed so supervise elections in Southern Luzon). Because Garcillano, in the wiretapped conversations, was talking about vote-padding with the clear assent and encouragement of Gloria.
There was a plot long hatched and systemically implemented to steal the elections. "Ibaon na lang sa limot?"
Past is past, we agree. We could not turn back the hands of time. It is no longer possible to count the votes in the 2004 honestly. It is no longer possible to stop Messieurs "Noted" – Rep. Raul Gonzalez, who has been rewarded the justice portfolio, and Francisco Pangilinan – from rejecting calls to compare certificates of canvass with statements of votes. We could no longer delete from the pages of history the June 30, 2004, inaugural of Arroyo in Cebu City.
So Gloria is right. The nation should move forward.
And what lies ahead for the nation? One is continued rule by the liars and the thieves. The other is governance by leaders honestly elected.
The choice should be obvious. Even before the "Hello Garci" tapes surfaced, the people, in their wisdom, had already lost trust in Gloria. Did the collective subconscious already know she is an illegitimate president long before the surfacing of the evidence?
For sure Gloria would not simply roll over and resign because she was caught red-handed stealing the presidency and committing a slew of criminal offenses in the process. Brazen after all is her middle name (remember how she usurped the presidency in 2001?).
But that should be a challenge, not a deterrent, to putting in place a government that truly reflects the will of the people.
Confessed Felon
THAT’S the problem with lying. You start with a lie and you cover it up with another lie.
That’s what Gloria Arroyo did in her much-awaited statement on the Gloria-Garci tapes Monday evening. Explaining what she can only admit as a "lapse in judgment," she said," I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not."
In a text message, Sen. Aquilino Pimentel said: "Her apology insincere based on half truths, e.g. she said election over when she talked with Garcillano. Not true. Voting day done but counting and canvass ongoing."
Let’s recall the important dates: Election day was May 10, 2004. The canvassing of the votes for presidential and vice-presidential candidates by Joint Committee of Congress started June 7, 2004. Arroyo was proclaimed "winner" dawn of June 20, 2004.
Last week of May, canvassing in Lanao Sur was not yet completed. That’s why in the May 29, 2004 conversation of Arroyo and Garcillano, they talked about compensating her loss to Fernando Poe Jr. with votes they were expecting from Lanao.
Take a look at this May 29, 2004, 9:43 in the morning conversation:
GMA: Hello...
Garci: Hello, ma’am, good morning. Ok ma’am, mas mataas ho siya pero mag-compensate po sa Lanao yan.
GMA: So I will still lead by more than one M., overall?
Garci: More or less, it’s the advantage ma’am. Parang ganun din ang lalabas.
GMA: It cannot be less than one M.?
Garci: Pipilitin ma’am natin yan. Pero as of the other day, 982.
GMA: Kaya nga eh...
Garci: And then if we can get more in Lanao..
GMA: Hindi pa ba tapos?
Garci: Hindi pa ho, meron pa hong darating na seven municipalities.
GMA: Ah ok, ok.
Marvic Leonen, UP vice president for legal affairs, made a good point in a TV interview. She said if Arroyo’s purpose was only to protect her votes, why didn’t she call up Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, who was officially in charge of Mindanao? (Garcillano’s official jurisdiction was Southern Tagalog)
The Gloria-Garci tape showed that rigging of the election results in favor of Arroyo was done much earlier and she was making sure that it was carried out. Take this conversation 10:29 in the evening of June 2, 2004 where the Comelec commissioner, who had the reputation as an accomplished dagdag bawas operator, assured her that "yung ginawa nilang magpataas sa inyo, maayos naman ang paggawa eh. (The upward adjustment they did for you was done well.)
Garci: Hello, ma’am. Good evening.
GMA: Hello, dun sa Lanao del Sur at Basilan, di raw nagmamatch
ang SOV sa COC.
Garci: Ang sinasabi nya, nawawala na naman ho?
GMA: Hindi na nag-match.
Garci: Hindi na nag-mamatch? May posibilidad na hindi magmatch kung hindi nila sinunod yung individual SOV ng mga munisipyo. Pero aywan ko lang ho kung sa atin pabor o hindi. Dun naman sa Basilan at Lanao Sur, ito ho yung ginawa nilang magpataas sa inyo, maayos naman ang paggawa eh.
GMA: So nag-mamatch?
Garci: Oho, sa Basilan, alam nyo naman ang mga military dun eh, hindi masyadong marunong kasi silang gumawa eh. Katulad ho dun sa Sulu, sa General Habacon. Pero hindi naman ho, kinausap ko na yung Chairman ng Board sa Sulu, ang akin, patataguin ko muna ang EO ng Paguntaran na para hindi sila maka-testigo ho.
In that conversation, Arroyo and Garcillano were apparently talking about fraudulently prepared statement of votes and certificates of votes which were not matched. Garcillano told the President that the military didn’t know how to do it, like General Habacon in Sulu.
In her statement last Monday, Arroyo mentioned her "constitutional oath of office."
The Constitution, which she had pledged to uphold, states that "The armed forces shall be insulated from partisan politics. No member of the military shall engage directly or indirectly in any partisan political activity, except to vote."
Yet, in the tape, she was not heard objecting to Garcillano’s information that the military was being used to manufacture election results. She also did not say anything when the Comelec commissioner told her something tantamount to obstruction of justice by making the election officer of Paguntaran (Cipriano Ebron) hide so he won’t be able to testify.
And does protecting her votes justify kidnapping an election officer? Twice on June 7, 2004, Arroyo called up Garcillano worried that Rashma Hali, the election officer of Tipo-tipo who had witnessed dagdag bawas, might be in the custody of the opposition.
Two days earlier, Garcillano was talking with a certain "Boy" about enlisting the help of Lt. Col. Salahuddin Undug, the Intelligence officer in Zamboanga to get Hali.
The conversation was straight out of a gangster film:
Boy: Hello, sir. Si Rashma Hali parang nandyan sa Maynila
Gary: Nasa Maynila? Naku delikado. Hindi ba natin makontak?
Boy: Naka-off ang cellphone. Pinahanap ko sa ISAFP.
Gary: Ah ....delikado yan.
Boy: Oo nga, sabi ko sa ISAFP Col Undug sa Zamboanga para may bargaining chip tayo dyan, eh damputin na natin yung pamilya din niya. Para din na siya makapagsalita. Kasi delikado yan eh.
Gary: Maghanap ka lang yung well-meaning na kamag-anak nya. Wag mo munang pakikidnap yung pamilya. Soft touch muna na puwedeng maka-persuade sa kanya.
Lawyer Frank Chavez said Arroyo’s Monday confession won’t save her. "She is irreparably damaged."
Chavez said: "Apology accepted. But we demand justice. You can’t let a robber go just because he apologized. As of 7:07 p.m. of June 27, 2005, Gloria Arroyo is a confessed felon."
Another excellent article from Ellen Tordesillas.
Lots of interesting stuff from Manuel L. Quezon III
his post is worth checking out. It's interesting though that the "conflicted" pro-Arroyo blogger and media man listed down all the terrible alternatives that might happen (no matter how remote) if GMA is gone, but he never mentions anything re calling for new elections to undo the last one.
I mean, kung ang alternatives lang natin kay GMA ay ang a) military junta b) the Commies taking over or c) Noli de Cashtro, even I might have second thoughts about kicking GMA out (LOL), because like what the pro-GMA media people keep telling us, she is the "lesser evil".
But the only way a military junta would happen (or even the remote possibility of the commies taking over) is if the guilty GMA doesn't resign and clings to her post. Yan ang delikado.
And the only reason why some pro-GMA allies might want to push Noli de Castro to the presidency is if they want to coverup and protect GMA and all the other guilty parties from punishment.
For me, calling for snap elections is the ONLY credible way we can fix the election mess given to us by this administration and it's allies.
If Ukraine can redo their elections and get it right the second time, we can too.
(And we wouldn't be even discussing if Noli de Castro should become president or not kung nahuli kaagad si GMA na nandaya after the elections. Kung nandaya si GMA, uulitin kaagad ang election, with GMA possibly being disqualified, and with FPJ, Roco, Lacson and Eddie Villanueva (and a GMA replacement?) as remaining candidates. Ang gagawin lang ni Noli (or Senate president Drilon) ay maging "acting president" habang ino-organize ang election.)
UPDATE: MLQ3 has now called for Arroyo's resignation. Good for him.
He also mentioned that Susan Roces doesn’t want a snap election,
Kaya nga I also suggested in my previous post that all the COMELEC commissioners MUST resign na rin eh. Besides, who's gonna trust these morons to run any credible elections in the future?
Also, I'd like to be the first person to nominate Haydee Yorac to head the COMELEC again!
I mean, kung ang alternatives lang natin kay GMA ay ang a) military junta b) the Commies taking over or c) Noli de Cashtro, even I might have second thoughts about kicking GMA out (LOL), because like what the pro-GMA media people keep telling us, she is the "lesser evil".
But the only way a military junta would happen (or even the remote possibility of the commies taking over) is if the guilty GMA doesn't resign and clings to her post. Yan ang delikado.
And the only reason why some pro-GMA allies might want to push Noli de Castro to the presidency is if they want to coverup and protect GMA and all the other guilty parties from punishment.
For me, calling for snap elections is the ONLY credible way we can fix the election mess given to us by this administration and it's allies.
If Ukraine can redo their elections and get it right the second time, we can too.
(And we wouldn't be even discussing if Noli de Castro should become president or not kung nahuli kaagad si GMA na nandaya after the elections. Kung nandaya si GMA, uulitin kaagad ang election, with GMA possibly being disqualified, and with FPJ, Roco, Lacson and Eddie Villanueva (and a GMA replacement?) as remaining candidates. Ang gagawin lang ni Noli (or Senate president Drilon) ay maging "acting president" habang ino-organize ang election.)
UPDATE: MLQ3 has now called for Arroyo's resignation. Good for him.
He also mentioned that Susan Roces doesn’t want a snap election,
because, as she said, "the present Comelec would supervise it.
Kaya nga I also suggested in my previous post that all the COMELEC commissioners MUST resign na rin eh. Besides, who's gonna trust these morons to run any credible elections in the future?
Also, I'd like to be the first person to nominate Haydee Yorac to head the COMELEC again!
Tuesday, June 28, 2005
Jueting investigations "going nowhere"?
Ernie Maceda comments:
The Jueteng investigations must continue.
The Malacañang line is that the Senate hearings on jueteng should be ended because they are getting nowhere. Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago is more specific. It should be ended because no witness has linked GMA to jueteng payola. So it is Miriam herself who is making this a political circus.
As one who served three terms in the Senate, I must tell you this is the first time that five witnesses have bravely come out to validate the top to bottom corruption of the PNP.
Even setting aside GMA for the moment, this is good reason enough to continue. They have pinned the PNP against the ropes, why stop the fight now? Didn't GMA declare an all-out war against corruption? Didn't GMA call on the citizens to help in the fight against corruption? Didn't GMA call on the citizens to help an archbishop in exposing corrupt officials and you want to stop?
The Jueteng investigations must continue.
Mahihirapan rin ma-Impeach si Gloria dahil...
hawak na ng adminisration at ISAFP halos lahat ng potential witnesses sa GLORIAGATE -- which includes Garcillano, his secretary Ellen Peralta and other COMELEC officials. I'm sure nire-rehearse na nila ang sasabihin nila, made famous by Mike Arroyo and now Congressman Iggy Arroyo, which is:
They'll probably sue Samuel Ong and Paguia too for having and distributing copies of their wiretapped conversations. LOLZ!!!
I INVOKE MY RIGHT TO PRIVACY!!!
They'll probably sue Samuel Ong and Paguia too for having and distributing copies of their wiretapped conversations. LOLZ!!!
Reaction to Arroyo's "Non-Apology" Apology on GLORIAGATE
Headline:
Erap: She is lying and manipulating again
Ping: Umalis ka na!
Escudero: Mananagot ka pa rin
Business group: Tapos na 'to! Time to move on
Drilon: She is prepared to take the full responsibility
De Venecia: An act of conscience and moral courage
KMP: Walang maniniwala sa 'yo!
Ex-Pres. Joseph Estrada: She is lying and manipulating again. Obviously, that was not a lapse of judgment. Bakit ngayon lang?
Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson: Now that she has authenticated the tape, she has to vacate. Hindi bukas kundi ngayon. Kapag hindi nagbitiw si Gloria, sa kalye dadalhin ng oposisyon ang laban. Wala nang bukas para kay GMA. Dapat nang bakantehin ang Malacañang ngayong gabi. Kailangan pa ring ituloy ang hearing sa House kasi marami ang kalahok sa dayaan. Si Gloria huli na, gusto pa ring manatili sa puwesto.
Sa pag-amin ni Gloria, gumawa siya ng sariling hukay at doon siya malilibing.
Rep. Francis Escudero: Ang aking panawagan sa Pangulo ay analisahin n’ya ang kanyang konsensya. Manalamin po s’ya kung magagampanan pa niya nang tama, nang kongkreto at karapat-dapat ang kanyang tungkulin bilang Pangulo.
Taliwas sa opinyon ng ilan na dito nagtatapos ang lahat, ngayon pa lamang ito nagsisimula. Mas maraming tanong ang nabuksan. Kung pagpapatawad, madali iyan. Pero dapat pa rin s’yang managot.
Senate President Franklin Drilon: Her admission indicated that she is prepared to take full responsibility for any impropriety on her part.
House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.: The President has regained the moral high ground by ending her period of isolation and reflection to face the Filipino people on an issue that has touched the heart of her presidency. This is an act of conscience and moral courage. By speaking, she’s setting the record straight to put an end to all the wild and unfair speculations.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago: President Arroyo has committed no crime nor even a mistake in judgment. There is no basis for her to resign or be impeached.
Sen. Ralph Recto: The crisis is now over because the petite lady had sung. After her mea culpa, we must now all move on.
Guillermo Luz, Makati Business Club: Now that she has spoken and admitted she talked to a Comelec official, we will leave it to the legal experts...to look into the matter. Talking to an election official is, I would say, improper.
Donald Dee, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Umamin na ang ating Pangulo, humingi ng tawad. Tapos na ‘to. Ang importante ay ‘yung sinasabi niyang ‘time to move on’. Hindi na political.
Bro. Eddie Villanueva sa pamamagitan ng spokesman na si Atty. Luis Sison: Hindi kami satisfied. Bitin ang paliwanag ni GMA. Marami pa siyang dapat na i-explain. Tuloy ang laban para ilabas ang katotohanan.
Gerry Corpuz, Pamalakaya: ‘Yan ang mother of all fantaserye na tatalo sa Darna, Encantadia at Kampanerang Kuba. Parang roller coaster, inamin n’ya na boses n’ya, ‘di naman inamin ang pandaraya.
Reaction bago ang statement ni Arroyo
Ex-Sen. Rene Saguisag: She did not call Garcillano to pray the rosary. There was an intention to cheat. Can we allow her to stay on? Call me old-fashioned, marami nang masyadong modernong istilo pero some things must not change... Kailangan pa rin ang delicadeza and integrity.
Rep. Prospero Pichay: There’s no impropriety to talking to an election officer. We all do that. Verifying some information with regards to votes counted is not a crime, not even improper.
Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas: She can talk all she wants...but the bottom line is no one believes her anymore and she is just wasting her voice on useless prattle.
Erap: She is lying and manipulating again
Ping: Umalis ka na!
Escudero: Mananagot ka pa rin
Business group: Tapos na 'to! Time to move on
Drilon: She is prepared to take the full responsibility
De Venecia: An act of conscience and moral courage
KMP: Walang maniniwala sa 'yo!
Ex-Pres. Joseph Estrada: She is lying and manipulating again. Obviously, that was not a lapse of judgment. Bakit ngayon lang?
Sen. Panfilo ‘Ping’ Lacson: Now that she has authenticated the tape, she has to vacate. Hindi bukas kundi ngayon. Kapag hindi nagbitiw si Gloria, sa kalye dadalhin ng oposisyon ang laban. Wala nang bukas para kay GMA. Dapat nang bakantehin ang Malacañang ngayong gabi. Kailangan pa ring ituloy ang hearing sa House kasi marami ang kalahok sa dayaan. Si Gloria huli na, gusto pa ring manatili sa puwesto.
Sa pag-amin ni Gloria, gumawa siya ng sariling hukay at doon siya malilibing.
Rep. Francis Escudero: Ang aking panawagan sa Pangulo ay analisahin n’ya ang kanyang konsensya. Manalamin po s’ya kung magagampanan pa niya nang tama, nang kongkreto at karapat-dapat ang kanyang tungkulin bilang Pangulo.
Taliwas sa opinyon ng ilan na dito nagtatapos ang lahat, ngayon pa lamang ito nagsisimula. Mas maraming tanong ang nabuksan. Kung pagpapatawad, madali iyan. Pero dapat pa rin s’yang managot.
Senate President Franklin Drilon: Her admission indicated that she is prepared to take full responsibility for any impropriety on her part.
House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.: The President has regained the moral high ground by ending her period of isolation and reflection to face the Filipino people on an issue that has touched the heart of her presidency. This is an act of conscience and moral courage. By speaking, she’s setting the record straight to put an end to all the wild and unfair speculations.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago: President Arroyo has committed no crime nor even a mistake in judgment. There is no basis for her to resign or be impeached.
Sen. Ralph Recto: The crisis is now over because the petite lady had sung. After her mea culpa, we must now all move on.
Guillermo Luz, Makati Business Club: Now that she has spoken and admitted she talked to a Comelec official, we will leave it to the legal experts...to look into the matter. Talking to an election official is, I would say, improper.
Donald Dee, Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry: Umamin na ang ating Pangulo, humingi ng tawad. Tapos na ‘to. Ang importante ay ‘yung sinasabi niyang ‘time to move on’. Hindi na political.
Bro. Eddie Villanueva sa pamamagitan ng spokesman na si Atty. Luis Sison: Hindi kami satisfied. Bitin ang paliwanag ni GMA. Marami pa siyang dapat na i-explain. Tuloy ang laban para ilabas ang katotohanan.
Gerry Corpuz, Pamalakaya: ‘Yan ang mother of all fantaserye na tatalo sa Darna, Encantadia at Kampanerang Kuba. Parang roller coaster, inamin n’ya na boses n’ya, ‘di naman inamin ang pandaraya.
Reaction bago ang statement ni Arroyo
Ex-Sen. Rene Saguisag: She did not call Garcillano to pray the rosary. There was an intention to cheat. Can we allow her to stay on? Call me old-fashioned, marami nang masyadong modernong istilo pero some things must not change... Kailangan pa rin ang delicadeza and integrity.
Rep. Prospero Pichay: There’s no impropriety to talking to an election officer. We all do that. Verifying some information with regards to votes counted is not a crime, not even improper.
Danilo Ramos, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas: She can talk all she wants...but the bottom line is no one believes her anymore and she is just wasting her voice on useless prattle.
The problem with Impeachment though is that...
para sa mga tunay na halal na presidente lang ito like Erap. And GMA is not even our legitimate president.
Instead of the impeachment option, maybe ang mas magandang gawin is to drag her out of Malacanang in handcuffs na lang. LMAO!
Of course, she could make it so much easier for herself and the country by simply resigning.
Instead of the impeachment option, maybe ang mas magandang gawin is to drag her out of Malacanang in handcuffs na lang. LMAO!
Of course, she could make it so much easier for herself and the country by simply resigning.
PCIJ Blog got hacked yesterday
And Alecks said the timing is very suspicious.
Anyway, now that they're back, they have lots of post-"apology" GLORIAGATE analysis. Just keep scrolling down.
Anyway, now that they're back, they have lots of post-"apology" GLORIAGATE analysis. Just keep scrolling down.
GLORIAGATE and JUETENGATE 2 links
More on this administration's propaganda tactics here.
Impeach rap filer seen as admin stalking horse:
Jueteng Whitewash on, Says opposition:
Impeach rap filer seen as admin stalking horse:
THE United Opposition (UNO) said President Arroyo’s allies in the House should show delicadeza by not endorsing the impeachment complaint submitted by lawyer Oliver Lozano yesterday because doing so would only reinforce the belief that a cover-up is in the works to sabotage the investigation into the "Hello Garci" conversations.
House minority leader Francis Escudero, UNO secretary general, warned the majority in Congress that endorsing Lozano’s complaint would only allow a "ridiculous" impeachment proceeding where majority congressmen, the President’s allies, would endorse the complaint and either go through with the impeachment process or recommend its dismissal.
"Nasa interest ng bawat isa sa atin, majority, minority, oposisyon o administrasyon na dapat maging katanggap-tanggap at kapani-paniwala ang proseso (ng impeachment) at kapag administrasyon ang nag-file o nag-endorse nito, ang mangyayari lamang ay magiging katawa-tawa ang sitwasyon, kung saan kakampi at kapartido ni Pangulong Arroyo ang mag-eendorso, kakampi at kapartido niya ang magpapa-dismiss din nito at kung ito’y matutuloy, kakampi at kapartido din niya ang uusig kay Pangulong Arroyo," Escudero said.
Jueteng Whitewash on, Says opposition:
SEN. Lito Lapid, chairman of the Senate committee on games, amusement and sports, yesterday endorsed the termination of the investigation on the jueteng scandal that has rocked Malacañang, eliciting cries of "whitewash" from opposition senators.
About the impeachement option
Read this article first from Conrado de Quiros.
I would much prefer to see Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resign and call for Snap elections, para matapos na ito. But I'm not worried about using the impeachment option either:
a) If it will force the Mainstream Media to FINALLY give GLORIAGATE the same wall-to-wall coverage Erap's Juetengate and Impeachment trial got.
Can't wait for ABS-CBN and GMA7 to start airing the Paguia and Ong tapes on TV (with subtitles to make it easier to understand) and unleashing their political, media and audio experts to analyze and scrutinze the contents of those incriminating tapes, bit by bit, converasation by conversation.
(here's hoping that PDI, PHILSTAR, ABS-CBN and GMA7 will also start making the Paguia and Ong tapes available for download.)
b) If the Impeachment trial can inform and educate the public re the gravity of GMA's crimes and the military and COMELEC's role in facilitating the massive cheating that took place during Halalan 2004.
What better way to gain the public and media's full attention on GLORIAGATE than GMA's impeachement trial? What better way to know who are the partisan Arroyo loyalists in the House and the Senate who will stonewall and obstruct the GLORIAGATE investigations?
(I won't be surprised though if the impeachment ends up like the last canvassing of votes in 2004 ("Noted, noted, noted!!!!"))
c) We need to at least try this option before we say BYE-BYE to GMA. LOL.
UPDATE: OTOH, I don't trust the motive of this guy who filed the impeachment case vs Arroyo.
I would much prefer to see Gloria Macapagal Arroyo resign and call for Snap elections, para matapos na ito. But I'm not worried about using the impeachment option either:
a) If it will force the Mainstream Media to FINALLY give GLORIAGATE the same wall-to-wall coverage Erap's Juetengate and Impeachment trial got.
Can't wait for ABS-CBN and GMA7 to start airing the Paguia and Ong tapes on TV (with subtitles to make it easier to understand) and unleashing their political, media and audio experts to analyze and scrutinze the contents of those incriminating tapes, bit by bit, converasation by conversation.
(here's hoping that PDI, PHILSTAR, ABS-CBN and GMA7 will also start making the Paguia and Ong tapes available for download.)
b) If the Impeachment trial can inform and educate the public re the gravity of GMA's crimes and the military and COMELEC's role in facilitating the massive cheating that took place during Halalan 2004.
What better way to gain the public and media's full attention on GLORIAGATE than GMA's impeachement trial? What better way to know who are the partisan Arroyo loyalists in the House and the Senate who will stonewall and obstruct the GLORIAGATE investigations?
(I won't be surprised though if the impeachment ends up like the last canvassing of votes in 2004 ("Noted, noted, noted!!!!"))
c) We need to at least try this option before we say BYE-BYE to GMA. LOL.
UPDATE: OTOH, I don't trust the motive of this guy who filed the impeachment case vs Arroyo.
GLORIAGATE Transcripts in English
Since Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said that she did cheat or did not discuss any plans with a COMELEC official to steal the 2004 elections, here again are the GLORIAGATE transcripts of the Paguia tape (with English translations for those Non-Tagalog readers) at pag-aralan natin ito ng mabuti kung nagsasabi ng totoo si Mrs. Arroyo o hindi.
Here's Part 1 (English version) of the Gloriagate Transcripts based on the Paguia Tape
Here's Part 2 (English version)
and here's Part 3 (English version).
Here's Part 1 (English version) of the Gloriagate Transcripts based on the Paguia Tape
Here's Part 2 (English version)
and here's Part 3 (English version).
Monday, June 27, 2005
More Classic PDI Editorials
Another PDI Editorial. This time on Jan 22, 2001.
The "destabilization" comment is funny. Pati na rin yung statement ng Inquirer sa huli.
Previous:
- PDI's Hypocrisy
The Macapagal administration can learn from Fidel Ramos. He took it on the chin. Never personally. He did not attack the press. He presented and explained his version of the bad news about him. He understood and respected the functions of the press. That’s why, unlike Estrada, he never accused the press of trying to destabilize his administration.
We extend a hand of friendship to the new administration. The lesson is: The Inquirer is only hazardous to those people in government who betray the public trust…
The "destabilization" comment is funny. Pati na rin yung statement ng Inquirer sa huli.
Previous:
- PDI's Hypocrisy
Your "Non-apology" apology is not needed, but your Resignation is required though, Mrs Arroyo...
And can the TV stations (and other media outlets) start airing the tapes na without any hassle and let their media, political and audio experts analyze the contents on the Gloriagate conversations, for starters?
Sabi raw kasi ni Gloria dito na hindi naman daw siya nandaya eh... ;)
Sabi raw kasi ni Gloria dito na hindi naman daw siya nandaya eh... ;)
Full text, Arroyo statement on the tapes
June 27, 2005
Updated 07:19pm (Mla time)
INQ7.net
WHAT follows is the full text of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's statement on June 27, 2005 on the issue of the tape recordings:
Mga Minamahal kong Kababayan,
For the last several weeks, the issue of the tape recordings has spun out of control. Tonight, I want to set the record straight. You deserve an explanation; from me, because you are the people I was elected to serve.
As you recall, the election canvassing process was unnecessarily slow even after the election results were already in and the votes had been counted.
I was anxious to protect my votes and during that time had conversations with many people, including a Comelec official. My intent was not to influence the outcome of the election, and it did not. As I mentioned, the election had already been decided and the votes counted. And as you remember, the outcome had been predicted by every major public opinion poll, and adjudged free, fair and decisive by international election observers, and our own Namfrel.
That said, let me tell you how I personally feel, I recognize that making any such call was a lapse in judgment. I’m sorry. I also regret taking so long to speak before you on this matter. I take full responsibility for my actions and to you and to all those good citizens who may have had their faith shaken by these events. I want to assure you that I have redoubled my efforts to serve the nation and earn your trust.
Nagagambala ako. Maliwanag na may kakulangan sa wastong pagpapasya ang nangyaring pagtawag sa telepono.//pinagsisisihan ko ito ng lubos.// Pinana’gutan ko nang lubusan ang aking mga ginawa at humuhingi ako ng tawad sa inyo, sa lahat ng mga butihing mamamayan na nabawasan ng tiwala dahil sa mga pangyayaring ito. Ibig kong tiyakin sa inyo na lalo pa akong magsisikap upang maglingkod sa bayan at matamo ang inyong tiwala.
I took office with a mandate to carry out a plan for the nation. Since that time, I have focused on making the tough but necessary decisions to make up for years of economic neglect. We passed a comprehensive fiscally responsible national budget; raised new and necessary revenues to reinvest in the people; and implemented new anti-corruption measures that have led to the highest collection of taxes in history.
Nothing should stand in the way of this work, or the next phase of my reform agenda, which includes new investments in education and social services with our new revenues; and an expansion of our successful anti-corruption and lifestyle checks.
That is why I want to close this chapter and move on with the business of governing.
I ask each and every one of you to join hands with me in a show of unity, to help forge One Philippines, where everyone is equal under the law, and where everyone has the opportunity to use their God-given talents to make a better life.
Our nation is strong and getting stronger. The progress is steady and I ask you to walk with me on this journey to rebuild our great nation. I remain your humble servant and promise you that I will fulfill my constitutional oath of office to serve the people to the best of my ability.
God Bless the Philippines.
DEAN JORGE BOCOBO SIGHTING!!!
Uber-blogger (now retired?) Dean Jorge Bocobo made a rare appearance on Ellen Tordesillas' column today:
We miss you, Dean! Eniweys hindi lang naman yan ang laman ng article ni Ellen eh. As usual, informative ang column niya ngayon (kaya nga required reading siya sa akin eh!)
She also talked re the "gathering political storm" and a "shift" in Makati business' sentiment.
Oh btw, ito ang dahilan kung bakit humiwalay na si Clavel Asas-Martinez sa administration ni Arroyo:
Dean J. Bocobo wrote: "Congratulations on your column (June 24, 2005). I’m sure this was on everyone’s mind at the sudden release of Tarongoy. The sad thing is that this means many more Filipinos will probably be kidnapped now that the terrorists (or plain kidnap for ransom gangs?) know which presidents can be made to kneel, namely those desperate for a diversion from the hounds of justice."
We miss you, Dean! Eniweys hindi lang naman yan ang laman ng article ni Ellen eh. As usual, informative ang column niya ngayon (kaya nga required reading siya sa akin eh!)
She also talked re the "gathering political storm" and a "shift" in Makati business' sentiment.
Oh btw, ito ang dahilan kung bakit humiwalay na si Clavel Asas-Martinez sa administration ni Arroyo:
LAST Wednesday, Rep. Clavel Asas-Martinez of the fourth district of Cebu, pulled a surprise on her colleagues in the majority when she asked that the Gloria-Garci tape be played during the congressional hearing because there’s a part that showed irregularities in the Cebu Cebu went overwhelmingly for Arroyo in the 2004 elections with voters turnout as high as 85 percent, as against the usual 65 percent. The unusually high turnout, on a rainy day at that, raised a lot of suspicions. One, the voters list used was old. Many of those of voting age in the barrios have gone to Manila or overseas to work.
Martinez’ husband, Celestino, ran for governor against Gwendolyn Garcia and John-John Osmeña, son of former Sen. John Osmeña. Garcia was trailing behind Martinez most of the time amidst accusations of electoral fraud.
Garcia was proclaimed hastily by the acting provincial election officer Edwin Cadungog immediately after the June 30 oath-taking of Gloria Arroyo in Cebu based on a 7,000-vote lead which is being protested by Martinez, who claims that he won by 20,000 votes.
The conversation about the Cebu governorship took place on June 8 at 8:45 p.m. Rep. Martinez said she recognized the voice of Garcillano and GSIS general manager Winston Garcia, brother of Gwendolyn.
The exchange was brief but loaded:
Garcillano: Si ano?
Unidentified man: Cebu? Yung sa Governor?
Garci: Ewan ko kung kaylan aarya.
UM: Pare kung anong konsiderasyon pare ha, pakideclare si Garcia ha, tinanggal siya eh.
Garci: Oo syempre, pinagusapan natin yun eh.
UM: Basta’t may sinabi naman nya kung ano raw ang konting pang for disposal na, basta.
Garci: O sige lang, ok lang oo.
By insisting that the above-mentioned portion of the Gloria-Garci be played during the congressional investigation, Martinez has stepped out of the administration line to block by all means further scrutiny on the contents of the tape which exposed Arroyo discussing with Garcillano about rigging election results to ensure that she win by not less than one million votes.
Martinez said her wanting to know the truth has nothing to do with her being a member of the majority party. "Truth has no political identification," she said.
But she is clearly distancing herself from the beleaguered Arroyo. Martinez said she campaigned and voted for GMA. "Looking back, I wondered if I did the right thing." She asked her colleagues who value truth to support her proposal to play the tape.
GMA will make a scheduled address today
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is scheduled to address the nation at 7 p.m. Monday on an "issue of vital concern"
Don't get your hopes up that she will do the right thing, peeps.
In fact, i predict she will announce that she will not resign and she and her "strong republic" will go after the "destabilizers" of her administration.
She will also say na it's time to "move on" because we have so many problems -- but she won't include herself in that category (even though she and her legitimacy problems are the main reasons kung bakit malala ang problema natin at walang confidence ang mamamayan sa kanya o sa adminstration niya.)
She will talk about the economy, the oil prices etc etc -- but she will never tell the truth about GLORIAGATE and juetengate 2.
GLORIAGATE news roundup June 27
Gloria's allies move to kill GLORIAGATE, Jueteng investigations.
Opposition call for civil disobedience by not paying taxes if GMA doesn't budge.
Read this editorial too from Malaya.
Read it all.
And Ducky Paredes on being a "destabilizer" for democracy.
Yup, and what's up with the Commission on Human Rights? Why are they so silent on this admin's violations?
THE insistence of Malacañang’s allies that it is high time for the Senate to terminate its inquiry into the jueteng payola scandal betrays President Arroyo’s fear that the investigation could turn up more witnesses who would link her to the jueteng payoffs, opposition Senators Sergio Osmeña III and Panfilo Lacson said yesterday.
Previous witnesses so far have linked her son, Pampanga Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo and brother-in-law, Negros Occidental Rep. Jose Ignacio Arroyo to the payola scandal.
"They are trying to cut short the hearings so that the other witnesses would have no chance to come out. They are afraid of what surprise witnesses would reveal if they are allowed to testify," Osmeña said.
Opposition call for civil disobedience by not paying taxes if GMA doesn't budge.
SEN. Sergio Osmeña III yesterday joined calls for civil disobedience because of President Arroyo’s continued refusal to break her silence on the alleged rigging of the May 2004 presidential elections as contained in the "Hello Garci" recordings.
"As long as President Arroyo refuses to answer and explain the scandal, which is the worse since Marcos time, the appeal for civil disobedience has a good basis. I will support the campaign for civil disobedience," Osmeña said.
Sen. Panfilo Lacson said the civil disobedience campaign has effectively started through people’s use of snatches of the "Hello Garci" conversations as ring tones for their cell phone and distribution of copies of the wiretapped conversations allegedly between President Arroyo and Election Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.
Lacson said: "Instead of confronting the issue and telling the truth, Malacañang chose to remain silent and threaten the people. So now we see everyone playing the ring tone and distributing the CD. That’s a clear sign of civil disobedience."
Read this editorial too from Malaya.
‘‘So to shove these scandals off the front pages, Gloria’s propagandists are now raising alarms over crude prices and the effects of the expanded VAT. They may yet succeed, but may just find themselves jumping from the frying pan into the fire.’
Read it all.
And Ducky Paredes on being a "destabilizer" for democracy.
Imagine that printing press employees "caught" in the act of printing posters that show Gloria for the ugly person that she is have been arrested for being "destabilizers!" Is there a law that forbids printing any sort of posters? In a society where there is supposed to be free speech and a free press, one can print anything.
Yup, and what's up with the Commission on Human Rights? Why are they so silent on this admin's violations?
Bakit wala yung article ni Conrado de Quiros ngayon?
Hindi ba lumalabas siya usually sa Monday? Anybody know why hindi lumabas yung article niya ngayon
PDI's Hypocrisy
In PDI's C.Y.A. Editorial today on GLORIAGATE, it stated that:
Meaning, avoid using "people power" to oust Gloria. But that was not PDI's position back in it's January 21, 2001 Editorial when the hated Erap was president.
Read the whole Jan 21, 2001 Editorial and compare it to the hypocritical, wimpy and evasive PDI editorial today and tell me that you didn't Laugh Your Ass Out (LMAO) at the hypocrisy and duplicity of PDI's editors.
(But at least they now recognize the importance of following the "rule of law" and adhering to the Consitution for Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. That's an improvement and at least counts for SOMETHING, hindi ba?)
Whatever the answers, the national interest remains the same: The crisis must be resolved through constitutional means.
Meaning, avoid using "people power" to oust Gloria. But that was not PDI's position back in it's January 21, 2001 Editorial when the hated Erap was president.
Triumph of the people
FOR THE SECOND time in 15 years, Filipinos unleashed people power to force the resignation of their President in a bloodless and legal transfer of power from Joseph Ejercito Estrada to Vice President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.
Ms Macapagal was sworn into office yesterday before more than a million people, who had gone to the streets to demand Estrada’s resignation, at historic Edsa where in February 1986, millions of Filipinos braved tanks to topple the 14-year dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. The Filipinos did it again after five days of people power demonstrations in protest triggered by the Senate’s vote not to disclose evidence in Estrada’s impeachment trial.
What was remarkable with People Power 2, which former President Fidel Ramos described as a reprise of the 1986 Edsa Revolution "done better," was that the Filipinos demonstrated that they can change disgraced leaders with pressure from the streets within constitutional and legal methods, and without shedding blood.
Fears that People Power 2 would turn violent, given President Estrada’s belligerent statements that he would never resign, did not materialize, repeating the non-violent transfer of power in 1986 after Marcos resigned. The power handover yesterday, ending the country’s political crisis, demonstrated the strength and resilience of the country’s democratic institutions and traditions.
With the transfer of power, Estrada goes down in the archives as the shortest-serving president (31 months) in the post-war history of the Republic, as well as the first Filipino president to be impeached.
It is historically significant that Ms Macapagal took her oath as a constitutional successor before Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., with the blessings of Jaime Cardinal Sin, in the presence of the Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Angelo Reyes, leaders of Congress and the leaders of civil society forces which were the dynamo of the second People Power upheaval. The presence of two key players in Edsa 1--former President Corazon Aquino and former President Fidel Ramos--forged the historical link between the two people-driven uprising in the streets to replace leaders who had lost their mandate. At the new President’s swearing in, the leaders of the key Philippine political and social institutions, including the State and the Church, closed ranks to give the new government constitutional and moral legitimacy.
The constitutional and non-violent succession of President Macapagal was facilitated by the decisive withdrawal by the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police of their support for Estrada and their swift transfer of loyalty to his constitutional successor. This breakaway repeated the military defection from Marcos in 1986 and, in this crisis, it knocked down the main pillar of support for Estrada, ignited the resignations of most of the members of his Cabinet and precipitated the collapse of his government.
It is a reflection of the strength of the Filipino democratic culture that the military did not take advantage of the crisis to seize power, preferring to mediate the resignation of Estrada and the transition to the next government. In Edsa 2, the military took a lower profile than in Edsa 1, when it sent tanks to the streets. While giving credit to the role of military defection in making Estrada realize that his time was up, it was people power itself massed in the streets that was the most decisive factor in the resignation of Estrada. Without the critical mass that thronged the streets in outrage over the scuttling of the impeachment trial by the Senate’s 11-10 vote denying access to vital evidence, the outcome of the crisis would have not been democratic and constitutional.
In the resolution of this crisis, the people, again asserting their sovereign right to withdraw their electoral mandate that had been betrayed by Estrada, brought about a change in leadership, while obeying the Constitution and making democracy work. The people acted to save a democracy that was subverted by an unworthy and corrupt leadership in an upheaval ignited by a spontaneous explosion of rage.
Edsa 2 had no galvanizing leadership unlike Edsa 1. It was the people themselves who went to the streets, driven by outrage, rather than responding to the call of charismatic leadership. Edsa 2 was a triumph of civil society. It was crisis and an upheaval which the Filipinos resolved themselves for the first time without foreign intervention. That should help us regain our national pride and dignity.
Read the whole Jan 21, 2001 Editorial and compare it to the hypocritical, wimpy and evasive PDI editorial today and tell me that you didn't Laugh Your Ass Out (LMAO) at the hypocrisy and duplicity of PDI's editors.
(But at least they now recognize the importance of following the "rule of law" and adhering to the Consitution for Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. That's an improvement and at least counts for SOMETHING, hindi ba?)
Kidnapping potential witnesses
What is with this administration habit of kidnapping potential witnesses or relatives of said witnesses to silence them? Mahusay, Doble, Rashma Hali and now this?
I guess they have a lot of things to coverup, no?
From the Daily Tribune:
More here. (Or here if the link to the editorial doesn't work.)
Previous:
- How Gangsters Operate
- Where's COMELEC official Rashma Hali?
- More on Rashma Hali
- Gloriambino Crime Family
I guess they have a lot of things to coverup, no?
From the Daily Tribune:
Malacañang is taking no chances with key witnesses who can adjourn President Arroyo's direct involvement in the poll fraud that enabled her to stay on in Malacañang.
Not only has Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano gone missing, but that his secretary and girl Friday, Ellen Peralta, as well as a number of Comelec officers who were identified in the tape as having participated in the poll fraud to make Mrs. Arroyo win, has also gone missing.
Peralta, who was mentioned in the tape by Gracillano as the person who would be receiving the P2 million that would come from then senatorial candidate former Sen. Robert Barbers, to fix up the election documents and ensure his poll victory, is reportedly now under the control of the military to ensure her silence on the allegations of electoral fraud, as evidenced by the taped conversations between the President and Garcillano as well as between the poll commissioner and other Comelec officers and officials.
Highly-placed sources from the military establishment yesterday disclosed that since Ellen Peralta dropped out of sight several days ago, she has been held against her will in an undisclosed place by military intelligence agents from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp).
More here. (Or here if the link to the editorial doesn't work.)
Previous:
- How Gangsters Operate
- Where's COMELEC official Rashma Hali?
- More on Rashma Hali
- Gloriambino Crime Family
Sunday, June 26, 2005
Philstar's pro-GMA columnists give their advice
Let's start with the top apologist este... columnist and publisher of Philippine Star, Mr. Max Soliven. Ito ang advice niya kay Gloria Macapagal Arroyo para hindi siya mahuli.
Then, ito namang si Federico Pascual, he writes that to make it easier for GMA to change the topic... WE NEED A CHARTER CHANGE!!!
So cwever, very very cwever of Mr. Pascual.
Tapos may pahabol na advice pa siya na bababa raw si GMA pag may bagong Constitution na. The problem with Arroyo though is that she has a difficult time keeping promises of stepping down and not running again. Been there. Done that.
Tapos ito pang isang Philstar columnist na si Babes Romauldez, on GLORIAGATE he writes that it's not really GMA's fault, IT'S THE SYSTEMS FAULT!!! CHANGE THE SYSTEM!!! AMEND THE CONSTITUTION!!!
(Hmmm... pansin ko Pascual and Romauldez are talking about the same thing CON-CON. Maybe they have been reading the same recently distributed talking points from Malacanang? LOL!)
And don't get me started with Direk Alex Magno.
Then, ito namang si Federico Pascual, he writes that to make it easier for GMA to change the topic... WE NEED A CHARTER CHANGE!!!
President Arroyo could announce a ConCon timetable, rush preparations and hold the charter convention early next year. The political thunderclap may just snag the momentum of the ongoing demolition of her regime.
To add to the impact and ease tension, she could announce that she would step down from the presidency upon the adoption of a new Constitution, or something like that.
With widespread disenchantment with the present system, the Con-Con alternative is likely to attract significant supporters.
So cwever, very very cwever of Mr. Pascual.
Tapos may pahabol na advice pa siya na bababa raw si GMA pag may bagong Constitution na. The problem with Arroyo though is that she has a difficult time keeping promises of stepping down and not running again. Been there. Done that.
Tapos ito pang isang Philstar columnist na si Babes Romauldez, on GLORIAGATE he writes that it's not really GMA's fault, IT'S THE SYSTEMS FAULT!!! CHANGE THE SYSTEM!!! AMEND THE CONSTITUTION!!!
(Hmmm... pansin ko Pascual and Romauldez are talking about the same thing CON-CON. Maybe they have been reading the same recently distributed talking points from Malacanang? LOL!)
And don't get me started with Direk Alex Magno.
Malacanang screwup contributed to it's own problems
by using the pre-emption tactic.
Randy David explains:
Now the administration has shifted it's tactics to the arena of legal combat:
Nobody said it's going to be easy Prof. David, especially if the civil society and the mainstream media continues to prop her up.
Randy David explains:
It is interesting how much the Palace has contributed to its own problems. The existence of these taped conversations was first publicly announced by no less than the presidential spokesman himself. June 6 was a Monday. We can reasonably assume that Malacañang's crisis team met during the weekend to determine how to handle the tapes. When Bunye presented and played two compact discs to the Palace press corps, one labeled "original" and the other "altered," it is difficult to believe the President did not authorize what he was going to do or say on that occasion. A presidential spokesman speaking on his own behalf on a vital matter pertaining to the President? That would have been the height of irresponsibility.
Bunye promptly disappeared immediately after. When he returned to his post sometime later, he had a different story to tell. He said he was no longer sure that was the President's voice on the tapes, and that he was now convinced that both tapes had been tampered with. He could no longer identify the source of these two tapes. In less than a week, Malacañang moved from pre-emption to damage control, indicating the active participation of lawyers.
Now the administration has shifted it's tactics to the arena of legal combat:
It is clear that Malacañang has shifted President Arroyo's bid for survival from the terrain of political debate, where she is losing, to the arena of legal combat, where she hopes to win or, at least, delay her downfall.
The latest Palace line is a model of studied evasiveness: The President won the elections fair and square. If there are any doubts about her victory, they must be resolved in accordance with the rule of law. The alleged wiretapped conversations, whether authentic or not, are illegal, and therefore inadmissible in evidence. The President has not committed any impeachable offense. Without saying so explicitly, the Palace is daring the President's detractors to sue her.
The President has the numbers in both houses of Congress. Her allies can ignore public opinion and throw out any impeachment case at any stage of the process. The country may go through this wrenching exercise all over again, hoping that truth and justice will prevail in the end. But in the final analysis, the case will be resolved by a vote based not on any objective appreciation of the evidence at hand but on political allegiance.
Nobody said it's going to be easy Prof. David, especially if the civil society and the mainstream media continues to prop her up.
What Edsa Dos means nowadays
Edsa Dos used to be all about removing corruption and immorality in Malacanang and replacing it with people who believe in good government.
Ngayon, nag-iba na ang meaning nito. It's not really about corruption, or incompetence or about honest government. Kasi nandyan pa rin si Arroyo eh.
Now Edsa Dos, as embodied by it's leaders, is all about doing whatever it takes to get one of their own in power -- AND KEEPING HER THERE, thru electoral fraud or a coup.
It's also about looking the other way when that installed leader lies, stonewalls, steals, use martial law tactics or obstruct justice to maintain a stranglehold on this country of ours.
Ngayon, nag-iba na ang meaning nito. It's not really about corruption, or incompetence or about honest government. Kasi nandyan pa rin si Arroyo eh.
Now Edsa Dos, as embodied by it's leaders, is all about doing whatever it takes to get one of their own in power -- AND KEEPING HER THERE, thru electoral fraud or a coup.
It's also about looking the other way when that installed leader lies, stonewalls, steals, use martial law tactics or obstruct justice to maintain a stranglehold on this country of ours.
Ano? Wala pa rin, ABS-CBN, GMA7, PDI and Philstar?
Ayaw nyo pa ring ipa-verify sa experts yung Gloria-Garci tape? Why? Don't you want to know the truth? Afraid that it might damage GMA? O baka naipa-authenticate nyo na yung tape, pero ayaw nyo lang ilabas.
Malalaking media companies kayo, hindi nyo magawa yan?
Uulitin ko yung sinabi ko dati:
June 26 na. More than two and a half weeks old na ito. Ayaw nyo bang malaman ang katotohanan?.
Previous:
- Bakit naka-tanga lang ang GMA7, ABS-CBN at PDI?
- More thoughts on ABS-CBN, GMA7, PDI and Philstar's pa-tanga-tanga attitude
Malalaking media companies kayo, hindi nyo magawa yan?
Uulitin ko yung sinabi ko dati:
Kung kaya ng Inquirer na magpadala ng reporter sa states para "imbestigahan" ang "Billion dollar hidden wealth" ni lacson, I'm sure kaya rin nilang ipa-check yung tape sa isang independent at credible na expert.
June 26 na. More than two and a half weeks old na ito. Ayaw nyo bang malaman ang katotohanan?.
Previous:
- Bakit naka-tanga lang ang GMA7, ABS-CBN at PDI?
- More thoughts on ABS-CBN, GMA7, PDI and Philstar's pa-tanga-tanga attitude
GMA compares herself to Ninoy
GMA compares herself to Ninoy
Here's the article:
Hindi ko alam na magnanakaw, mandaraya at sinungaling rin pala si Ninoy, Ate Glo.
Of course, not everybody thinks it's funny.
Here's the article:
MANILA, 25 June 2005 — President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday likened herself to the late Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. and vowed to hold on to power despite mounting calls for her resignation.
She said she felt like Aquino because of the character assassination thrown her way by her political foes.
....
“I feel humbled because they are assassinating my character as they have assassinated Ninoy,” said Arroyo at a Malaca?ang ceremony for the Benigno Aquino Jr. Awards for Nationalism yesterday. “And this humbles me, and it should humble us all.”
Aquino, popularly known as “Ninoy” was shot dead at a Manila tarmac upon his return to the Philippines in August 1983 to help unite the opposition against the Marcos dictatorship.
“Ninoy paid with his own life,” said Arroyo. “But such a sacrifice has a rejuvenating effect on any nation. His death awakened people from the fear and lethargy imposed by the dictatorship,” she added.
Hindi ko alam na magnanakaw, mandaraya at sinungaling rin pala si Ninoy, Ate Glo.
Of course, not everybody thinks it's funny.
Saturday, June 25, 2005
Last Minute GLORIGATE news
Arroyo allies Battlecry: End the GLORIAGATE Hearings!
Stop the Rallies! Call the Snipers!
More:
And read this Lito Banayo article too on Gloria's spinmasters and loyal allies having sleepless nights. Funnee!!
Stop the Rallies! Call the Snipers!
More:
LITO Atienza closes Roxas boulevard to accommodate thousands of couples kissing themselves silly before the cameras. Yet he would not allow a few thousand protesters to march from Welcome Rotonda to Liwasang Bonifacio. How much more distorted could hizzoner’s values get?
Well, Atienza is only running true to form. No Manila mayor save perhaps Ramon Bagatsing during martial law has been more shamelessly obsequious to Malacañang. We don’t know why. The city can stand on its own without the support of the national government. This is the reason the likes of Arsenio Lacson and Antonio Villegas, in their own distinct and inimitable ways, were seen in their own time as the second most important political personage in the country after the president.
Perhaps it’s because Atienza and Gloria Arroyo share the same values, for example, their opposition to family planning. Whether this springs from an equally shared contempt for the Bill of Rights is an open question. But at the rate they are trampling on the rights of dissenters, they may yet end up as the Mutt and Jeff of petty tyranny.
And read this Lito Banayo article too on Gloria's spinmasters and loyal allies having sleepless nights. Funnee!!
Must Read Article from Ninez Cacho Olivarez
I'm posting the entire article here.
When Malacañang released two compact discs claiming that one was original and the other doctored, Gloria Arroyo and her aides' intent was, to first, cover up the crime, and second, to confuse the public, as they knew there was, somewhere, the long-playing CD, containing much more than that which Malacañang released as the “doctored” tape. The claim then was that the crime of wiretapping was committed, which was a breach of national security. This was already then a clear admission it was Gloria Arroyo on the tape.
The trick would have saved her, so they thought, because the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) was under Gloria's control — except that a TV station was enterprising enough to have a CD in its possession analyzed by a local audio expert, who on that same day, stated that the voices on the tape were not tampered with.
By the time the NBI came out with the results of the testing, it had no choice but to state that the two Malacañang-released tapes were both tampered with. The NBI, however, hid the fact that the Malacañang-claimed doctored CD's tampering went only as far blurring out by injecting a noise background the more incriminating words spoken, as well as editing out completely certain conversations. The NBI also did not state that the conversations in the Palace-claimed “doctored” tape were authentic, while the Malacañang-claimed original, which it said held the voice of a political leader called “Gary,” for Edgar “Bong” Ruado, were spliced to fit into the Malacañang-scripted conversation as a cover up, only saying that the female voice on the “doctored” tape was the same as the female voice on the “original” tape.
By that time too, lawyer Allan Paguia came up with another abridged CD, with annotations from him. Again, it was clear that the Palace claimed “doctored” CD and Paguia's CD had the same female and male voices, except that there was no noise injected in Paguia's CD version to blot out the incriminating words.
Former NBI official Samuel Ong surfaced, saying he had the mother tape, after which, more CDs of longer versions as well as their transcripts flooded the country, while the Arroyo aides quickly threatened anyone and everyone with charges of wiretapping, and then inciting to sedition, to sedition.
At this point, it is clear that the wiretapping charges hold no ground, since Gloria herself refuses to admit it is her voice on the tape, while Virgilio Garcillano has been “silenced” by Malacañang. Since there is no complainant, owing to their silence and denials, there can be no wiretapping — nor even charges of piracy in the manufacture of the CDs.
Despite this, the allies in the House of Representatives continue to stonewall the playing of any tape, even if all of them have already heard the tapes privately and they even make a fuss about being overruled by the high court, as they may have committed a crime. This is being said with a straight face by the Gloria allies, despite the fact that not too long ago, they willingly gave up their sole power to impeach a high court chief justice!
So why is there such a resistance to play the tapes — all different versions of these in Congress?
Because Reynaldo Wycoco claims the tapes have “mutated” and that no authentication can be made since the original, or mother tape is not with the NBI, which has clearly been into covering up the crime by not even officially testing the Paguia tape, or even all the other versions which have been making the rounds.
Wycoco spews out a lot of crap. One does not need a mother tape to authenticate voices or test whether there was splicing or dubbing and he knows it — not in this digital age.
So why are Malacañang and its allies in Congress so scared to play these tapes?
Elementary. Whether the short or the long version, whether the annotated version or the Malacañang-claimed “doctored” version, what would be heard by the nation is that all of these taped conversations would have one common denominator: Gloria's and Garcillano's voices on the tape.
The longer version of the CD would reveal other voices in the tapes, but all referring to poll fraud.
Only the Malacañang-claimead “original” would have a different male voice which will prove that Bunye's “original” CD was heavily “doctored” to cover up the crime and by having Ruado read a scripted version to replace Garcillano's voice as well as Mike Arroyo's voice insertions to change, among others, his cuss word of p__ng ina to a mild “putragis.”
What then are the Gloria allies in Congress doing, if not being accomplices to the crime of Gloria Arroyo and Garcillano by covering it up?
And they call themselves the representatives of the people?
Cory: GMA deserves "Maximum benefit of the doubt"
From the Manila Times:
Cory: Arroyo deserves benefit of the doubt
By MA. THERESA TORRES, The Manila Times Reporter
Former President Corazon Aquino on Friday urged the people to give President Arroyo the "maximum benefit of the doubt" in the face of the political turmoil besieging her administration.
"I have carefully weighed the virtues and faults of the Filipino. And I have come to the conclusion that he is worth dying for because he is the nation’s greatest untapped resource. He is not a coward. He values life and he tends to give his leader the maximum benefit of the doubt," Mrs. Aquino said in a speech during the Benigno Aquino Awards for Nationalism at the Rizal Hall of Malacañan.
Aquino, who still wields moral influence as the leader who faced up to the dictator Ferdinand Marcos, also urged the people to pray.
No Comment. ;)
There a Yahoo poll out today on GLORIAGATE
Cast your vote here (look at the right side of the webpage).
Talking with another Arroyo Supporter
From Pinoyexchange:
So kung may nahuli tayong Military General like Carlos Garcia na nagnakaw ng pera or a public official (like a mayor) na corrupt at nandaya sa election, wag na natin tanggalin at ipakulong sila dahil "wala ring mangyayari" at "mas malala" lang ang papalit sa kanila? At hopeless na rin naman ang situation natin because it's in our Filipino nature and "we can't help it"?
Only a GMA loyalist could come up with this idiotic line of reasoning.
Just because pumalpak lang ang Edsa Dos (which gave us the disastrous GMA) doesn't mean na wala nang pag-asa ang Pilipinas.
Her removal from office is the first essential step if we want to get this country back on track.
As for finding a more qualified person to hold the job of President, heck... even our security guard is more qualified than her, because at least he's not a crook (who stole the elections, among other things) and is definitely more trustworthy than Arroyo.
That's how totally unfit she is, based on her actions and her character.
And I can't wait for the new elections. Bayani Fernando, Ping Lacson, Mar Roxas, Serge Osmena, Richard Gordon... these people are head and shoulders above Arroyo (literally and figuratively speaking).
No effin way Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the "lesser evil" among these guys.
Errr... our economic situation and corruption weren't that bad under FVR and Estrada compared to GMA's
And FVR was a HUGE improvement over his predecessor Cory.
GMA, OTOH, is WORSE than Erap -- when it comes to corruption, handling the economy, jobs, foreign investments etc.
Then, there's the LEGITIMACY issue for GMA. She didn't have it in 2001, and still doesn't have it in 2004.
Thanks Edsa Dos. Thanks for giving us Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a person so corrupt and incompetent, she even made the most diehard Edsa Dos supporter pessimistic about the idea of a more honest and accountable government in the future.
I find it weird that her removal would usher in a period of "transparency, economic progress and political peace", thats very unfilipino at this juncture of our history.
So kung may nahuli tayong Military General like Carlos Garcia na nagnakaw ng pera or a public official (like a mayor) na corrupt at nandaya sa election, wag na natin tanggalin at ipakulong sila dahil "wala ring mangyayari" at "mas malala" lang ang papalit sa kanila? At hopeless na rin naman ang situation natin because it's in our Filipino nature and "we can't help it"?
Only a GMA loyalist could come up with this idiotic line of reasoning.
Just because pumalpak lang ang Edsa Dos (which gave us the disastrous GMA) doesn't mean na wala nang pag-asa ang Pilipinas.
Her removal from office is the first essential step if we want to get this country back on track.
As for finding a more qualified person to hold the job of President, heck... even our security guard is more qualified than her, because at least he's not a crook (who stole the elections, among other things) and is definitely more trustworthy than Arroyo.
That's how totally unfit she is, based on her actions and her character.
And I can't wait for the new elections. Bayani Fernando, Ping Lacson, Mar Roxas, Serge Osmena, Richard Gordon... these people are head and shoulders above Arroyo (literally and figuratively speaking).
No effin way Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is the "lesser evil" among these guys.
Suffer? The Philippines has been suffering from political chaos and economic mismanagement long before this presidency.
Errr... our economic situation and corruption weren't that bad under FVR and Estrada compared to GMA's
And FVR was a HUGE improvement over his predecessor Cory.
GMA, OTOH, is WORSE than Erap -- when it comes to corruption, handling the economy, jobs, foreign investments etc.
Then, there's the LEGITIMACY issue for GMA. She didn't have it in 2001, and still doesn't have it in 2004.
Thanks Edsa Dos. Thanks for giving us Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, a person so corrupt and incompetent, she even made the most diehard Edsa Dos supporter pessimistic about the idea of a more honest and accountable government in the future.
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