News and Opinion Roundup

Here's the rest. Naubusan na ako ng oras eh.

Ellen Tordesillas updates us on Sammy Julian's attention grabbing story:

IT was an interesting report that Sammy Julian, Panay News reporter and Malacañang Press Corps president, contributed to Malaya last Monday from Washington DC.

Julian, who covered the Christian Nationalists Union trip to the US, said officials they have talked to did not bother to hide their disappointment over President Arroyo, whom they used to consider as President Bush's staunch ally in Asia.

Americans realized Arroyo's untrustworthiness as an ally after she withdrew Philippine troops from Iraq early this year to save the life of truck driver Angelo de la Cruz, as well as her presidency.

Quoting official sources, Julian said: "Her (Arroyo's) calls to the White House are no longer returned. She would like to meet with President Bush in Santiago, Chile (APEC meeting) but I'm not going to bet my mortgage on that taking place."

But there's an intriguing aspect of Julian's story. He said the CNU group met with key political leaders and state department officials.

Heading the CNU group to the US was former Budget Secretary Salvador Enriquez.

I called up Enriquez and he confirmed meeting with state department officials but declined to name the persons.

What is CNU? Enriquez said it's a grouping of individuals and organizations that have been working the past 30 to 40 years to re-organize government structures. He said their members include professionals, businessmen, retired military officers, and members of the religious. There are about 40 of them in the core group.

Who are the personalities in the group? Aside from Enriquez, there's the husband and wife team of Nelson and Linda Montayre of the Philippine Consultative Assembly. There's the perennial street parliamentarian Linggoy Alcuaz with his buddy Herman Laurel. Former Sen. Francisco Tatad is also member.

Looks to me like a coalition of Ramos and Estrada allies. What's their attitude towards Arroyo?

Lito Banayo on GMA's helplessness against her currupt military backers:

Why in the name of everything decent was Carlos Garcia allowed to withdraw 19 million from the AFP Savings and Loan Association just last Friday? And only after the withdrawals did the Ombudsman, Simeon Marcelo, get to be informed!

The Ombudsman says it is powerless to stop Garcia from withdrawing what, unless the courts declare so, is yet "his" money. The Anti-Money Laundering Council cannot freeze his liquid assets in the banks, because Congress did not so empower it, thanks to the watered-down provisions of the AMLA. But surely, the AFP chief of staff, under whose wing the AFPSLAI is, could be bold enough to "take charge" and do something that is morally right, come hell or high water.

After all, hasn't GMA declared war against corruption?

And how else do you explain Garic's capers except as corruption of the most obvious? In war, General Abaya, all is fair. Abaya should have stuck out his neck, legalities notwithstanding, and ordered AFPSLAI to freeze all of Garic's savings the very first day that the US Customs findings got to his desk.

But wait. The US Customs submitted their report on Clarita Garcia's blabbermouth confessions as early as January or February of this year. Yet the military admitted this only a week or so ago. Instead of sacking Garic immediately from his J-6 position, he was merely transferred to another important J-staff position.

Narcing Abaya should now publish Garic's 201 file and service record, so the public could analyze who could have gotten bigger chunks from his "conversion" operations.

Now an anonymous retired military officer adverts to a so-called "Garic's list" of generals, legislators and even a presidential candidate as having supposedly benefited from military largesse. This information held by Garcia allows him to be virtually untouchable.

Garic's list could be Garic's blackmail.

That of course is very obvious. No one, not even a dolt like Marina Leal, would believe that Garic made a pile all by his lonesome self. The favorite comptroller of five AFP chiefs of staff could not have been so favored were it not for his ability to do the dirty work for them as quietly as he had been able to until wife Clarita messed things up.

Mabuti na lamang at sadyang marunong ang Diyos.

But while Carlos got caught because Clarita sang like a canary, now every effort is being made to make certain Carlos does not sing at all. And why is Malacañang so eerily silent about all this, except for limp pronouncements here and there?

Read this too:

Gloria offered good governance and hard work after wresting power from Joseph Estrada. Now we know what Gloria's version of good governance is. Rampant thievery in government and wholesale looting of the Treasury to buy the election.

She next came up with the Strong Republic. What we saw was unapologetic kowtowing to vested interests. Population management? Forget about it. She owes the Church. Clean up hemorrhaging state firms? She can't say "no" to those who delivered the votes wholesale. Go after smugglers and other economic saboteurs? She can't control the Jose Pidals of this world. Austerity? Tell that to the rest, she is not about to let go of her confidential funds. Tap the best and the brightest? The living refutations are Ramon Revilla and El Shaddai's Mel Robles at LRT.

With this record, how could the young military officers expect her to demonstrate political will in going after the thieves at the AFP?

She rode to power on the back of a mutiny. Only the military stood between her ejection from the Palace and the May 1, 2001, siege.

She was saved by her AFP loyalists from the 300 young officers and their men who occupied Oakwood. She owes the military big-time. She'll never antagonize the brass.

"Kay Mike Velarde lang takot na, sa mga heneral pa?"

And this, this and this.