Malaysians know delicadeza

-- Hahah! Arroyo calls bishops who got water-cannoned "hypocrites" who lusts for "earthly powers". LOL.
-- "Nauseating" raw yung mga columns ni Conrad de Quiros.

-- Gloria EO ‘curtailing press freedom’ exposed

An opposition lawmaker yesterday exposed another controversial executive order (EO) that President Arroyo secretly issued last August.

According to Rep. Rolex Suplico, Mrs. Arroyo issued EO 454, which empowers the government, through the Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC), to directly control the telecommunications sector such as radio, television, mobile phones, among others, last Aug. 16, the same time the House of Representatives was busy with the impeachment complaints being pushed against the President.

Suplico, during a press briefing, said EO 454 was aimed at “curtailing the press freedom” especially at a time when Mrs. Arroyo and her government continue to become unpopular to the public because of various alleged irregularities that she, her family and Cabinet officials, have been facing through the media.

The EO, he stressed, has transferred the power of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to oversee the communications sector to the DoTC, under Secretary Leandro Mendoza, perceived to be very loyal to the President.

The transfer of the “control,” Suplico claimed, was in violation of Section 6 of Republic Act 7925, or the Telecommunications Policy Act of the Philippines, which prohibits the DoTC to directly control the telecommunications sector since the department falls directly under Malacañang.

House Minority Floor Leader Francis Escudero, for his part, said the EO was believed to have been patterned offer the EO 546 issued by the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos on July 23, 1979, which empowered his government to take control of the NTC at the time the country was placed under martial law.

He added they would examine the EO when the DoTC appears before the House appropriations committee for its budget next year.

Escudero stressed they would question the legality and the constitutionality of such order.

-- PCIJ: CPR, “no permit, no rally” policies unconstitutional — FLAG

-- Senators smells a rat over missing 2004 poll boxes.

-- the police and this administration is caught lying again:

In a recent interview at ANC, National Capital Region Police Office chief Vidal Querol, when asked about the difference between the maximum tolerance policy and the CPR, stated it was one and the same, all stemming from the no-permit, no-rally policy.

This is contrary to the public statement made by Gloria when she said rallyists have abused their rights, and that henceforth, her maximum tolerance policy has been replaced by her CPR.

Querol was also asked during the same interview, what were the guidelines in dispersing rallyists, considering the fact that different methods are being applied to them. One day, it is the presence of cops with batons and shields to disperse these demonstrators; another day it is just shields that the cops use and yet another day, water cannons are let loose. What is next? Tear gas as a tool to disperse the demonstrators? Bullets to maim and kill the rallyists?

More to the point, why don't the anti-riot policemen and commanders on the ground have any coordination, by way of orders, which would be, in a strict sense, a breach of the chain of command, since it was evident that the order to hose down the rallyists did not come from the ground commander, who was still negotiating with the rallyists.

It was also evident that even as the police presented before the media a police commander who acknowledged he had given the order to use the water cannons on the demonstrators, a video clip showed it wasn't the same person who was caught giving the firemen the order to let loose the water cannons.

What this means is that the police leadership has obviously lied when it presented before the media a different officer who is apparently being made to take the rap. And yet Querol has the gall to claim that an investigation will be conducted.

How much of a cover-up job will such a probe entail, given the fact that a fall guy is being made to take the rap, in the first place?

Even more alarming is the fact that policemen who were called before the Commission on Human Rights office, apparently did not know what the law surrounding rallies is all about and obviously, neither did they know just what means they have to utilize in dispersing rallyists. Worse, they appear never to have heard about the law governing rallies.

During the same TV interview, Querol dismissed this ignorance of the law by his cops, saying it is very dangerous for the police to interpret the law themselves, and this would cause confusion. But these are the law enforcers, and surely they should know what the law is all about. They are not supposed to follow the orders of their superiors blindly, as they have to know the difference between legal and illegal orders.

-- Sen. Fred Lim gets some major props from Manong Ernie:

Good. Sen. Fred Lim has started a good thing. He has launched a “Piso para sa Katotohanan” fund-raising campaign to assist in the defense of Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, Lt. Col. Alexander Balutan and other embattled military officers.

Thirteen senators contributed P10,000 each and donations are pouring in at Sen. Lim's Senate office. The last we heard - it has reached a total of over P300,000. The target is P2 million. Send a few pesos as proof of your commitment to the truth.

Meanwhile, Col. Balutan is facing a second charge for appearing on TV without the approval of the chief of staff.

Is that a new offense? Since the military top brass have even called a televised presscon to throw the book at Gen. Gudani and Col. Balutan, don't they have the right to defend themselves in the same medium? Clearly, another case of martial-law thinking.

I wanna donate too. Kailangan ko pa bang pumunta sa office ni Sen. Fred Lim? Layo naman.