Protecting the Constitution from the Hyenas

UPDATED: From Randy David:

AMENDING a Constitution is serious business; writing a new one is even more so. A mature nation does it for the right reasons—to take account of new realities in the world or in the country itself, to solve persistent problems that cannot be cured by ordinary legislation, etc. It is irresponsible to undertake constitutional reform just to fix the problems of an incumbent politician. It is like attempting to save a marriage, troubled by a chronically dishonest spouse, by drawing up a post-nuptial agreement, when dissolving the relationship is the more logical action to take.

Framers of constitutions everywhere are often cautioned against writing the values of their generation into a document that should serve future generations as well. If this seems like a sensible advice, then it should warn us against the tricks of politicians who want to write their political careers into the Constitution.

That’s the main reason I have refused to participate in the so-called “great debate” on Charter change. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is the wrong person to start it. Her mandate is under question because of the widespread belief that she conspired to rig the outcome of the 2004 presidential election. Her behavior as President of the country in the last five years has been marked by a total lack of respect for the most basic principles of ethical leadership. She is desperately fighting for survival. A constitution written under such auspices can only be a polluted document.

Correctomundo! Read the whole thing.

From Neal Cruz: Who is the mastermind of the "No Elections" provision?

THE INQUIRER REPORTED LAST SATURDAY that fellow congressmen have pointed to Speaker Jose de Venecia as the mastermind of the hated "no-election" provision of the draft Constitution prepared by the Arroyo-created Consultative Commission (ConCom). Records of the ConCom show that it was former Rep. Gerry Espina (Biliran) who authored the "No-El" provision. Whether or not it was JDV who prodded Espina to make the proposal, only the two of them know.

Bribing incumbent elective officials with a three-year extension of their terms of office, without having to run and spend for re-election, does seem to have the characteristic trademark of JDV. But that is not an original trick. President Marcos did it before. When he had a new Constitution written by a Constitutional Convention, a provision was inserted, automatically making ConCom members who voted in favor of the draft Charter members of Parliament (the Batasan). The Arroyo-appointed ConCom members copied the spirit of that provision, which is actually a blatant form of bribery.

Aside from the three-year bonus for incumbent officials, the ConCom members gave President Macapagal-Arroyo the power to appoint 30 unelected persons to the Parliament. Among the 30 are members of the present ConCom who wrote the draft Charter.

It is a traditional practice of legislative bodies to ban their members from enjoying benefits that they themselves write into a Constitution or a law (an increase in salary, for example). Such benefits can only apply to the new set of officials who will replace them. This is to prevent legislators from using their powers for their own benefit.

But the members of the present ConCom have done exactly that. They abused their powers by passing a provision that would benefit themselves. They could have banned themselves from being appointed to the Parliament, as is customary, but they shamelessly did not do that. It is clear they, too, want a free ride to Parliament. Kapalmuks talaga!

Plus this on Cha-cha salesman Ben Evardone:

One official who sticks out as a probable victim of JDV's seduction is Gov. Ben Evardone of Eastern Samar, who is ironically a former journalist and, therefore, should know better. Evardone is the front man of the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP), the association of local government officials behind the move to gather signatures for a "people's initiative" in case the Constituent Assembly ploy is blocked by the Senate. He seems to be enamored of a parliamentary/federal system of government. He should realize that in case that happens, his province would be among the worst hit.

Eastern Samar is among the poorest provinces in the country. In a federal system, the provinces will have to fend for themselves. They won't get any funding from the national government as much as they do now. They will have to pay their own police forces, health personnel, teachers, legislatures, etc. The departments of the national government will have to be replicated in the provincial level. The rich provinces and cities in Luzon, in the Visayas (Cebu and Bacolod) and in Mindanao (Davao and, perhaps, Cagayan de Oro) will be able to support themselves. But what about the poor provinces? How will they support themselves?

They will be forced to tax their constituents more. But as they say, you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. How can you squeeze more taxes out of the poor people of Eastern Samar and similar provinces? Most of the people in these areas are farmers and fishermen who can't afford to pay more taxes.

Local government officials are seduced by the idea of more autonomy for themselves. But think what could happen when the funding from the national government would be shut off. Their constituents might chase them out of their provinces.

From Conrad de Quiros:

FIRST, FIDEL RAMOS WANTED GLORIA Macapagal-Arroyo to resign by 2006, demanding that she do so to pave the way for a change in government. Then he gave her an extension up to 2007, provided she did not follow the recommendation of her Consultative Commission on Charter change to scrap the 2007 elections. Ramos asked that GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) resign by 2007 to resolve the problem of her legitimacy in the wake of the "Hello Garci" tapes, and run for parliament instead.

Then following the meeting of Lakas, Ramos was reported to have agreed that GMA might serve out her term until 2010 provided that the 2007 elections were held and that GMA's powers were clipped. GMA in turn was reported to have said she would accede to this if Congress approved it. Over the weekend, Ramos denied this, saying it was still his position that GMA resign next year.

What's wrong with the picture?

It is not that Ramos can't seem to make up his mind on when GMA should resign. That is the least of our worries. What's wrong with the picture is that, quite simply, who the hell is Ramos to be telling anyone what to do? Who the hell is Ramos to be deciding what kind of government we should have and who should head it? Who the hell is Ramos to be decreeing the future of this country?

Last I looked he was an ordinary citizen, just like you and me, who happens to be richer-indeed infinitely so-from being president at one point and profiting from various transactions. Indeed, last I looked he was the fellow who, along with Jose de Venecia, propped up GMA after she admitted obliquely to talking with Garci in her apology to the nation, thereby blocking a true closure to the problem of an illegitimate President there and then.

I do not recall voting for Ramos in 2004. I do not recall him running for office in 2004. Why on earth should he have the right to do things in my name? Why on earth should he have the right to do things in anybody's name?

If GMA did not cheat during the last elections, why should anyone have the right to demand that she resign or be ousted from power? That was my complaint last July with the position taken by Corazon Aquino and the members of the "Hyatt 10," and that has been my complaint with the position they have maintained afterward, after they metamorphosed into various organizations with various names. Never once, in the statements they issued calling for GMA to resign, did they mention that she cheated in the elections. The "Hyatt 10" expressly said they were not judging GMA on accusations she did so, they were resigning because there were "pressing concerns confronting the nation at the core of which lay issues of leadership and credibility." Cory expressly said as well she wasn't judging GMA either on her apology, she was asking her to resign because "the country cannot continue in its present tumultuous state."

Why should problems of leadership and credibility and a tumultuous state of affairs be sufficient reason for asking a legitimate head of state to resign or be overthrown? If so, then all the presidents of this country should have been asked to resign or be overthrown. In Erap's (Joseph Estrada’s) case at least we had an impeachment trial to suggest-even if, as his camp points out, it was never proven-he betrayed the public trust. If GMA did not cheat in the elections, if she is the duly constituted President of this country, who is Cory to demand she resign? Who are the Hyatt 10 to demand she resign? Who is Ramos to demand she resign?

But, of course, they are loath to mention that GMA cheated in the last elections. Because then we have to ask them as well why they stood by and said nothing while she did so. Because then we have to ask them why they continued to stand by and said nothing after she was proclaimed President while the nation slept.

The reason why Ramos has the nerve to make demands against "president" Arroyo is because of her illegitimacy problems.

More here from Ninez Cacho-Olivarez.

UPDATE: Nagpaparinig si Arroyo kay Tabako?

The Malaya Editorial: Expose the fraud.

And from Ellen Tordesillas:

We can see that they are covering all fronts, with alternatives ready in case one initiative does not fly like the Con-Com’s recommendation of no-election in 2007. Arroyo is riding on JDV’s obsession to be prime minister though Cha-Cha hoping that with a Constituent Assembly in place by March this year, the impeachment trial would in her own words, "die a natural death."

But she is having problems with the Senate, where her stooges are a minority. That’s why her local government lackey, Eastern Samar Governor Ben Evardone, spokesperson for the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines, is working on perverting the People’s Initiative provision of the Constitution.

Section 2, Article XVII of the Constitution states that "Amendments to the Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district much be represented by at least three per centum of the registered votes therein."

This will surely be a lucrative undertaking for Evardone. Malacañang will have to set aside a huge budget for this because a recent Pulse Asia survey showed that majority of the people oppose charter change. A lot of manipulation would have to be done, and it would cost a lot to rig a petition for charter amendments by 12 percent of registered voters.

There are also legal obstacles that Evardone would have to hurdle. One, there is no enabling law for the People’s Initiative. Two, the Constitution specified "amendments". What Arroyo and JDV want are revisions, an overhaul of the Constitution.

Malacañang, we are sure, has thought of that. Arroyo has enough members of the Supreme Court to help her survive.

If, despite all these efforts, JDV’s Cha-Cha won’t move forward, there is Oliver Lozano, who is all ready to file his impeachment complaint the minute the House of Representatives opens its doors on July 1. Members of Congress, especially those whose votes would be needed by Malacañang, would welcome that.

Business is good, indeed.

Business is good for THEM, but not for us ordinary Filipinos.

At si JB Baylon naman, anong picture ba sa frontpage ng PHILSTAR yesterday, Sunday ang tinutukoy niya? Hindi ko kasi ito nakita eh. I don't know Hehe Alvarez and Nani Perez (yes, THAT Nani Perez na ini-imbestigahan ng Swiss gov't)

UPDATE: Ah, this picture pala

Must-read articles

Randy David's "Protecting the Constitution from politicians"

and

Ellen Tordesillas' "Panibagong Bayaran"

Uh huh... Erap did the same thing, but the bishops still demanded Erap's removal from power

So now Arroyo is "pro-poor" eh? Haw haw haw... Erap was pro-poor too, but the bishops demanded his resignation anyways. Erap's many "pa-pogi" programs to help the poor were mocked by civil society and other edsa dos types, but as we are seeing now, gingagaya na rin ng GMA yung style ni Erap. At least she's not being ridiculed by her civil society abettors, no?

Having been earlier tipped off by the friendly-to-the-administration Catholic bishops that the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), as a body, would be reportedly judging her on her “sincerity” in her care and attention to the poor, President Arroyo yesterday went full blast on her feeding program as well as other pro-poor programs, to get into the good graces of the bishops before their meeting.

Malacañang spin doctors have also been busy with their propaganda, saying the President will be devoting fully her time and energy in leading the way to fight poverty and hunger in the country, even as the debate on Charter change is up among the Lakas party members as well as Congress.

Mrs. Arroyo, who earlier distributed “cheap” noodles and rice in a barangay last Friday, called on all local government units, civil society and civic and religious groups to join the bandwagon of social equity and reform “as the payback for the sacrifices of our people.”

She said, “We must increase the volume of civic duty above the political noise and work unceasingly to uplift the people and to right what is wrong with our political system.”

Also last Friday, Bishop Deogracias Yniquez, during a TV interview, said the bishops are watching Mrs. Arroyo to check on her “sincerity” in tending to the poor, as this would certainly be taken up at the CBCP meeting, stressing that, as long as the President is in Malacanang, she will always be given that chance by the bishops to prove her “sincerity.”

I guess the hypocritical CBCP will only call for the resignation of people they don't like -- like Erap or even an oppositionist like Lacson.

But a bigger crook and cheater like the bogus president Arroyo? CBCP sees no evil, hears no evil, speaks no evil.

RP lalayasan ni JDV kapag hindi natuloy ang cha cha

From Abante-Tonite:

Bagama’t hindi itinuturing na banta, desidido si House Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. na umalis sa Pilipinas kapag nabigo itong maamyendahan ang Saligang Batas at palitan ang sistema ng gobyerno.

Ito ang walang takot na pahayag ni De Venecia sa isang panayam sa telebisyon kahapon kaugnay ng kanyang isinusulong na Charter Change (ChaCha) na umano’y nagkakaroon na ng liwanag matapos ang pagkakasundo nina Pangulong Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at dating Pangulong Fidel Ramos.

Ayon kay De Venecia, tanging ang ChaCha na lamang ang pag-asa para makaahon sa hirap ang Pilipinas subalit kapag hindi nagkaroon ng katuparan ito ay mapipilitan na lamang umano siyang umalis ng bansa.

"Wala na. We might as well migrate," tugon ni De Venecia nang tanungin ng TV anchor kung ano ang gagawin sakaling mabigo siyang maamyendahan ang Saligang Batas.

Well then, don't let the door hit ass on your way out Mr. de Venecia.

MRT fare to be hiked to P72?

From P15 to P72? What a way to start the new year. this sucks kung matuloy ito.

Tulad ng National Power Corporation (Napocor) at ilang Government Owned and Controlled Corporation (GOCCs), pagbagsak na rin ang Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) kaya ikinukonsidera na ng pamunuan ng nasabing kumpanya na itaas sa P72 ang pasahe sa Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

Sa kasalukuyan ay P15 ang pasahe sa MRT-3 subalit dahil nababaon na umano sa utang ang MRTC ay pinag-iisipang itaas ito sa P72 upang makapagbayad ng obligasyon ang kumpanya.

Sa kanilang pagharap sa Kamara, sinabi ni MRTC General Manager Roberto Lastimoso na buwan-buwan ay nagbabayad ang kumpanya ng $3.3 million subalit umaabot lamang sa P130 milyon ang kanilang kita.

Gayunpaman, nagdadalawang-isip ang grupo ni Lastimoso kung itutuloy o hindi ang fare hike sa MRT-3 dahil posibleng hindi na sila tangkilikin ng mga commuters kapag nagkataon.

Isa pa umano sa nagpabaon sa MRT ay ang pagbaba ng piso kontra dolyar dahil noong pirmahan ang kontrata sa pagtatayo at operation ng MRT ay P27 lamang ang palitan subalit ngayon ay umaabot na sa mahigit P52 ang kapalit ng isang dolyar.

Dahil dito, ipinanukala na lamang ni Lastimoso at abogado ng kumpanya ng si Atty. Paul Daza sa mga kongresista na bilhin na lamang ng gobyerno ang MRT-3 upang resolbahan ang problema.

Agad naman itong kinontra ni Parañaque Rep. Roilo Golez dahil babalikatin ng sambayanang Filipino ang problema ng MRT-3 kapag nagkataon bukod pa sa mangangailangan ang gobyerno ng $600 million para mabili ang kumpanyang ito.

More here from PDI.

Totoo kaya ito?

RAMOS may hawak raw na alas kay GMA.

Isang mapagkakatiwalaang source ang nagkumpirmang isa lamang sa maraming baraha ni Ramos ang panawagang magsakripisyo si Mrs. Arroyo para sa ikabubuti ng Pilipinas at panunumbalik sa tiwala ng mamamayan.

Aniya, matutulig si Mrs. Arroyo, sampu ng mga kaalyado nito sa Mababang Kapulungan ng Kongreso kapag inilabas na ni Ramos ang isa pang alas na magsisilbing mitsa para mapuwersa itong bumababa sa trono.

Ang alas na hawak ni Ramos ay isa umanong malaking eskandalo kung saan may dokumentong pinaghahawakan ang dating Pangulo laban kay Arroyo.

"Ang pagpapababa ni GMA ay isa lang sa mga baraha ni FVR. May baraha pa siya tungkol sa graft laban kay GMA," anang mapagkakatiwalaang source ng TONITE.

Hindi, aniya, dapat magpakasiguro si Mrs. Arroyo sa bawat galaw ni Ramos, katulad ang pakikipagbeso-beso sa harap ng camera dahil unti-unti nang "hinahawan" ng dating Pangulo ang mga balakid sa daraanan ng Pangulo palabas ng Malacañang.

Ewan ko lang ha, kasi kahit na totoo ito, makapal talaga ang mukha ni ARroyo eh, at hindi yan basta basta bababa unless you drag her out of Malacanang by the hair kicking and screaming.

Yung mga corrupt officials nga na GMA na katulad nina Garcillano at Joc joc Bolante ay nabibigyan ng special protection ng Malacanang, at yung mga Heneral naman na sangkot sa GLORIAGATE ay nabibigyan ng promotion... it only shows na corruption and cheating and criminality pays in this admin.

"Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers. She needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied."

Russian politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky on Condoleezza Rice:

Speaking with Pravda this week, Zhirinovsky chastised Rice for calling on Russia to "act responsibly" in supplying natural gas to Ukraine.

The fascistic pol attributed that "coarse anti-Russian statement" to Rice being "a single woman who has no children."

"If she has no man by her side at her age, he will never appear," Zhirinovsky ranted on. "Condoleezza Rice needs a company of soldiers. She needs to be taken to barracks where she would be satisfied.

"Condoleezza Rice is a very cruel, offended woman who lacks men's attention," he added. "Such women are very rough. … They can be happy only when they are talked and written about everywhere: 'Oh, Condoleezza, what a remarkable woman, what a charming Afro-American lady! How well she can play the piano and speak Russian!'

"Complex-prone women are especially dangerous. They are like malicious mothers-in-law, women that evoke hatred and irritation with everyone. Everybody tries to part with such women as soon as possible. A mother-in-law is better than a single and childless political persona, though."

Macasaet: Walang epekto ang malakas na piso

Ipinagmamalaki ni Pangulong Gloria Arroyo ang umano ay malakas na piso kontra sa dolyar. Iyan daw ang isa sa dahilan kung bakit nasa landas na ng kaunlaran ang ekonomiya ng bayan.

Ewan ko sa kanya. Hindi namin nararamdaman ang epekto ng malakas na piso. Una, hindi naman bumababa ang presyo ng petrolyo, kahit bukod sa lakas ng piso bumaba pa ang presyo ng krudo.

Ang mga pagkain na imported ay mataas pa rin hanggang ngayon.

Katunayan tumataas pang lalo. Noong ang piso ay higit pa sa P55 kontra dolyar, ang Marlboro Lights na smuggled ay 80 sentimos lamang ang isang stick.

Tumaas na ang presyo. Sa ibang tindahan, P1.20 isang stick. Doon sa maliliit ay P1.10.

Kung ang presyo ng mga smuggled na produkto tulad na nga ng sigarilyo ay tumataas sa harap ng lumalakas na piso, malaki ang problema natin.

Ang ibig sabihin niyan ay hindi naniniwala ang mga smuggler na tatagal ang lakas ng piso. Ngayon pa lang nagtataas na sila ng presyo.

Patuloy ang import at smuggling ng marami pang bagay na binabayaran ng dolyar. Pero pataas pa rin ang presyo.

Kung ganu'n, wala pala talaga tayong pakinabang sa lumalakas na piso. Napaparusahan pa nga sa pagtaas ng presyo.

Isa itong misteryo na dapat pag-aralan. Ang lakas ng piso ay artipisyal dahil sa dalawang bagay. Una, marami talaga ang padala ng mga OFW.

Ikalawa, mahina ang demand ng dolyar.

Read the whole thing.

More on the No El Debate

From Ernie Maceda:

No-El debate. Besides the “bribe” to 236 congressmen and 12 expiring senators who will automatically become members of parliament (MP) for three years, another objectionable feature of the Constitutional Commission draft constitution is the appointment of 30 additional members of parliament by GMA.

I wouldn’t be surprised if, like Indonesia, most of the 30 will be from the military establishment.

The other necessary result of the parliamentary system is the appointment of most Cabinet members from the ranks of MPs.

To be generous, we shall not name names of potential Cabinet members from the current Congress but certainly, it wouldn’t be an improvement over current and past Cabinets. It will be a highly politicized and populist Cabinet. And the Cabinet members will not only have P50-70 million in “pork barrel” but the entire budget of the department they head.

Tee hee...

Manong E. also has some interesting tidbit on DILG Sec. Angie Reyes

Power seeker. Interior and Local Government Secretary Angelo Reyes has in effect said at his MOPC appearance that he has refused the offer of GMA to appoint him as ambassador to Washington and that he would rather stay in his post preparatory to run for senator in 2007. Aides say Angie was very angry when the offer was made.

This is an indication that Angie is interested in higher office and in possessing more power. Why run for senator, Angie? Isn’t it easier to grab power as you have shown in January 2001?

OUCH!

Eto pa:

Gridlock. The oft-repeated reason for the shift to a unicameral legislation is the gridlock caused by the presence of the Senate. This is not true because the non-passage of pressing legislation is also due to House inaction.

Take the budget, the anti-terrorism and the minimum wage bills. They are still pending in the House and have not reached the Senate. A unicameral legislature does not assure faster and better legislation.

Without a Senate, there is no check on the abuses of funding as well as faulty legislation in the House of Representatives.

Without a Senate, there is no counter balance and check on corruption in the executive branch.

Matakaw talaga sa kapangyarihan si Mrs. Arroyo.

-- Whether you're for or against FVR, you have to admit na he looks kinda pathetic lately, don't you think?

-- From Horacio Paredes: Impeachment will fail again

Forget about impeachment. The process has been destroyed, rendered totally inutile – from being misused, then from being abused and finally by being willfully misinterpreted and misrepresented by those very congressmen who are supposed to use the process to rid ourselves of those who are unfit to rule over us.

Now, as we count the days to when, a year after an impeachment complaint failed, another impeachment may again be filed against the most incompetent and most morally unfit president ever, it is almost certain that any impeachment complaint will again fall short.

Any attempt at impeaching Gloria will fail, not because she has the numbers or that she has done no wrong. Impeachment will fail because the rules have been so rewritten as to make sure that any impeachment will fail.

When the Chief Justice, in defending himself against an impeachment complaint, enticed the whole of the Supreme Court to issue resolutions that, in effect, disqualified any and all complaints against any SC justice, this weakened the impeachment process. In effect, the Court has re-written the rules on impeachment. While justices may only be removed by impeachment, the Court has resolved that no impeachment complaint against any of them can ever succeed.

The House of Representatives, in tackling the impeachment complaint against Gloria Arroyo last year, has also likewise ruled that the same rule (with added complications) also applies to their beloved Gloria. Now, once again, the same lawyer who filed the impeachment complaint that set off the impeachment sweepstakes last year is gearing himself to be the first to file – again. Surely, his complaint will again lead nowhere.

The rules of the impeachment game have been re-written. Round one goes to the first one to file an impeachment complaint because, as willfully misinterpreted by the House of Representatives, when an impeachment complaint has been accepted, it disqualifies subsequent impeachment complaints that may be filed. Only the first one counts. Thus, if the first one is weak that’s the end of it. According to Oliver Lozano, he will file his impeachment complaint to "preempt a coup or a possible violent takeover being hatched by disgruntled elements in the society. I’m giving them a message that there’s a better way to resolve the crisis and this is the better way."

Lozano is wrong. With the help of Gloria’s congressmen, he has contributed to killing impeachment as a way that could lead us to good or better government by ridding ourselves of Constitutional officers who turn out to be the type of leaders that the Constitution should be guarding against. As things presently stand, impeachment is a useless and impractical tool.

So, forget about impeachment. Under the present set-up, no impeachment will succeed. Impeachment works only under a regime where we are all equals and those who hold public office can be held accountable for their crimes. In a set-up where the rules are written to protect those who hold high office, forget about legal processes. The only way to remove Gloria Arroyo will be through the use of force. There is just no other way.

I'm sure the poeple would love to see Lozano and Arroyo's allies make a mockery of the impeachment process for the second year in a row.

What he said...

"The high sentiments always win in the end, the leaders who offer blood, toil, tears, and sweat always get more out of their followers than those who offer safety and a good time. When it comes to the pinch, human beings are heroic."

- George Orwell

Let's "move on" na... to CHA CHA?

Another gem from Conrad de Quiros. Read it.

COMMENT: All I know is that shady characters like Master election manipulator Virgilio Garcillano, Arroyo bagman Joc joc Bolante, and former national Archives director and master forger Ricardo Manapat will remain "untouchable" as long as the biggest crook and cheater remains in malacanang. Kaya matapang sila eh, may "proteksyon" kasi sa itaas.

The lowdown on Cha-cha advocate Ben Evardone

From Rod Kapunan:

Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone, a political neophyte, has turned out to be more professional in outmaneuvering the old-timers in the league called dirty politics. This newcomer has proved himself to be a consummate politician, and the exceptional thing about him is that while the rest can only jump to where the grass is greener, Evardone has evolved into a political broker for Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Evardone has no qualms about betraying his constituents. When he ran for the governership, he pretended to belong to the opposition. To be sure, Evardone aligned himself with the camp of the late Fernando Poe Jr., using the Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP) of Sen. Edgardo Angara. It turned out that his alliance with FPJ was only intended to ensure his victory against incumbent Gov. Clotilde Salazar, with some suspecting he was secretly in touch with the rabid pivot man of the administration in Eastern Samar, Rep. Marcelino Libanan.

As the undercover hatchet man of Malacañang, Evardone capitalized on the bogus idea of representing the voice of the younger generation in Eastern Samar. This was probably done because in the entire Eastern Visayas Region, it was only in his province where Gloria Arroyo won, and in that supposedly opposition ticket of Evardone, he was the only one who managed to make it. The camp of FPJ and then incumbent Gov. Salazar were not aware that Malacañang was betting on two horses.

While ordinarily political survivors would have every reason to be faithful to the constituents that catapulted them despite the overwhelming odds, taking as a moral guide the reason upon which they were voted, Evardone did the reverse. Upon his victory, he wasted no time professing himself to be a reliable operator on how to herd the local officials to toe the line in amending the Constitution by hook or by crook just to install Mrs. Arroyo as transitional President/Prime Minister, while promising the hankering local officials the prize in having their term extended without the benefit of an election.

Acting as spokesman of the League of Provinces of the Philippines, Evardone now heads the campaign for Charter change through his so-called Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (Ulap). Through the so-called people’s initiative, Evardone and his cabal would solicit the people’s signature of 12 percent of the registered voters and have this submitted to the Commission on Elections.

What Evardone does not know is that the concept of people’s initiative referred to in the Constitution are the ordinary citizen-voters, not those holding or have been elected to public office because public officials, except members of Congress, cannot initiate a resolution to amend the Constitution. As an elected public official, it is illegal for him to publicly urge the people to sign the so-called people’s initiative because there is a decision of the Supreme Court holding his silly idea unconstitutional in the absence of a law that would serve to implement that constitutional mandate. Unless and until the SC reverses itself, his silly idea would remain on Cloud 9.

Hence, for Evardone to pursue his plan is for him to violate his oath of office for tinkering with the Constitution which he is constitutionally barred from initiating. His brazenness could forthrightly make him liable for technical malversation for using government funds, time and facilities to operationalize an act, which has been declared unconstitutional.

Speaking of Evardone’s Ulap, his is worse than the Pedrosa couple’s Pirma when the group also attempted to revise the vandalized Constitution to give way for Ramos to stay longer in office. If one has to give Pirma consolation, at least the people behind it were ordinary citizens, and “officially” were not using government funds and facilities for them to be branded as the running dogs of Malacañang. In the case of Evardone and his Ulap, everybody knows they are acting as agents of Malacañang, meaning that aside from being assured of their internal revenue allotment (IRA), they would also be getting their extra bonus from the presidential funds. Although Mrs. Arroyo has the discretion to reward them, this is prohibited because the government is not supposed to fund an illegal activity.

We also have it from the grapevine that Evardone is currently negotiating with the Landbank to secure a loan of P200 million using his province’s IRA as collateral. If the Landbank would agree to that illegal transaction, the bank too might just end up answering questions before the Sandiganbayan. To allow Evardone to collateralize his still to be received IRA to secure a loan that will be amortized in 10 years or beyond his term would mean that the next governor would be getting nothing because the annual IRA allocation for the province of P370 million, only 20 percent of that can be used for development projects. His successor would be getting less or maybe nothing as Evardone has already advanced his share to secure a much bigger amount not due him.

Even if Evardone has already left his office, the people of Eastern Samar would still be paying for the loan, and are likely to end up with nothing. Worse, the principal as well as the interest would add burden to our government already mired in debt all because of one pretending bright boy trying to outsmart the rest. The national government would lose control of its finances because all local government units would be following the bad example of Evardone in wanting to borrow using their inchoate IRA as collateral.

Gloriagate ROUNDUP: Truth deleted from Arroyo Constitution

From Ellen Tordesillas:

It was Bibeth Orteza, movie and TV writer, who told us about the word “truth” having been made to disappear in the Constitution by Gloria Arroyo’s appointed Constitutional Commission.

Bibeth said her husband, film director Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, had noticed a number of disturbing additions to and deletions from the 1987 Constitution by Arroyo’s Con-Com headed by former UP President Jose Abueva.

Bibeth said the word “truth” was deleted in the Charter’s Preamble. I checked the Arroyo Con-Com’s “Proposed Revision for the 1987 Constitution” and true enough, the word “truth” is nowhere to be found.

The Arroyo Con-Com’s Preamble reads: “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to establish a Government that shall embody our ideals, promote the general welfare, conserve and develop the patrimony of our nation, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of democracy under a regime of justice, peace, liberty, and equality, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

The 1987 Constitution’s Preamble states: “We, the sovereign Filipino people, imploring the aid of Almighty God, in order to build a just and humane society and establish a Government that shall embody our ideals and aspirations, promote the common good, conserve and develop our patrimony, and secure to ourselves and our posterity the blessings of independence and democracy under the rule of law and a regime of truth, justice, freedom, love, equality, and peace, do ordain and promulgate this Constitution.”

Read the whole thing. Who's afraid of the truth anyway?

-- Isafp did a ‘Watergate’ on opposition

Gloria and Comelec bigwigs planned fraud

01/11/2006

It was not only former Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio “Garci” Garcillano that President Arroyo had been caught speaking with on the wiretapped compact discs about the poll-rigging operations to ensure her victory in 2004, but she also did the same with another high-ranking Comelec official, an intelligence operative from the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) yesterday disclosed to the Tribune, on the usual condition of anonymity.

It was a grand planned fraud scheme involving top election officials, the source said.

The Isafp insider also confirmed the authenticity of the reported two tapes in the possession of Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, the chairman of the defense panel that is probing the wiretapping activity said to involve several military and police generals in election rigging, saying more tapes exist, disclosing that there were a total of seven CDs containing the monitored election-related conversations.

A second source related to the Tribune that the tapes Biazon has will, at the least, prove that Mrs. Arroyo and her poll campaign group were illegally monitoring activities of the opposition camp, much like the Watergate monitoring engaged in by then US President Richard Nixon, to ensure the Arroyo advantage in opposition campaign moves.

“It was not just a case of locking in her (Mrs. Arroyo’s) victory in 2004 through the poll-rigging operations with Comelec people,” he said.

“They were making sure all bases were covered by having the calls of known opposition bets and their campaigners monitored to know their moves,” the source added.

Read it all. And you know what happened to those folks who were responsible for Watergate...

-- We know na may iba pang tapes (galing kay Samuel Ong) na hawak ni Biazon na hindi pa napapakinggan ng publiko. May tanong naman si JB Baylon tungkol sa GLORIAGATE tapes where Biazon's name was mentioned:

When the woman spoke of threats by a "Biazon", was she referring to the incumbent senator of the same name? Which should also lead us to ask the Senator – was he the one being referred to in the taped conversations? If yes, what was he threatening to do and why was he threatening to do something in the first place?

-- The solution to the Christian-Muslim problem in the Philippines is the DVD business.

And like what Conrad de Q. said, have you seen the early works of Ingmar Bergman, Orson Welles, Kurosawa, Tati, FW Murnau, DW Griffith on DVD? Me loves the classics...

-- Remember the "Spice Boys" five years ago? I think they've grown up and become Spice Trapos, diba Mike Defensor, Zubiri et al?

-- So what's up what's up with EO 464? From Ernie Maceda.

Delayed. What is the most important political issue today? It is Executive Order 464 which has disturbed the separation of powers between the executive and legislative departments of government.

So why is the Supreme Court (SC) not acting on the petition of the senators to declare it unconstitutional?

This is a continuing blot on the independence of the SC and adds to the perception that it is controlled by GMA.

-- Go home, Tony Kwok.

-- Fidel Ramos, media hog.

Hello Gen. Habacon? You've been promoted

One of Arroyo's generals linked to the GLORIAGATE scandal gets promoted to a prime post. Ho brother!

Habacon is the second of four "Hello Garci" generals to be promoted by President Arroyo despite their having been linked to alleged cheating by the Arroyo camp in the May 2004 elections.

UPDATE: More here on the "Bayad Utang" AFP Appointments

When Arroyo claimed she will "create 6 million jobs" for Filipinos...

She did not mean na those jobs will be created here in Pinas.

What she meant was that her admin will "create" jobs by sending Filipinos abroad to work.

Most Filipinos would rather stay in our country and work here and be with their loved ones, but because of lack of job opportunities and decent-paying jobs here, they are forced to go overseas to Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Taiwan to earn a living.

Of course, it's easier to find jobs abroad because mas maganda ang ekonomiya at sitwasyon sa mga employer countries, compared to ours.

Our economy is so bad right now that most desperate Filipinos are leaving the country by the droves to find work in other countries.

But leave it to Arroyo's propagandists to spin this bad news in her favor like "Filipinos find jobs in record numbers overseas this year!!!"

And leave it to them to also take credit for "creating" those jobs in the US, the middle east, and Asia.

Mayroong job openings sa Bahrain? Wow, we should thank Arroyo for "creating" those jobs in Bahrain for Filipinos teachers and doctors. Maraming job vacancies sa US for caregivers? Well, GMA "created" those jobs too for Filipinos!

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Anyways, I'm just reacting to this article from Conrad de Quiros on our "brain drain" problem.

Golez on the Council of State

Ellen Tordesillas got this message from Roilo Golez on the Council of State and Cha Cha:

Council of State not suitable forum to resolve political differences. Too big and unwieldy. Just like in the NSC, it’s normally a monologue by the President and Malacañang presentors. No detailed discussions.

Better is top level heart to heart discussion among PGMA and former Presidents where PGMA should level with them on the truth about garci tapes, fertilizer fund issue, road users tax and proposal to cancel 2007 election.

PGMA must bite the bullet and seek the former President’s advice. Otherwise Council of State would be a waste of time.

Additional comments:

1. CONCOM Chairman’s call on FVR escorted by Executive Secretary and Presidential Political Adviser eloquently shows who are behind CONCOM. It shows who really are behind the indecent proposal to cancel the 2007 election and pack the proposed parliament with 30 puppet MPs.

2.The cat is out of the bag. Malacañang’s Plan B is People’s Initiative, since constituentassembly is impossible with a rebellious Senate.

People’s Initiative has already been declared by the Supreme Court as illegal without enabling law. And the Supreme Court by tradition will not reverse itself. And how can it truly be called People’s Initiative when the country’s most partisan political leaders are the ones initiating it?

More on Arroyo's dubious Cha Cha scheme from Neal Cruz:

Key point:

And the unkindest cut of all, the draft Constitution is morally and ethically bankrupt. It uses bribery to make it acceptable. It bribes all incumbent officials with a bonus of three more years in office without being elected. That is to make all public officials-the senators, congressmen, governors, mayors, board members and councilors-campaign for the ratification of the Con Com's Constitution. It would benefit them. That is why local government officials are shamelessly pushing the Cha-cha. If the Senate does not agree to a Constitutional Assembly, they plan to use the "People's Initiative" provided in the Constitution, even if there is yet no law to implement it.

And as an added bonus to the senators-who are overwhelmingly against a parliamentary system-there is a provision that automatically makes them MPs. Such shameless and callous bribery!

Read the whole thing.

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Update on the Mei Magsino case from PCIJ.

INQUIRER columnist Conrado de Quiros devoted his column last December 28 to a letter sent to him by Mei Magsino-Lubis, the paper’s correspondent for Southern Luzon based in Batangas. In her letter, Magsino-Lubis wrote about how she has been in hiding since July last year, fearful for her life, after exposing the jueteng operations and corrupt practices in the capitol by no less than the provincial governor, Armand Sanchez, a known supporter of Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Her fear is not without basis. All the people who have fought Gov. Sanchez, including Rolando Meer, Arnel Manalo and Batangas provincial ombudsman Guillermo Gamo, are dead, felled by assassins believed to have acted on orders of the governor.

There's a link to a longer article on in that post. Go check it out.

Rare occurence

Rare talaga when I agree with Sen. Kiko Pangilinan about something.

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I did not know this... 1999 was our best year pala. Who would have thought...

From the Duckster:

The Heritage Foundation/ Wall Street Journal rates the Philippines’ economy as "mostly unfree" with a score of 3.23 (best is 1; worst is 5). We are ranked 98th out of 157 countries rated.

The best score for the country for the last ten years was 2.89 in 1999 and you know who was president then. Certainly, it was not Gloria; neither was it Ramos.

The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom is now on its 12th anniversary. The idea is that of a user-friendly "index of economic freedom" as a tool for policymakers and investors. The Heritage Foundation has been developing a systematic, empirical measurement of economic freedom in countries throughout the world. Here is what Heritage/Wall Street has to say about the Philippines:

"Under President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, inflation has risen and the economy is both low on capital and high on bureaucratic mismanagement In 2004, tsunami aid graft was but one sign of rampant corruption, along with human trafficking and a ballooning black market.

"Foreign direct investment in 2004 leveled off at $1 billion, well below the $3 billion to $4 billion of other Asean countries. The population has increased, exacerbating the problems of an inadequate infrastructure. Arroyo has also increased government spending, which combined with lagging tax revenues, has led to massive deficits. The government is slow in promoting privatization, as the state still owns a majority of Filipino corporations. The chief obstacles to stable growth remain high tax rates, poor infrastructure, extensive government ownership of business, low foreign investment, and entrenched government corruption."

As for press freedom, we ain't as free as we used to anymore.

As to press freedom, the organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) rates us 139th in the world out of 167 countries rated. (North Korea is the167th.) Reporters sans Frontieres (RSF) defends imprisoned journalists and press freedom throughout the world, as well as the right to inform the public and to be informed, in accordance with Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Here is what RSF has to say about the Philippines: "Killings of journalists in the Philippines increased, along with censorship, mainly by local officials. President Gloria Arroyo showed intolerance towards the media, especially foreign, for exposing corruption. On Mindanao Island, security forces were frequently involved in the murder or obstruction of journalists."

How many more martyrs for press freedom will the Philippines contribute this year?

"Everybody's cheats anyway"

Sabi ng Arroyo administration: "FORGET the past".

Sabi ni Archbishop Fernando Capalla: Let's "MOVE ON" na.

Mrs. GMA herself claimed na she's as much a "victim" of our "rotten political system" as the other candidates, so we need to change the constitution, kasi yung constitution raw ang dahilan kung bakit nagkaroon tayo ng GLORIAGATE sa 2004.

And Arroyo's allies keep saying na pare-pareho lang naman raw na mandaraya yung papalit kay Arroyo eh, so it's better to keep her na lang.

Right. "Everybody cheats" during the presidential elections anyway, diba Mr. Erap? And if you put FPJ, Roco or Lacson in GMA's shoes, I'M SURE they TOO would do the same thing GMA did and use Virgilio Garcillano's "expertise," because like what arroyo's pals keep repeating -- "EVERYBODY CHEATS ANYWAY."

And even if GMA cheated, why should we replace her? Alam naman natin na mas bulok ang papalit sa kanya eh. Si Mrs. GMA na ang one-and-only "savior" ng ating bansa, and if we replace her with somebody else, BABAGSAK ANG PILIPINAS!

Kasi alam naman natin na corrupt ang lahat ng mga taga-opposition! TOTOO YAN, LAHAT raw sila corrupt. Pati na rin yung mga potential replacements ni Arroyo na taga-administration (kapag nagkaroon ng bagong eleksyon) like Bayani Fernando, Mar Roxas, Franklin Drilon at Richard Gordon-- CORRUPT RIN SILA. Kaya wag na natin palitan si Arroyo. MOVE ON NA!

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But seriously peeps, we now live in a time where the administration have lowered our integrity standards so much na some Filipinos have given up hope for a better future. That's what one gets when admin allies and it's media promote it's cynical values on us ("everybody cheats", "everybody's a criminal").

DAMN YOU ARROYO, damn you for making Filipinos feel they are just as crooked and dishonest as your are.

re CBCP naman, I'm not going to even bother with the CBCP because they are just as lost as some of the people it is trying shepherd. It's moral compass is broken. I guess Jueteng money (or gambling money from PAGCOR) has a way of keeping it's hypocritical recipients happy, fat and content with the way things are now.

re Edsa Dos people and civil society, if you're not willing to do the right thing and ask for Arroyo's resignation, then it's obvious na you guys weren't really serious about fighting corruption at criminality. You used Edsa Dos only as an excuse to remove an elected official you don't like.

If you want to keep the more corrupt and definitely illegitimate Arroyo out of jail, then there's no point in keeping erap in jail too.

Just set the guy free and apologize to him for edsa dos and for being too damn hypocritical.

So you want us to "move on" na the Arroyo disaster? Okay, then let's take it one step further and let's "move on" na rin with erap and release him ASAP.

So you want us to "forget the past"? Okay, then let's "forget the past" na rin with the Marcoses and allow Ferdie Marcos a "Hero's burial." LOL... How do you like that, eh?

Hehe, yan kasi ang problema sa Edsa Dos eh... if the minority elite are going to unconstitutionally replace a legit president without any elections, then better make sure mas matino ang ipapalit nyo.

Usually kasi, yung tao na na-install sa kapanghariyan madalas ay nagiging abusado at nagkakaroon ng diktador na mentality eh.

UPDATE: I keep hearing GMA apologists say na wag na nating palitan si Arroyo since yung papalit sa kanya is "worse than her."

In the first place, not all from the opposition are bad and corrupt people like what the arroyo spindoctors want you to believe.

And vice versa, not all from the administration are as bad as some in the opposition wants you to believe either.

both sides have qualified and credible candidates that are way much better than this turd called arroyo when a special election is called to replace her.

So to say na wag na nating palitan si Arroyo because "everybody cheats anyway" and "everybody's corrupt" is just pure BS.

Lack of jobs here forces many Filipinos to work abroad

From the Tribune:

Only the lack of airplane seats is stemming the exodus of Filipinos who find employment abroad.

The deployment of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to Taiwan, for instance, had posted sharp declines for the past two years with the scarcity of available flights.

Jackson Gan, president of the Pilipino Manpower Agencies Accredited to

Taiwan Inc. (Pilmat), yesterday said about 50,000 to as high as 100,000 workers were unable to leave the country because only a few airline companies offered direct flights from Manila to Taiwan.

“For the past two years, we had worked hard to regain our market share but we have never been appreciated for our achievement,” Gan pointed out.

Prior to the suspension of the direct flights to Taiwan, he said, the deployment of OFWs there ranged from 80,000 to as high as 100,000 anually.

If the direct flights are not resumed soonest, Gan warned, Filipinos would be losing the Taiwan market.

Mahirap na talaga ang buhay ngayon.

Pat Robertson should be put out to pasture na rin

Another example of idiocy on the far right. From Roger L. Simon:

Pat Robertson just jumped the shark... Make that a hundred sharks. He told viewers of his "700 Club" that: Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's massive stroke could be God's punishment for giving up Israeli territory. He also said: Sharon was "dividing God's land," even though the Bible says doing so invites "God's enmity."

Robertson added, "I would say woe to any prime minister of Israel who takes a similar course."

Unggok ka Pat Robertson.

I predict kokonti na lang ang mga whistleblowers na lalabas in the future...

If this is the price they pay for exposing corruption in gov't and in the Military. It's too high a price for ordinary and honest Filipinos to bear and many will think that it's not worth it.

With another military officer blowing the whistle on irregularities in the Philippine Air Force establishment, and with threats from the PAF to have the Air Force colonel arrested and charged before a court-martial, senators yesterday warned Malacañang not to take any action against PAF Col. Efren Daquil, stressing that the move would be counter-productive, even as the Palace earlier lauded the move of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) hierarchy to discipline the colonel for speaking to the media without authorization.

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. called on the top brass of the PAF to stop harassing Daquil by threatening him with disciplinary sanctions, saying that which it should do is to provide a truthful reply to his allegations.

For his part, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon urged President Arroyo to order a probe immediately, demanding transparency in probing Daquil’s claims, cautioning both the leadership of the AFP and the Palace against any attempt to cover up or kill the issue. He stressed that such moves will only worsen the situation if no credible solution is provided.

The twin call came after Daquil, who earlier exposed alleged illegal monthly allowances of top officials in the military organization, voluntarily surrendered to his superiors.

Daquil claimed that generals and wing commanders of the PAF are illegally receiving P45,000 every month as allowance, on top of their salaries.

“If he is telling the truth, the generals concerned should be investigated and punished accordingly. Let it not be said that all officers of the PAF and other major services of the AFP have been compromised by illegal payoffs,” Pimentel said.

Biazon echoed Pimentel’s proposal saying Mrs. Arroyo should move for a probe since “there is a lot of explaining to do from the part of the AFP.”

This pisses me off because, eto na naman... kinakawawa na naman ng admin ang mga whistleblowers na lumalabas para kontrahin ang mga corrupt officials.

Remember Acsa Ramirez's ordeal?

Or how the administration abducted... OOOPS I mean "rescued" and silenced whistleblowers Udong Mahusay and Vidal Doble? And Arroyo's police are still going after Samuel Ong for leaking the "Hello Garci" tapes to the public with trumped-up charges of "kidnapping" Vidal Doble.

Then there's Rashma Hali, a COMELEC official and a witness to Arroyo's dagdag bawas machine. He was the subject of Garcillano's conversation in the Hello Garci tapes where they talked about "soft touching" and kidnapping Hali's relatives.

At pinarusahan rin ng AFP si Gen. Gudani at Col. Balutan (they face court martial proceedings) for telling the truth re the election cheating operations ni Arroyo sa senate hearing.

Or how about nung i-expose ni Archives employees Remmel Talabis, Emman Llamera and Vicelyn Tarin yung National Archives cum forger expert Ricardo Manapat? I remember them getting harassed and smeared by Administration and pro-media attack dogs like Rina Jimenez David, by implying na bayaran lang ang 3 national archives employees ng opposition:

THE EMPLOYEES, on the other hand, seem to be protected for now. If any of them is dismissed or laid off, even for just cause, it will always be linked with their testimony. Even if Manapat remains as head of the National Archives, his hands are effectively tied as far as wreaking vengeance on the three is concerned. He can throw in a whole cage-full of rats on their desks but there is nothing he can do but tolerate their presence. Besides, as civil servants, they enjoy seemingly impregnable immunity.

And if by the not-so-remote chance that Poe wins the presidency, why of course, they will be rewarded. It's a no-brainer why they would choose to throw in their lot with those gunning after an agency head they had already been clamoring to be removed.

Disgusting. Yeah Rina, if only Ricardo Manapat had "more charm" in him, he and his phony documents would have been more believable.

RP second most deadliest for journalists after Iraq

Here's the link.

Key point:

"Their enemies were no longer armed groups but politicians, businessmen and drug-traffickers ready to silence journalists who exposed their crimes," RSF said.

This is timely because I was commenting yesterday on Sergio Apostol's attitude towards our dead journalist, where he made this comment while talking about the need to change the wording of our Bill of Rights:

Apostol said soemthing shocking: proof that media can sometime be irresponsible is the high number of journalists being killed.

Of course, he was parroting Mike Arroyo and Reynaldo Wycoco's view that "irresponsible" journalists are to blame for their own deaths.

So do you have to wonder on why many of our Filipino journalist's deaths have occured after Arroyo took over in 2001? (take note, i have posted that comment back in May 2005 pa. by now I'm sure tumaas na ang bilang ng dead journalists).

More from PCIJ:

Regardless of who is doing the counting, however, the casualty count in the Philippines is scandalously high, considering the country is not at war. Media groups attribute this to weak law enforcement as well as a culture of violence and impunity.

Related:

-- "Most Murderous Country" for journalists

David Letterman is a dick

Michelle Malkin has the report.

I used to like the guy. But now I think it's time to put this guy into retirement.

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McDonalds Sells McRice Burgers in Asia

Hmmm... rice burgers...

Assault on our Bill of Rights

Kudos to the Tribune for noticing this:

While the focus of the criticisms on the Consultative Commission (Con-com) proposed Charter changes is on the no presidential term cut and no elections in 2007, an even more authoritarian regime to be headed by President Arroyo has been envisioned by the Jose Abueva led-Con-com, as it curtailed the freedoms of the Filipino people by subtly altering the Bill of Rights on the freedoms of speech, the press and the right of peaceful assembly to seek redress of government grievances.

The Bill of Rights, as stated in the 1987 Constitution says: “No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peace-ably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

But in the Abueva Con-com Bill of Rights, it is stated that “No law shall be passed abridging the responsible exercise of the freedom of speech, or of the press, or the right of the people to peaceably assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances.”

This proviso effectively curtails the rights and freedoms guaranteed in the Bill of Rights, as the freedoms are now defined by the modifier “responsible exercise” of the guaranteed freedoms, or a clear subversion of the rights of the citizens against government abuse.

Based on the administration's tendency to call Arroyo's critics "destabilizers", should I worry about this?

The Malaya Editorial gets it right:

No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances."

That’s Section 5 of the Bill of Rights, a provision that that has remained unchanged from the 1935 Constitution which was adopted during the American colonial era to the 1973 Constitution which was adopted at the height of martial law. That provision springs from the fundamental rights of man, and has been hallowed by tradition and remains a powerful check to the abuses of the State.

So if the charter has to be changed, that particular provision – along with the rest which are enshrined in the Bill of Rights – would be the last that should be monkeyed around with, right?

Those "geniuses" handpicked by Gloria Arroyo to propose changes in the 1987 do not think so. They have come up with a proposed amendment that would emasculate the exercise of such right.

The proposal reads:

"No law shall be passed abridging the responsible exercise of the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances."

Does that mean then that under the proposed new charter laws may be passed abridging the irresponsible exercise of the freedom of speech, of expression or the press of the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances? That’s the only reasonable explanation for that proposal.

And who then would define responsible or irresponsible exercise of such right? Presumably parliament.

A more direct assault on fundamental rights we cannot imagine.

We can understand why the pro-fascist administration of Gloria would emasculate freedom of speech, of the press and of peaceful assembly. Remember the CPR (calibrated preemptive response) policy on mass actions? This administration is deathly afraid of the truth, of criticism and dissent.

What we cannot understand is why those purported "wise men" who had been picked to draft the proposed amendments went along with this throwback to the Malolos Constitution of 1989. (The Malolos charter recognizes these rights, but with the qualification that their exercise "shall be subject to general provisions regulating the same.")

History is said to be the chronicle of man’s march toward freedom. Gloria, through her handpicked architects of the proposed new charter, would seek to reverse history’s trajectory.

She has robbed us of the truth, of our right to elect our leader, of the taxes we pay. She wants to rob us of our freedoms, too?

Now we understand why people find her more execrable than Marcos.

Sheeeeeeeeeet! GOTCHA! Now you know why Freedom House thinks we're less free today than previous years.

And let me just say na if Erap proposed something like this in his cha cha attempt, most civil society and edsa dos people would be up in arms and calling for his head.

But since it's their Golden Girl Arroyo who's doing the tampering with the constitution, tahimik lang sila.

More from Ellen Tordesillas:

Thanks to Ninez Cacho Olivarez’s sharp eye for detail, the proposal of the Gloria Arroyo’s Consultative Commission to trifle with our freedom of expression has been exposed.

Article IV (Bill of Rights), Section 4 of the draft Constitution submitted by the Consultative Commission states" No law shall be passed abridging the responsible exercise of the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the Government for redress of grievances."

The 1987 Constitution which is in effect today provides: "No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances."

The above revision was not contained among the highlights of their recommendations that the Concom released to the media upon completion of their work last month. The complete recommendations were made available only recently (www.concom.ph).

We thought that the postponement of the 2007 elections was the most idiotic of the Con-Com recommendations led by Jose Abueva, who strikes us as being up in the air and whose only concern is to make us laboratory rats to his idea of parliamentary-federal government. He doesn’t care if in making his dream come true, we lose our cherished freedom and basic rights.

But the proposed change in the freedom of expression provision strikes at the core of our basic rights as a citizen of a democratic country. The key change here is in the word "responsible." Who will determine what is responsible exercise of freedom of speech? Who will determine what is a responsible press. Who will determine responsible petition for redress of grievances? Gloria Arroyo?

The proposed change is very Gloria Arroyo. Many times, she has made media the scapegoat of her inability to govern because of zero trust and credibility.

Remember that speech before the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas in Baguio City last November where she called on media to echo only her lies? "Today I call on you: Let us cast aside the ‘bad boy’ image that the press has acquired. Let us restore its glory as the ‘responsible son’ of a democratic nation."

She asked media to forget about the truth and be the unprincipled opportunists she cultivates: "The coverage of kangaroo courts, lynch mobs and witch hunts assails the peace of mind and the hopes of the people…The public wants winners, I know you know that, because you’re always looking at ratings."

The proposed provision, if carried out will legitimize the egregious Calibrated Preemptive Response.

Why is she resorting to this? Simple: To hide her crime of cheating in the 2004 elections which was exposed by the Hello Garci tapes.

It’s one crime after another that she is committing against the Filipino people. She is now tampering with the Constitution. This has to stop.

UPDATE: La_flash from Pinoyexchange comments:

errrr, paki-explain naman po kung paano makakaapekto ang pagdadagdag ng salitang "responsible" sa freedom of speech?

Who defines what is "responsible?" Arroyo's SC? Arroyo's police (when applying CPR)? Arroyo's DOJ? Arroyo's allies in parliament? Mrs. Arroyo herself?

There's no need to put the word "responsible exercise" there because it's not necessary, and this will only be abused by the administration in power to censor "bad news".

Here's my view on censorship: I may not agree with with the ku klux klan about their racist views and i find them abhorrent and irresponsible, but I will defend their right to say it.

The best way to counter the "negative" news against arroyo is by telling the truth. besides, there are already enough laws to protect people if one feels slighted.

When that Bill of Rights, enshrined in the every Constitution — except that of Abueva and his traitorous ilk — says no law shall be passed abridging these freedoms, it meant just that — that government cannot abridge these freedoms. This means that government cannot exercise prior restraint. What is acceptable to the press is the recourse that one who feels slighted by news reports, can take action, which is for one to sue for libel, and even in this, there is already that age-old doctrine that government officials and public personalities, being in the public eye, cannot claim to be libeled by the press.

If we had arroyo's constitution, the reporting on GLORIAGATE and her illegitimacy proplems would be deemed "irresponsible" and criminal-- because we all know naman na GMA is the "real president", and to say otherwise would mean you're a "destabilizer".

And this admin has a disturbing habit of calling it's critics "destabilizers".

The last thing we need right now are fake and unnecessary "reforms" whose only purpose is to distract people from Arroyo's illegitimacy problems. this is one of the reasons i never took arroyo's charter change seriously.

Update from Ellen:

Mapapansin nyo yung mentality ng mga CON COM delegates kung bakit nila gustong ibahin yung Bill of Rights natin on free speech, free press and free assembly (na previous constitutions since 1935 have valued and protected.)

In last night’s “Strictly Politics” ANC, hosted by Pia Hontiveros (disclosure:I’m editorial consultant for the show) the topic was this particular Concom provision. Guests were former Rep. Serge Apostol and Atty. Romela Bengzon, both members of the committee on Bill of Rights, Atty. Adel Tamano, professor of law at the Far Eastern University, and Vergel Santos, columnist of Businessworld and director of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility.

Bengzon said the word “responsible” was put there to “enhance and focus”. She talked about investments not coming in, because investors always read bad news. We should give more tiem and space for “good news”, etc. etc., the usual Malacañang line although she denied that the Concom was inspired by GMA’s tirade on media and the opposition.

Apostol asked what’s the problem of of the word “responsibility” when media people themselves invoke that word all the time.

Apostol said soemthing shocking: proof that media can sometime be irresponsible is the high number of journalists being killed.

Tamano said changing the wording of that provision and adding the word “responsible” abridges freedom of expression.

He said that provision is part of the basic rights that gives substance to democracy and that has not been touched, tampered with for decades , in the American Constitution to which our Constitution is patterned. Our own Philippine Constitution has undergone several changes since 1935 but the framers respected and preserved that particular provision.

He said tampering with provision will create more confusion and disagreement.

Santos said there is no such thing as good news or bad news. There is only news. It’s good or bad depending on who views it.

Apostol and Bengzon said the word “responsible” is merely a guide. Santos and Tamano said there are enough laws to check abuses of freedom of expression.

Santos said the Concom’s set of recommendations is putting the cart before the horse because they were appointed by a presidentcy whose mandate is doubtful.

More:

My own take on Apostol’s comments that proof of media’s irresponsibility is the high number of journalists killed:

It’s possible that some of the killings of journalists are not related to their work as journalists or some may not have really been responsible journalists. But as Vergel santos said, that’s no justification for murder.

It also cannot be denied that some of those cases were work-related. Like in the case of Marlene Esperat. To attribute their killings to ‘irresponsibility’ is adding insult to injury. Pinatay ka na nga, ininsulto ka pa.

If we are to believe Romela Bengzon, then we should ban the media "bad boys" from reporting "bad news" like her illegitimacy problem and the ISAFP wiretapping scandal because investors are not coming in. That's why we need to generate "good news" by messing with the constitution instead. Now why didn't erap think of that while he was president, hmmm?

Apostol said soemthing shocking: proof that media can sometime be irresponsible is the high number of journalists being killed.

ohhh i see, mr. apostol. so kasalanan pala ng mga journalists kung bakit sila pinapatay. i'm sure there are irresponsible journalists around. kahit sa US meron yan. but the proper response against them is to take them to court. not kill them, mr. apostol.

and haven't you considered of the more likely possibility na kaya sila pinapatay is because they have exposed the corrupt ways of powerful politicians and policemen and the rotten deals inside gov't? i think that is the most likely the situation in most of these cases.

btw, isn't Apostol parroting Mike Arroyo and Reynaldo Wycoco's line about dead journalists?

WHEN the First Gentleman tells the Bacolod Press Club that the reason those who are killing journalists have killed no member of the BPC is that the members of the BPC are responsible journalists who are well behaved, Mike Arroyo is telling the world that the killers of journalists are in the right.

In effect, he is telling us that he agrees that those who, in his mind or in the mind of those ordering the killings, are irresponsible journalists, ought to die. It is only right. After all, what purpose do these irresponsible journalists serve if not to "destabilize" his wife’s government? They make themselves the enemy when they act irresponsibly. And, who are acting responsibly? Those who agree that Gloria Arroyo is the greatest thing that has ever happened to this country.

This is how dangerous journalism has become in this country. All that has to happen is for someone like Mike Arroyo or some local satrap such as a governor or a mayor to identify some writer or broadcaster as a "destabilizer" and that journalist’s goose will soon be cooked. In other words, he’s dead! That is the reality.

The sad part is that if even Mike Arroyo, the husband of Her Excellency feels this way, why would anyone – policeman or government functionary — go out of his way to protect journalists or to find out who killed them?

Imagine, too, that the head of the NBI also came up with advice to journalists to the effect that because these are dangerous times, journalists ought to go easy in what they write or broadcast and how they write or speak. The onus for the killings is, in the mind of NBI director Reynaldo Wycoco, on the journalists, rather than on the killers.

The victim is at fault. If he did not write or talk about the corruption, the cheating, the mistakes of those who govern and their profligate ways, then, he would not have been killed. It is as simple as that. It is as though he willed himself to be killed. Because he did all those forbidden things, then, naturally, he has to be killed. Do we actually expect the crooks in government to allow just about anyone to write any which way about them?

Who gave journalists the right to write or talk about these irregularities? Who told them that they could do those things that they do that make the powerful uncomfortable and that shame them before the people that they are supposed to be serving but whom they are victimizing by their incompetence and avarice?

How can anyone be doing a good job of reporting when he does not support Gloria Arroyo with the devotion of a lapdog?

The serious answer to these questions is of course to be found in the Constitution: "No law shall be passed abridging the freedom of speech, of expression, or of the press, or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and petition the government for redress of grievances."

Of course, as we all know, the second part of this provision is no longer honored by the present government. The present rule is "No permit, no rally!"

Thus, even if no law has been passed abridging any of these freedoms, the fact is that we can no longer exercise many of these freedoms. As for journalists, the hard fact is that the Constitution does not guarantee the journalist’s freedom to live.

UPDATE: I also noticed na if Arroyo's Constitution were passed, it would legalize CPR and "No permit, no rally".

Meaning, magiging constitutional na yung pag-ban ng "GLORIA resign" rallies sa mendiola, makati, and edsa -- unlike in the past. ang pwede na mga rallies ay yung mga pabor o harmless sa admin at yung mga parades para kay manny pacquiao at mga beauty queens.

And like I said previously:

if we had arroyo's constitution, the reporting on GLORIAGATE and her illegitimacy problems would be deemed "irresponsible" and criminal-- because we all know naman na GMA is the "real president", and to say otherwise would mean you're a "destabilizer".

reporting on GLORIAGATE and on the ISAFP wiretapping scandal could be hazardous to a reporter's health. Baka matawagan ka pang "destabilizer" at kasuhan ka ng administration.

Delikado ang PCIJ at NUJP dito dahil hindi ba tinawagan ng Arroyo administration (thru ISAFP) na "Enemies of the STate" sila?

From Gandhi:

Hindi ka na pwedeng sumigaw ng "Sunog!" sa sinehan kasi gusto mong makaupo.

uh, don't we have laws against this already? yan kasi ang problema sa "reform" ni arroyo eh--they are not only unnecessary, but counterproductive as well and can be easily abused by a corrupt and desperate administration clinging to power.

Anyways, ito lang ang gusto kong sabihin sa Arroyo admin at ang mga kaalyado nito -- TAKE YOUR DIRTY HANDS OFF MY BILL OF RIGHTS!!!

From greenwitch of PInoyexchange, defending the Arroyo's version of our Bill of Rights:

Guilty kaya nagre-react. With freedom comes responsibility, whether or not the word responsible is added. It's just that they don't trust a word alien to their vocabulary.

Heh. Responsible naman ako ah by getting my facts right about GLORIAGATE and this bogus president.

OTOH, I don't know what this administration's definition of "responsible exercise" is.

Just because it's an anti-ARroyo rally calling for GMA's resignation, hindi na siya considered na "responsible exercise" of free assembly and free speech by the arroyo admin?

Kaya lahat ng mga GMA resign rallies ay gustong i-ban? Napaka-self serving naman nyan.

ano, puro pro-admin na lang ang mga rally natin katulad ng nangyayari sa North Korea, sa Iran at China?

Imee Marcos lumalambot kay GMA?

I have to say I'm not surprised at all that this is happening. I think it's just a matter of time before she joins her mother and Bongbong in giving her full-fledged support for Arroyo.

Trickery on the fiscal front

UPDATED: From Malaya Editorial:

Our suspicion is Gloria is readying a war chest for buying support for her proposed charter change. She did it in 2004 to stay in power. She’ll do it again in the next three months and all the way to 2010. Assuming, of course, she is not kicked out earlier.

It's the old "reenacted budget" trick that again, which turns our 2006 national budget into Arroyo's giant pork barrel fund. This is the kind of spending that can easily bankrupt the government. Now you know why Arroyo needed to raise our taxes after the elections. ;)

Anyway, read the whole editorial.

Justice Cecilia Munoz Palma dies at 92

Link here. Rest in Peace, Ms. Palma.

Update on the Mei Magsino case

From Conrad de Quiros:

My friend Lorna Tirol, the Inquirer readers' advocate, writes:

"I'm writing in reaction to your column yesterday on Mei Magsino. While you were right to be outraged over a fellow journalist's terrible plight, I wish you...could have mentioned what the Inquirer has been doing to help her. The column tended to give readers the impression that Mei, an Inquirer correspondent, has been left to fend for herself. That is not the case at all. The Inquirer has in fact been supporting her from the start of her problems with Governor Sanchez. Her lawyer, Atty. Pagdanganan, was provided by the Inquirer. There was supposed to have been an arraignment on December 7, but the lawyer received the notice only on December 20.

"Would it be possible for you to include, in your next column, a short PS on Mei and the Inquirer's support for her? Just to set the record straight and in fairness to the Inquirer."

With pleasure. Now if only the various national media organizations will pitch in to help one of its members who have decided to take her job seriously. What are you there for people, to hold parties?

WORD!

Previous:

-- Another Pinay journalist's life in peril

Don't thrrrroooow us out, we have a "good economy"

The Arroyo administration keeps saying na dapat wag raw silang tanggalin sa pwesto dahil "maganda" raw ang ekonomiya natin.

We had a 4.6% GDP for the first 3 quarters of 2005.

Great.

But Erap had a 4.4% GDP in 2000, and he still got "people powered" and removed from office.

More: The nice thing about erap though is that he left behind a 4.4% GDP in 2000 for Arroyo when she took over in Jan. 2001. During Arroyo's first year though, the GDP rate fell to 3.2% in 2001.

Itong si Ramos naman, he did not leave erap in a good position. Pagalis ni Ramos, he left behind a -0.6% GDP in 1998 for Erap (although I can't blame FVR totally for it since we just got hit with the Asian Financial Crisis in 1997).

From Goodgal on Arroyo's economy:

GDP growth increased from 3% in 2001 to 6.1% in 2004. GNP growth likewise accelerated from 3.5% to 6.2%. For the first quarter of 2005, GDP grew by a moderate 4.6% and GNP, 4.7%.

Mas impressive yata yung kay erap.

Because of the Asian Financial Crisis, Ramos left Estrada with a -0.6% GDP in 1998. But the GDP grew to 2.4% in 1999 under erap, and during his last year in office, his admin turned in 4.4% GDP in 2000

pero bumagsak ulit sa 3.2% when GMA took over in early 2001.

i'm no big fan of erap, but it seems to me that his admin did a better job of making the economy grow compared to arroyo.

so anong mas impressive? ang -0.6% - 4.4% leap from 1998-2000 under erap, o yung 3.2% - 6.0% jump from 2001-2004 under arroyo?

The facts speak for themselves.

UPDATE: From the Manila Bulletin:

By 1996, the GNP had risen to 7.2 percent and the GDP to 5.8 percent. With braggadocio, Ramos claimed that the Philippines was the region’s new tiger. But, he spoke much too soon because the Asian economic crisis burst his economic bubbles as GNP plunged to 0.1 percent and GDP to 0.6 percent.

Erap was dealt a bad hand when he inherited FVR's limp economy (-0.6% GDP) and the aftermath of the Asian Financial Crisis. But he made the economy grow anyway during 1999 and 2000 (4.4% GDP). And there's no reason to doubt that we were on our way to full recovery (5-6% growth) before edsa dos happened. kasi bumagsak ang economy natin to 3% GDP in 2001 after GMA took over in jan of that same year.

GMA's lucky to inherit erap's 4.4% GDP in 2000, and i think erap admin did a BETTER Job of making the economy grow than GMA, but he never got a chance to complete the job because of edsa dos.

(btw, i believe the reason kung bakit hindi nadaya si erap nung 1998, is because of the Asian Financial Crisis. The Ramos admin and it's boy JDV weren't able to effectively organize a major dagdag bawas operation because of lack of gov't funds and the bad economy.)

UPDATE: this is a sample of how the Arroyo admin deceives the public with it's misleading propaganda. This article was published back in Aug. 25, 2005:

Rigoberto Tiglao has insulted the intelligence of 84 million Filipinos again with his “It's the economy, stupid” article a few days back, using misleading interpretation of historical data claiming for GMA an average 4-percent GDP growth rate against Aquino's 3.8 percent, Ramos' 3.7 percent and Estrada's 2.8 percent. Tiglao uses a deliberately misleading assumption that Estrada's economic governance started in 1998 when the GDP fell to 0.6 percent. Economists know that there is a lag time of at least 6 months as one administration passes on to the next and 1998 is certainly Ramos' responsibility.

Estrada's first year was 1999 and growth had recovered to 2.4-percent GDP from -0.6 percent left by Ramos. This was followed by Erap's year 2000 GDP of 4.4 percent. When Mrs. Arroyo took over in January of 2001 after the Edsa II power grab, that rate fell to 3 percent. These are official Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas figures we are citing.

Tiglao claims that Erap's drinking and mahjong sprees kept him away from decisively leading the economy out of the Asian-wide financial crisis and that Chavit Singson's expose in 2000 only further weakened the troubled economies. But the data show Erap still managed 4.4-percent GDP.

Tiglao claims a decline in the poverty incidence from 27.5 percent in 2000 down to 24.7 percent in 2003 during Gloria's years. What Tiglao doesn't explain is that the poverty threshold was revised since then from P13,823.00/person down to P11,605/person. As an ADB report on the Internet remarked about the change in the poverty threshold, i.e. the level of income/year where an individual is considered poor, it gave the new poverty definition a $50 per capita bonus. But various surveys have put the poverty and hunger at over 50 percent, while real family income of Filipinos fell 14 percent from the year 2000 to 2003 and the purchasing power of the peso fell by 10 percent.

Tiglao omits a discussion of the unemployment figures that during Estrada's time and using SWS figures never exceeded 12.5 percent (the worse in Dec. 2000), while employment under Gloria fluctuated and deteriorated from 14.1 percent in March 2003 down to 20.3 percent in May of 2005. As a consequence, 57 percent of the people rated themselves as poor in the March 2005 survey. Mrs. Arroyo's debacles are real, unlike Estrada's created by destabilization in 2000. Tiglao clearly falsified the presentation of the statistics to suit his objective of prettifying what actually is a horrible economic picture of Gloria's economic management.

One of the most basic and important economic indicators is the level of external debt the Philippines has and this is one thing Tiglao obviously did not want to touch on and never brought up. During Erap's 1999 to 2000 years, foreign debt grew from $50.99 billion to $51.206 billion rising by only about $1.7 billion, Gloria's on the other hand grew from $51.900 billion in 2001 to $53.645 billion in 2002 and then leapt to $57.396 billion in 2003 increasing gigantically by almost $4 billion! Despite this, growth had not significantly improved in 2004 where the President claims up to 6.1-percent GDP, election spending created the artificial upswing which this year crashes back to 4.5 percent as the August issue of The Economist records.

Gloria reaps the disdain of the people from her cruel, dishonest and cheating anti-people policies. Net satisfaction ratings of the Chief Executive from May 1986 to 2005 show her with the worse at -33 percent while Estrada's lowest low never went below 5 percent. Even in detention, Estrada's trust rating exceeded by 9 percent Gloria's trust rating while she sits in Malacañang in the latest 2005 surveys. With blatant lies, Tiglao attempts to pass off his figures as factual and he is easily caught by even the untrained layman. No wonder they are losing the war for the people's trust and support.

While some people may be fooled by statistics, the vast majority of Filipinos are not. The polls sum up the people's reaction: It's Gloria, stupid. If Tiglao had any illusion that he could get away with his misrepresentation of the statistics to prettify Mrs. Arroyo's record, then he has got another think coming. Tiglao had his thumb pointed at himself while taunting others as stupid or dumb or bobo?. Are we surprised? Of course not, the GMA team is a proven bunch of prevaricators, distorting laws and fudging economic data to serve their political convenience.

Should we swap the 2007 elections for Arroyo's Cha cha referendum?

Kasi parang ganyan ang lumalabas eh, kapag natuloy ang kagustuhan ng Arroyo admin. Sabi nila magastos raw ang 2007 Elections, but that's only because the administration is also gearing up for an expensive Charter change campaign and it's referendum NEXT YEAR. Kaya nga tinaasan ang buwis natin para sa "great debate" na yan eh. At nire-ready na ng admin ang pork barrel sa budget (Kilos Asenso, Kalayaan Barangay, and the so-called "Healing the Wounds of Edsa" fund) para diyan.

But the last thing this country needs right now is a Charter change since I believe it is unnecessary and doesn't directly address the GLORIAGATE crisis plaguing us. Hindi naman ang constitution natin ang dahilan kung bakit nagkaroon ng GLORIAGATE cheating scandal eh. Yung Malacanang occupant mismo at ang kanyang COMELEC ang dapat sisihin at sibakin. To solve the problem, remove the fake president and her COMELEC. Using CHA CHA is just overkill and very expensive to us Filipinos.

It's like a person trying to burn down his house just to kill the cockroaches. Simply overkill.

Anyway, if we are to undertake something as huge as Cha cha, better make sure of the following:

1) We have credible leadership and people to make the changes.

2) We have enough money for it. And a No-el in 2007 just so that we can have enough money for the Cha cha referendum is unacceptable. Kung walang tayong pera, then scrap Cha cha. It's that simple.

3) There's actually an urgent need for it, instead of cha cha only being used as a diversion for GLORIAGATE. In fact, it's pretty damn obvious that cha cha will not solve our Gloriagate problem. It will OTOH strengthen GMA and her allies in congress.

Related: Additional bogus reasons to scrap the 2007 elections from Con Com chief Abueva:

According to Arroyo's CON COM, we should scrap the 2007 elections na lang raw kasi "we don't have the necessary institutions" to conduct clean elections:

In a full-page newspaper ad, the Con-com headed by Dr. Jose Abueva admits that they “have proposed no elections in 2007” because “the necessary institutions for credible elections might not be in place by then.”

This is the loudest admission that the current Comelec cannot be trusted anymore to hold credible elections. Earlier, Sen. Joker Arroyo said the same thing. Chairman Benjamin Abalos, isn’t it time for you to throw in the towel, get your substantial pension and enjoy playing golf at Wack Wack year round?

If we can't hold any credible elections in 2007 because the Arroyo's COMELEC is corrupt and partisan, THEN HOW THE FUCK CAN YOU EXPECT THIS ADMINISTRATION AND IT'S COMELEC TO CONDUCT A CREDIBLE REFERENDUM ON CHARTER CHANGE????

Randy David Smacks fellow PDI columnist Honesto General

...on the GLORIAGATE tapes.

How Reynaldo Wycoco will be remembered

Yes, he was a pain in the ass for the opposition. Pero para sa akin, bali wala yan.

But what really upsets me was the way Wycoco harassed whistleblower Acsa Ramirez up to the very end with trumped up charges and false accusations which led to acsa's miscarriage.

You're not a nice man, Director Wycoco. Not a nice man.

From the Inquirer:

"HOW many times do I have to be cleared before the NBI stops hounding me?"

Acsa Ramirez, whistle-blower on the 431-million-peso tax diversion scam at the Binangonan branch of the Land Bank of the Philippines, was dismayed upon learning that the National Bureau of Investigation had appealed the Ombudsman's decision clearing her for a second time.

Ramirez's lawyer, Virgie Pinlac, said her client had been "overjoyed" that the bureau's earlier motion for reconsideration was denied, but was now worried by the petition for review filed before the office of Ombudsman Simeon Marcelo.

Pinlac said she would question the filing because it was not part of legal procedure, but she was sure the petition would soon be dismissed.

Lawyer Elfren Meneses, head of the NBI Anti-Fraud and Computer Crime Division, argued that the bureau merely wanted to exhaust all legal means, and that this was the usual paper route. He did not want to be accused of not following procedure, he said, or of neglecting a case.

NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco said the bureau did not have anything against Ramirez. ''There is nothing foul, illegal or desperate about the NBI's petition," he said. "When Ombudsman Marcelo decides (on the petition), the bureau will rest its case."

Ramirez had suffered a miscarriage a few weeks before she was cleared for a second time, according to Pinlac, who pointed out that this was around the first anniversary of her client's presentation as a suspect in the scam by Wycoco and President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

Now Ramirez is back with her two children, after staying in a safehouse provided by Landbank.

From the Manila Times:

PRESIDENT Arroyo has finally and rightly apologized to Acsa Ramirez for having publicly identified her as a criminal perpetrator in ceremonies that Ramirez thought was for congratulating her in revealing a crime. The public presentation of Ramirez was, it turns out, a terrible mistake. The obstinate refusal of NBI’s Director Wycoco to rectify the mistake, however, had him not only refusing to apologize to Ramirez but—for the clear purpose of saving face—going all out “to prove” his case against the hapless woman. “Due process,” he called it; “nothing personal,” he continued, just “standard operating procedure” of exhausting all legal remedies available to government.

“Appalling,” is what most everyone else characterizes the relentless and ridiculous prosecution. The stress took its toll upon Acsa; she suffered a miscarriage when, after her case was dismissed by the Ombudsman, Wycoco announced he was instructing the NBI to “appeal” the dismissal.

Related:

ARROYO DECLARES LANDBANK WHISTLE-BLOWER A SUSPECT

Malacanang, August 16, 2002 (STAR) By Marichu Villanueva and Delon Porcalla - President Arroyo, seemingly displeased by sharp criticism that she wrongfully tagged as suspect Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) cashier Acsa Ramirez, felt vindicated yesterday and declared that Ramirez was indeed a suspect after all.

Virtually acting as if she were the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), the President said, "Let me just clarify what I read in the newspapers that she (Acsa) is a whistle-blower. She did not blow the whistle. She reported a totally unrelated crank account from a crank trying to open a P26-billion account."

Mrs. Arroyo narrated that NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco "said we should give her a medal for reporting a crank account. But it is totally separate from the tax scam where there is no record of her having reported what she should have."

Wonder what Archbishop Lagdameo is thinking right now

He wanted to see "closure" raw on the GLORAGATE crisis.

(I noted that he used the word "closure", which is a weaker word, instead of "justice" or even the "truth"--though everybody knows GMA stole the elections.

But some people are still "looking for the truth"... whatever that means.)

So now that the untouchable Virgilio Garcillano (untouchable, just like fellow crook joc joc bolante and former National archives director/document forger Ricardo Manapat) has been taken out of the administration dungeon and made to re-appear (with a well-prepared script) to insult our intelligence and mock our justice system, do you now feel that "proper closure" has been achieved on the Gloriagate crisis?

Is it, like what fernando capalla said, "time to move on" na?