An open letter to the CBCP

From the Black and White Movement.

And this is interesting:

Malacañang appeared to be preventing Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz’ Silent Majority Movement from taking off, as the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, barred the group from holding its first prayer gathering, leading the bishop to say that “Malacañang thinks the prayer gathering is a partisan entity and that’s a pity because it shows some kind of undue nervousness on the part of Malacañang.”

During an interview, Cruz said he and his group were really surprised that be told that the UP chancellor had denied their request to hold the prayer gathering in its famous Sunken Garden, the venue chosen for the Silent Majority Movement’s prayer-rally.

“This is strange because the UP Sunken Garden is considered as practically a freedom park and the truth is that not even the police can enter UP,” Cruz noted, adding they chose UP because of its significance.

Asked why UP had turned down their request for their launching of the newly-formed movement with Cruz as the lead convenor, the bishop said the university chancellor invoked “an old law which prohibits religious activities in the campus.”

Cruz hinted broadly that Malacañang had a hand in UP’s barring of their prayer rally.

“Religious processions are held in the UP campus by the existence of the Catholic parish there. It is understandable that the UP administration could have been prevailed upon by Malacañang not to grant permission for the prayer event,” he added.

This is silly because UP because I recall UP has held so many religious activities inside it's campus in the past.

So what is the ARroyo admin afraid of, this time?

PCIJ has done more tests on Garci's voice

Link here.

UPDATE: Dean Jorge Bocobo/Rizalist comments for the defense:

What Garci told the Supreme Court in his Second Petition is that people in Congress and in the Media are using certain illegally wiretapped recordings to accuse him of voterigging during the 2004 elections because they say that is his voice on the tapes. The question is do they have a right to use such recordings to make such accusations against him when the ONLY legally sanctioned use of wiretapped materials is when it is covered by a Court Order as specified in R.A. 4200. Tanada set it up so that wiretapping was illegal, and so is the mere possession, use or reproduction of wiretapped materials for any purpose, by default, unless you had a Court Order to perform wiretapping yourself at some specified FUTURE time and place OR to use wiretapped materials as evidence in PAST crimes against persons guilty of illegal wiretapping!

Why the Opposition has not filed for such Court Order designation of the Garci Tapes as evidence of such crimes TOTALLY MYSTIFIES me. Nothing in RA 4200 prevents them from doing so today. Why don’t they? Especially since Garci is hurrying up to get the Supreme Court to grant the exact opposite prayer: BURY THE GARCI RECORDINGS!

I don't know, Rizalist... it's obviously illegally obtained since hindi naman humingi ng permission ang ISAFP na i-wiretap si Garcillano (baka kay maam, meron pa).

So hindi pwedeng gamiting ang tapes sa court of law.

BUT there was never any intention by the opposition to use these tapes in a court of law anyway.

Pero I believe pwedeng gamitin ang tapes sa impeachment trial, because Impeachment doesn't follow the same rules in a court of law and is more of a POLITICAL EXERCISE.

And like you said, the mere possession, use or reproduction of wiretapped materials without a court order is illegal. So why didn’t GMA’s DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzalez and Garcillano do the smart thing and arrest PCIJ, Sen. Serge Osmena, Rep. Roilo Golez, Alan Paguia, you, me and everybody else who has copies of the voice recordings?

At bakit hindi sila interesado na malaman kung sino ang nagwa-wiretap sa kanila? Hindi ba sila concerned dito? At yung nag-wiretap sa kanila (at sa opposition at admin officials), ARE THEY STILL DOING IT?

And are they still doing it because this admin refuses to do anything to find out who these perpetrators are and is in fact trying it's best to coverup the spying operations done on public officials?

Sinong gumastos?

From Conrad de Quiros:

GLORIA Macapagal-Arroyo has appealed to her foes not to politicalize the Manny Pacquiao fight. That is all very well, except for one thing. She should be addressing that message not to her foes but to her friends. She should be addressing that message not to her critics but to her family. She should be addressing that message not to her detractors but to herself.

I did not see Francis Escudero or Alan Peter Cayetano among the crowd on ringside wasting taxpayers' money to see the fight up close and personal. I saw Prospero Pichay and other congressmen do so. I did not see Francisco Gudani or Alexander Balutan clamber up to the stage to embrace the sweating Pacquiao the better to bathe in his glory, I saw Mike Arroyo and Chavit Singson do so. I did not hear Cory Aquino or Susan Roces call up Pacquiao to insinuate themselves into the picture, I heard Gloria Arroyo do so.

It would be interesting to know kung sino ang gumastos sa junkets ng mga politicians na ito. Did they use their own money, o pera ng gobierno? Or did somebody else pay for those? And if somebody else did pay for their expenses, sino sino sila? Full disclosure please.

Kasi, I believe there is no such thing as a free lunch in this town. Kung ginastusan ang isang politician ng malaki ng mga rich-but-unidentified characters na yan, usually may hinihingi silang kapalit in return. Not now, but later... maybe in the form of gov't contracts, tax breaks, favors etc. that are not exactly beneficial or advantageous to the Filipino people.

Tignan nyo yung ingay na na-generate sa Juetengate ni Erap. Corruption raw yan dahil erap was taking bribes.

Well, yung recent na junket ng mga politicians at mga big shots na yan--doesn't that have all the makings of a Jack Abramoff type of deal here?

So again, nagtatanong lang. Sino ba ang gumastos para sa mga napaka-mahal na expenses ng mga politicians na yan?

Google.cn

from the Detroit Free Press:

Google is criticized for censoring sites
BY CHRISTOPHER BODEEN
ASSOCIATED PRESS

January 26, 2006

SHANGHAI, China -- Google Inc. launched a search engine Wednesday in China that censors material about human rights, Tibet and other topics sensitive to the government -- defending the move as a trade-off that grants users in China greater access to other information.

Within minutes of the launch of the new site -- which bears China's Web suffix, ".cn" -- searches for the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement showed that scores of sites were omitted and users were directed to articles condemning the group posted on Chinese government Web sites.

Searches for other sensitive subjects such as the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader, Taiwan independence and terms such as "democracy" and "human rights" yielded similar results.

Try searching "amnesty international china", "tibet", "tiananmen square massacre", "freedom", "democracy", "falun gong", and "human rights" in ordinary Google.com and with Google.cn

UPDATE: Damn, ang baba ng ranking ng blog ko sa google china if i type the search words "philippine politics" (without the quotes). Sa regular google, top ten yung Philippine Politics 04.

Bakit China, BAKEET??? O sige na, I will stop talking about democracy, freedom, fighting corruption, censorship, and clean elections, OKIE?.

UPDATE: More on Google China's censorship from Rebecca Mckinnon.

Major roundup here.

UPDATE: Bryan Preston has done his own testing on Google.cn with interesting (and not exactly surprising) results.

How Garci pulled his disappearing act

Article here.

Of course, Garci denies fleeing the country for 5 months to nung simulang sumabog ang GLORIAGATE scandal.

He can rig elections, lie and get away with it, because just like agri fund scam artist Joc joc Bolante and National Forger Ricardo Manapat, this guy will remain an "untouchable" as long as ARroyo is in power.

True electoral reforms will only happen once Arroyo is gone

If I were to run, it will require a major political effort on my part. But since I’m among the principal figures in the divisive national events for the last two or three years, my political efforts can only result in never-ending divisiveness.

On the other hand, relieved of the burden of politics, I can devote the last year and half of my administration to the following:

First, strengthening economy; to create more jobs and to encourage business activities that is unhampered by corruption and red tape in government.

Second, healing the deep divisions within our society.

Third, working for clean and honest elections in 2004.

- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Dec. 30, 2002

Back in December, Joker Arroyo called for the resignation of COMELEC officials, but it's not because of the GLORIAGATE election fraud scandal.

It's over the COMELEC's anomalous handling of it's election modernization program.

Joker ARroyo's Senate Blue Ribbon committee, where he is chairman, is not interested in investigating the election scandal or the wiretapping cases on ISAFP. The guy in fact has called for ending the GLORIAGATE probe.

The Black and White Movement has picked up Joker's recommendation and is now asking for the COMELEC commissioners resignation:

A Truth Forum on ELECTORAL REFORM sponsored by

The Black & White Movement

On January 13, 2004, the Supreme Court released its decision nullifying the contract signed by the COMELEC with Mega Pacific eSolutions, Inc., directing the Office of the Solicitor-General to exert all efforts to recover the money and the Ombudsman to “determine the criminal liability, if any, of the public officials (and conspiring private individuals, if any)” involved in the subject contract.

The Supreme Court decision is now two years old, yet nothing much has happened. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee has released Report No. 44 which recommends the resignation of the commissioners. The report further suggests that should the commissioners not resign, they can nonetheless be charged criminally by the Ombudsman.

Time is running out. If we want clean and credible elections and ultimately automate the process, then the COMELEC commissioners must resign. For as long as the present Commissioners remain, there is no hope for credible elections.

The Ombudsman must release their report and must elevate the case to the Sandiganbayan. NOW!

The Black and White Movement means well, but their reason for calling the COMELEC commissioners' resignation is insufficient, IMO. Walang serious na electoral reform na mangyayari if guys like Joker refuse to deal with the bigger issue of election rigging during the 2004 elections.

And by just focusing on the failed handling of the election modernization program, they're letting Arroyo and her commissioners off the hook on COMELEC's role in the massive dagdag bawas operations.

And we will not learn our lesson kasi kung akala lang natin na by using the automated machines, ayos na tayo, aba eh nagkakamali kayo diyan. Pwede ring dayain ang election using the counting machines kung gugustuhin talaga ng administration. Garbage in, garbage out.

Or kung ipapag-resign lang natin ang mga COMELEC commissioners without getting to the bottom of the GLORIAGATE operations--who were the COMELEC officials involved from top to bottom, how did they get away with it, who from the admin assisted the rogue COMELEC officials in rigging the elections--then the Arroyo admin will just appoint new partisan COMELEC officials who supports using the Automated Counting Machines, then Arroyo will call that "reform".

Isa-sakripisyo lang ni Arroyo yung mga commissioners niya at papalitan ng mga bagong Garcillano, Abalos at Barcelona.

But I guess this is what Joker wants. Suggesting cosmetic electoral reforms to get Arroyo off the hook, while refusing to go after all the COMELEC crooks and administration officials involved in the election rigging scandal.

Nice one Joker, but not so fast.

The only way really to have serious reforms in COMELEC is to boot out Arroyo and her COMELEC commissioners, and all those lower-ranking COMELEC officials involved in the GLORIAGATE operations.

Conrad on Jovito Salonga

Sure, I've had my disagreements with Salonga in the past concerning this CURRENT administration, but I think one thing all of us will agree on is that the guy is honest. And clean, as in not tainted by corruption.

Read the de Quiros tribute article on Salonga here.

Yung ninakaw na pera, ninakaw ulit?

Paano at sino ang umuubos ng stolen Marcos wealth na na-recover ng gobyerno?

Kobe Bryant for MVP?

Porket naka score lang siya ng 81 pts? Etong si Steve Kerr gusto nang sumali sa Kobe for MVP bandwagon.

More on Kobe's historic night from Dan Wetzel.

Two blog etiquette questions

From Mickey Kaus:

Sources protecting their reporters: Cathy Seipp deals with two newfangled bloggy etiquette questions: 1) Do you have to refrain from blogging about it when an MSM reporter (or anyone, for that matter) calls you to research a story? 2) Do you have to honor unilateral demands for confidentiality in emails from newsworthy figures like MSM reporters?

For some of the answers, click on the Kaus link and read the whole thing.

New Tribune Columnist: Ronald Roy

I don't know much about this guy, but here's his first article for the Trib.

Trapos bask in glory of Manny Pacquiao's victory

Can anything be more pathetic?

More from de Quiros.

Some people are worried na Manny Pacquiao might allow himself to be used as an Arroyo propaganda tool. Well, the guys a grown-ass man, and he can certainly do whatever he wants.

But it would be extremely disapointing if he chooses that path, and I will lose my respect for the guy.

UPDATE: Ernie Maceda lists down the names of the politicians who went to the Pacquiao-Morales match:

Atienza went. In his post-victory interviews, champion Manny Pacquiao acknowledged the presence of First Gentleman Mike Arroyo, my “compadre” Rep. Mikey Arroyo, Sen. Lito Lapid, Representatives Monico Puentevella, Boy Nograles and Baby Asistio, former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, Rizal Gov. Ito Yñares and Mayor Joselito Atienza. Yes, we stand corrected, Mayor Atienza was there with Metropolitan Manila Development Authority Chairman Bayani Fernando and 11 other Metro Manila mayors who stayed at the 5-star Mirage Hotel.

And with Mike and Mikey Arroyo there, Pagcor Chairman Ephraim Genuino was there picking up the tab.

Yes, they were all deliriously happy. They won thousands of dollars in bets causing the change of odds in Manny Pacquiao’s favor. The Arroyos and Chavit were said to have won at least $500,000. They were last seen giving balatos to officials and newsmen.

Read this Tribune Editorial too.

CORRECTION: Atienza was not part of the junket according to the mayor's office:

Not in Vegas. The office of Mayor Lito Atienza called to say that contrary to the impression created by Manny Pacquiao’s mention of his name at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas, Mayor Atienza was in Manila and watched at an SM theatre.

UPDATE: Why the FAT MAN was booed.

It was a universal reaction, wherever the fight was shown – the SM Mall cinemas from Davao to Baguio, the Leyenda Hotel in the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, hotel lobbies all over Metro Manila and the country (even where the audience was exclusively foreigners). When the First Gentleman Mike Arroyo and Governor Chavit Singson climbed into the ring to congratulate Manny Pacquiao on his knockout of Mexican Erik Morales, the audience gave a loud boo.

Why this reaction?

Mayor JV Ejercito explains: "I join the nation in hailing the victory of Pacquiao in Las Vegas as a demonstration of the Filipinos’ physical prowess and self-discipline, but I bewail the insensitivity and cheap gimmickry of the Arroyo administration in exploiting the fight for publicity and in spending millions of dollars for their cronies who attended the fight while millions of our countrymen starve."

JV’s is a politician’s explanation. I believe that the reaction is much more guttural than that. The reaction to the triumph was universal because it was a victory for the country and for the Filipino masses. When Arroyo and Chavit went up the ring, the audience reacted the way it did because it seemed that even that momentary jubilation was being stolen by the Gloria administration for themselves, again leaving nothing for the Filipino masa. They have stolen everything; now, they are stealing even this momentary joy for themselves.

And Read this from JB Baylon.

"Perpetual Campaign"

What is this "perpetual campaign" by Gloria Macapagal Arroyo anyway? Read this PDI editorial first.

Then read this latest from Neal Cruz.

This too from Conrad.

Answering MLQ3

Linawin muna natin ito para wala nang gulo.

Sabi ni MLQ3 na gusto raw ng oppostion ng coup para may military junta or ma-install ulit si Erap sa kapangyarihan.

But I think he's wrong.

Opposition favors resignation, snap polls

By Gerry Baldo

01/22/2006

Rather than staging a coup as a means to oust President Arroyo, the political opposition prefers to have the resignation of Mrs. Arroyo and her vice president, Noli de Castro, to pave the way for snap elections, with the Senate President taking over for a limited period of 60 days within which fresh elections for the two top posts will be scheduled by Congress.

This would be the peaceful way out of the current political crisis that has been fueled by the alleged illegitimate presidency of Mrs. Arroyo, owing to widespread public judgment of her having cheated at the polls in 2004, as caught in the wiretapped conversations between her and Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, where the poll rigging operations were discussed.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. and former Sen. Vicente Sotto III, in separate statements, yesterday pointed out that a snap election would be a better option now for Mrs. Arroyo in the face of an alleged brewing coup by the military.

RTWT.

Eto pa.

Kung si House minority leader Francis "Chiz" Escudero naman ang tatanungin, wala itong balak na basta na lamang palitan ng oposisyon si Arroyo sa poder kapag natanggal na ang pangulo.

Ayon kay Escudero, mas pabor ito na magkaroon ng snap election kapag natanggal si Arroyo upang magkaroon ng partisipasyon ang taumbayan na pumili ng panibagong leader.

"Mas magandang magkaroon ng snap election agad para magkaroon ng bagong leader," ani Escudero.

Sabi pa ni MLQ3:

and what we should know, because if you are going to go down the path of wanting the soldiers to solve things, you'd better know what you're getting into.

Gusto ko lang linawin ang isang bagay, manuel--I'm not in favor of any military junta, but i'm in favor of removing GMA via the so called "constructive resignation".

I'm also not in favor of installing erap back to power, if that's what you are thinking. Erap is sooooo five years ago. I want to move on na rin from Erap. Sure, there are some erap supporters like Herman Tiu Laurel who want to install erap back as president, but they're a fringe minority. A significant majority of the opposition and those who are against ARroyo (I still count you as one of them) favor new elections to replace the fake one. I myself have been pushing for Snap elections w/out Arroyo since June of last year pa.

And once she's out, hindi lang yung mga COMELEC commissioners ang magre-resign, pero PATI na rin yung mga lower ranking COMELEC officials na involved sa GLORIAGATE scandal (hindi ito kasali sa petition nyo to reform the COMELEC, IIRC, which is a one of it's BIG pagkukulangs, IMO... I will deal with that later in a future post).

Kapag maayos na ulit ang COMELEC, then we will have new elections to elect a legit president. But no junta for me, MLQ3. And I don't want to see erap back as president either... LOL.

re: wanting the soldiers to solve things for us

I don't want the soldiers "to solve" the GLORIAGATE crisis for us. And I don't want to see them take the PRIMARY role in ousting GMA.

But do I want them involved in future "people power" moves against Arroyo? DEFINITELY.

I want them to play a SUPPORT role in ousting a corrupt and illegitimate president like they did in Edsa 1986 (where sila ang nauna at nag-spark ng edsa revolt) or in Edsa Dos (where kumalas sila kay erap after medyo malaki na ang mga anti-erap crowd sa edsa noong 2001).

And yes, dapat tayong mag-ingat sa mga "self-coup" na yan, since the people around arroyo and the people surrounding the marcoses then think alike. we know Arroyo's people and supporters are ruthless and cold blooded. And it doesn't hurt arroyo na she is already close friends with imelda, so maraming tips na maibibigay si imelda marcos kay GMA on "coup me" tactics.

"you'd better know what you're getting into."

hahahaha, thanks for your concern Manuel... but i'll be taking some tips from Mike ARroyo on how to form a military "strike force". ;)

MORE: ang comment ko sa latest post niya.

In May, 2001, Estrada loyalists and their allies capitalized on a public outpouring of sympathy for Estrada by calling for People Power, but it seems their objectives were muddled: was it to spring Estrada out of jail, or simply to whip up popular support for the elections?

Heh. "whip up popular support for elections?" I don't recall anybody from Edsa Tres calling for "snap elections". What all those who participated in Edsa Tres wanted then was to remove Arroyo and install Erap back to power.

And I don't know if this is a deliberte attempt by MLQ3 to plant the seeds of doubt among his readers on the intentions of those currently opposed to Arroyo. Like, totoo ba talaga yung sinasabi nila (like me and Conrad de Quiros, and the opposition) ngayon na gusto nila ng "snap elections"? O kunwari lang yan para maibalik nila ang kanilang idolo na si ERap Estrada sa Malacanang?

Well Manuel?

The military, for one, were not about to reverse themselves so soon after abandoning Estrada. But neither were they prepared for an uprising that went beyond the past, well-organized demonstrations. Either from ambivalence or a lack of familiarity with handling People Power, the Estrada group kept stoking the rage of the protesters while holding back from unleashing them; this gave the government enough time, for example, to convince the Iglesia ni Cristo (standing in for the Catholic Church in this particular model for People Power) to withdraw its support and cut off coverage.

The admin was able to "convince" the INC to cease their coverage by sending in the APCs to their TV stations. LOL.

Notice na most of the pro-Arroyo mainstream media at that time gave minimal coverage to Edsa Tres, unlike Edsa dos a few months ago, even thuogh mas malaki (4 times larger?) ang crowd sa Edsa Tres compared sa Edsa Dos.

What could have happened if the protesters were better led, and more of an effort made to try to convince the military to defect? Or was that prospect closed off the moment Edsa Tres turned violent?

I disagree. After Edsa Dos, maraming in-appoint ni Arroyo ang mga loyalist generals at police officials na sumali sa Edsa dos sa mga importanteng posisyon, pati na sa cabinet niya, so mahirap kumalas ang militar sa opposition dahil puro mga arroyo loyalists ang nasa matataas na posisyon.

Edsa Tres went on for 5 to six days, IIRC, at hinintay ng mga anti-Arroyo opposition na kumalas ang militar kay Arroyo, pero loyal talaga eh.

Besides, why would the military give back it's support to erap after just removing him from power, when conventional wisdom at that time states that GMA was a "good leader" aka edsa dos' "the chosen one", while is Erap bad, immoral, corrupt, a crook etc etc... so of course most of the soldiers were reluctant to join the erap forces back in May 2001. I guess nobody knew the REAL Arroyo then, huh--me, the opposition, you, and everybody who supported Edsa Dos.

Or was that prospect closed off the moment Edsa Tres turned violent?

Edsa one could have turned violent, like Tiananmen. Edsa Dos could have turned violent too. I guess pagdating sa pag-involve ng military, mas magaling ang civil society sa ganitong bagay (may PLAN A, Plan B, at backup "strike force" pa all over the country when Edsa dos started, I guess the military withdrawal was "spontaneous" and "unplanned" too, huh?)

From MLQ3 commenter CVJ:

Apologies in advance, but…will everyone who favors a bloody revolution to achieve that hoped for ‘cathartic effect’ please step forward and offer themselves up and/or their own families as blood offering so we can get this meme over and done with? I can’t fathom why otherwise normal people, especially civilians could be so glib about life and death matters - as if a single human life is worth another’s psychological change in disposition.

Eat this, cvj.

I'm not for a coup/junta. I'm not for installing erap back to power. BUT I'm against Arroyo. And I'm for people power of the Edsa 1986 kind to oust the fake president.

And I take Mike defensor's warning very seriously, that's why I wrote this post here, because I want to warn those who oppose arroyo and give them every opportunity to walk away from joining another people power vs arroyo. FOLKS, WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH NICE PEOPLE HERE!!! Arroyo's thugs are ruthless and will use extreme violence to protect the fake president. Yes, it is VERY LIKELY that the next people power could turn into ANOTHER TIANANMEN!!!

And yes, Arroyo has deployed snipers in the past during a peaceful Anti-Arroyo rallies in July 25, 2005. So if they want to cause trouble, they'd just start shooting the marchers from afar one at a time to cause panic and a stampede.

Me, I'm an idiot LOL (or "reckless" -- Bunye's word). I'll join anti-Arroyo rallies even though the risks involved in joining an anti-administration protest rally in the Philippines is much greater than 6-8 years ago. If there's a people power call to oust ARroyo, if I'm physically able, I'm there, even if I know there's the possibility of TIANAMEN.

UPDATE: I posted this on PEX:

besides, all the coup talk is a straw man argument anyways. i don't know of anybody who's for a coup/military junta except for those from the admin who are fanning this kind of talk and the possibility of a "self-coup" or "coup-me" ala what marcos did in the early 70s. remember the "attack" on juan ponce enrile's car? arroyo could do something similar to that too and blame the opposition for it.

OTOH, a significant majority of those who are opposed to arroyo wants her "constructive resignation", then new elections.

One of the reasons kung bakit may possibilidad na magka-coup ay dahil pinipigilan ni Arroyo ang karapatan ng tao na gumawa ng GMA-resign rallies sa kalsada via "no permit, no rally" at CPR. You try to crush dissent by banning rallies, you push some to the edge.

At least nung panahon ni erap, nakakapag anti-admin rally ka sa edsa, mendiola at makati no? tsk tsk...

UPDATE: MLQ3 comments

Ang hirap ma access yung blog ni Ellen Tordesillas ngayon

I hope she's not experiencing a denial-of-service attack.

If you can tolerate a bigger crook like GMA...

then you might as well free Erap na rin.

The fact that the bigger cheating crook is free while the other one is not is becoming more and more of a joke each day.

All the people who claimed they want to remove erap because "he's a criminal" and is corrupt while at the same time defending Arroyo to death are a bunch of hypocrites and liars.

So please, stop lecturing us about Marcos's corruption or Erap's corruption, because you're not really serious about these issues.

You want us to "move on" from GMA? Good. Let's "move on" na rin from Erap and free him.

Garcillano? "Move on" na no?!? Marcos? let Imelda bury her dead husband's rotting corpse sa Libingan ng mga Bayani para makapag-"move on" na rin sila. LOL.

I take Mike Defensor's warning very seriously

Any weakness on the part of the government in responding to such tests of resolve could only encourage further violent challenges. In these extraordinary times of political turmoil, the primordial duty of the government is to defend the state and maintain public order. It cannot be squeamish over its methods of response. The message is clear: Some heads will be bashed and some will be killed if they mount violent action to express grievances outside of the legal process.

-- Ambassador Amando Doronila Nov. 13, 2003, after the violent dispersal of a demonstration in Makati protesting the hometown decision of Arroyo's Supreme Court

"You know, against the advice of my legal counsel, I followed your recommendation to admit and apologize. Now I’m getting all the flak and I’m constrained to use muscle.

-- Gloria Macapagal Arroyo

And today from the Malaya:

INCOMING presidential chief of staff Michael Defensor yesterday warned that any attempt to oust President Arroyo would turn violent, bloody and more damaging to the country.

Defensor said the four Oakwood mutineers who escaped from detention in Fort Bonifacio Tuesday night probably did not understand the meaning of resorting to a "revolution." He said they should think twice before asking the people to join them or any group out to overthrow the government.

Army Capt. Nathaniel Rabonza, and 1Lts. Lawrence San Juan, Sonny Sarmiento and Patricio Bumidang on Thursday vowed to topple what they said was the illegitimate administration of President Arroyo. They said they now make up a "new" Armed Forces that is growing stronger everyday.

Defensor said an uprising would not lead to a peaceful withdrawal of military support from the president as what happened in 1986 during Edsa 1 and 2001 during Edsa 2.

Any administration that is capable of dispersing any peaceful anti-administration rallies with excessive violence (Calibrated Pre-emptive Response) is capable of bloodshed.

This coming from a guy (Mike Defensor) who was directly part of ARroyo's attempts to silence a witness by kidnapping.

If Defensor is capable of that, he is CAPABLE OF ANYTHING.

Ito ang post ko noong Oct. 14, 2005:

And IIRC, mas malaki ang size ng Edsa Tres crowd kaysa Edsa Dos, and the potential for another Edsa is always there. No wonder medyo insecure ang admin na ito, that they have to resort to "Calibrated Preemptive Response" (with emphasis on "Pre-emptive") to nip any potential uprising in the bud.

Having said that though, I fear na magiging madugo ang susunod na "Edsa." More Tiananmen (China) and less "Orange Revolution" (Ukraine). It's Arroyo's military loyalists and the remaining few pro-GMA members of Civil Society vs. the People. And the longer she stays in power, the worse it will become for our country.

I believe this admin is capable of Tiananmen...

UPDATE: I kid you not when I say na napaka-ruthless at ambisyoso ng mga nakapaligid kay Arroyo. Take Mike Arroyo, for example. Here are some of my favorite quotes from an old interview he did about Edsa Dos that he'd rather us forget:

"Our group there was a back-up strike force. In fact, it was our group that won over to our side the PNP first. If Panfilo Lacson had resisted, he and his men would have been repelled: there would have been bloodshed, but not on EDSA. In every place where Erap loyalists had a force, we had a counter-force to face it, with orders to shoot. And not only in Metro Manila. Carillo had already been sent to the provinces; and in Nueva Ecija, for instance, we had Rabosa. This was a fight to the finish. That's why those five days that Erap was demanding were so important. He was counting on counter-coups and baliktaran.

and this...

"I was negotiating with Pardo up to three o'clock in the morning: niloloko lang pala kami. But I told him point-blank: "If by six o'clock this morning you haven't given us the resignation letter, we will storm the gates of Malacañang!'

and this...

"There was a time honestly, when I felt I erred in advising her to resign from the Cabinet. The masa in Manila apparently wanted her to stick it out with Erap. And when she started attacking him, everything fell on us - grabe!- everything! But I told myself: it's now or never; if we lose here we're totally destroyed and it's goodbye to her political career - but if we win here, she becomes President! So we really fought.

And this...

"And when EDSA happened, we texted everybody to go running there. EDSA, EDSA: everybody converge on EDSA! Panalo kung panalo. Patay kung patay! Jinggoy had already announced what they would do to us if they won."

HAHAHAHAHA...

"Chavit Singson had Plan B involving elements of the military to strike the first blow. They would kindle the spark by withdrawing from the government, and one by one others would follow: Class '71 would also withdraw, then Class '72, and so forth. But General de Villa warned that the timing had to be precise because one untimely move against the government and the military would automatically defend it. The move must be made at what De Villa called a 'defining moment.'

"You see, General De Villa had his Plan A, which was better than ours, because his was focused on the Chief of Staff and the Service Commanders. At past one o'clock p.m. January 20, Chief of Staff Angelo Reyes defected but we knew that already the night before, when negotiations had lasted until the small hours. By past 2 a.m. we knew Reyes had been convinced to join. His only condition was: Show us a million people on EDSA so it will b easier to bring in the service commanders.

and finally, this...

"But the threat to march to Malacañang was for real. And so was the danger of bloodshed. I wasn't telling Gloria everything: I didn't want her alarmed. So she didn't know about the orders to shoot."

Tarantado ka talaga, Mike.

ISAFP wiretapping on opposition bared

The camps of FPJ and Lacson were also wiretapped. From the Malaya:

PHONE conversations of political leaders and private persons identified with two rivals of President Arroyo in the May 2004 presidential elections were bugged by a unit of the Intelligence Service of the AFP.

The Isafp, it was learned during a hearing yesterday of the Senate committee on national defense and security, keeps in its "Blue Room" a highly-technical wiretapping equipment called the Cellular Interceptor-GSM Digital that is "available to government agencies only."

The equipment, according to a brochure provided by Sen. Sergio Osmeña III to committee chairman Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, costs $420,000 or about P25 million.

Osmeña obtained the brochure from the website of the "Spy World" in the Internet.

"Children" recordings of the "mother of all tapes," which were played during the hearing, showed that the office phones of former Sen. Gregorio Honasan and a mobile phone of Maj. Gen. (ret.) Rodolfo Canieso were tapped during the campaign period between January and June 2004.

The "children" recordings consisted of two audiotapes provided to the Biazon panel by Samuel Ong, former NBI deputy director for intelligence.

Ong claims he has in his possession the original copy of the "mother of all tapes" containing the bugged conversations between President Arroyo and former Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Honasan was the head of the vote security group of the late Fernando Poe, Arroyo’s closest rival in the elections. Canieso, former chief of the National Intelligence Coordinating Agency, is a member of the Soldiers for Peace and Progress Movement which helped protect the votes of Sen. Panfilo Lacson in the 2004 elections.

Honasan was still a senator when his office phones were bugged.

And more here about an emissary sent by the Palace to stop the investigation.

Malacañang sent a presidential emissary to Sen. Rodolfo Biazon with a plea for him to cancel the Senate investigation of the wiretapping activities that also mentioned the names of several military and police generals who were said to have engaged in rigging the polls to favor of President Arroyo.

There was apparently reason for the President to worry, as the probe revealed that not was the President and Commander-in-Chief tapped illegally, but that the whole wiretapping operations was done by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (Isafp) who had spied on several opposition activities by tapping their telephones, mobile and landline.

Marieta Santos, lover of T/S Vidal Doble, who had earlier admitted that he handed the “Hello Garci” tapes to former National Bureau of Investigation Deputy chief Samuel Ong, identified several Isafp MIG agents through their voices in the tapes, as annotators.

Malacañang tried to prevent the probe from continuing, but Biazon, committee chairman, stood his ground and refused to blink.

It was established in yesterday’s Senate hearing that it was the Isafp, under orders of someone higher than their military chiefs ordered the illegal wiretapping activities. Although names were not mentioned, it was made evident that the order, illegal as it is, could only have come from the top chief — the President and commander in chief.

It was also established that as early as Jan. 2004, the wiretapping covered even the camps of then two rivals of Mrs. Arroyo in the presidential race: Sen. Panfilo Lacson and the late Fernando Poe Jr.

Biazon, when contacted by the Tribune, confirmed the information of the Palace emissary sent to seek him out but refused to elaborate on details such as the identity of the Malacañang representative.

Sources said the “emissary” sought an audience with the senator, who ran and won under the banner of the administration coalition party during the 2004 polls, in Senate office as he had been quoted announcing that six witnesses stand to testify in the resumption of the probe on the so-called “Garci tapes.”

Sources, however, are not privy as to what was on offer or how the offer was made, but said Biazon was “fuming mad” over such a brazen Palace ploy to stop him from doing his mandated duty, He was quoted as saying no amount of pressure from Malacañang could stop him from investigating the matter.

“They can send as many emissaries as they want but I will not be stopped (from getting to the bottom of the case),” sources quoted the senator as supposedly saying.

Next: Biazon wants to know who ordered ISAFP to do the wiretapping.

AFTER the Senate committee on national defense and security established that military intelligence agents bugged phone conversations of opposition political leaders during the 2004 elections, its next job is to identify who authorized the wiretapping.

Committee chairman Sen. Rodolfo Biazon yesterday said he is planning to go to the courts to compel top military officials to answer questions on the recordings.

"There lies the big question and we will continue to pursue the answer or answers to this specific question: Who authorized the wiretapping operations that was mounted against the opposition during the election of 2004?" he said in a press briefing.

The committee, which is investigating the "Hello Garci" election fraud scandal, on Thursday concluded that a core group of the Intelligence Service of the AFP bugged the phone conversations not only between President Arroyo and former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano but also political leaders allied with the late Fernando Poe Jr. and Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who both ran against President Arroyo in 2004.

Biazon said it was possible that Gen. (ret.) Narciso Abaya, AFP chief during the election period, was "bypassed" when the wiretapping was carried out.

Biazon said only two authorities could bypass the AFP chief of staff, and these are the defense secretary (then Eduardo Ermita, now executive secretary) and the commander in chief, who is President Arroyo.

Me, I want to know naman if ISAFP is still spying/wiretapping on opposition and administration officials (and members of the media) to this day.

(additional question: bakit tahimik lang si Joker Arroyo sa isyung ito? usually, the guy gets all worked up over this kind of issue... kesyo "martial law" tactic raw yan at invasion of privacy yan.

BAKIT TAHIMIK LANG SI JOKER NGAYON WHEREAS MAINGAY SIYA SA GANITONG ISSUE DATI???)

This smells like Watergate:

Senators are out to make the Armed Forces of the Philippines answer charges on the apparent massive wiretapping operations at the height of 2004 elections by the Intelligence Service of the AFP (Isafp) even if they would have to haul the intelligence unit to court just so it could be directed to testify before the Senate.

Sen. Rodolfo Biazon, chairman of the committee on national defense and security looking into the wiretapping of President Arroyo, yesterday said he is seriously considering taking the issue to court to enable the Senate to compel the Isafp officials’ appearance in the ongoing hearing.

“We will determine that later. This is still a thought that is now crystallizing in my mind because that could be the last resort, really. I learned from the Watergate incident because they went to court,” he added.

“I’m considering this option ...the committee going to court to compel the appearance of those personalities to testify before the hearing, much like what was done in the Watergate issue when the United States’ Senate compelled the appearance of that tape that led to the threat of impeachment by the US Senate against then US President Richard Nixon,” Biazon stressed.

What? 5th anniversary ng Edsa Dos ngayon???

They used to celebrate Edsa Dos in Malacanang. Strangely this year, tahimik sila pati yung media nila re this.

Pictures of Edsa Dos.

A lot of people who supported edsa dos 5 years ago, have changed their views lately. Pero wag mo raw silang tawagin na hypokrito.

Me, I supported Edsa One, but not Two.

UPDATE: Sabi ni MLQ3:

Edsa Tres had no leaders on the front lines, and no clergy to counsel peaceful protest. It became an attack on the Bastille that failed.

Edsa tres had no military support too, that's why it failed.

But that being the case, our fate will be decided in only one of two ways: a coup, or charter change. In both cases, most civilians will be on the sidelines as things play out.

Coup, huh? hindi na "people power" ang tawag, unlike edsa one and two? I guess bawal nang gamitin ang Edsa ^TM.

Related:

-- Defending Edsa Dos (posted: August 20, 2005)

UPDATE: UPDATE: From Randy David:

IT is amazing how People Power, a form of non-violent political action that Filipinos accidentally developed in their struggle against a dictatorship, has suddenly become an embarrassment to its inventors. Rather than draw strength and renewed commitment from its remembrance, those who mounted it, only feel disgust now. Its prime beneficiaries—those who came to power on its wings—fear it above all. Instead of heroism, they associate it with recklessness. Instead of the sacrifice, they only see the bid for power. Unable to praise it, they denigrate it. Such is the tragedy of people power.

A group of activists from Akbayan and Laban ng Masa dutifully showed up the other day at the People Power Monument, with placards bearing the single message: "Spirit of Edsa betrayed by Gloria." Implicit in that note at least is a continuing belief in some Edsa spirit, however we may understand it. In contrast, Malacanang would rather forget all about Edsa. Presidential Spokesman Ignacio Bunye says "the people are losing faith in people power," dismissing it as "reckless gambles at power." How perspectives shift with time!

"Reckless gambles of power"???? UN-FUCKING-BELIEVABLE!!! HINDI BA KAYO AT ANG BOSS MO ANG NAKINABANG SA EDSA DOS, MR. BUNYE???

More from Ellen Tordesillas. I recall Ellen writing a best-selling book detailing Erap's excesses, so Ellen's not exactly an Erap supporter here (Just like Arroyo-critics JB Baylon and Conrad De Quiros).

But compared to Erap, I guess Arroyo's worse.

(I myself was VERY anti-Erap before and did not vote for him in the 1998 elections, but I found out later na mas malala at hypocritical pa pala yung mga kaaway niya. "Sugal, alak, babae"? Puh-lease. So yung galit ko kay erap, lumipat sa kaaway niya--which is really nakakagulat because I never liked erap from the beginning anyways.)

And Mike Arroyo remembers Edsa Dos.

UPDATE:

Last Friday was the fifth anniversary of Edsa Dos that installed Arroyo in Malacañang without having been elected to the position. Not a word from Malacañang extolling the spirit of Edsa Dos as was their practice the last four years.

Hah, I agree. Nung Jan. 20, 2005, Malacanang released a press statement in observance of Edsa Dos 4th anniversary, where Arroyo, in a radio interview, said Edsa Dos' message was about "fighting graft which has also already corrupted our culture."

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo said today’s observance of the 4th EDSA Dos anniversary is an opportune time for Filipinos to talk about how the country fared economically since she took over the national leadership four years ago.

EDSA Dos refers to that fateful day on January 20, 2001 when then President Joseph Estrada left Malacanang in response to the Filipinos’ demands for his resignation on account of his alleged involvement in massive graft and economic plunder.

Estrada was then on impeachment trial by the Senate. The day before, his majority Senate allies blocked the opening of the Jose Velarde bank documents that first person witness Clarissa Ocampo said were opened and personally signed by him in her presence.

In an interview over radio station DZEC, Mrs. Arroyo said EDSA Dos’ message then and now remains basically the same: "We have to fight graft which has also already corrupted our culture" and which has made the country an economic laggard for decades now.

LOL.

More from Ellen:

Since Arroyo wants to abolish People Power with her Preemptive Calibrated Response, we would like to remind her how she extolled it on Jan. 20, 2001 at the Edsa Shrine when she took her oath before then Chief Justice Hilario Davide. Her words:

“..I pray that we will all be one – one in our priorities, one in our values and commitments, and one because of Edsa 2001.

“People Power and the ‘oneness’ of will and vision have made a new beginning possible.

“As we break from the past in our quest for a new Philippines, the unity, the Filipino’s sense of history, and his unshakeable faith in the Almighty that prevailed in EDSA ’86 and EDSA 2001 will continue to guide and inspire us.

“I am certain that Filipinos of unborn generations will look back with pride to EDSA 2001, just as we look back with pride to Mactan, the Katipunan and other revolts, Bataan and Corregidor, and EDSA ’86.

“People Power has dramatized the Filipino’s capacity for greatness.

“People of People Power, I ask for your support and prayers. Together, we will light the healing and cleaning flame.”

The whole speech is posted in Bunye’s website: www.news.ops.gov.ph

The speech can also be accessed here.

UPDATE: Tignan nyo yung nakalagay ngayon sa website ni Bunye dated Jan 20, 2006. Heh.

The Liberal films for 2005

click.

Patricio Bumidang OR Bumindang?

I'm not getting much info on him bago siya tumakas.

Eight VAT charges in electric bill

From PDI email writer PABLO CALICANTO:

I JUST received my billing from Manila Electric Co. (Meralco) for Dec. 15, 2005, and counted eight value-added tax (VAT) billings:

VAT for general charge, VAT for trans charge, VAT for SL charge (whatever that is!), VAT Power Act Rdn, VAT for Dist & Subs (again, whatever that is), VAT Sales, VAT zero rated, VAT Exempt.

Vhat about VAT for farting?

From a 70-year-old retiree getting P2,000 from the Social Security System, enough to pay his Meralco billings and its VATs.

And that folks, is why we have the second most expensive electricity in Asia, behind Japan (o baka naunahan na rin natin ang Japan ngayon dahil sa EVAT na yan ni ARroyo).

Blast from the Past

Back in Sept. 14, 2005

Court grants freedom to 26 Oakwood mutineers

STATE lawyers failed to pin own 26 Magdalo soldiers who joined the July 2003 mutiny at the Oakwood Premier apartments in Makati City so that the Court of Appeals (CA) ordered the release of the soldiers upon posting bail of P100,000.

In a nine-paged decision penned by Associate Justice Juan Enriquez Jr. of the CA's Seventh Division, the appellate court dismissed the petition for temporary restraining order (TRO) filed by government against the junior officers who joined the Oakwood siege.

The CA affirmed the ruling of Makati Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Oscar Pimentel, who dismissed the coup d' etat case against the 26 accused but retained the detention of the three leaders in his orders last July 8, 2004 and October 26, 2004, namely Captain Gerardo Gambala, Captain Milo Maestrocampo and Lieutenant Senior Grade (LTSG) Antonio Trillanes IV.

Gambala, Maestrocampo and Trillanes have been denied bail after the court found strong evidence of guilt for the crime against them.

In dismissing the petition, the CA cited Section 7 of the Revised Rules of Criminal Procedure, which states "capital offense, or offense punishable by reclusion perpetua or life imprisonment, is not bailable."

It further cited that under Article 135 of the Revised Penal Code, any person in government service who participates or executes directions or commands of others in undertaking a coup d`etat shall suffer the penalty of reclusion temporal, unlike their leaders who shall have the higher penalty of reclusion perpetua.

The CA maintained that the case for coup d`etat did not charge the respondents with leading the uprising, rather that they are merely participating or executing directions and commands of leaders.

It further ruled that the no-bail recommendation of government prosecutors does not constitute a strong evidence of guilt against the soldiers.

Since they are charged with felony, the soldiers were tried before a civilian court but this however does not remove any pending cases against them before a military court.

"It is settled that conspiracy must be proven as convincingly as the criminal act itself. Like any element of the offense charged, conspiracy must be established by proof beyond reasonable doubt," the CA said.

Among those who were granted bail were Captain Gary Alejano; LTSG James Layug; LTSG Manuel Cabochan; LTSG Eugene Gonzales; LTSG Andy Torrato; Captain Laurence Somera; Captain Nicanor faeldon; Captain Albert Baloloy; Captain Segundino Orfiano Jr.; Captain Alvin Ebreo; 1st Lieutenant (1LT) Florentino Somera; 1LT Cleo Donga-as; 1LT Sonny sarmiento; 1LT Audie Tocloy; 1LT Von Tayab; 1LT Rex Bolo; 1LT Laurence SanJuan; 1LT Warren Dagupon; 1LT Nathaniel Rabonza; 1LT Jonel Sangalang; 1LT Billy Pascua; 1LT Francisco Acedillo; Second Lieutenant (2LT) Kristoffer Yasay; Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) Arturo Pascua; Ensign Armand Pontejos; Police Officer 3 Julius Mesa and Police Officer 3 Cesar Gonzales.

On July 27, armed soldiers entered the premises of Oakwood Premiere in Glorietta. After the uprising, they surrendered to government and were charged by the DOJ with coup d` etat.

Later, the charges were withdrawn against 290 soldiers involved in the mutiny, but the Makati court denied bail to their three leaders. (ECV/Sunnex)

Who's in? Who's out?

Who's going... who's not to the biggest and phoniest event of the year.

It's nice to finally hear Garfield aka Coolitsky aka Cathcath's voice

It's here, Moonyeen.

Of course most of you know her as Cathcath, who also used to post under that username in Pinoyexchange.

Before 2001 though, she used to post in this forum. We knew her then as Garfield, Garfield-Moonace, Coolitsky, and Kul1tkodaw. Matagal na siyang hindi pumupunta doon, but then matagal na rin akong hindi pumupunta doon.

Even before, I knew she's a strong anti-Erap guy, kasi corrupt raw at immoral si Mr. Estrada, sabi niya. And I laughed at many of her erap jokes because they were funny at that time.

It's too bad though now that we have another crooked "president" trying to wreck our country with her vote-stealing cronies in the COMELEC and her power-hungry CHA-CHA pushing allies in congress... na MISSING IN ACTION si Garfield this time around. Where's all the talk about fighting corruption, fighting immorality etc etc etch etch...?

Now where's the old GARFIELD-MOONACE we used to love. People loved it when you criticized and made fun of the Marcoses and the Estradas, pero bakit tahimik ka lang sa mga katarantaduhan ni Arroyo? Judging from your recent posts here. I'm not trying to start a fight here, I'm just curious lang...

Didn't you and your civil society friends put ARroyo in power. Where's your sense of responsibility, Garfield/Kulitkodaw/CATHCATH/Coolitsky, to right your mistakes regarding Arroyo?

The CBCP are like that too. They talk about fighting corruption and immorality and indecency, but we all know that kind of TOUGH TALK only applies to people THEY DON'T LIKE.

UPDATE: Btw garfield, you can visit PHNO forum again. Hindi na sila anti-GMA. go ask feling. just like imelda and bongbong has joined hands with arroyo, kumampi na rin yung mga maka-marcos doon kay arroyo. So PHNO is now a pro-arroyo forum.

You'd be at home there.

Arroyo admin to take over MERALCO?

This is scary kung magkatotoo ito. Shades of Marcos all over again.

The last thing we need right now is a power-mad illegitimate ruler taking over vital private industries such as electricity, water, telecoms and media.

Election fraud, Charter change being initiated by crooks and cheaters, sequestration of vital private industries... SOBRA NA TALAGA ITO!

Bakit minamadali ng LAKAS/Arroyo group ang CHA CHA?

JB Baylon asks. Bakit kaya?

Unchecked Powers for future Marcoses

From Neal Cruz:

WITHOUT realizing it, administration congressmen and members of Lakas-CMD party, in pushing for Charter change and a parliamentary form of government, are showing very clearly to the people why we should not change the Constitution to have a parliamentary government.

A parliamentary/unicameral government is run by the political party in power as if it is a dictatorship or a monarchy. There is no system of checks and balances as we now have in a presidential/bicameral government. The members of Parliament are also Cabinet members, and have influence over the Supreme Court and the judiciary. In other words, they can do pretty much what they want and there is nothing the people can do to stop them, except mount a revolution or a coup d'état. If the majority party can do what it is now doing in a bicameral government in rushing headlong into Cha-cha, imagine what it will do in a parliamentary government.

And the CHACHA propenents say na hindi raw bagay ang presidential system sa Pilipinas because of it's checks and balances. It causes "gridlock" raw, they say.

HAW HAW HAW. With the current crop of corrupt politicians we have in Arroyo's ruling majority, changing the constitution to give them more UNCHECKED POWER is the worse thing we can do right now.

The last time we did that, we got Marcos.

Neal Cruz offers a suggestion:

The US Constitution is still the same one that its founding fathers wrote. It has been amended several times, but it has not been changed even once. And America is now the richest and most powerful nation in the world, with a bicameral Congress like we have.

So let's amend our Constitution provision by provision, and the people can vote yes or no for each one. Changing the whole Charter at once mixes the good provisions with the bad ones, and the people have to vote for or against all in the plebiscite. In voting for the good provisions, they are forced to vote also for the bad ones.

And let's have a Cha-cha after the current politicians are out of office.

WORD!

UDPATE: More on "gridlock"

Gridlock? One congressman after another led by Speaker Jose de Venecia blames the Senate for legislative gridlock or delay in passage of legislation.

This is definitely incorrect. Proof — the budget. Since it received the General Appropriations bill last July, it is still pending in the House up to now, or a lapse of more than six months. After transmission to the Senate, the Senate usually passes it in one month to six weeks. So the delay is in the House, not in the Senate.

What congressmen are really complaining about is the non-passage of local bills by the Senate. But here, the situation is the reality that most of these local bills are just for show, not necessary and without any source of funds.

If not for the Senate, every congressman would like to have a university, a medical center or specialty hospital and a tourism zone in his district. In addition, every congressman wants to have a high school in every big barangay in his district.

In some cases, they want to separate their districts and make it a province. In many cases, they divide municipalities or even barangays, for purely political reasons.

If the Senate allowed 3,000 or so local bills to pass annually, the financial and political implications would be serious, if not disastrous.

In a unicameral parliamentary system, that will happen.

Manong Ernie, kaya nila hindi pa ipinapasa yang 2006 budget na yan ay dahil gusto nila ng Re-enacted budget.

What's so bad about a re-enacted budget? Read this.

More from JB Baylon:

By the way, in debating whether the form of parliament we will have is British or French, the proponents fail to tell us something: that both the British and French parliaments have TWO, and not ONE, chambers. Of course they do not tell us that, because they are dying to have a single house. A single house, you see, is more prone to the control of whoever wishes to control it. So think about it: if, in a bicameral Congress like ours we could not impeach a President, all the more how could we expect members of a unicameral Parliament to impeach one of their own?

Good point.

The Joker

LAKAS MEANS STRENGTH. What kind of strength it represents or means to exercise, you saw last Monday. Juan Flavier, a Lakas member who did not attend the Lakas meeting that day, put it this way. "Yabang ng dating, machong macho. Gagawin nila 'yon, sabi nila, even without the Senate. Kaso e, hindi pwede (They came on strong with a macho air. They were going to do it even without the Senate. The problem is, the law doesn't allow it)."

Flavier has got a point. But he forgets that neither GMA (President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) nor Fidel V. Ramos (FVR) nor Jose de Venecia (JDV) nor their ilk has shown herself or himself capable of being deterred by the law. On the contrary, they have repeatedly and consistently shown that they are above the law -- no, that they are the law -- and will use all their lakas to bend the world to their will. The problem is the senators? They will ignore the senators. The problem is the Senate? They will scrap the Senate.

Joker Arroyo is furious. The decision lies with the Senate, he says, not with Lakas. Well, that's what you get for playing a joker. If I recall right, he was the one who said in 2004 that it was better to vote for a corrupt president than an idiotic one because we can remedy corruption constitutionally by impeachment while we cannot remedy idiocy by any means. He did not know GMA. None of them did. There is no constitutional remedy there. The Constitution will be remedied before she is.

Read the whole article.

And that's the problem my friend. Sabi ni Joker we have constitutional remedies to remove a corrupt president.

But what if the corrupt president doesn't want to play along and instead insists that THE CONSTITUTION IS THE PROBLEM, NOT HER, and that the old constitution needs to be removed raw and replaced with a new one?

More:

GMA justifies this by saying there is a pressing need for change. The people are tired of political noise and want to reform the political system. Hence, Charter change. She misses the point completely.

Of course, there is a pressing need for change. But she is wrong about what needs changing. We do not need to change the Charter, we just need to change her.

There is nothing wrong with the Charter, there is everything wrong with her. The Charter is genuine, the President is fake. Changing the Charter presumably because it is defective is like claiming when gold turns to dross at the touch of vinegar that the vinegar is fake, a joke wrongly attributed to the Moro peddler. There is nothing wrong with the vinegar, there is everything wrong with the gold. Change the gold, not the vinegar.

The Charter was made by commissioners who fought a dictatorship and distinguished themselves in various fields for their courage and probity. They crafted a Charter that sought to prevent a dictatorship from ever rising again, suffusing the fundamental law with the spirit of libertarianism and respect for human rights. Today's call for a new Charter is being led by a non-president who hid under the bed while others fought a brewing tyranny, who distinguished herself only by appearing in public with Cory Aquino on one side and Jaime Cardinal Sin on the other. She wants a Charter that will prevent democracy from ever breathing again, assigning the making of it to crooks, hustlers and blackguards who are pleased to call their party "strong."

The public is not tired of "political noise," the public is tired of GMA. And over these past weeks probably of FVR and JDV, too. Look at the surveys. No, just listen to your neighbors. They do not say that the overwhelming majority of Filipinos find the Charter defective, they say the overwhelming majority of Filipinos find their president defective. They do not say that the overwhelming majority of Filipinos want their Charter retired, they say the overwhelming majority want their president removed. They do not say the overwhelming majority of Filipinos want to change their government from presidential to parliamentary, they say the overwhelming majority of Filipinos want to change their government from fake to genuine.

Read the Whole Thing.

How would the CBCP react kung may "people power" attempt kay Arroyo?

The CBCP says na ayaw na raw nilang makialam sa pulitika. They've already participated in the past in 1986 and 2001, by calling for Marcos and Erap's resignation respectively, at sawa na raw sila sa ganito. So I guess ligtas si Arroyo sa Simbahan.

Pero kung nagkaroon ng people's revolt this year, sa tingin nyo, tatahimik lang ba ang simbahan o magbibigay sila ng political statement. Sa tingin ko, makikialam sila, MAKIKIALAM SILA IN FAVOR OF THIS ADMINISTRATION.

Remember when Archbishop Capalla when he was one of the first to approve of CPR. (If that's not political, I don't know what is...) Remember when he was the guy who leaked the ARroyo admin's idea of a "truth commission"? Remember when he gave the thumbs up to the police when they water-cannoned Tito Guingona and company sa Mendiola? Remember when Capalla declared that he will not support Archbishop Oscar Cruz in his anti-Jueteng drive vs. this administration? (pero sinuportahan naman niya ang juetengate laban kay erap. Go figure.)

Just because the CBCP is not calling for Arroyo's resignation-- unlike in the past vs. Marcos and ERap-- doesn't mean na hindi sila nakikialam.

So here's my prediction kung magkaroon ng people power revolt this year vs. this illegitimate administration:

a) there's a 60% chance na the CBCP will make a statement telling people NOT to join the "people power" vs. Arroyo.

b) there's a 35% chance na they will just keep quiet and say nothing.

c) there's a 5% chance na they will call the people to rally against this admin, just like when they called for People power vs. Marcos and Erap. But like I said, it's just 5%.

Suggestion sa Opposition

kung ano ang dapat ilagay sa impeachment complaint laban kay Arroyo.

1) Election Fraud
2) Obstruction of Justice
3) Witness Tampering/Intimidation of Witnesses
4) Kidnapping or Attempted Abduction of Witnesses and their Relatives
5) Bribery, Graft and Corruption
6) Malversation of public funds

simple lang diba? pero i dunno, pwuede ba yung ganyan?

tignan nyo yung 4 articles of impeachment vs. kay bill clinton.

Resolution and Article I: Perjury before the grand jury
Article alleges perjury by Clinton before Independent Counsel Ken Starr's grand jury on August 17. It charges that the president "willfully provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony" to the concerning his relationship with Monica Lewinsky. (Full text of article)

Article II: Perjury in the Jones case
Article alleges perjury in the Paula Jones civil case, charging that the president provided perjurious, false and misleading testimony as part of his answers in the affidavit and in his January 17 deposition. (Full text of article)

Article III: Obstruction of justice
Article alleges obstruction of justice, charging Clinton with encouraging Lewinsky to submit a false affidavit and give false testimony in court, plotting to hide his gifts to her and attempting to find Lewinsky a job to prevent her truthful testimony. It also claims Clinton made false and misleading statements to key White House staff and allowed his attorney, Bob Bennett to make false statements about the Lewinsky affidavit. (Full text of article)

Article IV: Abuse of power
Article alleges abuse of power, charging the president with making misleading statements for the purpose of deceiving the people of the United States, his Cabinet and White House aides. The last charge also contends Clinton frivolously asserted executive privilege and made perjurious statements to Congress in his answers to the 81 questions asked him by the Judiciary Committee last month. (Full text of article)

"You're a sick man. I'm a sick woman. And we've done a very sick thing"

Classic line IIRC from the movie "Rumor Has It" (2005). Nice fun entertaining film . Go see it.

=====
Bonus movie line (guess kung saang movie ito)

Bida: I can't leave them, I can't.
Monster: Yes, go! You live! Go! (Turns to other guy) You stay! We belong dead!

Answer here.

Trillanes: Pinoys must take a stand on GMA presidency

From the Tribune:

Magdalo group leader Lt. (S.G) Antonio Trillanes IV issued a statement yesterday calling on the Filipino people to decide whether to support President Arroyo or push change, in the process assuring the public that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) will support the people whichever side they may take.

Facing the media following their scheduled appearance at the Makati Regional Trial Court, Trillanes, whose group of junior officers led a short-lived mutiny in the posh Oakwood Hotel in Makati City three years ago, challenged the Filipino people to take a stand.

“Id like to say that there will come a time when we all have to take a decision on who we will support, GMA (Mrs. Arroyo’s initials) or change,” he said.

“When that time comes, we have to stand by our decision for the sake of our future. Don’t be afraid, whatever your decision, the AFP will be there,” he said.

Trillanes added at this point, he is not taking any position nor would he push the people into taking a position on whether to go along with GMA or call for change.

“The choice is for the people to make,” he said, adding “If you choose GMA, that means you are contented with your condition and the situation of the country and that you can bear with GMA up to 2010 and (even) onwards.”

“Now, if you choose change, that means you are expecting better living conditions, for your countrymen who are also seeking peace and prosperity,” he further said.

Here's my position naman. I am definitely NOT FOR Gloria Macapagal ARroyo. I want that illegitimate president/crook OUT OF MALACANANG. I also want the resignation of all the COMELEC commissioners and those COMELEC officials who were responsible for GLORIAGATE.

And I am for NEW ELECTIONS to replace the fake president.

Arroyo allies ram CHA CHA, No El still on

From the Tribune:

The election of Members of the Parliament and all local officials, except those in the barangay, is to be held on the second Monday of May 2007 while the incumbent Vice President shall automatically become a Member of Parliament and of the Cabinet until June 30, 2010.

But the next section says that “if in the plebiscite for ratification of the proposed amendments, the people shall decide to set the first elections under the parliamentary system to the second Monday of May 2010, the Interim Parliament shall be extended until June 30, 2010.”

If the people so decide to push the elections in 2007, the elected officials would be given a five-year term or till June 30, 2012.

In the case of the President, it was clear from the proposed amendments that she would stay until 2010 and even 2012, exercising the same powers given to her under the current setup “except those delegated to the Prime Minister, who shall serve as chief operating officer of the government, conformably with the parliamentary system.”

If the "people shall decide" raw... HAH! Like when they were allowed to decide who should be our president by Arroyo's "dagdag bawas" machine called the COMELEC?

Under this crooked admin's setup, hindi na yung voters ang nagdedecide kundi yung Arroyo admin at ang COMELEC nito via a pre-determined vote count.

GMA: So will I still lead by more than one M., overall?

Garcillano: More or less, it’s that advantage ma’am. Parang ganun din ang lalabas.

GMA: It cannot be less than one M.?

Garcillano: Pipilitin ho natin yan.

"Laos"

Yan na ba ang bagong palayaw ni Fidel Ramos? But Ellen reminds us not to underestimate him.

Hindi ipapalabas ang "Jarhead" sa SM

Just because it's R-18. Hahahahahaha... bulok talaga ang SM.

Panic buying in Metro Manila

I've been to a few supermarkets lately (last time was yesterday evening in ISETANN Recto), and it's seems that many Filipinos nowadays are buying products by the twenties or thirties... like twenty cans of sardines, thirty bars of soap, thirty cans of Pepsi. Makikita mo na hindi na sa shopping bag inilalagay ang mga binibili nila kundi sa mga karton.

I think we are in the midst of a panic buying spree. But you won't know that when you watch or read the news or listen to Malacanang.

(BTW, yung Coke Lite 1.5L na P29 pesos last week sa dalawang tindahan na pinupuntahan ko ay tumaas na ng P33 sa Store A and P34 sa Store B. I think simula this year, magtataasan na naman ang presyo ng bilihin.)

More from PCIJ: Mini-size me

AS the disposable income of millions of Filipinos continue to shrink every day, many families are now reduced to buying food commodities and other consumer goods in ever smaller quantities. Nearly 90 percent of Filipinos, mostly from the D and E classes, according to the marketing research firm Synovate’s Global Omnibus Survey in 2004, now buy products in sachets and mini-sizes. A considerable segment of the more affluent A, B and C classes are also opting for mini-sizes, buying mainly food items in smaller sizes.

Smacking down those hypocritical pro-Arroyo "moralists"

HA-HAH!

How and when is impeachment initiated?

UPDATED TWICE: How and when is impeachment "initiated"? when an ordinary citizen files a verified impeachment complaint in the House? Or by a vote of one third of the House members? since mr. oliver lozano has already filed his second impeachment complaint, i think this is worth taking a look back again.

Here are the Impeachment Provisions under the 1987 Philippine Constitution:

Paragraphs (1) to (8) of Section 3
Article XI
Accountability of Public Officers

(1) The House of Representatives shall have the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment.

(2) A verified complaint for impeachment may be filed by any Member of the House of Representatives or by any citizen upon a resolution or endorsement by any Member thereof, which shall be included in the Order of Business within ten session days, and referred to the proper Committee within three session days thereafter. The Committee, after hearing, and by a majority vote of all its Members, shall submit its report to the House within sixty session days from such referral, together with the corresponding resolution. The resolution shall be calendared for consideration by the House within ten session days from receipt thereof.

(3) A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded.

(4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed.

(5) No impeachment proceedings shall be initiated against the same official more than once within a period of one year.

(6) The Senate shall have the sole power to try and decide all cases of impeachment. When sitting for that purpose, the Senators shall be on oath or affirmation. When the President of the Philippines is on trial, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court shall preside, but shall not vote. No person shall be convicted without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the Members of the Senate.

(7) Judgment in cases of impeachment shall not extend further than removal from office and disqualification to hold any office under the Republic of the Philippines, but the party convicted shall nevertheless be liable and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment, according to law.

(8) The Congress shall promulgate its rules on impeachment to effectively carry out the purpose of this section.

Now hold on here, Para 1) said House of Reps have the exclusive power to initiate impeachment.

Now surely, Mr. Oliver Lozano cannot "initiate" impeachment by filing a "verified complaint" because that is the exclusive power of the House of Reps.

Don't believe me? Ito kasi ang sinabi ni Hilario Davide at Christian Monsod sa CON COM deliberations nila nung 1986.

It seems to me that Hilario Davide knew exactly what "initiating an impeachment proceeding" meant and required... but he's changing his tune now, isn't he? but guess who was one of it's main proponents (to "lower the bar") during the 1986 Con Com deliberations:

Mr. Davide: "So the thrust of the report is really to relax impeachment as a process. I notice, however, that the proposal now requires a majority vote of all the members of the House to initiate imepachment...so if we are going to relax impeachment, we should retain the one-fifth requirement to initiate impeachment and perhaps even reduce the requirement for conviction."

Mr. Monsod: "We were looking at the past where, in the 1973 Constitution, a vote of 20 percent (or one-fifth) of the membership of the House, and in the 1935 Constitution, a vote of two-thirds of the membership of the House were required to initiate impeachment proceedings

Other must read articles on when impeachment is initiated from the indispensible Dean Jorge Bocobo.

-- The One-Third rule creates a Constitutional Crisis
-- The Strange Logic of Joaquin Bernas and the Supreme Court on Initiation
-- The Once Per Year Rule--Quod Erat Demonstrandum

UPDATE: More from Dean Jorge Bocobo on when impeachment is initiated:

When the shoe is on the other foot
Posted:2:46 AM (Manila Time) | Nov. 10, 2003
By Commentary

IMPEACHMENT is how Filipinos learn the dead language of Latin. For example, eight learned friends of the Court -- the amici curiae ("ah-ME-key CURE-ree-yee") expressed strong contradictory opinions on Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr.'s impeachment last week. So, the Supreme Court burns the midnight oil to find a Solomonic solution to the crisis, since it is being urged by private parties to be a mother in the dispute and claim jurisdiction over the infant impeachment. Still, the framers did not conceive of the Constitution as a whole, but innovated on previous texts and traditions. Disastrously, as it turns out.

Today, the die may be cast in Articles of Impeachment, though the art of the areglo or the science of quorum can still prolong the agony. Things may be delayed if the Supreme Court has not yet found the words that will stand the scrutiny of history's vast audience. But Congress may initiate impeachment proceedings anyway against Davide, for the first time, if 76 signatures appear on a Resolution for Impeachment. Meanwhile, I'm dismayed that Senate President Frank Drilon wants to shirk the duties of the real Solomon in "all cases of impeachment."

Whatever happens later, there is a growing realization on all sides that the 1987 Philippine Constitution contains a dangerous ideological mutation, that incredible one-third rule of impeachment by an absolute minority of the Lower House. Yet, few who are bleating today about "unseemly haste," were not so fussy when it was used on Joseph "Erap" Estrada:

"Art XI Sec 3 (3): A vote of at least one-third of all the Members of the House shall be necessary either to affirm a favorable resolution with the Articles of Impeachment of the Committee, or override its contrary resolution. The vote of each Member shall be recorded. (4) In case the verified complaint or resolution of impeachment is filed by at least one-third of all the Members of the House, the same shall constitute the Articles of Impeachment, and trial by the Senate shall forthwith proceed."

With alacrity! But who invented the one-third rule and why did they think it improved on two-thirds or one-half plus one? Sen. Rene Saguisag points to Pages 375-76 Vol II, 1986 ConCom Record:

MR. DAVIDE: "... I notice that the proposal now requires a majority vote of all the members of the House to initiate impeachment, while the present constitutional provision requires only a vote of one-fifth of the Members. If we are going to relax impeachment, we should retain the one-fifth requirement to initiate impeachment and, perhaps, even reduce the requirement for conviction."

Read Davide's lips. The members must vote to initiate impeachment. Davide binds initiation of impeachment to the act and arithmetic of voting for impeachment. He wanted to keep it at one-fifth to initiate impeachment, and even reduce the two-thirds vote in the Senate for conviction. Justice Davide does not remember Commissioner Davide's words? Surely, friends Regalado Maambong, Florenz Regalado and Joaquin Bernas do, since they were present at those deliberations.

But Davide stunningly refutes the disingenuous colloquialists in the debate over "initiate"-like UP Dean Raul Pangalangan and Sen. Jovito Salonga, who explicably revised and misquoted the Constitution on the front page of the Inquirer (see related stories) because its plain text contradicts their prejudice. Davide lets the framers of the 1973 Constitution explain it to the resolutely dense:

"... Upon the filing of a verified complaint, the Batasang Pambansa may initiate impeachment by a vote of at least one-fifth of all its Members...."

Impeachment proceedings cannot be initiated by the filing of a verified complaint. Else, a deliberately flawed complaint could inoculate against it-such as when Rep. Butch Pichay cynically filed such a complaint for impeachment against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in 2001. Now, if I were Wimpy Fuentebella or Gilbert Teodoro, I might indulge Conrado de Quiros and try to impeach Gloria, or some worthy target like the Comelec, with multiple, simultaneous complaints for impeachment, just to prove this point about initiation. The preliminary investigations are not the initiation of impeachment proceedings under the Constitution, says Davide himself.

UPDATE: Pointless rin naman yung ginawa ni Oliver Lozano dahil hindi naman ito unahan sa pag-file ng impeachment complaint eh. Impeachment proceedings will only be initiated once a verified complaint gets approved by a one-third vote of all House members.

Don't believe me? Here's what 1986 CON COM member Hilario Davide and Christian Monsod said during their CON COM deliberations on how and when impeachment is initiated.

Mr. Davide: "So the thrust of the report is really to relax impeachment as a process. I notice, however, that the proposal now requires a majority vote of all the members of the House to initiate impeachment...so if we are going to relax impeachment, we should retain the one-fifth requirement to initiate impeachment and perhaps even reduce the requirement for conviction."

Biro mo, back then Davide even wanted to lower the requirements to 1/5 vote to impeach. the 1987 constitution of course currently requires a one-third vote of all members of the house to impeach a president.

And here's mr. christian monsod's input:

Mr. Monsod: "We were looking at the past where, in the 1973 Constitution, a vote of 20 percent of the membership of the House, and in the 1935 Constitution, a vote of two-thirds of the membership of the House were required to initiate impeachment proceedings.

Tama ang sinabi ni Monsod about the requirements to initiate impeachment sa 1973 Constitution. From Bocobo's Article:

Davide lets the framers of the 1973 Constitution explain it to the resolutely dense:

"... Upon the filing of a verified complaint, the Batasang Pambansa may initiate impeachment by a vote of at least one-fifth of all its Members...."

So this unahan to file an impeachment complaint is not necessary, because the impeachment process will only be initiated once it got the 1/3 vote of all the House members and the articles of impeachment is then delivered to the senate for trial.

Remember in the Clinton trial, there were four articles of impeachment submitted, and two of them passed. Meaning, the House in the US voted four times (on each article of impeachment), and two impeachment complaints got approved. So dapat sa atin, the RP House members should have voted on each of the 3 impeachment complaints (#1 Lozano, #2 by another guy, #3 opposition).

You can file as many impeachment complaints as you want, pero only the verified complaint that has the required number of votes (1/3 vote of the House members) can initiate impeachment. And once impeachment is initiated, there's a one-year ban on initiating another impeachment proceeding against the same official.

UPDATE: I posted the Davide and Monsod comments on a known pro-ARroyo defender/blogger back in 2003 to get her reaction, But I did not get a response from her.

BTW, I used the cache version because wala na yung orig na article niya doon sa link na yon.

UDPATE: Oh, here it is pala on sassy lawyer, but the comments have been deleted na.

UPDATE: kapag hawak mo talaga ang kongreso, mahirap kang ma-impeach. biro mo sa 1973 constitution ni marcos, you only need one-fifth of all the Batasan members to vote for impeachment, instead of one-third like our present constitution, BUT STILL... Marcos was never impeached, even though getting one-fifth of all the members vote is easier than getting one-third in our present constitution.

Shows you two things:

1) na the shift to a parliamentary system won't do much to remove corrupt dictators and illegitimate rulers.

2) kapag hawak mo ang Congress like what Marcos then and Arroyo is doing right now, mahirap ma-impeach ang mga cheating crooks na katulad nila.

More on Faeldon

Herman Tiu Laurel has an intersting article on Capt. Faeldon.

Here are some of Faeldon's suggestions on "civil disobedience".

Faeldon’s “civil disobedience” starts very simply. He calls on all Filipinos to “… fly the Philippine flag at half-mast - in your school, your office, or your town. Remember to take pictures of the flag flying at half-mast (the pictures must be dated, of course) and send it to us; we’ll post it here. Better yet, have pictures of you and your friends taken as you hoist down the flag.” This looks like fun and we can get thousands of campuses all over the country to start doing this, and even if the school authorities try to stop it the fun will just increase. Great idea, really!

We should start printing and selling little Philippine flags-on-a-stick for jeepneys, cars, buses and other vehicles to display. We can also have them on poles for building facades and residential frontyards. Decals and bumper stickers with the half- mast Philippine flag with bold words “Civil Disobedience Now, for Faeldon” can be printed and sold at cost to the public. The stickers could also be underscored by the slogan “No to e-VAT and Gloria…” or “Down with Gloria-FVR insults to our intelligence…”

Faeldon suggests: “If you can’t fly a flag at half-mast, do the next best thing: Wear a shirt with a flag flying at half-mast, or a button. Print out a sticker of a flag at half-mast and put it on your car, your gate, your bag. If somebody were to ask you what it means, explain the concept of civil disobedience, and say you’re part of a move to change this country for the better. Technically, this is civil disobedience; the Philippine flag law specifies when the flag may be flown in half-mast to signify mourning. But the flag law penalizes only acts of disrespect to the flag, and there are no penalties mentioned for flying it at half-mast.”

Faeldon has other suggestions, like calling Malacañang’s trunkline 735-6201 from a public pay phone to report where you saw Faeldon (think up any place to confuse them) because Malacañang has been asking for help in tracking down Faeldon. Here’s his suggestion for a T-shirt: “I SAW CAPT. FAELDON BUT DID NOT TURN HIM IN. Hindi ako bayaran.” If you are questioned by the police, then tell them, Faeldon suggests: “YOU SAW CAPT. FAELDON ON TV.” My heart throbs with excitement as my mind races through all these “fun” disobedience actions.

Heh.