UNDERTOW / Leslie Bocobo

2012-02-09T08:53:00.000-08:00

D & D

If justice is blind, the Prosecution must be deaf and dumb.

2012-01-27T19:45:00.000-08:00

JUST GO WITH THE FLAW

They complain about "trial by technicalities" in the Senate, but they approve of "trial by publicity" on the streets. Hypocrites.

And now they plan to present 100 witnesses before the Senate impeachment court? In the very words of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile: "Kung malakas ang ebidensya ng prosekusyon, hindi kailangan ng napakaraming testigo." (If the evidence of the Prosecution is strong, there is no need for too many witnesses)

Hence, my unsolicited advice to the Prosecution: just go with the FLAW.

(Image from www.ph.news.yahoo.com)

2012-01-21T22:01:00.000-08:00

FR. ROBERT REYES THE RUNNING HYPOCRITE

This man blessed me too, and I'm not even a Catholic. So why would you complain if he blessed the Chief Justice - a Catholic, huh, Fr. Robert Reyes?

2011-12-26T16:45:00.000-08:00

"SUPREME" VS "OFFICE"

Just a thought: The Supreme Court is "Supreme" while the Office of the President is only an "Office"

A golden comment (no, not from Midas' touch) by Filipino Thinker:

"We must all accept that under the Constitution, the Supreme Court is the final interpreter of the law. Not the President, not the Department of Justice, not the Congressmen, and especially, not activist movements. Citizens of a country must learn to abide by the High Court's decisions. Otherwise, our system of laws will break down. If the system of laws is not followed, our courts will no longer be able to protect our rights as individuals. Every disagreement will be settled based on the whims of whoever is in control of state power at the moment, and our individual freedoms will be sacrificed. But what if the Supreme Court is wrong? Under the Constitution, the Supreme Court decides what is right and what is wrong. Therefore, the Supreme Court is always right. Our system of laws was designed this way so there can be a final resolution to disagreements. Without the High Court as the final arbiter, disputes can go on forever, and there could be chaos in society. The Constitution provides impeachment as a check-and-balance on the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court is not infallible. However, impeachment must be based on solid evidence and due process must be followed. Railroading an impeachment complaint is not due process."

(Image from www.en.wikipedia.org)

2011-12-13T18:30:00.000-08:00

DARK HORSE NO MORE

Latest survey says Vice-President Jejomar Binay is the most trusted top national official.

I guess the respondents read the fine print below the question saying: "Binays To Me Or Else!"

(Image from www.en.wikipedia.org)

2011-12-11T18:06:00.000-08:00

KUNG WALANG CORONA, MAY HACIENDA

So, if the political allies of President Aquino II in Congress succeed in impeaching Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, and then the former appoints a new Chief Justice of his personal choice from the yellow stable, then what difference and change will this bring now? Won't that new CJ be soon branded as an "Aquino Chief Justice" and the High Court an "Aquino Court?" That will certainly be the sure death of check and balance by the Supreme Court to the Office of the President - and that is really what this administration wants to happen for many obvious reasons. And now, a tall order burns ever so bright like yellow Christmas lights at the Palace: Impeach the Chief Justice at all costs!

Hence, this new slogan must be in place: Kung Walang Corona, May Hacienda.

Agree?

(Image from www.tribuneonline.org)

2011-12-08T21:55:00.000-08:00

RULE OF LOW

DELIMAGOGUE: a person who disregards the rule of law and appeals to the emotions and prejudices of people in order to gain political power.

(Image from www.ph.news.yahoo.com)

2011-12-06T19:31:00.000-08:00

SMOKE SIGNALS

I heard the President recently changed his cigarette brand.

(Image from www.cigarettespedia.com)

2011-12-04T22:28:00.000-08:00

WHAT'S IN A NAME?

Remembering a boyhood friend of mine named Jose Luis "Jolu" Bitoon. I think he has since migrated to the US.

Do you think he changed his name to "Louie" ... Bitoon?

(Image from www.wallpapers-place.com)

2011-12-04T21:32:00.000-08:00

A BREACH

I didn't know a President can assign a proxy for an OFFICIAL photo session such as this.

I believe it's either you're in it or you're NOT.

Not this way. It's time to stop looking at the big picture with a small frame of mind.

(Image from www.upi.com)

2011-12-04T18:16:00.000-08:00

WAY OFF THE MARK

Some people, you give them an INCH and they think they're the RULER.

Here's another legal gem from Prof. Alan Paguia:

"The Office of the President, the Department of Justice and the Commission on Elections are covering up for their mistake in filing a case versus Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo with a Regional Trial Court (RTC) by ignoring Sec. 5, Art. XIII of the 1973 Constitution, and Sec. 4, Art. XI of the 1987 Constitution which puts electoral sabotage under the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan. In other words, the OP, DoJ and Comelec are following the Omnibus Election Code passed by Congress by VIOLATING the Constitution which was directly ratified by the SOVEREIGN Filipino people."

Bull's eye? No.

Bull's hit? Yes.

(Image from www.gmanetwork.com)

2011-11-28T19:42:00.000-08:00

COURTING ANARCHY

Some people think they know more about the law than our Justices, disregarding and disrespecting the Rule of Law and our judicial institutions.

If they can't respect those Justices, they should at least respect the institution they represent.

It's just like meeting a General you loathe so much on the field. You don't salute the man.

You salute the rank.

(Image from www.en.wikipedia.org)

2011-11-27T22:32:00.000-08:00

PRESIDENTIAL ACCESSORIES

Yesterday: Erap's wristband.

Today: Gloria's neckbrace.

Tomorrow: Noynoy's straightjacket.

(Images from www.sosyalera.net / www.mxshoponline.com / www.monkeydungeon.com)

2011-11-18T19:39:00.000-08:00

DILAW OR THE LAW?

The yellow ribbon's new look hates JEW process.

2011-11-14T20:16:00.000-08:00

A STINKY FISH CALLED FISHY GG

Shouldn't an investigation be conducted soon on the activities of former officials of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) since its creation a few days after former President Corazon Cojuangco Aquino came to power in 1986? But wait, is the PCGG still in existence? Looks like they've all packed up and left only fishbones for the new vultures.

This will certainly clear up all tales and speculations about the so-called Marcos wealth and expose grand-scale looting of the same by cronies of the Aquino family appointed then to the PCGG. The looting today is the same as it was then. These PCGG officials then and now are living in silent contented opulence from the hundreds of millions they plundered in their short stints at the PCGG.

Included in this batch of post-EDSA crooks are member of the notorious Kamaganak Inc. who were among the very first to venture grabbing the Marcos family wealth. Bantay-salakay.

I'd like to see the current regime under Aquino II order the Sandiganbayan to require the PCGG to submit a thorough accounting and inventory of its activities and sequestrations since its creation, and furnish publicly an accounting of the method on how these new "acquisitions" were disposed of and also, what offices and banks they were deposited in and who were responsible for administering them.

You see, many of these former PCGG officials are now living bountiful lives with enough illegally-acquired wealth to last them several lifetimes. I know of several Marcos cronies who have escaped persecution and sequestration of their assets by simply handing over half of their assets to well-placed lawyer-relatives. One such kin concerned former Ambassador Benjamin 'Kokoy' Romualdez in a lightning raid then on such firms a few weeks right after EDSA. This relative has since passed away but his loot has been distributed to his heirs who still cling to them and enjoy its fruits.

Investigate these PCGG officials once and for all and compel them to show records of their sequestration activities.

(Image from www.en.wikipilipinas.org/)

2011-11-09T21:08:00.000-08:00

BRACE YOURSELVES FOLKS

The recent Department of Justice (DoJ) order isn't really any pain in the neck for former President Gloria Arroyo (pun unintended). You see, she knows that the executive department CANNOT usurp the judicial power to issue hold-departure orders under the principle of separation of powers. Arroyo knows that the Supreme Court will shortly uphold her constitutional right to travel abroad.

So it looks like it's going to be a happy Christmas for the Arroyos after all while President Aquino's whisper to Santa this Christmas is his wish for all his critics to shut up.

(Image from www.ph.news.yahoo.com/)

2011-11-09T19:47:00.000-08:00

DRESSED TO KILL

"Moro guerrillas have graduated from being a ragtag army of separatists to a well-equipped force ready to give government soldiers a good fight. These are Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) rebels inside their camp in Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao." - Patricia Laurel

They are well-equipped indeed, arms and thread. Thanks to President Noynoy Aquino for the P5 million.

As for their clothing, OURMONEY EXCHANGE (O/X).

(Image from Patricia Laurel)

2011-11-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

GET RICH PRONTO

Do you want to make a quick several million bucks from the government? Gather your friends and form a rebel/separatist group.

2011-11-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

DAYLIGHT ROBBERY

I knew it. MERALCO has an akyat-bahay gang member as shown in this electric bill, robbing Filipino homes in broad daylight, in disguise as a repairman.

It makes one wonder what our authorities are doing about this.

2011-11-02T21:52:00.000-07:00

COMMAND RESPONSIBILITY

Dear Mr. Commander-in-Chief:

Didn't you just give P5 million to the MILF, the same people responsible for the recent deaths of these young and brave Filipino soldiers?

(Image from www.article.wn.com)

2011-10-31T00:18:00.000-07:00

TELL THAT TO THE MARINES

"People helping Ligots evade authorities have criminal liabilities." - Malacanang

Okay. What about people giving money to enemies of the Republic like the MILF?

That's five million times more criminal, isn't it?

(Image from www.asianews.it)

2011-10-29T21:59:00.000-07:00

A VERY WRONG MESSAGE

I absolutely abhor this billboard of Gretchen Barretto promoting a whitening cream saying KUTIS MAYAMAN by GlutaMAX. So what is wrong with having dark skin? Does it make one impoverished? To the company, the advertising agency and endorsers of this product, I ask you, are you now equating dark skin with poverty? You people send very wrong messages to the public. In this case, a disturbing message to Ms. Barretto's legions of fans. Shame on you all for doing such.

(Image from http://angelesdesign.multiply.com/)

2011-10-11T19:13:00.000-07:00

CHOKER

Oh tie a yellow ribbon 'round the old RP, it's been twenty-five years, are you still happy ..

(Image from Jerry Navarro)

2011-10-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

STEVE JOBS, 56

RIP Steve Jobs. Thank you for turning my tech world from a lemon to an Apple.

(Image from http://chubibo.wordpress.com/)

2011-10-05T18:00:00.000-07:00

"HANDS-ON" MY FOOT

Malacanang is absolutely correct in saying that President Aquino is a "HANDS-ON" president.

(Image from http://faxiamen.com)

2011-08-17T01:02:00.000-07:00

2,000

2,000 "missing" container vans from the pier.

2,000 "missing" vehicles from Subic.

Welcome to the yellow regime's version of PHILIPPINES 2000.

(Image from http://article.wn.com/)

2011-07-24T22:00:00.000-07:00

JOKER KNOWS HIS POKER

News: "Senator Joker Arroyo to skip today's SONA." Joker indeed knows his poker. There can NEVER be two JOKERS in a full HOUSE.

(Image from http://article.wn.com/)

2011-07-24T08:52:00.000-07:00

SONA-TA IN F (FAIL) MAJOR

A peek at President Aquino's entire SONA speech: "Vice-President Jejomar Binay, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr., Chief Justice Renato Corona, members of Congress and the AFP, your excellencies of the diplomatic corps, Kris, Joshua, ladies and gentlemen: The legacy my parents left me is alive and well in every Filipino today, and at the end of the day, pinag-isipan ko itong lahat, it's Gloria Arroyo's fault. Mabuhay tayong lahat!" (Applause)

(Image from http://alexiscee.blogspot.com/)

2011-05-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

IS MALACANANG AT WAR?

Indeed, some people in the Palace need to go back to elementary school because that is where I learned to display the flag correctly, properly and respectfully.

You're just in time for enrollment, boys.

(Image from www.president.gov.ph/)

2011-02-06T03:27:00.000-08:00

WISHFUL THINKING?

BINAY: "Mr. President, your 'daang matuwid' is now a zig-zag road. May I suggest you write a goodbye letter to the Filipino people?"

AQUINO: "Why, where are they going?"

(Image from http://article.wn.com/)

2010-09-11T22:46:00.001-07:00

BUHAY'S MIDNIGHT PROCLAMATION

Velarde. Very Large Deceit. Public opinion is strongly against the accreditation of Mikey Arroyo, Angelo Reyes and Mike Velarde as party-list nominees. Mikey's return to Congress as a representative of security guards and tricycle drivers was met with widespread condemnation. Angie Reyes, although favored by the Comelec, wasn't able to get a seat in the House of Representatives after his own party-mates decided to junk him. Perhaps unable to withstand another wave of criticisms, the Comelec chose to proclaim Mike Velarde's party-list in secret.

The petition against Buhay was filed by AM radio broadcaster Rolando Layug. Buhay had already been disqualified by the Comelec in 2001 for allegedly being connected with the El Shaddai and this is prohibited by the Constitution and the Party-List Law, but was reversed by the Supreme Court in 2003 because of lack of evidence linking Buhay to El Shaddai. The photo right here isn't enough evidence? Hence, in 2010, the evidence had become so overwhelming and Rolando Layug as well as other taxpayers submitted to the Comelec the campaign materials of Buhay with the picture of Mike Velarde.

Nonetheless, the Comelec decided in favor of Mike Velarde in a resolution allegedly promulgated on June 15, 2010, but this was not announced to the media as they usually do in highly controversial cases. Neither Layug nor any of his lawyers were sent a notice of promulgation as required by law. The Comelec's resolution denying the petition of the other complainants against Buhay was released on July 28, 2010. Under the Comelec's own rules, the complainants should have been given 5 days to file a motion for reconsideration, but the Comelec still went ahead and proclaimed the Buhay nominees on July 30, 2010. Money talks, Buhay walks.

Do Velarde and the Comelec expect this abuse of power to go unchallenged? Layug has gone to the Supreme Court asking for the nullification of Buhay's proclamation. This has been done before, in the case of Joselito Mendoza vs. Obet Pagdanganan. the Court found Pagdanganan's proclamation as Governor of Bulacan to be void and issued a Status Quo Ante Order which pulled the plug on his attempt to claim Mendoza's throne.

With the Comelec's blatant disregard for its own rules and their very obvious railroading of the complaints against Buhay, the Supreme Court must crack down and order Velarde's nominees to cease and desist from usurping, assuming and performing the functions of party-list representative. Considering the salaries, emoluments, benefits and pork barrel that every congresman is entitled to, the damage it has done to the party-list system and to taxpayers of this country being done by the illegal Buhay congressmen are unthinkable.

(Image from http://en.wikipedia.org/)

2010-08-05T20:27:00.001-07:00

A DAZZLE BY ADAZA

Do you remember that stinging pastoral letter by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) entitled "Thou Shalt Not Steal," and how it has come and gone like wafts of perfectly-shaped smoke rings?

Opposition firebrand Homobono 'Bono' Adaza assailed that pastoral letter as mere ningas cogon and challenged church leaders to follow up on the message to give meaning to their avowals to fight graft and corruption in government.

Adaza said the church could institute the following to supply essence and determination to the pastoral letter.

1. Reject Pagcor and Malacanang money said to be regularly flowing to church coffers;

2. Refuse enrolment in Catholic schools to children of known crooked officials and private citizens;

3. Read in all parishes and cause to be published in newspapers names of officials accused or otherwise openly known as crooks and grafters and;

4. Deny church sacraments to such crooks and grafters.

The combative Bono, to whom the Cory regime owes much for its defeat of the Marcos forces but who was later junked for his refusal to be a mere "yes man," volunteered his legal services to church leaders and other persons who could be charged with libel for that proposed public listing of suspected crooked officials.

He also wondered why the late Cardinal Sin did not publicly endorse the pastoral letter. Bono asked if this was because the Pagcor contributions to the church were being sent through the Cardinal's office. He noted that Sin, who had been vociferous in his attacks against gambling casinos even during the Marcos years, suddenly reversed himself when the late President Corazon Aquino took over and justified gambling if done only as entertainment (like mah-jong?). Bono said that justification came coincidental to the start of church contributions from Pagcor.

Bad habits are hard to break, and already we should keep an eye on the movements of Pagcor which contributes millions a month to the President's Social Fund. A lot of sosyalan for P-Noy and his peons there.

(Image from http://www.daylife.com/)

2010-08-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

ABAD PRECEDENT MAKES A BAD PRESIDENT

Twenty years ago in the time of the late President Corazon Aquino, the Commission on Appointments (CA) bypassed the confirmation of then Agrarian Reform Secretary Florencio 'Butch' Abad. Leaders of his own Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino party-list wanted him to swear he would be "fair" in his decisions on land disputes. Read "fair" to mean in favor of landlords and vested interests making a mockery of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP), touted as the cornerstone of the Cory administration's supposedly people-oriented platform.

Butch Abad's woes came after he fought a plan backed by powerful politicians in partnership with giant Japanese corporations to convert a huge chunk of agricultural land in Cavite into an industrial estate. He was forced into a situation where he had to swallow his pride and principles and obey the commands of his tormentors or quit in disgust and keep intact his self-respect and conscience. After his mutiliation, no scintilla of doubt lingered anymore about the power of landlords and vested interests in that administration.

These powerful groups did not even turn tail before a strong-willed Miriam Defensor-Santiago. So, no upstart like Butch could scare them even a bit. Even former Representative Lorna Verano-Yap could not do anything to his defense but sulk and pout in one corner. She didn't count with those powerful groups in the executive and the legislative departments.

And then, that deep disappointment over the results of a press conference called by beleaguered Secretary Abad where everybody thought he would resign because of the successful drive by landlords to have his nomination blocked by the CA? Butch announced he would stick it out and work for the approval of his case and that he even ran to Tita Cory to help him with his confirmation.

Abad missed the chance for greatness. If he had resigned as a matter of principle and to keep his self-respect and pride, as many had expected, he would have been one of the very few upright officials of the Cory regime. His much-admired late father who was an exemplary government official would have been proud of him. That was then.

Well, maybe Butch thought he should hang on tough and stay on so that he could serve his people better in government service, especially those poor farmers who had looked up to him as one of their remaining defenders against the landlords and vested interests infesting our institutions.

And then there was also President Cory Aquino's vow to use her "persuasive powers" to push through Abad's nomination in the CA. That was better read as to use her "coercive powers."

President Cory felt she owed Abad so much since she convinced him to give up his elective post as a member of Congress and could not leave him to the vultures to pick on his flesh and bones.

The much-ballyhooed CARP under the Cory regime ended in the gutter.

Today, Butch is back as a cabineteer but not at the Department of Agrarian Reform again but instead at the Department of Budget and Management. His daughter heads the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) while two other members of his family hold influential positions in government. He has learned well and knows that whoever holds the gold (budget) makes the rules.

But methinks they're just like the four Arroyos now in Congress. Just too many of them. This certainly sets a bad precedent and a slap on a presidency calling for "change."

(Image from http://atmidfield.com/)

2010-07-31T20:30:00.000-07:00

TOO MANY CHEF-CHEFS SPOIL THE BRAT

Within the mammoth government information and propaganda organization in the days of President Cory Aquino, then Press Secretary Tomas 'Buddy' Gomez III and radio-TV section czarina and presidential niece (now cousin) Maria V. Montelibano were conducting early probing sorties preparatory for a bitter clash of control for the information and propaganda turf with its gargantuan budget.

Many people in media and in Malacanang were looking forward to the coming Buddy-Mary fight. The wise money was on the latter but not only because she is Cory's niece but also because she has been known as a battler with extensive knowledge on media, especially radio and television. She was fiercely loyal to her aunt.

And although Buddy was one tough character, he was still wet behind his ears as far as his new job as Press Secretary was concerned. He had a so-so background as a part-time radio technician and public relations runner for the late industrialist and tycoon Don Enrique Zobel.

He earned his spurs under the Aquino administration as the 'Peeping Tom' in Hawaii's Makiki Heights who hounded the late President Marcos.

That expected clash with Mary was just one test. Buddy had to contend with the "shadows" in Malacanang which drove veteran newsman Teddy Benigno out as Press Secretary. And of course, there were those numerous media people who didn't buy Buddy's confrontational style.

Media had already fired its first salvo against Buddy: the hitherto little-known fact that he has been married thrice and divorced twice. That immediately put him on the defensive, since he had to act as chief defender of a supposedly moral government. But he showed he could take it as well as dish it out. He took it on the chin and offered no alibis, saying he just wanted to "do it my way," like Sinatra.

Well, as he had said on his first day in office, he was looking forward to some "fun and excitement."

Not so much of the present set-up wherein we now have three men running the same office, a.k.a. the Office of the Press Secretary. They now call it the Presidential Communications Group manned by former FarEast Bank executive Sonny Coloma, blogger Edwin Lacierda, ABS-CBN hotshots Ricky Carandang and Manolo Quezon. But to date, I yet have to see Manolo assert his self in the Palace. If he does, he may be doing a lot of explaining. As for Ricky, many believe (and I share their sentiments) that his ego is bigger than 'The Big Picture.' And where is Mary Montelibano in all these? Perhaps she's keeping a distance this time as it doesn't look so smooth as they begin to fumble while communicating the President's programs and intentions to the public. As the saying goes, "too many cooks spoil the broth." In this case, jockeying for turf and influence as "too many chef-chefs may spoil the brat in office."

Talk is that one giant network gets a big advantage over another giant network simply because the new bosses in the Palace are their top anchors on leave.

We shall all see how they handle their jobs. Will it contribute to a steady acceptance rating (for now) for P-Noy, or will their egos all self-destruct, pulling down their "accidental president?"

(Image from http://www.greatnews.ph/)

2010-07-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

YESTERDAY'S PRAYER TODAY

Worth repeating is part of a prayer recited by Senator Aquilino 'Nene' Pimentel Jr. many years ago. Appropriately so, the same prayer can be directed at the current administration, President Noynoy Aquino and the Hacienda Luisita issue in particular.

"You partake of rich food even as I can only have the crumbs that I scrape from the bottom of garbage cans. But I do not begrudge you because food is not divine, it is only made by man. But when you have hundreds of hectares of land for your plantations and your cattle and I have none even for my bare subsistence, then I must take that against you, envy you and begrudge you for excluding me from my divine birth right. I must demand that you share with me, at least, a little of what land you possess, not in charity but in justice because land is God's gift to mankind. You did not create it. Land belongs to all of us. It is not only yours. But ours. Yours and mine. Give me then, o brother of mine, a just share of the land of our birth. For unless you do so, the ineffable wrath of the Almighty and the righteous anger of the dispossessed will likely fall, heaven forbid, upon your head of greed much sooner than you think."

Yes, he can direct the same prayer today to PCOS, "President Cory's Only Son."

(Image from http://pcij.org/)

2010-06-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

BAK 2 SKUL

It's plain Jejemoniacal, these fraternity initiations. For they nullify the true message of scholarly conduct. Today's stude, tomorrow's tyrant?

Whatever happened then to a clamor to ban fraternity initiations in colleges and universities in the country? With the opening of schools come the waxing of paddles in college fraternity homes. Or are we just too quick to forget that some years ago, a hazing ritual (among several others) led to the death of Lenny Villa, the only son of former Internal Revenue Commissioner Romulo Villa. Lenny was a neophyte of the Aquila Legis society of the Ateneo Law School. The same prestigious Jesuit school which boasts of turning out the nation's brightest and the best? Now, it has since been included in the list with the University of the Philippines, University of Santo Tomas, the Far Eastern University, the FEATI, and other colleges for barbarism, sadism and carnage in fraternity hazings. How many other parents have lost sons in the past because of this?

These college societies with impressive Greek names and logos are no better than the underworld's notorious gangs like the O-X-O, the Sigue-Sigue, BCJ and the Bahala Na groups.

No wonder, many of these college kids grow up to become crooked and blood-thirsty political warlords, unscrupulous business tycoons and corrupt military officers.

(Image from http://tsikot.yehey.com/)

2010-06-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

FAMILY

Did I hear over the radio today Speaker Prospero 'Boy' Nograles ask Comelec Executive Director Jose 'Jun' Tolentino Jr. if he has any relative or relatives working in Comelec? I failed to monitor his reply.

But of course the Speaker knows for a fact that the answer to his question is in the affirmative, and perhaps Nograles was pressured to ask the question to Tolentino because there are people out there like me who know that Nograles and Tolentino are "family."

The Speaker's first cousin is married to Tolentino's sister. The same lawyer-cousin was Nograles' chief of staff when he was a neophyte congressman. I wouldn't know if subject cousin has returned since Nograles' elevation to the fourth highest office in the land. Perhaps or perhaps not, since he is anyway a successful lawyer by his own merits. Draw your own suspicions then, even as I can already hear them claim that a man can choose his friends, but not his family members.

But admirable that Speaker Nograles would not let this pass. He has indeed risen to political maturity which has earned for him enough credibility and respect from many people, in spite of his canine loyalty to outgoing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and for his "betrayal" to former Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. As for Director Tolentino, I happen to know him personally too and quite close to believe him to be a man of his word, to which I have the highest respect for him. Jun Tolentino's father, Captain Jose 'Pepe' Tolentino Sr. was a harbor pilot who served the country well with loyalty and honor. They belong to a "buena familia" from Davao City. In short, he is a good man as Boy Nograles is a fair and gentle man.

You may or may not agree with me, but I know these two gentlemen well and I can vouch for their integrity, even as I anticipate negative comments with this blogpost.

(Image from http://atmidfield.com/)

2010-05-24T23:20:00.000-07:00

REMINDING NOYNOY

President-elect Noynoy Aquino's early stubbornness and arrogance of not wanting to take his oath before a sitting Chief Justice whose appointment he questions smells worse than his cigarette smoke. But I'm glad he's flip-flopping on this.

He should be reminded though that in 1990, his mother President Corazon Aquino's inherited stubbornness drove some 29 Court of Appeals justices to write a letter to her excellency questioning the appointment to the Supreme Court of Flerida Ruth Romero, Cory's speechwriter and personal friend.

When told that the justices were threatening to go on mass leave to protest Romero's appointment, the President reportedly instructed her aides to tell the justices to drop their objections or else she would throw the book at them. She could accuse them of dereliction of duty and on this basis cause them to lose their jobs.

Many Supreme Court justices had expressed reservations about the qualifications of Romero, who has never been a judge and has not distinguished herself in private practice. Romero herself, gracious as she has always been, kept silent throughout the controversy. The criticisms against her, however, were bound to make people scrutinize very closely whatever decisions she would be making in the Supreme Court. Similarly, lawyers were waiting to see whether the criticisms directed against Romero's appointment made President Cory act differently when she filled the remaining vacancy in the SC. It was widely believed then that she would pick another person close to her, either Deputy Executive Secretary Magdangal Elma or Adolf Azcuna, her former legal adviser.

In doing so, President Cory didn't give a hoot about traditions governing appointments to the Supreme Court and preferred to use personal loyalty as her main criterion.

Sounds familiar?

(Image from http://en.wikinews.org/)

2010-05-19T19:19:00.000-07:00

THE SUITS DON'T SUIT

SLEEPLESS IN MY SHUTTLE. When communist leader Jose Maria 'Joma' Sison exiled himself to the Netherlands and started wearing suits, he made himself irrelevant to the leftists here in the Philippines.

Mao Tse Tung to his dying day never gave up on his collar-less Mao jacket in favor of a Western suit. North Korea's Kim Jong Il wears an olive green military outfit. Even Cuba's Fidel Castro wore a similar outfit for the longest time, and only later in his life was he seen occasionally wearing an athletic terno.

Even his 'tocayo' and fellow-cigar chomper former President Fidel Ramos did not quite recognize Joma as the leader of the Philippine communist movement - or so it appeared then from FVR's announcements that the government recognize instead Luis Jalandoni as the leftists' representative in peace talks. Local leftists then were debating on how they were to respond to the government's peace initiatives during the Ramos regime. Sison had disowned many of the local leaders whom he had accused of selling out to FVR's administration.

(Image from http://volkskrant.nl/)

2010-05-09T20:52:00.000-07:00

THE BANCAP BEAUTIES AND THE KAMAGANAK INC.

Those who suffered most in the PhP2.3 billion T-bills scam several years ago are said to be members of the so-called Kamaganak Inc. who had gone into banking and other financial ventures with the hundreds of millions they had scooped up as favored persons in the Aquino era.

One business leader who cited the misfortune of the Kamaganak Inc. which had been suckered by the 'Bancap beauties' said this was all part of the karma the Kamaganaks had to pay because they had made illegal fortunes during Cory Aquino's term. Most damaged was a bank that the Kamaganaks had bought into, and it was only because other friendly banks and the Bangko Sentral rushed to help this bank that its expected collapse did not occur.

As to the three 'Bancap beauties' who pulled off that monumental scam, they had since fled to London and other European cities. One of them, a daughter of a famous movie love team of the '50s, was said to have returned a few years ago to face the music. She claims innocence in the scam although she was an officer of Bancap Securities.

As for the Kamaganak Inc., expect them to be back with a vengeance.

(Image from http://philmoney.blogspot.com/)

2010-04-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

OPULENT OFFICIALS ON A MENDICANT'S MISSION

Okay, so you sent me this quite impressive list of the Aquino administration's achievements and then linked it to how offspring Noynoy is bound to continue what mother dear started. Quite remarkable - and full of spin. Thank you for the lenghty letter. However, in reminding me the Aquino regime's "successful" trips to Europe, permit me then to tell you what really happened in one of their trips, a.k.a. begging missions, junkets to Europe: Thanks to them, the mission nailed down the distinction that Pinoys are the world's classiest beggars. The stylish Philippine delegation went about their mendicancy mission with such flair and savoir vivre that put to shame delegates from 34 other beggar-nations who had gone to Paris to plead for economic aid from the Group of Seven wealthy industrialized nations. The puny Bangladesh mission particularly looked so pathetic compared to the classy Philippine mission.

And oh those chic wives of Cory cabinet members and other officials who had no business being in the mission in the first place. Reports from the Philippine diplomatic people in the German and French cities the mission had visited so far belly-ached what a pain in the arse these wives were.

The Philippine media noted that embassy personnel were herded to act as guides and utility people for these matronas on their wild shopping sprees and forays in ritzy cafes and night clubs.

This was especially true in the case of attaches and other overseas employees of the different cabinet departments who were ordered to attend exclusively to the needs of their respective cabinet secretaries and of course their clinging wives.

Beggars can't be choosers? Not for this swinging Philippine group! They had the best accomodations, tickets to the best shows and operas, dined and wined at the most expensive restaurants and shopped at the trendiest stores. They were also highly visible at the extravaganza and merriment of the bicentennial celebration of the French Revolution in Paris. Vive La France!

But the high visibility of the Philippine missioners in glitzy French places could have been harmful for the aid-seeking trip of the Aquino group. Donor-countries could get rubbed (robbed?) the wrong way, especially because of reports of graft and corruption, misuse of foreign aid, extravagance and human rights violations flowing out of Manila regularly to these countries. This could have been the reason why Japan suddenly failed to include then our country among the priority countries to benefit from a $43-billion package brought to Paris by then Japanese Premier Sosuke Uno for aid to impoverished nations. Uno listed Mexico as scheduled for an aid package of $1 billion and six African nations from a $600-million outlay. The Philippines was lumped among "other countries" which could benefit from the whopping Japanese economic aid package.

The danger was that prospective donors might have believed that asinine statement by a Malacanang favorite then who was booted out from his job, that the Philippines is really "a rich country pretending to be poor."

This is my version of your subject matter. I'm ready then for a second Aquino to occupy Malacanang and yes, he will carry on - with the blunders.

(Image from http://wikitravel.org/)

2010-04-22T17:49:00.000-07:00

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE OR NATURAL STUPIDITY?

Advice to incoming neophyte congressmen (and senators): Secure (or read again) a copy of the Robert's Rules of Order which is the bible of parliamentary bodies in western countries after which our legislative body is patterned. Read it word by word and thoroughly acquaint yourselves with the intricacies of floor debates and deliberations. This is the first step towards credible performance in the two chambers. There are so many pitfalls and traps in legislative debates and proceedings, and if you are not adequately prepared, it would be best to maintain a discreet silence, like one senator who went through his six-year term without even taking the floor. He always shot back at press interviews: "No comment."

Only a few of you would ever go on to become another Primicias, Recto, Tolentino, Montano, Marcos, Laurel or Cabili.

It is also important that you get a good research staff and a competent speechwriter. Never take the floor without preparation because it would mean certain embarrassment, unless you can plead with your colleagues not to subject you to interpellations, which is most unlikely.

In important debates, some of the wiser legislators always bring a cheering squad to root for them and to boo the other side. This is the job of your PR men. And sometimes, it's good to have a bottle around for the press.

Of course we have some disappointing ones in the legislature as well. You know who they are. But one particular member I will never forget is Senator Rodolfo 'Pong' Biazon who now seeks a congressional post for Muntinlupa City.

During one of the senate committee hearings, the good senator was questioning a certain Mr. Ponye. While the latter was answering a question, Biazon interrupted and rudely asked him, "sigurado ka walang "TA" sa huli ng apelyido mo?" I almost fell from my chair after hearing this. Such arrogance and disrespect to an invited resource person.

Yes, he is an officer, but not a gentleman. Bastos. He sure had my vote in the past, but I'm having second thoughts voting for him again this time.

(Image from www.pcij.org/)

2010-04-14T19:47:00.000-07:00

DRIP

In the not so distant future, Metro Manila could be heading towards a severe water crisis.

I recently had an interesting but sad conversation with some environmentalists who informed me that the present water supply in these areas are good for just a few more years.

The biggest culprit in this impending disaster are the illegal loggers whose activities have caused a widespread denudation of our forests and whose operations have remained unchecked through the years. Unless new sources of water are discovered, the Metro area will suffer. Most of the present sources, they said, are way below its normal water levels especially Angat dam which is already way down to its critical levels. This explains why even deep wells now have only murky waters or even mud due to the drying up of the water beds.

The worried environmentalists also said that continued indifference of government officials to this worsening problem is exasperating. It is almost a crime. They added that many of our bureaucrats themselves hold logging permits which they farm out to dummies, family and friends. Either this or some of them are in the payroll of big logging concessionaires.

The current drought can also be traced to the activities of these loggers, not to mention the dreaded El Nino. Drought is an even bigger problem than floods caused by denuded forests. Floods occur because no roots will hold rainwater which are preserved in natural pools and reservoirs from which the public water supply may be taken. As a result, rainwater simply wash into the sea.

Yet, despite the gravity of the problem, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) is at the bottom of the cabinet listing when it comes to government priorities. Environment plans submitted by concerned private groups are ignored and get lost in the bureaucratic maze.

(Image from http://everystockphoto.com/)

2010-04-08T21:47:00.000-07:00

"AGUADO BOYS"

There was a time when at the utterance of the words "Padre Faura," the very first thing that comes to mind is not the priest but the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) for the simple reason that it had its main offices on that street. The Foreign Affairs Department held offices then in Arlegui and Padre Faura - and now Roxas Boulevard.

When Raul Manglapus was its secretary, another street hounded him each waking day. This not-so-lonely-road was none other than Aguado, and over there frequented a group of grown-up boys aptly called the "Aguado Boys." They used to lord it over the DFA during the Marcos regime, while headquartered on Aguado street just across Malacanang. Their loyalty was to then Ambassador Benjamin "Kokoy" Romualdez. This team practically ran the DFA to the consternation of the foreign secretary and other DFA officials. But operations were smooth as silk, and without the usual bureaucratic red tape.

No promotions, assignments and budgets were okayed by the DFA then without prior clearance from Aguado.

And so Manglapus had to flex his muscles, and first to fall from his purge was Ambassador Ernesto Pineda, considered one of the closest confidantes of Kokoy. Pineda was consul-general to New York when Kokoy was ambassador to the US.

Pineda was relieved as DFA coordinator and placed in the freezer. It seemed his being the brother of former Malacanang legal counsel Flerida Ruth Romero did not in any way help.

(Image from http://article.wn.com/)

2010-04-06T19:58:00.000-07:00

LIVING BY THE CODE: WISHFUL THINKING

What has become of that Code approved by no less than the Philippine Senate, authored by no less than former Senator Jovito Salonga? This is the Code of Ethical Standards for government officials and employees.

Salonga envisioned this to promote honesty, efficiency and loyalty among state employees. It also provides for corresponding penalties for offenders.

The Salonga bill was patterned after a Code of Ethics adopted during the Commonwealth period under President Manuel L. Quezon. During those years, there was strict compliance with the Code. I should know. Years after that era, I remember as a young boy that no member of the family could even ride in my grandfather's government-issued automobile. My father outdid my grandfather by not accepting any official vehicle at all when he was in government. Yes, it can be done after all. But times have changed. Today, government-issued vehicles are also for family-related purposes. And, the general rule now seems to be that one sure way of getting rich is to join the government and engage in all kinds of illegal transactions. Take the case of the current stink now oozing from the Commission on Elections (Comelec).

During the Quezon years, joining the government meant financial sacrifice. This is what Salonga wanted to inculcate in his Code. One of the most important provisions of the Code requires simple living for those in government service. It simply but directly mandates all those in government to "lead modest lives appropriate to their position and income."

On the widespread practice of bribery, the Code specifically prohibits state officials and employees to "solicit or accept, directly or indirectly any gift, favor, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation or transaction related to their office." Those in government should pay heed.

I have always been an ardent admirer of Jovy Salonga. Too bad he now has to support a tandem unacceptable to me, maybe because they too refuse to live by his Code. I have listened intently to his words of human dignity and liberties in Congress and from the pulpit of the Cosmopolitan Church. I admired him as a preacher of the Word, and it is my belief that the greatest sermons are not preached. They are lived.

(Image from http:///www.salongacenter.org/)

2010-04-04T21:50:00.000-07:00

LOSING ONE'S HEAD OVER A DEBATE

There seems to be a looming debate (again) over the death penalty. Some church groups state that this is un-Christian since nobody has the right to take another man's life. Others say the death penalty for heinous crimes would only encourage further killings. Say what?

Citing the fact that rape and murder are both heinous crimes, a rapist would be encouraged to kill his victim. He has nothing to lose by finishing her off since he is liable to the death penalty whether he kills her or not. He also has everything to gain: if she is dead, there is no one to accuse him of rape.

Still others observe that the death penalty has not discouraged criminals at all, and that on the contrary, the crime rate has risen.

They explain that criminals are not deterred by the lethal injection or by the electric chair because both are swift and painless. Say that again please?

But things would be different if criminals were executed by hanging, stoning, crucifixion, quartering, and other painful methods.

Well, for criminals who sport lesser hair on their heads, a Frenchman once invented a cure-all for baldness. It's called the Guillotine.

It has been so popular since that other than engaging in endless debates on the matter, some people have lost their heads over it as well.

(Image from http://www.conservapedia.com/)

2010-03-30T22:39:00.000-07:00

"JE NE COMPRENDS PAS"

The Aquino presidency then had government information people describe their chief executive's mission to Europe as a success in an overall report to the nation. How else could they have judged their own junket to join the extravaganza of the bicentennial of the French Revolution in Gay Paree? They simply had to justify the gargantuan expenses of a big entourage by that begging mission.

Well, they struck out in West Germany and possibly hit a homer in France. It was then a waiting game on who among the two countries would help the Philippines. Which of the two was known on flamboyance and elegant promises, but short on delivery? Considering the huge entourage of the Aquino loan-seeking mission to Europe and the large amount of dollars brought out by this group, Europeans might have believed there was truth to a boast made by a former Aquino official that the Philippines is really "a rich country pretending to be poor." Those guys and their wives in the Aquino junket were better off not being too visible when they were cluttering up the ritzy cafes and boites de nuit. After viewing the extravagance of the Pinoy whooping it up in Paris, officials of the Group of Seven (G-7) industrialized nations from which the Aquino mission was seeking financial assistance might have then considered the Philippines as a donor nation.

Not familiar with the refinements of the French tongue, I remember listening to comments on speeches delivered by President Aquino in French at the different functions in Paris. Portions of her speeches were aired on local television.

Filipino experts in the French language and a few local French residents said that Aquino's fractured French was lamentable and should have never been delivered and that she should have just spoken in English. The kindest remark was that it was what is known as "Brooklyn French," that is, it was spoken with a fractured American accent.

I think it was no less than then President Francois Mitterrand who had to ask for an interpreter when Cory delivered her speech in his own native language.

To the French, her speech was simply "petits pois."

(Image from http://web-hotels.net/)

2010-03-29T23:54:00.000-07:00

ONE IS ENOUGH

SLEEPLESS IN MY SHUTTLE. Muslim legislators are amused by a suggestion for an investigation on the "dangerous liaisons" of certain solons who are apparently unhappy about having only one wife. Under Islamic law, Muslim men are entitled to have as many as four legal wives and maintain several other concubines as they can afford.

As one Muslim solon said: "We are practicing legally and in the open what you Christians are doing in secret and in supposed sin."

To which a virile Christian solon riposted: "My parents brought me up in the wrong faith." This also explains why many Christians have been inquiring about turning to Islam. Most of them will be turned away because they only have salacious reasons for changing their faith.

Just stick with one wife, okay?

(Image from http://transfigurations.blogspot.com/)

2010-03-29T20:09:00.000-07:00

HOVERING OVER BONN

The entourage that accompanied the late President Corazon Aquino to West Germany in 1989 received immediate lessons in Teutonic respect for law and human rights even before landing on German soil. The PAL plane carrying the Aquino party was hovering over Bonn at 8 a.m. and had to stay aloft for some 30 minutes because of an early morning anti-noise law. German authorities were afraid that a 21-gun salute for President Aquino would wake up Bonn-Cologne residents. A flyover of German jets to welcome Cory was likewise called off because of a noise pollution law.

In her initial contact with German officials and the German press after the usual welcome amenities, the President was peppered with questions about the reported widespread violation of human rights in the Philippines. She was immediately forced into a defensive stance about her regime. She said reports of such violations were the handiwork of her political opponents and the communists in her country.

Inside her, she must have been cursing the day she released Jose Ma. 'Joma' Sison, Filipino Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) chairman, from incarceration after the EDSA revolt. It was the Sison group, based in Utrecht, Holland, which successfully brainwashed the European press about human rights violations by the Aquino regime, described as worse than those under Marcos.

An eye-opener report to many Manilans was the revelation that among those in the Aquino party was resigned Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) Secretary Philip Juico. If the report was true, it was asked, what in heaven's name was he doing in the delegation? Was it to deliver a message to certain government agencies still bent on prosecuting Juico for complicity in the aborted Garchitorena land scandal in spite of a presidential clearance already given him?

In her official talks with German leaders, President Cory stressed that one of her accomplishments was the dismantling of business monopolies set up during the Marcos regime.

But of course that was only for the consumption of the Germans. As many Filipinos know, she may have done away with the Marcos cronies, but she was helpless in stopping the return of powerful oligarchs demolished by Marcos and the appearance of new cronies (like the Lopezes and their ABS-CBN network), including several others in her administration.

(Image from http://www.virtualtripping.com/)

2010-03-26T21:46:00.000-07:00

LADY MIRIAM AND A JUGGERNAUT OF PACHYDERMS

Immediately after assuming her new post as secretary of agrarian reform under the Aquino administration, Miriam Defensor-Santiago was confined in bed for a few days with chills and fever.

Could this be because she was shocked at the powerful people she had to fight in that graft-ridden department including landlords in Congress and (horrors!) a very close Malacanang relative.

Insiders at the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) informed us that Lady Miriam's eyes popped with disbelief as she went through the list of DAR officials, many of whom were known to come from the landed gentry.

Her stomach was said to have turned after learning of the powerful yellow Malacanang relative protecting the syndicate behind the notorious Garchitorena land scandal, which had wrecked the Aquino regime's so-called "agrarian reform program."

People were antsy over how the fighting lady was to perform against these cocky monsters who held the DAR hostage because of cash and connections.

But over at the immigration bureau, all she had to face were cowed illegal aliens and garden-variety crooks who trembled before her. But at the DAR, she was in the big league. She cut the figure of a bewildered gazelle facing a juggernaut of stampeding elephants. No wonder her first statement when she took office was that she had more than a 50-50 chance of "falling flat on my face" and that she felt like she was Indiana Jones in the Temple of Doom.

Well, that's Lady Miriam exactly where many of her political opponents want her to be, woudn't you agree?

(Image from http://isangpanata.wordpress.com/)

2010-03-25T22:31:00.000-07:00

THAT STUPID LAW

Squatters are currently in the minds of individuals running for public office. And after winning, they are soon forgotten once more. But how can we really forget them when everywhere we go, we see them? Even Malacanang houses the country's biggest squatter-family.

There was a time a few years ago when proponents to decriminalize squatting came under fire. Especially targeted was former Senator Joey Lina, known for the "Stupid Lina Law," also known as the Urban Development Housing Act of 1992, another blunder of the Aquino regime. The law exempts squatters from criminal prosecution. Well, it also encourages squatting.

Property owners say that the Lina Law, supported by the Aquino administration, would further aggravate the squatting problem and yes, encourage invasion and occupation of government and private land by the hordes of squatters coming from the provinces. It would certainly be welcome news to see our winning presidentiable tackle this social ill once and for all.

Former Senator Ambrosio Padilla, one of the leaders of the property owners, stressed that squatting had become a widespread vice since the last global war. Citing court decisions, Padilla said, "Squatting was and is a blight. Squatters' areas pose problems of health and sanitation. They are breeding places for crime. They constitute proof that respect for the law and the rights of others, even those of the government, are being flouted. Knowingly, squatters have embarked on the pernicious act of occupying property whenever and wherever convenient to their interests. They are emboldened seemingly because of their belief that they could violate the law with impunity."

(Image from http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/)

2010-03-21T19:44:00.000-07:00

A MAN, A PLAN, A CANAL: PANAMA

The invasion of tiny Panama by the world's mightiest nation, the United States, was seen by many in the Philippines as a brutal use of raw power to cow a helpless country into submitting.

Many saw striking similarities in that US intervention in Panama and the US role in the rise and fall of President Ferdinand Marcos and the ascendancy of President Corazon Aquino who, at one point was saved from certain doom only because of US intervention. Remember those Phantom jets?

Echoing the resentment among Latin American nations and other Third World countries, many Filipino nationalists dared the US to pick on somebody its size, like Russia or China.

Since it suffered military defeat in Vietnam, the US has carefully selected its opponents, making sure the odds were vastly in her favor in any diplomatic or military confrontation. And its first post-Vietnam military engagement was with puny Grenada which doesn't even have an army.

Panama became a state at the turn of the century, when, with US diplomatic and military support, seceded from Colombia. The new state allowed the US to build the Panama Canal on terms more generous than what Colombia was willing to offer. The Panamanian government has had a history of manipulation by the US, which had a vested interest in the US Canal Zone, then scheduled to revert to Panama come 1999. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?

Then US President Bush Sr. justified his sending US jets to bomb Panamanian military and civilian targets exactly by saying this was necessary to save democracy - as he did when he authorized US military support to keep the inutile Aquino government from falling.

The US intervention in Panama was condemned worldwide, except in countries under the control and influence of the US.

They should have sent Bush back to the bushes, among the other barbarians.

US intervention in that country's affairs were jestingly justified by then US Senator Hayakawa who declared, "Panama is ours. We stole it fair and square."

(Image from http://www.apparelsearch.com/)

2010-03-21T02:34:00.000-07:00

PRIVATIZE THE TOURISM DEPARTMENT?

Perhaps one of our legislators should file a bill that would eventually abolish the Department of Tourism (DoT) and leave the industry to the private sector. The bill makes a lot of sense. It is consistent with the practice in most countries.

The DoT has become the dumping ground of political favorites. These favorites frequently travel abroad to attend the many tourism-related conferences. They show their faces at one or two sessions - and spend the rest of their time sightseeing and generally having a good time.

Here at home, these political appointees spend their time freeloading in five-star hotels, restaurants and resorts where they bring their family members and hordes of friends and hangers-on.

It should therefore come as no surprise that most of the DoT's attempts to attract tourists to the Philippines have ended up as dismal failures.

Though we have one of the most expensive tourism promotion programs in Asia, we too have the smallest number of visitors from abroad. The executives of some of our private travel and tourism corporations could run the tourism industry far more effectively if they did not have to cope with the interference of meddling government officials.

(Image from http://en.wikipilipinas.org/)

2010-03-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

NUCLEAR DAYS AND NEW CLEAR DAYS (PART 2)

Malacanang, it seems, wants to make sure that Filipinos undergo some kind of penitential suffering this coming Holy Week, as tradition requires. There will be no respite from the severe power and water shortage.

Long brownouts may cause havoc among people with medical problems. The suffering is particularly acute for people with high-blood pressure, asthma, ulcers, or respiratory ailments. As such, some may be thinking of suing the government.

With the power shortage certain to worsen due to the dry season, Malacanang should seriously consider implementing a suggestion that the government rent floating generator stations or power barges from Singapore, Korea, China and other neighboring countries. Government authorities cannot simply ask for people to pray for rain. A considerable part on natural human effort must be in place as well.

Or, the Palace should also work in earnest for operations of the controversial Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) and forget biases against the project simply because it was built by President Marcos and his cronies. In the long run, government will be praised by the people for setting aside politics in favor of the common welfare.

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be stepping down from office in a few months. She could go out in a blaze of glory by fashioning out a permanent solution to the country's two permanent woes - lack of electricity and lack of water. The alternative is that she would go down in history as a corrupt and uncaring leader, and it sure looks like the latter.

(Image from http://www.pcij.org/)

2010-03-14T21:03:00.000-07:00

FOREIGN POLICY FOR DUMMIES?

Back in 1991, the Aquino regime agreed to allow Taiwanese ships to pass Philippine sea lanes on their way to the Pacific Ocean, and also permit Taiwanese fishermen (poachers) to fish in Philippine waters - all in exchange for five shipping vessels and some help from Taipei to study soil destruction from the Mount Pinatubo ashfall. Unbelievable.

Where were these so-called nationalists then? These pseudo-patriots who now dread a return of a Marcos to the Philippine Senate? Basking in yellow fever I bet.

It's a good thing this surrender of sovereignty didn't cause a diplomatic crisis with China, which could have flexed its muscles on us for violating the One-China Policy - and then run to Uncle Sam again crying for help.

I just hope that the same group that advised President Aquino then on foreign policy will not be the same group that will be advising Noynoy Aquino on the same if and when he makes it to Malacanang Seafood Palace.

(Image from http://ofwjournalism.blogspot.com/)

2010-03-07T03:51:00.000-08:00

SHAKING THE PRESIDENCY

A 6.1 magnitude earthquake almost dislodged Gloria's face from her mole a few days ago while delivering a speech before Cagayanos up north. She immediately reminded her audience about the strong quake that hit Chile recently, grateful for a not-so-disastrous shaker here.

In shaky times such as this, one cannot help but remember the July 16, 1990 earthquake that hit the country - and how certain individuals like President Corazon Aquino reacted to such.

President Aquino, standing stiffly at a rostrum, somberly spoke of the grim devastation and suffering resulting from that 1990 earthquake, and how people could not forget that picture of their president giggling over the tragedy after she had met with senators and cabineteers.

Television shots of this unfortunate incident were flashed all over the world along with horrifying scenes of the earthquake. President Aquino was thus as insensitive and frivolous. Hence, a public apology a la Gloria was the only necessary thing to do.

But many believed that this video footage would not have been shown if her information and propaganda people were alert enough to foresee how it would terribly tarnish her "saintly image." As usual, her spin doctors were caught unprepared.

And now, there's another spin to canonize her with the holy nomenclature: Saint Cory a.k.a. "The giggling Santa Corazon de Hacienda Luisita."

(Image from http://johnryanrecabar.wordpress.com/)

2010-03-05T07:02:00.000-08:00

ONE TRILLION

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile once made a mind-boggling revelation that the Aquino government then had been given by Congress almost PhP 1 trillion since it took over from Ferdinand Marcos. He demanded to know where this amount went.

The mere mention of the amount is awesome, and yet under the Cory regime, the country remained one of the poorest nations in the world and has been referred to as the "basket case of Asia."

Enrile asked where the roads, bridges, schools, public markets, hospitals and other forms of infrastructure that should have been built from that staggering sum were.

And now, Noynoy Aquino has the nerve to ask this equally-inept administration where the so-called roads are.

Many say a big chunk of the outlay helped build those posh residences of certain officials in Makati, Alabang, and in Hillsborough and Atherton in the Bay Area, or are now safely deposited in US, Swiss or the Cayman Islands' secret bank accounts.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago had stressed in many speeches that at least 40 percent of government funds had gone into the pockets of corrupt officials. That should particularly answer JPE's query on how the trillion bucks had been spent.

(Image from http://www.pcij.org/)

2010-02-25T17:21:00.000-08:00

HACIEN - DUH!

In 1990, the UP Law Center strongly criticized the stock dispersal program of the Hacienda Luisita as "patently unconstitutional." The report accused the Luisita formula as violative of the social justice and comprehensive agrarian reform programs of the Constitution.

It was forwarded to the Senate Committee on Agrarian Reform headed by then Senator Heherson 'Sonny' Alvarez. But few people believed the Alvarez committee would take the report seriously. Alvarez was known to be the most pro-Aquino member of the legislature, even more pro-Aquino than President Cory's own relatives in power.

The Comprehensive Agrararian Reform Program (CARP), supposedly the center of the Aquino regime, suffered a loss of credibility since the Hacienda Luisita was declared "outside the scope of CARP" because of its controversial stock dispersal scheme.

(Image from http://www.bulatlat.com/)

2010-02-24T20:21:00.000-08:00

A JETTISONED IDEA?

With the threat of yet another power crisis hitting the country, one cannot help but remember that in the days of the Aquino regime, the nation was figuratively and literally in the dark.

Perhaps, one may also recall that an interesting proposal had emerged from a group of middle-level business executives who sat down and discussed the power crisis then. The "bright" idea was to ask the United States to lend one of her nuclear-powered warships, preferably one of those behemoth aircraft carriers like the decommissioned USS Enterprise - to drop anchor in Manila Bay and provide the electricity needed to bring the Metro area back to normal levels.

Fantastic. So how come those highly-paid officials then at the National Power Corporation (Napocor) never thought up this gem of an idea? Was it because there was no money for them in that proposal?

Of course, some wise guys in the Aquino administration then could have waved the Stars and Stripes while howling to high heavens that once again, we will be begging on our knees for US help and surrender our pride to the Yanks. Then, they could have added that this was not a bad idea after all simply because the bases talks were only a few days away.

Shoot. When Mrs. Aquino begged Washington to send in those US Phantom jets to save the day for her government during one of them coups, we lost all our claim to sovereignty and national pride. We might as well go whole hog and ask Uncle Sam this time to send in one of their nuclear-powered aircraft carriers to rescue us from an impending power crisis.

Each floating naval city can carry as much as 5,000 men and can generate enough power to light up a small city like Mandaluyong, and more than enough for the Napocor's 550-megawatt deficit.

And even if Malacanang had been given this clue, the Napocor then insisted on acquiring those gas turbines and generators sold by its former chief's family corporation. This former boss was even bold enough to propose that the country erect new nuclear plants - and never mind if the huge Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) was just sitting idle like a has-been harlot, waiting to be reactivated to supply 600 megawatts to an electricity-starving citizenry.

(Image from http://www.stratfor.com/)

2010-02-21T19:22:00.000-08:00

TWO DOZEN YEARS AGO

Today February 22 begins the observance of the 4-day EDSA revolt. So it has been 24 years already. As February is the month for love, it is also the month for broken promises. The promise which catapulted the Aquino administration and her Kamaganak Inc. to power is now reduced to yellow Cory er, curry powder.

Play a little game as you watch those on center stage while they try to whip up the spirit of EDSA. Who among them were actually at EDSA from day one of the anti-Marcos revolt started by Juan Ponce Enrile, Fidel Ramos and Gregorio Honasan. Who are the Johnnies-come-lately? Who were the so-called steak commandos selling pots and pans in the US and in Canada, living in ghettoes and who now live in posh villages with obese bank accounts?

Who were in fact not even at EDSA but now claim credit for that upheaval and have pushed the real heroes out of the picture. We are sure you will come up with startling answers. These pseudo-heroes are still around, bloviating and all with their sickening presence.

(Image from http://www.wikimedia.org/)

2010-02-17T21:54:00.000-08:00

DEPUTIES IN DISGUISE?

The Comelec should not deputize the National Movement for Free Elections (NAMFREL), which many people have accused of meddling in past elections to favor those candidates preferred by its leaders. The NAMFREL was a brainchild of the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the 50s, when it helped ensure the election of then Defense Secretary Ramon Magsaysay as President.

The CIA played dirty tricks on the late Senator Claro M. Recto, a third party candidate in the 1953 elections, whom it suspected of being sympathetic to the leftists. Colonel Edward Lansdale, who worked with Filipinos in and out of government who were identified with the right, was instrumental in the creation of the NAMFREL. Lansdale later worked in Vietnam, using many of the tactics that worked in the Philippines.

I do agree with the observations of many that the Comelec should go slow in deputizing certain private groups, especially those identified with the church. You know who these groups are. Yes, NAMFREL and the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV). Groups like these have been notorious for meddling in past elections and for promoting their candidates, most of whom are also said to be favored by the church. Most officials of such organizations are known meddlesome church lay persons who had come out in favor of certain church-backed candidates. How can these groups now be deputized by the Comelec when they have known favorites which will preclude them from being neutral in the elections? And how can we ever forget the time when NAMFREL suddenly stopped counting election results right after the returns from the Ilocos regions started coming in.

One banking official, a member of one of these groups, was a rabid partisan of then presidential bet Corazon Aquino who was later appointed to a top position in the Comelec. He did not even hesitate to wield his powers while in the poll body, highly influenced as he was by his political biases and strong opinions. In addition, certain private poll organizations are the recipients of financial support from certain foreign governments. These groups should likewise be barred from being deputized as Comelec arms.

Do you still remember the time when NAMFREL came under attack from the University of the Philippines (UP), which came out with a research report by a team of UP professors? The UP College of Public Administration revealed massive fraud in the 1987 elections which they called "The Anatomy of Stealing in the Elections." Its four authors - Professors Luzviminda Tancangco, Romeo Ocampo, Bella Lucas and Lourdes Abanding are way above reproach and the institution they represent is equally unassailable as a seat of academic freedom and truth.

Aquino officials were livid with rage over the report, but could not destroy the reputation of these individuals. These professors were grilled by the Senate, but their very tormentors included senators who, should not even be in that revered chamber.

Tancangco was one of the most respected professors at the UP. She had rock solid knowledge of the operations of the NAMFREL with which she was connected since 1984.

Well, the report merely confirms the public perception that there was massive cheating in the 1987 polls and that many senators and congressmen held office then only because the NAMFREL manipulated the election returns. Time was when there were at least eight persons in the senate whose very presence insults the memory of the honorable men who once graced its sacred halls. The jest in political circles is that some of these senators could not even be elected barangay captains in honest elections in their respective communities.

That report should have finally led to the permanent interment of the NAMFREL, which should be remembered only as a tragic aberration in the country's political history.

(Image from http://www.bulatlat.com/)

2010-02-14T22:29:00.000-08:00

WHO ARE THE REAL EDSA HEROES?

In a few days from now, the nation will once again mark the anniversary of the first EDSA Revolution. I foresee this as a perfect time where opportunists behind Noynoy Aquino and his pack of has-been Corystas will surely take advantage and rally again the people to "remember the spirit of EDSA" and "remember Cory, vote for Noynoy." The only spirit I can think of right now is one that has fooled the population over the years. In addition, many of the loyal Corystas have now turned into Sorry-stas. Many who used to address her as Auntie Cory had already shifted to Anti-Cory, and are now openly campaigning against an Aquino II presidency.

Of course, the EDSA anniversary will be marked in different ways as always. The rabid yellow crowd of former President Corazon Aquino who have now mutated and evolved into the Noynoyistas will recall events which they said drove away a dictator and restored democracy in the country. The Marcos loyalists will say it was a historical fluke which led to a regime worse than the one ousted by the EDSA marchers.

Well, two of the principal players who sparked that revolution scoff at the heady claims made by die-hard Corystas over the upheaval. They are of course Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senator Gregorio "Gringo" Honasan, head of the daring RAM which provided the military the most effective component of that movement.

The RAMboys and Enrile could well remind the nation too that Corazon Aquino was not even at EDSA and is therefore not entitled to exaltation rendered her by those who subsequently joined the Enrile-Honasan breakaway group, which was later joined by then General Fidel Valdez Ramos.

In past EDSA celebrations, Enrile would often say that there was really nothing to celebrate about because EDSA only brought another administration which can be remembered for its incompetence and corruption as well. Yes, the Aquino administration was corrupt too. So, let him who is without sin cast the first stone. I'm so glad that Sin is no longer around.

Rabid Aquino supporters retort that Enrile is sour-graping because he failed to succeed Marcos after the EDSA upheaval. And I remember that in gatherings where EDSA is discussed, Enrile invariably becomes the butt of jokes. He is often referred to as a basketball player dribbling the ball with only two minutes left in the game, and his team is leading by some 50 points, when he suddenly passes the ball to Mrs. Aquino who promptly runs home with it.

In those gatherings, debates range as to who are the real heroes of EDSA. Many say it is JPE, FVR and the RAM. Others say it is the yellow crowd of Mrs. Aquino who rushed to EDSA to protect Enrile and Co. Some say it is Cardinal Sin who called out the faithful to save JPE and his group from the Marcos military, while others say it is most of the Marcos generals who refused to fire on the people.

Not quite. Not any of these people, say FM die-hards. They say the real hero is actually Ferdinand Marcos himself who stoutly refused to give the order to fire on the hundreds of thousands at EDSA because he did not want "to spill any Filipino blood" at that time of crisis. As seen on TV footages being re-run every EDSA anniversary, Marcos stopped then AFP Chief of Staff Fabian Ver from insisting that he give the orders to the military to start firing on the people.

Ver's officers had said a few cannon bursts and a few hundred deaths would quickly disperse that crowd. But Marcos stood his ground against the carnage of the people.

(Image from http://www.humpakz.com/)

In this photo as I recall, being part of this group once, (L-R): Manny Oineza, Joe Bajesta, (unidentified), JPE, (unidentified but familiar looking and can't remember his name), Greg Honasan.

2010-02-08T22:39:00.000-08:00

PINOY PELOTARI

Don't look now, but I just heard about the possible re-opening of jai-alai games in the country. In addition, some influential persons are silently pushing for opening a track for dog races right here.

By way of pointing out how decent and honest the jai-alai was before Pinoys took over management of the fronton, among the amateur pelotaris training to play with Basque players were Enriquito Zobel, Neling and Rene Nieto, Danny Vasquez, Ossy Abad Santos, Baby Ysmael, Juancho Lao, Tony Vallejo, Poteng Tillman, Philip Monserrat, Pat Ilano, Tony Beltran and my very own father Ariel Bocobo.

But they soon lost interest and gave up the games when they sensed that certain crooked manipulators were slowly taking over the fronton and the decent and honest Basque players were quietly being eased out. They were proven right and soon enough the fronton became a hotbed of vice and corruption, and Pinoy pelotaris became notorious for throwing games and the good elements of society began to boycott the fronton.

One needed clarification. Jai-alai is not a Spanish game. It is a game of the proud Basques who continue to be the hated enemies of the Spaniards. Those occasional bombings in Spain are by the Euskadi, the Basque rebel group feared by the Spanish guardia civil.

In Madrid hotels not too long ago, there were still signs which read, "No dogs or Basques allowed." That's how bitter these two races hate each other.

(Image from http://estancabigas.com/)

2010-02-05T22:42:00.000-08:00

GUN THE BAN? (PART 2)

SLEEPLESS IN MY SHUTTLE. Lawmakers are the lawbreakers. I'm absolutely certain that among the first persons who will be nabbed for violating the Comelec gun ban will be bodyguards of senators, congressmen and cabinet members. Is this because they are the most despised creatures in the country, hence, making instant enemies and thus needing the services of bodyguards to protect them from irate citizens?

Surely, among those who will be howling to high heavens accompanied by their illegal car sirens about the impending arrests by the Philippine National Police (PNP) will be legislators from both houses and the executive department.

Do these lawbreakers in diguise as lawmakers think that just because they passed the firearms ban, they should be exempt from it? Set the example sirs.

The full weight of the law should fall on these abusive bodyguards and their masters. If the law cannot be enforced against them, the Electoral Reform Law might just as well be tossed into the trash can.

What are they afraid of? If they are afraid of their own constituents, then they have no business being called the people's representatives. Just a thought.

(Image from http://www.timawa.net/)

2010-02-01T21:49:00.000-08:00

BEATING THE ODDS

I asked a math wizard what are the odds on winning the grand prize in the Lotto or the Sweepstakes. He said a million to one. I think it's more than that.

I remember in 1990 how General Alfredo 'Fred' Lim, when tasked to probe alleged rigging of draws at the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), beat these odds. He won PhP5-million.

The winning horse, Just Joking, was owned by one of the biggest critics of the Aquino administration, Danding Cojuangco. Lim bought the winning ticket right at the PCSO as a token gesture on his part to assure the people that the integrity of the PCSO remains intact. So bizarre that he won the top prize, causing more image problems for the PCSO. Many persons then were skeptical about Lim's win. Some people even said that top PCSO officials rigged the draw in Lim's favor so he would be reluctant to go after top PCSO brass in his probe of PCSO rackets. No way, says Lim's friends and admirers, who swear that the general's integrity could never be bought, even if the prize were multiplied a hundredfold. To this I agree, having known him to be the cleanest "Dirty Harry" there is.

Now that he's running again for mayor of Manila, it's good to be reminded of a candidate's integrity and honesty who painstakingly loves the premier city. On the other hand, some bets would rather destroy historical and cultural treasures like the Mehan Garden and the art-deco Jai-Alai building on Taft Avenue. And to this day, this individual, a presidential lapdog a.k.a. "Manny Pacquiao's valet," is still at it while his credibility and honesty remain in question.

(Image from http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_OjZs9-N5904/)

2010-01-26T21:14:00.000-08:00

POLITICAL AMBASSADORS

SLEEPLESS IN MY SHUTTLE. Just a thought while in transit. The appointment of "political ambassadors" has been a practice by most if not all presidents. This power has been abused by our heads of state to accomodate rich friends and discredited officials to the disgrace of the country and the demoralization of career officers of the diplomatic service. Of course, there are a few exceptions, like the late great diplomat Ambassador JV Cruz and a handful of others.

But in most cases, when political leaders want to boot out unfit or disgraced partymates, the inevitable solution is to send them into "exile" as ambassadors.

Once abroad, these misfits, lacking proper training and preparation, make jackasses of themselves and make the country a laughing stock in diplomatic circles.

As it is, an ambassador could be a person who, having failed to get an appointment from the head of state, is still given one on condition that he leaves the country immediately.

(Image from http://cdn.wn.com/)

2010-01-25T17:35:00.000-08:00

DICK AND DICKS

I was bombarded with a few "love letters" in my e-mail from supposedly supporters of president-then-vice-president-very-much-wannabe Bayani Fernando immediately after I had posted this on my Facebook profile, "SI GORDON, 'YAN ANG TUNAY NA BAYANI. SI FERNANDO, 'YAN ANG TUNAY NA DICK," the same day they trumpeted to the whole archipelago their political intentions.

And yes, I have been a constant critic of BF and especially how he displayed his huge photos, sacrificing the true message, all over the metropolis. And how his "urbanidad" program a.k.a. Metro Guwapo simply meant the uglification of Metro Manila. A pinkified metropolis just doesn't appeal to me at all. Perhaps in hospitals and girls' bathrooms, but we're talking here about a major city jungle that is Metro Manila. Green would be more appropos. But that's all in the past now, and Bayani has proven his Mike Velarde and Liberace-like taste for colors.

And now comes the ever-active Richard 'Dick' Gordon. Amazing how he has "nursed" Olongapo City back in good health, right after the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991, not to mention the good things he has done inside Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA). How I miss him at the SBMA.

Do you remember that Cabanatuan earthquake rescue operations in 1990? When then Olongapo Mayor Dick Gordon, accompanied by his wife and mother, rushed to the stricken city ahead of a rescue team from Olongapo and in coordination with the Subic team called in by his wife. Their presence was resented by some known Corystas in Nueva Ecija. These stupid small-town politicians wanted to know why a Kilusang Bagong Lipunan (KBL) official like Gordon was getting high visibility in the rescue operations.

Little did their so-called minds know that Gordon had gone there as a director of the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC). And so what if he was a KBL out there giving unselfishly trying to help the victims? Is there a place for petty politics and picayune minds in tragic emergencies?

In times of extreme emergencies, the best and the worst in man emerge. The best was when Gordon rushed to help out in Cabanatuan. The worst was when those asinine Novo Ecijano Corystas resented Gordon's presence.

They were behaving like desperate dicks.

(Image from www.salta.tv/)

2010-01-22T19:02:00.000-08:00

NUCLEAR DAYS AND NEW CLEAR DAYS

Summer season for me is usually a trip to historical monuments like Mt. Samat in Bataan, or my hometown of Gerona in Tarlac - or just a short walk to an inflatable pool in my backyard.

A few years ago, while spending a weekend in the town of Pilar, Bataan, I met a man who used to work for the mothballed plant in that province. He said that if it was indeed operated to generate electricity, the now white elephant could have somehow solved the power crisis then.

Well, that was then. The Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP) is one more sorry legacy of the Aquino regime, which relentlessly pursued the case against Westinghouse which, it claimed, bribed the late President Marcos into giving it the contract.

The Aquino people, retained by the Ramos administration pressed for the pursuit of the case. That government should have considered the compromise settlement offered by Westinghouse. The Ramos regime did not listen either to proposals to use the nuclear plant to alleviate the power shortage then.

In short, the Ramos administration adopted the Aquino administration's policy of revenge against the Marcoses in the Westinghouse case. The faces of all these people were red after a US court had ruled against the Philippines which spent millions of dollars to press the case. Only the US lawyers hired by the RP government were happy since they had raked in quite a hefty sum in legal fees.

Two former associates of Herminio Disini, who brokered the nuclear plant deal for Westinghouse denied that Disini acted as "front man" for Marcos, or that Disini gave Marcos part of the legal commissions which the government then described as bribe money.

However, the most absurd comment then from the government people on the defeat in the Westinghouse bribery case is the claim that some American jurors may have been bribed by Westinghouse. Preposterous.

The government then simply had a weak case. It could not prove that President Marcos had been bribed by Westinghouse. That's that. There was no need to put up a smokescreen to hide the failure on their part. Imagine, some officials then were even thinking of filing treason charges against Filipinos who testified that Marcos never received any bribes.

And by the way, who was that mystery party who convinced the Philippine government to hire certain American lawyers who were paid over a billion pesos in legal fees? The mystery party presumably received a vast fortune in referral fees.

In summing up, the government got burned in that case. Only the American lawyers, the mystery party who made the referral and an assortment of government lawyers who enjoyed going to the US to litigate the case were happy as a clam.

Blame the Aquino regime for this mess. It never wanted the amicable out-of-court settlement proposed by Westinghouse. Instead, it chose to press the case out of a vengeful hatred against the Marcoses.

(Image from http://memocircular.wordpress.com/)

2010-01-20T23:36:00.000-08:00

MIDNIGHT SALES

At least those officials in Malacanang and the executive department, faced with the prospect of having to vacate their offices in a couple of months, are trendy.

They have plunged into a selling binge of valuable government properties running into billions of pesos so they can enjoy their retirement in comfort and in style. Some malls call these bargain sales midnight madness.

But here is the damper. Opposition leaders have promised they would send to jail soon-to-depart officials who participate in these anomalous transactions, and in cases involving more than 50 million pesos, the charge would be plunder which is punishable by death. However, has anybody here really been put to death for plunder?

To really discourage such deals, opposition officials warned the buyers that the transactions would not be honored when they come to power.

KJs all, these oppositionists.

(Image from http://kaboodle.com/)

2010-01-19T00:29:00.000-08:00

AQUIHITO AND AKINO

Are you still wondering why there seems to be no end to the "colorful" life Kris Aquino is living? Well, she started her erroneous conduct at a young age, perhaps even tolerated by her elders.

Take this example: In 1990, diplomatic sources claimed that the late President Corazon Aquino gave some problems to Japanese protocol officers when she brought her daughter Kris to Tokyo to attend the enthronement of Emperor Akihito.

Kris reportedly did not receive an official invitation. Many adjustments had to be made in the official arrangements by the bewildered Japanese in charge of protocol. Diplomatic observers said that a serious breach of protocol was committed when President Aquino, with Kris by her side, officially greeted the Japanese emperor during the solemn rites. It should have been Foreign Affairs Secretary Raul Manglapus, not Kris, who was originally set to be by the President's side.

Wasn't it also this same Kris, now years after, who is now attacking trapos running for public office, pointing out that her brother Noynoy is not at all trapo?

Well, their father, the late Senator Benigno 'Ninoy' Aquino Jr. was one of the outstanding trapos during his lifetime. He rose from town mayor to governor and to senator and was secretary-general of the Liberal Party. Ninoy's own father was one of the trapos in President Manuel Quezon's Cabinet.

(Image from http://www.news.nfo.ph/)

2010-01-14T23:39:00.000-08:00

THE "MISSING" JEWELS

Allow me to revive the subject matter regarding the valises of jewelry the Marcoses left in 1986 when they fled Malacanang Palace. I remember former Palace official Chito Roque when he testified at Imelda Marcos' trial in New York saying he had gathered some diamonds in Malacanang and had turned them over to President Cory Aquino. I also remember how her spokesmen quickly issued a public statement that Mrs. Aquino had then turned over the gems to the Central Bank of the Philippines for safekeeping and that all of the Marcos gems left in Malacanang are intact at the Bangko Sentral.

However, allow me to share further what I have gathered recently while sleuthing on the matter, true or untrue:

- Only five (5) of the fourteen (14) valises of gems, foreign currency, bank books, stocks and bonds, land titles and other important documents have been accounted for. Missing is the so-called "purple valise" containing diamonds and other gems.

- Most of the gems were secretly shipped to Hong Kong where exact copies were crafted by a master jeweller. It is these fakes that are now deposited at the Bangko Sentral. The real gems are stashed in banks in Hong Kong, London, Zurich and various cities in the U.S.

- Mrs. Marcos' lawyer Gerry Spence claims that some of the Marcos jewelry were worn by certain powerful people during the Aquino presidency, where such information were furnished by disgruntled elements in the Aquino government.

True or not, this merits for a thorough re-investigation.

However again, here are solid facts on the matter as shared to me by my unimpeachable source:

Former First Lady Imelda Marcos had a vast collection of jewelry as follows:

1. The jewelry collection which the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) confiscated during the height of EDSA 1. We refer to this as the "MALACANANG COLLECTION."

2. The jewelry collection seized by the U.S. Customs from the Marcos family upon arrival in Hawaii. These were surrendered by the U.S. District Court of Hawaii to the Philippine government through the PCGG. We refer to this as the "HAWAII COLLECTION."

3. The jewelry collection seized by the Philippine Bureau of Customs (BoC) from a foreign national named Demetrious Roumeliotes at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in 1986 for violation of the Tariff and Customs Code. We refer to this as the "ROUMELIOTES COLLECTION."

To this day, the true location of the jewels remain a mystery. The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) alleges that the ownership of the "HAWAII COLLECTION" and the "ROUMELIOTES COLLECTION" had been duly settled by the Sandiganbayan in a Resolution dated October 25, 1996 in Sandiganbayan Civil Case No. 0141 (SB Civil Case No. 0141).

And among the three collections, only the "MALACANANG COLLECTION" was mentioned, without an inventory or description of the same, in the Statement of Facts of the Petition for Forfeiture dated December 18,1991 in SB Civil Case No. 0141. However, it did not specifically pray for the forfeiture of the jewelry pieces.

Again, to date, the current government has failed and has never initiated any forfeiture proceedings and/or issued the mandatory sequestration or freeze order with respect thereto. It has not taken any action by which it attempted to formalize a determination of the ownership of the jewelries seized in Malacanang Palace in 1986.

In view thereof, on May 25, 2009, the lawyers of Mrs. Imelda Marcos demanded for the immediate return (to Mrs. Marcos) of all of the jewelry pieces taken by the PCGG from Malacanang Palace, including those turned over by the U.S. District Court of Hawaii.

Thereafter, the PCGG and the OSG had countered the demand by filing a Motion for Partial Summary Judgment over the "MALACANANG COLLECTION" dated June 24, 2009 in SB Civil Case No. 0141. The Motion has been submitted for resolution of the Sandiganbayan Special Division.

I won't be surprised at all if I see several of these "missing jewelry" this year being worn again by powerful ladies then and now.

(Image from http://jewelry-weblog.com/)

2010-01-13T22:55:00.000-08:00

SABAH, PHILIPPINES ANYONE?

I was in attendance the other day for our regular Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil / Cafe Havana Group for lunch. While sitting right next to Chitang Nakpil, I found myself face to face with former Senator Santanina Rasul. And then the conversation varied from the Ampatuans to the MOA-AD and to Gimo de Vega's son being appointed as our consul to Barcelona, Spain. I asked the good senator where our country is now regarding its claim to Sabah.

Nina Rasul claims our claim must be pursued. For indeed, Sabah belongs to the Philippines and not to Malaysia. Sad to say, at the utterance of the name "Sabah," the next thing that comes to one's mind is the country of Malaysia - as in Sabah, Malaysia.

In my research, I found out that there was once a foreign-based multi-million dollar lobby working for the dropping of the country's territorial claim to oil-rich Sabah. This lobby group was said to be concentrating its efforts on the Philippine Senate after it had reportedly secured support from the Executive Department and the Lower House. Most of our senators stood pat on their stand that the Philippines should not drop its claim to Sabah. The Sabah issue has long been a source of friction between the Philippines and Malaysia. The Aquino government decided to give in to Malaysia not only to preserve good relations between the two countries but also to promote regional cooperation among ASEAN members. The Sabah lobby report is another sorry legacy of the Aquino regime.

According to some members of the Constitutional Convention which drafted the 1971 Constitution, Sabah and even Guam were included in the definition of Philippine territory. That early, they said, there already was a Sabah lobby operating. The Sabah claim would have been dropped had not former Ambassador Eduardo Quintero, then chairman of the committee on territory, botched the activities of the lobby group and included Sabah in the definition of Philippine territory.

Interest over Sabah has become more intense because of confirmed reports that its oil deposits are even larger than those of neighboring Brunei. There are close to half a million Filipinos, mostly Muslims, who have setlled in Sabah.

Malaysia entertains the justifiable fear that if hostilities break out between the two countries over territory, it will be a walk-away for the Philippines because of the presence of the large Filipino community there. This is said to be one of the reasons for Malaysia's modernization of its armed forces, notably its navy.

Brunei is said to be closely watching developments in Sabah and has instructed its envoys to Malaysia and the Philippines to keep its foreign ministries fully informed on developments.

(Image from http://atmidfield.com/ courtesy of Ding Gagelonia)

2010-01-10T04:14:00.000-08:00

FULL OF IT

Once upon a time and not so long ago, Manny Villar, Gibo Teodoro and Noynoy Aquino wanted to show off to each other ...

... so they each bought a new toilet. Manny bought a wooden toilet, Gibo bought a marble toilet, and Noynoy bought a musical toilet.

The day after that, Villar came back to complain and said, "I want a refund. Every time I sit on the toilet, I get splinters in my bottom."

The next day, Teodoro came back to complain and said, "I want a refund. Every time I sit on the toilet, I slip off of it."

Still the next day, Aquino came back to complain and said, "I want a refund. Every time I sit down, I hear our national anthem and I have to stand up!"

(Image from http://www.faqs.org/)

2010-01-08T02:14:00.000-08:00

ARIEL BOCOBO WRITES 30

My father died peacefully early morning of Sunday, January 3, 2010. He was 86. It was a good day to finally come home to The Great Potter. We cremated my father's remains yesterday January 7, even as his spirit now lives in eternity in the presence of Almighty God.

Allow me to share with you the eulogy I delivered at his wake. I was planning to read a letter I had written to him two months ago, but for some comforting reason, I delivered this instead the same day I had written it.

"Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you want it, but you can spend it only once."

"My father was a man who wore many hats - literally and figuratively speaking. He was a lawyer who never set foot in a court of law. A journalist and a newspaperman who was never charged with libel, and who never accepted money for his writings. A public official suspected of the crime of "unexplained poverty," rare among the country's leaders of today. He was an opinion writer who was never opinionated with his commentaries. An "original newspaperman from the old school," and one of the very few if not the only surviving founding member of the National Press Club of the Philippines - until recently. He was a Protestant and Mason who studied other worldly religions and went to Catholic churches and chapels. He was a devourer of books. In fact, one of his goals in life was to read all the books at Power Books Alabang Town Center, a favorite place of his to spend the day. Unknown to most of you here tonight, he was the very first Filipino amateur pelotari. He played amateur jai-alai with noted individuals like the late Don Enrique Zobel. He too was a whiz at the game of poker, and a number of the poker terms used today by Filipino poker players were coined by him. Hence, a natural bluffer but a real honest man. He was a vegetarian who loved to eat steak. A tennis player who loved to serve. He was a devoted father whose best gift to us three boys was to love our mother. He was a brilliant political strategist who always believed in winning. He never believed in second best as in winning the silver. For him, he thought that a second placer never really wins the silver but loses the gold. He was a very independent man who drove his own car for the longest time until age 86, and only until he could no longer sit behind the wheel. He had many friends but was with his lonesome self most of the time. He was a "leftist" who worked for the establishment.

During the Marcos years, my father was appointed as Legislative Secretary, a position he had and then lose it and then have it again. He served the Philippine government for more than 20 years. The Ilocano mafia in Malacanang did not like him, though ironically an Ilocano himself - because he was a cousin of Mrs. Imelda Marcos. My father's mother was a Zialcita whose family claims kinship with the Romualdezes. The intrigues in the Palace soon put a temporary end to his aspirations and took on an overseas assignment exclusively created just for him. He was appointed as "inspector of embassies" with rank of ambassador, then soon after he was being considered an appointment to the UNESCO, again, the Ilocano mafia blocked the appointment. One day, he found himself writing to the "praesidium of friendship societies" in Moscow telling of his interest in founding a friendship society. During that time, anti-communist sentiments were at its height, but that did not stop him. Shortly after, the first RP-USSR Friendship Society was born, and its first president was none other than the late Senator Blas Ople. He would return to the Palace this time for good. Recognizing his knack for the unusual, the late President Marcos sent him on a secret mission to South America for Mrs. Marcos. My father was to spend several weeks in Argentina to study the life and times of Mrs. Evita Peron. And so, in Buenos Aires and its neighboring cities and towns, he met a number of Mrs. Peron's close family members and friends concerning Evita's projects for Argentina. His report back in Manila became the basis for Mrs. Marcos' numerous projects for the country and specifically for Metro Manila.

Only the first EDSA revolution subjected him to co-terminus status in government. He immediately returned to his number one love - column writing.

This is only a morsel of my father's life story. Indeed, he has made numerous decisions in his career, but none whatsoever as important as the one he made on October 31, 2009 when he gave his heart and his life to the Lord Jesus Christ and asked for His forgiveness. He even gave me his blessings. Since then, I had noticed a transformation within him. Thereafter, we began to spend many nights just reading Scriptures and praying together. My father particularly loved Psalm 23, and only recently learned to loved Psalm 91 as well soon after I had read it to him every night. It had become our "secret weapon," and how he loved listening to it each time I would recite it to him. Reading the Bible and praying with him for the last time was just a day before the good Lord called him home. So tonight friends, If you are wondering why there seems to be no speck of mourning in me, I must tell you that I am sad because I will miss dad, but on the other hand rejoice because I know exactly where he is right now - in the presence of the Lord where there is fullness of joy. And that has made all the difference. In closing, allow me to quote my father when he told me this once: "When you make that final journey home, the less gold you carry, the easier the travel will be."

Dad never enriched himself here on Earth. But in heaven, he is now a wealthy heir to infinite riches untold."

"When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see,
if the sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me.

I wish so much you wouldn't cry the way you did today,
while thinking of the many things we didn't get to say.

I know how much you love me, as much as I love you,
and each time that you think of me, I know you'll miss me too.

But when tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand,
that an angel came and called my name, and took me by the hand,
and said my place was ready in heaven far above,
and that I'd have to leave behind all those I really love.

So when tomorrow starts without me,
don't think we're far apart.
For every time you think of me,
I'm right here in your heart."

2009-12-28T23:01:00.000-08:00

EXPLOITING THE EXPLOITABLE

On the anniversary of man's landing on the moon, US President Barack Obama proudly declared America would soon be sending her astronauts to other uncharted planets in outer space.

Meanwhile, back in Manila, we have gone back to motorless pedicabs. And speaking of pedicabs, who allowed those rickety contraptions pedalled by mostly uncouth drivers in the streets of the metropolis, completely disregarding all traffic rules and regulations, causing nightmarish traffic snarls? No wonder the lines in the different foreign embassies are getting longer by the day.

And how come they haven't enforced already existing city and municipal ordinances banning pedicabs from main city thoroughfares? We still see those pesky sidecars defying traffic laws on main roads while the police simply look the other way. Is it because policemen own several of these rolling irritants?

And then comes a vice-presidential bet who lauds and promotes these road hazards. Believe me, he's going to create more enemies than friends by the day, which translates to precious votes come 2010 if he continues playing godfather to an illegal trade.

Is this the kind of vision he has for the country? Ask Loren Legarda now, who's steadily eating into his socio-political pie. I'm fine with Loren, as long as she doesn't "cry her way to the bank."

Well, anything just to get those votes. The appropos word I believe is: exploitation. First the palengkeras in the palengkes, and then now the padyakeros in the kalyes. Who could be next to be exploited in 2016 when he runs for president? Perhaps the snatchers or the contratista taxi drivers right under his nose in Cubao's Araneta Center?

(Image from http://www.news.com.au/)

2009-12-28T03:15:00.000-08:00

SAILING UNDER THE INFLUENCE (SUI)

A ship tragedy. And then another one. The culprits? Inebriated ship captains and their crew, and the usual overloaded vessels.

Practically every ship owner is guilty of greed for overloading their vessels and making more profit while totally disregarding the safety and comfort of their paying passengers.

The government shares equal blame. This is one area in its operations where proper discharge of duties to protect the public is practically nil. Include in this accusation the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) and the maritime industry.

To picture vividly how ships are normally (over) loaded, passengers always say that they are packed four (4) to a bed while hundreds more sleep on the decks. This is the usual story about our inter-island ships. It is a wonder why they are still allowed to operate after ignoring the law for so long.

I recall passengers leaving for the Visayas telling me how they have to be on board at least a day before departure so they can assure themselves of space and how they have to shell out money to crew members who sell rights to beds and preferred areas like those near comfort rooms and the kitchen.

One wonders how such collisions still take place. It seems that the vast oceans aren't big enough at all for them. Blame it on grog perhaps, or plain and good old fashioned stupidity? And aren't these vessels supposed to be equipped with electronic safety equipment, especially radar to avoid accidents in the open seas, unless of course there are still vessels whose owners are so greedy they don't even care to spend for safety equipment and electronic devices.

And so, another investigation leading to another blank wall where no one really goes to jail for such crimes. For a change, the Marina authority and the Philippine Coast Guard must implement maritime laws in its strictest sense. It's time the government turn its attention to the deplorable state of sea travel in this country.

All ocean-going vessels which treat their passengers like cattle to the slaughter must be scrapped and forever banned from plying the high seas.

(Image from http://www.javno.com/)

2009-12-25T20:59:00.000-08:00

SYNDICATED SYCOPHANTS

Perhaps it will be a feather in the President's cap if she does revamp the Cabinet for the last time but more importantly, break the cordon sanitaire which had isolated her from the public and promoted only the interests of persons close to this group.

This powerful clique controls the movement of papers in Malacanang, determines who gets to see President Arroyo, interferes in decisions of government multi-million peso transactions, orders government officials in the name of the President and shapes the political fortunes of many.

Manipulating this cordon sanitaire are business tycoons, society matrons and certain powerful relatives. Also include well-known professional boot-lickers in the guise of advisers and consultants.

The Presidential Management Staff (PMS) would do well to inquire into the background and activities of so-called career service officers in the Palace, many of whom are corrupt and have managed to cling on to every administration through boot-licking and intrigues.

These are the experts in "missing" important documents which show up only when the proper fees are paid them, in pulling the wool over the eyes of new officials unaccustomed to the labyrinthine Malacanang procedures and in giving important advance information to outside contacts being decided by the Cabinet. One would get the surprise of his life if he decides to examine the assets of these junior officers, especially their accounts in foreign banks. One will also be shocked to find out that several of them are in the payroll of big business establishments and even foreign governments. The rampant boozing and floozing inside the premises of the Palace is a common occurence. Time to exorcise the Palace again.

(Image from http://www.pbase.com/)

2009-12-25T19:35:00.000-08:00

THE MEETING

The approval by the Philippine Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) headed by the late former President Corazon Aquino of the stock distribution plan of the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita was generally received with sarcasm. The general comment was, "Well, what did you expect?"

Its approval was given the thumbs up after President Aquino left the PARC meeting on the matter, and former DAR Secretary Miriam Defensor-Santiago and PARC vice-chair (now Senator), proudly hailed it as a good model for the government's agrarian reform program. Santiago also praised President Aquino for inhibiting herself from the deliberations on the controversy in the Hacienda Luisita owned by her family. But what transpired in the discussions before Aquino left that meeting remains a mystery to this day.

Columnist Ninez Cacho-Olivares called the approval of the Luisita plan disgraceful. She also wondered how the much-vaunted courage and independence of Lady Miriam did not surface during the Luisita deliberations.

Olivares' punch-line was, "EDSA did nothing for the Filipino people. Apparently, it did a lot for the Cojuangcos."

(Image from http://cdn.wn.com/)

2009-12-20T19:58:00.000-08:00

LUISITA'S SIDE

The Tarlac Provincial Agrarian Reform Office writes to clarify certain points in my mounting attacks against the Hacienda Luisita, and why it was never subjected to land reform.

The letter says that in 1989, the hacienda was subjected to land reform through a Stock Distribution Option pursuant to the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Law (CARL).

Before its coverage under the system, management of the hacienda required all its seasonal workers to choose from physical distribution of the property or stock distribution option. This, I was told was done through a referendum conducted and supervised by the Department of Agrarian Reform (DAR) and witnessed by radio and print media representatives.

The 7,000 workers chose stock distribution and signed an agreement with management on this choice. The agreement was forwarded and approved by the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) headed by none other than President Aquino as chairperson.

Furthermore, I was told that the tenants turned down physical distribution of the hacienda which would mean less than one (1) hectare each for them which is not enough to support a family and they would be deprived of benefits given them by management like free residential lots, educational assistance for their children and mobility assistance.

Well, critics had charged that Luisita management had supposedly coerced the tenants into accepting the stock option and reject land distribution.

In bringing up anew the Hacienda Luisita issue against Noynoy Aquino, he should not forget that among President Aquino's campaign promises when she ran in 1986 was to give the hacienda to tenants in line with an agreement her family signed with the government when they borrowed funds to buy the hacienda.

Other critics say that the biggest joke during the Aquino regime was its land reform program which applied only to lands of her political enemies which were forcibly taken over and given to tenants.

None of the former president and her choice relatives' estates were touched.

(Image from http://www.chrispforr.net/)

2009-12-19T03:51:00.000-08:00

THE RETURN

A new church-backed "people's movement" is urging morality and scruples in government. Incidentally though, many leaders of this new group are identified with the regime of the late former President Corazon Aquino, and are now hovering around heir-apparent Noynoy Aquino and runningmate Mar Roxas.

Several of them are said not to be qualified to talk about morality because they themselves are open to attacks for hidden skeletons in their closets. Political motives have also been ascribed to the group. It was said the leaders are working for a return to power by appointive positions once Noynoy makes president. As it is, these people salivate and drool over their imaginations each time their man tops any given survey there is.

I had coffee recently with a relative of subject presidentiable and inevitably, our small talk drifted to the thorny issue of these relatives' supposed involvement in numerous cases of graft and corruption in government. And for the other side of the question, I got a brutal explanation.

He said they had suffered for 20 years under the Marcos regime. They had been persecuted and hounded and had their businesses and properties grabbed away from them by Marcos' henchmen. When President Cory took over, it was time for them to recover what had been stolen from them and rehabilitated themselves. And what was wrong with our trying to make a living under Cory? Are we going to be denied this just because we are her relatives?

And then it was time for some straight-shooting and honesty. He told me in a whisper that they knew Cory wouldn't be around long enough and that they had to feather their nests and prepare for the inevitable post-Cory era when they might again be subjected to persecution, and that is where money, lots of it, will come in handy to protect themselves. Look at some of the moneyed Marcos cronies, he said, many of them have escaped prosecution and even managed to worm their way into the inner circles of succeeding administrations because they knew how to buy off the right people in government and among close relatives.

I walked away from that coffee session in a daze, but properly given the low-down on the case of presidential relatives and their headaches.

And so, it does fall into place. They could be staging a comeback once Noynoy Aquino makes it to Malacanang. I guess some things never change. And among those that will always remain in the Filipino way of life is the "utang na loob" system and the meddling of relatives and cronies with the one who succeeds his way most to a high position. In this case the presidency. Brace yourselves, for the "holier than thou" para-clergy are back with a vengeance. This time more vicious and with a bigger appetite for power, backed by a younger generation of the Kamaganak II Inc.

(Image from http://www.reuters.com/)

2009-12-18T00:40:00.000-08:00

DOCTORS IN THE PALACE

There are reports that a confidential list of illegal loggers is being "doctored" in Malacanang to remove the names of some government officials and other persons close to the Arroyo government. This could be the reason the list has not been released to the public.

DENR Secretary Lito Atienza could, for some time now, be between the devil and the deep blue sea, and perhaps was experiencing "heavy pressure" to sanitize the list. Doing so could affect his mayoralty candidacy when charges of coddling illegal loggers intensify.

National outrage for illegal logging is mounting, but still on a slow pace. Stop illegal logging? Puro pangako lang.

(Image from http://www.greenpeace.org/)

2009-12-17T23:02:00.000-08:00

HAUNTED BY THE HACIENDA

The media bureau of presidential bet Noynoy Aquino should blue-pencil a pertinent portion in an article in the Los Angeles Times written during President Corazon Aquino's term. I believe there are certain quarters out there who will be coming out with this article next year. The article by John Cavanagh and Robin Broad should also be of great interest to both supporters and critics of Noynoy. The Hacienda Luisita issue will always be around to haunt him.

The particular item in the article bluntly states:

"Corazon Aquino's promise of land to the tiller has degenerated into a program of almost comical scandals in which wealthy landlords sell their worst parcels of land to the government at ridiculously inflated prices which peasants-turned-landowners must repay in full. This may be the first land reform in history in which the rich are getting richer and the poor poorer."

As it is, a Noynoy Aquino administration may only continue this practice and attitude which he will inherit from his mother Cory. And what about the issue on his father Ninoy and the case of another "killing" inside the hacienda? I think it's time we unearth (pun unintended) this matter so the public may know what also happened there once upon a time way before the Hacienda Luisita massacre took place 5 years ago.

(Image from http://luisitamagsasaka.wordpress.com/)

2009-12-13T21:38:00.000-08:00

A FORGOTTEN PARTY LEADER?

The Liberal Party will soon be holding a shindig to honor outstanding past and present LP leaders as part of a national effort to revitalize the party in preparation for the coming polls, not to mention that both of their candidates Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas maintain the lead in current surveys.

In listing the LP greats to be honored, the organizers should not omit the late President Ferdinand Marcos who was president of the Liberal Party (LP) for many years until he bolted to the Nacionalista Party (NP) to become their presidential candidate. He probably flashed the 'L' before flashing the 'V.' Well, I suppose even the late Marcos was bitten by the balimbing bug at some point in his political career. Twice, I believe.

But even after he had joined the NP and then became Philippine president, Marcos maintained good relations with the LP. He helped many Liberals during his presidency even to the consternation of the Nacionalistas.

With Noynoy at the forefront of the Liberal Party, he may prevent the inclusion of Marcos from the roster of LP leaders, and this will surely be received with anger in the Ilocos regions where Marcos is still regarded as their true leader and benefactor.

Surely, LP leaders are aware that former First lady Imelda Marcos and her children - and especially now Bongbong Marcos, who is running for senator, are regularly consulted by many Ilocano leaders seeking political advice, especially with the coming May 2010 polls.

Many houses in the Ilocos provinces still display old and dilapidated "Marcos pa rin" posters. Many people still follow orders from Marcos leaders in the region.

A few Ilocano politicians like Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, former President Fidel Ramos and former Senator Ernesto Maceda have failed to get the Marcos mantle in the north. Senator Aquilino 'Nene' Q. Pimentel who hails from Cagayan de Oro in Mindanao, claims to be an Ilocano since his mother Petra Quilingquing comes from Marcos' hometown of Batac, Ilocos Norte. Pimentel is a cousin of General Fabian Ver. In fact, Pimentel had a local bill passed changing the name of a Batac barangay to Quilingquing.

(Image from http://wikimedia.org/)

2009-12-13T19:19:00.000-08:00

STATURES AND STATUES

The Japanese really know how to deal with Filipinos. They know that most of our leaders and officials are scammers, free-loaders and, in the words of the late Chino Roces, "highwaymen."

I remember when a Japanese cigaret manufacturer contributed some 250,000 packs of cigarets - or 5 million sticks for distribution to a rally on EDSA (Quezon City side) many years ago. And to think that the same city was supposed to be under a smoking ban then. So how come those EDSA organizers accepted the donation?

Recently, another "donation" to Quezon City was consumated, perhaps coinciding with its honorable mayor's "balimbing act." This pertains to Mayor Sonny Belmonte's pledge of allegiance to the Liberal Party, announcing to the whole city his undying support for Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas. Of course, Vice-Mayor Herbert Bautista wasn't far behind. He was on a yellow leash as well. And what better way to reinforce this partisan commitment than to erect yet another statue of Ninoy Aquino right in the heart of Quezon City. The structure now stands on the corner of sleazy Quezon Avenue and Timog. That corner happens to be a bottleneck too because unruly jeepney drivers load and unload their passengers right there causing traffic.

And perhaps, many still remember a donation to the province of Tarlac of a statue of Ninoy Aquino during President Cory's regime. This donation was made by one of the bidders of the Philippines Roppongi property in Japan - whose sale was (and still is) the object of question and controversy, not to mention the all-expenses paid junkets national and local officials then have made several times to Tokyo. Many of these Aquino officials even had the shamelessness to ask their hosts for "pocket money" to finance their spending sprees.

Do you still wonder why our former enemies still regard us as trash, abuse our women, and dump their toxic garbage on our piers, even to the extent of having our senators kiss the wooden sandals of the Yakuza in the country?

(Image from http://politicalarena.com/ and http://farm1.staticflickr.com/85/233597063_0a35788487.jpg)

2009-12-07T21:30:00.001-08:00

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

Once upon a time and not so long ago, there was a conversation between three political leaders of the land, and it went like this:

ZALDY: "Boy, can I borrow a backhoe?"

BOY: "Sure, governor! I'll have one delivered to your house in Davao City."

RAUL: "Noted."

(Above photo, L-R: Secretary Raul Gonzalez, Speaker Prospero 'Boy' Nograles and ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Ampatuan)

(Image from http://anythingwhatevs.wordpress.com/)

2009-12-06T17:44:00.000-08:00

MARTIAL LAW AND MAR SHALLOW

Nothing in particular. Just playing with words as I always love to, and these suddenly appeared like marquee lights in my mind: "Martial Law," and "Mar Shallow." Both subject matter are currently a daily read these days in practically every publication there is, which brought me to ask myself how long will Martial Law be implemented in Maguindanao and will it spill over to other areas like Metro Manila and then to the entire archipelago to, in the words of Rep. Teddy Casino, "end all other rebellions?" and then coming to mind too is the question how shallow really is Mar Roxas? As one reader puts it, "he's deeply shallow." But methinks Mar is shallowy deep, what ever that means. You be the judge.

Being a little "shallow" can be tolerable, especially from one whose organization tries hard to identify him with the masses or the hoi polloi with pseudonyms first like "Mister Palengke" and then a few years later "Padyak," when in fact he comes from the creme de la creme of such buena familias. In short, an upper crust, top-of-the-foodchain bourgeois. A capitalist who exploits the proletariat. The same thing can be said about his runningmate Noynoy Aquino and most of the presidentiables.

And since it looks like he's a sure winner for the second highest office in the land, I just hope he doesn't become another Sultan of Shallow like VP Noli de Castro.

As for Martial Law, that really is either tolerable or intolerable, depending on whose side you're on.

(Image from http://alegriasurigao.wordpress.com/)

2009-12-05T04:21:00.000-08:00

"HELLO CIGAR"

The return of the didjay. Former President Fidel Valdez Ramos recently called on President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to step down from the presidency, in reaction to her final decision to run for a congressional seat in 2010. I think his call is five years late. As it is, people don't really put too much weight any more on his pronouncements.

So let's just talk about his favorite "mouthpiece" - cigars.

Pictures of former President Ramos chomping on cigars which used to appear on a regular basis in newspapers probably did some promoting of cigars and tobacco among Pinoys. Cigar clubs did sprout in major cities and include as members well-known ladies in society and in the entertainment industry.

I am told that the best cigars in the world come from Cuba. One, known as Cohiba, costs something like $850 per box of 25 in New York City. Cohiba is smuggled into the United States from Cuba by Cuban-American businessmen who find it hard to meet with the demand among the well-heeled in the U.S.

The tobacco industry is still the biggest dollar-earner in Cuba, and every visiting dignitary to Havana had been gifted by no less than President Fidel Castro with boxes of the prized stogies.

Back to FVR. Well, he's quite known around the world as a cigar-chomper since he has been photographed in key foreign cities with a cigar in his mouth. Of course, the most famous cigar smoker in history was Britain's wartime leader, Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Hollywood gangster legend Edward G. Robinson was a chomper as well.

Local Filipino cigar manufacturers should come out with one in honor of the former president and call them "Fidel," or "Hello Cigar," to perpetuate the memory of a former Comelec official and an illegitimate president.

So it can be known as the man behind the famous "Hello Cigar" calls on the woman behind "Hello Garci" to step down.

I'll smoke to that.

(Image from http://nowpublic.net/)

2009-12-04T03:42:00.000-08:00

THE LAST CHRISTMAS UNDER GLORIA?

A form of colonialism will be practiced by upper-crust and middle-income Filipino families as they gather around their noche buena tables soon. Many will also be celebrating the fact that this is the last Christmas under a dark regime. Is it really?

Their tables will be loaded with wine from France and Australia, Edam cheese from Holland, ham and chestnuts from Hong Kong, wallnuts, apples and fruitcakes from the United States, turrones from Spain and chocolates from England and Switzerland. And they will be playing traditional Christmas oldies belted out by Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Nat King Cole.

Among these colonialists will be the so-called nationalists and Filipinists in Congress, the labor movement, media and the academe. In short, a large chunk of the country's population.

President Arroyo will gather her own brood for a quiet family reunion and will be discussing her political plans with them as she prepares to run for a seat in Congress next year.

For the poor, this year has been particularly difficult due to higher prices of commodities, and have managed to scrimp and save for a simple but satisfactory observance of the last Christmas under the Arroyo administration. Indeed, something to celebrate for and hoping the next Christmas under a new government will be better, unless of course our government shifts to parliamentary form and Arroyo makes Prime Minister.

(Image from http://19.tinypic.com/)

2009-11-29T03:44:00.000-08:00

FERDINAND II

Allow me to start this blogpost by saying this: No, my blog is not for hire nor is it being utilized by any politician or politicians for a fee. It never was and never shall it be. I write from my heart, and do so with openness and a passion. And so, if I write about this individual, it is only because I believe in him, even if we have never spoken to each other. And that is more than enough for me.

I begin by saying that the snowballing criticisms against Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr.'s senatorial bid are said to be orchestrated by leaders of the so-called yellow crusaders and the Kamaganak Inc. who rallied behind Corazon Aquino when she first ran against Ferdinand Marcos.

The pro-Aquino people are horrified over speculations Bongbong will be a sure winner, that is why Aquino supporters have decided to map out a plan to try to prevent such a victory. Their main line now is to ask why Filipinos had forgotten the glory days of EDSA and their bitter fight against a dictatorship.

They have even gone to the silly deep end by warning that Bongbong was embarking on a political career that would bring the country back to the old Marcos years of one-man rule.

They are now having nightmares of Bongbong garnering more votes than their favorites in the senatorial race, a factor which will be interpreted to mean that Filipinos no longer put importance on the meaning of EDSA, or that they would rather forget the wasted, vindictive and uneventful years of the Aquino administration.

Bongbong's victory will prove better than Alessandra Mussolini's victory, a grand-daughter of the Italian dictator Benito (Il Duce) Mussolini, who won a seat in the Italian parliament some years ago. Her victory was analyzed as connoting that Italians had forgiven their Il Duce and may in fact be amenable to having him declared as an authentic Italian hero.

And many Filipinos still remember the disrespect by the Aquino regime for not allowing the late President Marcos a proper burial accorded to all former heads of state, and that Filipinos remember as well that President Aquino approved the burial at the Libingan ng mga Bayani of a dog belonging to the k-9 team of the Presidential Security Group during her term of office.

Bongbong's victory is long overdue. The Philippine Senate has waited too long for the return of a Marcos to bring back to its halls its lost glory.

This post wasn't paid for by the Friends of Bongbong Marcos.

(Image from http://www.manilamaildc.net/)

2009-11-26T05:00:00.000-08:00

DESERT DEBAUCHERY

So many of our women have been subjected to extreme cruelty in the Middle East, and a majority of them have been sexually molested and raped. Quite a few have even died under mysterious circumstances.

The trouble is that even our diplomatic officers in those countries have been coerced and terrorized into refusing to help Pinay OFWs, and the different labor attaches are simply just useless.

One depressing report is that quite a number of our diplomatic and labor people in these countries have even victimized the OFWs, demanding money for the services that Filipino taxpayers already pay them to do. Many of these people are protected by their political patrons and there is not much that can be done to discipline them. Most of these patrons come from Congress.

What is it with many Arabs that make them cruel and depraved masters? Even their diplomatic people assigned here shrug off protests from Filipinos.

Is this the price we have to pay for being a poor Third World country? Is it because the bulk of oil comes from the Middle East? Is it because we have weaklings in government who dare not face up to the mighty oil sheiks from the desert nations?

We have talked to some domestic helpers from the Middle East who told us blood-curdling tales of cruelty and viciousness and sexual debauchery at the hands of their Arab employers. Those stories have made even hard-boiled police reporters cringe.

Not one of these Pinays who were able to escape and return home would dare go back there for all the money in the world. It's desert hell, they say. And maybe even Allah would be displeased.

(Image from http://afilipinadollblogger.blogspot.com/)

2009-11-24T21:10:00.000-08:00

CORNY BUSINESS

Popcorn is big business in the Philippines. But do you know that most of the corn used in this lucrative business come from Thailand? While in the past we exported corn, now there is practically no Philippine corn industry to speak of. This is because corn farmers do not get adequate government help in the form of farm technology, loans, sound advice and protection.

One person has practically cornered the popcorn industry in the country and has concessions in all movie houses, shopping malls and public parks. Talk about a popcorn cartel.

But what hurts most really is that the Thai corn industry was developed by Thai scholars sent by their government to UP Los Banos. The same story holds true with our so-called rice industry. Those behind the successful rice programs of other Asian countries all studied and learned their expertise at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and at UP Los Banos (UPLB).

(Image from http://styletrax.com/)

2009-11-24T03:10:00.000-08:00

THE STAGE IS SET

Despite denials by top government officials, many people feel that the Arroyo regime will impose martial law soon.

These people see unfolding the same events that preceded President Marcos' declaration of martial law. Political observers say "the stage is set" for the military to seize power from civilian authority which had proven to be unable to cope with the country's many problems.

The perplexing part of the situation is that people appear resigned, if not actually receptive to a new authoritarianism of which the present regime has failed to improve their lives as promised at EDSA. They say life now is worse than it was under the Marcos administration, where at least the crime rate was relatively lower, basic commodities were affordable, and delivery of public services did not fail.

To the horror of some present government officials, some citizens are actually yearning for the old Marcos years. When things have reached such desperate proportions, the time may be ripe for either martial law - or a violent change of government.

Anarchy has become the order of the day. With frequent kidnappings in Mindanao, and now the massacre of innocent civilians, being on the streets even in broad daylight has become hazardous for the ordinary citizen.

The impending increase of gasoline prices and other prime commodities which could drive almost everyone to the streets to protest, have sped up the rush towards violent solutions.

As things stand, civilian authority has faltered before the onslaught of national emergencies and calamities. Incompetent and impotent civilian leaders have only the military to turn to to hold the nation together.

How ironic it is that the present government, brought to power because it abhorred military rule, must now call on the barracks to keep it in power to avoid a Jacobin solution which would have an oppressive and useless ruling class violently destroyed to save the general welfare.

The situation here is under serious study in Washington, where deep worries have now been expressed over the Arroyo government whose corruption it had been tolerating.

A conservative Washington think-tank has compared the current regime to the French nobility of the 18th century which had to be overthrown by a revolution. Since before, the think-tank had urged Washington to distance itself from the Arroyo government.

Because of the current scary conditions, many plan to migrate, savings and current assets are flying to foreign banks and many people are shutting down their businesses to be liquid just in case.

(Image from http://www.bulatlat.com/)

2009-11-22T20:35:00.000-08:00

TAKE THE MONEY AND RUN

One of the principal brokers of the controversial PEA-Amari land reclamation transaction along Roxas Boulevard must be enjoying all his wealth overseas. Now hiding in the US, I would think that he still monitors developments in the country for future possible probes of the billion-peso scam said to involve very prominent government officials and businessmen. As the saying goes, "behind every great wealth is a great crime." And here, nobody really goes to jail for that. Many are in fact lawbreakers in disguise as lawmakers.

This broker is said to have withdrawn in the past something close to PhP400 million he had earned - for closing a deal that probably cost the government up to PhP200 billion in losses - from a well-known bank with a branch located at an Ermita hotel. In other words, he's a take-the-money-and-run type of fellow.

This same wheeler-dealer was also involved in a controversial transaction for a luxury plane which had government probers looking into activities of certain PCGG officials who were then administering properties sequestered from Ambassador Eduardo 'Danding' Cojuangco.

Curiously enough, the transactions were reportedly consumated withthe participation of Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was still a practicing lawyer in Arkansas.

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2009-11-21T00:50:00.000-08:00

BALIMBINGS AND BACK-STABBERS

Elite families from the Marcos, Aquino and Arroyo camps cross paths at the snooty Manila Golf (Club) in Forbes Park especially during after-office cocktails at the bar and Sunday lunches (which are family affairs) at the main dining room.

They give each other cold stares and whisper their contempt against the balimbings. They openly speculate about who among the members of these families will again "turn traitor" if the 2010 elections bring about a change of political fortunes.

Certain prominent persons identified with the Arroyo government have reportedly started touching bases with the other side of the political fence.

Loyalty ends where lameduck begins?

(Image from http://www.globalpinoy.com/)

2009-11-17T20:26:00.000-08:00

BARE KNUCKLES AND BACK ROOMS

The identity of the man who gave a gift of US$10 million from the late President Ferdinand Marcos to the campaign chest of the late US President Ronald Reagan in 1984, but which had been pocketed by a Washington lobbyist is again being talked about in a few political circles.

It is said he was a member of the Batasan Pambansa in 1984 and was a leading opposition leader in the mid-1990s. He was a top confidant and adviser of both the late President Marcos and former First Lady Imelda Marcos. A congressional probe on the matter should be initiated and a formal resolution to this effect could be introduced in the Lower House.

Clues as to the identity of the Marcos confidant can be gleaned from Ed Rollins' book Bare Knuckles and Back Rooms: My life in American Politics. Rollins was Reagan's campaign manager in the 1984 US polls.

As the story goes, Rollins describes the man as "a real power broker," "educated," "sophisticated," and "charming," who invited him one night in 1991 to the man's home and introduced him to his family. Rollins was then taken to the home of the man's mistress for dinner. Drinks and all, and he was asked, "you ran Reagan's campaign, didn't you?" Rollins nodded, but he had no idea where this was leading to although he said the scotch was "damn good."

The man smiled and said, "I was the one who gave the US$10 million from Marcos to your campaign."

Rollins said the man admitted he delivered the money in cash personally and named the receiver, a well-known Washington power lobbyist.

"Cash? Holy shit!" Rollins exclaimed and thought, it didn't reach the Reagan campaign chest.

This looks too interesting now that it has been exposed again. A thorough probe could be in the offing and the public in both countries should be well informed.

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2009-11-16T03:54:00.001-08:00

UNIMPRESSED

That's the trouble with instant projects. In the rush, they usually suffer from lack of coordinated planning and implementation. After all, the prime objective is impact and propaganda.

The Arroyo administration clearly wants to be remembered by its infrastructural accomplishments, and what better projects than flyovers and skyways to impress the public?

President Arroyo, along with her closest advisers, are cramming into the last few months projects that should have been done from Day One of her administration. It has only succeeded in proving right anew the old axiom that haste makes waste.

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2009-11-14T01:53:00.001-08:00

RUBBERNECKS

The Associated Press reports that when Mayon Volcano spewed flaming boulders and sent a river of lava flowing down its slopes, a crowd of Bicolanos cheered the pyrotechnic (pyroclastic) display.

Well, we Filipinos are a nation of rubber-necking curiosity seekers. We like to be on the scene of the action even if our very own lives are endangered.

Remember the various coup attempts against the Aquino administration? There were more uziseros than there were government troops and rebels combined. These by-standers cheered the soldiers on either side to shoot one another. Others grabbed as souvenirs ammo shells just as they were ejected from the hi-powered rifles.

The combatants had the problem of having these curiosity seekers under control. Many of these rubbernecks did not leave their vantage points even if it meant getting caught in the crossfire. A few of them were run over by military vehicles.

In hindsight, many of the participants in the EDSA 1 and 2 revolts were most probably uziseros - not the highly-motivated civilians that the Aquino and Arroyo supporters love to brag about.

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2009-11-13T03:18:00.000-08:00

FOR OFFICIAL ABUSE ALSO

There is an ugly practice committed by several members of the cabinet, senators, congressmen and top members of the judiciary which needs to be stopped immediately. It is the misuse and abuse of Philippine Air Force (PAF) planes and choppers. These government officials have been guilty of this practice for quite some time now. Many of their out-of-town trips are simply just for the purpose of cutting ribbons and inaugurations for completed public works projects, or even crowning some barrio beauty queens.

Why can't officials take commercial flights? After all, they are entitled to transportation allowance. Or do they take the PAF aircrafts and divert their travel money to their personal use?

Many legislators have complimentary passes from Philippine Air Lines (PAL). And so, it is difficult to understand why they insist on using military aircraft - unless they bring along family members and office staffers when they travel to the provinces.

The PAF should bill these officials for the use of their planes and choppers, not to mention the enormous aviation fuel they have used up to cover their "sightseeing" and pleasure trips. After all, their Countryside Development Fund (CDF) can easily shoulder the costs of their vanity trips. This will be a common scene especially by government-sponsored candidates for the 2010 elections. Watch out for the official offenders again soon.

(Image from http://cdn.wn.com/)

2009-11-10T17:58:00.000-08:00

STREET LIFE

The plight of underprivileged children roaming our streets trying to eke out a living is something we should all be concerned about. Every single day, we see them on the streets, in market places, in parking lots, on jeepneys and any other place they can be just to survive another day.

Under the Constitution, these children have the right to assistance which includes proper care and nutrition, and a guaranteed special protection against all forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation and other conditions prejudicial to their interests. The embattled Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) needs all the help as this is the agency that can really do something about our kids before paedophile vultures feast on them.

In addititon:

1) The number of street-children should call us all to a sympathetic alarm. As Christmas draws near, many more of them will surface on the streets;

2) The risk and extent of damage brought about by street life to the child's total development is too serious to be ignored;

3) In a developing society, it is very apparent that unsupportive conditions surround the child's home and life environment;

4) Metro Manila street-children are compelled to work and learn survival skills at an early age as they are deprived of their basic needs for normal physical development, proper nourishment, adequate sleep, clothing and shelter;

5) These street-children are deprived of the needed amount of proper social, intellectual and psychological stimulation, and thus experience feelings of betrayal, abandonment, rejection, helplessness and other insecurities at various degrees; and,

6) Their places of work, the streets, are hazardous and the nature of their work and life make them easily vulnerable to pseuso-rewards, habit-forming vices such as the sniffing of rugby, which are associated with dubious and exploitative characters of the underworld.

Calling the attention of our presidentiables. Please prioritize this social ill.

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2009-11-10T02:14:00.000-08:00

A PASSING FEVER

Before selective amnesia kicks in for good to the many yellow fever-inflicted Pinoys who now have blindly shifted their support to Noynoy Aquino and party saying that their candidate comes from an untainted (presidential) legacy some of his ancestors have left the country, perhaps it would be apropos to draw attention to a book on the late former President Corazon Aquino by Lewis Gleeck Jr., a former US embassy official who has lived in the Philippines since his retirement from the US foreign service, and is considered one of the foremost experts on the Philippines and frequently consulted by US officials on Asian and Philippine affairs.

Entitled "President Aquino: Sainthood Postponed," the book is a sequel to his first book "President Marcos and the Philippine Political Culture." It pulls no punches and carries withering criticisms about what he calls "Aquino's failed presidency."

In his preface, Gleeck admits he has written what some may find as too critical of Aquino for which he says he makes no apologies. He further writes in the preface:

"Finally, I am firmly convinced that a government cannot perform adequately if its basic raison d'etre is revenge. I am not so Christian to believe that such sentiment is never justified, but revenge, as a basis of government covers up flaws in both the policies and performance of government. Hatred can so deform thinking that what the dethroned monster has done must be seen to be evil and its opposite, good. This was the rationale of Palace policies for the entire six years of the Aquino government."

"In summary, I regard the presidential term of Corazon Aquino as not only a failure, but at the end, a regression comparable to the worst days of the Marcos regime."

In a special message to American readers, he wrote:

"Cory Aquino, choreographed in 1986 by the world media and championed by the American government, flashed like a meteor through the heavens for two years, but failing to capture the coveted Nobel Prize, quickly sputtered to Earth."

"During the next four years, she was sustained in office largely through the efforts of the US which fell victim to its own delusion that it was supporting a saint who would lead the authoritarian-oppressed nations of the world to American-style democracy."

"Mrs. Aquino was not only inexperienced but untalented, a victim of grossly-simplified view of democracy, which in her mind seemed to consist of anything that ran counter to the acts of the Marcos government, some of whose policies were sound and effective."

"Since Marcos had been a strong leader, Cory abdicated leadership in favor of playing, first, chairman of a mediocre Board which could never agree, and then reached kaffeeklatsch decisions among her own cronies whose husbands occupied official positions which they constantly mismanaged. Mrs. Aquino tolerated total incompetence or corruption in her ministries and through repeatedly promising to correct anomalies, just as repeatedly reneged, blindly clinging to cronies and relatives."

So, if you believe "kung ano ang puno, siya ang bunga," well, here you have it.

(Image from http://www.due-east.org/)