The departed sister of Maj. Jason
Aquino sends this message.
Sa loob at labas ng bayan kong sawi
Kaliluha'y siyang nangyayaring hari
Kagalinga't bait kimi't nalulugami
Ininis sa hukay ng dusa't pighati
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Supreme Court or Plaza Miranda
Please bear with me as I grope through the issues that threaten to shake the very foundation of our so called democracy. I said so called because ours has never been a government of the people, by the people and for the people. But then this is another story, isn't it?
Why must the Supreme Court deal with very specific questions? Does this mean that henceforth, any Palace henchman may seek prior clearance from the SC on any question he doesn't want the Senate to ask? Wouldn't it make the Senate less equal with the SC?
It just doesn't seem right that anybody would give prior restraint to a body whose members are, presumably, chosen by the people themselves from among so many brilliant aspirants. Can't we grant them just enough common sense, plain decency and cursory knowledge of statutory and political limitations so they can enjoy some degree of freedom in the performance of their jobs and even, perhaps, at one point or another in just sheer grandstanding or unwitting exposure of mental handicaps?
It just doesn't seem right that anybody would give prior restraint to a body whose members are, presumably, chosen by the people themselves from among so many brilliant aspirants. Can't we grant them just enough common sense, plain decency and cursory knowledge of statutory and political limitations so they can enjoy some degree of freedom in the performance of their jobs and even, perhaps, at one point or another in just sheer grandstanding or unwitting exposure of mental handicaps?
Now, what's all this fuss about the first two questions? How could anyone, PGMA especially, be bothered by it at all? What if Neri says no to both questions? Maybe we might even chide PGMA for being a bit remiss with her job! The President's men and some supposedly heavy weight technical people sang paeans about the project so it was just a matter of logical concern that the President should follow-up on it and even order that it be given priority. What's wrong with it?
The 3rd question might to a different league. It could indeed be damaging. But wait… wasn't this question already answered in the Senate inquiry? Will anyone please refresh my memory? Didn't Neri already admit telling PGMA about Abalos' bribe offer? In effect, didn't he say that PGMA told him to approve the project anyway? He said so by being silent despite intense pressure.
The truth is already out. The Senate does not need to do anything to implicate PGMA in the anomaly. In effect, Neri did it, by his resounding silence; the President's men, by sending Jun Lozada abroad to evade the Senate inquiry and by kidnapping him; Chairman Abalos, by being omnipresent in the ZTE transactions even at the height of the 2007 election frenzy; Executive Undersecretary Manuel Gaite, by being so generous to a tune of P500,000 to a nonentity at such a short notice.
Maybe we should include in this list the lucky nine justices of the SC by... well, by being lucky. On top of the list should be PGMA herself, by firing Neri for being loquacious in his silence and by giving him something to chew at CHED so he can't really talk; for not canceling the contract immediately and for admitting that she knew that the contract is flawed even before she signed it. Jun Lozada does not belong. The color of his feather differs.
Why do the Senate insist in asking Neri these three redundant or inane questions? Is it its job to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt or innocence of a person. Isn't it enough that it has unearthed enough information for Plaza Miranda to make an intelligent conclusion? A taxi driver told me that in this our democracy nobody can force anybody to talk against his will. Legally, of course. He also said that judges are allowed to consider non-verbal messages of witnesses such as hesitancy, blinking of an eye or restlessness. Why can't we do the same?
We raged for the truth. Now we rage for action. Unfortunately, CBCP cannot lead us. It is too busy searching for the truth that, in the process, it conceals. And the Senate is also busy allowing the heat generated to cool off, or the rage to shift direction. It is playing with the Supreme Court a game called 3D - dumb, deaf and dolt. With all due respect...
The truth is already out. The Senate does not need to do anything to implicate PGMA in the anomaly. In effect, Neri did it, by his resounding silence; the President's men, by sending Jun Lozada abroad to evade the Senate inquiry and by kidnapping him; Chairman Abalos, by being omnipresent in the ZTE transactions even at the height of the 2007 election frenzy; Executive Undersecretary Manuel Gaite, by being so generous to a tune of P500,000 to a nonentity at such a short notice.
Maybe we should include in this list the lucky nine justices of the SC by... well, by being lucky. On top of the list should be PGMA herself, by firing Neri for being loquacious in his silence and by giving him something to chew at CHED so he can't really talk; for not canceling the contract immediately and for admitting that she knew that the contract is flawed even before she signed it. Jun Lozada does not belong. The color of his feather differs.
Why do the Senate insist in asking Neri these three redundant or inane questions? Is it its job to prove beyond reasonable doubt the guilt or innocence of a person. Isn't it enough that it has unearthed enough information for Plaza Miranda to make an intelligent conclusion? A taxi driver told me that in this our democracy nobody can force anybody to talk against his will. Legally, of course. He also said that judges are allowed to consider non-verbal messages of witnesses such as hesitancy, blinking of an eye or restlessness. Why can't we do the same?
We raged for the truth. Now we rage for action. Unfortunately, CBCP cannot lead us. It is too busy searching for the truth that, in the process, it conceals. And the Senate is also busy allowing the heat generated to cool off, or the rage to shift direction. It is playing with the Supreme Court a game called 3D - dumb, deaf and dolt. With all due respect...
Sunday, April 13, 2008
The Best of ZTE
Ducky Paredes of Malaya Newspaper wrote: Zhong Xing Telecommunication Equipment Company Limited, ZTE for short, is among the best in the world. It is an Asian business that we, as Asians, ought to be proud of.
He said that “this is the company that is regarded, in our country, as among the lowest of the low primarily because its name has been dragged through the mud by among the lowest of the low characters in Philippine politics.”
“Actually, in the ongoing investigation extravaganza that the Senate is conducting, no shred of evidence has been shown that would indicate that ZTE bribed anyone or that the contract was overpriced or that it is even attended by any irregularity.”
“In the end, ZTE lost nothing but we, on the other hand, must be the laughingstock of the world. We allowed unsubstantiated allegations to be our basis for scuttling the NBN project. That the allegations of wrongdoing came from polluted sources many of whom obviously had an ax to grind made the affair doubly comical."
Comment:
If ZTE is indeed the best in the world, it cannot just be “dragged through the mud” particularly “by among the lowest of the low characters in Philippine politics”. Nobody can put a good man or Company down.
About the main characters in Philippine politics I remember ever having mentioned ZTE, in one form or another, are Senators. Was Ducky Paredes perhaps referring to any or all of them as among the lowest of the low?
Why must we be the laughingstock of the world? Remember that it was PGMA herself, not us nor anybody else, who scuttled the NBN project. Only PGMA herself could possibly be accused of acting on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations. That, perhaps, the allegations of wrongdoing came from polluted sources many of whom obviously had an ax to grind made her decision doubly comical.
In canceling the contract she did not wait for the Senate to produce a shred of evidence “that would indicate that ZTE bribed anyone or that the contract was overpriced or that is even attended by any irregularity.” Presumably, she already has it.
He said that “this is the company that is regarded, in our country, as among the lowest of the low primarily because its name has been dragged through the mud by among the lowest of the low characters in Philippine politics.”
“Actually, in the ongoing investigation extravaganza that the Senate is conducting, no shred of evidence has been shown that would indicate that ZTE bribed anyone or that the contract was overpriced or that it is even attended by any irregularity.”
“In the end, ZTE lost nothing but we, on the other hand, must be the laughingstock of the world. We allowed unsubstantiated allegations to be our basis for scuttling the NBN project. That the allegations of wrongdoing came from polluted sources many of whom obviously had an ax to grind made the affair doubly comical."
Comment:
If ZTE is indeed the best in the world, it cannot just be “dragged through the mud” particularly “by among the lowest of the low characters in Philippine politics”. Nobody can put a good man or Company down.
About the main characters in Philippine politics I remember ever having mentioned ZTE, in one form or another, are Senators. Was Ducky Paredes perhaps referring to any or all of them as among the lowest of the low?
Why must we be the laughingstock of the world? Remember that it was PGMA herself, not us nor anybody else, who scuttled the NBN project. Only PGMA herself could possibly be accused of acting on the basis of unsubstantiated allegations. That, perhaps, the allegations of wrongdoing came from polluted sources many of whom obviously had an ax to grind made her decision doubly comical.
In canceling the contract she did not wait for the Senate to produce a shred of evidence “that would indicate that ZTE bribed anyone or that the contract was overpriced or that is even attended by any irregularity.” Presumably, she already has it.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Senator Trillanes
I cannot understand why Senator Antonio Trillanes is still in jail. The law allowed him to run for a Senate seat. He won and was duly proclaimed by the COMELEC. He is now a Senator of the Republic of the
I cannot understand why he is still under court martial. The law says that a person who files his candidacy is automatically resigned; therefore, with the termination of his employment in the government, he also lost his military status. He is now a civilian. A civilian being tried in a military court is a novelty that is possible only when the military reigns supreme over civilian authority.
I cannot understand why he should ask the court for special privileges. He deserves none, nor does anybody else, much less a detainee. But he is not supposed to be a detainee. He should be out serving a term, not in jail, but in the Senate. The voters want him there, neither on the streets nor in jail.
I cannot understand how the voice of the people could be trampled upon so easily. When Trillanes ran for the Senate the people were already aware of the Oakwood incident, and this is precisely what galvanized them into action. They liked what he did. Total strangers campaigned and voted for him. Who was he before the Oakwood incident?
I cannot understand why he should be equated with Jalosjos. The latter won despite a crime; Trillanes won precisely because of a crime imputed to him.
I cannot understand why the courts continue to try him for something he did before the elections. The people have spoken. They did not absolve him of a crime. The people said that what he did was not a crime. This is supposed to be the essence of the ballot. It reflects the people’s will. It must be respected, more so by the courts.
I cannot understand why one man, even if he happens to be the Chief of Staff can lord over a Senator of the Republic of the
I understand why nobody hears the gnashing of teeth for Trillanes. It is drowned by loud grumblings for more urgent concerns, like the CTE-NBN deal; the fertilizer and swine scams that caused the present rice crisis; and the conversion of NFA rice into commercial ones.
I understand why this is happening to our country. We deserve it. We allow a myopic PNP to search in vain for the ubiquitous Lintang Bidol, the guardian of a Pandora’s box.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Time Warp
Activists Scientists Ask Reyes: After Selling Our Mineral Resources, Are Our Energy Resources Next?
This is not true. He has left some for Atienza to finish off what he began.
Atienza Off to
To insure success he should bring along the DENR’s own findings on Rapu Rapu Group. It would help if investors know that, in the
On Glorietta Explosion: Scientists Group Calls For Independent Investigation To Avoid Whitewash.
Since the elections of 2004 we never knew what and whom to believe in.
Scientists Highlight Need For Genuine National Information Network.
Why not? After the CTE-NBN deal we can survive another.
Scientists Warn DOE On Nuclear Energy And Privatization.
Yes. Nuclear energy is only for first world countries. We are happy enough being third world.
Government Eyes Takeover Of Rice Warehouses.
After seeing their stacks of NFA rice, why not? But not to worry! It’s all just for show. No charges will be filed. Their partners in the government will not fail them, and themselves.
PNP Can’t Find Lintang Bidol.
The safest place to hide is still under a woman’s skirt.
Mrs. Arroyo Issued The Order Lifting The Import Quotas. Any businessman can import rice and corn for as long as they pay tariffs.
Why not? Rice importation is lucrative. Planting rice is never fun.
With The Rising Prices Of Consumer Goods, Malacañang Asked Yesterday The Regional Wage Boards To Study The Possibility Of Raising The Minimum Wage.
Studies can’t fill-up empty stomachs but it can raise hopes. False ones!
Favila Clarified That The Country Is Not Facing A Food Supply Crisis But A Problem With Rising Prices.
This must be higher or lower economics. Economics 101 tells us it can't be so.
NFA Insists Rice Supply Enough.
This is why we have to line up for hours and hours for two or three kilos each.
The President Last Week Unveiled A Plan To Increase Food Production Through Increased Spending On Fertilizer, Irrigation And Infrastructure, Education And Research, Credits For Farmers And Distribution Of Higher-Yielding Seeds.
We are on a time warp. It's always April 1st.
Monday, April 7, 2008
Senate Turns CBCP
Bad Precedent
The Supreme Court set a bad precedent when it approved Neri’s petition to stop the Senate from asking three specific questions. Now who can stop any Palace official from doing the same thing when confronted by a Senate inquiry? Does the SC really want this to happen?
Too Late and Too Puzzling
It was rather puzzling and too late in the day for the Supreme Court to bar the Senate from asking whether PGMA told Neri to go ahead with the NBN-CTE deal after he told him that it is flawed. The Senate already asked this question and Neri, in effect, answered it all under oath in a televised Senate inquiry.
After saying that he told PGMA of the bribe offer of Chairman Abalos Neri invoked executive privilege and refused to answer the question whether he was directed by her to go ahead with the project. He maintained his silence even when subjected to intense public pressure.
Does Neri really have to say anything more? Was not his silence his way of saying yes? After PGMA herself admitted in a radio interview that even before she signed the contract she already knew that it was flawed, who would ever say that it isn’t so?
In the face of all these revelations, the local Chinese diplomats never voiced any reaction at all. So why would they be bothered a bit by questions that even PGMA can easily brush aside with another question? What could possibly be wrong if she follows up on and instruct a subordinate to give priority to a project that his advisers say is laudable?
A more appropriate dissenting opinion could have been summed up in only one sentence. Neri’s petition’s nonsensical.
Senate Turns CDCP
It baffles me why the SC barred the Senate from asking Neri two pointless questions and one that was already answered and did not produce the fearsome scenario he painted in his petition. It baffles me even more why the Senate insists in again asking him the same question.
Does the Senate, perhaps, want to go beyond its realm and force Neri to speak up and link PGMA directly to the anomaly? This is both unethical and unnecessary. Nobody, not even the Senate, can force anyone to speak against his will. Well, maybe, just maybe, it might be permitted to run a volt or two in a body part immediately below and adjacent to his organ, if only to find out if there’s anything in there.
The Senate need not do anything more to link PGMA directly to the anomaly. In effect, Neri already did it, by his ominous silence; the Presidents men, by sending Jun Lozada abroad to evade the Senate inquire and by kidnapping him; Chairman Abalos, by being omnipresent in all NBN-CTE affairs even at the height of the 2007 election frenzy; Executive Undersecretary Manuel Gaite, by providing incontrovertible material evidence in the form of a hefty sum of 500 thousand pesos he gave to a nonentity at such a short notice.
PGMA herself should be at the top of this list. She did it by merely suspending the deal at the start of the Senate inquiry and by canceling it only under immense and incessant public pressure. She did it by signing the contract even if she already knew that it was flawed. She did it by firing Neri as NEDA Chief for talking too much, and by giving him something to chew at the CHED so he can’t talk.
We shall have to include here the nine SC justices who made the concurring decision, for being lucky… perhaps even as lucky as PGMA herself. Jun Lozada is noticeably not in this flock. His feather differs.
The truth is already out. For those who believe, any more evidence would be superfluous. For those who refuse to believe, a prayer or two might work wonders. Any more searches would only serve to cool down the heat that has been generated.
We raged for the truth. Now we rage for action. Unfortunately, CBCP refuses to lead. It is too busy searching for the truth that, in the process, it, perhaps unwittingly, covers up. The Senate is right behind, playing the same game.
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