Neri comes, Neri goes... and the Carlo Caparas Blunder

It's been a while (again) since my last post. Even then, visitors continually access this site looking for something new. And tadaaannn!!!! Here's the list.

1. Romulo Neri will be suspended for his participation in the ZTE Scandal especially for being shy to talk about his President's participation and for being so shy to tell Ben Abalos to "back off".
   
2. Abalos is also indicted "just for being nice to the ZTE people." Talaga? Is that also the reason why he is so nice to Neri for offering the 200...? Kaso mukhang kulang ang 200. Dapat siguro 300 para wala ng mag-squeal.
   
3. Joey de Venecia, the squealer, is planning to run for Senator. Ayos yan para walang sikreto sa Senado... if the price is not right. (?)
4. Pero ang kakapal naman. Kay Bayani Fernando nga okay na ang P1.6 million. Diba BF? Musta ang mga kakalsadahan natin? Mukhang maraming nagkalat na picture mo at praise releases. Kasama ba yan sa P1.6 M?
   
5. Pero if Joey De Venecia is running for Senator and BF for President, Komiks writer-turned director is running for Senator para patunayan na karapat-dapat siya to receive the National Artist Award. Quoting Caparas: They are forcing me to run for a political post, mapipilitan siguro ako because of what they are doing, na parang walang karapatan ang isang galing sa masa na katulad ko na maging National Artist.

Akhhhh!!!

Nabulunan ako dun ah. Since when na ba ang eleksiyon naging venue for the selection of the National Artists?

A sitting President can be arrested

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has a new reason to be nervous -- sitting presidents are not immune from arrests for committing criminal offenses. This is the legal milestone set by the International Criminal Court (ICC) when it ordered the arrest of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimes and crimes against humanity in a concerted government campaign against civilians.

International Herald Tribune reports:

The criminal court judges took more than seven months to examine the evidence on Bashir before charging him with five counts of crimes against humanity, including murder, extermination, forcible transfer, torture and rape. The two counts of war crimes were for attacks against a civilian population and for pillaging.

In their statement, the judges said the court did not recognize immunity for a head of state and called for the cooperation of all countries - not just the 108 nations that are members of the court - to bring Bashir to justice.

Under the rules of the UN charter and Security Council, Sudan is legally obliged to arrest Bashir, the judges said - but that appears unlikely. The court has no police force or military of its own, and the 24,000 or so UN peacekeepers operating in Sudan have no mandate to detain war crimes suspects.

If this is the case, and human rights groups are able to substantiate the claims against Gloria Arroyo for human rights violations and for suppression of press freedom, then she might find her feet treading the path to jail.

Yun nga lang, medyo malabo na. First, elections are near, barely one year. Kung hindi siya ma-impeach, hindi na rin siya presidente in case ICC issues a warrant of arrest against her. Second, Lorelei Fajardo will surely fire verbal ammunitions against ICC calling the act the work of opposition and the issuance of the warrant of arrest politically motivated. (Un)Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales will also let loose his unbridled tongue to delay the proceedings while FG Mike Arroyo will gather another crowd in EDSA to be airlifted to The Hague to show protests.

Pero sabi, ang protests na gagawin ni FG ay pagtutol sa proceedings ng ICC regarding the criminal cases of his wife. Ang gusto niya daw kasi na talakayin ng ICC ay annulment case dahil wala na rin siyang pakinabang sa asawa niya kung mawawala na ito sa pagiging presidente. Isa pa, wala nga daw na nagawa si Gloria sa ZTE-broadband issue eh pumayag na nga siya na pumunta si Gloria sa Boao kahit pa nasa emergency room siya at may sakit.

No Cha-Cha -- Lakas Agrees

Finally, Lakas-NUCD conceded. It's impossible to have charter change at the moment.

Pero bakit nga ba kailangang magmadali na baguhin ang saligang batas? Let us count the ways:

1. Mabilis bumaba ang presyo ng gasolina. Baka makasabay si Gloria.
2. Dumadami ang populasyon dahil marami pa rin ang sumasalungat sa Reproductive Health. Baka dahil sa pagdami ng populasyon mahigitan ang mga botante ng administrasyon. Talo na sila sa susunod na eleksiyon.
3. Malapit ng maayos ang economic crisis ng mundo. Mawawala na ang "chaos". At dahil mawawala na ang chaos, mawawala na rin ang mga opportunities ng mga nasa gobyerno at malapit sa gobyerno ni Arroyo. Di ba may kasabihan, "In chaos there is opportunity"? Remember the rice crisis -- sino-sino nga ba ang nanginabang? Tanungin natin si Sec. Yap at ang biyenan nito.
4. Malapit na ang eleksiyon. Nawawala pa rin si Garci. Wala pa nga atang kaso.
5. Wala na rin ang ZTE at mahina na rin ang kita dahil sa ibinunyag ng World Bank na kapalpakan sa DPWH. Wala ng perang pumapasok.... waaaaahhhhhh!!!!!
   

GMA vindicated from the NBN scandal?

While the report is yet to be prepared, Malacanang is already confident that sitting president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will be vindicated from the NBN scandal. The reason: There is no evidence linking the president to the scandal.

First, paano ba sila nakakasiguro lalo na si Ed Ermita na vindicated nga talaga si Gloria? Mukhang me whitewash na agad na nangangamoy ah?

Second, paano nga ba talaga magkakaroon ng ebidensiya? They controlled all the possibilities to come out with an evidence? Parang Impeachment Trial. They kill it immediately with technicalities.

Pero vindicated nga ba? Not beyond reasonable doubt. Hanggang ngayon lutang pa rin ang mga koneksiyon ni Gloria sa mga iskandalo ng gobyerno. Actually she even admitted these categorically. She said sorry when she called Garci. And she said she still signed the NBN Contract despite the anomalies. This means she is not scot-free. And this will haunt her til the rest of history.

Rice shortage or Lies shortage?

Circulating in the SMS-sphere:

The ZTE Scandal has broken the relation between China and the Philippines. To mend this, GMA visited Beijing. The Chinese president was very accommodating and devoid of Orwellian talks typical of GMA, he offered his country's help to solve the Philippines' alleged rice shortage.

Chinese Translator: Oul plesident asks if del is a lice sholtage in the Pilipins. (Our president asks if there is a rice shortage in the Philippines.)
GMA (mimicking the way the translator speaks para magpa-cute): How thoughtful but please tell youl plesident we have no lies sholtage in the Philippines.

Kung sabagay, wala nga naman talaga tayong pagkukulang sa mga kasinungalingan.

There are even thoughts that there is really no rice shortage. Gimik lang ng Malacanang para matabunan ang isyu ng ZTE, ng Supreme Court Decision at ng mga akusasyon ni Lozada. Whether this is true or not, di natin alam. Ang nakapagtataka lang, bakit ngayong panahon ng anihan lumabas ang issue ng alleged rice shortage?

Of Millions and Minions

After going around the bush, Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez finally ordered the filing of criminal raps against former Justice Secretary Hernani Perez and family. Sana hindi lang mauwi sa filing. Sana me resolusyon din. Yun bang hindi tulad sa crime statistics ng Philippine National Police na panay record lang walang actual resolution such as incarceration of the criminals, or cutting their fingers just like what the Yakuzas do, or, at the very least, caning them just like in the laws in the arabian countries. O kahit pitik man lang sa ilong kung di pa rin puwede.

But somebody said: Sec, me 200 tayo diyan.

Yung nagsabi ba ng "may 200 tayo diyan" puwede rin bang isama? Everybody knows he is a government officials and all government officials are also expected to be of high standards of behavior. And the 200, whether million pesos man yan o simply pesos lang is still under the jurisdiction of the anti-graft court. And definitely, under the Office of the Ombudsman.

Siyempre, idagdag na rin dapat yung umamin na nagbigay kay Jun Lozada ng pera. That includes Manny Gaite and company. Where did they get the money and why should they bribe Lozada?

These, of course, are just the minions. During the 2004 elections somebody said "dapat di bababa ng one million". Isama na rin dapat yun together with that Comelec official named Garci who really ensured na hindi bababa ng one million ang boto ng boss niya.

If the Ombudsman will do this and is able to convict the minions and their boss, marami ang tulad ni Tikboy na willing magpa-alipin kay Merceditas Gutierrez forever kahit pa sabihing di na uso ang slavery. It's hard to find a person who has the guts like that. Of course, kasabay na diyan si Liwayway Vinzons Chato who also had the guts to fight the tax evaders... even though the government is now evading her as she now battles the legal cases filed against her for being committed to sincerely implement the government policies.

Whistleblowers banned

I missed this from yesterday's news:

Palace: Lozada ‘truth caravan’ dangerous to youth
AFP says whistleblower not welcome in camps

Even then, I had some comments in Ellen Tordesilla's blog which I quote:

I think tama din naman ginawa ni jesli lapuz. Kung papayagan niya kasi na magsalita si Lozada sa mga public schools, magkakaroon ng public knowledge ang mga public school students at magiging publicly aware sila sa pangyayari. Siyempre malalaman din ng mga public school students na niloloko rin pala sila ng gobyerno dahil habang nagpapasarap ang iilan sa million-dollar kickbacks at SOPs, itong mga public school students ay nag-aagawan ang mga puwit sa kakarampot na bangko at pisara ng kanilang mga eskuwelahan; nagsisiksikan sa kokonting classrooms; nagpipipilit gumising ng maaga para lang mahabol ang three shifts ng kanilang paaralan; at nagtitiis sa gutom o kaya nagkakasya na lamang sa limang pisong baon. Kung magsasalita kasi si Lozada, baka mainggit lang itong mga public school students sa sarap ng buhay ng iilan, na maganda rin pala sa Wack-wack, at ansarap ng P650 na burjer ni Abalos. Kung mangyayari yun, baka mag-drop out sila sa klase at mag-applay na lamang bilang mga caddie.

At tama din si Presidential Spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo when she said that "The youth can be very emotional about this, and the danger is, when we become emotional, we lose objectivity."

Unquote: baka mag-rally ng mag-rally ang mga estudyante at mahulog sa silya ang presidente.

"In the many times that he [Lozada] came out, he has not presented concrete evidence, not even one, to back up his claim," Fajardo said, adding, "And that's dangerous."

Unquote: Di pa rin kasi pinapayagan na lumabas si Neri.

But funnier is the apolitical AFP who also issued statements na bawal ang whistleblower sa kampo. Bakit kaya di rin ipagbawal si Esperon dun? Apart from the fact that he is really due to go, he also blew the whistle without doing the appropriate action -- i.e., by filing cases at the proper courts an attempted coup for the officials whom he said are recruiting him?

EO 464 and the death of Godzilla

Finally, EO 464 was scrapped but its baby, Memorandum Circular (MC) 108 remains enforced. And we do not know if there are still a number of babies awaiting to get out of their shells. Parang Godzilla. They killed the mutant mother reptile without knowing that underneath, mas marami pa pala.

Bayan Muna, however, says it's a victory. The Catholic Bishops (most of them if not all) says they are pleased. Just like the mayor and the general in the Godzilla movie. Ang problema nga lang, they seemed to forget the succeeding moves of the power game. Una, what will happen to the legal issue raised by Romulo Neri before the Supreme Court? If the case was anchored strictly to EO 464, there is a greater likelihood that the high tribunal will dismiss the petition for being moot and academic. In a sense, hindi pa rin mare-resolve kung hanggang saan ang boundaries ng executive privilege ng presidente. Talo pa rin ang mga Pilipino.To note, even the Supreme Court Spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez admits that the executive privilege is innate in the president and can be invoked anytime.

Ikalawa, EO 464 is not an assurance that Neri will be spilling the beans. During the time of the Senate hearings for the Jose Pidal account, Iggy Arroyo had been invoking to the teeth his right to privacy. How sure are the Filipinos that Neri and the others will not also use the same old worn out line?

And we may not know. Somebody might spill some blood to keep the beans in the basket. Parang accident ga', sabi ni Dodong.

Pero teka, if EO 464 is Godzilla with the documents like MC 108 and the ZTE Contract as the babies, asan yung isla kung saan nag-mutate si Godzilla? Is Ricky Carandang correct na ang isla na yun ay ang Spratlys? Hmmmnnnn....

Dirty minds

On the idea that the joint activities with China to explore the Spratly Islands was only arrived at to secure loans for the Philippines, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales just said: Nothing, nothing. That is a lot of speculation by people who have dirty minds.

On one of his posts, Ricky Carandang expounded his theory on the possible connection of the NBN-ZTE Contract to the joint Philippine-China activities on the exploration of the Spratly Islands. And it looks there is a sense. For instance, bakit nga ba dumami ang loans ng China sa Pilipinas? At bakit sunod-sunod ang mga kontrata na kahit palpak pinipilit pa rin na isulong? Consider the Northrail project among others. At ngayon, ang ZTE Broadband deal. Does this prove Leuccipus who said that "Nothing exists at random but out of reason and out of necessity"?

Mukha nga. With the uncommon common sense of Ms. Gloria Arroyo, it is not impossible for her to sell even the whole Philippines. Consider the fact that she still signed a highly irregular and anomalous contract despite her knowledge about it.

A third evidence is provided by the 2004 presidential elections and the "Hello, Garci!" recordings. One, bakit atat manalo si Ms. Arroyo? At bakit di dapat bumaba sa 1 million ang gap ng boto nila ng second contender? Bakit di na lang iasa sa tunay na saloobin ng taumbayan? Will her loss mean a lot like life and death? Hindi kaya dahil me cash advance na sa China at kung hindi siya manalo baka mag-leak agad ang anti-Filipino Spratlys joint exploration ng gobyerno ng Pilipinas at China? At kung walang cash advance, san nga ba kumuha ng pera na ginasta? Tingin ni Aling Maria, tunay na pista ang 2004 elections. Surely, hindi lang yun dahil na-liquify ang fertilizer funds o iba pang government funds.

At any rate, Aling Maria and the others may just have dirty minds. But why is Ms. Arroyo hiding her hands with the invocation of the executive privilege? And why is she not pushing for the prosecution and incarceration of those who caused the flaws of the contracts she signed? Kala ko ba galit din siya sa katiwalian? Why, is her hands dirty that she is trying to hide them?

Corruption, a matter of executive privilege?

In Tuesday's hearing on the question of law filed by Romulo Neri with regards his attendance to the Senate probe on NBN-ZTE Scandal, an agreement was reached. According to the high tribunal, Neri should attend the hearing but could not answer the following questions:

• Did the President (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) ask him to approve the contract despite his report of bribery and kickbacks?
  
• Did the President order him to prioritize the project?
  
• Did the President follow up on the contract?

It is said that those are matters of executive privilege, questions that clearly give the clues as to whether or not Arroyo indeed took a dip in the honey of corruption.

Kung sabagay, the Senate probe is not about whether Arroyo is corrupt or straight but as to whether or not the NBN-ZTE Contract is indeed anomalous. Isa pa, di pa naman nagbibigay ng final na desisyon ang Korte Suprema defining particularly what executive privilege really is and what are its limits and boundaries. But given these developments, and if in the end the Supreme Court will sustain the result of the compromise agreement, magkakaroon na ng precedent ang mga susunod na administrasyon. Una, puwede palang mangurakot ng mangurakot and when probes like the one being done by the Senate is conducted, i-invoke lang ang executive privilege. Ikalawa, magiging "for display purposes" na lang talaga ang Sections 27 and 28 ng Constitution which we quote:

Section 27. The State shall maintain honesty and integrity in the public service and take positive and effective measures against graft and corruption.

Section 28. Subject to reasonable conditions prescribed by law, the State adopts and implements a policy of full public disclosure of all its transactions involving public interest.

Similarly, useless na rin ang mga anti-graft laws natin at laws on the code of conduct of public officials and employees dahil sa pamamagitan lang ng executive privilege, free as a bird na ang mga nasa top positions covered by the executive privilege.

Pero di pa naman tapos ang lahat. We still believe that the Supreme Court is still independent and that it can end the crisis involving executive priveleges in the soonest possible time.

So, where's the truth?

After the CBCP statement calling for the search for truth, many are asking: Ano na ang developments?

After the admission of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on the flaws of the ZTE Contract, nothing followed except the ominous celebration of EDSA I and the show of faith in the Makati City Prayer Rally. Pero kung sino ang nasa likod ng flawed contract at kung ano na ang nangyari sa kanila, at kung tunay nga na may kickback si ex-commissioner Ben Abalos at sumigaw ng "back off!" si First Gentlemen, wala na pong nakakaalam. Boses lang ni Joey de Venecia at Jun Lozada ang naririnig.

Kung sabagay, dahil ata sa panalangin kaya natinag si Noli De Castro. Hayun, nagsabi na siya na ready na siyang pumalit kay GMA. Kaya lang, asan pa rin ang katotohanan?

The only thing sure at this moment are the winners in the ZTE Scandal. One of these is the Catholic Church which benefits from both camps for the gifts and donations. Mantakin mo namang dala-dalawa ang misa sa paghahanap ng katotohanan. Meron sa anti-GMA, meron sa pro-GMA. Pero teka, asan na nga ba talaga ang katotohanan?

The Writings on the Street

When two opposite poles attract each other, the only thing certain is there's a magnet.

Yesterday's inter-faith rally was an interesting sight. There we see ousted president Joseph Estrada and one of the key figures in ousting him, former president Cory Aquino, joining together in a common cause. Inquirer.Net even had a picture of them appearing to be dancing together. We also see the prayerfuls and the prayerless; the religious groups and the atheists; the movie stars and the movie-goers; the left and the right; the capitalists and the anti-capitalists; the employers and the employees; and so on and so forth. All are united in saying that truth must come out. But will the concerned people led by the claiming president Gloria Arroyo herself listen?

For a person trying to save his or her ass, parting with power may disprove Shakespeare's statement that "parting is such sweet sorrow". For this people, parting will be very bitter, hard to take pill. Paano pa kasi magiging Darna si Darna kung wala na ang bato? O paano pa magiging presidente ang presidente kung wala na siya sa puwesto?

But whether these people will listen or not, the writings on yesterdays streets in Makati will show: the end might be near. Ang pagsasama-sama ng magkakahiwalay at magkakatunggaling na puwersa ay isang indikasyon na dapat bigyang pansin. Ganun din ang pagpayag ng mga publicity-hungry na pulitiko na huwag magsalita sa entablado at ang mga anti-imperialist na huwag sumigaw ng "ibagsak ang imperialismo" para huwag mabuwag ang mga tao. It's plain and simple science: Opposite poles attract. When these attract each other, a new shape is forming, and a new shape will surely be formed.

Favila, another lost tongue?

Just the other day, US presidential hopeful John McCain was forced to take time to disavow disparaging remarks made at a rally about Sen. Barack Obama by conservative talk show host, Bill Cunningham. This simply affirms the saying: More talk, more mistakes.

Kung sabagay, Cunningham's remarks had improved the likability of Mc Cain. The presidential aspirant was given the additional time to boost his candidacy by denouncing anti-racist statements.

Yun nga lang, mas marami ang Cunninghams kaysa sa McCains. Tulad ni Gloria Arroyo when she affirmed that there was, indeed, flaws in the ZTE-NBN Broadband deal. Earlier we have Raul Gonzales, a loose canon; Lorelei Fajardo, and Sergio Apostol. Buti nga medyo tumahimik na si Toting Bunye after the long and never-ending two blind mice... este, two pirated CDs.

Pero teka, meron na naman palang bago sa listahan ng Filipino Cunninghams: si Trade Sec. Peter Favila. Sabi ni Favila, ex-President Fidel Ramos pressed Gloria to attend the Boao Forum kaya andun ang ale sa China. Kaya nga daw nag-agonize ang ale.

Parang naririnig ko tuloy ang background ng video-singko sa kapitbahay. Bago maglabas ng score, me soundtrack muna na parang ganito ang lyrics: Ang tanga, ang tanga-tanga talaga....dubidubidubidum... klang!

One need not study abroad to learn the fact that silence is gold. Yun nga lang, one needs to use that gold in the proper time. Parang buying and selling ng dolyar. Kung mataas ang dolyar, kelangan magbenta, kung mababa, kailangan bumili.

Releasing statements that GMA went to China dahil lamang kay Ramos only creates more questions as well as enemies. Bakit ngayon lang sinabi yun na malaki na ang gulo? Dahil ba inililigaw nila ang isyu? Bakit di na lang pinadala si Noli De Castro? O kaya si De Venecia na isa ring Lakas? O si Ed Ermita? Ganun ba ka-insensitive si Tabako at kailangan pang pilitin o i-pressure ang isang tao na ang asawa ay lubhang may sakit?

Opinyon lang ni Tikboy sobrang sensitive itong si Tabako. Pa-pogi lagi eh. And during his administration, he flies political balloons first before enacting as well as implementing policies. For that reason, kahit me rallies din noon, walang mga "Oust Tabako Movements" na nagsipag-sulputan, movements na kasing-sigasig sa panahon ni Cory, ni Erap, at ngayon, ni Gloria. Sa madaling salita, maiintindihan naman ni Tabako ang sitwasyon ni Gloria kung sakali.

Teka, lumabas na naman ang soundtrack. Kumanta kasi si Aling Toyang. Ang score: 39%.

GMA: The Rule of Law

After admitting the presence of flaws in the NBN contract and still signing it, and after doing nothing to immediately punish the erring officials involved, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is calling "on the public to remind the legislators to respect the rule of law in its investigations into alleged corruption in her government."

Teka, bakit ang legislators lang? Di ba kasama sa gobyerno ang executive department kung saan siya kabilang? Or what she means is respect her for she is the rule of law?

AT any rate, kung hindi siya ang rule of law at siya ay tagapagpatupad lamang ng batas, she should have not sacrificed the welfare of the people for the sake of the length of time. Immediately sana, pina-hold niya muna ang kontrata ng ZTE at hindi ito pinirmahan, pinatalsik niya ang mga pumalpak na opisyal ng gobyerno na involved sa pag-aaral ng ZTE, at kinasuhan niya agad ng violation of anti-corruption laws at violation of RA 6713 ang mga involved. Ganun din, inalis niya ang EO 464 at pinaharap sina Romulo Neri at iba pa sa Senado para sa imbestigasyon din na maaring makatulong sa pag-gawa ng mas matitibay na batas laban sa korupsiyon.

Anyway, consistent din ang ale. Dagdag niya sa speech niya sa Trece Martirez, Cavite kanina, "Yes, lahat tayo laban sa katiwalian, pero ang pinaglaban naman ni [hero and first Philippine president General Emilio ] Aguinaldo ay rule of law, democratic principles, ipaglaban natin yun."

Kung maaalala ng lahat, matapos ang eleksiyon at nanalo si Aguinaldo laban kay Andres Bonifacio, the former also insisted that the rule of law prevails. Kaya ilang araw lang, pinatay si Bonifacio para di na mag-ingay laban sa resulta ng eleksiyon na sabi ng ilang historians, tainted din ng dayaan. And Gloria allegedly won also because of cheating. Di ba? Hello? Garci?....

Kaya pala di natin masisi si Jun Lozada when he begged off Jinggoy Estrada's question. Tanong kasi ni Jinggoy during the ZTE hearing: Sino ang idol mo doon... este, ngayon?

Sinabi kasi ni Lozada na dati idol niya si Joker Arroyo kaya lang nagbago na pagtingin niya. Ngayon, di na niya sinagot si Jinggoy. Mahirap na kasi baka mabuking siya. Malaman ng lahat na idol niya rin si ex-Comelec Chair Ben Abalos. While Lozada begged off the question, si Gloria Arroyo naman proud pa na gawing halimbawa si Aguinaldo.

Well, this just proves the saying: Birds of the same feather, flocks together.

And with this, it can also be rightfully said na nabibingwit talaga ang isda sa bibig.

GMA and her uncommon common sense

Truth is like water, it always seeks its level.

Gloria Arroyo's admission that the national broadband network deal (NBN) with ZTE Corporation is flawed simply shows that she really deserves to be ousted and that her spinmeister has really lost its touch. Kung sabagay, ang utot, kahit ano'ng pabango ang ilagay mo, utot pa rin.

Actually, Inquirer.Net has done a good job already. It has shown that Arroyo is a party to corruption and had the deal pushed through, she would be very silent about it. Kaya nga lang, there were talks that the project is anomalous so she only cancelled it. If the PDI reporter recorded it right, the intention is vividly encapsulated in Arroyo's words which we quote: Kaya itong proyektong ito, oras na may pag-uusap na anomalya, ay agad-agad kong kinansela. Agad-agad na gumawa ako ng hakbang para kanselahin (So in this project, soon after talk circulated that it was anomalous, I immediately canceled it. I promptly took steps to cancel it).

Kaya nga lang, why cancellation? Why not investigation and eventual incarceration of those involved? Kala ko pa naman mga beterano ang mga legal advisers ni Gloria. Ba't di nila sinabihan ang ale na ang mga involved sa anomalya ay liable sa mga batas natin foremost of which is Republic Act No. 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees? The silence of these legal advisers, idagdag niyo ang machinegun-mouthed na si DOJ Sec. Raul Gonzales, simply shows two things -- either na nalimutan nila ito or me pino-protektahan sila. Pero kung nalimutan nila ito, it simply means that they do not deserve to receive income from the government dahil useless din pala ang binabayaran ng mga tao. Mas marami pa ang magagaling na abugado diyan sa tabi-tabi. O kung wala, marami namang paralegal diyan na wiling magsilbi. Just give them the opportunity.

Pero kahit wala ang mga advisers na ito, kahit simpleng sentido kumon na lang sana ang ginamit. Kaso, mukhang kakaiba ang sentido kumon nitong si GMA.

Worst of these is the following:

The President herself, speaking mostly in Filipino, made the disclosure Saturday in an interview with radio commentator Joe Taruc over dzRH. “Someone told me about it the night before the signing of the supply contract. That was one of many signings [in China]. But how can you cancel it the night before, considering that you are dealing with another country?” she said.

In simple analogy, kung bibigyan pala si Gloria ng kontrata na gagawing testing site ng nuclear bomb ang Pilipinas tulad ng ginawa noon ni French Pres. Jacques Chirac sa Mururua at Fangataufa Atolls, at ibinigay ang kontrata a night before the signing of the contract, pipirmahan niya pa rin pala ito kinabukasan? Being a testing site for nuclear weapons is no different from being the killingfield of the weapons of poverty, debt and hunger. Ang kaibahan nga lang, mas mabilis mamatay ang mga tao sa isang bomba lang. But poverty and hunger is more torturing ang inhuman than dying in an instant.

This being the case, Gloria Arroyo just showed her lack of concern for the plight of the Filipinos than the plight of the pockets of some groups or individuals. Whether kasama siya diyan is another story. The clear story is, she doesn't deserve to be a president and that she is betraying the public trust. And she is betraying the country. Tsk, tsk, tsk.

In a way, tama si Senator Kiko Pangilinan, her former ally. According to the Senator:

“Assuming for the sake of argument that the President is telling the truth … her subsequent act of proceeding with the approval of the contract proves that, at the very least, she tolerated and condoned criminal activities,” Pangilinan said, adding:

“At worst, she was a party to it. Either way it appears she failed to act appropriately and may have betrayed the public trust by this failure.”

Kaya lang, di ba nagsisisi si Kiko sa ginawa niya bilang "Mr. Noted" during the 2004 canvassing of votes for president and vice president?

Why is Evardone sweating?

Today's Inquirer.net layout is funny. The banner is "Arroyo admits NBN is flawed". Below it is a picture of GMA and Gov. Ben Evardone. Evardone was wiping his sweat. Then the caption: It was not clear at presstime why Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone (left) was breaking out in a sweat.

Below is a screenshot of the funny layout:























Oo nga, why is Evardone sweating? Mali ba ang pinagsasabi ng tauhan niya during the briefing? O nagkamali na naman si Gloria sa pag-admit na palpak talaga ang NBN? O pinapawisan siya dahil palpak din ang infra projects ni Aroyo sa Samar at natatakot siya na Samar version ito ng ZTE Scandal? O pinagpapawisan siya dahil wala na ring naniniwala sa briefing kundi si Aroyo na lang?

Anuman po ang sagot, di rin po natin alam. Antayin na lang po natin ang developments. At salamat sa inquirer.net for that nice layout. :)

Erwin Santos: The Second Rate Crying Hard Copycat

Can we convict a person for rape for the very reason that he committed a simple theft?

When Erwin Santos (E.S.), former aide of Jun Lozada (J-Lo) the Program Development Officer of PhilForest Corporation came out, marami na ang nakakita ng real cry-baby. Village Idiot Savant called him a "copycat" while the Professional Heckler called him a cry-baby because "he has not received the talent fee he was promised if he appeared on the show".

Whatever, E.S. is really "a second rate crying hard copy cat." Kasi nga, ang tanong (with a tune of Ogie's song): Bakit ngayon ka lang? Bakit ngayon kung kelan... Whatever.

Is E.S. just trying to hitch in the popularity of J-Lo? Gusto niya rin ba na maisama sa pelikula? Gusto niy rin bang mainterview sa Senado? O plano niya rin kumandidato? Kawawa naman. And kawawa talaga dahil nagpagamit lang siya sa gobyerno. Sana sa GMA-7 na lang siya nagpa-interview o kaya sa ABS-CBN. Or much better, sa CNN. Hindi sa radyo ng gobyerno. Lalo lang tuloy siya nahahalata.

Pero ang point, he should have filed a case against Lozada. Andiyan naman ang Ombudsman. Ba't niya pa patatamaan si Neri na “Sir Jun, I care for you, let’s face the consequences of our actions” ? Wala talaga siyang pinagkaiba sa idol niyang si J-Lo. Ikalawa, is he planning to controvert J-Lo's statements by hitting him with something else? Doing so is like trying to convict for rape a person accused of theft.

Kung sabagay, desperate persons try to do desperate things. Payo lang ni Tikboy kay E.S., start ata ngayon ng audition sa Pinoy Idol. Baka puwede pa siya. O kaya antayin niya ang bagong season ng Pinoy Big Brother... kung meron pa.

Communal Action vs Communal Inaction

Tikboy has an intelligent, studious and diligent friend. Matapos ang law school, ang kaibigan ni Tikboy ay nagrosaryo, nanalangin, nagpenitensiya at nag-fasting para lang makapasa sa bar. Matapos ang exam, bagsak ang kaibigan ni Tikboy. Di kasi ito nag-review.

While we agree at the calls for prayers, masses and vigils, we also agree that these, alone, cannot solve the country's ills. Even Gloria Arroyo and her cohorts pray, sponsor masses and even do vigils. If both parties do the same, sino na ngayon ang paniniwalaan ng Diyos, if ever there, indeed, is a God? Ang mapera ba? Ang malakas manalangin? Which brings us to the point na ang nakikinabang lang sa lahat ng ito ay ang Simbahan. Imagine holding masses for both parties -- the pro-Arroyos and the antis. Di ba doble-dobleng koleksiyon yun?

While we agree with the statement of Archbishop Angel Lagdameo that Arroyo is worse than a frying pan, allowing her to stay in power if the accusations being thrown at her is true, is accepting plain in simple that worse frying pan. O mas malala pa nga because in a way, the inaction to correct the mistakes is practically condoning the same. If the Church accepts what is wrong and tries to live with it, asan na ngayon ang moral authority nila over their flock?

Sa ngayon, nag-aantay pa rin ang mga tao sa senyas ng simbahan. Kung kelan yun darating, manalangin muna tayo. Malay natin, meron ngang milagro.

Pero di ba may kasabihan na "Nasa Diyos ang awa, nasa tao ang gawa?"