Questions, Taints and Paints

The Black and White Movement says it all:


COP OUT OR SELL OUT?


In the midst of heightened public anticipation of more revelations about the
ZTE scandal, and rising satisfaction in a Senate that is exercising its duty
to provide us check and balance, there is news that there will no longer be
any Senate hearings on this disgraceful issue until further notice. What's
up with that? The momentum is just maxing out. Who wants to pull the plug?

The onus falls squarely on the shoulders of Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. As
chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, he calendars the hearings and
schedules the witnesses. His recent statements in the news have been
perceived by many as rather disturbing. Sen. Cayetano indicated that
witnesses may be unavailable to warrant the holding of a session, there are
no new witnesses to call, that nothing new may be revealed by witnesses like
Joey de Venecia. Moreover, he would like to give himself and a number of his
colleagues the opportunity to attend the IPU.

With respect, we find these reasons to be rather flimsy. After all, Jarius
Bondoc broke journalistic protocol and has published all the privileged
communications he had with Romulo Neri to point the Senate in new
directions. Regarding Romulo Neri - whatever happened to the Senate's plan
to challenge his invocation of executive privilege? What about Joey de
Venecia's recent claims against a prominent businessman?

In addition, we have yet to hear from First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. His
alleged involvement in this scandal should have peaked Sen. Cayetano's
interest.

The final reason of Sen. Cayetano seems to reflect a distorted sense of
priority. Is the planned attendance of a few legislators to an international
forum so important as to justify the postponement of the ZTE Contract
hearings?

These lame excuses are uncharacteristic of the feisty oppositionist.
Perception
is everything. These excuses seem to lend credence to the flurry of text
messages alleging that Sen. Cayetano has discontinued the hearings at the
behest of a more senior Senator who is supposedly being pressured by the
influential businessman implicated in this scandal.

The announcement by GMA from China saying that the ZTE Deal is finally
cancelled should not be viewed as a successful cap on a contentious issue.

The Black & White Movement wants to be proven wrong. We hope to hear that
the hearings will be continued as soon as possible. There are many questions
left unanswered and the public deserves to know now. Is the First Gentleman
really involved and to what extent? How much does the President know? Is
she culpable? What actions did she take after Neri reported the attempted
bribery? How was the NBN project transformed from a BOT to a bilateral loan
agreement? Are there other personalities involved? These questions cannot
be left hanging.

When Sen. Cayetano broke ranks with the opposition to support the bid of
perceived pro-administration Manny Villar for the Senate Presidency, he
argued that he did so because of party affiliation. We understood. But this
time, the stakes are higher and people may not be as understanding.

The Black and White Movement humbly suggests that Sen. Cayetano heed the
example of President Manuel L. Quezon, "my loyalty to my party ends where my
loyalty to my country begins."

------------
The Black & White Movement*

Contact: Vicente R. Romano III, 0920.961.5610
Leah Navarro, 0917.898.1957
4 October 2007

Goodbye, NBN!?

After weeks of struggle deciding what to do
here comes Mrs. Arroyo
saying goodbye to the contract with ZTE
just like saying goodbye to 'hello, Garci!"?

Why kick the contract without a sound
Was it because it was never found?
Or is it because goodbye kickbacks na
dahil maingay at me mga bomba?

O dahil ba nadadawit si FG
at nakigulo rin si Luli?
O dahil ba sa pasabog ni Neri
o dahil si Abalos sa bibig ni Joey
ay broker na ng ZTE?

But it's undeniable, goodbye NBN
ang tono ngayon ni madam president
pero ang sure sabi ng source
naiipit ang family, pressure or force
kickbacks, whatever, di kasi malinis
at mga sagot sa senate di rin na-rehearse
kesa maging Erap part 2
itong si Mrs. Arroyo
Goodbye NBN, yan ang sigurado.

I Resign! -- Abalos

For Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is not a model. For the controversies being thrown at him, Abalos, unlike GMA, resigns. For his resignation statement, click here.

But why resign? Why not be a kapalmuks? Here are a few and one reasons why Abalos resigned:

1. If Abalos will stick his butt to the commission's chair, more beans will spill. And this will include a possible "Hello, Buddy!" at the Wack-wack from FG. So the best option is to shy away for a while. But wait for a few months and watch Abalos occupy another post as a GMA appointee. Just wait and see.
   
2. The pressures from the Senate is not worth it all. It is better to play golf than attend Senate inquiries. FG is a better golf buddy.
   
3. He cannot spend lavishly what he has earned. From commissions and kickbacks? Nobody knows. If he does spend his earnings, the BIR and the Ombudsman will follow his track and he doesn't want to be a fish like Erap. (Sen. Aquilino Pimentel wishing Abalos to become a state-witness? That's a wish upon a star.)
4. He cannot work on his farm and plant kamote this early if he is still in the Comelec. Look at Garci. He is enjoying a free man's life after the Hello, Garci! controversy. And Garci could be a good model.
5. Well, if he stays he might just wage war against Neri. And doing so might trigger more beans to spill.
   
6. If he stays, he might also cause his tongue to slip. And he might cause the bomb to explode -- the bomb that GMA is also in kickback-time range.