Senin, 31 Januari 2011
Minggu, 30 Januari 2011
2 out every 3 licensed guns in PHL in hands of civilians
Gerardo Ortega, Venson Evangelista, Emerson Lozano: what do these three have in common? -- They were all victims of crimes involving guns.
Ortega, a radio commentator in Palawan, was reportedly shot and killed by a lone gunman while he was shopping in a used-clothes store after his daily morning broadcast. Evangelista and Lozano, both of whom were used-car dealers, were both kidnapped by carjackers at gunpoint and murdered. Evangelista’s charred remains were later found in an irrigation canal in Cabanatuan City. Lozano’s body, also burned, was dumped in Porac, Pampanga. Both dealers were found with gunshot wounds in their heads.
Shortly after the killings, an article posted on progun.ph, the official website of PROGUN, a local group of gun enthusiasts, urged shopkeepers, sales persons, and car dealers to keep pistols ready for protection.
“Whether or not these acts were serial killings, plain robbery, or thrill kills," the author of the post argued, the incidents “now serve to highlight the need for merchants and sales persons to protect themselves."
Right to life - This reaction is expected. The key argument gun enthusiasts use to support their right to bear guns is the right to life.
Proponents argue that, because the police are unable to protect ordinary citizens from criminal elements, they need guns to protect themselves and their families. This is particularly true in areas where armed insurgencies are still persistent. Those who don’t have guns feel vulnerable.
Given the perception of rising criminality, this type of reasoning is likely to gain more adherents. Security analysts and experts, however, warn against taking this dangerous route. The easy availability of guns, according to Ateneo de Manila University professor Jennifer Santiago Oreta, tends to increase the incidence of violence against the civilian population.
“Mere possession of a gun emboldens one to take drastic action," she explains.
Santiago Oreta, who is with the political science department, has been studying gun proliferation in relation to private armies and has served as consultant to the Independent Commission to Investigate Private Armies, which was created by President Arroyo shortly after the infamous Maguindanao massacre.
The way things are, according to Santiago Oreta, there are too many guns in circulation in the country already.
In her study, “More Guns, More Risks," Santiago Oreta cites data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showing that as of first semester of 2008, there were 1,081,074 licensed firearms in the country. Half of these (517,341) are in the National Capital Region or NCR. What is more interesting, according to her, is that only about a third (30.15%) of all legal guns in circulation are in the hands of official state actors such as the police, military, deputized government employees/ officials, elected officials, reservist, and diplomatic corps combined.
Two out of every three (69.85%) legal arms currently in circulation in the Philippines are in civilian or private hands.
High powered -- Ideally, civilians should only be allowed to own low-caliber firearms. Establishments may be allowed to arm their guards with shotguns but not military-type assault rifles such as the ones found in the Ampatuan residences, says retired Gen. Edilberto Adan, a member of the commission.
The range of weapons circulating in the country is overwhelming, according to Santiago Oreta. These range from AK-47s, M-16s, M-14s, M-1s, .38 and .45 pistols, revolvers and paltik (locally-manufactured guns), to rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), M-79s, PV-49s, landmines, machine guns (30/50/60), and 81mm mortars. One particularly popular firearm in the market at the moment is the Tavor TAR-21, an Israeli-made assault rifle that sells for around P450 thousand to P800 thousand, according to Adan.
Records obtained by Newsbreak from the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) show that as of November 15, 2010, almost 47,000 of the 929,034 firearms licenses issued by the office covered high powered firearms.
Further, while the number of approved licenses for low-powered firearms tends to fluctuate — tending to decrease during periods covered by election gun bans — the number of applications for licenses for high powered firearms has been rising steadily over the years.
Not all authorized firearms in circulation in the country, however, are in this database. Those purchased and issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to its officers, personnel and agents are not included.
Danger zone: loose firearms -- More worrisome than the amount of guns reflected in the FEO database are those that are not listed, FEO’s Sonia Calixto says. “If it’s licensed, you won’t use it for crime because it will be traced to you."
If guns follow the required supply chain, they are theoretically traceable from the time they are manufactured or imported until each transfer of ownership. From the dealers, locally manufactured guns are brought to the PNP crime lab for ballistics. After that, they are brought to the FEO for storage and recording. The dealer only requests for the guns when they are displayed or sold.
If a gun needs to be transferred to another dealer’s stockade (bodega), the dealer needs to request for a permit to transfer from the PNP FEO.
Imported guns are checked for proper Customs permits and then escorted to the crime lab for ballistics testing, then to the FEO for storage. If a gun does not go through this procedure, it would be difficult for authorities to trace the firearms used in a crime to their owners.
There are still gaps in the system though. The PNP crime laboratory’s database of bullet samples taken from the ballistics testing of guns during licensing is not yet fully computerized. This means that unless the actual firearm used in the crime has been recovered, there could be no way to trace it to the owner, whether the gun used is licensed, or not.
Guns and crimes -- PNP records show that the number of crimes committed using firearms is consistently rising.
In 2002, the Philippines ranked 5th globally, after South Africa, Colombia, Thailand and the United States, in terms of the number of murders committed using firearms, according to the 8th United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems.
Authorities say most of the guns used in committing crimes were loose firearms.
The PNP defines the number of loose firearms to include those that were previously licensed, hence reflected in its database, but whose licenses were not renewed after they expired.
The fact that the PNP was able to release an exact number, however, implies that this data actually represents the number of guns with expired licenses, according to Santiago Oreta.
Porous borders, largely unregulated by the government, allow a steady stream of smuggled firearms of all calibers and models to filter into the local market, security sector experts explain.
Illicit gun manufacture also thrives in such areas as Danao, Cebu, Santiago Oreta says in her study. All these contribute to the public feeling of insecurity that drives more civilians to acquire guns, Santiago Oreta says. But it’s a vicious cycle, she warns. While the possession of a gun can make its owner feel secure, Santiago Oreta points out that its proliferation can also make people feel more insecure.
It also compels the state to channel more funds for its military and police spending to combat lawlessness and violence—diverting funds from crucial services such as education, health care, infrastructure, and livelihood.
In turn, such “unmet human needs" can fuel criminality and armed hostilities that, ultimately, push state actors and ordinary people further into the race to acquire more guns.
Ortega, a radio commentator in Palawan, was reportedly shot and killed by a lone gunman while he was shopping in a used-clothes store after his daily morning broadcast. Evangelista and Lozano, both of whom were used-car dealers, were both kidnapped by carjackers at gunpoint and murdered. Evangelista’s charred remains were later found in an irrigation canal in Cabanatuan City. Lozano’s body, also burned, was dumped in Porac, Pampanga. Both dealers were found with gunshot wounds in their heads.Shortly after the killings, an article posted on progun.ph, the official website of PROGUN, a local group of gun enthusiasts, urged shopkeepers, sales persons, and car dealers to keep pistols ready for protection.
“Whether or not these acts were serial killings, plain robbery, or thrill kills," the author of the post argued, the incidents “now serve to highlight the need for merchants and sales persons to protect themselves."
Right to life - This reaction is expected. The key argument gun enthusiasts use to support their right to bear guns is the right to life.
Proponents argue that, because the police are unable to protect ordinary citizens from criminal elements, they need guns to protect themselves and their families. This is particularly true in areas where armed insurgencies are still persistent. Those who don’t have guns feel vulnerable.
Given the perception of rising criminality, this type of reasoning is likely to gain more adherents. Security analysts and experts, however, warn against taking this dangerous route. The easy availability of guns, according to Ateneo de Manila University professor Jennifer Santiago Oreta, tends to increase the incidence of violence against the civilian population.
“Mere possession of a gun emboldens one to take drastic action," she explains.
Santiago Oreta, who is with the political science department, has been studying gun proliferation in relation to private armies and has served as consultant to the Independent Commission to Investigate Private Armies, which was created by President Arroyo shortly after the infamous Maguindanao massacre.
The way things are, according to Santiago Oreta, there are too many guns in circulation in the country already.
In her study, “More Guns, More Risks," Santiago Oreta cites data from the Philippine National Police (PNP) showing that as of first semester of 2008, there were 1,081,074 licensed firearms in the country. Half of these (517,341) are in the National Capital Region or NCR. What is more interesting, according to her, is that only about a third (30.15%) of all legal guns in circulation are in the hands of official state actors such as the police, military, deputized government employees/ officials, elected officials, reservist, and diplomatic corps combined.
Two out of every three (69.85%) legal arms currently in circulation in the Philippines are in civilian or private hands.
High powered -- Ideally, civilians should only be allowed to own low-caliber firearms. Establishments may be allowed to arm their guards with shotguns but not military-type assault rifles such as the ones found in the Ampatuan residences, says retired Gen. Edilberto Adan, a member of the commission.
The range of weapons circulating in the country is overwhelming, according to Santiago Oreta. These range from AK-47s, M-16s, M-14s, M-1s, .38 and .45 pistols, revolvers and paltik (locally-manufactured guns), to rocket propelled grenades (RPGs), M-79s, PV-49s, landmines, machine guns (30/50/60), and 81mm mortars. One particularly popular firearm in the market at the moment is the Tavor TAR-21, an Israeli-made assault rifle that sells for around P450 thousand to P800 thousand, according to Adan.
Records obtained by Newsbreak from the PNP’s Firearms and Explosives Office (FEO) show that as of November 15, 2010, almost 47,000 of the 929,034 firearms licenses issued by the office covered high powered firearms.
Further, while the number of approved licenses for low-powered firearms tends to fluctuate — tending to decrease during periods covered by election gun bans — the number of applications for licenses for high powered firearms has been rising steadily over the years.
Not all authorized firearms in circulation in the country, however, are in this database. Those purchased and issued by the Armed Forces of the Philippines to its officers, personnel and agents are not included.
Danger zone: loose firearms -- More worrisome than the amount of guns reflected in the FEO database are those that are not listed, FEO’s Sonia Calixto says. “If it’s licensed, you won’t use it for crime because it will be traced to you."
If guns follow the required supply chain, they are theoretically traceable from the time they are manufactured or imported until each transfer of ownership. From the dealers, locally manufactured guns are brought to the PNP crime lab for ballistics. After that, they are brought to the FEO for storage and recording. The dealer only requests for the guns when they are displayed or sold.
If a gun needs to be transferred to another dealer’s stockade (bodega), the dealer needs to request for a permit to transfer from the PNP FEO.
Imported guns are checked for proper Customs permits and then escorted to the crime lab for ballistics testing, then to the FEO for storage. If a gun does not go through this procedure, it would be difficult for authorities to trace the firearms used in a crime to their owners.
There are still gaps in the system though. The PNP crime laboratory’s database of bullet samples taken from the ballistics testing of guns during licensing is not yet fully computerized. This means that unless the actual firearm used in the crime has been recovered, there could be no way to trace it to the owner, whether the gun used is licensed, or not.
Guns and crimes -- PNP records show that the number of crimes committed using firearms is consistently rising.In 2002, the Philippines ranked 5th globally, after South Africa, Colombia, Thailand and the United States, in terms of the number of murders committed using firearms, according to the 8th United Nations Survey on Crime Trends and the Operations of Criminal Justice Systems.
Authorities say most of the guns used in committing crimes were loose firearms.
The PNP defines the number of loose firearms to include those that were previously licensed, hence reflected in its database, but whose licenses were not renewed after they expired.
The fact that the PNP was able to release an exact number, however, implies that this data actually represents the number of guns with expired licenses, according to Santiago Oreta.
Porous borders, largely unregulated by the government, allow a steady stream of smuggled firearms of all calibers and models to filter into the local market, security sector experts explain.
Illicit gun manufacture also thrives in such areas as Danao, Cebu, Santiago Oreta says in her study. All these contribute to the public feeling of insecurity that drives more civilians to acquire guns, Santiago Oreta says. But it’s a vicious cycle, she warns. While the possession of a gun can make its owner feel secure, Santiago Oreta points out that its proliferation can also make people feel more insecure.
It also compels the state to channel more funds for its military and police spending to combat lawlessness and violence—diverting funds from crucial services such as education, health care, infrastructure, and livelihood.
In turn, such “unmet human needs" can fuel criminality and armed hostilities that, ultimately, push state actors and ordinary people further into the race to acquire more guns.
By Gemma Bagayaua Mendoza
CES RODRIGUEZ: Just another gossip writer or worse?” the final chapter
“To be happy does not mean to indulge in foolishness...
It is the same senseless orgy of the past years.
And all for what?
To throw money away when there is so much need and misery!
Of course it is an orgy, the bacchanal to drown the lamentations of everyone!” Jose Rizal
THE GUCCI GANG revisited
Written By:
Amiel Aguilar Cabanlig
Picture this: tales of decadence, posh nectars, phones galore and the finest caviar in a postcard-pretty “Fantasy Island ” theme party. All these are but a bittersweet saga of the recent past. And yes, these proceedings have been immortalized in print as a cautionary tale to one and all, that there is an end to all the freebies and swag bags.
What’s more, a yearly induction and expulsion of new clique members characterizes the secret society of the VVVVIP set. Boracays isolated chic hotel is the setting of choice, an apt venue where this mythmaking was started. Such tales are what urban legend is made of. One day you're in, the next day you're out; tsk, tsk! The bigger you are, the harder you fall.
Project runaway, led by a last season’s it-girl, played king-maker to devoted peons who came to her beck and call. Mythical as it may seem, the legend of the fall is as real as it can get.
As legends go, these are how life’s lessons are imparted!
With an unparalleled thirst to feed their “vanities”, the swinging camera whores morphed into an organized quasi-vulgar social sorority of sorts that swiftly went on top of the food chain. For a moment, they seized the limelight like a thief in the night. A mere flash in the pan, they over extended their fifteen minutes of fame into eternal shame!
Quickly gaining a foothold in their social niche, they developed the belligerence of wide-eyed upstarts. This brat pack followed a hollow social diktat, led by it-girl and her fair-haired golden boy. Like pretentious lemmings that blindly play follow-the-leader …they plunged into the river wild.
But hey, it takes two to tango, so they say. Fueling their conspiracy were corporate mavens, who wittingly predated on the dreams and schemes of these social moths. Using the age-old tools of marketing and public relations and expediently tailor-fitting it to serve personal aggrandizement, they made a mockery of the system. The once established benign rules of public relations were turned into a big joke. Publishers lost funds; ads turned into junkets for self proclaimed celebrity journalists on the fast lane.
They shot to instant fame like a “razor” sweeping the social landscape. Their “moto” was seizing the day; one, two… tie my “shu”. It-girl established a labyrinthine protocol of control by which her “in crowd” imposes their will on others. Particularly, those who kiss her ring like fauns to a goddess.
But in turn, she was enslaved by her own imposition. Who ever thought that a mere blog, which turned out to be the “mother of all blogs”, would be the weapon of their mass destruction? Now that truth has prevailed, denial is in vogue; instant amnesia is the name of the game.
Stop feigning innocence; can someone please pass the Pepper shaker! One can only surmise that the secret of their over-night success was the cause to their over-night downfall.
Now that explains why lemmings plunge to their own demise!
Sabtu, 29 Januari 2011
Jumat, 28 Januari 2011
PABAON for the GENERALS
“Rabusa said that whatever was the remaining balance of the PCDA was given as “pabaon” for the retirement of the AFP chief of staff. In the case of Reyes, according to Rabusa, the “pabaon” totaled about P50 million. He also said that Villanueva and Cimatu received about P10 million each as “welcome” gift but he could not say how much they received as “pabaon” when they retired as AFP chief of staff.”
By: Efren Danao Danao
The sickening details of the plea bargaining agreement between Gen. Carlos Garcia, the disgraced former military comptroller and government prosecutors on his plunder case has been overshadowed by the revelation of “welcome and pabaon gifts ” for incoming and outgoing chefs of staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
Based on the testimony of retired Col. George Rabusa before the Senate blue ribbon committee last Thursday, it appeared that the welcome and pabaon gifts had been a “tradition” in the AFP. Do you still wonder why the men in the field risking their lives fighting the enemies of the state are complaining about their inadequate supply and equipment?
Rabusa, budget officer who served under then J-6 (comptrollership) heads Gen. Jacinto Ligot and Garcia, said that former AFP heads Diomedio Villanueva, Roy Cimatu and Angelo Reyes received these “gifts” that ran into millions of pesos. And what was the source of these gifts? Rabusa said they came from about 12.5 percent of the funds under Provisions for Command Directed Activity (PCDA), controlled by all the “J” staffs of the GHQ. He said that the PCDA fund was augmented by contributions from the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Airforce, the Philippine Army, the Presidential Security Group and the V. Luna AFP Medical Center, so the comptrollership was able to generate P40 million a month.
If there had been no complaints against the misuse of the PCDA, it could have been because the military comptroller spread the sunshine, so to speak. Rabusa said that the AFP chief of staff was not the lone beneficiary of the P40 million. According to the list he gave to the Senate blue ribbon committee, the following were the “beneficiaries” of the PCDA fund: the chief of staff, P5 million a month; office of the chief of staff, P5 million, vice chief of staff, P4 million, office of the vice chief of staff, P1.5 million; deputy chief of staff, P1.5 million; office of the secretary of the joint staff, P1 million. Rabusa said he was getting P500,000 a month.
Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, who read the list submitted by Rabusa, did not mention the monthly amounts allegedly received by the assistant secretary for plans and programs, the senior military aide of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the chief nurse, the surgeon general, the provost marshal general, the legislative officer in the House of Representatives, and even retired generals.
Rabusa said that whatever was the remaining balance of the PCDA was given as “pabaon” for the retirement of the AFP chief of staff. In the case of Reyes, according to Rabusa, the “pabaon” totaled about P50 million. He also said that Villanueva and Cimatu received about P10 million each as “welcome” gift but he could not say how much they received as “pabaon” when they retired as AFP chief of staff.
The Senate inquiry has also given more impetus to a closer look at the disposition of the intelligence fund.
It appears that the diversion of the PCDA fund was made possible by the use of the intelligence fund for J-2 (intelligence), the Intelligence Service, AFP, and J-7 (civil-military operations). Rabusa said the amounts were first released to the military intelligence, and then cleared through “intelligence projects.” It should be noted that the intelligence fund is not subject to normal COA audit so the bright boys at the AFP could easily get away with their scheme. I support the move of Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile, Sen. Franklin Drilon and Sen. Chiz Escudero for a stronger oversight on the use of the intelligence fund.
At the same Senate hearing of the Garcia case last Thursday, it was revealed that the dollar deposits of Garcia were credited with the very high exchange rate of P56.41 to the dollar in his plea bargaining agreement with government prosecutors. Sen. Franklin Drilon is correct in questioning this “generosity” accorded by government lawyers to a man accused of stashing away about P300 million of the people’s money. Research by the noted lawyer-legislator showed that the actual exchange rate when the controversial deal was struck, February 25, 2010, was P46.153 to the dollar.
Garcia was able to withdraw between P50 million and P70 million from his bank accounts after his suspension, yet the plea bargaining agreement did not seek the restitution of this amount. His cars, including a 17-year-old one, seized by the government were assessed at acquisition cost. He is now free on bail as a result of the agreement where the case of plunder involving P303 million was lowered by government prosecutors to indirect bribery while Garcia will return P150 million to the government. How lucky can one be? And yet, the government prosecutors describe the plea bargaining agreement as a “win-win” solution?
Kamis, 27 Januari 2011
Rabu, 26 Januari 2011
Margaux Salcedo: Please don't give the Inquirer a bad name... Or is it too late?
Margaux Salcedo: Please don't give the Inquirer a bad name... Or is it too late?
"Never argue with a man who buys his ink by the barrel." Quote attributed to Ben Franklin, who did, in fact, would buy his ink by the barrel.
"Never argue with a man who buys his ink by the barrel." Quote attributed to Ben Franklin, who did, in fact, would buy his ink by the barrel.
By Paul Farol
I read the book ”News for Sale" by Chay Florentino Hofileña(http://www.pcij.org/bookshop/news4sale.html) when I was still working in the newsroom of RPN 9 as a scriptwriter for its two main news programs. That was a time when it seemed that the leadership of the newsroom was bent on weeding out people who were accused of "selling the news" and people who were engaged in a number of rackets that siphoned money off from the company's revenue.
As Hofileña had said in her book years ago, in so many ways, corruption in the news media is difficult to prove and yet the evidence is sometimes in plain sight. Hofileña points out a number of difficulties in stamping out corruption in media organizations, as she explains that the sort of corruption happens with the knowledge of the media bosses and peers who are also in on the racket.
After the first publication of "News for Sale" in 1998 and after the release of its newer version in 2004, it seems Hofileña may need to come up with an even newer version -- this time, perhaps, with a section dealing with PR firms and social media.
Recently, Margaux Salcedo's article on The Sunday Inquirer Magazine titled "Please don't give blogging a bad name" drew a lot of reactions from people on Twitter, Facebook, and in blogs. It recounted the experience of a restaurant owner who was described as a victim of what appears to be an extortion racket perpetrated by a Public Relations company and someone she referred to as the Big Bad Blogger.
What some people objected to on Twitter was the fact that Salcedo didn't name the restaurant, PR company or the blogger. Some said that this tended to place all Public Relations companies and bloggers under suspicion.
On Twitter (http://twitter.com/margauxsalcedo) defended her decision not to name the blogger by saying: Can't identify BBB, need 2 protect Georgia. Also pt of story not to ostracize/punish,just to raise awareness in hopes they stop bad practice.
Salcedo seems to have a point and calling attention to this atrocious practice through a blind item may actually do some good. If ever, it may actually have the effect of making restaurant owners, public relations firms, and bloggers more sensitive to ethical issues.
Then again, the article also resembles the type of white papers that get posted every now and then in the Media rooms of Malacanang, the Senate, the House of Representatives, and other offices where PR "operators" thrive.
I know of one such white paper that did more than just describe a bad practice, it carried the names of the reporters, editors, and producers who allegedly received regular payola, meals, and other favors. The reporters had their hunches as to who had spread the whitepaper and it dampened their relations with the news sources.
I don't know if Salcedo realized this but sometimes such whitepapers are also used by personalities and companies to COW reporters into not writing unfavorable stories about them.
Moreover, there is some reason to suspect that Ms. Salcedo might have an axe to grind against bloggers, take this story into consideration: http://www.ellentordesillas.com/?p=2791
Vicious Erap rumor
There are vicious email and text messages being passed around about former President Joseph Estrada alleged sexual relationship with his spokesperson, Margaux Salcedo.
It’s not true.
The ugly message was sent to me by a certain “Natividad Balete”. The blog which was opened only less than two weeks ago is titled “Filipina ako so what.”
The writer says he was formerly an Erap fan but is disgusted by what the former president did to his wife, Dr. Loi Estrada. The story is that Loi caught Erap in a compromising situation with his young and pretty spokesperson. It even alleges that Margaux is pregnant and that, just like with other Erap mistresses, he is building her a
house.
The writer says that according to the Estrada household help, Loi went to the United States in a huff and when she came back, she did not stay in the Estrada house in Polk Street. She is reportedly staying with her daughter, Jackie Lopez.
San Juan Mayor JV Ejercito, who was the one who recommended Margaux for the position as Estrada spokesperson, belies the rumor. “Kawawa naman ang bata,” he says of the young, aspiring lawyer who was formerly “Flash Report” anchor in GMA-7.
JV said he knew of Margaux during the 2007 mid-term election because she was the candidate of Partido ng Masa for Congress in Mindoro. When she didn’t make it, she suggested her to his father to replace Rufus Rodriguez, who won as representative of the second district of Cagayan de Oro.
“She is hardworking and a loyal PMP member,” JV said.
Anyway, Salcedo has the advantage here, having had her article published on a Weekly Magazine with a wide readership and in the online version of a newspaper that has millions of visitors a day or so they claim.
Selasa, 25 Januari 2011
GOSSIP WRITERS!
Too much “partying” is never an excuse. PDI’s gossip writer Ces Rodriguez should learn a thing or two with this NUJ code of ethics...
“It would help the cause of truth in media if editors and reporters followed the National Union of Journalists’ Code of Ethics (NUJ), particularly Rules I and VIII. The first says: “I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.””
GOSSIP WRITERS
By: Ric Saludo
Today, the media’s penchant to report first and verify later (or never) continues. Last Thursday a leading daily headlined: “P-Noy bares anomalies in importation of rice.” Not claimed, alleged, or asserted, but bared, meaning that there were clear and verified irregularities being exposed, if one goes by plain English.
No prizes for guessing that the latest presidential claim was yet again anything but clear and verified.
The story’s very first sentence read: “President Aquino bared yesterday ‘one person or group’ could have benefited from the importation of rice and its overpricing during the Arroyo administration.” So it seemed he wasn’t even sure who might have benefited or if anyone did benefit.
PNoy also claimed that 1.3 million metric tons was the estimated rice importation needs last year, while 2.5 million MT was imported. Yet former Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap, now a Bohol representative in Congress, countered the next day that 3.2 million tons was the ceiling recommended for 2010 by the inter-agency committee made up of DA, DOF and DOST.
There’s more. Last Friday the same paper ran a follow-up story titled: Gov’t gathering proof on rice scam.
The report recounted the press briefing of Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte: “She said President Aquino’s expose of the supposed irregularities in rice importations during the Liberal Party’s 65th founding anniversary last Wednesday was not done prematurely because even if the full audit is not yet finished, an informal audit was already conducted.”
So here’s the Palace line (so far): There’s a rice import scam which could have benefited one person or a group, but no proof or final audit yet to know for sure. Well, at least the papers and the airwaves had some spicy news to grab readers and viewers.
By the way, the more PR-savvy among us may wonder what else is going on at the National Food Authority (NFA) that is now pushed off the headlines by the rice importation claims. Hmm, this month it raised its prices by P2 or 8 percent to P27 a kilo, adding to the fuel, fare, toll and power hikes burdening consumers, especially the poor, and contributing to the rise in hunger incidence. NFA Administrator Lito Banayo is not a top media and political strategist for nothing.
It would help the cause of truth in media if editors and reporters followed the National Union of Journalists’ Code of Ethics (NUJ), particularly Rules I and VIII. The first says: “I shall scrupulously report and interpret the news, taking care not to suppress essential facts nor to distort the truth by omission or improper emphasis. I recognize the duty to air the other side and the duty to correct substantive errors promptly.” Rule No. 8 adds: “I shall presume persons accused of crime of being innocent until proven otherwise.”
However, given the pressure to win readers, listeners and viewers, the media are likely to keep headlining accusations without verification. (Anyone who doubts that bad news sells should ask five people which newspaper they would buy: the one headlined ECONOMIC RECOVERY, or the other bannered ECONOMIC CRISIS.) Hence, it behooves those of us who care about the truth in what we read or hear to have an oversupply of imported salt when appreciating local news and commentary.
If no basis or proof is cited in a report, then there was almost certainly none provided or even demanded.
Make the extra effort to pore through the inside pages, where corrections and qualifications of past articles are often buried. And always ask if the accuser may have an ulterior motive for making his claims.
Politicians usually do, especially those keen to keep their names widely and constantly reported and recalled.
Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, a lifetime advocate of liberty and human rights, filed a bill requiring media to give the subjects of their stories a right of reply with equal time, space and prominence as the original reports being answered. The media and their Congress allies succeeded in killing the measure.
In Singapore, on the other hand, the government demands that its replies be published in full and without any changes on pain of a publication being banned. While the Philippines should not adopt such media strictures, there is certainly room for efforts toward greater responsibility to go with press freedom.
In Hong Kong, where this writer was an editor with Asiaweek magazine for 17 years, failing to do basic verification could severely weaken a media outfit’s defense in libel cases. Thus, reporters and editors there make sure to ask for proof before rushing to print or air. But in the Philippines it is almost impossible to find libel cases that result in substantial penalties, while the Supreme Court has ordered that offenders should not be meted jail sentences. There have also been moves to decriminalize libel.
With few effective ways to redress salacious reports, it is not inconceivable that some victims may resort to violence. Such acts are totally immoral, unjustified and unlawful, whatever may have been the wrong done by a mistaken or malicious report. At the same time, more responsible, less sensationalist, and truly truth-seeking media may just help reduce provocations which lead to violence against journalists.
Equally important, closer adherence to the lofty professional standards of the NUJ Code of Ethics would elevate the quality and veracity of our news and commentary. Yes, checking claims and accusations may spare some hoods the headline exposes they deserve, but that same argument was never any reason to water down the rights of the accused in court, so why do so in media?
Still, one should not hold one’s breath for reporters and editors to be more circumspect about headlining accusations anytime soon, especially if the great majority of their readers, listeners and viewers do not care either to let the facts get in the way of a sensational story. So buyer beware will just have to be the rule in appreciating local news, especially exposes by politicians. Even the one with an 80-percent trust rating.
Garcia: I did it for my family
Former military comptroller Carlos Garcia on Tuesday admitted that as early as 2008, there were already negotiations for him to enter a plea bargaining agreement with the Office of the Ombusdman.
Facing the House committee on justice, Garcia said he did not initially intend to give in to the negotiations knowing that the plunder charges filed against him in 2004 was weak.
However, when his wife, Clarita, and sons Ian Carl, Juan Paulo, and Timothy Mark, were jailed in the United States separately in 2009, Garcia said he “initiated the reopening the possibility of such negotiations”.
Garcia’s wife and children were co-accused in the plunder and money-laundering charges against the former military official.
“All my families were in different jails in the United States. My wife was detained in Michigan, my son in New York, my two other sons in San Francisco. It is for this reason na umayon ako sa plea bargaining agreement with the advice of my lawyer,” he added.
“Sabi ko, kelan ba matatapos ito? Dahil saking pamilya pipirma ako ng gusto
(nila), yan po ang katotohanan,” Garcia stressed.
Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus had earlier said that Garcia’s perception of the plea bargaining agreement as stated in his motion to the Sandiganbayan is inaccurate.
Garcia said he only agreed to the deal after the prosecution said they will drop the charges against his family.
Facing the House committee on justice, Garcia said he did not initially intend to give in to the negotiations knowing that the plunder charges filed against him in 2004 was weak.
However, when his wife, Clarita, and sons Ian Carl, Juan Paulo, and Timothy Mark, were jailed in the United States separately in 2009, Garcia said he “initiated the reopening the possibility of such negotiations”.Garcia’s wife and children were co-accused in the plunder and money-laundering charges against the former military official.
“All my families were in different jails in the United States. My wife was detained in Michigan, my son in New York, my two other sons in San Francisco. It is for this reason na umayon ako sa plea bargaining agreement with the advice of my lawyer,” he added.
“Sabi ko, kelan ba matatapos ito? Dahil saking pamilya pipirma ako ng gusto
(nila), yan po ang katotohanan,” Garcia stressed.
Assistant Ombudsman Jose de Jesus had earlier said that Garcia’s perception of the plea bargaining agreement as stated in his motion to the Sandiganbayan is inaccurate.
Garcia said he only agreed to the deal after the prosecution said they will drop the charges against his family.
By Kathrina Alvarez
Pacman to open tattoo shop
The businessman in Manny Pacquiao just keeps on going. After having established himself as a boxer, singer, actor, product endorser and most recently, Sarangani congressman, the “Pacman” is now starting a new money-making venture – a tattoo shop.
The endeavor is close to Pacquiao’s heart, having had numerous tattoos done on him from even before he was famous.
During the “Redhorse Pambansang Muziklaban: Francis Magalona Tribute” on Saturday, Pacquiao announced that he is tapping Pinoy inker Chris Garcia as partner in the soon-to-be-opened enterprise.
"Magandang karangalan ito na makasama ko siya sa tattoo shop dahil isa siya sa mga pinakamagaling mag-tattoo dito sa atin and I'm very proud of him," said Pacquiao to the press.
The feeling is apparently mutual. Garcia, who was also present at the event, said being chosen as partner in the venture by the iconic boxer himself is a great honor.
"Ibang klaseng pakiramdam. Napaka-sarap ng pakiramdam,” said he in the same interview.
Garcia said the planned shop, the first branch of which will be opened in Los Angeles, California, will embody “the excellence synonymous to Manny Pacquiao.”
"Pagkasinabi mo 'yong pangalan ni Manny, ang unang papasok sa isip mo ay absolute excellence,” he said.
“Kaya 'yon ang gusto naming i-offer sa shop niya---nothing but the absolute best.”
The US based Garcia, brother of Slapshock’s Jamir, is known for the tattoos he has done on actor Sylvester Stallone and father and daughter singers Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus.
Garcia has also done work on local musicians including his brother, Sandwich’s Raimund Marasigan and Karl Roy, as well as basketball player Don Allado.
Pacquiao and Garcia are only a couple among many celebrities who trooped to the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds in Pasay City to attend the Magalona Tribute. Others who were spotted there were Pepe Smith, Arnel Pineda and Jericho Rosales.
The 44-year-old Magalona, rapper, actor, TV host and known tattoo enthusiast, died in March of 2009 after losing his battle with leukemia. He was the son of actors Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran.
Launched as a teen star in the 1980s, Magalona's career soared when his rap song "Mga Kababayan," made it big in the early '90s.
The endeavor is close to Pacquiao’s heart, having had numerous tattoos done on him from even before he was famous.During the “Redhorse Pambansang Muziklaban: Francis Magalona Tribute” on Saturday, Pacquiao announced that he is tapping Pinoy inker Chris Garcia as partner in the soon-to-be-opened enterprise.
"Magandang karangalan ito na makasama ko siya sa tattoo shop dahil isa siya sa mga pinakamagaling mag-tattoo dito sa atin and I'm very proud of him," said Pacquiao to the press.
The feeling is apparently mutual. Garcia, who was also present at the event, said being chosen as partner in the venture by the iconic boxer himself is a great honor.
"Ibang klaseng pakiramdam. Napaka-sarap ng pakiramdam,” said he in the same interview.
Garcia said the planned shop, the first branch of which will be opened in Los Angeles, California, will embody “the excellence synonymous to Manny Pacquiao.”
"Pagkasinabi mo 'yong pangalan ni Manny, ang unang papasok sa isip mo ay absolute excellence,” he said.
“Kaya 'yon ang gusto naming i-offer sa shop niya---nothing but the absolute best.”
The US based Garcia, brother of Slapshock’s Jamir, is known for the tattoos he has done on actor Sylvester Stallone and father and daughter singers Billy Ray and Miley Cyrus.
Garcia has also done work on local musicians including his brother, Sandwich’s Raimund Marasigan and Karl Roy, as well as basketball player Don Allado.Pacquiao and Garcia are only a couple among many celebrities who trooped to the SM Mall of Asia Concert Grounds in Pasay City to attend the Magalona Tribute. Others who were spotted there were Pepe Smith, Arnel Pineda and Jericho Rosales.
The 44-year-old Magalona, rapper, actor, TV host and known tattoo enthusiast, died in March of 2009 after losing his battle with leukemia. He was the son of actors Pancho Magalona and Tita Duran.
Launched as a teen star in the 1980s, Magalona's career soared when his rap song "Mga Kababayan," made it big in the early '90s.
Aquino vows thorough probe on bus blast
President Benigno Aquino III assured that all concerned government agencies are working together to investigate on the bus explosion Tuesday afternoon, leaving four people dead and 14 others wounded.At a press conference, Aquino extended his condolences to the families of the fatalities. The explosion happened when a Newman Goldliner bus was traversing the northbound lane of Epifanio delos Santos Avenue near the corner of Gil Puyat (Buendia) Avenue in Makati City.
“Nakakasiguro po ang lahat na magkakaroon ng kalutasan itong sitwasyong ito. Nakatutuok and lahat ng mga ahensya ng ating pamahalaan para masigurado ang kaligtasan ng lahat,” he added.
Aquino added that the Makati City government, the Metro Manila Development Authority, and the intelligence services have joined their efforts to look into the incident.
“Sa kasalukuyan po ay inatasan na natin at kumikilos na ang lahat ng ahensya ng gobyerno para bigyan ng pag- aaruga itong mga nasaktan at magkaroon ng imbestigayson sa pagsabog na ito,” he said.
The President also ordered the Presidential Management Staff (PMS) to provide assistance to the victims, while directing the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) to review threats assessment in the country.The President also ordered for an inventory of the equipment of the AFP and PNP, saying, “Hihigpitan natin ang tinatawag na pag-aaruga nitong mga consumables para sigurado tayong walang nawawala sa diretsuhang control ng ating Sandatahang Lakas.”
Aquino is set to visit the surviving victims at St. Lukes Medical Center in Taguig City.
He will then proceed to the Southern Police District in Pasay City, where the bus will be brought, to personally see the damaged incurred in the vehicle.
By Jill Beltran
Senin, 24 Januari 2011
CES RODRIGUEZ: Just another gossip writer or worse?” part II
The decadent 90’s marked an upsurge of the so-called “society” columnists. It was a time when everybody and her cousin were swashbuckling cameras, seeking the attention they thought they deserved from imprudent brand managers and their marketing ilk.
And oh yes- It was no less than Ces Rodriguez’ “party of fools” from the Philippine Daily Inquirer who started it all. (photo taken from: http://delfindjmontano.blogspot.com)
This same horde comprise what is known today as the infamous “Gucci Gang”. For almost a decade, their weeklies encouraged and featured drugs, parties and the “good life”.
Even before the arrest of the so-called “Alabang Boys”, this brat pack were staples of their “Gucci-Gang banged” columns (The Alabang Boys even appeared in Maurice Arcache’s column almost half a dozen times!). And who can forget the “Oh so Divine Lee…” whom they coined “Most likely to Succeed” and “Real Estate Heiress”…
And lets not forget Papa Gucci's mantra: "“There is this mind-set, which I think is so passe, that says: ‘The country is in shambles and the country is having a hard time and you are out there partying.’ But this generation is guiltless when it comes to that.”--Tim Yap, “Good times are back for rich folk in Manila”
Should we wax nostalgic or should they be encased in a wax museum?
Should we wax nostalgic or should they be encased in a wax museum?
Demagogues’ of Disgrace
taken from: amiel aguilar cabanlig
While we live in a society where man’s spirit is crushed at birth; where hope is absent and poverty is severe, demagogues thrive in this melancholy. By offering hollow bonbons, sugar-coated in enticing wrapping such as “aspirational” to naive upstarts, they easily tickle the fancies and enslave their souls.
The vocabulary of pretentiousness is nowhere as encyclopedic as in their weeklies. To these sybarites, greed has no moderation. Remember, your Hermes scarves are useless dahlins’, its hot where you’re going!
In a recent article I read, a senior columnist proposes an ethics body to be formed by journalists to “hear and decide the complaints about their abusive peers.” It’s quite amusing, that someone, somewhere, is coming up with a solution. But hey, didn’t it take almost a decade for their own daily to come to their senses and fathom the contemptuous self-serving dignitary that it bred and nurtured? The line to get your passport stamped doesn’t start at the Fort but can only go down from there. Sniff, sniff, sniff!
The PROBE Team has done a survey and says that a reporter takes at least P5,000 a month, an editor at least P10,000 pesos and a columnist at least P15,000 especially during elections! Geez, social writers wouldn’t even bother with these nickels and dimes.
Pushing the art of self-promotion to its toxic limits and masquerading it with spectacular events and public relations, columnist’s profits can easily go up to six figures. Not to mention threat, theft, corruption, hotels, caviar and cruises all in the name of “lifestyle journalism”. When it rains it certainly pours. But now that drought is upon them, can we call a shaman for some acid-rain.
Should we wax nostalgic or should they be encased in a wax museum?
Another case in point: the death of actor Rico Yan brought forth a superfluous national outpour of grief propelled by television. In its aftermath, print-media took stock to the hype and tried to make sense of the brouhaha. But when the same happened to a socialite friend of the guardians of high society’s fourth estate, millions of pesos worth of precious column-centimeters were devoted to beatify their dearly departed. A “cannibalism of grief” as some would say; a case of canonizing or denying ones guilt if I may say.
Will someone hand me the hand-sanitizer!
The declaration of demagogues is set in stone. But when they stumble and fall into disgrace, their alibis are all for naught.
Minggu, 23 Januari 2011
Pacquiao to pump fists with Obama
King of the ring-turned-politician Manny “PacMan” Pacquiao would have the rare chance to meet and pump fists with US President Barack Obama next month, according to prolific boxing scribe Michael Marley of The Examiner.
In an article he posted in Examiner.com and picked up by Philippine boxing portal Philboxing.com, Marley suggested that a meeting between Pacquiao and Obama in mid-February would be arranged by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid during the Washington, D.C., stop of the Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley press tour.
It all depends, of course, if the White House would be able to squeeze no more than a few minutes of “grip and grin” photo opportunity into Obama’s hectic schedule.
Marley said that a meeting with the American president would be Reid’s best way of returning Pacquiao’s gesture of leaving training camp just before his recent fight against Antonio Margarito in November to pitch for the former amateur boxer.
Pacquiao was flown by private jet from his training camp at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood by his promoter Bob Arum for the 30-minute flight to Las Vegas during a crucial public campaign in Sin City.
“Arum did inform me about 10 days ago that Reid would host Pacquiao and maybe also Mosley at a top D.C. restaurant during the media road trip,” Marley wrote. “But you know Arum would love to get his Manny into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue [the White House’s address] if he and Reid can.”
According to Marley, Pacquiao would have an easy time connecting with President Obama, who loves basketball just like PacMan.
“Manny went to bat for Harry in a big way, at the urging of Bob, and now an appreciative Harry can deliver something important to PacMan—a meeting with President Obama,” he said.
Pacquiao, the representative of Sarangani province in Congress who has made no secret about his ambitions to become President of the Philippines, seems comfortable rubbing elbows with top American politicians.
Days before his big fight against British welterweight star Ricky Hatton on May 1, 2009, Pacquiao had a brief meeting with two-term US President Bill Clinton at a Mandalay Bay Casino Hotel restaurant in Las Vegas.
“A great thing happened to me on Wednesday. I got a chance to meet former US President Bill Clinton. He is a great man and it was an honor for me to meet him. He was eating at Mandalay Bay and wanted a chance to meet me,” Pacquiao wrote in his Yahoo Sports blog then.
“He’s a big boxing fan. We talked a lot about boxing. He asked about my fights and he told one of my trainers, Michael Moorer, that he watched his heavyweight championship fight with Evander Holyfield many years ago.
“He also told me that he went to college with President Arroyo,” the Filipino boxing icon said, referring to former President Gloria Arroyo, who, like Clinton, attended Georgetown University.
In an article he posted in Examiner.com and picked up by Philippine boxing portal Philboxing.com, Marley suggested that a meeting between Pacquiao and Obama in mid-February would be arranged by Senate Majority leader Harry Reid during the Washington, D.C., stop of the Pacquiao vs. Shane Mosley press tour.
It all depends, of course, if the White House would be able to squeeze no more than a few minutes of “grip and grin” photo opportunity into Obama’s hectic schedule.Marley said that a meeting with the American president would be Reid’s best way of returning Pacquiao’s gesture of leaving training camp just before his recent fight against Antonio Margarito in November to pitch for the former amateur boxer.
Pacquiao was flown by private jet from his training camp at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood by his promoter Bob Arum for the 30-minute flight to Las Vegas during a crucial public campaign in Sin City.
“Arum did inform me about 10 days ago that Reid would host Pacquiao and maybe also Mosley at a top D.C. restaurant during the media road trip,” Marley wrote. “But you know Arum would love to get his Manny into 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue [the White House’s address] if he and Reid can.”
According to Marley, Pacquiao would have an easy time connecting with President Obama, who loves basketball just like PacMan.
“Manny went to bat for Harry in a big way, at the urging of Bob, and now an appreciative Harry can deliver something important to PacMan—a meeting with President Obama,” he said.
Pacquiao, the representative of Sarangani province in Congress who has made no secret about his ambitions to become President of the Philippines, seems comfortable rubbing elbows with top American politicians.
Days before his big fight against British welterweight star Ricky Hatton on May 1, 2009, Pacquiao had a brief meeting with two-term US President Bill Clinton at a Mandalay Bay Casino Hotel restaurant in Las Vegas.
“A great thing happened to me on Wednesday. I got a chance to meet former US President Bill Clinton. He is a great man and it was an honor for me to meet him. He was eating at Mandalay Bay and wanted a chance to meet me,” Pacquiao wrote in his Yahoo Sports blog then.
“He’s a big boxing fan. We talked a lot about boxing. He asked about my fights and he told one of my trainers, Michael Moorer, that he watched his heavyweight championship fight with Evander Holyfield many years ago.
“He also told me that he went to college with President Arroyo,” the Filipino boxing icon said, referring to former President Gloria Arroyo, who, like Clinton, attended Georgetown University.
By Jun Medina
Ces Rodriguez: Just another gossip writer or worse?” part I
Quite obviously, PDI’s Ces Rodriguez is worse than a gossip writer- she can’t even get her facts straight. In her feature story, “Sensationally On-line” (Philippine Daily Inquirer, Sunday Magazine), she insolently touted Dona Victorina as a mere “gossip blog” and unwittingly blaming it as the author of “An Avatar of Society’s Beelzebub.”
Clearly, Ces Rodriguez and her presumptuous posse from the Philippine Daily Inquirer have no idea as to what they’r talking about!
For everyone’s information it was then Manila Times Columnist and special supplement Editor, Amiel Aguilar Cabanlig who wrote the much talked about essay: “Who is Soozyhopper?” It was written as a retort to the queries brought about by PDI editor Thelma San Juan. It was later picked up by http://delfindjmontano.blogspot.com/ and then http://donavictorina.blogspot.com/.
Dona Victorina is a group of vibrant men and women whose foremost advocacy is to put key sectors of society under scrutiny to identify and denounce all forms of debauchery and pretensions. Dona Victorina’s battleground is the internet and the ever expanding online community.
Now we ask PDI's “writer” Ces Rodriguez- What makes this well written article “GOSSIP”?
Ces Rodriguez: Just another gossip writer or worse?” part I
WHO IS SOOZYHOPER?
By: Amiel Aguilar Cabanlig
The Manila Times, September 1, 2006
If you’ve been running through the gamut of the metro’s polite society, I am almost certain that you’ve heard its name whispered in frighteningly clandestine conversations. Who is she? Who is he? Or who is it? Why does it do what it does? Who is Soozyhopper?
Soozyhopper, an avatar of society’s Beelzebub, which manifested itself several months back as an incognito blogging socialite, still remains a hot topic albeit in hushed whispers along the cold corridors of Manila’s elite get-togethers.
Its mysterious appearance took many by surprise as it chronicled webpages upon webpages of malicious gossip about the Philippines’ supposed high society—only to suddenly vanish in a flash of fire and brimstone. This elusive Soozyhopper and the web of intrigues it has painstakingly spun have prompted a rude awaking in society. From accusations of halitosis to surreptitious affairs, its venomous words have been the talk of the town. Nonetheless, in my opinion, what it did was uncalled for and despicable!
The emergence of society’s worst nightmare, Soozyhopper, is a byproduct of years of societal toxins festering, free of checks and balances. On several occasions querying society figures courteously approached me inquiring if I was it—if I was Soozyhopper. Though feeling utterly disrespected, I shrugged-off their assertions civilly because to me, they were people who really didn’t matter.
This was until people, who mattered, like the revered Thelma San Juan, asked me the same question? Dumb-founded by her query, I decided to write about my sentiments and put these accusations to rest, once and for all. Before Soozyhopper’s online mud slinging of societal figures and celebrities, I had an unfortunate incident with some partyphiles at a Greenbelt bar.
Inebriation—an accepted weakness of mine but in no way an excuse for inappropriate behavior—has more than once put me in awkward situations. I will not go into detail about what happened that fateful evening but my mistake there was stepping out of Mezze (a place dear to me that knew how to deal with such appalling situations) and exposing myself to who might have been Soozyhopper’s alter egos.
A row ensued, which I regret. Nevertheless, I apologized to high heavens through Miguel Rosales who I consider a fine chap and a friend. In less than a week after that untoward incident, Soozyhopper reared its ugly head, spewing hateful words about the same people I bumped into that fateful night.
Talk about bad timing!
Talk about bad timing!
Though logic dictates that I couldn’t have concocted a blog in less than a week, some would like to believe me to be that vile creature out to exact revenge, but dearies, I might be a lot of things but I could never be it!Knowing who Soozyhopper is should be as easy as pie taking into account the pecuniary capability of its victims. Yet, more important than knowing the façade behind it, we should all know why it evolved and came into being.Take for example the recent hullabaloo, which spattered last week’s society pages.
The genuine humanitarian concerns of a heaven-sent royalty, Prince Andrea Casiraghi, were almost marred by the pretenses of social poseurs who seemed more concerned with rubbing elbows and feeding their vanities than genuine munificence. Good thing, the wise Prince’s blanket rejection of all mundane society invitations is a repudiation of these societal ills bread by self-proclaimed society arbiters.It is this abominable attitude that creates superficial devils who spitefully gloat in their Prada shoes rather than altruistic angels who would seek to rectify societal ills.
Was Soozyhopper borne of such loathsome sentiment or has it merely contributed to such contemptible superficiality? Whatever the case might be, people are still left wondering who this enigma really is and the finger pointing has yet to end. To be frank, while I am unafraid of the person or persons behind this cyber-personality, the whole conundrum has exhausted my last straw.
I think we all know the catalysts that could bring such a monstrosity into life. Those who fear Soozyhopper are most likely the very same people perpetrating its existence as well as several wannabe-Soozyhoppers to come. For in the final analysis, we are a mere précis of all the people we are with. And with the three best friends I had for the past decade: Nonong (Dero) Pedero, Raul Teehankee and Ed Lejano, there is no way in hell I could be it.
The genuine humanitarian concerns of a heaven-sent royalty, Prince Andrea Casiraghi, were almost marred by the pretenses of social poseurs who seemed more concerned with rubbing elbows and feeding their vanities than genuine munificence. Good thing, the wise Prince’s blanket rejection of all mundane society invitations is a repudiation of these societal ills bread by self-proclaimed society arbiters.It is this abominable attitude that creates superficial devils who spitefully gloat in their Prada shoes rather than altruistic angels who would seek to rectify societal ills.
Was Soozyhopper borne of such loathsome sentiment or has it merely contributed to such contemptible superficiality? Whatever the case might be, people are still left wondering who this enigma really is and the finger pointing has yet to end. To be frank, while I am unafraid of the person or persons behind this cyber-personality, the whole conundrum has exhausted my last straw.
I think we all know the catalysts that could bring such a monstrosity into life. Those who fear Soozyhopper are most likely the very same people perpetrating its existence as well as several wannabe-Soozyhoppers to come. For in the final analysis, we are a mere précis of all the people we are with. And with the three best friends I had for the past decade: Nonong (Dero) Pedero, Raul Teehankee and Ed Lejano, there is no way in hell I could be it.
Finally, behind all the political upheavals, oil-spills, volcanic eruptions and what I’ll be eating for dinner tomorrow, who really cares?
May Soozyhopper come out in the open or rest in urban legend peace!
May Soozyhopper come out in the open or rest in urban legend peace!
Jumat, 21 Januari 2011
Demeaning the Supreme Court
“Chief Justice Corona was magnanimous and conciliatory toward the President... Stressing the weakness of the judiciary boosts the people’s lack of faith in our Republic. It is a comfort that the majority of our people continue to trust President Aquino. Surely, our democracy, our Republic, would be stronger still if the people also reposed as much faith in the judiciary... These allies of the President must stop demeaning the Supreme Court. For they are cutting one of the three legs of our government—making ours a wobbly, not a strong, Republic.”
Demeaning the Supreme Court
The Manila Times opines that the “Chief Justice Renato Corona is right. There is a propaganda effort to demean the Supreme Court and its decisions against issuances of President Benigno Aquino 3rd.The CJ said this on Thursday in his speech at a forum of the Foreign Correspondents’ Association of the Philippines (FOCAP).
He said people who criticize the High Court should first read the Court’s rulings. He did not name the critics he was upbraiding. But he could have been referring to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and some of the allies of the Aquino administration.
The DOJ chief had spoken harshly about the SC’s decision to strike down President Aquino’s creation of the Truth Commission for being unconstitutional. Sec. de Lima said the High
Court’s decision favored former President Gloria Arroyo, the stated target of the aborted Truth Commission. Ms. de Lima said the former president was now reaping profits from her investment in appointing the justices of the Supreme Court. All of the High Court justices were appointed by Mrs. Arroyo, except Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno, whom President Aquino appointed soon after he assumed office.
President Aquino himself had railed against the High Court and its decision to nullify his Executive Order creating the TC. He said the Court was derailing his anti-corruption campaign and preventing him from nailing down Mrs. Arroyo and others who had allegedly committed corrupt acts during the former president’s time in office.
But Chief Justice Corona was magnanimous and conciliatory toward the President.
He said. “I think everybody understands, the President himself understands, that this is our function. We have a right to decide the cases and people out there have the right to express their opinions about what we say or do. That is democracy.”
Apart from striking down the President’s EO 1 creating the Truth Commission, the High Court had also declared illegal EO 2 which sought to revoke former president Arroyo’s “midnight appointments.”
The chief magistrate said it did not worry him that the criticisms were giving the Court a bad image. “I’m more concerned about doing what is right.”
But there are people whose purpose is to demean, even demonize, the High Court and the justices themselves.
Some of these critics are enemies of our democracy. They want the government to fail. They know that making the judiciary, especially the Supreme Court look bad, will undo the good done by the people’s love for President Aquino. The people’s solid embrace of the President gives strength to our Republic.
Some of the critics are not malevolently against the Republic. They are simply people obsessed with their hatred for the previous regime. They do not want our Republic to be harmed by weakening the Supreme Court and the entire judiciary. They just cannot help thinking of the present Supreme Court as Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s Court. These people’s partisan prejudice is unfair to the good people in the Court. They miss to see the independence of the justices’ decisions.
“When we decide a case, we do so in the exercise of our constitutional duty to resolve conflicts. It is never to favor or defeat one or the other party. This, in essence, is really what decision-making is all about. A Supreme Court decision is not the judgment of one man alone but the collective opinion of both the majority and the minority combined,” the Chief Justice said.
Actually, the Corona High Court has not made a single decision that deserves condemnation. Even the decision that stunned the majority of current-events aware Filipinos—the reversal of the lower court’s guilty verdict on Webb et. al.—was indeed widely criticized. But fair and high-minded legal eagles have found that decision just and not the product of corruption among the Supremes. This, despite the bereaved Lauro Vizconde’s insistence that a justice lobbied among his peers to arrive at the not-guilty decision.
One of our problems as a nation is the weakness of our institutions. These institutions will be buttressed by the people’s faith in them. When the people by and large believe these institutions to be trustworthy and manned by leaders who have the common good and the well-being of our nation at heart, that faith helps transform the weak institution and inspires the officials in them to live up to the people’s expectations.
Stressing the weakness of the judiciary boosts the people’s lack of faith in our Republic. It is a comfort that the majority of our people continue to trust President Aquino. Surely, our democracy, our Republic, would be stronger still if the people also reposed as much faith in the judiciary.
The judiciary’s fidelity to their jobs is greatly needed, especially in these times when there is a crime wave and the national police leadership seems to be unable to discipline those officers—all over the country—who are henchmen of the cold-blooded kidnappers, carnappers, drug and jueteng lords.
It doesn’t help to inspire our magistrates to be more self-sacrificial in performing their duties when government officials, especially allies of the President, are the very ones who speak ill of the Supreme Court and its justices.
Thank God, the President himself has of late become more circumspect in speaking about the High Court. But other people among his political allies have still been sneering at what they insist is the “Gloria Arroyo Court.”
These allies of the President must stop demeaning the Supreme Court. For they are cutting one of the three legs of our government—making ours a wobbly, not a strong, Republic.
Selasa, 18 Januari 2011
DepEd continues to invest in the war against illiteracy
On track to meet its Education For All (EFA) target by 2015, the Department of Education is set to further strengthen its Basic Education Sector Reform Agenda (BESRA) as it continues to wage war against illiteracy.
According to Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro FSC, part of DepEd’s major thrust in 2011 is to beef up its basic education performance and ensure that all school-aged children are in school by 2015.
“This will include system-wide reforms like BESRA which will be critical if we want all our Filipino children to be literate and imbued with life skills,” Luistro added.
BESRA is a package of policy actions organized under five key reform thrusts (KRT) to facilitate the attainment of the EFA goal and objectives. It aims to systematically improve basic education outcomes nationwide. Luistro noted that, “our commitment is not to simply achieve EFA but to provide basic competencies to everyone to achieve Functional Literacy for All.”
Its KRTs include continuous school improvement facilitated by active involvement of stakeholders; better learning outcomes achieved by improved teacher standards; desired learning outcomes enhanced by national learning strategies, multi-sector coordination, and quality assurance; improved impact on outcomes resulting from complementary early childhood education (ECE), alternative learning system (ALS) and private sector participation; and institutional culture change in DepED to facilitate school initiatives and assure quality.
DepEd is now fully implementing decentralization in education management through school-based management (SBM) – where school heads are given the responsibility to secure resources for the school through networking with community stakeholders. Likewise, they are held accountable for the desired education outcomes.
At present, improved teacher standards have been achieved by employing National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS) and the Teacher Strengths and Needs Assessments (TSNA). Also, Competency-Based Performance Appraisal System for Teachers (CB-PAST) has been developed to improve the Performance Appraisal System.
BESRA has been effecting improvements in the basic education system. Among its major accomplishments are the formulation, issuance and adoption of key policies needed to put in place a transformed basic education system.
DepEd has also posted improved performance on ECE, ALS, and private sector participation. Records show that the number of five year-old children who enter kindergarten has been increasing annually – from 50 percent in 2009 to 80 percent in 2010. The net effect of the expansion of preschool coverage is evident in the increasing number of grade 1 entrants ready for formal schooling based on the result of Grade 1 Readiness Test which registered a three percent increase - from 37 percent in 2009 to 40 percent in 2010.
According to Education Secretary Bro. Armin Luistro FSC, part of DepEd’s major thrust in 2011 is to beef up its basic education performance and ensure that all school-aged children are in school by 2015.
“This will include system-wide reforms like BESRA which will be critical if we want all our Filipino children to be literate and imbued with life skills,” Luistro added.BESRA is a package of policy actions organized under five key reform thrusts (KRT) to facilitate the attainment of the EFA goal and objectives. It aims to systematically improve basic education outcomes nationwide. Luistro noted that, “our commitment is not to simply achieve EFA but to provide basic competencies to everyone to achieve Functional Literacy for All.”
Its KRTs include continuous school improvement facilitated by active involvement of stakeholders; better learning outcomes achieved by improved teacher standards; desired learning outcomes enhanced by national learning strategies, multi-sector coordination, and quality assurance; improved impact on outcomes resulting from complementary early childhood education (ECE), alternative learning system (ALS) and private sector participation; and institutional culture change in DepED to facilitate school initiatives and assure quality.
DepEd is now fully implementing decentralization in education management through school-based management (SBM) – where school heads are given the responsibility to secure resources for the school through networking with community stakeholders. Likewise, they are held accountable for the desired education outcomes.
At present, improved teacher standards have been achieved by employing National Competency-Based Teacher Standards (NCBTS) and the Teacher Strengths and Needs Assessments (TSNA). Also, Competency-Based Performance Appraisal System for Teachers (CB-PAST) has been developed to improve the Performance Appraisal System.
BESRA has been effecting improvements in the basic education system. Among its major accomplishments are the formulation, issuance and adoption of key policies needed to put in place a transformed basic education system.
DepEd has also posted improved performance on ECE, ALS, and private sector participation. Records show that the number of five year-old children who enter kindergarten has been increasing annually – from 50 percent in 2009 to 80 percent in 2010. The net effect of the expansion of preschool coverage is evident in the increasing number of grade 1 entrants ready for formal schooling based on the result of Grade 1 Readiness Test which registered a three percent increase - from 37 percent in 2009 to 40 percent in 2010.
Senin, 17 Januari 2011
OUR BACHELOR PRESIDENT!
“As a bachelor, PNoy keeps his merrymaking ways.
He wakes up later than most jobholders and wage earners do.
He designs his own agenda according to his needs for the day.
He buys gadgets and toys as he wishes, as long as he has the money to pay for them.
He is a bachelor, remember?”
BY TONY LOPEZ
When the nation elected a bachelor and an economist president in May last year, it was thought that would be good for the country.
A bachelor president would not have a first lady whose frivolities and Imeldific tastes could detract from the more urgent problem of rebuilding a nation ravaged by poverty and the worst global economic slowdown in 80 years.
An economist president would have an intimate and sympathetic understanding of the country’s basic problem—the gnawing poverty which afflicts from a quarter to half of 95 million Filipinos.
The record of President Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino 3rd so far is disappointing.
As an economist, PNoy has approved and or tolerated increases in prices and rates of nearly every basic good and service—of rice (the bellwether of all other consumer prices), mass transit like MRT and LRT, tollways and expressways, taxis and buses, and petroleum products. The increases are not simple price adjustments. They are dramatic, massive, astronomical, revolting, sudden
and immediate.
An economist looks at the cost of producing a product or a service and allows a certain margin—called profit for its producer.
As a bachelor, PNoy keeps his merrymaking ways. He wakes up later than most jobholders and wage earners do. He designs his own agenda according to his needs for the day. He buys gadgets and toys as he wishes, as long as he has the money to pay for them. He is a bachelor, remember?
On November 27, 2010, the 77th birth anniversary of his father, the martyred opposition leader Benigno S. Aquino Jr., SWS began a four-day survey of hunger among Filipinos. The results are disturbing.
Eighteen of every 100 Filipinos claim to have been hungry in the last three months (the second to the fourth months of the
Aquino presidency), up from 16 of 100 in September and from the average of 13.7 out of every 100 in the past 12 years. SWS also found that 9.2 million families—49 percent of respondents—consider themselves poor.
A fifth of Filipinos (3.4 million families or 19 million people) are hungry. They don’t have anything to eat. Half of them (9.2 million families or almost 50 million Filipinos) are poor. They don’t have money or assets.
What does Noynoy, the bachelor, do? Well, he buys a slightly used (10,000 kilometers or the average mileage one logs driving a car in a year) Porsche for P4.5 million. He didn’t steal the money. It is his money. After all, he is part owner of the single biggest piece of contiguous sugar plantation land, which by the way has been losing money every year for the past 10 years.
In most of the basic products and services, the common producer should be the government whose responsibility it is to produce basic goods (like food) and render basic services like reliable public transport and roads. To finance these things, the government collects taxes. Taxes are applied according to one’s income—the higher your income, the higher your tax. The poorer you are, the more is your need for basic goods (like food) and basic services like public transport.
It is government’s responsibility to provide these things. So it collects taxes in places like Visayas and Mindanao and spends the money in places like Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon where the bulk of the population—and business—are.
It is fallacious reasoning to say that the people of Mindanao and the Visayas should not pay for higher rates of taxis, buses and tollways in Metro Manila because they don’t live in Metro Manila. If Metro Manila revolts because of the breakdown in or high prices of basic services, the resulting commotion and rebellion will spread to the south and burn the entire archipelago.
Poverty has its roots in massive unemployment and underemployment that bedevil a quarter of employable Filipinos and in the increasing income disparity between the few who are very rich (majority of whom do not pay the proper taxes) and the millions who are very poor.
Joblessness and poverty in turn feed a communist insurgency that is the longest running in the whole world and a Muslim separatist movement that is also the longest running Muslim separatist rebellion in the world. These twin insurgencies, in turn, prompt the state to allocate scarce financial resources to an armed forces that is consistently disrespectful and contemptuous of the commander in chief and exceedingly corrupt to the core, not to mention grossly incompetent, for having failed to defeat, after 40 years, its two major enemies.
The bottomline? We are a failed state, according to the Foreign Affairs Magazine. Globally, the Philippines is below average in economic freedom. In entire Asia, the country is also below average, No. 21 out of 41 countries.
Economic freedom is defined as the fundamental right of every human to control his or her own labor and property. In an economically free society, individuals are free to work, produce, consume and invest in any way they please. That freedom is protected and not constrained by the state.
Without economic freedom, economists say, there is no true political freedom. Which is why sacada workers in a sugar hacienda often do not exercise their right to vote freely because their choice, if at all, is dictated by the plantation owner.
U.S. denies involvement in General Garcia scandal
The United States denied that it dipped its hands in the infamous plea bargaining agreement entered into by government prosecutors and suspected plunderer former military comptroller Carlos Garcia.
Saying they were unaware of the plea bargain deal, the US maintained that its cooperation with Philippine authorities focused only on the bulk cash smuggling and conspiracy charges faced by Garcia’s two sons.
"As part of the routine communication related to the extraditions, Philippine authorities informed the US of the Garcia plea agreement. The US had no role in its negotiation and was not consulted on its terms," the US embassy said in a statement over the weekend.
As proof of mutual cooperation, the US said it received a request from the Office of the Ombudsman under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) regarding Garcia’s P303-million plunder suit.
"In response, a US Government investigator provided testimony to the Sandiganbayan and gathered evidence regarding the seizure of US$100,000 from Garcia’s sons when they entered the US at San Francisco in December 2003," the embassy said.
Garcia’s sons Juan Paulo and Ian Carl pled guilty last year after attempting to smuggle US$100,000 into the United States eight years ago.
Saying they were unaware of the plea bargain deal, the US maintained that its cooperation with Philippine authorities focused only on the bulk cash smuggling and conspiracy charges faced by Garcia’s two sons.
"As part of the routine communication related to the extraditions, Philippine authorities informed the US of the Garcia plea agreement. The US had no role in its negotiation and was not consulted on its terms," the US embassy said in a statement over the weekend.
As proof of mutual cooperation, the US said it received a request from the Office of the Ombudsman under the Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) regarding Garcia’s P303-million plunder suit.
"In response, a US Government investigator provided testimony to the Sandiganbayan and gathered evidence regarding the seizure of US$100,000 from Garcia’s sons when they entered the US at San Francisco in December 2003," the embassy said.
Garcia’s sons Juan Paulo and Ian Carl pled guilty last year after attempting to smuggle US$100,000 into the United States eight years ago.
By Virgil Lopez
PAGASA: Expect short, wet summer
Filipinos can expect a short and wet summer this year due to the heavy rains to be brought by the La Niña weather phenomenon, the Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration said Monday.
PAGASA officer-in-charge Graciano Yumul Jr. said Monday the "dry" part of summer is likely to last between April and the first half of May only.
"Considering na moderate ang La Niña ngayon, inaasahan natin ang ating summer ay maikli. Ang buong Marso masyadong maulan, later part ng summer, mga May, nakikita natin nag-uulan (With moderate La Niña, we can expect summer to be short. March is likely to be rainy while the later part of summer, in May, we can expect rains again)," Yumul said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
After the summer, he said the public may have to brace for cyclones that he said may be "malakas (intense)."
La Niña is a weather phenomenon characterized by heavy rains and lower temperatures.
PAGASA earlier said it expects 20 to 22 cyclones to hit the country this year.
"Inaasahan natin [na] maikli ang summer natin at in general ay basa at ang susunod ay mga bagyo na inaasahan natin mas marami sa last year at medyo mas malakas (We can expect a short summer followed by cyclones that are very powerful)," he said.
Yumul appealed anew to the public to help protect PAGASA’s weather detection and monitoring equipment, following the recent theft of such items in Pangasinan.
He made the appeal even as he said PAGASA hopes to complete the installation of seven Doppler radars nationwide this year.
"Pag sinasalbahe ang weather system natin pinapatay nila kababayan natin, nawawalan tayo ng capability (When unscrupulous people steal our weather system gadgets, they may not realize they can kill other people because such thefts diminish our capability)," he said.
PAGASA officer-in-charge Graciano Yumul Jr. said Monday the "dry" part of summer is likely to last between April and the first half of May only.
"Considering na moderate ang La Niña ngayon, inaasahan natin ang ating summer ay maikli. Ang buong Marso masyadong maulan, later part ng summer, mga May, nakikita natin nag-uulan (With moderate La Niña, we can expect summer to be short. March is likely to be rainy while the later part of summer, in May, we can expect rains again)," Yumul said in an interview on dwIZ radio.After the summer, he said the public may have to brace for cyclones that he said may be "malakas (intense)."
La Niña is a weather phenomenon characterized by heavy rains and lower temperatures.
PAGASA earlier said it expects 20 to 22 cyclones to hit the country this year.
"Inaasahan natin [na] maikli ang summer natin at in general ay basa at ang susunod ay mga bagyo na inaasahan natin mas marami sa last year at medyo mas malakas (We can expect a short summer followed by cyclones that are very powerful)," he said.
Yumul appealed anew to the public to help protect PAGASA’s weather detection and monitoring equipment, following the recent theft of such items in Pangasinan.
He made the appeal even as he said PAGASA hopes to complete the installation of seven Doppler radars nationwide this year.
"Pag sinasalbahe ang weather system natin pinapatay nila kababayan natin, nawawalan tayo ng capability (When unscrupulous people steal our weather system gadgets, they may not realize they can kill other people because such thefts diminish our capability)," he said.
Miriam wants politicians to pass IQ test
If it were up to Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago, candidates for any public position will have to pass an IQ test before running for office.
At a speech at the Philippine National Police headquarters Monday, Santiago said the 1987 Constitution should be changed to raise the standards for public officials.
At present, the constitution only requires candidates to be able to read and write. This was at odds with a law that makes a college degree a requirement for candidates to the police force, the lawmaker added.
She said chiefs of police must be required to have postgraduate degrees before being promoted, while dubbing that the current situation as "absurd".
"First, we must weed out the idiots. Then, we should weed out those who do not have a college degree. The world has changed, and leaders are required to possess analytical and critical faculties," she pointed out.
At a speech at the Philippine National Police headquarters Monday, Santiago said the 1987 Constitution should be changed to raise the standards for public officials.At present, the constitution only requires candidates to be able to read and write. This was at odds with a law that makes a college degree a requirement for candidates to the police force, the lawmaker added.
She said chiefs of police must be required to have postgraduate degrees before being promoted, while dubbing that the current situation as "absurd".
"First, we must weed out the idiots. Then, we should weed out those who do not have a college degree. The world has changed, and leaders are required to possess analytical and critical faculties," she pointed out.
By Jonathan de Santos
Minggu, 16 Januari 2011
Who is to blame for flimsy plunder case vs. Garcia?
“The prosecutors pointed out that even the assets under the name of the general’s wife Clarita and sons Ian Carl, Juan Pablo and Timothy Mark—“which the Sandiganbayan has not yet acquired jurisdiction of”—were returned and transferred under the name of the Republic of the Philippines... Following revelations of Garcia’s “ill-gotten” wealth—first bared when the general’s wife was intercepted entering the United States with a suspiciously huge amount of money—the public was outraged, as well it should be. However, by the time Marcelo left the government service more than a year later, the case against the general had barely gotten off the ground.” (photo: Philippine Star)
Who is to blame for flimsy plunder case vs. Garcia?
Imagine you are a fireman. Your chief orders you to put out a blaze atop a 15-storey building, but all that your boss has given you is a ladder that reaches only the seventh floor of the burning structure.
Worse, your chief who supplied you with the ladder quit his job in the middle of the fire and has added his voice to the kibitzers that are denouncing you for bungling your job. That, by way of analogy, is the quandary government lawyers who were told to go after Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, one-time comptroller of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), now find themselves in.
In September 2004 the Office of the Ombudsman then under Simeon Marcelo gained jurisdiction over the plunder case against Garcia. It was Marcelo who reportedly approved the resolutions and information that accused the general of pocketing some P303 million in state funds.
The task of making the charges against Garcia stick fell to the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP), which is the prosecutorial arm of the Office of the Ombudsman.
According to OSP lawyers, it was the Ombudsman at that time who was directing the prosecution panel in filing the resolutions and the case information as well as the case buildup.
Feeling that he could no longer work in government while Gloria M. Arroyo was still president, Marcelo resigned on December 5, 2005. He was replaced by Merceditas Gutierrez.The OSP lawyers who inherited the Garcia case from Marcelo recently told newsmen that they were left holding “what was virtually an empty bag.”
Despite the fact that Marcelo had over a year to build up the plunder case against Garcia, the Office of the Ombudsman at the time had gotten nowhere in its bid to recover the P303 million, which the AFP comptroller allegedly appropriated for himself and his family, the lawyers said.
Following revelations of Garcia’s “ill-gotten” wealth—first bared when the general’s wife was intercepted entering the United States with a suspiciously huge amount of money—the public was outraged, as well it should be. However, by the time Marcelo left the government service more than a year later, the case against the general had barely gotten off the ground.
The general was detained at the Camp Crame stockades, but the OSP lawyers to whom Marcelo left the task of prosecuting Garcia found that they could not pin him down for plunder, which legal experts say is one of the hardest crimes to prove in court.
The requirements for conviction under the Plunder Law—Republic Act (RA) 7080 and later amended by RA 7659—are not limited to the value of the assets stolen from the government—first P75 million, then P50 million.
According to the OSP lawyers, the two resolutions issued by then-Ombudsman Marcelo that paved the way for the filing of the plunder information against Garcia “did not provide for any discussion on the specific acts of the accused that would qualify as unjustly enriching himself at the expense and to the damage of the Filipino people.”The prosecutors said that the information Marcelo supplied was “worded in generalities that inevitably led the prosecution to [grasp at] straws in proving . . . plunder.”
The information even failed to identify Garcia’s co-conspirators beyond the aliases of “John Does, James Does and Jane Does.”“Taking into consideration the fact that the main contention of the prosecution is that . . . Garcia, in conspiracy with John Does and Jane Does, received gift, share, percentage, kickback or pecuniary benefit, the paramount need to prove who these John Does and Jane Does are, and the criminal act these persons performed that provided the means for the said public officer to amass, accumulate and acquire ill-gotten wealth, becomes inescapable,” the prosecutors said.
The information Marcelo issued, the prosecutors said, did not indicate how Garcia’s relatives conspired with the general in committing the crime of plunder.In addition, they said, “evidence was sorely missing on how [Garcia] could have taken advantage of his official position, authority, relationship, connection or influence to be able to amass, accumulate and acquire his ill-gotten wealth.”
The prosecutors said “the information in the plunder case was filed without a solid and complete case buildup for it was obviously couched in general terms.”Based on their evaluation of the plunder case, the prosecutors feared that Garcia would have been adjudged not guilty and allowed to keep his ill-gotten wealth.
Despite the shortcomings of the resolutions and information that the Office of the Ombudsman under Marcelo issued, the prosecutors who inherited the case said they exerted “best efforts and presented a total of 34 witnesses” against Garcia.“When feelers for a plea bargain agreement came from the defense, the prosecution diligently considered whether this could be the best option under the obtaining circumstances,” they said.
Garcia, they added, offered the settlement when government lawyers began turning the proverbial screws on his wife.
Although evidence of “ill-gotten wealth” exists, the government lawyers said it was not enough to prove “the overt or criminal acts alleged in the information” filed by the Ombudsman under Marcelo.“
Rather than risk getting a declaration from the Sandiganbayan acquitting . . . Garcia and with the State not getting, in this plunder case, a single centavo from his ‘ill-gotten’ wealth, the prosecution deem it best to enter into a plea bargain agreement,” the prosecutors said.
The assets Garcia agreed to surrendered to the government were short of the P303 million targeted by the Ombudsman under Marcelo. They include 11 pieces of real estate property in Iloilo, Guimaras, Baguio and Batangas; four motor vehicles; manager’s checks in pesos from Landbank, UCP and AFPSLAI; manager’s check in US dollars from Landbank and BPI; and share of corporate stock—all worth about P130 million.
The prosecutors pointed out that even the assets under the name of the general’s wife Clarita and sons Ian Carl, Juan Pablo and Timothy Mark—“which the Sandiganbayan has not yet acquired jurisdiction of”—were returned and transferred under the name of the Republic of the Philippines.
Under the agreement, Garcia agrees to plead guilty to the lesser charges of direct bribery and facilitating money-laundering. These offenses are not as grave as plunder. Nonetheless, the general’s admission should result in his conviction, which would have been impossible given the skimpy evidence in the plunder resolutions and information filed by the Office of the Ombudsman under Marcelo some six years ago.
This brings up another analogy: a bird in hand or two in the bush, which is better?Several lawmakers have called for an inquiry into the plea-bargain agreement. OSP lawyers have responded with a collective, “Why not?”
They said they would welcome a congressional probe—“if only to clear the air and determine who was really responsible for building such a flimsy plunder case against Garcia.”
Why not, indeed? By: DAN MARIANO
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