Gloria Forever
The Cha-Cha train has left the station.
As we inch closer to 2010, the it looks as if the Palace is making one last attempt to extend the term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and this time they’ve learned from their mistakes.
You see, unlike last time when the attempt to shift to a parliamentary form of government was clearly nothing more than a self-serving effort by the current political elite to expand and extend its privileges, this current initiative has tied itself to other interests and created a consituency beyond just the Arroyo regime and its allies.
Recent efforts by the Regime to resurrect the long dormant peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front have led to pronoucments by lead negotiators Rodolfo Garcia and Hermogenes Esperon that revisions to the constitution would be required in order to give more legal and fiscal autonomy to the expanded region of Muslim Mindanao. They point to a resolution to shift to a federal form of government proposed by, of all people, Senate minority leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr.
This means that aside from Arroyo and her politicans, there will be a significant number of people in Mindanao who will find it in their interest to support charter change this time around. The regime can also pre-empt potential opposition from the international community by arguing that that the revisions would enhance stability in Mindanao and make it less susceptible to terrorism. In which case extending Arroyo’s term would be a small price to pay. I’m told that this the line taken during Arroyo’s recent working visit to the US. Its almost like blackmail. If you want stability in Mindanao, you must allow us to stay in power beyond 2010.
Even as it puts the wheels into motion, the Regime can therefore argue that amending the Constitution will not be self serving, it will be a big step towards a lasting peace in Mindanao. Besides, it will argue, it was actually the opposition, through Senator Pimentel, that proposed the idea, not us!
Pimentel makes the case that the senate will not allow an extension of the term of President Arroyo and the other incumbents. He says that as long as the Senate and the House vote on amendements separately by chamber and not as a single body, the senate will stand as a strong line of defense against an extended Arroyo term. If Congress votes as a single body, then the overwhelming numbers at the House, which has 440 or so members, will easily overwhelm the 23 votes in the senate rendering the upper chamber irrelevant. On the other hand if Congress votes separately by chamber, the Senate would have just as much voice as the House.
But here’s the problem. The question of whether Congress votes as one body or separately by chamber has never never been settled with finality by the Supreme Court. While historically, the two chambers have voted separately, the regime has argued that they should vote as a single chamber. That’s because they aren’t sure if they have the numbers at the Senate. Ultimately the question of whether Congress votes by chamber or as one body will have to be determined by the Supreme Court. And despite the independence of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, the Court is now effectively controlled by the Regime. If the question comes up to the High Court, the vote is likely to be in favor of Congress voting as a single body.
In which case it goes to a plebiscite. Has anything happned in the last year to suggest that the Commission on Elections will be able to preside over a credible and honest plebiscite? Sure, Abalos, Garcillano, and the other scandal tainted commissioners have left and the computerized voting is being pilot tested in ARMM next month, but that doesn’t mean anything. The sub-commissoner level guys who really run the elections are still happily in place and the new commissioners lack the knowledge or the will to really reform the electoral system.
As for the computerized counting machines, they aren’t gong to stop the cheating. They will simply make it easier. Take note that the voters list has not been purged and tha the machines will not be able to validate the ballots being counted. They will count that ballots and transmit the count to the national level but they will not say if the vote was legitmiatel cast. Validating the voters will still be done by the Comelec and the warlords. Garbage in garbage out. If the elections are still subject to cheating, so will the referendum.
In short, the chances of success are much higher this time around. Chacha has been tied to a legitimate political issue, the key institutions that could serve as a check and balance (the Senate, the Comelec, and the Supreme Court) have either been co-opted or weakened, the international community has been provided a rationale, and the public in general wallows in indifference.
For the Regime, the time to strike is now. As that chacha train chugs along, it seems that the coast is clearer now than its ever been.
July 21st, 2008 13:02
You mentioned Pimentel: this man has a knack for being in odd situations. Remember, he was the same man holding the mic for GMA as she was being sworn to office in 2001. He might just reprise the same role again in an analogous manner.
July 21st, 2008 13:03
Interesting thesis you have here, Ricky. I agree that the chances of chacha have been improved by the Minority Leader’s desire to shape his own political future after he is forced to leave the Senate. And by all accounts, a decisive majority of the Senators apparently support the idea of a federal state.
However, I am not convinced that the Lower House is as sanguine about the idea because they might see it as a diminution of their own positions of local political power. The rearrangement of provinces into federal states carries a great deal of uncertainty for them, while the more powerful Senators carve out regional fiefdoms.
Although the House has been largely subservient to GMA, such subservience may not apply to the federal question, especially since she may indeed be seen as a lame duck. Since her continuation beyond 2010 is necessarily a long shot and depends on very many factors coming together just right and quite quickly (remember there still has to be a plebiscite!) I don’t think it is automatic that the House would be willing to go Federal.
Notice that the difference with the Parliamentary proposal would’ve increased the power of congressmen by abolishing the Senate, but a federal system could demote them in favor of regional potentates.
It’ll be hard enough then getting a federal system established through Con-ASS, which by its very nature as the passage of a specific piece of legislation, must by necessity be tightly focused on its subject matter. If, as you suggest, the Congress tries to make it a kind of omnibus revision of the Constitution, the flood gates would be opened to every creative and whacko idea about how to fix our problems by amending the Constitution. This would make the deliberations tedious if not endless, and every added provision not related to the central subject would decrease the chances of passage at plebiscite.
Regarding the MILF peace talks, I think that has more to do with her “peace legacy” and as a means of having something worthwhile to say about Mindanao considering the string of tragic disasters that have occurred there since Bossi, the beheadings of the marines, the hostaging of Gen. Dolorfino and his payment of ransom, as well as the series of kidnap for ransom incidents beginning with Ces Drilon and now occurring on practically a weekly basis and not likely to abate. Paying ransoms (from Bossi to Dolorfino to Drilon) has ignited a feeding frenzy, since of course nobody cares as much about bringing justice to the terrorist bandits as bringing them onto the front pages and indulging in our induced national guilt trip over the Moros.
July 21st, 2008 18:34
Dean,
I think you overestimate the vast majority of our congressmen. There are some who will see the shift in the power equation and will have reservations about federalism but I think most of them are there for the pork and that probably won’t change. i’m pretty confident they’ll go for it.
July 21st, 2008 20:58
“I will be true to the Constitution and to myself who has been mandated to leave the post when my term ends in 2010.”Gloria Arroyo
Should we trust Gloria again?
July 21st, 2008 21:10
Current EQ Polls:Are you in favor of Gloria’s Charter Change(Cha-Cha)Again?
Yes:5%
No:94%
Total Votes cast so far:239
July 22nd, 2008 06:25
Ricky,
Oh but I do share your disdain of the Congressmen. They precisely have an unerring instinct of where the pork and power will be, like pigs do for certain buried mushrooms. There is however, little honor among thieves, and the search is already on for the next Ali Baba. Moreover, her association with George W. Bush is unshakeable. Obama’s snub was a bad omen for her. I find the latter a somewhat better and simpler explanation for her renewed, if facile interest in “peace” and “negotiation” with the Muslims.
July 22nd, 2008 10:01
Ricky, you overlooked one important detail. You are assuming here that the Con Ass mode will be the route of the chacha train. Under the Constitution, each of the House must pass a resolution calling for a Con Ass.I am sure the House of Reps will be able to pass its Reso, but I cannot say the same for the Senate. The issue of voting as one or separately will come into play only when the Con Ass is already convened. That assumes that both Houses of Congress have passed their respective resolutions (or, alternatively, one House has concurred with a Reso already passed). But considering the Palace scheme to amend the charter will require an interpretation of the voting procedure as both Houses voting as one, the Senate will never budge. So there will not be a Senate Reso or a Senate cncurrence to a House Reso.
July 22nd, 2008 10:08
from cut and paste”
Right now, the government is very centralized in Manila. Everything that happens seems to have to go through Manila before implementation. People in Mindanao often complain that they pay taxes to Manila, and much of the island’s resources are sent to Manila with little in return. All of the big projects implemented by the government seem to be aimed at Luzon, with little coming back south for improvements here. In Manila they are always building new highways, Light Rail and other improved modes of transportation. Here in Mindanao, we see the street traffic increasing, traffic jams, pollution, etc. All the while, money is headed north to improve life there. Food grown here is sent to Manila (I have been told that 37% of the food supply in Manila comes from the General Santos area). But, what comes back in this direction?”
July 22nd, 2008 16:47
If Mr. Butch Abad’s reasoning is true (that each chamber must first pass its own Resolution for the
holding of a Con-Ass), then it seems that the Senate, indeed, is the last bulwark and hope for ending Gloria’s reign.
But then Gloria’s ilk definitely knows this. And they’ll therefore find the Achilles heel of each and every senator.
Look at Pimentel. They’ve found his Achilles heel already. So whether it’s threats or rewards, they’ll get these senators to agree to a Con-Ass. Those “opposition” spines are still uncomfortably malleable.
Remember that this is Gloria’s last hurrah. The woman is all brains without a conscience. This is the most dangerous animal of all.
July 22nd, 2008 17:08
Why do I say the opposition senators’ spines are too malleable? Look at their earlybird billboards and TV commercials. They’re definitely already campaigning for votes. Ethics, propriety? Hah!
July 22nd, 2008 20:06
Phil Cruz:i agree with you!
Where is the Political Opposition (Pimentel/Roxas/Lacson/Escudero/Legarda/Vilarr,etc)
The country is in deep economic/political trouble but Gloria Arroyo remains scot free to do as she pleases.No wonder she is bold enough to mount another charter change move as a last-ditch effort to cling to power beyond her term in 2010.
July 22nd, 2008 20:07
Where are the leaders of the opposition?
Senator Nene Pimentel has co-opted with Gloria in the charter change move ostensibly in exchange for support of his federalization proposal. His legacy to the nation:He has allowed Gloria’s Trojan Horse to enter the halls of the Senate and weaken the Senate’s resolve to block the CHA CHA move!
Senator Mar Roxas is showing a token opposition stance after Gloria approved his Cheaper Medicine bill recently.He thinks a few press releases released to media are good enough to project his opposition image.
Senator Manny Villar is silent.After running as a “Genuine Opposition” candidate last year,he and three othe opposition senators (Escudero, Cayetano and Estrada) immediately switched sides and secured the votes of the administration bloc to get the Senate Presidency post for himself and choice committee chairmanships for his political cohorts.
July 22nd, 2008 20:08
Where are the LIBERALS?
Today,the Liberal Party is just another small group of opportunistic politicians waiting for their turn for political power.
No more Ninoy Aquinos!
No more Jovy Salongas!
No More Wigberto Tanadas!
No more Butch Abads!
No more Franklin Drilons!
What do we have now?
July 22nd, 2008 21:48
Ricky:
Federalism, yes! Gloria staying in power, absolutely NO!
It will be totally stupid for Gloria to insist on extending her term. For the sake of the country’s political stability, she has to quit believing that she is the only one who can do the job. I hope she has enough sense to realize that she already destroyed her trustworthiness in 2004, when she lied about not running for the presidency that year. If ever she has an iota of decency left in her veins, she must quit hallucinating! This is what is disgusting about Filipino political culture, it is absolutely pathetic! It’s now up to the Filipino people and their representatives in congress. May democracy reign in the country of my heritage!
Willy Acuña
Dallas, Texas
July 23rd, 2008 10:37
Ricky, I have a question.
First, I think you are right on target with your analysis. Billy Esposo, writing in yesterday’s Philippine Star, seems to agree. He said “Signs are now clearer that GMA intends to stay in power beyond 2010.”
And, in a a question similar to your final comment about the public wallowing in indifference, he ends his article with “Now let me ask you, what are you going to do about it?”
My question, to both of you, is a 2-parter: What do you think people should do about it, and more importantly, what would be the point?
I’m certainly not indifferent, but what would change if people stormed the palace and dragged her (and Big Mike) off to jail? Who, among all the potential candidates, would actually change one little thing about the way this country operates? Not one of them wants to be president for the purpose of creating a better Philippines. Every one of them wants to be president for the power and financial opportunity.
I keep hearing complaints that the general public is apathetic and indifferent. Could it be instead that they simply don’t have any options?
July 23rd, 2008 11:25
Michael,
That question of yours “I keep hearing complaints that the general public is apathetic and indifferent. Could it be instead that they simply don’t have any options?” is to a degree true.
All peaceful and legal options have been blocked. That leaves non-peaceful and non-legal options as the only option. But I think Filipinos in general now have a fear of such an option. Military rule could be worse.
So Filipinos being religious simply get down on their knees and opt to leave everything to the Almighty. Bahala na (ang Diyos). The problem is that the Almighty is taking a bit too long to act. Well, as the Catholic priests keep on sermonizing ‘we must sacrifice and just offer our suffering to God.’
July 23rd, 2008 11:46
Yes, Equalizer, I agree. Where is the Opposition?
Public sentiment may shift and they could become the target of public discontent.There was much hope and expectations heaped their way to deliver the public from all these misgovernance and suffering.
Many now feel that they are not doing enough. No united front and therefore no united strategy to do battle with the administration.
July 23rd, 2008 12:00
Mike, Phil,
I agree. All peaceful and legal means to stop it have been rendered ineffective and very few sober people are willing to take the law into their own hands through extralegal means.
Sometimes I want to let them do it. We get the government we deserve.
July 23rd, 2008 12:03
Wow, that’s a pretty sad commentary on hope for the future.
July 23rd, 2008 12:09
Why the GWOT has afforded Big Mike and GMA cover for their plans. Will they or won’t they???? Iraq’s model was de facto federalism between the sectarian groups. Kurds, Shia and Sunni.
The model for fighting the Global insurgency is the Phoenix program of the Vietnam war. Just type in David Kilcullen Bahasa speaking anthropolgist guerilla fighter.
From the horses mouth:
“Where our government has been able to bring America’s civilian and the military assets together to support local partners, there have been incredibly promising results. One unheralded example, one you will not read about in the newspapers, is in the Philippines. There the U.S. Ambassador – Kristie Kenney – has overseen a campaign involving multiple agencies working closely together with their Philippine counterparts in a synchronized effort that has delegitimized and rolled back extremists in Mindanao. Having a strong, well-supported chief of mission has been crucial to success.” Robert Gates
(But there were nor real extremists in the Philippines. They were simply bandits.
http://www.defenselink.mil/speeches/speech.aspx?speechid=1262
Just like the Romans the New Romans need more legionaires.
“Despite growing anti-Americanism, U.S. citizenship is still one of the world’s most precious commodities, so there should be no shortage of volunteers. Since proficiency in English would presumably be important for those joining the armed forces, we might focus on South Asia, Anglophone Africa, and parts of Latin America, Europe and East Asia (the Philippines would be a natural recruiting ground) where English is common as a second language. These regions have more than 2 billion people, tens of millions of whom reach military age each year.”
Creating a U.S. Foreign Legion
http://www.afji.com/2007/03/2552879
July 23rd, 2008 12:16
Ricky,
You know, a lot of these discussions border on the philosophical. The words “sayang” and “ay naku” keep popping up, but nobody ever seems to talk about concrete steps to force change.
The idea of taking the law into our own hands really only relates to kicking out a current leader. But it does not address the question of “what then?”.
The reason people seem indifferent is because there is no answer to “what then?”. We have kicked them out over and over again, but we’re really only changing the head of the beast.
What we really need is a grassroots movement in which citizens commit to (and actually practice) honesty and good citizenship.
Change will only happen when we stop tolerating crookedness in government. And the only way to do that is to launch an organized effort.
July 23rd, 2008 12:34
Gloria’s 5 Fatal Mistakes
1) Announcing her decision not to run in the elections of 2004.
2) Reversing her decision not to run in the elections of 2004
3)Calling an election official during the canvassing of votes of the 2004 Presidential elections.
4) Her hasty pardon of ex-President Joseph Estrada who was convicted of plunder.
5) Her order to Romulo Neri to invoke “Executive Privilege”during the Senate investigations on the ZTE deal.
What will be Gloria Arroyo’s sixth and most fatal mistake?
July 23rd, 2008 12:56
Our Constitution has already prescribed a way to change those who govern us if we are dissatisfied with them. That’s the electoral system. But the elections have been corrupted. In fact, practically all systems have been corrupted.
So when everything in this darned corner of the planet is not working as it should, there is need for a total overhaul. So we are told to shift into a new system. The Parliamentary and or Federal system - with its kuno less cumbersome and less expensive mode of selecting those who will govern us. Again it’s a system that’s as corruptible as this present one. Perhaps worse.
The present system could work if there is one truly principled and honest individual among the opposition or from a third force who could get elected. But again, is there one? Who is it?
Many a discussion I have had with friends about who is to blame for all this public suffering. Some say it is the leader. Some say it is the electorate. Some say it is the system.
I think it is all three. But I think the present system one could still work, if we find that one charismatic, principled, courageous knight among the 89,000,000 Filipinos.
July 23rd, 2008 13:04
Equalizer,
“What will be Gloria Arroyo’s sixth and most fatal mistake?”
Is it ramming the Con-Ass down the Filipinos’ throats? Or again rigging the plebiscite to shift to the Parliamentary and or Federal system?
July 23rd, 2008 13:28
The Philippines will have to live with its electoral autocratic traditions as this is what the people actually prefer. The majority that is.
Electoral autocracy is dependent on having a pliant and dependent constituency.
That comfort zone is hard to break out of for those who have the means to maintain the format.
Plus that system rationalizes itself with intellectuals who are more Calvinist or Platonist than anything else. All kept in place by a religious group that still has blasphemy and paganism in its mindset vocabulary.
Even the politicos who morally have little capital are shit scared of the mysticism and superstitious power of the Church to damn them to hell or be called a sinner amongst the pregnant and barefoot crowd.
Waiting for a white knight is proof positive that there is no groundswell of people established that can think straight and rationally (and have no ties to government) which would form the backbone of the thing called civil society.
Get used to it. GMA declared in one of her speeches to the country that she promised to deliver us into the status of a first world country in 20 years… Wow!!!!That makes her either a liar or incompetent. Take your pick.
July 23rd, 2008 13:34
Phil,
Regarding who is to blame…
If I put you in charge of my money, and you steal my money…you are to blame. But I am equally to blame for not watching you.
Can we blame the system?
The closest thing we have to a system is a set of general rules, which we don’t really enforce. We allow every government official, at all levels, to manage his little fiefdom without any real oversight. Is the system to blame? Not really. There doesn’t seem to be a system.
Any system will work, if the rules and procedures are enforced.
Who out there is honest and patriotic enough to manage this country? I would actually like to see a Panlilio/Padaca team. But they would have to throw out every single senior government official and start from scratch. All these guys that keep popping up from administration to administration have to go.
And then we have to radically change most of the processes we currently use to run government.
The reason nothing ever changes in the Philippines is because we don’t want to change the way we do things. The law of the jungle gives each of us a chance to compete, based on who is strongest and most ruthless. We seem to expect, and to accept, a certain level of corruption in government. We only become motivated to kick them out after they “go too far.”
We know that it would be good if every driver followed the rules of the road on his own, without being forced to do so. And we wish it was that way. But none of us is willing to obey the rules alone, because then every other driver would have an advantage over us. So each of us keeps breaking the rules, since it is the only way to compete. But we still wish it was different.
Wishing seems to be the only thing we do in this country.
July 23rd, 2008 13:56
Michael,
You are right. Fully agree. Any system will work, if the rules and procedures are enforced.
The country needs an Enforcer.. and honest Enforcer.
Now who could that be? As you said, it could be a Father Panlilio.
How about Roxas or Villar? Are they the Enforcer type? Lacson certainly is..
July 23rd, 2008 14:23
It is very easy to take a stand and to do the right thing. That is my benchmark when you ask if someone would make a good president.
Roxas and Villar…both solid businessmen.
But I believe that if they truly had the country’s interest at heart, they would have taken a stronger stand on important issues. And I believe they would have been more effective in bringing change. I don’t think they have been effective so far.
Lacson…He is definitely strong. But in a very dangerous way. I think we would take a 30 year step backward if he were in power. My view.
The truth is, while we keep talking about how we need “a strong leader” or “an enforcer”, I don’t think one person, no matter how strong, can do it alone.
Any honest leader, to be truly effective, will have to insert honest people at all levels throughout the system.
July 23rd, 2008 14:40
Michael,
Are there any groups you know of who are into this Third Force thing? Do you think a Third Force presidential candidate would have any chance at this stage? Or would they just scatter the votes of an opposition candidate?
Are the opposition candidates now in limbo because they don’t know what will happen because of this Cha-Cha rumors again?
July 23rd, 2008 14:57
Looks like the foreign chambers of commerce are getting back at Enrile for his display of arrogance towards the foreign chambers of commerce representatives in that Senate hearing.
The American Chamber is zeroing in on him… pointing out that car smuggling is flourishing in Enrile territory in Cagayan.
Enrile will again get back at them. They will get back at Enrile. The other chambers are probably digging dirt on Enrile, too.
Will Gloria step in to save her staunch ally? Will a quiet dinner be arranged in the Palace to mollify the parties?
July 24th, 2008 09:56
Port Irene: Ouano wharf redux? Sorry, I digress.
I see a president struggling to be relevant in a single-term environment with less than a year and a half to go. Are we now like Mexico?
This lamest of ducks will not go away quietly, it seems. Key tenured appointments like SSS are still being doled out. Now we even have financial maven Ralph Recto for NEDA chief. Does this look like she’s leaving?
All this f _____g around with electoral prcesses like the ARMM polls is looking like practice for something.
Meanwhile the opposition are just (thank you Mr Agnew) nattering nabobs of negativism who have consistently failed to set the national agenda.
Wala na talaga. We have an admin whose only concern is staying in the game. Walang sense of the strategic.
B
July 24th, 2008 10:47
Phil,
Isn’t it ironic that the foreigners are the ones going after Enrile? No one else seems to want to take JPE on.
July 24th, 2008 10:51
We were already cheated in 2004.
Are we going to allow Gloria to get away with Cha Cha and extend her reign indefinitely?
Always Remember the Palace Spin Doctors’ Motto:
FOOL YOU ONCE SHAME ON ME, FOOL YOU TWICE SHAME ON YOU!
July 24th, 2008 10:57
“If I put you in charge of my money, and you steal my money…you are to blame. But I am equally to blame for not watching you.”Can we blame the system?
But goverments have been bailing out bankers for generations for doing exactly this…
That is the system…..
July 24th, 2008 11:08
Right or wrong on many levels Enrile is one who always draws the line for people to cross.
That is why people fear him. Maybe he would have made a good autocratic leader maybe not. But he was King Ferdinand’s favorite wing man for a while.
He after all was the proximate cause of King Ferdinand’s downfall.
Recto, Villar, Pangilinan, de Castro and Joker.
Vilma, Sharon and de Castro. That is a lot of popular voting power right there.
For the vast majority of the pregnant and barefoot crowd.
It would be tough for Big Mike and GMA to stay in power. But these guys could provide her a lifelong shield. Big Mike and her have the keys to the Treasury.
July 24th, 2008 11:26
Yes, Ricky. It had to take the foreigners to swat Enrile’s butt. I wonder though if he has the staying power to drag this on. There’s more dirt in his backyard. And I’m pretty sure those foreigners know exactly where his dirty linens are buried.
But from what I saw on those TV clips, the Cagayan Ego wasn’t as indignant as he usually looks when professing innocence. He knows he has met his match.
July 24th, 2008 11:47
By the way, Michael, that idea of a Father Ed Panlilio as a possible presidential candidate… I slept on it. Mulled it over. By gads, why not?
What this country truly needs is a principled honest leader who cannot be threatened or bought. That’s all. And Fr. Ed is it.
July 24th, 2008 13:28
Enrile says he or his son-in-law is not into car smuggling. He says all proper taxes are paid for. Okay, granted.
But importation of second-hand vehicles for resale are prohibited by Gloria’s EO 156. And he knew of it. But he has allowed the business to continue operating in his turf.
Ahh, but he says the EO is wrong. And the Supreme Court is wrong,too, for having upheld it.
And so he and his son-in-law just goes ahead and ignores the ban?!
Now the Senate will investigate. Escudero as Chairman of Ways and Means to head it. Now we will see of what stuff Escudero and the Senate is made of.
I’m pinning my hopes on Ping to go for the jugular. But then I remember.. he approved Raul Gonzales’ appointment.. for the simple reason that Gonzales really worked hard and loves his job.
July 24th, 2008 14:34
On a tactical level JPE is absolutely correct. Why will you prefer to protect simply assemblers of brand new cars and ban importation of second hand cars.
May tax incentives pa yung mga assemblers….
That is clearly discriminatory and anti- market. On this one JPE has a soapbox to draw the line.
So he is probably challenging an EO…. Let the executive take him to court. The BOC was apparently aware of the importations and collected taxes and duties on it.
The BOC is under the executive agency DOF which is under the Office of the President.
In this country where the short cut to wealth is through politics, JPE clearly knows how to play the game.
Carandang has a program “The Big Picture” but in singling out JPE for his being spanked by the Kanutos for alleged smuggling we are lost with a lot of the details left out to get any semblance of what the hell is going on.
That is typical of the tabloid nature of media in this country.
In the PR business the biggest spenders are naturally the government followed by the multinationals and large domestic corporations.
Carandang can pick his spots whether to highlight issues that affect the parties that have big PR budgets.
That is his market and that is what business is all about in the media.
That is what makes the Philippines with its wide open free wheeling media unique in Asia.
Don’t you love the market system.
July 24th, 2008 16:05
Fr Ed for prez? Hmmmm . . . What was that about the pavement on the road to hell?
IMHO what we’re seeing is the tenanr starting to ransack the fully furnished mansion just when the lease is about to expire.
Sorry to say but Fr. Ed is looking like a lousy administrator. If you can live with that. fine. But we’ve already had a fling with pure integrity (sabida) which is the twin brother of funcional paralysis. The avoidance of corruption is not the same as policy.
As for Enrile, I will give him grudging respect for playing a weak hand like he’s got 5 aces. I agree with the guy who said AMCHAM has the goods. Let’s now use our naughty minds. Tio Sam has goods on everybody. What message - if any - is being sent?
I doubt very much if GMA will be able to perpetuate herself. Dick Gordon and Teddy Boy’s reasoned “NO WAY” to the notion of an ARMMM election postponement - followed by a very civil but clearly similar expression by Justice Melo count for something.
I watch with glee the way guys like Nograles jump hoops of flame to dive into pools of s___t just to please the palace. Hee hee. The trouble with deceit is that eventual you meet yourself coming in on your way out.
B
July 24th, 2008 16:54
El Bucho,
I’m not sure i’d want a Catholic priest as president, but I think its hard to call Panlilio a lousy adminstrator when the entire corrupt body politic is working against him. Hard enough to ru a province single handedly but when eveyone is tryingf to bring you down it makes it doubly difficult.
Speaking of Catholics, if you have time , watch Big Pic tonight. Its about teh Church’s position on birth control. I think you’ll fid it very enlightening insofar as the Church’s reasoning is concerned.
July 24th, 2008 17:49
Ricky,
Can a priest get out of the priesthood? Or is he a priest forever?
Suppose he could and does get out of the priesthood and decides to run for that higher office, would you rethink your position?
Do you think he would have a chance?
July 24th, 2008 17:59
El Bucho,
I agree with Ricky, in that I worry that a Catholic priest might not be the best person to be president.
We keep saying that we need someone with experience, but of all the existing politicians and wannabes to choose from, I would say that every single one of them is really only experienced in greed and corruption. I just don’t see an honest man among them.
A lone honest man at the top will never be able to turn things around. But, nothing will ever change UNLESS an honest man sits at the top.
In a unified effort, we have to remove the entire current leadership, and replace them all with honest patriotic people. I don’t know if there are enough honest people out there, but Ed seems to have found quite a few. I suspect Grace Padaca has a lot of good dedicated (non-crooked) people on her staff too.
As Ricky says, Ed is having trouble administering his programs specifically because so many crooked people see their profit margins in jeopardy. But he will fail if enough people don’t stand up and support him. That too, is the only way to turn things around in this country.
July 24th, 2008 18:10
If Fr. Ed was able to pick the right men to help him run his province, then he would certainly know how to pick the right and honest men to help him in a higher office.
I think this is the beauty of it all. Inspite of the Pinedas’ and the Lapids’ overwhelming resources, the people voted the good and honest man. Therefore it can be done.. and done nationwide.
July 24th, 2008 18:34
I can just imagine the millions who will volunteer for Fr.Ed..no pay.
They say Cory won against Marcos inspite of her being just a housewife. They say it was because she was the contrast, the symbol of Good versus The Evil.
Well, this is the same situation now.
July 24th, 2008 21:08
Ricky:GO0D Show as always!
* Why is the Catholic Church in this country so conservative and backward- looking (like being 100% against population control)?
God answers:They take very literally the “Go forth and multiply” adage without realizing that your land space has not increased even an inch since the earth’s creation.
July 24th, 2008 21:43
ASSUMING there will be 2010 elections,who is your favorite “Presidentiable” candidate?
July 24th, 2008 23:25
Ironically the good book has some good advice for do gooders. “Be gentle as doves, but wily as serpents.” The second half is what’s missing from well-intended but ultimately doomed clerico-administrators.
I am a Catholic, by the way.
My problem with the Curia (as opposed to the Church which WE the flock constitute) is that I see unelected men in skirts hiding behind collars and God knows what else, trying to hijack the national agenda.
I give Fr Ed credit though because he’s shed his skirt and now tries to do the best possible job.
When crusading types win office, they are faced with a stark choice: Do they want to get things done, or do they want to be right?
Outside of clear bipolar choices, the moral landscape is colored gray: charcoal, light, somewhat dark, etc. And then there’e the time of day that can influence the degree of shading.
I’ll settle for someone who has a sound, clear strategic platform. At least if he or she has that part right there’ll be something to keep us happy, Getting it all done is something else. But we’ll worry about that later.
B
July 24th, 2008 23:34
My fave candidates who will never win because he has no charm with the masses but have the intellectual depth and cunning are Teddy Boy Locsin and Dick Gordon. They do not suffer fools gladly. Their virtues are their vices and vice versa.
The Deity loves irony.
B
July 24th, 2008 23:34
My fave candidates who will never win because they have no charm with the masses but have the intellectual depth and cunning are Teddy Boy Locsin and Dick Gordon. They do not suffer fools gladly. Their virtues are their vices and vice versa.
The Deity loves irony.
B
July 25th, 2008 08:00
Phil,
I wouldnt close the door on voting for a President Panlilio. It would depend on who else was running, I guess. I’m just ery uncomfotable with “religious” candidates whether they be christian or muslim. I am a secularist.
July 25th, 2008 12:20
(99% Based on Actual Quotes of Gloria’s Speeches)
GLORIA’S SONA(STATE OF THE NATION ADDRESS)…HOPEFULLY
ON MAY 1 2001, THE POOR RAISED THEIR VOICES IN ANGER AND THEIR FISTS IN FURY. IMPRISONED IN POVERTY, SHACKLED TO SHAME, DENIED JUSTICE IN SOCIETY, THEY PERSONALLY DELIVERED THE MESSAGE THAT, 100 YEARS AFTER THEY REVOLTED TO ESTABLISH THIS NATION, THEY HAD YET TO PARTAKE OF THE NATIONAL DREAM.
DINIG NA DINIG KO ANG PAHAYAG NILA, AT NAPAKUMBABA AKO. HINDI BA’T NASA BALIKAT KO ANG TUNGKULING MAMUNO SA PAKIKIBAKA LABAN SA SALOT NG KAHIRAPAN? AKO NA SIYANG ANAK NG TINAWAG NA “POOR BOY FROM LUBAO”?
WE HAVE FAILED OUR PEOPLE!
WHEN WE PUT OURSELVES ABOVE COUNTRY AND PROFIT ABOVE FAIRNESS;
WHEN WE THINK THE WORST OF THOSE WITH WHOM WE SHOULD BE WORKING FOR THE COMMON GOOD.
INDEED, WHEN WE MAKE POLITICS REPLACE PATRIOTISM IN OUR COUNTRY’S HOUR OF NEED.
THAT SAID ,LET ME TELL YOU HOW I PERSONALLY FEEL.
I RECOGNIZED MY LAPSES IN JUDGMENT ALL THESE SEVEN YEARS.
I AM SORRY.
I ALSO REGRET TAKING SO LONG TO SPEAK BEFORE YOU ON THIS MATTER.
I TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR MY ACTIONS AND TO YOU AND TO ALL THOSE GOOD CITIZENS WHO MAY HAVE HAD THEIR FAITH SHAKEN BY MY ACTIONS.
I WANT TO ASSURE YOU THAT I HAVE REDOUBLE MY EFFORTS TO SERVE THE NATION AND REGAIN YOUR TRUST AGAIN.
MABUHAY ANG PILIPINAS!
July 25th, 2008 14:45
I cannot for the life of me comprehend how Recto’s appointment as NEDA chief is received with positive statements from the senators..especially Joker. He practically calls Recto as the savior of the economy because he was the author of the VAT.
Is this his greatest achievement? Taxing the people? All because Gloria’s administration couldn’t collect the taxes due? All because 40% of taxes collected were squirreled, no, shoveled down bottomless insatiable pockets of corruption?
Instead of focusing on collecting taxes, add more taxes? And you get to be called a hero?
July 25th, 2008 14:52
And since the economy is getting worse… worse than when Recto authored the VAT… do we expect our hero to recommend tho his senator friends to pass more and more higher taxes? So they could be called heroes, too?
July 25th, 2008 15:45
There must be other ways to reward Ralph Recto for falling on his sword by way of authoring the VAT bill.
Let’s for a few moments take the emotion out of the equation. Without the additional revenues generated by VAT the State - not just the administration - would have teetered to the brink of collapse.
Save the VAT for the succeeding leadership.
What should rile us is the administration’s venal use of a legitimate, vital, strategic revenue measure to prop itself up.
I hate to say this but VAT should stay. If GMA waters it down she will do it to weaken whoever succeeds her. Our credit rating will go back to the doghouse, interest rates go up, male-leche tayo lalo.
One more unintended consequence of removing the VAT will be to aggravate our addiction to petroleum. Be careful what you want.
It’s time for strategic solutions. This generaton is a total write-off. The only way out of the morass we’re in is nothing short of a quick succession into the next generation of leaders. Not Chiz. The one after him.
We are in for a lot of pain.
Recto is a sideshow. What more can he possibly inflict? But in my book he is a savior in ways I hope he understands.
B
July 25th, 2008 16:32
The problem with VAT is the addiction to it.
Government becomes lazy and depend on it like sleeping pills. The higher prices go, the more taxes it rakes in, the lazier they get. And there seems to be no controls as to how these windfall revenues will be spent.
And there doesn’t seem to be any move to control this anomalous situation.
July 25th, 2008 17:33
And that, I agree Mr Cruz, is the addiction of all governments. It’s more taxation without need for representation. Inflation, in effect, is a default tax increase.
The point is how it’s spent. Not that it’s collected.
B
July 25th, 2008 22:46
Five Questions for Gloria regarding her 2008 SONA
Answer please,President Gloria Arroyo:
1)Better Philippines: You say that you want to leave a “better Philippines” as your legacy to the Filipino people and to your successor.Is the Philippines any better now than 7 years ago when you assumed power? What can you do in the remaining two years of your term?
2) 2010 Plans:Your palace apologists claim that you will definitely bow out of office by 2010.Why are you rushing the merger of the Lakas and Kampi parties into a “Super Party”? Why are there hasty preparations for another Charter Change Move? Do you plan a “repeat” of your past move when you reneged on your Rizal Day promise not to run in the 2004 elections?
3)RICE: In your first SONA speech in 2001,you promised to attain rice sufficiency via the modernization of rice production in the country. Why is the Philippines now the world’s largest rice importer despite being the home to the IRRI?
4)Abu Sayaf:In your 2002 SONA,you proudly proclaimed “I led our soldiers in defeating the Abu Sayaf!” Compared with when you assumed office, are we more safe or less safe in Mindanao? What was the group that recently kidnapped Ces Drilon and her ABS-CBN news team?
5) Corruption:In 2004 you declared that your administration was at war with corruption and you have made lifestyle checks a lethal weapon,and adopted procurement reforms to take the fight forward.If so,why was the ZTE-NBN deal approved without any bidding at all?What lessons do you draw from the botched ZTE deal?
July 26th, 2008 09:06
A primary example of political entreprenuership is Recto’s appointment. The government on recommendation from naturally the mutilaterals had to impose the most cost effective easiest method of collecting taxes from a clueless public. VAT. All you had to do was make sure the formal economy had to issue receipts and the number of control points can be easily intimidated to collect the taxes.
The mechanization of the payments systems with IT made it all the more easier.
It was a no brainer. The government through the BOC and BIR have the deck stacked against them in trying to collect income taxes and duties much less capital gains taxes which are horrendously low in the country.
That would require a more effective form of governance. Naturally governments have been taxing people thorugh inflation for eons.
That is a sign of weak states. She gains political mileage from Ate Vi’s prospective run for the gold and recto can’t do any harm as she decides on all NEDA matter’s anyway.
Recto has bragging rights amongst the movie crowd together with Ate VI. That is all it is anyway. It is all brilliant PR using already weakened institutions.
Congress never produced the necessary laws guiding what exactly NEDA is supposed to do and how. Hence it was coopted first by the multilaterals and now by the royal couple in the Palace.
July 26th, 2008 09:59
HVRDS,
Light yourself a cigar, HVRDS. The admin now has a Las Vegas-style skim operation entrenched / embedded in ALL cash-generating agencies / organs of state. Money-sucking symbionts. Where do they get the effrontery, the cheek, the utter gall to do these things in broad daylight? If we can answer that, then we have their weakness.
B
July 26th, 2008 10:51
if Ate Vi was such a great political asset Ralph would still be a senator.
won’t the Christians in Mindanao vote against the expanded role for the MILF?
and how much can she cheat in a plebiscite and get away with it? even Chavez lost when he tried to become president for life, and the Venezuelans still like him (God only knows why they still like him but they do)
July 26th, 2008 11:10
Simple, because they can…. The Pinoy is one of the best in adjusting as he has been exposed to differing cultures during his entire history.
But the single most impotant thread is the use of political power to fast track wealth generation.
Initiative, innovation and invention are human traits. Those that learnt to inetract with the Spainairds came out on top and they simply adjusted their style with the Kanutos and they came out on top and now they are still tied to the outsiders.
They made nationalism a marketing brand and a business model which has stood them in very good stead.
All of them from Quezon, Recto, Roxas, Tanada and almost all the political elite used nationality to prostitute the country. They rationalized it by knowing that during the past you had to become a concubine to one of the major powers to survive. Their mistake was they did not vest the people with economic power (means to life or the means of production) for people to become loyal to their own country. If a wide mass people begin to earn their own property rights you have the makings of a state.
The problem is the entire country got too used to being a concubine.
July 26th, 2008 13:16
Right again HVRDS. All messiahs (not THE Messiah) eventually get co-opted by mammon.
Rizal, in “The Philippines A Hundred Years Hence” compared the Hispano-American response to colonialism with the Filipino version saying, in so many words, that the Bolivaristas and Mexicans struggled to remove their yoke while we sought new ways to make ours less uncomfortable. Same thing happened when the Yanquis took over. Given time and a different turn of history we’d be calling each other Tomodachi had MacArthur not come a-calling.
What a guy, this Rizal, Anwat Ibrahim’s - and, incidentally, Jun Lozada’s - idol.
I do not expect a sea change to happen in my lifetime - although I can always win the lotto.
B
July 26th, 2008 15:26
this new scheme is just scary. all of it including the computerized voting. bakit hindi na lang sila lamunin ng lupa?
July 26th, 2008 19:53
Nina,
The religiously inclined will say Bahala Na Ang Diyos.
But it’s been 7 long years of suffering for the people. Why does He not end this suffering now?
Maybe God does not believe in the surveys. Or maybe He does but is just taking his time. Because maybe the Karma He’s preparing for the Evil One is one big humongous one.
Scary.
July 27th, 2008 14:55
Save the Republic by Saving the Environment!
Hahaha. Gosh, it seems we are in a quagmire. Maybe we need out-of-box solutions.
Use your vehicles sparingly. Buy less fuel. Every one percent reduction in annual oil consumption means Php480,000,000 less money that can be stolen from government coffers, less money for bribing, less money for launching a self-serving Cha-Cha attempt, less money for a junket while the country reels under a supertyphoon and a food crisis.
Use less electricity. Every one percent reduction in annual electrical consumption means 1.1 Billion Pesos less gravy in the gravy train. Wow, we are actually paying five taxes in our electricity bill and two of those taxes are (and this will tax even your credulity) taxes on taxes.
O di ba? And you are saving the environment pa!
Alas, I would not advise you to plant trees. That would only raise your real property tax and you know where your taxes go. Heheheh.
July 27th, 2008 18:02
Mr. Gold (Aurum)
Some solutions come right out of the kitchen.
The Thai police have discovered what ham makers in Kentucky have known all along: used cooking oil, animal fat along with ANY vegetable oil - edible or not - can be esterified into biodiesel using the most rudimentary refining kit that can be designed at trade school level and fabricated in Gandara.
The Thai police now buy up (or gather) all the used cooking oil they can and refine it all into biodiesel.
There’s a bonus to all this: you rid the streets of potentially deadly street food: the kind fried in rancid “reworked” used cooking oil gathered from the folks who give us KFC and Chickenjoys.
More fuel, less carcinogens. No tax pa kasi sa backyard mo lang gagawin. Malalaman mo pa ang tre cost to produce fuel.
B
July 27th, 2008 23:18
mr marcos was able to extend his office through the national assembly. our politicians today are no different during the marcos time. brace yourself up ladies and gentlemen.
July 28th, 2008 21:47
Gloria wants to remain in office. That is hers to decide.
Do we want her to be our president still after 2010, that is for us to answer and to act upon. This is a democracy, we can always make it work for the people no matter how dark the road maybe.
The spirit of EDSA may have cooled a bit because of division but if we are ONE again in our longing for a new leadership, THE ROAD OF EDSA IS OURS AGAIN TO TAKE ! Mabuhay ang Pilipinas !
July 28th, 2008 22:42
Dear Ricky,
This is my first time to write a comment to a blog. You have raised a very important point which has yet to register in many people’s minds.
There are many thoughts and ideas racing in my head, but given the confluence of events and political forces, it is indeed very possible that Constitutional change or amendment is the ultimate card of PGMA by 2010. Amazing that many people, including myself, agree with your thinking.
I will always click your blog from now on to have some sense with the news. Too bad I could no longer watch ANC channel regularly here in Korea.
Mar Amante
Hanyang University
Ansan, Korea
July 28th, 2008 23:42
[...] Ricky Carandang on July 21 laid out the stage for what actually unfolded today: [...]
July 28th, 2008 23:45
[...] Ricky Carandang on July 21 laid out the stage for what actually unfolded today: [...]
July 29th, 2008 07:48
Let’s see if “executive privilege” is invoked when the KL Piece - by - Piece Panel gets grilled on the details of the “Juridical Entity (a dissembled term if we ever saw one)” deal with the MILF.
Abangan.
July 29th, 2008 08:08
. . . or, they will simply bang the table and slap us with a fait accompli.
What a SONA. “Last two minutes” na may pa-strategy-strategy pa. Too late. And if we buy her kettle of fish, we deserve to eat the mess.
This administration is like a product or a brand that has failed to deliver and yet the managers find newer ways to get consumers to buy it. It never really took oft. It’s constantly being re-launched. Notice how each SONA sounds like an inaugural address?
Kapoy na kaajo. Na lo-od na.
Leon Kilat
July 29th, 2008 15:38
“We have our disagreements, but we are one nation with one faith. As your President, I care too much for this nation to let anyone stand in the way of the people’s well-being. I will let no one threaten our nation’s survival. “GMA SONA 2008
The DRAMA has begun!!!
Expect shortly this political game scenario on how Gloria Arroyo will extend her term beyond 2010 in spite of constitutional restrictions.
This will just be a repeat of the 2003 events when Gloria reneged on her 2002 Rizal day promise to the nation not to run in the 2004 elections.
July 30th, 2008 19:19
The Equalizer
July 29th, 2008 15:38
“We have our disagreements, but we are one nation with one faith. As your President, I care too much for this nation to let anyone stand in the way of the people’s well-being. I will let no one threaten our nation’s survival. “GMA SONA 2008
As I am in the way of the people’s well-being and I threaten our nation’s survival, I will leave office in 2010. Or, even better, I will resign.
Hahahaha. Libre ang managinip. And it’s all that most of us can afford now.
July 30th, 2008 20:27
Hindi nga nila ma-perfect ang automation ng traffic lights sa mga lansangan ng Maynila, pati pa kaya ang computerization ng bilangan sa eleksyon?
Mrs Arroyo, kapag nakabisita ka dito sa blog na ‘to, basahin mo ‘to:
U-L-O-L!
July 31st, 2008 13:17
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” Edmund Burke
July 31st, 2008 22:53
Gloria Pidal has 698 days left in office.With her popularity at an all-time low,it may be a good time for writers to write a requiem for the Gloria Pidal presidency.
August 1st, 2008 07:36
Ricky, why are the ABS-CBN people so silent on the MERALCO bribery scandal?
Ted Failon, Korina Sanchez, Pia Hontiveros, Tony Velasquez, Ricky Carandang, Anthony Taberna…..all quiet!
May memo ba galing sa itaas na huwag i-discuss?
August 1st, 2008 08:05
Alberto,
Huh? Its been in our headlines all week. Either you’re not wathching or you’re deliberately trying to create a false imporession.
August 1st, 2008 10:49
[...] it so it would require changing the constitution, i.e., shifting to federalism, which jibes with ricky carandang’s reading that the chacha train has left the station: Recent efforts by the Regime to [...]
August 1st, 2008 10:56
It’s nice to see ANC and DZMM give full coverage to Justice Sabio’s press conference this morning.
It’s just that the normally acerbic Ted Failon, Korina Sanchez, Anthony Taberna were like muffled voices in their radio programs in the morning.
But at least, this morning, ANC fulfilled its mandate of being a true “News Channel” by giving full coverage to Sabio.
August 1st, 2008 12:52
Back to self-perpetuation:
Looks like there is no limit to what she will do to stay in power. In order to make sure that the cha-cha choo-choo keeps moving, it needs to be towed by a Trojan horse of a deal with the MILF.
Hayop, now I sympathize with Serbians and Indonesians who, unlike Bassanio, had their territorial flesh - so to speak - ripped out of them and renamed Timor Leste and Kosovo respectively.
Beware of the US and EU bearing democratic principles.
What is this woman up to?
It does not take an astrophysicist to figure that the MILF are out to initiate a political evolution that, if it gains momentum, is meant to metastasize the BMJI into a sovereign cyst.
Guy Fawkes
August 1st, 2008 12:55
. . . start by demanding disclosure of the minutes of meetings in KL between GRP and MIKF panels and also draft agreements.
Charles Martel
August 1st, 2008 19:43
This is not really a comment about the Meralco issue, but about corruption in general:
Why is it that whenever a government official reports a bribe attempt (or other wrongdoing), they always wait a long time before they report it?
Sabio was allegedly offered a bribe on July 1, but he only wrote his complaint letter on July 26. If he had reported it on the spot, it might have been easier to prove the details and the involvement of De Borja.
This is another reason people do these things. They are absolutely sure it will not be reported, even if the offer is rebuffed.
August 1st, 2008 21:27
A 1st for me
SONA
*groan*
Not again!!! I’ve been seeing this president talk for so long I swear i could almost see lightning flashing in the background. I’m almost tempted to do a “the word” like the Colbert report does -
“…Biglang-bigla, nabaligtad ang ekonomiya ng mundo. Ang pagtalon ng presyo ng langis at pagkain ay nagbunsod ng pandaigdigan krisis, the worst since the Great Depression and the end of World War II…” === “The Word” See! Its not all my fault.
“…Some blame speculators moving billions of dollars from subprime mortgages to commodities like fuel and food…” === “The Word” Others, blame me.
Grabe… Honestly I don’t know how she can say those things with a straight face as if she’s not withholding other negative information that makes her gains look puny in comparison *sigh*. I mean our president is there high and mighty when the dollar was weakening and remmitances was at its all time high harping good economic management and when it took a turn for the worse, she cant even own up that she got caught with her pants… erm… whatever down.
August 1st, 2008 21:43
What’s Gloria Legacy to the Country?
* VAT
* Her grandchildren will google “gloria arroyo” 20 years from now and find these answers…zte,hello garci,cha cha,Pidals…
* A Strong Republic
* Another Marcos
* yawn……
* Time will tell.
August 2nd, 2008 09:51
“I know Francis de Borja but I have not authorized him or anybody to make representations for any matter that involves cases of Meralco and the Lopez family,” Manolo Lopez said. “We have retainers and lawyers to handle the legal matters. Further, Francis is not a lawyer nor is he connected with Meralco.”
ONLY LAWYERS KNOW HOW TO BRIBE?
August 2nd, 2008 10:30
Manolo Lopez showed the media the plane ticket to prove that he was out of the country when the alleged bribing of Justice Sabio took place.
But does that prove that he had no hand in the bribe?
When Francis De Borja uttered the words “What would it take for you to resist the government’s offer?”, do we really believe that the money being dangled is De Borja’s own?
Come on now, people!
August 2nd, 2008 20:25
GOD BLESS THE PHILIPINES…I PRAY YOU DONT GET CORRUPTED…MAN.. KEEP REPORTING.. THANKS
August 2nd, 2008 23:02
who cares about sabio and broja? these people are playing dirty games. Let them fight- the result would be ” wasting people’s time”
August 3rd, 2008 04:24
The issue is like a Pushmepullyou. You can’t tell head from tail.
Dr. Doolittle
August 3rd, 2008 08:17
Fr. Joaquin Bernas of the Ateneo, as well as a lot of his students and fellow faculty members have come out in full support of Sabio.
Who has supported De Borja so far?
August 3rd, 2008 15:51
If the Lopezes are guilty of attempted bribery, i hope they get what they deserve. The worst outcome would be the contending Oligarchs i.e. the Lopez and the GMA camps, to arrive at a modus vivendi at the expense of our institutions just like what happened with Gloria’s pardon of Erap last year.
August 3rd, 2008 23:07
I just find it interesting that Lopez did not offer his passport as proof of his supposed out of country trip. Interesting lang.
August 4th, 2008 14:27
Ricky,
I think you people at ABS have to be given credit for your coverage of the Meralco vs GSIS and Sabio vs De Bora issues. The same with what happened years ago with the Wowowee Ultra incident.
Amazing how you guys can remain so neutral when even the Lopez interests are being cast in a bad light. Your reporters in fact take the trouble of seeking out the negative comments of Winston Garcia and other critics of the Lopezes.
That’s not easy to do.
All I can say is that the country is better off with the Lopezes running Meralco than the Winston Garcias of this world.
August 9th, 2008 04:02
R.C., going back to the main subject of your post, you would have sounded a bit more credible, at least to me, had you used less the term “regime” to refer to pgma’s presidency. you have used it repeatedly, thus deliberately, for motives not hard to speculate about. i’m sure you know that while “regime” is synonimous to “administration” according to leading dictionaries, the former is customarily used to refer to dictatorship, monarchical or other non-democratic systems of government. i don’t see arroyo’s presidency as totalitarian or other than democratic.
but i do have other problems with your hypothesis. last i know, cha cha had left the station 2 or 3 years ago but was derailed by forces opposed to it for the same fears you are expressing now. the real reason for the need to amend the 1987 constitution, e.g. to rectify the substantive flaws and gross miscalculations in most of its provisions engendered by the emotions of the moment (of a citizenry emerging from the trauma of dictatorship) has been waylaid.
now, if your hypothesis was valid, couldn’t gma have used this tactic then, and not waited for the twilight of her presidency to do it? the political landscape has not really changed since then, except perhaps for de venecia whose current absence from the “corridors of power” has arguably no significant effect, anyway. then, as now, the moros in mindanao were thorns on everybody’s side but theirs.
you have attempted to cover your tracks well by stating, in no uncertain terms, your distrust of all institutions and processes. you have expressed lack of trust for the president, the judiciary, congress, the electoral processes, the comelec, the military, and ultimately, the people who would support constitutional amendment. as far as you are concerned, it’s a win, win for gma and lose, lose for the country.
have you ever stop to consider that there are valid urgent reasons for amending the constitution, and that pgma (assuming she has all the power and diabolical intentions that you postulate) is bigger than all of us?
August 9th, 2008 20:54
correction (last line): is NOT bigger than all of us?
August 11th, 2008 08:23
Phil Cruz said: “All I can say is that the country is better off with the Lopezes running Meralco than the Winston Garcias of this world.”
You want more of these high electricity prices? What are you, a masochist?
Inaapi ka na nga, tapos sasabihin mo pa: “More! More!”
A bit sick, don’t you think?