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Tyrants of today EDITORIAL 03/03/2011

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Tyrants of today

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
03/03/2011
How true it is that the self proclaimed “saviors” of freedom and demcracy of yesterday become today’s tyrants and sycophants of the Malacañang tenant.

Once in the opposition, with claims of idealism, righteousness and constitutionalism, while denouncing sychopancy, tyranny of numbers and subservience to the powers that be, they, who are now in power and position, are today’s tyrants and utterly subservient to the executive power.

This was proven by the congressional members of the House’s justice committee, as they railroaded the approval of the impeachment complaints against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, a move they not too long ago denounced when they were in the minority, attempting to impeach then president Gloria Arroyo.

They speak of fairness, and an adherence to the law and the rules, yet even then, they broke all rules and railroaded the impeachment of then sitting President Joseph Estrada..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com1.html

Guilty as charged? FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/03/2011

Guilty as charged?

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
03/03/2011
Malacañang should really keep its hands off impeachment cases, mainly because it is not within the jurisdiction of the Palace and its occupants. Why Noynoy and his student council aides still cannot get into their empty heads despite being in power and position for eight months, that the separation of powers principle must be upheld is truly beyond anyone’s ken.

But there went Noynoy again, through his spokesman, encouraging Filipinos to follow the impeachment proceedings as this is “historic” since it is the first time an Ombudsman is being impeached.

Wasn’t the unconstitutional and railroaded impeachment of then sitting President Joseph Estrada who was a victim of congressional trumped-up charges a “historic” event, especially since those who called for his impeachment, and walked out of it because they couldn’t get a conviction during the trial are now the very same congressmen who violated every rule, especially the Constitution?

Then too, why are the Palace people, as well as the members of Congress — some senators included — pressuring Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to resign instead of facing an impeachment trial?.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com2.html

Libya’s rebels organize for post-Kadhafi future FEATURE 03/03/2011

Libya’s rebels organize for post-Kadhafi future

FEATURE

03/03/2011
BENGHAZI — Libya’s opposition is fast evolving from a chaotic protest movement into a parallel government, even though divisions remain over how to finally topple Moamer Kadhafi.

After the bloody early days of the revolt against his 41-year rule, dissidents in the eastern city Benghazi and other towns have organized political and military councils to map out a post-Kadhafi future.

A Libyan UN envoy said on Tuesday that a transitional government would start work even as Kadhafi stays entrenched in Tripoli, while army defectors mulled the first step toward a unified force against his regime.

But if the councils are the face of Libya in transition, it is an anarchic one, as they disagree on a host of issues ranging from the need for Western air strikes to the membership of the committees themselves..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com3.html

Lim wins, Atienza loses BLURBAL THRUSTS Louie Logarta 03/03/2011

Lim wins, Atienza loses

BLURBAL THRUSTS
Louie Logarta
03/03/2011
The glib-tongued businesswoman who was previously implicated in an elaborate pyramiding scam which reportedly cost former Makati Mayor and now Vice President Jojo Binay and wife Dr. Elenita Binay and former Sen. Loi Ejercito-Estrada (wife of then President Estrada) more than P100 million has been convicted of the crime of estafa.

Meted out a maximum 20-year sentence by Judge Danilo Buemio of the Pasig Regional Trial Court Branch 268 was Josephine German who was found guilty of said offense in a decision dated August 2010, but released only last week.

Her lawyers were however said to be filing a motion for reconsideration before the court claiming the decision of the judge was flawed. There had been 50 cases earlier filed against the subject in relation to her investment scheme, all of which were thrown out by the different courts that heard them.

Ironically, the extant case had nothing to do with German’s alleged pyramiding operations, which had reached its peak in the mid to late 1990s and estimated to have generated over P800 million from several big-name clients, but with this one filed by complainant Roy Lucero who claimed to have been gypped of P10.7 million after several postdated checks she had issued to him were dishonored by the banks and she refused to enter into an amicable settlement..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com4.html

Beggars can’t be choosers VIEWPOINTS Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz 03/03/2011

Beggars can’t be choosers

VIEWPOINTS
Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz
03/03/2011
Sad but true. Those who simply beg are in no position to dictate what they want or do not want. They are wherefore at the mercy of those who have something to give; who want to give away something — for various reasons: The givers have too much of what they have, and will be happy to get rid of their unwanted surplus. The givers have something they have no real need of, and will be pleased to give it away especially to those who beg for it. The givers are giving something to get something else in return such that they are not really givers but takers in fact.

Such is the persisting problem of poor Philippines that other countries look down upon as a persistent beggar. The misery of the Filipinos is what precisely makes the said countries haughty in their abundance, triumphant for their resources, depreciative of Philippine sovereignty..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com5.html

Women rally against ‘Eve-teasing’ in S. Asia FEATURE 03/03/2011

Women rally against ‘Eve-teasing’ in S. Asia

FEATURE

03/03/2011
NEW DELHI — It sounds almost playful, but “Eve-teasing” is a daily torment for many women in South Asia, who are now trying to call time on what they see as a bland euphemism for sustained sexual harassment.

Widely used for decades by the media and police in India and Bangladesh, and to a lesser extent in Nepal and Pakistan, “Eve-teasing” is a catch-all term that encompasses anything from lewd comments to assault.

As a reference to the biblical Eve, women activists argue that it carries an additional offensive inference — that of the woman as “temptress” who was complicit in her own downfall.

“It’s a dismissive term,” said Jasmeen Patheja, founder of an Indian community performance art group called “Blank Noise” that combats the abuse of women in public areas..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com6.html

Azerbaijan fears neighbor Iran’s radical influence FEATURE 03/03/2011

Azerbaijan fears neighbor Iran’s radical influence

FEATURE

03/03/2011
ASTARA — The Iranian potatoes, oranges and raisins on sale in the bazaars of Astara are not the only signs of the Islamic republic’s influence in this Azerbaijani border town.

There is also the Iranian television station which beams the news according to Tehran into Astara’s homes and tea-houses in the Azerbaijani language.

Hundreds of Iranian trucks rumble north each day along the nearby highway, loaded with goods bound for Azerbaijani markets, but despite the trading links between the mainly Shiite Muslim neighbors, their political relationship has become increasingly strained — particularly over the issue of Islam.

Azerbaijan is a former Soviet state with a determinedly secular government, and there have been small but widely-publicised protests outside the Iranian embassy in Baku in recent weeks, accusing Tehran of supporting Islamic extremists in an attempt to destabilize the country..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110303com7.html

Yambao, Ligot’s wife to appear today in Senate By Angie M. Rosales and Mario J. Mallari 03/03/2011

Yambao, Ligot’s wife to appear today in Senate

By Angie M. Rosales and Mario J. Mallari 03/03/2011

It will be a Ligot family affair at the hearing scheduled today by the Senate blue ribbon committee.

Sen. Teofisto “TG” Guingona said this yesterday in describing the scenario when his blue ribbon committee reconvenes today to continue its inquiry into the alleged cor-ruption in the military organization.

Erlinda Ligot, the wife of former Armed Forces of the Philip-pines (AFP) comptrol-ler Lt. Gen. (ret.) Jacinto Ligot, has finally acceded to the summons of the panel along with her brother, Edgardo Yambao.

She and her brother have been placed under the Bureau of Immigration’s watchlist by the senators in the light of the allegations against them that they had under their respective names some of the assets and properties of retired general being questioned by lawmakers..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110303hed3.html

Tupas’ inhibition in impeach hearings sought By Gerry Baldo and Angie M. Rosales 03/03/2011

Tupas’ inhibition in impeach hearings sought

By Gerry Baldo and Angie M. Rosales 03/03/2011
The focus is now on the chairman of the House justice committee to recuse himself from hearng the impeachment case against the Ombudsman amid charges of lack of his delicadeza.

Iloilo Rep. Niel; Tupas, chairman of the House committee on justice, should inhibit himself from the impeachment proceedings for the sake of delicadeza or a sense of propriety.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also took a dig at the chairmanship of Tupas, as he appears to hold a very obvious personal issue in the case against Gutierrez since his father has a pending case before the Ombudsman and apparently has been suspended in the course of that proceeding..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110303hed2.html

Western nations agree to help evacuate Pinoys out of Libya EXCLUSIVE By Michaela P. del Callar 03/03/2011

Western nations agree to help evacuate Pinoys out of Libya

EXCLUSIVE

By Michaela P. del Callar 03/03/2011

Western governments led by the United States and the United Kingdom have agreed to allow some Filipino workers to board their ships and aircraft out of strife-torn Libya to help the Philippines carry out a difficult evacuation, including in Benghazi, where officials are targeting to bring all Filipinos out by Saturday.

At least 9,231 Filipinos have moved out of Libya, including 859 who have flown back to the Philippines, but acting Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario acknowledged that it’s extremely difficult to ascertain the exact number of Filipinos remaining in the troubled North African nation.

“I keep being asked that question. I don’t have any figures,” Del Rosario told a news conference.

“We are setting a date for ourselves in terms of target, in terms of getting our people out of that coastal area and maybe by Saturday. It’s our target to get every one out. We want to get our people out of the coastal areas, eastern and western Libya,” he said.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110303hed4.html

HK Inquest: Ballistics expert says 17 shots ‘may have’ hit bus hostages 03/03/2011

HK Inquest: Ballistics expert says 17 shots ‘may have’ hit bus hostages

03/03/2011
A Hong Kong inquest into the Manila hijacking and botched rescue operations that killed eight Hong Kong tourists and injured many more yesterday heard that at least 17 gunshots fired into the Hong Thai tour bus during a botched rescue attempt could have hit the hostages inside, according to a ballistic expert in Hong Kong, a live stream from Radio TV Hong Kong (RTHK) said.

The ballistics expert, Raymond Chan, testified before the Hong Kong Coroner’s inquest yesterday. It was he who had inspected the vehicle in Manila following last year’s hostage tragedy.

Chan told the coroner’s court he had found marks from 62 bullets on the vehicle, stressing that 35 were made by shots fired from outside, 10 inside and the remainder were caused by bullet fragments or unknown sources. Most of the marks were found on the windscreen and near the front door of the bus.

The IIRC report headed by the Justice chief, Leila de Lima, claimed in her panel’s findings that all the bullets that killed the hostages and wounded some of the hostages came from the gunman which contradicts the testimony of the Hong Kong ballistics expert..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110303hed5.html

Roxas wife ABS-CBN anchor skips Binay name in reports 03/03/2011

Roxas wife ABS-CBN anchor skips Binay name in reports

03/03/2011
It’s either an old-time anchor of broadcast firm ABS-CBN has a recurring case of amnesia or that the bitter political rivaly between Vice President Jejomar Binay and losing Liberal Party (LP) vice presidential bet Manuel Roxas II has spilled on the air waves, as Binay’s camp complained to the television station that Binay’s name is being dropped from newscasts of Korina Sanchez who happens to be the wife of Roxas.
Binay’s media relations head Joselito Salgado wrote ABS-CBN the other day to seek clarification on the editorial policy of ABS-CBN regarding Sanchez’s habit of omitting the name of Binay on stories that involved the Vice President.

“We wish to be clarified if it is the editorial policy of ABS-CBN news desk to omit the name of Vice President Jejomar C. Binay in the lead in or anchor’s spiel on stories about him,” Salgado inquired.
Salgado wrote that Sanchez avoided mentioning the name of Binay on at least three occasions: on Nov. 11, 2010’s airing of the program “VP Binay umaming wala pang ebidensiya vs De Castro at Ortille”; on Feb. 17, 2011: “Pamilya gustong makapiling si Sally sa huling sandali”; and Feb. 24 2011: “Marcos sa Libingan ng mga Bayani”)..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110303hed6.html

House has weak case vs Merci By Angie M. Rosales 03/03/2011

House has weak case vs Merci

By Angie M. Rosales 03/03/2011

Accusers of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez in the impeachment complaint currently being heard by the House of Representatives justice committee appear not to have a strong case to cause her removal from office and a probable cause may not exist, a senator said yesterday.

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, underscoring that her statements be taken in the context of her being a lawyer, also issued a warning to congressmen to ensure that they have a tight case against Gutierrez before transmitting the complaint to the Senate and ensure that it merits all the necessary proceedings and, at the very least, ensure that they can muster the needed votes to elevate the matter to the Senate for trial.

“Impeachment is a very serious process. We are supposed to use it as a measure of last resort if we have done everything and we cannot change the situation, and public interest is so acutely affected by what is happening or is not happening with that office, that we have no choice but to try and impeach the official,” she said in an interview with reporters..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110303hed1.html

CA orders Ping to answer DoJ appeal on Dacer case By Benjamin B. Pulta 03/03/2011

CA orders Ping to answer DoJ appeal on Dacer case

By Benjamin B. Pulta 03/03/2011
A ruling by the Court of Appeals (CA) has ordered fugitive Sen. Panfilo Lacson to answer within a non-extendible period the Department of Justice (DoJ)’s position seeking his indictment for the murders of Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and Emmanuel Corbito.

In a resolution dated March 1, 2011, the appellate court’s Special Sixth Division said “leave of court is granted and petitioner’s (Lacson’s) opposition dated Feb. 24, 2011 is admitted as his comment to Cezar Mancao II’s motion for leave to intervene on Feb. 15, 2011,” said the CA.

Associate Justice Ramon Bato wrote the resolution, with the concurrence of Associate Justices Juan Enriquez Jr. and Isaias Dicdican.

Last Feb. 3, the CA ruled in favor of Lacson and said there was no probable cause for the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 to prosecute the senator and to issue a warrant of arrest against him. .... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110303nat4.html

Aquino gov’t inutile in Middle East crisis — lawmaker By Charlie V. Manalo 03/03/2011

Aquino gov’t inutile in Middle East crisis — lawmaker

By Charlie V. Manalo 03/03/2011

Contrary to claims by the Aquino government it is doing its best to assist overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) stranded in Libya and in nearby countries following the political turmoil which erupted in several Middle East countries, a member of the minority bloc in the House of Representatives yesterday said that to date, the government has practically done nothing to aid the helpless OFWs.

At a press briefing, Zambales Rep. Milagros Magsaysay belied claims by the Aquino administration it was responsible for airlifting some 500 OFWs from Libya early this week.

“The more than 500 OFWs from Libya airlifted earlier this week was not through the efforts of the government but by the employers of the OFWs themselves. The government has practically done nothing to help our countrymen working in the Middle East affected by the political turmoil there,” said Magsaysay.

In fact, Magsaysay said that during a committee hearing, Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE) Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz admitted they are at a lost on who really is the person-in-command in the Middle East crisis. This was after the government recalled Ambassador Roy Cimatu, who was then the official in charge of handling the situation in the Middle East..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110303nat6.html

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