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FPJ supporters’ vindication DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 07/22/2011

Friday, July 22, 2011

FPJ supporters’ vindication

DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
07/22/2011
“First they ignore it, then they laugh at it, then they say they knew it all along.” — Alexander Humbold

Such was what the Edsa III masa and their populist supporters witnessed when they said that cheating in the 2004 elections was massive and incontrovertible. They were ignored. They were taunted. Rival candidate Sen. Panfilo Lacson, in trying to paint FPJ and his supporters as sour-grapes, even said, “Those who can’t protect their votes don’t have the right to run,” while others such as Akbayan’s Etta Rosales stood idly by to acclaim Gloria Arroyo’s stealth congressional proclamation in the dark, wee hours before dawn of June 23, 2004, as the nation slumbered.

FPJ supporters rallied and demonstrated. A memorable one was at the Welcome Rotonda in Quezon City, where we were dispersed after being cornered at the nearby McDonald’s outlet. A long chase ensued through the evening, ending up at Sto. Domingo Church, without any of us having an inkling that the next time we would converge there was to attend FPJ’s wake and kick-off the longest funeral queue in Philippine history.

Where are the notorious names we exposed in 2004? Where are Generals Esperon, Kyamko, Quevedo, Tolentino, Villanueva, Allaga, Pajarito, Habacon, Garcia; Rear Admiral De Leon; Colonels Ortiz, Baclayon, Gapay, Ardo, Lucero, Lactao, Pangilinan, Segovia, Gupana, Sumaylo, Capuyan; Majors Musngi, Masa, Nicolas, Sison; Garci wiretappers Col. Sumalo and Capuyan; Maj. Teofilo; SG Sage; and, of course, former Defense Secretaries (and retired generals) Hermogenes Ebdane and Eduardo Ermita, who went around military camps while using the military’s resources in campaigning against FPJ, telling soldiers, “Of course you will not vote for an actor… we should vote for the candidate who has the experience, appropriate academic background… etc.” in support of their patron Gloria?

At the same time, we also remember those servicemen with conscience who kept their integrity whole, such as Gen. Frank Gudani who faced court martial for being a so-called “erring personnel” as well as Col. Alex Balutan.

We also remember with disdain those civilians and politicians who were involved directly or indirectly, overtly or tacitly, in that dark episode by their silence. People should be reminded of the complicity of both the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) and National Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel), which didn’t do anything but cover-up for the massive electoral fraud. Same goes for others such as “Mr. Noted” Kiko Pangilinan, Cory Aquino, Frank Drilon, “Hyatt 10,” and other participants.

The cheating in 2004 didn’t just include the so-called “Arroyo Generals” but the whole system that was established in Edsa II to ensure the continuity of what was started in 2001, which was to keep President Estrada in continued detention while averting the scuttling of a fast-tracked era of globalization, privatization and the corporatization of the Philippines, as well as the consolidation of Epira and the privatization of TransCo, etc., with an FPJ sitting in Malacañang.

After all, they must have known that FPJ’s first act in signaling his candidacy was to attend the anti-globalization conference of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) in UP.

But even as things didn’t go the nation’s way, FPJ supporters, including the most prominent of them all, President Joseph Estrada, who was working behind the scenes despite his incarceration at Tanay, still did not rest in their campaign to expose the truth.

Then, “Hello Garci” emerged.

The link to the sources back then was not yet timely to reveal, as security implications outweighed other considerations; but Samuel Ong and Sgt. Vidal Doble finally surfaced the tapes that provided incontrovertible proof of Arroyo’s direct hand in cheating operations. Subsequently, cellphone videos of some of the military’s cheating operations also emerged.

Scrambling to control the damage, GMA spokesman Ignacio Bunye obfuscated by producing a fake version of the tapes, before the issue went to Congress where, most significantly, then Rep. Noynoy Aquino voted not to play the real tapes.

The involvement of the military led to the Mayuga Commission which, to this day, has not been allowed to release its full report to the public (perhaps to allow Garcillano a chance to still preempt the Mayuga report?).
The Comelec at that time was perceive to be among the most guilty; and that was the root of the megalomania of Ben Abalos who allegedly said to the Chinese ZTE officials, “I am the most powerful man in the Philippines,” knowing that he could expose everything Gloria anytime did if he didn’t get his way.

How correct Greek dramatist Euripides was when he said, “Those whom the gods wish to destroy, they first make mad.” It was a mad era. The post-2001 Edsa II power grab and the 2004 election cheating age was one when those in power believed they could manipulate everything and get away with it forever. It was a time when black became white, good became bad, and the cheats ruled the law. But one-by-one, the Mad Hatters fell… (who next after Angie Reyes?)

A history of the Mad Era of the Arroyo government obviously can’t be chronicled here in full. We don’t even have enough space for the complicity of mainstream media, including the iconic columnists of some major newspapers.

But as this is only a gist, we will cap it off by acknowledging those who fought for FPJ’s vindication when certain quarters ignored and taunted them: The FPJ movements that are too many to mention; the FPJ voters; President Estrada; the Bagong Katipuneros (Magdalos) and the Para sa Bayan military groups; as well as those who still suffer injustice for standing up against Edsa II, such as lawyer Alan Paguia, still suspended by the Supreme Court when all that he stood up for are now being vindicated. While we are sad about FPJ’s daughter who apparently loves those who tormented her father more than those who supported him, we finally have to acknowledge the late FPJ’s courageous wife, Susan Roces, for continuing this fight, too.

(Tune in to Radyo OpinYon, Monday to Friday, 5 to 6 p.m., and Sulo ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 6 to 7 p.m. on 1098AM; Talk News TV with HTL, Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m., with replay at 11 p.m., on GNN, Destiny Cable Channel 8, on “DoST Expo 2011: Ignite the Mind”; visit http://newkatipunero.blogspot.com and http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com for our articles plus TV and radio)

(Reprinted with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu-Laurel)

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110722com5.html

PPP headed to a straight dead-end EDITORIAL 07/22/2011

PPP headed to a straight dead-end

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
07/22/2011
Noynoy underpinned his administration’s economic agenda on so-called Private-Public Partnership (PPP) projects which he said was the embodiment of people power in achieving growth for the country with extensive help from the private sector.

Comparing Noy’s words and actions on PPP, however, shows a valley of difference.

Even his Socio-economic secretary, Cayetano Paderanga, in a study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) conceded that the PPP is going nowhere.

Except for the North Luzon Expressway Project (NLEP), being undertaken through a partnership between the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA) and the Manila North Tollways Corp. of businessman Manny Pangilinan, the study ranked progress in the PPP as poor and a “disincentive for business.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110722com1.html

No-substance speech expected FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 07/22/2011

No-substance speech expected

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
07/22/2011
Noynoy’s deputy aide, in a radio interview yesterday, bared that his boss’ State of the Nation Address will be short, since he does not like long speeches, but added that Noynoy will be sketching, in his second Sona “in bold strokes,” the country’s future directions.
Just from that information, it can already be gleaned that the Sona will be short on substance, even as it is being claimed that all the other technical details will be separate and given to Congress.
This still means that the speech itself will have little or no substance, especially as it was also bared that “after a year in office, he (Noynoy) will report on where we should, and will be going. He has enough confidence now, based on what he has seen so far,” the aide said.
It looks like Noynoy has little to report on what he had done during his first year in office, which is probably why he will again be making another round of promises that he will unlikely be able to deliver anyway.
.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110722com2.html

Jinggoy’s moment C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S Jonathan De la Cruz 07/22/2011

Jinggoy’s moment

C.R.O.S.S.R.O.A.D.S
Jonathan De la Cruz
07/22/2011
Senate President Pro-Tempore Jinggoy Estrada is proving to be an exemption to the rule about “showbiz” personalities getting into politics. Remember the line about stars being square pegs in round holes unable to shed their past and take on the responsibilities of their new offices? Well, the youthful senator is proving the critics wrong. Like his father before him who rose to the top and continues to be the beloved Pangulo ng Masang Pilipino, he has taken his tasks to heart and is turning out to be a solid addition to the ranks of the true blue “senators of the realm.”

Not to disparage the two other “stars” in the Senate but of the three, it’s the San Juan solon who has done a lot of growing up, so to speak, patiently learning the ropes, firming up his grasp of the real issues of national concern, not the trivial, show bizzy ones and is now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with his more seasoned peers. He is, as one observer noted, no longer in the junior league. His natural inclination to learn from his peers, listen wisely to counsel and being sensitive to the sentiments of ordinary folks has borne fruit..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110722com4.html

Troop cuts may spell danger for Afghan economy focus 07/22/2011

Troop cuts may spell danger for Afghan economy

focus

07/22/2011
KABUL — As US-led troops start to leave Afghanistan and hand responsibility to Afghans, concerns are growing that an accompanying slump in international aid could have a catastrophic effect on the economy.

A boom in riches among Kabul’s elite since the 2001 invasion toppled the Taliban has not been felt widely among a desperately poor, largely agrarian society that survives only with vast amounts of foreign aid.
Western officials say that while gross domestic product (GDP) is around $16 billion a year, the country receives some $15 billion annually in security and civilian aid from the international community.

With foreign troops now starting to go home and the West focused on a final deadline of 2014 to withdraw all combat forces, experts say that aid is also likely to dwindle..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110722com6.html

Asia takes on the best in mixed martial arts FEATURE 07/22/2011

Asia takes on the best in mixed martial arts

FEATURE

07/22/2011
MACAU — It has taken time and a few false starts but Asia, the spiritual and physical home of martial arts, now seems ready to take on the best in the world of modern mixed combat.
When Bae Myung Ho raised the Legend Fighting Championship welterweight title belt last Saturday night he showed it briefly to his fans and then the South Korean mixed martial artist went straight for the television cameras.

Bae fought in front of around 1,500 people inside Macau’s City of Dreams casino complex — but an estimated 150 million households across the globe watched on TV.

Mixed martial arts incorporates the skills of everything from Brazilian jiu-jitsu, through judo, wrestling, karate and Muay Thai kick-boxing.

From the sold-out ringside in Macau it was easy to see why MMA has become so popular..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110722com7.html

Noy business crony funding Bedol-Zaldy poll squeals By Charlie V. Manalo and Virgilio Bugaoisan 07/22/2011

Noy business crony funding Bedol-Zaldy poll squeals

By Charlie V. Manalo and Virgilio Bugaoisan 07/22/2011

It took millions of pesos to get the Ampatuans and election officer Lintang Bedol to rig the vote for paying candidates to win.

It also apparently takes millions of pesos from a businessman-crony of President Aquino to pay former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan and Lintang Bedol for them to spill the poll fraud beans.

A highly reliable source yesterday disclosed to the Tribune that a big businessman who is said to have contributed a large amount of money — close to half a billion pesos — to the campaign of Aquino and his then running mate, Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) Secretary Mar Roxas, is allegedly funding former Maguindanao election supervisor Bedol to pin down former President, now
Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo in the alleged fraud during the 2004 and 2007 elections..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110722hed1.html

Erap: Vindicate FPJ, masses, unmask ’04 poll fraud brains 07/22/2011

Erap: Vindicate FPJ, masses, unmask ’04 poll fraud brains

07/22/2011
Breaking his silence on political matters, former President Joseph Estrada yesterday expressed support to an investigation into the alleged massive cheating during the 2004 presidential elections that reportedly benefitted Gloria Arroyo.

“We have to support all efforts to prosecute those who participated in the 2004 electoral fraud,” Estrada stressed. “They stole everything from the country — not only money from the government coffers but even the votes of the Filipino masses.”

According to the former leader, the investigation should also include those in the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP), especially the so-called “Garci” generals who were engaged in fraud and cover-up of the 2004 scandal at different levels.

“Pinpoint the mastermind behind the Hello Garci scandal and prosecute all those who participated in this shameless act,” he stressed..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110722hed3.html

Convict perpetrators of killings, EU envoy tells Aquino gov’t 07/22/2011

Convict perpetrators of killings, EU envoy tells Aquino gov’t

07/22/2011
The Philippines should produce more convictions of those responsible for extra-judicial killings of militants and members of left-wing groups to show the Aquino adminis-tration’s commitment in resolving the scourge, the European Union’s top diplomat to Manila yesterday said.

While EU Ambassador Guy Ledoux cited the improvements made by the Aquino leadership in addressing the problem, he, however, said the government should strive to do more in eliminating the existing culture of impunity.

“I nourish strong hopes that the major efforts made by the various stakeholders with our support will soon result in an increase in the number of convictions of gunmen and masterminds of extra-legal killings and enforced disappearances, and ultimately, in curbing, if not a suppression, of this scourge,” Ledoux told a press conference during a visit of EU diplomats at the Philippine National Police (PNP) headquarters..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110722hed5.html

Cory’s ex-aide may be next AFP chief of staff By Mario J. Mallari 07/22/2011

Cory’s ex-aide may be next AFP chief of staff

By Mario J. Mallari 07/22/2011

Another member of the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) Class of 1979, touted to be the next chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, will formally assume as commander of the military’s Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) today, bringing him closer to bagging the top AFP post.

Maj. Gen. Jessie Dellosa, outgoing chief of the Army’s 2nd Infantry Division (ID) will formally replace his mistah Lt. Gen. Gaudencio Pangilinan as Nolcom chief during change of command ceremonies in Camp Aquino in Tarlac City to be presided over by Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin.

Pangilinan relinquishes his post days ahead of his mandatory retirement on July 25 when he turns 56.

With his assumption as Nolcom chief, which is a three-star position, Dellosa qualifies to succeed incumbent AFP Chief of Staff Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr., who is reaching the mandatory retirement age of 56 this December.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110722nat5.html

BIR: Zaldy testimony useless against GMA without supporting documents By Benjamin B. Pulta 07/22/2011

BIR: Zaldy testimony useless against GMA without supporting documents

By Benjamin B. Pulta 07/22/2011

Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) Chief Kim Jacinto-Henares said former Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan’s bare words against how his former benefactor former President Gloria Arroyo supposedly received more than P200 million in graft is insufficient to prosecute the former Chief Executive for tax evasion.

At a press briefing, Henares pointed out that “we (BIR) need much more than testimony.” “We need documents,” Henares said they need papers, particularly showing that funds had indeed changed hands and ended up as undeclared income on the part of Arroyo who is now a congressman representing her home province of Pampanga.

Henares added that her agency as a policy does not announce who will be indicted for tax law violations until it is actually filed before prosecutors.

Zaldy earlier had broke his silence over how Arroyo and First Gentleman Mike Arroyo met with his father, former Maguindanao Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. to rig the 2007 senatorial elections and ensure that three opposition candidates at the time get zero votes in the area..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110722nat1.html

‘One Barangay, One Product’ launched in Navotas City 07/22/2011

‘One Barangay, One Product’ launched in Navotas City

07/22/2011
In a bid to help Navotas micro and small-scale entrepreneurs promote their products globally, the city government launched the so-called “One Barangay, One Product” wherein each barangay is expected to showcase what it is known for.

The project, “Search for Navotas City’s Outstanding One Barangay, One Product,” has attracted the city’s 14 barangays which already sent their entries as early as last month to the board of judges, according to Mayor John Rey Tiangco.

He said the board of judges will be composed of representatives from the Department of Trade and Industry, Department of Science and Technology and Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110722met4.html

‘Bongbong’ seeks protection of kids from armed conflict 07/22/2011

‘Bongbong’ seeks protection of kids from armed conflict

07/22/2011
Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos has filed the proposed Special Protection of Children in Situations of Armed Conflict Act in the Senate which is aimed at providing comprehensive safeguard as well as the rehabilitation and reintegration of children involved in, affected by or displaced by armed conflict.

Marcos said that the government should provide special protection to Children in Situations of Armed Conflict (CSAC) from all forms of abuse, violence, neglect, cruelty and discrimination.

“Children deserve utmost protection from all forms of danger. All efforts must, therefore, be exerted to ensure that they are sheltered and protected at all times,” Marcos said Senate Bill 2886, authored by Marcos, prohibits the voluntary and compulsory recruitment and involvement of persons below 18 years of age in armed conflict..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/metro/20110722met1.html

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