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GMA aide files P3-billion plunder rap vs Duterte 03/19/2010

Friday, March 19, 2010

Davao mayor, city officials also charged for second plunder, graft on ‘strong evidence’ 

GMA aide files P3-billion plunder rap vs Duterte

03/19/2010
A Malacañang presidential aide yesterday filed before the Office of the Ombudsman two separate charges of plunder, graft and corruption and grave misconduct against Davao City officials led by Mayor Rodrigo Duterte and the officers of the City’s Local School Board (LSB) following Commission on Audit (CoA) reports that the city government has continuously failed to account for almost P3 billion worth of properties and equipment and has also misappropriated more than P11 million of the Special Education Fund (SEF).

In his first complaint, Office of the President Assistant Secretary Pedro Domingo and current Presidential Commission on Good Government official, charged Duterte and “other responsible officials of Davao City” with plunder through malversation in multiple counts for their failure to account almost P3 billion worth of city government buildings, properties and equipment, as reported by the CoA.

JBC to Carpio, Morales: Still out, or in? By Benjamin B. Pulta 03/19/2010

JBC to Carpio, Morales: Still out, or in?


By Benjamin B. Pulta
03/19/2010

Two senior incumbent magistrates of the Supreme Court (SC) will be asked by the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to formally affirm whether they are still interested to be considered for the position of Chief Justice which will be left vacant on May 17 upon the retirement of incumbent CJ Reynato Puno.
It appears that the question has to be asked since the same two magistrates earlier had informed the JBC that, while they are honored to be nominated, they would, however, only accept it if the appointment is to be made by the next president, and not by President Arroyo.
The high court the other day, however, ruled that Arroyo has the legal and constitutional right to appoint the next CJ and even ordered the JBC to submit the list to Malacañang..... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20100319hed2.html

Bred in civil society culture EDITORIAL 03/19/2010

Bred in civil society culture



EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
03/19/2010
Some presidential bets have narrowed their windows too early about the still to be named new Chief Justice.

While all presidential aspirants were unanimous about the preference to have the new Supreme Court (SC) head named by a new president, only two candidates, Liberal Party (LP) standard bearer Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Ana Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal, have indicated a hardline position of not accepting the decision to give Gloria the authority to name the new Chief Justice who will be succeeding incumbent Reynato Puno.

Aquino even boldy indicated that he will not recognize a Gloria-appointed Chief Justice if elected president..... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com1.html

Inconsistency is their name FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 03/19/2010

Inconsistency is their name


FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
03/19/2010
Funny thing about these civil socialites and politicos who now suddenly claim to be opposition figures: They keep silent when the high court issues a ruling favorable to whoever they support politically, but rant and throw tantrums when the ruling goes against those whom they support.

A case in point: When the high court ruled favorably on the legitimacy of Gloria Arroyo’s assumption to Malacañang, even when clearly it was done through a naked power grab, and that there was clearly no vacancy in the presidency at the time the disgraceful Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., swore her in, her civil socialites were over the moon at the ruling — and never mind if the high court erred and erred grievously. Their anointed was now in power and position, and they were reaping the benefits from that power grab. They hailed the ruling, and said nothing but nothing against the clearly unconstitutional and politically-motivated ruling....MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com2.html

A tale of two central bank governors ZOOMING IN Rudy Romero 03/19/2010

A tale of two central bank governors



ZOOMING IN
Rudy Romero
03/19/2010
To be able to do a good job of making its monetary policies, the members of a country’s monetary policymaking authority, or central bank, must not be subservient to the political leadership of the nation and must be immune from dictation by any quarter. This prohibition applies particularly to the governor of a country’s central bank, who is the head of what I regard as the fourth branch of government and personifies the institution that is the sole banknote-issuing authority of every territory in the world except the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong.

From time to time, central bank governors are subjected to pressure, undue influence, intimidation or outright coercion by the governments of their countries. Stated differently, a country’s political leaders occasionally resort to pressure undue influence, intimidation or.... MORE



SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com3.html

Broken record NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 03/19/2010

Broken record




NO HOLDS BARRED
Armida Siguion-Reyna
03/19/2010
So after issuing pronouncements against Martin Nievera, Charice Pempengco, Jennifer Bautista, Christian Bautista and La Diva, the National Hysterical Institute (NHI) now trains its guns at Arnel Pineda for not singing the National Anthem as prescribed by law. I said “hysterical,” instead of “historical?”
Sure I did, for this is what the NHI becomes each time the anthem is sung during a Manny Pacquiao fight. It’s gone as far as criticizing Sarah Geronimo, Lani Misalucha and Kyla for singing the anthem longer than it should have been, when there is no specific instruction in Republic Act 8491, or the “Flag and Heraldic Code,” for the “Lupang Hinirang” to be sung in, say, exactly two minutes, or you go to jail if you do it a second more. 

To clarify, here’s what the law requires, in Chapter II, THE NATIONAL ANTHEM:

“Section 35. The National Anthem is entitled Lupang Hinirang..... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com4.html

Persuading the youth DIE HARD III Herman Tiu Laurel 03/19/2010

Persuading the youth



DIE HARD III
Herman Tiu Laurel
03/19/2010
I was taken aback when one of my 19-year-old twins asked, “Pa, why aren’t you for Gibo?” This question from my son Enzo, who is a first year De La Salle philosophy student, was asked as we drove home his fellow Northfield alumnus, Miggy, after I picked them up from a party. The question reflects his deep thought about the political question of the day and I felt honored that he considered my view in such an earnest way. The question also reflects a concern of Enzo and his peers that I surmise stems from a perceived positive regard of the youth for Gibo and a need to understand why not everyone is thinking the same way. I started by explaining that the young often assume many things to be absolutely correct but discover soon enough, as they grow older and wiser, that these aren’t so true after all.
Admittedly, Gibo is very articulate and if that were the only basis for leadership, I, too, would be for him. But governance, I explained, is more than just articulation. It is about love for the people and standing by a firm conviction. I then asked: Who among the other nine presidential candidates have ever shown “conviction,” a strong belief in his own cause to risk and actually suffer detention for it?
Erap had always stood by his belief — and conviction — that the people’s welfare is a president’s chief responsibility — the reason he opposed hasty increases in power and water rates that made the oligarchs conspire with the Gloria Arroyo forces to remove him from power and later concoct crimes against him. Estrada believed in his own innocence that he refused exile and chose to stand detention and trial, up to the very end, when they had to pardon him after his kangaroo court conviction.
Further, Erap firmly believes it is the duty of the president to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic; hence, he never balked at wiping out rebellion in Mindanao and resisted foreign intervention.
I also injected Estrada’s concern for farm productivity, as seen in his “carabao breeding” program.
After we dropped Miggy off, that matter faded into oblivion until a week later when Enzo suddenly said: “Pa, you convinced Miggy to vote for Erap.”
Surprised, I asked him how I had convinced Miggy when we never got to talk directly about Erap. Enzo explained that his friend was listening from the backseat the whole time and as he listened to my explanation, he eventually got convinced to vote for Erap.
Given the youth’s mindset, it is no accident that certain candidates are triggering the “herd mentality” among the youth by creating trendy ads and fads that particularly target them.
Chiz Escudero, once the darling of the youth, started this early until his feet of clay collapsed from under him. ABS-CBN is targeting the youth not only for a candidate but for building its self-proclaimed patriotic and non-partisan media role — an empty boast belied by its history of political interventionism and Machiavellianism. The other oligarchs, on the other hand, have been constantly stalking the youth with their “I am Ninoy” type campaigns that feature various fashion pieces as a not-too-subtle push for their Yellow dummy. Then, as another subliminal appeal to the young, Villarroyo uses children’s voices in almost all his ads, too.
As tyrants over the centuries have known, the youth are easily manipulable as a mass of body and mind. From the so-called Hitler Youth to Mao’s Red Guards, to the Catholic Church’s Days with the Lord and Student Catholic Action, the youth have always been an indispensible adjunct. But as my narrative about Enzo and Miggy shows, the youth as individuals aren’t always dumb. We only have to treat them not as “the youth” per se but as individuals who have a clear mind and an innately sound moral foundation.
I imagine my narrative as a radio ad for President Estrada because I think it would really click and spread a chain reaction of Erap’s message, as it is happening among the masa. Let’s say with Eddie Garcia as the father and Angel Locsin and another young male celebrity, the youth will listen.
In the meantime, Estrada presses on with his fight against onerous power rates, as this space is doing, even as mainstream media continue to shut this voice out. At his March 19 jampacked press conference, “The Power Crisis in Mindanao,” at the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino headquarters on 409 Shaw, Estrada lashed out at the power crisis hoax created by the Arroyo regime and the oligarchs, and its danger to the elections.
Estrada proposed his practical approach of mobilizing for conservation and self-generation by big users and those with private generator-sets to protect the people from the crisis’ adverse effects, a vital news which only the Tribune carried in its front pages. That is how big and dangerous the power oligarchs’ lobby is, and it will take an Estrada leadership to face it head on — definitely, another issue that the youth can understand and resonate with.
(Tune in to 1098AM, Suló ng Pilipino, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m.; Global News Network, Destiny Cable Channel 21, Talk News TV, Tuesday, 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. on “Halalang Marangal: PCOS Failures and Risks”; also visit http://hermantiulaurel.blogspot.com)

(Republished with permission from Mr. Herman Tiu Laurel)


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com5.html

Year of the Tiger billed as last stand against extinction FEATURE 03/19/2010

Year of the Tiger billed as last stand against extinction


FEATURE

03/19/2010
KUALA LUMPUR — The Year of the Tiger has been billed as the big cat’s best chance to escape extinction, but activists say poaching and government inaction are undermining a campaign to double the number of wild tigers.
Just 3,200 tigers are believed to survive in the jungles of Asia and the forests of Russia’s Far East, down from an estimated 100,000 a century ago, and that number is still declining.
Butchered for traditional medicine, deprived of their habitat and killed for encroaching on villages — the onslaught has already seen three sub-species wiped out and the South China tiger has not been sighted for decades..... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com6.html

Rise of ‘homegrown’ threat changes face of terrorism focus 03/19/2010

Rise of ‘homegrown’ threat changes face of terrorism



focus

03/19/2010

CHICAGO — The face of terrorism is changing in the United States as the country comes to terms with the rising threat of “homegrown” terrorists who look and sound nothing like Hollywood typecasts.

A tall, fair-skinned American named David Coleman Headley is set to plead guilty in a Chicago court Thursday to using his Western appearance as a cover while scoping out targets in India for the deadly 2008 Mumbai siege and plotting to attack a Danish newspaper.

Five middle class college students from Virginia were meanwhile slapped with terrorism charges in Pakistan Wednesday after being caught on their way to allegedly join up with Taliban-led militants fighting US and Nato troops in Afghanistan.... MORE


SourceThe Daily Tribune

ALTERNATE URL: http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20100319com7.html

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