• 6 AUGUST - *1907 - Gen. Macario Sakay, one of the Filipino military leaders who had continued fighting the imperialist United States invaders eight years into the Ph...
    11 years ago

......................................................................................

The Daily Tribune

(Without Fear or Favor)

Specials:

Bulatlat.com

World Wildlife Fund for Nature-Philippines

The Philippines Matrix Project

Testify on AFP graft, junior officers asked By Mario J. Mallari and Angie M. Rosales 01/22/2011

Saturday, January 22, 2011

RETIRED OFFICER GUNNING AFTER ANGIE REYES’ ALLEGED CORRUPTION

Testify on AFP graft, junior officers asked

By Mario J. Mallari and Angie M. Rosales 01/22/2011
Lower ranking military officers are being asked to come forward and testify before the Senate panel scheduled to probe the plunder case against retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, the then military comptroller, along with the plea bargain agreement that was forged between the Omudsman’s prosecutors and Garcia.

Former Constabulary chief retired Maj. Gen. Ramon Montaño yesterday called on the junior officers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), who have knowledge of the alleged massive corruption during the time of former Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes, to come out and testify in the investigation.

At the same time, Montaño urged the present AFP leadership to cooperate in the investigation against Reyes and at least five AFP chiefs of staff who served during Reyes’ stint as defense secretary from 2001 to 2003 in connection with the plunder case against former AFP comptroller.

“We are exhorting and pleading the low-ranking officers and civilian employees in the accounting and auditing offices of the AFP units involved to come out and testify against their senior officers who are the key players in this grand conspiracy of conversion of funds which reached gargantuan figures during the Arroyo regime,” Montaño said ..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110122hed1.html

PNP chief downplays destab plot amid rise in car theft-killings By Gina P. Elorde and Angie M. Rosales 01/22/2011

PNP chief downplays destab plot amid rise in car theft-killings

By Gina P. Elorde and Angie M. Rosales 01/22/2011

The Philippine National Police (PNP) leadership yesterday assured the public that the spate of violent car theft incidents in the country was not part of a plot to destabilize the Aquino administration.

According to Philippine National Police (PNP) chief Director General Raul Bacalzo, police intelligence agents have not monitored any destabilization plan.

“This is not part of a destabilization plot,” he told reporters at Camp Crame in Quezon City.

Concerns over destabilization attempts arose after Rep. Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito the other day said he was informed that there is a strong belief among the intelligence sector that the recent series of high-profile criminal cases was meant to discredit the Aquino administration..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110122hed2.html

DoJ orders anti-dummy raps against Fraport, Piatco execs By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/22/2011

DoJ orders anti-dummy raps against Fraport, Piatco execs

By Benjamin B. Pulta 01/22/2011
In yet another government bid to “strengthen” its case before the Washington-based arbitration committee, the Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday ordered the filing of criminal charges against the corporate officers of the German-based firm Fraport AG Worldwide Services Inc. (Fraport) and the Philippine International Air Terminals Co. Inc. (Piatco) for violation of the Anti-Dummy Law or Commonwealth Act No. 108.

In a nine-page resolution issued by Undersecretary Francisco Baraan III, the DoJ denied the petitions seeking the review of the March 15, 2007 resolution of the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor on the matter.

But Baraan said the Aquino government can utilize the DoJ findings in the arbitration case filed by Fraport AG with the Washington-based International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

It will be recalled that the decision of the earlier arbitration panel was annulled by a higher body where the government lost its case against Fraport..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110122hed3.html

Noynoy nixes Cory’s Mendiola massacre probe By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/22/2011

Noynoy nixes Cory’s Mendiola massacre probe

By Aytch S. de la Cruz 01/22/2011

Even as groups of farmers and peasants continue to seek justice for the 13 peasant-farmers who were massacred during their demonstration on Mendiola during the early days of the Cory Aquino regime, while seeking a closure through a government probe and to bring the perpetrators of the cold-blooded murders, Malacañang yesterday thumbed down the probe of the decades-old massacre under incumbent President Aquino’s mother’s reign.

The Palace signified it has no interest in having the 1987 Mendiola massacre reinvestigated, claiming that it does not help the government to reopen cases they believe have already been resolved years ago.

Relatives of the massacre victims and Hacienda Luisita farm workers reportedly asked the Department of Justice (DoJ) to conduct a reinvestigation on this case so justice can finally be served but which, according to Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang, is not a practical idea.

Carandang said the Palace will not stop any concerned party from seeking legal redress through the courts and the DoJ, for that matter, as Aquino has left the issue up for Secretary Leila de Lima to address..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110122hed4.html

Palace sues for time, welcomes Senate entry into rice scam probe By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Gerry Baldo 01/22/2011

Palace sues for time, welcomes Senate entry into rice scam probe

By Aytch S. de la Cruz and Gerry Baldo 01/22/2011

An inquiry to be led by the Senate blue ribbon committee into the alleged anomalous trans-actions involving the National Food Authority (NFA) during the previous administration is a good idea, Malacañang yesterday said, as it welcomed all the assistance it could get to build a strong case against those who should be held liable for the rice scam.

Presidential Communications Development and Strategic Planning Secretary Ricky Carandang told reporters that they are already looking into the alleged irre-gularities surrounding the NFA’s trans-actions last year but having the Senate blue ribbon committee’s backing would be a great help.

“If the Senate blue ribbon committee wants to also look into it then perhaps that would be a good thing. At least, the information gathered might help us in our own investigation,” Carandang said, accepting the suggestion raised by one of their strong allies in the Senate, Sen. Franklin Drilon.

Carandang stressed that the allegations they are pressing against members of the previous administration for this anomaly have basis and are not meant only for publicity stunt as claimed by Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110122hed5.html

No overnight fix to Spratlys row, concedes Chinese envoy 01/22/2011

No overnight fix to Spratlys row, concedes Chinese envoy

01/22/2011
China’s top diplomat to the Philippines yesterday admitted that there is no quick solution in sight to the overlapping territorial claims over the South China Sea region, which is believed to be harboring oil reserves and rich minerals.

“It will take time, all territorial issues take time. We need the patience, we need sincerity and spirit of understanding and accom-modation,” Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao said in an interview.
“We must stick to the option of peaceful negotiation and dialog so that I think, sooner or later we will be able to solve this,” he added.

To avoid confrontation among claimants, Liu said China will continue to push joint development and cooperation in the region.

Liu said Beijing seeks to undertake a joint scientific study with other claimants similar to the one it had with Vietnam and the Philippines to determine the presence of possible oil or gas in the disputed area called the Spratlys..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/headlines/20110122hed6.html

Lawmakers reject DoJ findings on death of botanist, 2 others By Charlie V. Manalo 01/22/2011

Lawmakers reject DoJ findings on death of botanist, 2 others

By Charlie V. Manalo 01/22/2011
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Party-list Rep. Antonio Tinio yesterday denounced the report by the Department of Justice (DoJ) on clearing the military of any liability in the killing of noted botanist Leonardo Co and his two companions in Kananga, Leyte last November.

The report, prepared by a three-person team convened by DoJ Secretary Leila de Lima, blamed the New People’s Army (NPA) guerrillas for the killing of Co, forest guard Sofronio Cortez, and farmer Julius Borromeo, and held their employer, the Energy Development Corp., liable for their deaths due to “reckless imprudence.”

“The DoJ report blatantly whitewashes the role of the military in the killing of Co and his companions,” said Tinio. “The whole report is riddled with glaring contradictions, logical fallacies, selective appreciation of eyewitness testimony and physical evidence. Its conclusions are based on assertions unsubstantiated by fact. It’s all too clear that the report bends backwards to accommodate the military’s self-serving account of the incident.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110122nat1.html

Solons probe eco zone in Aurora By Gerry Baldo 01/22/2011

Solons probe eco zone in Aurora

By Gerry Baldo 01/22/2011
Lawmakers last Wednesday had initiated a probe into the establishment of an economic zone in the province of Aurora on the ground that the development of the area into an economic zone would displace the Agtas and the Dumagats who have been living there for centuries.

According to Rep. Kaka Bag-ao, Akbayan Party-list, the Agtas and the Dumagats, who have been pushing for the recognition of their ancestral domain under the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA), are “facing uncertainties” with the establishment of the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport or APECO within the territory of Casiguran, Aurora.

“These are not unfounded fears and apprehensions. The threat of losing the land, sea and ancestral domain is very real for the people affected by the establishment of the ecozone. By conducting this congressional inquiry both committees of the House of Representatives are providing them with a venue to air their grievances and articulate the issues and problems that they are facing and hopefully find redress,” Bag-ao said in a privilege speech last Wednesday..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/nation/20110122nat3.html

Sing, Angie, sing EDITORIAL 01/21/2011

Sing, Angie, sing

EDITORIAL
Click to enlarge
01/21/2011
Of course, each person has his redeeming virtue and for Angie Reyes, the erstwhile secretary of defense, interior and local government, environment and natural resources, energy and most of all Gloria’s caddie, it was being a member of the Three Tenors with Joey Lina and Bayani Fernando.

The group never spun a decent recording but it proved Angie can sing.

This time, Angie can use his golden voice to clear up many issues that hounded the nation during the nine years of infamy under Gloria.

Angie was Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) chief of staff during the term of former President Erap Estrada and was the first to jump the fence over the side of Gloria during Edsa ll, which just showed his disdain for the Constitution and the law. And he was not meted any punishment for violating the Constitution and instigating a power-grab from a duly constituted government. Instead, he was richly rewarded by the illegal government he had helped install..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110121com1.html

Like it or not, Cha-cha has to come soon FRONTLINE Ninez Cacho-Olivares 01/21/2011

Like it or not, Cha-cha has to come soon

FRONTLINE
Ninez Cacho-Olivares
01/21/2011
Oppose it all one can, but Charter change (Cha-cha) will have to come — and soon.
There is hardly any doubt that there are more Filipinos who want a change in the Constitution and also realize that this is the right time to get the changes going. There is little doubt too that Cha-cha is a popular move at this time.

Unlike in the past, just a move from congressmen to get Cha-cha going would have raised hell among Filipinos for whatever reason — but mainly that changing the Constitution would only provide the incumbent Malacañang tenant the opportunity to perpetuate power and position.

The same fear factor is again being raised by the usual oppositors, with them saying that with Cha-cha, Gloria Arroyo would be given that opportunity to become the first prime minister under a new Charter.

But this is fallacious reasoning, mainly because it presupposes that a parliamentary system of government is certain to replace the presidential system, which cannot be assumed at this point, since the Cha-cha move is still in its infancy..... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110121com2.html

So be it NO HOLDS BARRED Armida Siguion-Reyna 01/21/2011

So be it

NO HOLDS BARRED
Armida Siguion-Reyna
01/21/2011
My husband, blissfully unaware that he was a little over a month from passing on, had been gravely worried about Lauro Vizconde’s and Dante Jimenez’s bad-mouthing of the Supreme Court, on the matter of Hubert Webb.

Vizconde was then openly hinting of bribery in the highest tribunal and had also named Justice Antonio Carpio as conduit. Jimenez of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) cursed the SC on TV news, “Kayong mga P. I. kayo! Kayong mga justice diyan na nakita po namin ang ginawa ninyo, pinatay ninyo ang criminal justice system!”

Sig rarely got in the way of my writing, he knew how much I resented being censored, or asked to excise paragraphs here and there, but last Nov. 16, he said: “Armida, ilagay mo ito sa column mo. Ang Korte Suprema ang ating court of last resort. Hindi dapat na basta pinagbibintangan iyan nang walang kumpletong ebidensiya.

“It must ask Vizconde to prove what he’s saying and if he can’t, make him apologize. And strongly admonish Jimenez, aba’y akalain mong pagmumurahin na lang ang Supreme Court? Hindi na sila igagalang kapag pinabayaan nilang tratuhin sila nang gano’n, they will completely lose face.”.... MORE

SourceThe Daily Tribune

URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110121com4.html

Blog Archive