Cruel and Heartless

As if jailing her was not enough, now this yellow government has prevented former President Gloria Arroyo's husband from sleeping over at the VMMC, where the former Chief Executive is currently detained.  The ailing former president has lost a lot of weight and her health is continuously deteriorating. In a report posted on interaksyon.com:

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s health condition continues to deteriorate due to her “irreversible and progressive” spine disease, according to the findings of a surgeon from the Veterans Memorial Medical Center’s Department of Orthopedics.

 Some members of the House of Representatives are crossing party lines to ask the government to give Mrs. Arroyo a Christmas furlough, but it seems that this administration neither has the wisdom or the compassion to be kind, even on Christmas, as evidenced by Penoy's "Bahal na si Lord sa inyo" line, and his lack of action in Tacloban.

So whatever happened to "Mom taught us well"? Apparently "Mom" didn't teach them how to be kind to other people.

"Compassion is bringing our deepest truth into our actions, no matter how much the world seems to resist, because that is ultimately what we have to give to this world and one another." – Ram Dass

A Missed Opportunity to Resolve the Mindanao Power Crisis

Back in 2010, then Energy Secretary Angie Reyes proposed that then President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo be given emergency powers to resolve the Mindanao Power Crisis. This was seriously taken into consideration by the Palace, which saw the move as an opportunity to finally arrest the power crisis hounding the nation's second largest island. But many opposed the move, for various reasons. One of those who opposed the proposal to give PGMA emergency powers was Sen. Chiz Escudero. In a press release dated March 1, 2010:

"Escudero scored Energy Secretary Angelo Reyes for the proposal saying this move is a lame excuse to cover up the fact that the government’s energy officials have erred in their projection of power generation."

Escudero, in the same statement, also chided the government when he said:

“An effective and competent government should have been by now equipped with comprehensive energy plan or road map at the very least to avoid going to the extreme which is always a burden that ordinary people suffer”

Now, under the administration of Penoy Aquino the Turd, the power crisis in Mindanao has worsened, and while the energy officials of this administration remain clueless as to what to do, here comes the Yellow President's allies in Congress, all wanting to give Penoy emergency powers, the same powers PGMA was then asking for but was denied, to address the power crisis. And Lo and Behold, among those who want to give him mergency powers is no less than ass-kisser-in-chief Chiz Escudero, who said:

“I am willing to give the President more than emergency powers, given the gravity of the present situation. He should be granted standby power in case of extraordinary situations that he can exercise at his sound discretion without having to run to Congress every now and then and wait for its imprimatur” [source: The Daily Tribune]

Ano nga ba yung kasabihan? Sauce for the goose is also sauce for the gander. So, as a challenge to Chiz and his ovrlord Penoy, I would like to throw back to their faces what they said when the past administration was asking for emergency powers, and I do hope they choke on it:

“An effective and competent government should have been by now equipped with comprehensive energy plan or road map at the very least to avoid going to the extreme which is always a burden that ordinary people suffer"

Hear that, Chiz and Penoy? You both knew, when you denied Gloria emergency powers, that this power crisis in Mindanao will worsen and hound the next administration after GMA, so you have no one to blame but yourselves. YOU ARE SELFISH, ARROGANT BIGOTS WHO WERE GIVEN THE CHANCE TO DO SOMETHING GOOD FOR THE COUNTRY IN 2010 BUT YOU HAD TO LET POLITICS GET IN THE WAY OF PUBLIC SERVICE. THIS PROBLEM, DEAR SIRS, ARE OF YOUR OWN MAKING. YOU HAVE NO ONE TO BLAME BUT YOURSELVES.

A Shame and A Sham

This is going to be a short blog. A certain female blogger who loves calling herself a journalist is a disgrace to the journalism profession and a disgrace to bloggers. If she had any dignity left, she'd stop. I wonder how much she got for selling her soul to the devil? Oooops. That question was meant to be rhetorical.

See, i told you it would be a short blog.

Waaaaaah?!

Having been raised by a trial lawyer for a father, I couldn’t help but feel disgusted with the reaction of private lawyer for the prosecution Vitaliano Aguirre while the esteemed Senator Miriam Defensor. At the latter end of his life, I used to drive my father to court, and in a few instances saw some judges lecture unprepared lawyers. I have never seen any lawyer answer back or show their irritation against a judge the way Aguirre did on February 29. My father used to say that as lawyers, they are officers of the court and should act with due deference to the presiding officer at all times, regardless of their personal feelings. Aguirre is an old hand in the practice of law, and yet his actions in the Impeachment Court belie his experience in the profession.

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I guess my father and Aguirre come from different time periods, so I am assuming that their sense of responsibility as officers of the court are different as well. My father studied law at the MLQU, where among his barkadas were the late Hukom Bitay Max Asuncion and former Justice Melo. Either that, or Aguirre just loves hogging the limelight.

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The INC activity at the Quirino Grandstand held last Feb. 28 was a success, judging from the number of people who attended said event. What baffles me is how the police and the yellow administration of Penoy can claim that the attendees only numbered around 400 thousand to 600 thousand, when it was clear as day that the number of attendees was obviously over a million! It’s obvious that the government wants to downplay the event, even going as far as misleading the public into believing Penoy was invited. Now that’s what I call delusion.

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We would like to thank all those who attended the INC Rally on February 28 under the banner of the Sentinels of the Rule of Law. Special thanks to Mr. Alvin Capino of the Manila Standard Today who plugged the participation of the Sentinels in their radio program “Karambola” at the request of Sentinels co-founder Fernan Marasigan.

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I recently received an email from a certain “Potpot” who read my previous blogs regarding the Homesonic scam. I’ve been writing about Homesonic for a few years now, and I honestly thought that they closed shop after being reported to the DTI. According to “Potpot” it's still around, undr a different name, and her experience with Homesonic happened just a couple of weeks ago. Luckily, she did not give them her credit card. For those who do not know, Homesonic will call you up at home to say you won some items and that you are required to claim it within the week. When you visit their store, they’ll push you to purchase other items as well (these items usually amount to a total of around P40,000.00). Then they will ask for your credit card and charge the items to your card if you cannot pay it in cash. Another variation of this scam is they will give you a ‘rigged’ scratch card that says you won an item. Back in the early 2000s, my now-deceased mother was nearly duped into purchasing items worth P40k (which is actually worth only about P10k if purchased individually in other stores) had my father not intervened and threatened to sue them. Let the buyer beware!

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I would like to extend my condolences to the family of the late Horacio “Boy” Morales who passed away February 29. Morales was one of the original members of the former Manila San-Un Zendo (now Zen Center for Oriental Spirituality in the Philippines) where I used to work, and continue to be, a member of. #

smokes and mirrors

If the news report from the Manila Times dated 19 February 2012 is accurate, then we have a lot to worry about. It seems that this yellow administration has agreed to a proposal of the MILF to establish an autonomous (or federal might be the better word) region with its own chief minister and parliament, patterned from Malaysia's federal style of government. This author searched for the article mentioned in The Manila Times, and I found the article of the Oman Tribune in their website, dated 18 February 2012.

The article's title reads "Manila OKs plan for MILF Autonomy" and portions of the article said that “No less than His Excellency President Benigno Aquino 3rd agreed to the MILF proposal,” said Mohagher Iqbal, the head of the MILF panel, in his opening statement during the resumption of peace talks with the government in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Monday."

And if this humble blogger reads correctly the Oman Tribune Article, it seems there is more to the postponement of the ARMM elections than meets the eye. The reason of the Aquino Administration for postponing the elections now seem so trivial when one encounters another line in the Oman Tribune article which reads: Iqbal added the proposed government is to replace the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) which an Aquino Cabinet official has described as a “failed experiment” due to widespread and massive graft and corruption which benefited mainly its leaders and their followers. The article goes on to say that Marivic Leonen, Head of the Government Peace Panel was optimistic about the progress of the negotiations.

The plot thickens! Could it now be possible that the commotion caused by the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona is not merely just an act of vengeance but also a sort of smoke screen to divert the attention of the people while the yellow administration attempts to establish an MILF Federal Government in Mindanao? Could it be possible that Penoy is waving his left hand so that we might not see what the right is doing? Is evrything just smokes and mirrors?

We must become ever the more vigilant. We must continue to watch the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona because it is still something the yellow president likes to dip his hands into, and we must be ready to defend the independence of the judiciary at all costs, but we must now also watch our biggest island in the south, short of allowing Penoy to virtually give up the island of Mindanao to the MILF.

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Visit the website of the Sentinels of the Rule of law by clicking here.

Mob Rule

Posts from various Pro-Rule of Law pages on Facebook recently claim that on January 28, 2012, Penoy's Secretary of Social Welfare Dinky Soliman "met with members of the Black and White Movement at Unit 1110 Prestige Towers, to finalize plans of People Power starting Monday, January 30, at Supreme Court and EDSA to force CJ Corona to Resign".

If this report is accurate, then we have much to be fearful of. Penoy is using People Power as a "final solution" in his vain attempt to consolidate the powers of the Supreme Court with the Executive Department and his rubber stamp Congress. Penoy know he is losing the legal battle in the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Corona. His allies in the prosecution panel have slipped at every turn to vilify Corona before the people. They must have realized that the more they vilify Corona, the more people view the Chief Justice as the underdog.

Now desperate in his attempt to be dictator, he has solicited the help of the ingrates from the Black & White movement to launch a "people power" offensive against the Chief Justice. Sadly, Penoy fails to realize that this will backfire on him as well. For all he knows, that same people power which he and his family so frequently use as their personal talisman could be used against him if he does not let up on his offensive against the judiciary and CJ Corona.

Penoy'd better hope that Dinky doesn't lead the group into singing "If we hold on together".

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People are eagerly awaiting with bated breath if the CBCP would issue a statement with regards to the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona. The CBCP started their Three-Day Plenary Assembly last Saturday at the Pope Pius XII Center in Manila.

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I was watching the trailer video of "Manila Kingpin: The Asiong Salonga Story" on Youtube and i was inspired to write a poem about what is happening to our country today:

sa isang palasyo sa gitna ng maynila

may nakatirang isang taong tunay na balahura

nais sakupin ang lahat ng kayamana't kapangyarihan

pati karapatan ng tao'y nais na sagasaan

napapalibutan siya ng mga kaibigang ulupong

dahan dahang hinubog, ang plano nila ay umusbong

tanggalin lahat ng hadlang sa pagkamkam ng kapangyarihan

kahit na ang nais nila'y wala na sa katuwiran

dinadaan pa niya kuno sa ligal na proseso

unti unti ang mga kalaban niya ay kinalaboso

ang pumalag sa kanya, labis tiyak ay kakasuhan

ganyan ang utak ng ganid sa kapangyarihan

pati maliit na mamamayan ay kinakanti

akala nila'y malilinlang sa bawat sandali

ang mga tao, ngunit mga tao'y di paloloko

sa dilaw na pangulong anyo'y tila hunyango

naghahari-harian, nagdudunung-dunungan

pero kung titignan ninyo utak ay walang laman

puro pabida ang bigkas, puro papormang panlabas

ngunit ang takbo ng utak niya ay tunay na taliwas

sulsol ng kaibigan, kabarila't kamaganak

"nasa tama ka, huwag na huwag kang kukurap"

ngunit sigaw ng bayan 'di na pwedeng isantabi

nalalapit na ang pagbagsak ng dilaw na hari

magpakasaya ka na, dilaw na namumuno

dahil malapit na ang kaharian mo ay guguho

sa lakas ng dagundong ng sigaw ngtaong bayan

tanging lusot mo na lang, tiyak na kamatayan.

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email: mapangurirat[at]gmail[dot]com

Justice and Fair Play

This Thursday, the counsel for defense in the continuing telenovela that is the Corona Impeachment Trial (or as I like to call it "The Greatest Show on Earth"), called for the inhibition of Senator-Judge Franklin Drilon. Drilon's actions in the impeachment court raises questions of his impartiality, after many observers noted that drilon's lines of questioning were somewhat prosecutorial in nature, rather than clarificatory. True to his nature, however, he has stubbornly refused to inhibit himself, declaring himself a fair senator-judge. Drilon is affiliated with the Liberal Party, the very party that Penoy Aquino admitted initiated the impeachment of Chief Justice Corona. So much for fairness.

Whether Drilon admits it or not, his bias towards the proseuction team sticks out like a sore thumb. Even the average Juan is beginning to see Drilon for his true color: Yellow (in all aspects). Just last night, while I was chatting with the driver of the taxi cab I rode in from work, he asked me about the impeachment trial, and I was surprised when he said "Dapat mag inhibit na si Drilon. halatang siya naman ay pumapanig sa prosecution". This statement coming from Mamang Taxi Driver got me thinking that maybe all is not lost in the crusade for the observance of the rule of law. There may be many more like Mamang Taxi Driver who is not fooled by the cheap tricks and gimickry adapted by the prosecution and their Senator-Judge ally Drilon.

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Out of delicadeza, Drilon should inhibit. Regardless of whether he is biased or not, the mere fact that there is already a perception among many that he is actually lawyering for the prosecution is grounds enough for him to inhibit, in the interest of justice and fair play. Corona is already on trial. This administration has managed to get their plans implemented thus far. if he is guilty, then by all means convict him, but subject him to a fair trial. There is a legal maxim: Let justice be done though the heavens fall. If in fact this administration has solid proof to convict corona, as they like to claim, then they should present these evidences in court, not to media. The house prosecutors had all the time to prepare, but what did they do? they presumed that Corona would resign, saving them the trouble of actually building a good case. This is what happens when arrogance gets in the way of levelheadedness and fair play.

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We have a long way to go before true justice and fair play comes to play in this impeachment trial. Just recently, I heard that Administration ally Neri Colmenares was quoted as saying: "Hearsay can be used as basis for removing a public official like the Chief Justice because perception is important." Whatever Colmenares is smoking, he'd better stop now, before all his brain cells wither and vanish into the ether. Is Colmenares actually suggsting that we throw away the rules on evidence and just allow hearsay to be admitted as prima facie evidence? Somehow I think our representatives in the House are not actually there to represent us but rather to represent their own vested interests.

The scary part is how these so-called Honorable gentlemen allied with the administration make things up as they go along. They seem to be laboring under the delusion that the impeachment court is their oyster, and that they can bend or interpret existing rules and procedures to tailor-fit their ill-prepared case.

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While waiting for the elevator yesterday morning, one of the office employees in our building was hotly discussing the Llamas DVD issue with her officemates. She was adamant in her conviction that Llamas should be sacked for buying two thousand pesos (P2,000.00) worth of pirated DVDs at a mall in Quezon City. "Tayong mga ordinaryong tao, laging sinasabihan na huwag i-patronize ang pirated DVDs tapos si Llamas, hindi man lang pagsabihan! Anong kalse namang pamamalakad 'yan!" Anong kalsng pamamalakad nga naman `yan, Penoy?

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email : mapangurirat@gmail.com