“Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it” - Adolf Hitler
There is a confluence of events that belies the latest claims of disinterest on the part of the GMA administration concerning Charter Change and its evil twin, Term Extension. Her allies in the House of Representatives (HOR) have made short shrift of junking the Motion of Intervention filed by BnW co-convener Manuel L. Quezon III and fellow bloggers. The HOR is now poised to kill the latest impeachment filed by lead complainant Jose de Venecia III. The ill-timed election of administration collaborator, Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, as Senate President hobbled Senate opposition ranks. Finally, that terribly unfunny prayer by Press Secretary Dureza beseeching God to allow GMA to rule beyond 2010 was a trial balloon raised to gauge the people’s response.
The Black & White Movement strongly condemns this latest naked attempt of GMA and her congressional lackeys to perpetuate their administration in power through Cha Cha via a Constituent Assembly. Dureza’s prayer was no slip of the tongue, and the imagined lukewarm response was enough to propel the HOR into Cha Cha motion. Never mind that GMA’s trust ratings continue to flounder below sea level, that the HOR does not mirror the true feeling of its constituents, and that the people’s eyes are trained on seeing elections in 2010. GMA’s contempt and disdain for the Filipino people allows her to focus on clinging on to power as a defense against accountability, and so the Cha Cha Train will reach the station, by any means.
All afternoon, as of this writing, various GMA cohorts in the HOR have disavowed being responsible for gathering at least 163 signatures to a resolution calling for a Constituent Assembly, as if it was a leprous animal, consigning blame to one or another House leader. These disingenuous declarations can only mean that they are embarrassed at being found out, but more than willing to be accomplices to a self-serving end.
Our warnings are justified by these latest actions on the part of this bogus administration; we thank GMA, her family, and her arrogant coterie of sycophants for their lack of ‘delicadeza’ for giving credence to our fears.
We beseech our religious leaders to speak out against this latest betrayal, to reiterate their call for radical reform and God-fearing liberators. We plead with the Supreme Court to continue to be a defender of the people’s trust.
We continue to warn our people – if we do not show our indignation, if we continue to ignore these moves, if we do not make our loathing known, we could wake up one day finding our freedoms forfeited and our democracy trampled.
Our collective heart believes that GMA betrayed the public trust and should not stay a day longer in office.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
Friday, November 14, 2008
Bloggers File Motion of Intervention to Include MOA-AD in 2008 Impeachment vs. GMA
12 November 2008
Hon. Ronaldo Zamora
Representative, Lone District, San Juan
Minority Leader, The House of Representatives
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
Philippines
Dear Rep. Zamora:
Today, together with fellow interveners, I have filed an intervention to add the Memorandum of Agreement concerning the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity to the impeachment charges being considered by the House.
We base our intervention on the following premises:
1. That the House of Representatives, in deliberating upon the charges against the President of the Philippines, should strive to put together as strong and comprehensive a case as possible, in order to properly and thoroughly address all the issues that demand accountability from the chief
executive.
2. That the citizenry is obligated to do its part to help fortify the case against the President of the Philippines.
We are of the opinion, and submit for your consideration and endorsement, that:
1. The President of the Philippines must be held accountable for violating her oath of office in authorizing and supporting an agreement that has been proven to be contrary to the Constitution. Any President is duty-bound to operate within the parameters established by the Constitution, and when a President deliberately disregards our Constitution's provisions, there must be an accounting made to the citizenry.
2. The President, therefore, must be held accountable for what the Supreme Court has ruled to be an agreement that violated our Constitution.
3. That furthermore, the President must be held accountable for setting back the peace process; and for placing ordinary citizens, Muslim and Christian alike, in Mindanao, in peril because of the recklessness and faithlessness, with which she conducted the negotiations for the agreement. She has done grievous harm to the prosperity and tranquility of Mindanao and the entire country and her doing so is a violation of public trust and her Constitutional responsibilities. She betrayed the public, and all the parties that participated in the peace process in good faith and with a historic resolution of ancient grievances in mind.
We believe that we have made a strong case for including the BJE-MOA among the charges against the President. We believe that this is a matter of such seriousness as to require the House of Representatives providing the President with an opportunity to explain herself to you, our representatives, and through you, to an alarmed and outraged public. We further believe that the President will find it impossible to satisfactorily explain herself and that, as a consequence, the House will find it necessary to include our intervention among the impeachment charges.
May I respectfully invite you, then, to endorse our intervention, so that ample opportunity may be provided for the President of the Philippines to air her side, and for the public to be informed, through you, once and for all, about the circumstances surrounding the agreement.
I am confident that you will respond to the overwhelming clamor of the citizenry, throughout the country but particularly in Mindanao, for public policy to be conducted in good faith, without recklessness and imprudence, and with the true interests of the nation at heart and not just partisan political convenience for the administration.
May I also invite you, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, Jarius Bondoc and William Esposo of the Philippine Star, Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya, and Manuel Buencamino of The Business Mirror, to state, for the record, your response to these two questions:
1. How do you intend to vote on the impeachment complaint already filed before the House? Will you be present at the committee level and plenary voting on these charges?
2. Are you in favor of including the BJE-MOA among the impeachment charges, and why or why not.
We trust you will give your answer to us by Wednesday so we can publish them. And, we further trust that you will find our intervention meritorious and worthy of your endorsement.
Respectfully yours,
Manuel L. Quezon III, “The Daily Dose,”
http://www.quezon.ph/
Marck Ronald Rimorin, “The Marocharim Experiment,”
http://www.marocharim.com/
Arbet W. Bernardo, “Blog@AWBHoldings.com,”
http://awbholdings.com/blog/
Richard M. Rivera, “New Philippine Revolution,”
http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/
Edwin Lacierda, “San Juan Gossip Mills Outlet”
http://www.lacierda.blogspot.com/
Jeremy Gatdula, “Blurry Brain,”
http://paseoblur.blogspot.com/
Maria A. Jose (in Davao City), “Alleba Politics,”
http://politics.alleba.com/
Hon. Ronaldo Zamora
Representative, Lone District, San Juan
Minority Leader, The House of Representatives
Batasan Hills, Quezon City
Philippines
Dear Rep. Zamora:
Today, together with fellow interveners, I have filed an intervention to add the Memorandum of Agreement concerning the proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity to the impeachment charges being considered by the House.
We base our intervention on the following premises:
1. That the House of Representatives, in deliberating upon the charges against the President of the Philippines, should strive to put together as strong and comprehensive a case as possible, in order to properly and thoroughly address all the issues that demand accountability from the chief
executive.
2. That the citizenry is obligated to do its part to help fortify the case against the President of the Philippines.
We are of the opinion, and submit for your consideration and endorsement, that:
1. The President of the Philippines must be held accountable for violating her oath of office in authorizing and supporting an agreement that has been proven to be contrary to the Constitution. Any President is duty-bound to operate within the parameters established by the Constitution, and when a President deliberately disregards our Constitution's provisions, there must be an accounting made to the citizenry.
2. The President, therefore, must be held accountable for what the Supreme Court has ruled to be an agreement that violated our Constitution.
3. That furthermore, the President must be held accountable for setting back the peace process; and for placing ordinary citizens, Muslim and Christian alike, in Mindanao, in peril because of the recklessness and faithlessness, with which she conducted the negotiations for the agreement. She has done grievous harm to the prosperity and tranquility of Mindanao and the entire country and her doing so is a violation of public trust and her Constitutional responsibilities. She betrayed the public, and all the parties that participated in the peace process in good faith and with a historic resolution of ancient grievances in mind.
We believe that we have made a strong case for including the BJE-MOA among the charges against the President. We believe that this is a matter of such seriousness as to require the House of Representatives providing the President with an opportunity to explain herself to you, our representatives, and through you, to an alarmed and outraged public. We further believe that the President will find it impossible to satisfactorily explain herself and that, as a consequence, the House will find it necessary to include our intervention among the impeachment charges.
May I respectfully invite you, then, to endorse our intervention, so that ample opportunity may be provided for the President of the Philippines to air her side, and for the public to be informed, through you, once and for all, about the circumstances surrounding the agreement.
I am confident that you will respond to the overwhelming clamor of the citizenry, throughout the country but particularly in Mindanao, for public policy to be conducted in good faith, without recklessness and imprudence, and with the true interests of the nation at heart and not just partisan political convenience for the administration.
May I also invite you, on behalf of myself and my colleagues, Jarius Bondoc and William Esposo of the Philippine Star, Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya, and Manuel Buencamino of The Business Mirror, to state, for the record, your response to these two questions:
1. How do you intend to vote on the impeachment complaint already filed before the House? Will you be present at the committee level and plenary voting on these charges?
2. Are you in favor of including the BJE-MOA among the impeachment charges, and why or why not.
We trust you will give your answer to us by Wednesday so we can publish them. And, we further trust that you will find our intervention meritorious and worthy of your endorsement.
Respectfully yours,
Manuel L. Quezon III, “The Daily Dose,”
http://www.quezon.ph/
Marck Ronald Rimorin, “The Marocharim Experiment,”
http://www.marocharim.com/
Arbet W. Bernardo, “Blog@AWBHoldings.com,”
http://awbholdings.com/blog/
Richard M. Rivera, “New Philippine Revolution,”
http://newphilrevolution.blogspot.com/
Edwin Lacierda, “San Juan Gossip Mills Outlet”
http://www.lacierda.blogspot.com/
Jeremy Gatdula, “Blurry Brain,”
http://paseoblur.blogspot.com/
Maria A. Jose (in Davao City), “Alleba Politics,”
http://politics.alleba.com/
Monday, November 03, 2008
It's Not Funny, Joc Joc!
BnW PR, 3 November 2008
Another suspected government con man tries to escape accountability. The Black & White Movement is appalled at the latest ploy to keep Joc-Joc from the Senate by means of another petition, this time to the Court of Appeals, for habeas corpus. Was Joc Joc Bolante joking about his intention to answer questions about the Fertilizer Fund Scam that robbed the Filipino farmer of PhP728M? If his petition's granted, will he suddenly regain robust health and take the first plane out of Manila to more favorable climes?
This latest petition claims that the Fertilizer Scam investigation is over, the Senate's Committee on Agriculture and Food has submitted its report and Joc Joc should be a free man. We dispute that claim as the report itself states that the issue remains unresolved without Bolante's testimony. The ninth recommendation in the report asserts, "Although this is the Final Committee Report, the fertilizer fund scam will never be closed without the testimony of its brains and implementor - Jocelyn Bolante. Thus, the order of contempt against Jocelyn Bolante must be enforced" (Committee on Agriculture and Food and the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations Report No. 54). We couldn't agree more.
Bolante's lawyer, Antonio Zulueta, close associate of Mike Arroyo, says the proper forum for Bolante’s testimony is at the Ombudsman's office. How convenient. That agency has been sitting on the Fertilizer Fund Scam for the last two and a half years, ignored by the Ombudsman herself, close Mike Arroyo associate Merceditas Gutierrez. The outright disinterest of Sen. Angara to reopen his committee's hearings and his opinion that the issue is best left to the Ombudsman smells more like a conspiracy among three GMA allies than coincidence.
We are of the opinion that if the Court of Appeals decides in Bolante's favor, and we certainly pray that it does not, this sordid tale of flimflamming our farmers will be swept under the Ombudsman's proverbial rug, to be unresolved, festering in the dark, like all the other high profile corruption cases that this administration has been accused of perpetrating.
We remind our people what is at stake here the accountability of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The senate committee report also avers that GMA had to be aware of the suspicious fertilizer fund disbursements during harvest time and must be made to account. This is probably why Bolante is so afraid of testifying. It is believed that he can tie GMA, perhaps even her husband, to the fraudulent scheme.
We support the decision of Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano to reopen the Fertilizer Fund Scam hearings, but we plead that he act with dispatch lest the terrible pressures put upon certain institutions yield success. We insist that the Senate Sergeant at Arms be allowed to perform his duty and haul the purportedly malingering Joc Joc Bolante to his Senate cell lest St. Luke's Hospital be accused of being a party to this conspiracy to keep the truth from the Filipino people.- - END
Another suspected government con man tries to escape accountability. The Black & White Movement is appalled at the latest ploy to keep Joc-Joc from the Senate by means of another petition, this time to the Court of Appeals, for habeas corpus. Was Joc Joc Bolante joking about his intention to answer questions about the Fertilizer Fund Scam that robbed the Filipino farmer of PhP728M? If his petition's granted, will he suddenly regain robust health and take the first plane out of Manila to more favorable climes?
This latest petition claims that the Fertilizer Scam investigation is over, the Senate's Committee on Agriculture and Food has submitted its report and Joc Joc should be a free man. We dispute that claim as the report itself states that the issue remains unresolved without Bolante's testimony. The ninth recommendation in the report asserts, "Although this is the Final Committee Report, the fertilizer fund scam will never be closed without the testimony of its brains and implementor - Jocelyn Bolante. Thus, the order of contempt against Jocelyn Bolante must be enforced" (Committee on Agriculture and Food and the Committee on Accountability of Public Officers and Investigations Report No. 54). We couldn't agree more.
Bolante's lawyer, Antonio Zulueta, close associate of Mike Arroyo, says the proper forum for Bolante’s testimony is at the Ombudsman's office. How convenient. That agency has been sitting on the Fertilizer Fund Scam for the last two and a half years, ignored by the Ombudsman herself, close Mike Arroyo associate Merceditas Gutierrez. The outright disinterest of Sen. Angara to reopen his committee's hearings and his opinion that the issue is best left to the Ombudsman smells more like a conspiracy among three GMA allies than coincidence.
We are of the opinion that if the Court of Appeals decides in Bolante's favor, and we certainly pray that it does not, this sordid tale of flimflamming our farmers will be swept under the Ombudsman's proverbial rug, to be unresolved, festering in the dark, like all the other high profile corruption cases that this administration has been accused of perpetrating.
We remind our people what is at stake here the accountability of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The senate committee report also avers that GMA had to be aware of the suspicious fertilizer fund disbursements during harvest time and must be made to account. This is probably why Bolante is so afraid of testifying. It is believed that he can tie GMA, perhaps even her husband, to the fraudulent scheme.
We support the decision of Blue Ribbon Committee Chairman Alan Peter Cayetano to reopen the Fertilizer Fund Scam hearings, but we plead that he act with dispatch lest the terrible pressures put upon certain institutions yield success. We insist that the Senate Sergeant at Arms be allowed to perform his duty and haul the purportedly malingering Joc Joc Bolante to his Senate cell lest St. Luke's Hospital be accused of being a party to this conspiracy to keep the truth from the Filipino people.- - END
Saturday, November 01, 2008
Is There a Storm on the Horizon?
By Joel Rocamora
The bishops did it. Their call for a “new government”, then building hope around “liberators” who are “just around the corner” got everyone worked up. A “new government” in advance of the 2010 elections, of course, means the extra constitutional removal of the Arroyo administration. Everyone assumes the bishops are not talking of the Second Coming. Maybe those knights in shining armor who are a long time coming.
Conspiracy theorists are having a field day. The impeachment initiative, chacha, and the arrival of Jocjoc Bolante primed the public for the bishops’ statement. Are these moves linked? Is there a master conspiracy behind these linked moves? Did the bishops light the fuse for a coming explosion? Is it a short or a long fuse? The nice thing about conspiracy theories is that we can enjoy dramatic tension even if we cannot find out if there’s anything to the theory.
Whether or not the bishops are, consciously or unconsciously, part of a conspiracy, what they’ve done is important because it reminds us that moral outrage does not recognize the political calendar. Practical politicians on both sides of the pro-anti-Gloria divide say talk of liberation have to make way for preparations for the 2010 election, only a year and a half away. The moral sensibility asks why we have to wait. If we can, let’s get rid of her now.
Which bishops set the impact. Bishop Oscar Cruz, the constant warrior, tilting endlessly against jueteng. Bishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the CBCP, perennially frustrated by the CBCP’s conservative majority. Bishop Socrates Villegas is bishop of Balanga-Bataan, but he is well known to Manila reform circles from serving as the late Cardinal Sin’s able assistant. Two others signed the statement, Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop Emeritus Jose Sorra.
Who was not with them might also be revealing. The bishops of KME who were not there have in the past been accused of supporting coup attempts. If the KME bishops have been the more public of the Catholic church’s progressive section, the AMRSP has more resources. AMRSP sisters have been Jun Lozada’s bodyguards for most of the last eight months. The bishops’ initiative was apparently at the behest of the AMRSP.
Whether intentional or not, the bishops also weighed in on the 2010 elections. Two presidential contenders, Vice President De Castro and Senate President Villar, are clearly not in the bishops’ support list. The two leaders they prefer, Chief Justice Puno and AFP Chief-of-staff Yano, are not running for elective office, but could come in as leaders of an extra-constitutional post-GMA leadership.
On its own, the bishops’ initiative is not likely to result in the kind of change they hope for. But it does raise the incendiary potential of other ongoing developments. Bolante’s return has been avidly anticipated. His attempt to avoid having to talk, resulting in two years of imprisonment in the US, indicates the explosive potential of his telling the truth. But early indications are that he’s not going to talk.
There’s an apparently coordinated effort to prevent his testimony in the Senate. Even before he returned, his lawyer petitioned the Supreme Court to prevent the Senate from reopening hearings on the fertilizer scam, arguing that the investigation is finished. This argument is backed up by administration allies in the Senate led by Sen. Angara who says that the Senate long ago submitted its recommendation to the Ombudsman for Jocjoc’s prosecution. For two years, the Ombudsman did nothing, acting only on the day after Jocjoc returned.
The positioning of administration lackeys in the Senate is understandable. What needs explaining is the hesitation of Senate President Villar who only moved to have Jocjoc arrested by the Senate the moment he arrived after LP senators threatened to attack him. Villar is also problematizing what committee would investigate. Since the Committee on Agriculture is headed by Sen.Angara, the only logical committee is the Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Villar party mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. Senator Mar Roxas has proposed that the Senate convene as a committee of the whole.
Maybe this is where the explanation for Villar’s hesitation lies. He does not want to give Mar Roxas a platform. Villar supporters might also be worried that a Bolante expose would put some life into the impeachment complaint. In the unlikely possibility that GMA does get impeached, it would greatly strengthen the position of another Villar competitor, Vice President De Castro, who would become president. A combination of administration senators and Villar allies, together with the more than one week lapse before the Senate reconvenes could defuse the Bolante issue, even if the Supreme Court refuses to act on Bolante’s petition.
The competing political calculations of 2010 election coalitions is also likely to determine the fate of the impeachment complaint. The minority in the House has not, so far, endorsed the complaint. While there is no such thing as impossible in the shifting coalitions of Philippine politics, the complaint is not likely to get the one third of House members needed to move the complaint to the Senate. If its proponents succeed in at least debating the substance of the complaint, that will, under current circumstances, already be a victory.
The administration’s move to advance its chacha agenda is potentially more explosive. The attempt, whether it succeeds or not, is proof of opposition suspicions that GMA intends to stay in power beyond the end of her term in 2010. Led by House Speaker Nograles, the administration is mobilizing to secure charter change without involving the Senate. Quite openly, administration stalwarts are saying that if they can get three fourths of the members of both the House and the Senate, they can pass constitutional amendments.
For now, the amendment would only remove the prohibition on foreign ownership of land. If Nograles succeeds in getting the 196 votes of House members he needs, the issue will then be raised to the Supreme Court. If GMA allies in the SC affirm the constitutionality of this mode of amending the constitution, there will then be no legal obstacle for GMA and her allies to make the kinds of changes that would keep GMA in power past 2010. The conditions for maximum polarization will then have been set.
These kinds of conditions should facilitate the revival of the mass movement. Whether they like it or not, the anti-GMA opposition will be forced to reunite as the likelihood of 2010 elections recedes. It will also force leaders of key political institutions, in particular the SC and more importantly, the AFP, to decide whether their allegiance to the constitution extends past its being mangled. If the Chief-of-staff decides he has no obligation to obey a mangled constitution, the door will be opened for “liberators”. It could then be “a walk in the park”. #
The bishops did it. Their call for a “new government”, then building hope around “liberators” who are “just around the corner” got everyone worked up. A “new government” in advance of the 2010 elections, of course, means the extra constitutional removal of the Arroyo administration. Everyone assumes the bishops are not talking of the Second Coming. Maybe those knights in shining armor who are a long time coming.
Conspiracy theorists are having a field day. The impeachment initiative, chacha, and the arrival of Jocjoc Bolante primed the public for the bishops’ statement. Are these moves linked? Is there a master conspiracy behind these linked moves? Did the bishops light the fuse for a coming explosion? Is it a short or a long fuse? The nice thing about conspiracy theories is that we can enjoy dramatic tension even if we cannot find out if there’s anything to the theory.
Whether or not the bishops are, consciously or unconsciously, part of a conspiracy, what they’ve done is important because it reminds us that moral outrage does not recognize the political calendar. Practical politicians on both sides of the pro-anti-Gloria divide say talk of liberation have to make way for preparations for the 2010 election, only a year and a half away. The moral sensibility asks why we have to wait. If we can, let’s get rid of her now.
Which bishops set the impact. Bishop Oscar Cruz, the constant warrior, tilting endlessly against jueteng. Bishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the CBCP, perennially frustrated by the CBCP’s conservative majority. Bishop Socrates Villegas is bishop of Balanga-Bataan, but he is well known to Manila reform circles from serving as the late Cardinal Sin’s able assistant. Two others signed the statement, Masbate Bishop Joel Baylon, and Legazpi Bishop Emeritus Jose Sorra.
Who was not with them might also be revealing. The bishops of KME who were not there have in the past been accused of supporting coup attempts. If the KME bishops have been the more public of the Catholic church’s progressive section, the AMRSP has more resources. AMRSP sisters have been Jun Lozada’s bodyguards for most of the last eight months. The bishops’ initiative was apparently at the behest of the AMRSP.
Whether intentional or not, the bishops also weighed in on the 2010 elections. Two presidential contenders, Vice President De Castro and Senate President Villar, are clearly not in the bishops’ support list. The two leaders they prefer, Chief Justice Puno and AFP Chief-of-staff Yano, are not running for elective office, but could come in as leaders of an extra-constitutional post-GMA leadership.
On its own, the bishops’ initiative is not likely to result in the kind of change they hope for. But it does raise the incendiary potential of other ongoing developments. Bolante’s return has been avidly anticipated. His attempt to avoid having to talk, resulting in two years of imprisonment in the US, indicates the explosive potential of his telling the truth. But early indications are that he’s not going to talk.
There’s an apparently coordinated effort to prevent his testimony in the Senate. Even before he returned, his lawyer petitioned the Supreme Court to prevent the Senate from reopening hearings on the fertilizer scam, arguing that the investigation is finished. This argument is backed up by administration allies in the Senate led by Sen. Angara who says that the Senate long ago submitted its recommendation to the Ombudsman for Jocjoc’s prosecution. For two years, the Ombudsman did nothing, acting only on the day after Jocjoc returned.
The positioning of administration lackeys in the Senate is understandable. What needs explaining is the hesitation of Senate President Villar who only moved to have Jocjoc arrested by the Senate the moment he arrived after LP senators threatened to attack him. Villar is also problematizing what committee would investigate. Since the Committee on Agriculture is headed by Sen.Angara, the only logical committee is the Blue Ribbon Committee headed by Villar party mate Senator Alan Peter Cayetano. Senator Mar Roxas has proposed that the Senate convene as a committee of the whole.
Maybe this is where the explanation for Villar’s hesitation lies. He does not want to give Mar Roxas a platform. Villar supporters might also be worried that a Bolante expose would put some life into the impeachment complaint. In the unlikely possibility that GMA does get impeached, it would greatly strengthen the position of another Villar competitor, Vice President De Castro, who would become president. A combination of administration senators and Villar allies, together with the more than one week lapse before the Senate reconvenes could defuse the Bolante issue, even if the Supreme Court refuses to act on Bolante’s petition.
The competing political calculations of 2010 election coalitions is also likely to determine the fate of the impeachment complaint. The minority in the House has not, so far, endorsed the complaint. While there is no such thing as impossible in the shifting coalitions of Philippine politics, the complaint is not likely to get the one third of House members needed to move the complaint to the Senate. If its proponents succeed in at least debating the substance of the complaint, that will, under current circumstances, already be a victory.
The administration’s move to advance its chacha agenda is potentially more explosive. The attempt, whether it succeeds or not, is proof of opposition suspicions that GMA intends to stay in power beyond the end of her term in 2010. Led by House Speaker Nograles, the administration is mobilizing to secure charter change without involving the Senate. Quite openly, administration stalwarts are saying that if they can get three fourths of the members of both the House and the Senate, they can pass constitutional amendments.
For now, the amendment would only remove the prohibition on foreign ownership of land. If Nograles succeeds in getting the 196 votes of House members he needs, the issue will then be raised to the Supreme Court. If GMA allies in the SC affirm the constitutionality of this mode of amending the constitution, there will then be no legal obstacle for GMA and her allies to make the kinds of changes that would keep GMA in power past 2010. The conditions for maximum polarization will then have been set.
These kinds of conditions should facilitate the revival of the mass movement. Whether they like it or not, the anti-GMA opposition will be forced to reunite as the likelihood of 2010 elections recedes. It will also force leaders of key political institutions, in particular the SC and more importantly, the AFP, to decide whether their allegiance to the constitution extends past its being mangled. If the Chief-of-staff decides he has no obligation to obey a mangled constitution, the door will be opened for “liberators”. It could then be “a walk in the park”. #
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
WELCOME HOME, JOC JOC!
The Black & White Movement welcomes the Senate President’s enforcement of the longstanding arrest order on Mr. Bolante as he continues to hold the Senate in contempt. Mr. Bolante has insulted the Senate with his arrogant defiance and decision to evade accountability completely by seeking asylum in the US. We regard the silence of the Supreme Court on Bolante’s request for a temporary restraining order on the Senate’s warrant of arrest as a tacit decision to let the lawful arrest order stand.
There is no better time than now to reopen the Fertilizer Scam hearings, either via the Senate Committee on Agriculture or its Blue Ribbon Committee. Mr. Bolante should be made to account for the PhP728 million meant for Filipino famers. Doing any less would send the wrong message to our people and cast doubt on the integrity of the Senate.
In investigating the Fertilizer Scam, the Agriculture Committee headed by former Sen. Jun Magsaysay uncovered evidence of wrongdoing against the Filipino farmer, but also, the Filipino nation. It is regrettable that the hard work and dedication of Sen. Magsaysay and his colleagues, their staff, and so many concerned citizens in and out of government, has led to so little action. The Anti Money-Laundering Council has taken some praiseworthy steps, but the Ombudsman shows little inclination to do her job and bring people like Joc-Joc Bolante before the bar of justice. We are mystified at why it has taken this agency over two years and half to begin a preliminary investigation.
We question the propriety of Atty. Antonio Zulueta’s defense of Mr. Bolante. Atty. Zulueta is known publicly to be a lawyer for the First Gentleman, Mike Arroyo. We ask - what does Mr. Arroyo have to gain by supporting Mr. Bolante with legal aid?
Ramon Magsaysay said he who has less in life should have more in law. Joc-Joc Bolante, who has been given so much in and out of government, cannot turn his back on the law, and that includes lawmakers who have a mandate to exercise oversight over officials, past and present. Justice delayed is, indeed, justice denied, and Bolante has denied the Filipino people a just resolution of this scam for three years now. Enough is enough. Let him face the Senate or be compelled to tell the truth.
There is no better time than now to reopen the Fertilizer Scam hearings, either via the Senate Committee on Agriculture or its Blue Ribbon Committee. Mr. Bolante should be made to account for the PhP728 million meant for Filipino famers. Doing any less would send the wrong message to our people and cast doubt on the integrity of the Senate.
In investigating the Fertilizer Scam, the Agriculture Committee headed by former Sen. Jun Magsaysay uncovered evidence of wrongdoing against the Filipino farmer, but also, the Filipino nation. It is regrettable that the hard work and dedication of Sen. Magsaysay and his colleagues, their staff, and so many concerned citizens in and out of government, has led to so little action. The Anti Money-Laundering Council has taken some praiseworthy steps, but the Ombudsman shows little inclination to do her job and bring people like Joc-Joc Bolante before the bar of justice. We are mystified at why it has taken this agency over two years and half to begin a preliminary investigation.
We question the propriety of Atty. Antonio Zulueta’s defense of Mr. Bolante. Atty. Zulueta is known publicly to be a lawyer for the First Gentleman, Mike Arroyo. We ask - what does Mr. Arroyo have to gain by supporting Mr. Bolante with legal aid?
Ramon Magsaysay said he who has less in life should have more in law. Joc-Joc Bolante, who has been given so much in and out of government, cannot turn his back on the law, and that includes lawmakers who have a mandate to exercise oversight over officials, past and present. Justice delayed is, indeed, justice denied, and Bolante has denied the Filipino people a just resolution of this scam for three years now. Enough is enough. Let him face the Senate or be compelled to tell the truth.
Friday, October 24, 2008
An Open Letter to Joc Joc Bolante from Jun Lozada
October 24, 2008
Dear Joc-Joc,
Allow me to call you Joc-Joc as you are known in the media and by many Filipinos, too. As of this morning of the 24th of October 2008, news about your lawyer petitioning the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the implementation of the arrest warrant issued by the Senate upon your arrival, hugs the headline of the major dailies together with the radio and TV news broadcast. The whole country seems to be anxiously awaiting your return, I am sure your family is also eager to see you back as well.
It is about your family that I am writing you, because of what my own family went through when I was in a similar situation that you are in now. Being a father myself, I know that the welfare and safety of your family are your foremost concerns in the middle of all the controversy and the uncertainty that you are facing.
There is so much fear right now that pervades your life along with your loved ones. Questions such as, how safe are you in Manila? Is there a possibility that someone may attempt to harm you or your family? How are the people that you are covering for going to help you? How are you going to answer questions from media? How can the people you are covering up be trusted with their dilatory tactics to get you off the hook, away from the prying questions of the opposition senators?
We’re caught up in all of these questions and an “us versus them” way of thinking, that we almost forget to ask the right questions anymore - right questions such as: how are my children hurt with the truth that I am generally perceived as a corrupt criminal by the Filipino nation? How are my children going to explain my involvement in this fertilizer scam to their friends? How is my wife going to face our friends and still be seen as a person with integrity? What legacy am I leaving my children? Is leaving them with millions and big houses in Ayala Alabang better than leaving them with a good name?
I am sharing these insights with you, because if there is one thing that I did regret in telling the truth about how this Arroyo administration has been stealing from the very people it is supposed to serve, it is that I was not able to prepare my wife and my children well enough against the backlash of this government’s wrath against me for telling the people about their crimes. You still have time to discern your next move, whether or not you are going to tell the people the truth about the fertilizer scam or bring the secret to your grave, just like Romy Neri.
As a father, I am asking you to please think about your children, please consider the legacy you are going to leave to them. Are you going to forever leave them as pariahs branded as children of a thief--or as children of someone who did wrong and yet chose to serve his country in the end, rather than to be a captive forever of the dark forces he used to serve? And, please prepare your family whatever way you may wish to choose. Discuss this together with them because at the end of it all, they will suffer or be affected more as a consequence of your decision.
Secondly, as a fellow Rotarian, how about taking the Four Way test as part of your discernment process? Is it the Truth? Is it fair to everyone concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to everyone concerned? You have been a good Rotarian for many good years of your life. Will you now turn your back on these ideals in the biggest test of your Rotarian values?
Lastly, let me share with you one of the most profound lessons I have learned in my own journey towards the truth, a truth not as a goal to be reached but rather as a way of life to be lived. I have found that the opposite of all the fears I am confronted with is not courage but faith. It is faith in a God who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, a just God who will judge us not in terms of the wealth we have on earth but in terms of what we did to our fellow human beings. It is my faith in this God that allowed me to face all the fears that I am confronted with when I decided to tell the truth that I know about the NBN-ZTE scam. May you find the faith to lead you to the Light of God’s love that no darkness can ever defeat, not even a President of the Republic of the Philippines.
May God bless you with the wisdom to choose your path.
(Signed)
Jun Lozada
Dear Joc-Joc,
Allow me to call you Joc-Joc as you are known in the media and by many Filipinos, too. As of this morning of the 24th of October 2008, news about your lawyer petitioning the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the implementation of the arrest warrant issued by the Senate upon your arrival, hugs the headline of the major dailies together with the radio and TV news broadcast. The whole country seems to be anxiously awaiting your return, I am sure your family is also eager to see you back as well.
It is about your family that I am writing you, because of what my own family went through when I was in a similar situation that you are in now. Being a father myself, I know that the welfare and safety of your family are your foremost concerns in the middle of all the controversy and the uncertainty that you are facing.
There is so much fear right now that pervades your life along with your loved ones. Questions such as, how safe are you in Manila? Is there a possibility that someone may attempt to harm you or your family? How are the people that you are covering for going to help you? How are you going to answer questions from media? How can the people you are covering up be trusted with their dilatory tactics to get you off the hook, away from the prying questions of the opposition senators?
We’re caught up in all of these questions and an “us versus them” way of thinking, that we almost forget to ask the right questions anymore - right questions such as: how are my children hurt with the truth that I am generally perceived as a corrupt criminal by the Filipino nation? How are my children going to explain my involvement in this fertilizer scam to their friends? How is my wife going to face our friends and still be seen as a person with integrity? What legacy am I leaving my children? Is leaving them with millions and big houses in Ayala Alabang better than leaving them with a good name?
I am sharing these insights with you, because if there is one thing that I did regret in telling the truth about how this Arroyo administration has been stealing from the very people it is supposed to serve, it is that I was not able to prepare my wife and my children well enough against the backlash of this government’s wrath against me for telling the people about their crimes. You still have time to discern your next move, whether or not you are going to tell the people the truth about the fertilizer scam or bring the secret to your grave, just like Romy Neri.
As a father, I am asking you to please think about your children, please consider the legacy you are going to leave to them. Are you going to forever leave them as pariahs branded as children of a thief--or as children of someone who did wrong and yet chose to serve his country in the end, rather than to be a captive forever of the dark forces he used to serve? And, please prepare your family whatever way you may wish to choose. Discuss this together with them because at the end of it all, they will suffer or be affected more as a consequence of your decision.
Secondly, as a fellow Rotarian, how about taking the Four Way test as part of your discernment process? Is it the Truth? Is it fair to everyone concerned? Will it build goodwill and better friendship? Will it be beneficial to everyone concerned? You have been a good Rotarian for many good years of your life. Will you now turn your back on these ideals in the biggest test of your Rotarian values?
Lastly, let me share with you one of the most profound lessons I have learned in my own journey towards the truth, a truth not as a goal to be reached but rather as a way of life to be lived. I have found that the opposite of all the fears I am confronted with is not courage but faith. It is faith in a God who said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”, a just God who will judge us not in terms of the wealth we have on earth but in terms of what we did to our fellow human beings. It is my faith in this God that allowed me to face all the fears that I am confronted with when I decided to tell the truth that I know about the NBN-ZTE scam. May you find the faith to lead you to the Light of God’s love that no darkness can ever defeat, not even a President of the Republic of the Philippines.
May God bless you with the wisdom to choose your path.
(Signed)
Jun Lozada
Sunday, October 19, 2008
HOLD GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO ACCOUNTABLE! - by Dinky Juliano-Soliman
The current leadership of the Philippine government rode on the wave to power through the people's desire to have transparent and honest government. Good governance was the promise of EDSA II. In the last 8 years, we have seen the betrayal of that promise and the horrific erosion of the democratic institutions of the republic. People are disillusioned and cynical; apathy has seeped into the fabric of our civic life. Poverty has increased and all too often, we read stories of mothers or fathers killing their children as the only way to end their misery. At least half a million people in Mindanao have been displaced and live in constant uncertainty about the future. More and more people are leaving the Philippines and we have Filipinas as domestic helpers in Cambodia. What has become of us?
The constitution provides an impeachment process that allows the people to hold a sitting president accountable for her actions. This process is the responsibility of the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES and the SENATE. These institutions make up a third, co-equal branch of government. They are supposed to be part of the check and balance in our democracy. These politicians were elected to uphold the voice of the people.
When Speaker Nograles says (as if warning those who filed the impeachment procedure) that impeachment is a political process, he has forgotten that it is also the only recourse for accountability of a sitting president. He seems to have forgotten that he was elected to uphold democratic processes; he has forgotten that his first level of accountability is to the people, not to the President and her cohorts. All of the Representatives of the House must recognize and act as agents of the people who want to hold this government accountable.
There are those who say that filing an impeachment complaint is a futile exercise. They say the complaint will only make the administration-allied Congress people richer because they will allegedly be asking for a fee or a Christmas gift in exchange for voting down the impeachment case. If we review news footage of that fateful day last year, then we have seen it happen before and it will probably happen again.
This is a challenge to the REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE - whether you are opposition or administration - is our democracy worth your pork barrel fund? Is the blatant corruption and erosion of our constitutional rights worth the one million or two million pesos that may be offered to you? Is the endorsement of GMA going to make you win? Can you really close your eyes to all that is wrong and accept it so that you can take care of your "constituency"? Face your God and reflect on the answers to these questions.
And to those of us who are wringing our hands, rolling our eyes and saying that this is too much! She is strong and lucky...let’s just grit our teeth and wait for the end of her term… Well, it seems recent moves of Malacanang are clearly geared toward not ending this regime. We should ask ourselves - why is this happening? The answer is that we allow it; we shrug our shoulders and say, this too shall pass.
There is hope in the people who continue to stand up and hold this government accountable at great cost to life and quality of living. Jun Lozada and his family continue to live in the care of the Catholic religious community. Dante Madriaga cannot pay for the tuition fee of his children as he languishes inside the Senate compound. All the people who have spoken truth to power continue to be harassed and have to constantly look behind their backs because the harassments continue at all levels - from actual threats, the spiking of tires to tapping phones - these remind us of the dark days of Martial Law. We continue to be maligned and are called “de-stabilizers” when the people who really cause instability are those who have lied, stolen, cheated and killed to be able to hold on to power.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must be held accountable. She must suffer her day in court as a sitting president. Let the impeachment proceeding take its course, make the people aware of the facts in evidence and let our democratic institutions do their work. Our ASEAN neighbors are asserting their democratic rights within their own systems and are struggling to unseat corrupt and unjust leaders. We should do no less. We proved that non-violent, citizen-led democratic change is possible. We owe it to ourselves and to the future.
Let us insist on an impeachment proceeding! Let us lobby and hold our REPRESENTATIVES ACCOUNTABLE TO US! Let us make our voices heard...we must hold GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO accountable to the nation.
The constitution provides an impeachment process that allows the people to hold a sitting president accountable for her actions. This process is the responsibility of the HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES and the SENATE. These institutions make up a third, co-equal branch of government. They are supposed to be part of the check and balance in our democracy. These politicians were elected to uphold the voice of the people.
When Speaker Nograles says (as if warning those who filed the impeachment procedure) that impeachment is a political process, he has forgotten that it is also the only recourse for accountability of a sitting president. He seems to have forgotten that he was elected to uphold democratic processes; he has forgotten that his first level of accountability is to the people, not to the President and her cohorts. All of the Representatives of the House must recognize and act as agents of the people who want to hold this government accountable.
There are those who say that filing an impeachment complaint is a futile exercise. They say the complaint will only make the administration-allied Congress people richer because they will allegedly be asking for a fee or a Christmas gift in exchange for voting down the impeachment case. If we review news footage of that fateful day last year, then we have seen it happen before and it will probably happen again.
This is a challenge to the REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PEOPLE - whether you are opposition or administration - is our democracy worth your pork barrel fund? Is the blatant corruption and erosion of our constitutional rights worth the one million or two million pesos that may be offered to you? Is the endorsement of GMA going to make you win? Can you really close your eyes to all that is wrong and accept it so that you can take care of your "constituency"? Face your God and reflect on the answers to these questions.
And to those of us who are wringing our hands, rolling our eyes and saying that this is too much! She is strong and lucky...let’s just grit our teeth and wait for the end of her term… Well, it seems recent moves of Malacanang are clearly geared toward not ending this regime. We should ask ourselves - why is this happening? The answer is that we allow it; we shrug our shoulders and say, this too shall pass.
There is hope in the people who continue to stand up and hold this government accountable at great cost to life and quality of living. Jun Lozada and his family continue to live in the care of the Catholic religious community. Dante Madriaga cannot pay for the tuition fee of his children as he languishes inside the Senate compound. All the people who have spoken truth to power continue to be harassed and have to constantly look behind their backs because the harassments continue at all levels - from actual threats, the spiking of tires to tapping phones - these remind us of the dark days of Martial Law. We continue to be maligned and are called “de-stabilizers” when the people who really cause instability are those who have lied, stolen, cheated and killed to be able to hold on to power.
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo must be held accountable. She must suffer her day in court as a sitting president. Let the impeachment proceeding take its course, make the people aware of the facts in evidence and let our democratic institutions do their work. Our ASEAN neighbors are asserting their democratic rights within their own systems and are struggling to unseat corrupt and unjust leaders. We should do no less. We proved that non-violent, citizen-led democratic change is possible. We owe it to ourselves and to the future.
Let us insist on an impeachment proceeding! Let us lobby and hold our REPRESENTATIVES ACCOUNTABLE TO US! Let us make our voices heard...we must hold GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO accountable to the nation.
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