Desperately Seeking an Obama But Missing the Essence of the Message of Obama

By Dinky Juliano-Soliman

Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th president of the USA…it signaled hope and change in America…..January 20, 2001 Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was sworn in as President of the Philippines riding the on the hopes of a people for a leadership that would practice good governance.

Today, January 20, 2009, Filipinos are searching for an Obama of the Philippines. We are sick and tired of the corruption that confronts us every day, and the cover-ups that this administration pulls off. We complain about the abuse of power that GMA and her cohorts exercise as they slowly slaughter the institutions of democracy in the country. We are frustrated with the opposition because most of them have not demonstrated that they are different from the current administration in their practice of politics.

We are looking for an Obama, a person who will be nothing like the current leadership in Malacanang. We are searching for someone who stands for truth, does not buckle to bribery to become a candidate for the highest authority of the land. We are yearning for a leader who will perform well in his or her mandated function and conduct himself or herself with integrity. There were even suggestions that a certain sports champion can be a legislator or a local chief executive because he unites the country every time he wins.

In our desperation, we are missing the essence of the message of Obama.

It is not one leader; as Obama says ” it is not about me, it is about us”. My interpretation of his message is that we should wring out from the depths of our collective consciousness values that have withstood the test of time – the ability to respond to crisis with calm and the capacity for celebration. In his inaugural speech he called for the return of ” hope and virtue”, these which their founding father, George Washington, called on all citizens to hold on to in order to move forward during a desperate time.

Obama is mindful of the American people’s wishes and aspirations. He acted on the willingness and desire of the people to effect change; he touched on that social energy and the people responded, got involved and made the change. Thus, the repeated message of Obama is - the people made the change and they will remake America.

Therefore, in our case, the people of the Philippines have to demonstrate that we are ready and willing to make change happen; that we know what is right and wrong; we know truth from lies and that we want the return of freedom and democracy. We have to tell each other, show each other, that we are willing to invest to make the change; take risks to correct wrongs and stand up against corrupt politicians. We have to take back politics from the hands of people who betray the public trust and make politics respectable again- a sacred covenant between leaders and constituencies. We the people, cede part of our power to people we elect. Thus, if they do not act on our behalf, we should take back the power we entrusted to them.

When we act in great numbers and insist on truth and justice, transparent and honest governance at the local and national level from those we elect, the Obamas of the Philippines will emerge. There will be leaders who will demonstrate servant leadership; there will be leaders who will facilitate processes that will forge unity; there will be leaders who will be bold and daring to innovate with the people in creating solutions to systemic problems; there will be leaders who will account to the people their governance practice.

This is what Obama was referring to as “the promise of citizenship…” We, the people, must have a frank talk with each other to collectively act and organize a force that will transform our politics and set our democracy right again.

A DYSFUNCTIONAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

BnW PR
12 January 2009

As the “Alabang Boys” telenovela continues to unravel, we begin to see the flaws within our justice system. This ongoing fracas between two government agencies seems to confirm what most of us fear about the Department of Justice. For as long as you are rich, connected and power drunk, you can shop for the kind of justice you want.

This tip in the scales of justice and the disjoint between PDEA and the DOJ would have escaped finer scrutiny were it not for media attention on the impending release of the so-called “Alabang Boys” and subsequent House hearings. We would never have heard of an appalling act - the counsel for the accused composing a release order on official DOJ letterhead and delivering to the DOJ Secretary for approval.

Worse, the lawyer, who we believe deserves disbarment for his “overzealousness”, had the audacity to say that he just “borrowed the stationary and returned it to the DOJ” (he saw the stationary lying around, he typed up the letter on it, then “returned” it via Sec. Gonzalez) as seen and heard on ANC’s “IMO” last night. Amazing. Even more appalling was Sec. Gonzalez’s tepid reaction to this act of thievery. This only validates our suspicion that this is common practice.

How can we not esteem the men and women of the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency when compared to the members of the DOJ? Major Ferdinand Marcelino is fiercely dedicated to his mission – to free this country from the consuming and destructive stranglehold of illegal drugs. Through the House hearings, we learned that he spearheaded the weeding out of bribed members of their task forces. We admire that kind of “tough love”.

The Black and White Movement expresses its unequivocal support for incorruptible people like Major Marcelino and enjoins every decent Filipino to do the same. That is the least we can do for him, General Dionisio Santiago and their associates within PDEA.

We are not surprised that the public has taken the side of PDEA in this issue. In their eyes, and ours, too many of our people have received unequal justice from the DOJ, too many associated with the present and past dispensations have gone on to escape the courts, and no one believes that justice cannot be bought in the Philippines.

Finally, a comment on the ongoing “silent protest” at the DOJ and its prosecutors going on leave - the wearing of red armbands to disprove unequal dispensation of justice doesn’t mean it never happens. A stunt like this is about as believable as GMA linking arms and strolling with her cabinet members to prove her administration is above reproach.

DOJ prosecutors going on leave won’t change the low opinion of many. That’s about as productive as shuffling Romy Neri around different government agencies. As a major part of government, the DOJ should be falling all over itself, investigating alleged bribe takers, expelling and charging them, healing the pathology that thrives within.

But, wait! Can the DOJ investigate itself? Its current silent protest means that the DOJ believes it is infallible. What else can you expect from this administration? -- END

STOP Cha Cha!

The Murder of the 2008 Impeachment - List of Justice Committee Members & How They Voted

We have acquired the Justice Committee Official List of those who voted for and against dismissing the impeachment complaint lodged against Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for insufficiency in substance.

We laud the courageous defense by House Minority members led by Rep. Ronaldo Zamora. They were impassioned, committed to truth, could not be bought, bowed or cowed. Rep. Jose de Venecia Jr. was a revelation in his spirited recital and appeal to his colleagues. We thank all of them for living up to their designation, for not being blind, deaf or silent to the truth.

Against Dismissing the Complaint
1. Minority Leader and San Juan Ronaldo Zamora
2. Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo
3. Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza
4. Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casino
5. Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona
6. Makati Rep. Mar-Len Binay
7. Paranaque Rep. Rufus Rodriguez
8. South Cotabato Rep. Darlene Antonino-Custodio

As for the members of the Majority, they certainly played to character. This segment of the list was at first unavailable because the Committee Secretariat was instructed to omit listing the names of those who voted against the complaint, further proof that these GMA sycophants knew their actions were despicable, their behavior indefensible. Remember their names. If we can inform and educate our electorate (and we will do our best to achieve this) to make better choices of their leaders, these guys will be yesterday's garbage.

For the Dismissal of the Complaint
1. Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro
2. Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman
3. Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan
4. Negros Oriental Rep. George Arnaiz
5. Iloilo Rep. Raul Gonzalez
6. Cebu Rep. Pablo John Garcia
7. Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco
8. Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier
9. Apec Rep. Edgar Valdez
10. Bohol Rep. Edgardo Chatto
11. Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah Dumarpa
12. Leyte Rep. Eufrocino Codilla
13. Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Belma Cabilao
14. Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao
15. Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Antonio Cerilles
16. Masbate Rep. Rizalina Seachon Lanete
17. Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison
18. Bohol Rep. Roberto Cajes
19. Tawi Tawi Rep. Nur Jaafar
20. La Union Rep. Victor Ortega
21. Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong
22. Romblon Rep. Eleandro Madrona
23. Isabela Rep. Giorgido Aggabao
24. Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas
25. Quirino Rep. Junie Cua
26. Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga
27. Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Matugas
28. Sultan Kudarat Rep. Arnulfo Go
29. Manila Rep. Theresa Bonoan-David
30. Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas
31. Paranque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita
32. Cebu Rep. Raul del Mar
33. Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong
34. Cebu Rep. Pablo Garca
35. Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor
36. Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin
37. Quezon City Rep. Bingbong Crisologo
38. Misamis Occidental Rep. Herminia Ramiro
39. Bukidnon Rep. Candido Pancrudo
40. Manila Rep. Zenaida Angping
41. Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Maranon (for Occidental Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa)
42. Agusan Del Norte Rep. Jose Aquino

Lastly, we thank Jose de Venecia III for the invitation and the opportunity to affix our names to this latest Impeachment Complaint that was so skillfully written and airtight.

We may have been beaten this second time, but as Rep. Zamora vowed, our day will come.

GMA’S CHARTER CHANGE - A BETRAYAL OF THE PUBLIC TRUST

“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.

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/

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