Sen. Jinggoy Estrada privilege speech regarding PDAF scam part1

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada privilege speech regarding PDAF scam part2

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada privilege speech regarding PDAF scam part3

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada privilege speech regarding PDAF scam part4

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada privilege speech regarding PDAF scam part5

Sen. Jinggoy Estrada privilege speech regarding PDAF scam part6

iNet: "Salot sa Lipunan"

“SALOT SA LIPUNAN” AWARD

Mga kababayan,

Heto na po ang TOP 20 na mga nominado para sa “Salot sa Lipunan” Award.

Sila po ang mga tao o samahan na nagdulot ng pinaka-matinding pagpakasakit, pagpakahirap at pagsasamantala sa taumbayan sa kasalukuyang panahon.

Bumoto na po kayo upang malaman natin kung sino sa mga ito ang dapat unang panagutin.

Maaasahan po ninyo na makatotohanan ang pagbilang ng mga boto, dahil mano-mano ang aming pamaraan. Bawal po ang PCOS dito sa aming tanggapan.

Sumasainyo,

Kilusan ng mga Tagapagtanggol ng Bayan (KTB)

- o -

ANG MGA NOMINADO:

1. Presidente Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” Cojuangco-Aquino III.- Siya ang kasalukuyang pinuno ng oligarkiya sa bansa. Sa kasawiang palad, siya din ang kasalukuyang pinuno ng buong gobyerno, sakop ang Office of the President, Senate, House of Representatives, Supreme Court, atpb, kasama na ang mandarayang Comelec na naglukluk sa kanya sa puwesto. Gamit ang trilyones na “pork barrel,” ginagawa niya ang kahit na anong gusto niya, tulad ng pagpapakulong sa kanyang kaaway na si PGMA, at pagpapatalsik sa puwesto ng isa pang kaaway na si CJ Corona. Lingid sa kaalaman ng taumbayan, si Arroyo ang nag-revoke sa agrarian reform exemption ng Hacienda Luisita. Si Corona naman ang namuno sa Korte Suprema na pagtibayin ang rebokasyon. Sa ilalim ng rehimen ni Presidente Noynoy, tuloy-tuloy ang pag-angkin ng Pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino sa Hacienda Luisita, kahit pa man wala silang karapatan dahil pera at garantiya ng gobyerno ang ginamit na pambili dito.

2. Pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino.- Sila marahil ang pinaka-makapangyarihang oligarkong pamilya sa kasalukuyan. Ayon nga sa kasabihan - “absolute power corrupts absolutely.” Mahigit 100 taon na nilang pinagsasamantalahan ang bayan, mula pa nuong himagsikan laban sa mga Kastila. Naging kasabwat ng mga Amerikano, ng mga Hapon, at ngayon ng mga Amerikano muli. Kahit na anong karahasan, pandarambong at pandaraya na sangkot sila, absuwelto kaagad hindi pa man nag-umpisa ang paglilitis. Ito ay sa dahilang kinikilala silang pamilya ng mga santo at bayani. Amen.

3. Pamilyang Lopez.- Sila ang maaaring pinaka-makapangyarihang oligarkong pamilya sa buong kasaysayang ng bayan. Mahigit 100 taon na rin silang naghari-harian sa bayan. Sila ang mga pangunahing tuso sa pag-gamit ng pahayagan o mass media para sa pangangalakal at siempre para sa pulitika. Halos lahat ng hinahawakang negosyo ay bumabagsak sa pagkalugi, ngunit palaging ligtas sa pagka-bangkarote. Ito ay sa dahilang pinapabayaran nila ang kanilang mga utang sa gobyerno, na kumukuha naman ng perang pambayad sa taumbayan. It's more fun in the Philippines!

4. ABS-CBN.- Ito ang pangunahing instrumento na gamit ng Pamilyang Lopez sa pagbalita ng mga kasinungalingan. Magaling sa pag-akusa kahit walang ebidensiya, at mabilis sa pag-absuwelto kahit may ebidensiya. Pinapatakbo ito ng mga propesyonal na propagandista tulad ni Ted Failon at Ricky Carandang (na sa kasalukuyan ay propagandista ng Malacañang).

5. INQUIRER.- Ito ang pangunahing pahayagan ng balitang kasinungalingan. Hanapbuhay nila ang pagdiin sa mga inosente at pagpalaya sa mga may-sala. Ibinibenta ang “headlines” kasama ang kanilang kaluluwa sa kahit na sino basta't may pera. Binansagan silang AC-DC o “attack-and-collect” at “defend-and-collect”. Ngunit kabaliktaran ang nangyayari sa totoong buhay. Higit na angkop ang “collect-and-attack” at “collect-and-defend”. Ibig sabihin ay “money down.” Bukod sa balitang kasinungalingan, meron din silang mga manunulat ng kasinungalingan, tulad ni Conrado de Quiros.

6. PHILSTAR.- Ito ang pangunahing pahayagan ng balitang dilawan. Pag-aari ng pamilya ng Punong Tongressman Feliciano Belmonte, wala na silang ginawa kundi sambahin ang Pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino, at dikdikin ang mga kalaban nito. Palaging bulok ang mga headlines nito, kundi alay sa mga Aquino-Cojuangco, ay hidden agenda naman ng Gobyernong Amerikano.

7. RAPPLER.- Ito ang pangunahing instrumento ng Oligarkaya sa pagpakalat ng balitang kasinungalingan sa cyber space. Pinamumunuan ito ni Maria A. Ressa, ang dating punong propagandista ng Pamilyang Lopez sa ABS-CBN. Gamit ang teknolohiya, binibigyan nila ng bagong anyo ang mga lumang pamamaraan ng panlilinlang.

8. SWS.- Ito ang pangunahing tagapagpalaganap ng kasinungalingan tungkol sa iba't-ibang aspeto ng lipunan sa pamamagitan ng mga huwad at bayad na survey. Ang SWS ay pinamumuan ng mga kaalyado ng Pamilyang Cojuango-Aquino,

9. Pulsa Asia.- Ito ang kaakibat na tagapagpalaganap ng mga pekeng survey, laban sa katotohanan at pabor sa kasinungalingan. Ang Pulse Asia na binansagang False Asia, ay pag-aari ng mga kamag-anak at kaalyado ng Pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino.

10. Makati Business Club.- Ito ang samahan ng mga negosyanteng gahaman. Dahil hindi pa lubos na nasiyahan sa hawak na kayaman, pilit itinataguyod ang kanilang monopoliya, gamit ang mga batas na ipinagbabawal ang pagpasok ng mga dayuhang negosyante. Sila ang mga Pinoy, Tsinoy at Tisoy na barat magpasuweldo sa tao, at hindi nagbabayad ng buwis sa gobyerno. Bagamat 10 milyones na sa mga kababayan natin ang nagtatrahabo bilang OFW sa mga dahuyang negosyante, iginigiit pa rin ng MBC ang “nasyonalismo kuno” laban sa mga dayuhang negosyante. Ang resulta ng kanilang gahamang monopoliya, kulang ang mga trabaho at mahal ang mga presyo. Ang MBC ay nasa ilalim ng pamumuno at pangangasiwa ng mga pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino at Lopez.

11. KKK.- Sila ang mga bagong “crony” na hinirang ni Presidente Noynoy. Sila ang mga Kaklase, Kaibigan at Kabarilan, tulad ni Paquito Ochoa ng OP, Rico Puno na dating sa DILG, Kim Henares sa BIR, Virgie Torres sa LTO, at Edwin Lamierda ng OP (na dating alipores ng Black & White). Kasama dito ang mga bagong sugo ng inhustisiya o kawalang-katarungan, tulad ni Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno at Justice Mavic Leonen ng Korte Suprema, at ni Secretary Leila de Lima ng DOJ. Hindi naman nagpapahuli ang punong mandaraya na si Sixto Brillantes, ang abogado ni Presidente Noynoy na kasalukuyang Chairman ng Comelec.

12. Hyatt 10.- Sila ang mga Capataz ni Haciendero Noynoy, pangunahing ehemplo ng pagka-hudas at pagka-oportunista, tulad ni Dinky Soliman ng DSWD, Ging Deles ng OP, Butch Abad ng DBM. Pinamumunuan sila ng walang iba kundi ng Punong Senatong Franklin Drilon. Kunwari may sariling paninidigan, pero sa Haciendero sunud-sunuran.

13. Akbayan.- Sila ang mga bastos at garapal na rallyista ni Haciendero Noynoy. Pinamumunuan ang samahang ito ng mga pekeng ideyologo, tulad ni Ronald Llamas, Walden Bello, Eta Rosales at Rizza Hontiveros. Kunwari kakampi ng manggagawa at magsasaka, pero nagmamaang-maangan sa usaping Hacienda Luisita. Kunwari nasyonalista pero kusang sinusulong ang Depopulation Agenda ng mga makapangyarihan at dahuyang bansa, gamit ang iba't ibang paraan ng ka-demonyohan, tulad ng same-sex marriage, free contraception at free abortion, na nauuwi sa free sex na siyang sanhi ng pagkawasak ng tahanan. Higit na mabuti pa sana kung yung programang family planning na lamang ang itinataguyod. Kahit papaano, ang family planning ay nakatutok sa mga pamilya o indibidwal na maraming anak, at hindi yung kahit sino na lang ang pinupuntirya.

14. Militarista.- Sila ang mga armadong kasapi ng AFP at PNP na gustong maghari-harian sa bayan ngunit wala namang kakayahan. Sila rin ang tumatayong guwardiya sibil ni Haciendero Noynoy, tulad ni Antonio Trilyones, Pinky Lacson at ang tukayo na sina Danilo Lim at Alfredo Lim. Bagamat hawak nila ang baril, bala at granada, hawak naman ni Noynoy ang mga bayag nila. Para sa bayan daw sila, subalit sa totoo lang, para sa Haciendero lang pala.

15. Trapo.- Sila ang mga Senatong at Tongressman na lantarang nakikipagsabwatan sa sinumang naka-upong Presidente (simula kay Cory Aquino hanggang kay Noynoy Aquino) upang lustayin at ubusin ang kaban ng bayan. Gamit ang batas, ginagawan nila ng iba't ibang paraan, upang mapadali ang pandarambong sa pera ng bayan. Ito ang perang tinatawag na pork barrel, may halagang Php200 milyones bawat Senatong, Php70 milyones bawat Tongressman, at siempre ang pinakamalaki sa buong kasaysayan ng bansa, Php1.3 trilyones para kay Presidente Noynoy.

16. Noytards.- Sila ang mga masugid na taga-subaybay ng mga balitang kasinungalingan ng ABS-CBN, Inquirer at Philstar. Buong akala na makabayan at matalino sila, ngunit ang katotohanan mga uto-uto lang pala ng Oligarkiya. Kahit na anong gawin ng Pamilyang Cojuangco-Aquino ay palaging tama, at kahit na anong gawin ng mga kalaban ay palaging masama. Sayang ang oras na pakikipagtustos sa mga ito, dahil sarado na ang mga utak at nakalimot na sa common sense o pangkaraniwang kaisipan. Sila ang mga panatikong kasapi ng kultong dilawan tulad ni Jim Paredes at Harvey Keh (na sa kasalukuyan ay nagpapakalat ng kamangmangan sa mga estudyante sa Ateneo).

17. Abu Sayyaf.- Sila ang pinakamalaking samahan ng terorista dito sa Timog Silangang Asya na tumatayong galamay ni Osama. Sukdulan ang karahasan at pumapatay ng walang anuman sa ngalan pa man din ng Diyos at bayan. Magaling sa negosyong “kidnap-for-ransom”, at mahilig magpasarap sa panggagahasa. Sana ay sila-sila na lang ang mag-ubusan, nang matahimik na ang bayan.

18. CPP-NPA-NDF.- Sila ang pangunahing tagapagtaguyod ng kasakiman at karahasan. Hindi sila naniniwala sa Diyos, dahil sa kanilang isipan sila ang tumatayong diyos dito sa bayan. Pakay angkinin ang lahat ng ari-arian, kayamanan, kabuhayan, at handang magpataw ng kamatayan sa lahat ng tumututol at lumalaban. Nakakalat sila sa buong lipunan, gamit ang iba't ibang mapanlinlang na samahan, tulad ng Bayan Muna, KMU (Labor), KMP (Farmers), LFS (Youth), ACT (Teachers), Courage (Government), Gabriela (Women), Karapatan (Human Rights), TFD (Church), Piston (Transport), Pasaka (Lumad), NUSP, Kadena, AHW, FLAG, TFAM, PCPR, NCCP (Church), Transmission (Transport), YND, Anakbayan, Armas, EMJP, Kalinaw-Mindanao, NABILUPA (Lumad), Pamalakaya (Fishers), CEGP, Ibon Foundation, Anakpawis (Labor), Migrante (Labor), Kabataan (Youth). Sila daw ay makabayan, ngunit ang kanilang idolo lahat dayuhan, tulad ni Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Josef Stalin at Mao Tse Tung. Sana si Joma Sison na lang, na siyang mastermind ng Plaza Miranda Bombing, at pinaka-unang terorista dito sa Timog Silangang Asya. O di kaya si Ninoy Aquino, ang Oligarkong padrino ng CPP-NPA-NDF, na naghimok kay Joma Sison at Kumander Dante na magsanib puwersa sa loob mismo ng Hacienda Luisita. Kaya naman pala sa Plaza Miranda, halos lahat ng kapartido, kaalyado at kaibigan ni Ninoy Aquino ay tinamaan ng pasabog na bomba, maliban sa kanya na himalang nakatakas sa karahasan.

19. Gobyerno ng Amerika.- Ito ang pangunahing berdugo sa mundo. Hindi matanggap ang katotohanan na palubog na ang kapangyarihan, kaya pilit nag-uumpisa ng digmaan sa iba't ibang sulok ng sanlibutan (tulad dati sa Iraq at ngayon naman sa Syria), maipakita lamang ang kamandag na naiwan. Tagapagtaguyod daw ng demokrasya at kaayusan, pero “padrino” pala ng pandaraya sa halalan. Gamit ang iba't ibang teknolohiya, ang halalan pinapawalang bisa. Tulad sa pinamudmod na PCOS, hindi alam kung saan nagmula, and mga resultang kaduda-duda. Walang tigil na pakikialam sa kalakaran ng iba't ibang bansa, hindi pa man natugunan ang mga panlipunan niyang problema. Sana ay inatupag na lamang niya, ang pagbayad ng napakalaking pagka-utang sa China.

20. Gobyerno ng China.- Ito ang pangunahing berdugo sa Asya. Dahil hindi pa lubos na kontento sa kanyang malawak na lupain, mga nakapaligid na purok at bansa ay pilit pang sakupin, tulad ng Tibet, Kashmir, Taiwan, Paracel at Spratley Islands. Siya rin daw ang may-ari ng South China Sea dahil nasa pangalan niya ito. Dahil nais samsamin pati karagatan, mas mainam kung inumin na niya ang tubig alat dito hanggang sa mabusog siyang lubusan. Gamit ang bagong kayamanan, nagpapamudmod ng pera sa iba't ibang panig ng mundo, kapalit ang likas yaman at kapakanan ng salinlahi sa hinaharap. Gamit naman ang bagong lakas militar, nakikipagbangayan sa ibat' ibang magkalapit na bansa, pilit gawin at kunin ang gusto, nasa tama man o mali. Huwag sana siyang magmadali. Balang araw ay magtutuos din.

Palace disbursed P69B for Napoles

Palace disbursed P69B for Napoles

By Francisco S. Tatad | Posted 13 hours ago | 8,490 views

Manila Standard Today

September 23, 2013

Against all efforts to exclude any pro-Aquino official from any case related to the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam, it now appears that in 2012 Malacañang itself used Janet Lim Napoles, the  reputed mastermind, as a conduit to release P49 billion to P69 billion “pork” to the members of Congress to induce them to impeach and remove then-Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona, and to railroad the passage of the widely opposed, anti-Catholic reproductive health bill.  At least three opposition senators have been charged with alleged involvement in this scam before the Ombudsman.

Initially revealed by Manila Standard columnist Jojo Robles in his two-part column  last Thursday and Friday, without however indicating the amounts and the intermediaries involved, the information was confirmed to this writer by independent sources, who said at least P24 billion was disbursed by Malacanang to effect Corona’s impeachment and removal, and P25 billion to ram through the RH bill.  In addition to these “special funds,” an extra P20 billion was believed to have been released to the lawmakers as “regular pork,” the sources said.

According to our sources, two Cabinet members, who are said to be “specially close to Napoles” and to the senators, worked with Napoles on the Senate votes during the two  vote-buying operations,  while the House majority leader Neptali Gonzales II took care of the congressmen, in close collaboration with Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Interior Secretary Manuel Roxas II, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda and communications secretary Ramon Carandang, who kept vigil over the House during the final voting on the RH bill.

Whether  the money went into real projects, this means the President disbursed huge amounts for purposes not authorized by law, the sources said. Under Sec. 29 (1), Article VI of the Constitution, “no money shall be paid out of the Treasury except in pursuance of an appropriation made by law.” The fact that billions were used to bribe members of Congress  to do the President’s will would constitute culpable violation of the Constitution, bribery, graft and corruption, betrayal of public trust and other high crimes—everything mentioned in Sec. 2, Article XI of the Constitution (with the exception of treason) as grounds for impeaching and removing the President and other impeachable officials.

Whether Aquino could be impeached and removed as easily as he had Corona is an altogether different matter.  But the crime has been committed, and it cannot remain unpunished forever, the sources said.

Corona first incurred the ire of President B. S. Aquino III when he accepted his appointment as Chief Justice on May 12, 2010, less than two months before President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo ended her term on June 30, 2010. The incoming president denounced this as a “midnight appointment” even though the Supreme Court had ruled that the prohibition on “midnight appointments” did not apply to the judiciary.

Upon his inauguration, Aquino broke precedent by taking his oath before Associate Justice Conchita Carpio Morales instead of the Chief Justice, and by refusing to recognize the latter’s presence at the inaugural during his address. Subsequent actions by the High Court did not improve the relationship between the President and the Chief Justice.

On July 26, 2011, the Corona court declared Aquino’s order creating a Truth Commission unconstitutional.

On Oct. 4, 2011, the Court revoked Aquino’s order reinstating Philippine Airlines flight attendants.

On Nov. 15, 2011, the Court issued a Temporary Restraining Order on a Department of Justice watchlist order on former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo.

On Nov. 22, 2011, the Court by a vote of 14 to 0, with only Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio not participating, ordered the redistribution of Hacienda Luisita, owned by Aquino’s maternal family, the Cojuangcos,  to the farmers.

Then Aquino took the offensive.  On Dec. 6, 2011, at the National Criminal Justice Summit at the Manila Hotel where he was the guest speaker, he frontally attacked Corona, who was hosting the event and was seated a few meters away, as being beholden to Arroyo.  He questioned the Court’s decision to issue a TRO on the watchlist order on the Arroyo couple and the Court’s ruling on a petition questioning the constitutionality of an act of Congress creating a new district in Camarines Sur. Arroyo, who is now detained, was not facing any charge at that time.

On Dec. 12, 2011, without any preliminary hearings, Corona was impeached by the House of Representatives after 188 congressmen, who had previously met with Aquino in Malacañang, signed an impeachment complaint containing eight charges, without themselves reading the document.

Corona was tried by the Senate, acting as an impeachment court, beginning January 16, 2012.  He was convicted by a vote of 20 to 3 on May 29, 2012, after the prosecution whittled down the eight articles of impeachment to virtually just one, which to many independent lawyers “did not even constitute an impeachable crime.” Sixteen votes were needed to convict, and of the 23 senator-judges who voted, only three did not convict.

These were Joker Arroyo, a former executive secretary to President Cory Aquino and lead prosecutor in the botched impeachment trial of Joseph Ejercito Estrada in 2000, Miriam Defensor Santiago, a former trial court judge and a prospective judge at the International Criminal Court at the Hague, and Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, the son and namesake of the late president Marcos.  Arroyo has been termed out; Santiago and Marcos are still in the Senate.

The RH bill was widely opposed from the very beginning by a predominantly Catholic population.  But Aquino publicly announced support for it after meeting with President Barack Obama in the US and receiving a $434 million grant from the Millennium Challenge for three projects in the Philippines. Denounced by its  enemies as a population control measure, it was approved on second reading by a vote of 113 to 109 in the House on Dec. 13, 2012.

It passed the House on third reading on Dec. 19 by a vote of 133 to 79, with seven abstentions.  Secretaries Abad, Roxas, Lacierda and Carandang did not leave the premises of the House until it was all over. The bill passed the Senate on second reading on Dec. 18 by a vote of 13 to 8, and on third reading the next day, Dec. 19, by the same numbers.

To avoid any strong public reaction, Aquino signed the bill as Republic Act 10354, otherwise known as the Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act of 2012, like any ordinary office document,  without the usual official ceremony witnessed by a formal audience and the Palace press on Dec. 21. The signing was announced by the House majority floor leader seven days later on Dec. 28.

Thirteen petitions have been filed before the Supreme Court questioning the validity of the law on constitutional grounds.  The court en banc has finished hearing the oral arguments. During the oral arguments, the principal sponsor of the bill and at least one justice tried to make much of the fact that the 113 votes in favor of the bill on second reading at the House rose to 133 votes on final reading, while the number of those against went down from 109 to 79.   The revelation that at least P25 billion was used to bribe the lawmakers  to pass RA 10354 could have some persuasive effect on the Court.

No details are yet available to show if any  portion of the purported P69-billion “pork” went to any “ghost project” through some “bogus foundation” under a 70-30 sharing arrangement in favor of the lawmakers. This was supposed to be  characteristic  of Napoles’s alleged operations. These details may not be known until the appropriate reports from the Commission on Audit are in.  Such reports could be used to support an impeachment complaint; but it is unlikely such a complaint would prosper.

The House has the exclusive power to initiate all cases of impeachment, and the Senate the sole power to try and decide such cases. At least one third of the House membership is needed to send the Articles of Impeachment to the Senate for trial.  Although this number was easily exceeded in the case of Corona, and in the earlier case of then-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada in 2000,  there may not be enough congressmen willing or ready to impeach Aquino at this point. He controls the two Houses of Congress. Even if impeached by the House, there may not be 16 senators willing and ready to convict him.

Nevertheless,  the lack of any real prospect of impeaching the President does not diminish his impeachability, nor does it render him immune from criminal prosecution forever.  He might escape impeachment now, but he may not be able to avoid criminal prosecution once he is no longer president.  What he has done to Arroyo, his successor could likewise do to him, unless he was succeeded by a clone who would guarantee him continued impunity in retirement.

Still the adverse and negative fallout from the Napoles affair cannot be diluted nor postponed. The veil of secrecy that had shrouded his relationship with Napoles has been ripped open, and the more he tries to disown it, the more his secret is revealed. The public may now be disposed to believe that Napoles’s dealings with Aquino and the people around him are far more extensive and outrageous than those with the senators and congressmen.   And yet only three opposition senators have been charged before the Ombudsman.  That could weigh heavily on Aquino’s conscience.

Aquino’s biggest problem is that he has lost all credibility—nobody believes him and those who speak for him and his government anymore.  At precisely the time when some people would probably like to see their fallen idol tied to a lamppost, Aquino’s inane and inept propagandists are doing their worst to cheer him up by inventing all sorts of falsehoods. At a time when his satisfaction rating is probably below zero, one stupid newspaper had the gall to scream: “Satisfaction with Noy gov’t hits record 75%—SWS”.

This goes beyond all levels of  permissible insult and nonsense .  The survey, if real, was obviously fudged; these propaganda surveys are normally manufactured for a fee. In any case, the alleged data is at least three months old, before the whole Napoles thing exploded.

Since then the web of deception has been exposed. Hours before he announced on August 28 a P10-million bounty for information leading to the arrest of Napoles, who had been on the lam since August 14, after the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 ordered her arrest, RPN Radio Pinoy in New York told its Filipino-American listeners that she had already fallen into the hands of the authorities and was being kept in a safehouse far away from Malacañang.

This tended to support this writer’s  Sept. 16 article which quoted authoritative sources as saying that  at 10:30 am of that day Napoles came to Malacañang, escorted by Lacierda, and had a lunch meeting inside the Music Room with Aquino and some Cabinet members. At 4:30 pm, she  left with Lacierda, and then reappeared at 9:27 pm, again with Lacierda, to formally “surrender” to the President.

Without denying that Napoles ever came to the Palace in his company for lunch with Aquino, Lacierda had since spent his time throwing invectives at this writer and running film footage to show that at 10:00 am of Aug 28 the President was addressing a conference at nearby Sofitel Hotel, and at 1:30 pm he was addressing a conference at Heroes Hall, a few steps away from the Music Room. As if to say that even if Napoles had come, Aquino was not there to have had lunch with her.  Meanwhile some parties have tried to shut down this paper’s website or at least make sure that this writer’s articles could not be posted on Facebook.

This looks like a throwback to the August 1987 coup attempt when the late columnist Luis Beltran,  a devoted Cory Aquino fan, wrote that at the height of the firing outside the Palace Cory was compelled “to hide under her bed.”  The phrase was intended to be a figure of speech, but Cory took it literally and brought in the TV cameras to show there was not enough space to hide under her bed. She took Beltran and his publisher, the late Max Soliven, to court for libel, and on Oct. 22, 1992, they were sentenced to two years imprisonment and fined P2 million in damages.

Like Cory, Lacierda could probably have filmed the Music Room in all its emptiness to prove his case. But Aquino and his boys certainly know they have reached the deadend, so the President and Commander-in-Chief had to go to Zamboanga City to play war games and “to boost the morale” of the troops trying to contain the forces of the Moro National Liberation Front. He probably had hoped Zamboanga would let people forget Napoles, but they merely noted the make-believe general in Zamboanga, and then talked of little else. So he went missing for days and the nation, least of all the ill-provisioned troops whose “morale” he had come to boost, did not know where he was.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/490545/bishop-hits-plunder-raps-discriminatory-selective

Bishop hits plunder raps: ‘Discriminatory, selective’

By Jocelyn R. Uy, Joey Gabieta
Inquirer Visayas, Philippine Daily Inquirer

4:34 am | Thursday, September 19th, 2013

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo: Plunder charges selective 

MANILA, Philippines—Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo said the plunder charges against Janet Lim-Napoles and several lawmakers appeared to be “discriminatory and selective” as it did not include other legislators found to have engaged in dubious deals using their pork barrel.

Pabillo said he was doubtful that only three senators and five former members of the House of Representatives were involved in the P10-billion pork barrel scam allegedly masterminded by Napoles. 

In Tanauan, Leyte, Vice President Jejomar Binay noted that only those coming from the opposition had been charged with plunder in relation to the misuse of their Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF), particularly the P10-billion pork barrel scam. 

Binay expressed hopes that the administration would be fair in its probe of all those involved in the pork barrel scam whether they were pro-administration or were in the opposition. 

Sparing no one will be the only way to disprove the perception that the investigation targets only those from the opposition camp, Binay said at a news conference on Wednesday. 

Over Church-run Radio Veritas, Pabillo said the Department of Justice and the National Bureau of Investigation must also charge other lawmakers, including allies of President Aquino, implicated in the alleged scam based on a special audit carried out by the Commission on Audit (COA). 

On Monday, plunder charges were filed against Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Juan Ponce Enrile and Jinggoy Estrada, and former Representatives Rizalina Seachon-Lanete (now Masbate governor) and Edgar Valdez for allegedly allowing Napoles’ bogus nongovernment organizations to access their Priority Development Assistance Fund. 

“It is OK that they were slapped with charges but I don’t believe that only these three senators and [five] congressmen have committed wrongdoing,” said Pabillo, chair of the National Secretariat for Social Action of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines.

“There are other legislators, including those allied with President Aquino, who must also face charges … because we know that this Napoles issue is very broad,” he said. “It will be very discriminatory and selective if these other legislators will not be charged.” 

The prelate also urged the COA to release the findings of its special audit on the use of PDAF before 2007 and after 2009. 

“All those involved [in the misuse of the pork barrel], including members of the administration party must also be charged,” Pabillo said. 

A matter of ‘delicadeza’

But in the same breath, the prelate called on Enrile, Estrada and Revilla to take a leave from the Senate pending the investigation of their case. 

“It’s a matter of delicadeza. They should take a restfirst to give way to justice,” Pabillo said.

Earlier on Tuesday political opposition United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) also questioned why lawmakers allied with the administration were not included in the cases filed in the Office of the Ombudsman. 

UNA noted that a COA report also raised questions over the use of PDAF of former Cibac Rep. Joel Villanueva, Rep. Niel Tupas Jr., former Sen. Edgardo Angara, Senate Majority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano and House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II, among others. 

First batch

“It’s just surprising. Although the ones charged were first batch only, all of them are not friends of the administration. It’s quite sad,” Binay said. 

“I hope that those who will be charged will not all come from the opposition so as to dispel accusations or speculation that the opposition is being targeted,” he added. 

Binay was in Tanauan as part of his swing visits to three municipalities of Leyte on Wednesday. He was in Palo town and then later, in Alangalang town. 

Asked if he personally believed that the three opposition leaders were involved in the pork barrel scam, Binay did not give a categorical answer. 

“There is always the presumption of innocence unless you are convicted,” he said.

Binay acknowledged that he had talked with Enrile and Estrada on the issue, but he did not give details on what transpired during their conversation.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/490545/bishop-hits-plunder-raps-discriminatory-selective#ixzz2fInB5FIE 

 

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/09/19/jennys-work-for-noy-1/

Jenny’s work for Noy (2)

By Jojo Robles | Posted on September 19, 2013 at 12:01am | 25,243 views

Part 2 (Conclusion)

In another column, I compared President Noynoy Aquino to Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign to avoid being impeached as a result of the Watergate scandal in the early seventies. The most important question asked of Nixon at the time was: “What did the President know and when did he know it?”

If Aquino insists that he met Janet Lim Napoles only when she “surrendered” to him recently, then he could be facing the most serious crisis of confidence of his three-year-old term. Did the President lie about his relationship with Napoles? What is the true nature of that relationship?

Did Napoles, as she has herself reportedly claimed, really work for Aquino to have former Chief Justice Renato Corona impeached, convicted and removed from office by Congress? Did she do the same work in securing Congress’ approval for Aquino’s controversial Reproductive Health Law, as she also told my source during their meetings last year?

What did the “work” entail? Did it include a spike in the pork barrel funds for congressmen and senators in the critical times right before the Corona impeachment trial and immediately prior to the final deliberations for the RH law, plus quicker “processing” of the Saros and NCAs that Napoles is supposed to have dealt with?

Right now, there is no data from either the Department of Budget and Management, which releases the funds, or the Commission on Audit, which is mandated to examine Congress’ expenditures on an annual basis, to prove that more pork was released during these two important periods. I wonder if that data will ever be released – or if it will be released without being altered to show no substantial increase in pork disbursements at those times.

Of course, there is the testimony of Napoles herself, assuming that she will be allowed in the Senate or in the courts that will hear the cases filed against her to even talk about her purported closeness to Aquino. Will Napoles, like Aquino before her, deny that the two of them had ever met, except casually, like when they were caught on camera in Cebu during a celebration in honor of local saint Pedro Calungsod?

Should Napoles say under oath that Aquino was in no way involved in the racket of stealing Congress’ pork barrel funds, will that be the end of that? Will Aquino no longer be called to account, for instance, for the haste with which he acted on Napoles’ letter last April, complaining that agents of the National Bureau of Investigation were shaking her down?

Finally, will all of these questions, which are central to blowing away the cover of secrecy that has surrounded the large-scale theft of Congress’ pork through brazen Napoles-like methods, be ever answered? At this point, not even the most loyal defenders of Aquino can really say.

Ultimately, Aquino’s own commitment to his supposed anti-corruption campaign will determine if any meaningful reforms will come out of this sensational and long-running scandal. If Aquino attempts to prevent the whole truth from coming out—because he is protecting his allies or even himself—then he will reap the whirlwind.

* * *

As for Napoles, it’s truly ironic that someone whose supposed business was based on close relationships with people in power in both Congress and the Executive has suddenly become the one person none of her well-connected friends will admit to knowing personally. And yet, if Napoles decides to tell everything she knows about her own unique and well-paying trade, no one will be able to deny that the cooperation of powerful people on practically every level of government was required for her schemes to work.

Then there are the politicians who are being singled out as those who worked with Napoles to steal the pork funds and to line their pockets with cash. Will they allow themselves to become the sacrificial lambs to dial down the public’s anger, even if they know that Napoles and her ilk had “clients” who belonged to every political affiliation in Congress and who will seemingly survive every administration in the Executive?

In the beginning, I’m told, both Malacañang Palace and Congress believed that the Napoles story was going to go away, quickly buried by supposedly bigger stories like killer typhoons and attacks by secessionist Moro rebels in Mindanao. But the story has shown remarkable staying power and has even taken a life of its own in all sorts of media, both traditional or online.

The only option left is for everyone involved in the scandal, in whatever branch and level of government, to say what really happened. Only then can we start talking about following the straight path and ending the culture of corruption and impunity that has kept this nation in a near-permanent state of turmoil and despondency for as long as anyone can remember.

http://manilastandardtoday.com/2013/09/19/jennys-work-for-noy-1/

Jenny’s work for Noy (1)

By Jojo Robles | Posted 8 hours ago | 5,794 views

President Noynoy Aquino put Janet Lim Napoles in charge of “convincing” both the Senate and the House of Representatives to vote in favor of the impeachment and conviction of then Chief Justice Renato Corona and for the passage of the Reproductive Health Law, by her own account. Not only were the lawmakers convinced that Napoles’ involvement in these two initiatives meant that they were doing the bidding of Aquino through a trusted intermediary close to the palace, she confided; if they did what Aquino wanted, they hoped that Napoles’ business of converting pork barrel funds into kickbacks for legislators would continue unabated through her.

Corona, who was appointed by former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo near the end of her term in 2010, was impeached in the House, convicted by the Senate and removed from office, all before the end of May last year. By December, both the Senate and the House had approved the controversial RH measure, which was signed into law before Christmas by Aquino.

These were among the disclosures made to me by an unimpeachable source recently. This source, who spoke only on condition that I would grant him anonymity, is a private businessman who said he once believed that Napoles’ JLN Trading company was a “legitimate and respectable” enterprise; he had asked to meet Napoles to look into how they could do business together, especially through the government contacts of Madame Jenny, he said.

The source and Napoles met “at least three or four times,” with each meeting lasting at least one hour. At least once, the source had to meet with her for several hours, during which they were served a meal made from scratch by the personal chef hired by Napoles to cook the food that she ate.

The meetings between Napoles and the source took place between October and December last year in the businesswoman’s 25th floor offices at the Discovery Suites in Ortigas Center; Napoles had by this time already taken possession of the entire floor of the building, having already displaced the final holdout tenant, a “laser acupuncture” service that had been given concessional rental rates by the Tiu family, which controls the posh structure.

The source had been introduced to Napoles by a former official of the Arroyo administration. The former Arroyo-era official who introduced the source to Napoles said it was good to be friends with Madame Jenny “because she is very close to Malacanang.” “She also always made it clear that she was really close with President Aquino in our conversations,” the source said.

* * *

According to the source, Napoles (or “Madame Jenny, as she preferred to be called by everyone”) was always “gracious and well-dressed,” if a little too prone to cursing in Tagalog in private. “She liked to say ‘P– i–,’” the source said. “It was strange to hear that expression so often from someone who was obviously very rich and surrounded with expensive things.”

The other thing he noticed about Napoles, he said, was that “she was always on the phone with some high government official .” If she was not talking to these important people, she had to frequently interrupt herself while talking to send or receive their text messages, he said.

According to the source, when he met Napoles in October, Madame Jenny was still basking in the glory of her supposed role in Corona’s conviction. “She said she had been assigned to talk to the congressmen and the senators, especially during the trial of Corona in the Senate,” the source said. “I didn’t have to ask her who assigned her; she said it was the President, because she could be trusted with the job of talking to the congressmen and senators.”

Furthermore, according to the source, Napoles was excited—and very busy—because she said she was doing the same job for Aquino, this time for the RH law. “There was no doubt in her mind that she could get the job done the second time around, she told me,” the source said.

But despite a feeling of mutual respect, the source said, nothing came of their plans to go into business together. “Jenny told me that she was already encountering some problems in the office,” the businessman said. He said he would later learn that Napoles was being maligned in text messages and the occasional unflattering newspaper and broadcast news article.

In their final meeting, also held in Napoles’ Discovery Suites headquarters last December after several weeks of no communication, Jenny told the businessman that she was sorry that she didn’t get back to him sooner. “I learned later that some of those senior staff of some senators were trying to discredit Napoles through text messages and news reports,” the source said.

These people, according to the businessman, were probably those working with Napoles’ relative and trusted subordinate Benhur Luy, who would become the primary whistle-blower against Madame Jenny. As Luy has testified in the Senate, he was already setting up his own network for pork barrel conversion, in a bid to cut out Napoles entirely from the lucrative trade. (To be continued tomorrow)

‘Napoles had lunch at Palace before she surrendered to PNoy’

Manila Standard Today

September 16, 2013 at 2:06am

‘Napoles had lunch at Palace before she surrendered to PNoy’

By Francisco S. Tatad | Posted 2 hours ago | 354 views

Contrary to what the nation and the rest of the world have been led to believe, President Benigno S. Aquino III spent several hours in “closed- door conversations” with Janet Lim Napoles, the suspected mastermind in the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam involving selected opposition lawmakers, before showcasing to the media her formal “surrender” to “the only person she trusted,” on the evening of August 28, 2013, authoritative sources have revealed.

This incredible detail was completely left out of Malacanang’s official statement, which had sought to present Aquino’s meeting with Napoles as no more than a 10-minute affair that ended an otherwise fruitless manhunt of a celebrated fugitive from justice, and was witnessed by several Cabinet members and duly recorded for posterity by the Malacanang press office.

The revelation is certain to be denied, for obvious reasons, but it comes from highly authoritative sources whose loyalty to Aquino is exceeded only by their loyalty to the truth and who shared the story with extreme pain and sadness. They just could not bear what to them is a “grand deception,” a deliberate and cold-blooded attempt to mislead and deceive the people on Malacanang’s real role and interest in the Napoles case.

To them, it affects the whole fabric of morality in government, and ultimately Aquino’s moral fitness to remain in office.

“This is worse than Nixon’s Watergate,” they said. “They’ve taken all of us for a ride, with no compunction or remorse. They are all morally bankrupt; they have no respect for the truth.”

Watergate refers to the 1972 U.S. political scandal, arising from the break-in at the Democratic National Committee at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C. and the Nixon administration’s attempt to cover up its involvement. It eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon on August 9, 1974, and the indictment, trial, conviction and jailing of 43 officials, many of them top government officials.

Until her celebrated “surrender”, which took the nation by surprise, the 49-year-old Napoles had been a fugitive, having gone into hiding from August 14 when the Makati Regional Court Branch 150 ordered her and her brother, Reynald “Jojo” Lim arrested, in connection with a charge filed by the National Bureau of Investigation for the alleged serious illegal detention of her 31-year-old cousin and former employee Benhur Luy.

Luy was an employee of Napoles’s JLN Group of Companies, said to be in charge of several projects funded by the Priority Development Assistance Fund of lawmakers, some of which had been denounced as “scams.” However in March this year, Benhur’s parents Arturo and Gertrudes and siblings Arthur and Annabelle told Justice Secretary Leila de Lima that they had lost contact with him since last December. They believed he was being held against his will by Janet Lim Napoles and her brother Reynald in any of the places they owned or occupied. The Luys asked De Lima’s help in rescuing Benhur.

On March 22, 2013, NBI agents “rescued” Benhur and arrested Reynald Lim from a Napoles condominium in the South Wings Gardens of Pacific Plaza Tower at Bonifacio Global City. Luy then proceeded to execute affidavits, with five other whistle-blowers, describing Napoles’s alleged operations using the PDAF of senators and congressmen to fund ghost projects of bogus non-governmental organizations.

On April 17, 2013, Napoles wrote the President a letter saying, in part: “We write with feelings of utmost disappointment, desperateness, and extreme fear for our lives, as well as those of our loved ones, as a result of the continuous threats, intimidation, and even physical harm being inflicted upon us by several unscrupulous individuals, in cohorts (sic) with some ‘corrupt’ agents of the NBI.” This letter was reported to have been prepared with the assistance of the Executive Secretary’s former law office.

The letter was apparently read with uncharacteristic speed—some rather important letters to the President had been reported lost or gone unread. The next day De Lima directed the NBI to investigate Napoles’s allegations. The NBI denied the allegations.

On June 10, the DOJ dismissed the charge of illegal detention against Napoles and her brother for lack of probable cause. But the NBI moved for reconsideration, and the DOJ granted the motion.

On August 14, the Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 150 issued a warrant for the arrest of Napoles and her brother. But they immediately went missing.

In an interview with a morning broadsheet much later, Aquino said he suspected Napoles had been tipped off on her impending arrest by somebody in the NBI, adding that the bureau had some “rats” in it—people who were “less trustworthy.” No less than the President was now accusing the NBI of aiding and abetting the suspect who had earlier accused the bureau of trying to do her harm. Unable to take this from the President, NBI Director Nonnatus Rojas resigned irrevocably on September 2, 2013.

By then Benhur Luy had become a primary source of media material about Napoles’s alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam over a period of 10 years, involving some lawmakers. Fueled by social media, public indignation against the alleged scam reached fever pitch in no time, and provoked massive anti-‘pork’ rallies in the country and abroad on Aug. 26. This prompted Aquino to order a manhunt from Manila to Mindanao, and announce a P10-million bounty on Napoles’s head, which hit the press on the morning of Aug. 28.

The Philippine Coast Guard, despite its limited capability, immediately launched its search for three “missing” yachts which Napoles reportedly owned and could have used to cross international waters. But on that very same day the fugitive turned up in Malacañang and “surrendered” to the President.

Here is the official chronology of the day’s events, as Lacierda presented it to the public:

August 28, 2013

12:37 pm—Reacting to Malacañang’s announcement of a bounty on Napoles’s head, her lawyer Lorna Kapunan said on television her client was willing to surrender. Lacierda heard the statement and called up Kapunan to confirm. (Lacierda and Kapunan used to work together in the same law firm around 1989-91.) Kapunan confirmed her statement, but said her client did not trust anyone and would surrender to Aquino only. Lacierda reported the conversation to Aquino, who reportedly said, “This is just another lead.”

4:06 pm—Kapunan called up Lacierda to say that her client was ready to surrender, provided her security was assured. Lacierda reported to Aquino, and the latter told Interior and Local Government Secretary Roxas to provide the necessary security measures. Lacierda said he was directed (he did not say by whom) to rendezvous with Kapunan in the vicinity of Pasong Tamo in Makati.

6:50 pm—Lacierda, accompanied by deputy spokesperson Abigal Valte and Communications Undersecretary Manolo Quezon III, left Malacanan on a vehicle provided by Roxas, with police escort. Kapunan telephoned Lacierda to direct him to proceed to White Space gallery on Pasong Tamo. There, Kapunan, accompanied by Jimmy Lim, Napoles’s brother, boarded Lacierda’s vehicle, and together they drove to Heritage Memorial Park at the Fort.

8:06 pm—They arrived at Heritage Park.

9:08 pm—Two women approached Lacierda’s vehicle and boarded it. One of them was Napoles.

9:37 pm—The group arrived at the Palace. Napoles was checked by a doctor, and then met with Aquino, who was with Roxas, Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa, Jr., Communications Secretary Ramon Carandang, and Philippine National Police Chief Alan Purisima. The group talked for 10 minutes, during which Napoles thanked Aquino for her security.

Aquino reportedly told his Cabinet officials: “Tutal puyat na tayo, damay-damay na (Since we’re all up late anyway, we might as well see this through),” and then left the Palace ahead of the group to go to Camp Crame. “The President wanted to make sure the area was secured so he went to check the premises of the PNP headquarters,” Lacierda said.

Napoles rode with Lacierda, while the other Cabinet members followed behind.

That was how Lacierda narrated the Malacañang “surrender.”

However, highly critical sources said the official narrative completely omitted the most important part—Napoles’s nearly day-long “closed-door session” with Aquino, Roxas and other Cabinet members.

According to these sources, Napoles arrived at 10:30 am, all by herself, without her lawyer, but accompanied by Lacierda alone, who happens to be a lawyer. She was immediately conducted to what is known as the “Music Room” or “Ready Room” where she remained closeted with Aquino, Roxas and the Malacanang spokesman for the next six hours.

At lunch time, food was brought in by a secretary rather than the regular Malacañang waiters, and Cabinet Secretary Rene Almendras joined the meeting. He was followed by Budget Secretary Florencio Abad at around 1 pm, and Ochoa a few minutes later. Between 2 pm and 3:30 pm, Aquino stepped out three times to meet some official callers, then finally left for an unknown destination.

At 4:30 pm, the meeting ended, and Lacierda left with Napoles, destination unknown.

Assuming every detail to be correct, Lacierda’s narrative does not conflict with the hitherto unreported six-hour meeting; it is but a sequel to the unexplained and inexplicable meeting in the morning. But Malacañang had gone to great lengths to make it appear that Napoles had not been there before her appearance that evening, and that she took not more than 10 minutes to “surrender.”

The sources said the doctor’s check on Napoles’s blood pressure and sugar level alone probably took as much time, if not longer. And Aquino spent most of his waking hours to act as Napoles’s advance security officer on her way to PNP headquarters.

The sources refused to divulge any part of the conversations they might have overheard, just as Malacanan has refused to disclose the content of the “warm and pleasant” exchange that took place between Aquino and Napoles during her “formal surrender.” But they raised a number of questions about the President’s actual role and involvement in the Napoles affair.

These are some of the questions:

What is the real relationship between the President and his trusted Cabinet members with Napoles?

How long has Aquino known her and been dealing with her? The photographs showing Aquino with the young Jeanne Napoles and with the Napoles family—purportedly taken in Cebu—may not mean very much on their own, but they tend to assume some evidentiary value in light of the six-hour meeting, the state-guest treatment, including a “handcuffs-free” arrest, of Napoles during and after her “surrender.”

Is Aquino a beneficiary or a benefactor of Napoles or both? How true are reports that she contributed P500 million to his 2010 presidential campaign, and at least P100 million to the Liberal Party 2013 senatorial campaign? Does Malacanan control Napoles, or does she control Malacanan?

Is Lacierda in particular Napoles’s real handler and protector? Although Lacierda has tried to make the public believe that his contact with Napoles was only through Atty. Kapunan, her lawyer, she appeared in Malacañang for the closed-door meeting with Aquino, Roxas and the others without Kapunan, but only with the presidential spokesman.

Does this mean Lacierda had direct access to and contact with Napoles during all the time she was supposed to be in hiding? Does it also mean that Lacierda guaranteed Napoles legal advice, in the absence of Kapunan?

Why was Secretary De Lima kept out of the “negotiations” on Napoles’ “surrender”? Wasn’t she the first one to officially suggest that Napoles might in fact surrender and act as a “state witness” in the expected cases of plunder? Is there any reason to suggest that Malacañang was, in fact, pissed off when the NBI decided to build a case against Napoles, with De Lima’s full approval?

What about the P10-million bounty? Wasn’t it merely a ploy to make it appear that Malacañang was intent on having Napoles arrested, even though she was free to sit in private conversation with the President and his trusted advisers?

What finally was discussed in those six hours of secret conversations? Did Aquino and his trusted advisers assure Napoles that Malacanang would do everything to protect her so long as she remained loyal to the President, Roxas and all the others?

What grand cover-up was cooked up in those secret conversations?

At press time, plunder charges have been filed against Napoles, five senators and 23 congressmen by Citizen Crime Watch before the Office of the Ombudsman. But not a single case is expected to prosper without the necessary witnesses to corroborate the documentary evidence. Did the conferees agree that these cases should not disturb anybody’s sleep unless one belonged to the opposition?

Disgruntled Forces Surface

Disgruntled forces surface, say ‘crucial decision’ made

Written by  Tribune Thursday, 12 September 2013 08:00

ROU SAYS NOYNOY REGIME ‘WEAK, CORRUPT, INSENSITIVE’ 

Signs of unrest have again manifested in the military ranks as a group which called itself the Reformist Officers United (ROU) issued a manifesto yesterday declaring a stand to “save the country from further ruin and continue the unfinished revolution of our forefathers, the true nationalists of the 1896 Philippine Revolution.”

The manifesto, called an “Article of Faith,” carried the signatures of representatives from all the military commands, the Philippine Army, the Philippine Air Force, the Philippine Navy, the Philippine Marines and the Presidential Security Guard, and civilian security agencies Philippine National Police, Coast Guard and the National Bureau of Investigation. The names in the manifesto, however, are all likely pseudonyms.
The ROU said it reached a “crucial decision,” which it did not state clearly, after many of its supposed members attended the recent rally at the Luneta Park or the Million People March on Aug. 26.


The decision was arrived at “after much contemplation of the political, social, economic and national security situations that turned from bad to worse, after we have vetted our organization, purged its ranks of opportunists and fake nationalists and after we have consulted some of our elders in the military, legal profession, farmers and those from the business, church, academe, labor and civil society groups.”

“Rest assured, together we will win this battle if possible with less bloodshed,” the ROU said in the manifesto.
“We are very much aware of the colonial and neo-colonial circumstances which have denied us the chance to discover our national self and to establish our identity and discover how much our dignity is really worth,” it stated. 
The group added that the government and many of the country’s leaders have been “weak, corrupt, venal, insensitive and self-serving.” 


As a result, foreign powers in the name of friendship and business partnership have interfered in our affairs with impunity, manipulating us, playing with our lives, our country and our destiny, the ROU added.


The group was clearly critical of the administration of President Aquino saying that his government “is no different from his mother’s regime, characterized by callous shamelessness propped up by endless popularity surveys.” 
It added that the Aquino administration stages spurious public shows of piety and compassion. 
“It goes through the motions of apologizing for numerous blunders in public yet committed the unforgivable sin of blasphemy to shield its depravity,” the group said.


It described the Aquino administration as being in the shameful tradition of the Makabebes, who betrayed the Philippine Revolution of 1896, and the even more notorious Makapilis who sent many Filipinos to their death (in World War II).


“Pnoy’s government has repeatedly frustrated the honest aspirations of our people by offering its fanciful and deceitful brand of democracy, economy and political lifestyle to unscrupulous foreigners and appealing directly for their intervention to save it from the wrath of long-suffering populace with legitimate grievances,” the ROU added.
The group added Aquino has been deceiving the armed forces into “fighting its battles of self-aggrandizement while undermining the military at every turn. It tells its armed service to fight terrorism without credible laws to protect them and the people.” 


“Many of our men have already died of loss of blood fighting a war they do not even understand,” the group added. 
It said occasionally, Aquino throws the military a bone to chew on, like guard dogs to be placated from hunger and reject. 


“More than 70,000 of our men in uniform are living as squatters in the urban centers as well as in the countryside,” it added.
The Aquino administration has reduced the once-proud military and police organization into a private security force, dedicated to perpetuate its status quo. 
The group added that a Gestapo-like counter intelligence organization is being maintained by the government “not to spy on the real enemies of the State but to spy endlessly on the office corps, rank-and-file, their families and other innocent targets.”


“From the first day, Pnoy, using useless advocacy of Matuwid na Daan, has actually steered by one direction alone, that of private gains and mindless arrogance,” the ROU added.
For more than three long, unhappy years (Aquino) has drifted with neither will nor ability to govern, muddling through all our national crises, setting a record of corruptions and plunder, incompetence and clumsiness, it said.
The solutions offered “have been short-sighted, meaningless palliatives and rhetorics that leave the people more frustrated than ever.” 


The ROU said the Aquino administration excelled in only two things: the enrichment of its clique and self-congratulations.
“What is more unconscionable is that (Aquino) even lionized Janet Lim-Napoles, who stole public funds and enriched herself and unscrupulous politicians. She cannot deny this because there are witnesses and highly incriminating pieces of evidence that will send them to jail the rest of their lives. This is not the right time to read a bill of particular. That will come later,” it added.


The group said that only a few days ago while the political crisis was evolving, (Aquino) apologized to the nation and appealed to the public to support his presidency and the rule of law. 
“His conscience has become so compartmentalized he does not realize that the very men and women he asked for help were the same men and women victimized by his government’s corruption, plunder, arrogance and incompetence,” it said.


Daily, the public “contend with (Aquino’s) mismanagement, extravagance, arrogance and sexual escapades, it claimed. 
“They suffer the high prices and the low wages. They suffer the scarcity of jobs. They suffer the absence of transportation, water shortage and high fuel prices. They suffer the breakdown of law and order, moral decay and endless salvaging,” it added.
The group also lamented that the Aquino regime has the gall to ask for help from the very people they continued to deprive of their rights and their dignity. 


“Pnoy even asked the men in uniform to die for his government and his brand of illiberal democracy. But will they, these people on whose tongues linger the acrid tastes of disillusion, betrayal and greed?,” it added
The ROU said it has “allies in the civilian sectors” and will offer the country, “not the tarnished version of EDSA 1986, cheapened and exploited beyond recognition, but the revolutionary spirit of 1896 and its noble dream, a dream filled with a fierce yearning for change: true independence, a sovereign nation, a just and wise government, genuine nationalism, respect for the rule of law, freedom in its best sense and reconciliation.” 


“In short, genuine democracy as the Filipino revolutionaries of 1896 installed but only fleetingly enjoyed before decades of subjugation, tyranny and pretense that saw our resources exploited and our values warped and perverted,” the group said.
It called on “friends and guests from foreign lands” who the group said it gives respects to their “sovereignty, culture, individuality and business interests.” 
“We implore you in the name of our country not to interfere anymore with our internal affairs,” it said.


It also appealed to media “to be fair and responsible in your reporting.”
“We will not hesitate to fight fire with fire those who will stand in our way and undermine our determination to protect the State and to create a just, wise, efficient and stable society throughout the land,” the group warned.
It said that its members will remain anonymous, for the meantime, “but in time we will get to know with one another as some of our forces are still busy gathering intelligence information, infiltrating centers of power of the Aquino Government and carefully assessing its loyal forces on the basis of their morale, command system, fighting capability, intelligence and materiel supplies.”


It said that since the 1986 EDSA Revolution, the Filipino masses “still huddled in their hovels, exploited, hungry and dispossessed. Our bureaucracy is corrupt and inefficient.” 
“There is systems failure everywhere. The entire country is deregulated in favor of the elite and their crook foreign partners. Prices of basic commodities keep on rising while workers’ wages remain the same,” it added. 
The group also said there is no peace and order. “The simplest public services cannot be delivered. Our military is demoralized and shot through with politics. Our judicial system does not work. The guilty go free; the innocent are framed.” 


The ROU said the country’s strength is vitiated by corruption, plunder and ignorance in high places. “When we protest, the government responds with arrogance and brutality. Our elections are farces, contests of force and money, or sleight-of-hand spewed by computers and automated machines,” it added.

http://www.tribune.net.ph/index.php/headlines/item/19082-disgruntled-forces-surface-say-crucial-decision-made