One would wonder where these items, over a thousand pieces of handcrafted gold ornaments came from. To think that they were made by our ancestors makes us look at ourselves in an entirely different light. Ayala museum has pieces on display. Here is a link to the museum. You must go!
http://www.ayalamuseum.com/index.php?option=com_ayala_content&task=viewexhibitpage&id=25
Last evening’s latest news mentioned the boy who was eaten alive by a crocodile in Rizal, Palawan. The seven year old went swimming yesterday afternoon and was attacked and eaten by the 14 foot crocodile. According to the police report tonight on Channel 2, (ABS-CBN), today, the Palawenos decided to eat the crocodile. Even after it had devoured the seven-year old boy? I don’t know what to call this. But they did not want to let the crocodile go to waste. Based on nreports by ANS-CBN May 2, 2008
A collision in Sydney harbor last night caused the death of five persons, aged from teens to early twenties. The South Wales Minister himself was out there at three AM to investigate the incident, give his condolences and issue instructions that such an incident not be repeated again. In the past twenty years, with an average of over ten thousand Filipinos having died from either collisions with tankers or from sheer overloading. To date, not one senior cabinet, much less a useless Head of State, took it upon themselves to personally check out the sites, order investigations and punish those guilty for the incidents. Apparently, if you own the liners that sink, the President ignores those who passed away. Families of those who died get no compensation. Go Philippines! Go Gloria!! YOU KNOW WHERE.
P.S. HAPPY MAY DAY TO CUBA !!!!
Thanks BWorld. You might opt to read these two Bworld stories. Here is the link. Below is stuff I wrote
tonight. (well, last night as of now. I have 12:07AM on my Mac clock.
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW041508/content.php?src=1&id=002
—Gerry’s Musings—
Interesting stuff on Bworld above. Come back and read this stuff below if you like.
If only we were not just “pretend” members of ASEAN and were at least above Vietnam. Instead, we are back to be the dumping ground for toxic waste of other countries. One day, all that poison will begin to affect the poor who have no other place to go but have no choice but have the dumped waste, from hospital waste to busted computers, etc.
A lady under house arrest for years now in Burma. So what, we say. Tibetans getting killed for waving banners. Who cares. At least Germany and France Heads of State are boycotting the China Olympic ceremony. What will Gloria do? Support the Chinese. Maybe she should send them more bullets to kill Tibetans with. As for Bush, he already had new shoes and a suit bought for the affair. Amazing how he has sunk trillions(?) of US dollars into Iraq and intends to continue doing so. Spending money that isn’t there, I mean. As usual, the “Penguin from Batman TV series” Dick Cheney, who shot his friend and host while paying with his shotgun while drunk calling the shots for his Haliburton enterprise. And the Americans, only now realizing that a world that had nothing but tender caring for them after 9/11 now hates them. Almost of them, not just Bush. After 5 years of war, the White House policy towards Iraq is simple. Kill them all and let God sort them out. For crying our loud, haven’t the Americans noticed that whenever the Commanding General of the American Forces in Iraq reports that they aren’t going to win this one, he gets fired. Anyone notice that? They change and retire the Generals there quicker than you can get your Krispy Kremes at the Greenhills drive through. Any General, and these are the guys on the ground in Baghdad tell it like it is. Three trillion is a lot of many. The Americans have lost 4,000 soldiers. We condole with them. Always. The loss of a life, no matter whose, affects people anywhere. But the Iraqis have lost over 600,000 people. Not mentioned a lot over American Television. What do they care? The 4,000+ are their own. But there was need for Iraq to lose their own 600,000+ men, women and children. To avoid the cost of having to build a jail, they brought container vans into the desert, put some holes in them, and put as many Iraqi POW’s inside. Must have been real hot. They have not released statistics as to how many Iraqis imprisoned inside these containers died of heat exhaustion and sheer lack of air. Talk about brutality. Talk about the country concerned with human rights.
Bottom line:
Apart from the oil they are getting from Iraq and pass through Afghanistan, why are they there? Turns out that Sadam hates Bin laden, and likewise. Any dictator hates freedom fighter and that is how he is portraying himself to be. A freedom fighter who kills 3,000 civilians in under 30 minutes. What Bush hates having to tell the majority of Americans, especially the families with sons, daughters, husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, cousins, etc, etc fighting in Iraq. He is very reluctant to say that Bin laden is a creation of Oliver North and the right wingers of that era. They needed to screw Russia during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan, so they had North set up a system for supplying arms to Afghan freedom fighters. They trained them, armed them, fed them. Now they are in Afghanistan hunting down their former students. And despite all the propaganda, the publicity, the subtle controlling of the American media, they still have not been honest about who the enemies are and where they came from. The pilots of the giant airplanes that almost brought America to it’s knees. The people who learned how to fly in America. And the people who shocked the amateur crisis management leader so much that for the most critical minutes after the 9/11 bombing, at the very moment the people needed to be told what to do at the very moment from their Commander-in-Chief, he froze. Like the proverbial deer stunned by the oncoming car’s bright lights. Someone else had to stand up and give the orders. The order to shut down all the airports. No taking off, land asap. The order to send the Air Force to defend their homeland against any other possible attacks. They were all stunned. Frozen. But the one person who should not have frozen, the one who had to organize his government and get control of his departments immediately took his time about it. Maybe all those years of nose candy had affected his ability to react quickly. Thats why they hired him for the job after all, wasn’t it? Well they don’t seem to love him too much these days. But what does he care? His oil rigs are set to go as soon as he gets the Iraq situation under control. After all these years and where has it left them? Well, let me put it this way. They cannot push for the draft, so the requirements for soldiers has been lowered. Boy, are they going to regret this one. Allowing felons and other sorts of American trash into the army will only bring them into the large black pit at a quicker phase than they are going now. It was unbelievable how GW was stunned more than anyone else. This, the president who has taken more vacation leaves to be a recluse in his Texas ranch and hang with his cronies, that man froze. As people were dying and more planes still aloft, awaiting instructions on what to crash next, the Commander-in-Chief did not know what to do. And people were jumping out of windows of the Twin Towers while he sought to address the problem. It makes no sense. The world watched everything happen. The world cried for America. It condoled with the families of those who died, murdered by people who learned how to fly a plane but not trained on how to land it. Bin laden took a lesson from WWII and applied it to his most lethal enemy. His allies are the Saudis. The majority of terrorists who took control of the aircraft were Saudis. The House of Saud and George Bush Sr. are the best of friends. The Arabs who despise the Americans the most are the Saudis. America is keeping the House of Saud in power. But not for a cheap cost. Whoever gave him the post of the head of the Central Intelligence Agency should have been fired. Or even jailed. George Sr. botched his post. He failed to assure that intelligence gathered by his department be properly disseminated. Instead it appears that he was focusing his attention on cementing his personal ties with the Saudi’s. A documentary cited that over the years, the money that Bush generated while doing personal work for the Saudi’s amounted to around ten billion dollars. No matter that when he was vice-president of the United States in the eighties, the sum of his work at the CIA fed him intelligence to the effect that the dictator Ferdinand Marcos was a “lover of freedom and adherence to democracy”. That was apparently the type of intelligence that the CIA was feeding it’s government. Good grief. The man was the head of the world’s most well-funded and equipped intelligence outfit insisted that Marcos was actually a freedom lover. Not a human rights violator. Not a dictator. Not a thief. For crying out loud. This, from a guy who ran the Central “Intelligence” Agency. So much for the “Intelligence” part. There is a story that circulated around the eighties. It went around Manila really quickly, and possibly increased people’s fear of the dictator. The story that went around was about a UP student and the daughter of the most powerful man in the country at that time. At any rate, the rumor was that his very own daughter, while studying at the University of the Philippines, had a classmate who, during a class, made a remark to the effect that her father was the opposite of what Bush had called him. After all, no matter what anybody thinks, the guy was a scoundrel and a scalawag. A day later, the class was one student less. Apparently, somebody had decided that he had no right to his own opinion and so, as an example to the rest of the class, the vocal student was dead. Murdered. “Lover of freedom” didn’t apply to that poor student. But he still is one of the bravest people of that era. He fought the Marcoses the best way he knew how. And he won. He exposed the marcoses for what they are. Apparently the present American leader, took after his father. Marcos and the Bush family must have been close. Close enough for Oliver North to ask then Chief of Staff Fabian Ver to sign end-user certificates for various shipments of assorted weaponry and ammunition. Of course, the Philippine Armed Forces did not take any shipments. The end-user was the Philippines. The Armed Forces Chief of Staff signed for the receipt of the implements of destruction because the arms couldn’t be sent directly to the
Afghans. But with the Philippines as receivers of the weapons, then it was a legal transaction. One way or the other, the arms went to Col. North and they allegedly found their way into Afghanistan. There was a big scandal about this. It was called the Iran-Contra Affair. North had to testify at a Senate investigation and all that. He had to lie through his teeth to get through that one. But the Americans could not admit they were dealing under the table with some countries. Some called North a hero. Bin laden called him his friend and ally. The same Bin laden, born with royal blood in his veins became America’s number one enemy. And this did not start with 9/11. If then CIA Director Bush had done his job properly at the CIA, maybe 9/11 would not have happened. After all, the indicators were there, bearing forewarnings of bad things to come. America chose to ignore, or put in minimal efforts about the Embassy bombing in Kenya. Bush was gone, Clinton was in. The USS Cole was suicide bombed in Yemen, almost sinking it. Promises to hunt down the perpetrators were made but again, a gargantuan failure of intelligence happened. Things like that often happen. Various intelligence organizations worldwide are slow to share their reports with each other. For the world’s benefit, we hope that various countries help each other out. But there is still talk of additional bombings or possibly Bin laden’s real coup-de-grace. If he is in the Pakistani-Afghan border, the chances of getting him are close to nil. The US various agencies failure to share intel contributed to it’s failure to prevent what turned out to be 9/11, Bin laden’s coup-de-grace. Then again, we do not know where he is or what Bin laden is up to, so…
Doctors refer to patients who have symptoms that the MD’s cannot cure as “waste basket” cases. In our case, we are both the waste basket and the waste, thanks to our leaders, who invest heavily in campaigns and make their “investments” back a hundred fold. And although there is or are supposed to be laws against nepotism, even the President herself has direct relatives in the government who might be tempted to become either conduits for corrupt businessman, outright criminals or fixers for people who need some stuff from la presidentita.
Business can take only so much of this type of corruption before they run out of slush funds for the various government offices who, instead of being helpful in attracting foreign investors, become the reason fight at the door to investing money into the country. For God’s sake, it happens right at the airport itself when they arrive. You can sense the aroma of graft and corruption in the air. Then they may give you a taxi driver who gouges you as you seek a way to get to your hotel.
It’s been said many times, many ways, the corruption is so bad that maybe the only solution may have to be will be the Pol Pot approach. Just take the life out of an entire generation. Who cannot help but become “enablers”. It does not matter whether you like it or not, you have to be an enabler. Or have to drive sans licence, underpay taxes, bribe money for a few corrupt judges(?), executive branch and congress. Hey isn’t that cool? All our three pillars of government are for sale to the highest bidder! When I was a young child of ten or eleven at the Ateneo, we knew who the crooks were because the rest of the class would ostracize and heckle them even. Today, you are laughed at if you are in the government or have to do business with or through the government and do it honestly. The crooks are the guys with all the friends. Sickening, but thanks to a single person, the dictator marcos, morality in any form went down the drain. They said we were a country with one sonoafbitch and 70 million cowards. Obviously we all caught the sickness. And it seems, so have our children. It’s not curable without the right dosage of morality love of country. But we are a bunch of spoiled cry-babies looking for someone with a quick solution for this waste basket case. Some choose to simply toss out the garbage, as in EDSA 1 and 2, and the rest quietly take it and sneak off to the washroom to vomit. The thing is, the waste basket content definitely had stuff in it that needed to be thrown out. However, it is at this point that we realize that the waste basket itself needs to be tossed out. We the people apparently are of the mindset that over 30 years of corruption, blatant violations of basic human rights, the need to address poverty, birth control, and so on and on can be cured by four days of standing in front of a rather large statue beside Highway 54. It just doesn’t work that way. Nice wishful system, but we need more than a 4 day holiday from crime and corruption. The other solution, that of eternally looking for that one person to work his or her magic and all will be well can’t work either. It just doesn’t. What is worrisome is that this system just goes on and on.
Do I have a solution, as most everyone will easily give you, the problem needs multiple answers. There are overwhelming problems but few choose to stand up and face them. I guess that’s because we prefer to let someone else do the work. Life’s hard enough. That is one excuse. No time! Another reason not to devote ten minutes a day to think about a solution, then email it to friends and ask them what they think. What do I care, someone else will come with a magic bullet. Yet another reason. And daming palusot!! (lotta excuses). Oh well, how a “leader” who has a negative 33 acceptance rating, it is a miracle she is still there. But hey, I am sure there is a reason for that. Just give the Pinoy a bit of time and we will have a reason for that being the way it is.
If you have read this blog in it’s entirety, thank you. If not, I can’t blame you. It is a bit long. Then again, there is a lot to talk about…
More to come.
(When will the Philippines be next? At the rate we are going it’s only a matter of time? - ed.)
Alert - Indonesia
11 April 2008
Source: Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA)
New Internet law threatens free expression
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) is concerned by the
passing of the Electronic Information and Transaction Law in
Indonesia on 25 March 2008, which has been criticised by the Press
Council as falling short of international trends and standards.
The law, intended to combat online crime, pornography, gambling,
blackmail, lies, threats and racism, also prohibits citizens from
distributing in any electronic format information that is
defamatory, punishing transgressors with a maximum of six years in
prison or a fine of Rp one billion (approx. US$10.9581) or both.
In a 7 April 2008 statement, Indonesia’s Press Council said the
provisions are reminiscent of the archaic colonial laws inherited
from the Dutch, which criminalized defamation of rulers. The
council said such restrictions should not have been allowed in the
wake of the Constitutional Court’s landmark rulings related to
defamation (in December 2006 and July 2007, the court declared as
unconstitutional articles that criminalize insulting the president,
vice-president and government).
The council is seeking for a constitutional review of the law for
the threat it poses to press freedom and free expression,
identifying articles 27 (3) and 28 (2) as the pitfalls. The former
relates to distribution or transmission of electronic information
or documents that contain insult and/or defamation, while the
latter touches on the deliberate spreading of information intended
to propagate hatred or enmity.
At least 50 countries have amended offences related to fraud,
insult and defamation, from criminal to civil, said the council.
“In fact, a few countries have abolished altogether laws on
spreading hate or insult because it is difficult to prove and is
very subjective,” the council added.
In seeking a review of the law, the council is also pressing for an
explicit exception for the press, fearing that reporters who choose
the online medium to expose corruption, manipulation and disputes
may be deemed as “spreading hatred” or “defamation”, and subjecting
them to charges under this law.
The council is not taking seriously the assurances given by Edmon
Makarim, a legal staff with the Ministry of Communications and
Informatics, who claimed that the problematic articles would not
affect the press. Edmon reportedly said the electronic information
law did not mention anything at all about the press which, he
added, is already protected under the Press Law. However, civil
society groups are not giving much credence to that as prosecutors
tend to ignore the Press Law when investigating press-related
disputes.
Bloggers, too, are concerned that the new law on electronic
information and transaction would put a stop to their activities as
many put out “sensitive” content about public figures and issues at
large.
Even a link to a website containing defamation can land one into
trouble, blogger Enda Nasution said at a recent meeting in the
capital Jakarta, organized by the British Council.
——————-
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) (seapa.org) is a
coalition of press freedom advocacy groups from Indonesia, the
Philippines and Thailand. Established in November 1998, the network
aims to unite independent journalists and press-related
organisations in the region into a force for the protection and
promotion of press freedom and free expression in Southeast Asia.
————————————————————
Southeast Asian Press Alliance.
538/1 Samsen Rd., Dusit, Bangkok 10300.
Tel: 66-2-2435579, 66-2-2435373, Fax: 66-2-2448749
Hi All,
Where do great men come from?
Never did we need them more than we do now.
Here is one such man. His name is Randy Pausch.
Sadly, he has but 3 to 6 months left to live.
But he leaves us a message or two before he goes.
http://www.cmu.edu/homepage/multimedia/randy-pausch-lecture.shtml
Sincerely,
Gerry
So much for Gloria’s sorties abroad to ” sell the Philippines” (apparently only the Chinese but only because contracts were all in their favor. Also, they fool the Filipino by telling them that they travel (at taxpayers expense, bring wives, staff and other non-essentials as they say they traveling to “GET INVESTMENTS) As long as the MOB got their cut, nothing else mattered, as everything was in their favor. Also, it is no secret that the dollars they use for the travel are acquired at an exchange rate that THEY dictate. It’s sickening, if you were to find out the pesos they paid for each dollar they used for their travel expense).
Anyway, what the hell are they traveling for, pretending to get new investors, if a huge plant that set up south of Manila, and I refer to the if non-polluting businesses Intel, who hires a LOT of Pinoys are now meeting about getting the hell out of ‘Dodge’. If Intel, which has been here for years is pondering leaving, how can now the government claim to be succeeding in inviting foreign money into this corruption-tainted heavily polluted by crooks, scoundrels and scalawags to put their money here. Just getting the red tape over with will cost them a heck of a lot of money, and this is even before breaking ground. After having to deal with the National Corruption Agencies for getting their permits, licences, clearances from agencies like Atienza’s Department of Environment and National Resources, among others, next in line is, depending on their location, are the many matters with local governments. These ignoramuses, instead of appreciating the facts that they
will have increased local taxes and have gainful employment for their constituents, would rather butcher the piglet now rather than wait for the real blessings will flow. Let the pig grow, if you can follow my drift. Galing mo, Gloria. You have been able to educate even the merest baranggay tanod on how to make kotong, and made your allies and Generals some of the richest Filipinos on the face of the earth. Yet you want to continue to teach these classes till way past the year 2010. And your biggest sin of all is how you corrupted your children and taught them how to steal, cheat and lie. Your own children. I do not know if there is room in hell for people like that. Most probably they will have to create a special below hell compartment for your kind..
—–
BUSINESSWORLD
BY MARIA KRISTINA C. CONTI, Reporter
Intel rethinking RP options
MULTIBILLION-DOLLAR INVESTOR INTEL, concerned with the growing requirements of its domestic business unit, is weighing “options” for a final decision to either stay in or leave the Philippines.
Intel Technology Philippines Inc.’s senior management discussed its long-term options with employees last Wednesday night, in a meeting initially expected to be about financial results.
“In an effort to keep employees informed, Intel has updated its employees that significant investments would be required to ensure the long-term viability of its factory building in Cavite,” a statement Intel released yesterday quoted its media relations manager, Ma. Teresa L. Pacis, as saying. “Intel would like to reiterate that it has made no decision on this matter and is currently exploring multiple options.”
After 200 years, British turn their backs and expels loyal Gurkhas from the UK while allowing convicted criminals to stay…
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id
=539428&in_page_id=1770
Anyone who supervises people,or, much more, anyone who has had the opportunity to lead men in battle, knows the real meaning of loyalty from their staff/soldiers. It is a priceless commodity, especially when your unit is in a tough spot.
There is almost nothing more important than knowing that you can trust the man beside you with your life, in any condition, in any given situation. Among all the military units in the world, the valiant Nepalese Gurkhas have served Her Majesty the Queen and Great Britain for 200 years. The Gurkhas served as the first line of defense, the first to lead an attack, and if anyone needed protection, the Gurkhas were assigned to that duty as well.
There is an oft-told story about how in the Falklands War, the British managed to make the Argentinians flee the scene of the battle without a shot being fired. The Brits would simply crawl up to within shouting distance of the Argentinian encampments and lines of defense and shout “GURKHA!!!” Upon hearing that, the Argentines would flee quick as the wind rather than face the fearless ‘Kukri’, or the Gurkha’s machete. They are the only unit within the British Armed Forces allowed to carry a weapon not specified in their list of uniforms and weapons. How Prince Harry was allowed to wear one was probably in respect to the Prince. No other British soldier can just wear the Kukri. Although there are Gurkhas who graduated from Sandhurst, they are still commanded by British officers. They did not question this as good soldiers. The kukri attracted attention when Prince Harry carried one holstered in the back of his gear bag and shown on TV when he spent a few months in Afghanistan. Also, it is interesting to note that of all the other British battle units, only Gurkhas are allowed to wear the kukri along with their other battle equipment. Just a few weeks ago, they were providing personal protection to the Prince, and not the SAS, not the SBS in Afghanistan. An indication of the great trust that the Gurkhas earned over all these years.
Two weeks or so ago, though, the United Kingdom committed the worst act of maltreatment ever seen in today’s Armies. After the Gurkhas spent their whole live training to qualify to be a soldier in the British Army, in order to fight for the United Kingdom, the British announced, with the kind of thoughtlessness and crassness that shocked the world, the UK announced that they were giving the Gurkhas, who were usually given living accommodations in the UK in exchange for risking their lives for the Brits whenever they were needed, two weeks notice, and then they had to leave the UK.
This is scandalous because the British Government is allowing convicted criminals the right to stay in the country. (see Daily Mail Article)
Considering that for all the battles they fought and continue to fight without complaining that their salaries were much lower than those of the standard for British soldiers, they hardly complained about it. However, when they are getting expelled from the very country the bled and died for, they have all the right to complain, at the very least. For all the wars they went, they fought, and won. Now, the British are expelling them from the UK. They have a limited time to go. Not even enough time to find a place to stay before being thrown out. But the cold, harsh and heartless decision of the British did not change. So on BBC, footage of old Gurkhas were shown returning the medals awarded, medals that not even the British soldiers had garnered. Just a few days ago, they picketed and returned medals given them by a previously grateful British government. A government that is now throwing them out of the U.K.. A sympathetic Member of Parliament stuffed them in a box to show Parliament. As another sign of discrimination, the children of the Gurkhas, who, as soldiers were paid much less than the average Brit soldier, were allowed to have their children study in the better schools in the UK, BUT at full price. After seeing this, all my respect for the British went down the drain. My respect for the British members of the Army, who seemingly are doing nothing to extend a hand of help to their comrades of 200 years, serves as even more evidence of the type of racists they are. There is nothing in the news , TV, print or Internet about any Brit soldier who bothered to show a bit of support for these valiant fighters, who fought by their side and undoubtedly helped them win wars.
Just one thing. Don’t ever get on the wrong side of the Kukri wielder for they can become much more fierce than they are pleasant, and when the time comes, you do not want to be on the other side of the battle line that is drawn between you and them. The Brits can go jump. This was totally an act of disloyalty and unkindness to a group of people who fought for them between hell and back for two hundred years. They even trusted them over all of your other units to protect their Prince Harry, son of Princess Diana, during his stint in Afghanistan. How they could treat the Gurkhas in this manner is an indication of the kind of people they really are inside. After two hundred years, you treated soldiers who gave their all for you like garbage.
Even if they go all over the world to look for fighters to serve their Queen as the Gurkhas did, they know they will not succeed. Apparently, they do not care. It makes one wonder, who are they giving the finger to next? The Special Air Service? Come to think of it, did the much touted SAS do anything to help the Gurkhas? The MoD (Ministry of Defence) is an embarrassment to Armed Forces all over the world. Their worldwide stature just went down a few feet.
A more polite, disciplined and kind people, you will not meet anywhere. I am proud to have been given a kukri by a Gurkha. But that was decades ago, in another lifetime, in another country. I write this story for them, not me.
SC ruling on Neri shows a Palace-controlled court: sources
By ARIES RUFO
abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak
The High Court’s ruling on the executive privilege case of Commission on Higher Education chair Romulo Neri shows a Supreme Court that is controlled by Malacanang, according to several abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak sources.
Supreme Court and legal sources predicted that the 9-6 ruling issued Tuesday, favoring secrecy over public disclosure in the Neri petition, will be the prevailing pattern of vote by the justices for other major political issues that will be raised before the Tribunal, at least for the entire year.
“It is a pattern of concealment,” said Senate private counsel Carlos Medina.
More pro-Arroyo justices to come?
Next year, the number could tilt even more heavily in favor of the Palace with the retirement of nine justices.
Two of those who dissented on the Neri decision—Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Adolfo Azcuna—are among those retiring.
The retirement of Ynares-Santiago also gives President Arroyo a chance to pack the entire High Court, with the exception of Chief Justice Reynato Puno, with handpicked appointees.
Malacañang lobbied hard to win
Tackling its first major political case under Puno’s stewardship, the SC sustained Neri’s contention that his conversations with the President on the scandal-plagued National Broadband Network (NBN) deal with China’s ZTE Corp. were covered by executive privilege.
It castigated the Senate for “committing grave abuse of discretion” in ordering his arrest for his refusal to appeal at the Senate inquiry. Puno was with the minority side.
It was a case where Malacañang worked overtime lobbying with justices who could provide the swing vote, abs-cbnNEws.com/Newsbreak gathered from court insiders and observers who requested no attribution for fear of reprisal or jeopardizing their pending cases in the Tribunal.
We learned that just before the oral argument last March 4, the justices were evenly divided on the issue, a situation that did not favor Neri since he had to get an absolute majority for his petition to be granted.
Loyalty check applied
It was in the two-week gap that followed that the Palace applied pressure on some justices. One justice reportedly was promised something in exchange for voting for Neri, while the loyalty check was applied on the others.
A justice known to be close to Arroyo was reportedly instrumental in the appointment of newly-named associate justice Arturo Brion, a move that assured the President that Brion would vote for Neri.
Brion, who was appointed only last week, participated in the voting.
Lesson learned from ‘Hello Garci’
One of the sources said the Palace learned its lesson from the Feb. 12 “Hello Garci” decision where a majority of nine justices, against six, ruled that the warning of the National Telecommunications Commission and the Department of Justice against the playing of the controversial tape is illegal.
In that case, the Palace apparently did not exert pressure on its appointees in the SC.
One of the sources said Puno was aware that the initial stalemate would not hold, and that the numbers will tilt in favor of Neri. This was why he proposed the compromise solution that would have allowed Neri to testify in the Senate but without being confronted with the three contentious questions where he invoked executive privilege.
The Senate, however, rejected the compromise solution, took the risk, but paid a heavy price.
SC now controlled by Palace?
Simply put, the Neri ruling implies that “the SC is under the control of the President and that Puno does not seem to have the majority of the justices,” the sources said. “9-6 will be the configuration for the rest of the year.”
It is one clear sign, they said, that the SC will be Malacanang’s rubber-stamp in the last two-and-a-half-years of her term. Arroyo is supposed to step down in June 2010.
One source, who has intensive background in the SC, said that from a short-term standpoint, Malacanang may control the Tribunal, but her hold could loosen in the long-term.
The justices, who are her appointees, might see the need to finally exert independence as the end of Arroyo’ term nears. “There will be a change of feelings shortly before she steps down.”
Belligerent Bench
But for now, it is an SC that is belligerent against the Senate.
The majority decision, penned by Associate Justice Teresita Leonardo de Castro, brimmed with lectures and unsolicited advice against the Senate, citing its grave abuse of discretion and lack of restraint in issuing the warrant of arrest against Neri.
For instance, the majority opinion said the case should not have reached the SC had the Senate exercised the power of contempt judiciously and sparingly.
“Many of the incidents of judicial review could have been avoided if powers are discharged with circumspection and deference. Concomitant with the doctrine of separation of powers is the mandate to observe respect to a co-equal branch of the government,” the ruling stressed.
The majority of the justices also lectured senators “to cautiously tread into the investigation of matters which may present a conflict of interest that may provide a ground to inhibit the senators participating in the inquiry if later on an impeachment proceeding is initiated on the same subject matter of the present Senate inquiry.”
The senators are zeroing on the criminal culpability of the President for the approval of the anomalous NBN-ZTE project.
SEAPA RELEASE 27 Mar 2008
A story in which a Judge released two masterminds even before the prosecution had a chance to present evidence. This is how rotten the judicial system is. It trickles down from the very top to the traffic policeman accepting bribes. Leadership by example? Yes, undoubtedly.
Here is proof.
Alert - Philippines
27 March 2008
Source: Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), Manila
Court halts trials of alleged masterminds of journalist’s killings
The Cebu City Court of Appeals issued a 60-day temporary
restraining order on 25 March 2008 on the trial of the suspected
masterminds of the killing of a journalist.
Osmeña Montañer and Estrella Sabay, accused of ordering the 24
March 2005 killing of journalist Marlene Esperat, filed a petition
on 4 February 2008 for a temporary restraining order to prevent
Cebu Regional Trial Court Branch 7 Judge Simeon Dumdum from hearing
the case.
Montañer and Sabay argued that Dumdum has no jurisdiction over the
case since the 23 November 2005 Supreme Court resolution approving
the transfer of the case from Tacurong City, Sultan Kudarat to Cebu
City, Cebu only applied to then accused Estanislao Bismanos, Rowie
Barua, Gerry Cabayag and Randy Grecia, who were all found guilty
and sentenced to life imprisonment except for Barua, who was
discharged after he turned state witness.
The case was transferred following a successful petition by the
Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists (FFFJ), a coalition of six
media organizations working to promote and protect press freedom.
The FFFJ, of which CMFR is a founding member and serves as
secretariat, asked for the transfer in response to the safety
concerns of witnesses and the need for a more neutral court and
environment, the accused being allegedly influential in Tacurong.
Esperat, who had written exposés accusing Montañer and Sabay of
corrupt practices, was gunned down in full view of her children
while the family was having dinner in their Tacurong City residence.
Montañer and Sabay were not included in the Supreme Court
resolution granting the transfer of venue because Tacurong City
Judge Francis Palmones, then presiding judge of the case, had
dismissed the case against Sabay and Montañer. Palmones dismissed
the case against the two alleged masterminds even before the
prosecution had presented evidence.
The Cebu City Court of Appeals has yet to issue a resolution on the
petition for certiorari, also filed by Montañer and Sabay on 4
February 2008. A certiorari is a writ which could be issued by a
superior court to a lower court to annul or modify ongoing
proceedings if the latter judge acted on a case outside his
jurisdiction.
Private prosecutor Nena Santos said that the Montañer and Sabay
petition for certiorari and temporary restraining order is “another
scheme to get away with murder through technicalities”.
Santos filed a letter to the Supreme Court on 24 March 2008 asking
for a “declaratory resolution” on the case’s change of venue. In
her letter, Santos asked for the Supreme Court to state “that only
the Supreme Court has sole authority to act on matters affecting
the change of venue of trial in criminal cases and that [the 23
November 2005 Supreme Court resolution ordering the transfer of
venue] clearly subsumes and encompasses the trial” of Sabay and
Montañer.
Santos also asked for the Supreme Court to require the accused to
explain why they should not be cited for contempt since the issue
of transfer of venue has already been resolved by the Supreme
Court, to direct the Cebu Court of Appeals to dismiss Sabay and
Montañer’s petition for certiorari, and to direct the Cebu Regional
Trial Court Branch 7 to proceed with the case.
“Considering the absurdity of the position the accused have now
taken, i.e., that the case should be returned to Tacurong City, or
refiled in Cotabato City, we feel that it behooves the Supreme
Court as a court of law and equity to use its plenary power to
assist the People of the Philippines, private complainants and the
media group in obtaining a speedy, just and inexpensive
determination of this only media murder case where the masterminds
have long been identified, investigated, re-investigated, charged
and re-charged but never arrested and brought to trial,” Santos
said in her letter.
“The authority of the Court and respect for fair trial are put to
the greatest test when influential high government officials are
the accused. Even when they are tried they have resources and
connections to reduce the trial to a farce. In the case of Marlene
Esperat, the accused mastermind’s abuse of the judicial process
makes a mockery of our laws and the concept of fair trial. Their
unwarranted reliance on technicality, which amazingly has been
aided by some judges have openly embarrassed the administration of
justice with impunity,” Santos added.
Dumdum issued arrest warrants for Montañer and Sabay on 4 February
2008, but the two were never arrested.
