Thursday, September 22, 2005

Arangkada for September 23, 2005

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       GLO ANG UTOK

 

Si National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales maoy nagkawot sa gahong nga iya karong nahimutangan. Siyay niangkon nga maoy nipirma sa gikuwestiyon nga kontrata tali sa Republika sa Pilipinas ug sa Venable LLP, ang law firm nga nagbase sa Washington nga gitahasan pagpangayo og kuwarta sa US Congress para sa charter change (cha-cha). Hambogero pa kaayong nipasalig nga way bisan usa ka dako sa kuwarta sa gobyerno nga nagasto kay pribadong mga donasyon ang gigamit sa transaksiyon.

Ambot wa pa ba kaha huwasi sa kalipay sa laktod nga pagbasura sa ilang alyadong mga kongresista sa impeachment complaint batok ni Pres. Arroyo, o nahubog ba lang sa paglampos sa administrasyon paglipat-lipat sa sibaw nga awhag pagpalagpot sa presidente, masaligon si Gonzales nga ang iyang mga pamahayag makabaraw sa mao pay pagsulbong nga eskandalo sa kontrata sa Venable LLP. Pero sipyat siya. Ang iyang kahambogero maoy nakapahagiyos sa labing lab-as nga bagyo batok sa naapiking administrasyon.

-o0o-

Dihang gisukitsukit na sa mga senador si Gonzales, diha pa siyang kaamgo (ug mao ni hinungdan nganong wa kalihok ang gamhanang makinarya sa propaganda sa Malakanyang pagsalbar sa lunod-patay nga batabata sa presidente) nga duna diay siyay kaliboan ug usa ka kasayuran nga di matug-an bisan ngadto sa suod nilang mga alyado sa Senado nga gikahadlokan sa presidente nga mopalagpot niya sa puwesto kon gitugotan pang maka-abante ang articles of impeachment gikan sa House of Representatives:

  • Di siya mahimong mopiyait nga si Pres. Arroyo ang nagsugo niya pagsud sa transaksiyon (mahimong tungod kay naluoy siya sa iyang amo nga bag-o lang nakalingkawas sa labing seryusong krisis nga nihasmag sa administrasyon o gisugo gyod siya sa Malakanyang sa pagpamakak); ug
  • Di sab mahimong iyang isuka kinsa ang pribadong mga grupo o mga indibiduwal nga tinubdan sa kuwartang ibayad sa Venable LLP (mahimong tungod kay maikog siya sa manggihatagon nilang mga alalay sa pribadong sektor, o di gyod tinuod nga pribadong pondo ang gigasto sa transaksiyon).

-o0o-

Bar topnotcher si Gonzales. Pero hingpit nga nilikoy atubangan sa mga senador. Nagusbat ang pangugat nga pagpalambo sa depensa ug pagpahiyos sa alkanse sa budget ang labing dagkong katuyoan sa kontrata sa Venable. Pero ang aktuwal nga kontrata nagpakita nga ang cha-cha maoy naa sa unang linya ug ikatulo rang depensa ug debt relief.

Nakawang sab ang pag-insistir ni Gonzales nga way labot sa kontrata si Pres. Arroyo. Ang pagpakanselar sa presidente sa kontrata maoy di malalis nga pruyba nga siyay utok sa transaksiyon. Kay wa man siyay gahom ni katungod pagpakanselar sa kontrata nga wa siyay labot.

Nakalingkawas si Gonzales sa priso sa Senado tungod sa sayon kaayong lusot sa alta presyon. Pero gidugangan niyang mga lansang sa lungon sa administrasyong way mandato. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Cha-Cha 33

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Posted by Vinia Datinguinoo 
PCIJ

THIRTY-three individuals have been named by Malacañang to the Consultative Commission that will submit to Congress its recommendations for amendments to the 1987 Constitution, principally the shift from the presidential-unitary system to a parliamentary-federal system of government.

The Commission was created by EO 453, issued on August 19.

"It's a study group," Sec. Rigoberto Tiglao said as he announced the names of the 33 members. "Congress would appreciate that a group of the best and the brightest has been pulled together to provide them staff support," said Tiglao, whose office will serve as the body's secretariat.

According to its mandate spelled out in EO 453, the Commission will consult with people and submit a report to the President by the end of the year. The recommendations from the Executive will then be given to Congress.

The House of Representatives leadership has announced that charter-change discussions will occupy the chamber for the rest of the year. The Senate, however, is not as keen. The Constitution requires that any amendments introduced by Congress must have the vote of three-fourths of its members.

The group of 33 chosen by the President is led by former University of the Philippines president Jose V. Abueva, who has long advocated for a shift to federalism.

The following is a list of the 33 members:

1. Jose V. Abueva, former UP president and currently president of Kalayaan College
2. Nelia T. Gonazales, member of the UP Board of Regents
3. Emmanuel Angeles, chancellor, Angeles University Foundation
4. Rene Azurin, professorial lecturer, UP College of Business Administration
5. Gonzalo Jurado, vice president for finance and development, Kalayaan College
6. David Naval, College of Law Dean of the University of Nueva Caceres  
7. Antonio Villar, president of the Eastern Quezon College
8. Lito Monico Lorenzana, member of the Citizens' Movement for a Federal Philippines
9. Ray Teves, chairman and national convenor of the Citizens' Movement for a Federal Philippines
10. Donald Dee, president of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
11. Sergio Ortiz-Luis, chairman of the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry
12. Francis Chua, treasurer and member of the Board of Governors of the Philippine Stock Exchange
13. Joji Ilagan-Bian, former chairperson of the Mindanao Business Council
14. Jose P. Leviste, Jr., chairman of the Economic Intelligence Unit of the Philippine Business Leaders Forum
15. Alfonso T. Yuchengco, former ambassador and currently presidential adviser on foreign affairs, and head of the Yunchengco Group of Companies
16. Vicente T. Paterno, former Senator and founding director and chairman of the BIMP-East Asean Business Council
17. Gilbert M. Duavit, former Rizal representative
18. Pablo P. Garcia, former Cebu governor  
19. Pedro Romualdo, Camiguin governor
20. Gerardo Espina Sr., former Biliran representative and currently Naval municipal mayor 
21. Victor Ortega, La Union governor
22. Oscar Rodriguez, San Fernando, Pampanga mayor
23. James Marty Lim, national president of the Liga ng mga Barangay
24. Anthony Acevedo, lawyer
25. Ronald Adamat, chairman of the Philippine Council for Advocates of Peace and secretary general of the Tribal Communities Association of the Philippines
26. Jose Bello, chairman and president of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers
27. Ma. Romela Bengzon , managing partner of the Bengzon Law Office
28. Jose Matula, chief legal counsel of the Federation of Free Workers
29. Democrito Mendoza, president of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines
30. Alexander Magno, columnist for the Philippine Star
31. Carmen Pedrosa, columnist for the Philippine Star
32. Jarius Bondoc, columnist for the Philippine Star
33. Bishop Efraim Tendero, of the Philippine Evangelical Group

Inquirer Editorial

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Editorial : Impertinence

VICE PRESIDENT Noli de Castro says he has no recollection of any meeting with former US Embassy Chargé d'Affaires Joseph Mussomeli where they discussed at some length politics or any other subject matter. As far as he can recall, De Castro says, he only had three "casual meetings" with the American diplomat, all of them during official functions where they got to exchange little more than pleasantries. Thus, the Vice President adds, he could not have confided to Mussomeli that there was "circumstantial evidence" of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's involvement in election fraud, as the US official reported in a document that is on file with the US Federal Bureau of Investigation. "I don't even remember his face."

Of course, De Castro has every reason to plead amnesia not only with regard to how Mussomeli looked but more so about that embarrassing, if not damaging, piece of information about election cheating. Having declared himself firmly on the side of the President, he is not supposed to provide more ammunition to the opposition that has been trying to force Ms Arroyo out of Malacañang.

But if that meeting with US officials did indeed take place, then the Vice President has even more reason to remember it well. In the report, one of several documents believed to have been downloaded from FBI files and sent to some Filipino opposition leaders, Mussomeli and other US government agents barely try to hide their contempt for De Castro. When the US officials asked him about US-RP military cooperation, according to the report, De Castro replied that he "supported the global war on terrorism.... On Iraq, however, he said he didn't understand 'what was behind it."' When he was asked about his legislative priorities, the report said, "he searched for words" and his chief of staff had to come to his rescue by pointing out that the Vice President's "policy interest [is] anything that would benefit the masses," adding parenthetically "especially the TV-watching, vote-rich masses." The report went on to point out that when the US officials inquired about the biography of Rudy Giuliani on his desk, De Castro said it had been given to him as a gift and "he hadn't read it."

But what other US officials apparently found most odd and revealing was the Vice President's complaint about the imbalance in RP-US trade relations. The report quoted him as saying that the Philippines was "your Number One ally and our President your Number One fan," but other countries seemed to be "getting more."

Their verdict: "There is no indication De Castro has much knowledge or interest in foreign policy issues." An unidentified State Department official concluded: "If this is what De Castro can offer on domestic and foreign policy issues, then the opposition should rethink [its] position as protracted uncertainties will deepen and increasingly harm the current political and economic situation if De Castro succeeds [Ms Arroyo]." Simply put, De Castro was weighed and found wanting by officials of the US Embassy, the State Department and who knows what other US government agency.

But if De Castro is the bumbling ignoramus US officials painted him to be, he was a greater fool for giving them the opportunity to interrogate him like he were applying for a job. That's very clear from the questions these officials peppered him with. If he were conscious of his dignity as a leader of an independent country, he would have shown them the door the moment they started probing his mind. What was he doing, accommodating their impertinence and arrogance? Did he think he needed US approval to succeed to the presidency in the event that Ms Arroyo was booted out of office?

The Vice President owes his office to the Filipino voters who elected him. According to the Constitution, he assumes the highest office the moment the President can no longer discharge her functions. And he needs no clearance from anyone, least of all a foreign power, to do so. He should have reminded his American interrogators about this instead of submitting meekly to their questioning. Then he would have spared himself the humiliation of being ridiculed and treated with extreme condescension. If De Castro's election was a mistake, Filipinos will have to live with that mistake. No American official should presume to undo it.