Yorac, 64

Posted by Luz Rimban 
PCIJ

VETERAN activist and human rights lawyer Haydee Yorac passed away at 6:30 this morning (Manila time) in Chicago. She had been suffering from uterine cancer and sustained a mild stroke in 2003. She was 64 years old.

Yorac's passing is an immeasurable loss to the nation. She was both fearsome and fearless, devoting most of her life to fighting the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and to upholding citizens' constitutional freedoms. Since the restoration of democracy in 1986, Philippine presidents recognized Yorac's brilliant legal mind and tapped her to serve in various capacities.

Shortly after Edsa 1, Yorac was appointed Commissioner of the Commission on Elections where she served for seven years. Yorac's years in the Comelec were considered the golden age of the poll body. The Comelec has since fallen into disrepute, sinking to its lowest point with the revelation of the "Hello, Garci" tapes in which a Comelec Commissioner was heard getting orders from President Gloria Arroyo allegedly to fix election results.

Yorac also served as Chair of the National Unification Commission during the term of former President Fidel Ramos.  As NUC chair, Yorac dealt with various armed groups in the effort get them to sit and discuss ways of resolving the festering rebellion and insurgency in the country.

Following an unsuccessful attempt to run for the Philippine Senate in 1998, Yorac devoted her time to private practice as partner in the Yorac Azcuna Sarmiento Arroyo and Chua law offices.

In 2001, Yorac was named Chairperson of the Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG), the first government agency formed in 1986 by former President Corazon Aquino. Its mission was to recover the ill-gotten of the Marcos family. It was during Yorac's term that the PCGG was able to recover $683 million in Marcos assets hidden in Swiss banks.

For her accomplishments, Yorac was given the Ramon Magsaysay Award, Asia's equivalent of the Nobel Prize, for Government Service in 2004. In giving her the award, the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation recognized her "building confidence in government through service of exceptional integrity and rigor and her unwavering pursuit of the rule of law in the Philippines."

A political prisoner during the martial law years, Yorac's was known as "outspoken and incorruptible," traits that the Ramon Magsaysay Foundation also recognized in naming her one of its awardees.  

"Our values and personal convictions dictate the direction that we take and the stand that we make on moral issues that affect our work, in particular, and the country, in general. The desire to make government more effective and efficient in its mandate of good governance is of paramount importance. It is the driving force that compels many of us to accept responsibilities in government, despite the odds," Yorac said when she accepted the Ramon Magsaysay Award.

Her failing health forced her quit the PCGG in April this year, although there were also reports she had been pressured by Malacañang into resigning.

Yorac graduated from the University of the Philippines College of Law in 1962 and obtained her Master of Laws degree from Yale University in 1981.  She has trained generations of the country's best lawyers, having been a law professor at UP for decades.

Arangkada for September 14, 2005

 

       LACSON SUSPEK?

 

Si Sen. Panfilo Lacson ang usa sa tulo ka opisyal sa gobyerno sa Pilipinas nga gipasanginlang maoy nakadawat sa sekretong mga dokumento nga nakuha sa giingong pagpangespiya sa duha ka Pinoy nga naposasan ug nakiha na sa Federal Bureau of Investigation. Silang Michael Ray Aquino, 39, batabata ni Lacson, ug FBI analyst Leandro Aragoncillo, 46, naturalized US citizen, giingong nasakpan nga nagpayuhot og classified nga mga dokumento sa FBI labot sa krisis sa politika sa Pilipinas.

Si Aragoncillo nasakpan sa modernong teknolohiya sa paniktik sa FBI nga nipasa sa sekretong mga dokumento ngadto ni Aquino gikan sa Pebrero hangtod sa Agosto ning tuiga, kanus-a nisulbong pag-ayo ang Gloriagate scandal sa Pilipinas, pinaagi sa text messages sa cellphone ug e-mail messages pinaagi sa Hotmail ug Yahoo.

-o0o-

Wa ilha ang tulo ka opisyal sa Pilipinas nga napadad-an sa classified nga mga dokumento. Pero gidudahan nga ang mga dokumento maoy tinubdan sa pagbisto ni Lacson ug sa ubang lider sa oposisyon nga ang US government mas unang nahibawo kay sa atong mga politiko sa giingong panag-istorya sa telepono nilang Presidente Arroyo ug kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Samang mga dokumento ang gitoohang tinubdan sa kasayuran sa kaandam sa FBI pag-authenticate sa Garci tapes atubangan sa pagkuwestiyon sa Malakanyang sa katinuod sa recording. Pero sa kapulihay wa na manghilabot ang FBI kay ang oposisyon ug ang Malakanyang niuna pagdangop sa ubang mga eksperto sa Australia, New Jersey ug Texas.

Si Lacson man o dili ang utok sa nabulilyasong operasyon klarong gitumong ni sa paglili sa mga kasayuran nga nahipos sa FBI nga posibleng maka-influencia sa administrasyon ni US Pres. George Bush Jr. pagbakwi sa suporta parang Pres. Arroyo.

-o0o-

Silang Aquino ug Aragoncillo gipriso nga way piyansa. Matod ni US Attorney Christopher J. Christie samtang ang pagpangespiya wa mahilambigit sa terorismo, tinud-on pagukod ang mga dinakpan kay ang ilang krimen nakabuslot sa nasudnong seguridad sa US.

Nasakpan si Aragoncillo sa FBI dihang iyang gikumbinser ang mga opisyal sa imigrasyon paglugway sa visa ni Aquino nga dugay nang napupos. Human gi-alerto sa imigrasyon, gilusad dayon sa FBI ang audit sa computer activities ni Aragoncillo. Nagduda si Christie nga si Aragoncillo klarong nanguwarta ug nisuporta sa pamolitika sa mga nibayad sa iyang serbisyo.

-o0o-

Bisan wa pang mga dokumento sa FBI, naklarong managlahi ang baruganan sa mga opisyal sa US tungod sa pagsaway sa mga opisyal sa US embassy sa Manila batok sa Malakanyang bisan kon ang opisyal nga baruganan sa Washington mao ang pagsuporta ni Presidente Arroyo.

Pero kay wa man kabuylo ang pagpresentar sa mga ebidensiya sa giingong pagtikas sa niaging eleksiyon ginamit ang payola sa jueteng, wa dasiga sa US ang kampanya pagpalagpot ni Arroyo sa palasyo. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

FEMA Head Quits

How Reliable Is Brown's Resume?A TIME investigation reveals discrepancies in the FEMA chief's official biographiesBy DAREN FONDA AND RITA HEALY
When President Bush nominated Michael Brown to head the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2003, Brown's boss at the time, Joe Allbaugh, declared, "the President couldn't have chosen a better man to help...prepare and protect the nation." But how well was he prepared for the job? Since Hurricane Katrina, the FEMA director has come under heavy criticism for his performance and scrutiny of his background. Now, an investigation by TIME has found discrepancies in his online legal profile and official bio, including a description of Brown released by the White House at the time of his nomination in 2001 to the job as deputy chief of FEMA. On Friday, Brown, who became director of FEMA in 2003, was relieved of his duties handling the Katrina response and was replaced in that role by Coast Guard Vice Adm. Thad W. Allen.
Before joining FEMA, his only previous stint in emergency management, according to his bio posted on FEMA's website, was "serving as an assistant city manager with emergency services oversight." The White House press release from 2001 stated that Brown worked for the city of Edmond, Okla., from 1975 to 1978 "overseeing the emergency services division." In fact, according to Claudia Deakins, head of public relations for the city of Edmond, Brown was an "assistant to the city manager" from 1977 to 1980, not a manager himself, and had no authority over other employees. "The assistant is more like an intern," she told TIME. "Department heads did not report to him." Brown did do a good job at his humble position, however, according to his boss. "Yes. Mike Brown worked for me. He was my administrative assistant. He was a student at Central State University," recalls former city manager Bill Dashner. "Mike used to handle a lot of details. Every now and again I'd ask him to write me a speech. He was very loyal. He was always on time. He always had on a suit and a starched white shirt."
In response, Nicol Andrews, deputy strategic director in FEMA's office of public affairs, insists that while Brown began as an intern, he became an "assistant city manager" with a distinguished record of service. "According to Mike Brown," she says, "a large portion [of the points raised by TIME] is very inaccurate."
Brown's lack of experience in emergency management isn't the only apparent bit of padding on his resume, which raises questions about how rigorously the White House vetted him before putting him in charge of FEMA. Under the "honors and awards" section of his profile at FindLaw.com — which is information on the legal website provided by lawyers or their offices—he lists "Outstanding Political Science Professor, Central State University". However, Brown "wasn't a professor here, he was only a student here," says Charles Johnson, News Bureau Director in the University Relations office at the University of Central Oklahoma (formerly named Central State University). "He may have been an adjunct instructor," says Johnson, but that title is very different from that of "professor." Carl Reherman, a former political science professor at the University through the '70s and '80s, says that Brown "was not on the faculty." As for the honor of "Outstanding Political Science Professor," Johnson says, "I spoke with the department chair yesterday and he's not aware of it." Johnson could not confirm that Brown made the Dean's list or was an "Outstanding Political Science Senior," as is stated on his online profile.
Speaking for Brown, Andrews says that Brown has never claimed to be a political science professor, in spite of what his profile in FindLaw indicates. "He was named the outstanding political science senior at Central State, and was an adjunct professor at Oklahoma City School of Law."
Under the heading of "Professional Associations and Memberships" on FindLaw, Brown states that from 1983 to the present he has been director of the Oklahoma Christian Home, a nursing home in Edmond. But an administrator with the Home told TIME that Brown is "not a person that anyone here is familiar with." She says there was a board of directors until a couple of years ago, but she couldn't find anyone who recalled him being on it. According to FEMA's Andrews, Brown said "he's never claimed to be the director of the home. He was on the board of directors, or governors of the nursing home." However, a veteran employee at the center since 1981 says Brown "was never director here, was never on the board of directors, was never executive director. He was never here in any capacity. I never heard his name mentioned here."
The FindLaw profile for Brown was amended on Thursday to remove a reference to his tenure at the International Arabian Horse Association, which has become a contested point.
Brown's FindLaw profile lists a wide range of areas of legal practice, from estate planning to family law to sports. However, one former colleague does not remember Brown's work as sterling. Stephen Jones, a prominent Oklahoma lawyer who was lead defense attorney on the Timothy McVeigh case, was Brown's boss for two-and-a-half years in the early '80s. "He did mainly transactional work, not litigation," says Jones. "There was a feeling that he was not serious and somewhat shallow." Jones says when his law firm split, Brown was one of two staffers who was let go.
— With reporting by Jeremy Caplan and Carolina A. Miranda/New York; Nathan Thornburgh/Baton Rouge; Levi Clark/Edmond; Massimo Calabresi and Mark Thompson/Washington

Glo's Postdated Checks

Posted by Yvonne Chua 
PCIJ

MALACAÑANG has gotten back from the Department of Education three postdated checks, each worth P5 million, the Office of the President recently issued for the high school scholarship program of Zambales representative Antonio M. Diaz.

Education undersecretary for finance Juan Miguel Luz said in a phone interview before he left on an overseas trip that the Presidential Management Staff picked up the checks last Friday after DepEd refused to act on these since their transmittal in late August.

He confirmed PCIJ's report that the department would not sign the receipt for the checks because, he said, "postdated checks are not allowed in government transactions."

The checks came from the President's Social Fund and were believed tied to Palace maneuvers to trash the impeachment complaint against President Arroyo.

Diaz, a member of the Liberal Party that had earlier called for Arroyo's resignation, was among the 158 congressmen who voted last Sept. 6 to approve the House justice committe report junking the complaint.

Luz also said DepEd is preparing a voucher to return to the Palace P5 million covered by a current-dated check also issued by the President's Social Fund for Diaz's scholars. The department had earlier deposited the check to its trust fund while it decided what to do, he said.

Diaz, who was not named as the check's payee, had asked DepEd to transfer the money to him so he could release it to his scholars.

The education undersecretary said DepEd was uncertain how to make the Zambales congressman account for the fund under this arrangement.

DepEd was named payee in all four checks, which are intended for Diaz's project.

At Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye issued the following statement on PCIJ's report:

The Presidential Social Fund is disbursed under strict rules, officially audited and applied to specific purposes for the public good.

This report linking disbursements of the PSF to the impeachment is wrong, misplaced and unfair.

These matters are open to public scrutiny and if there are violations of law based on evidence, they will be prosecuted.

Truth and moral sense, not bribes, are what enlightened the great number of our lawmakers into voting against the impeachment complaint.