De Quiros Column

There's The Rub : Roads

Conrado de Quiros dequiros@info.com.ph
Inquirer News Service

WATCHING GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) last week tell the world with a straight face that it wasn't a matter of popularity, she had the vision, her enemies could only lead the country down the road to nowhere, I saw Marcos. That is one of the many things they have in common. Marcos could lie with conviction. It wasn't just that he was a good liar, it was that he actually believed his lie. He had internalized it to a point that it took on the aspect of truth etched in tablet-or in his mind. GMA is like that, too.

While saying it wasn't a popularity contest, GMA, of course, was preparing for a rally that would make her look popular. I would learn later that all the owners of the establishments in Baywalk were required to attend the rally, an order that probably came from Lito Atienza. All of which reminded me of Marcos' attempts at "hakot power" during the "snap elections" of 1986.

"This fight isn't about me," GMA told an audience of Fil-Ams, "it's about working within the rule of law and the virtue of democracy that we share with many countries, especially with the United States."

I don't know why the US Embassy didn't list the Fil-Ams who graced the event under the category of undesirable aliens. To be told by GMA that she shared a passion for democracy with Americans and not protest it is to not be an American. Can you imagine how Americans would react to knowing that their president talked to one of their election officials during the counting of votes? Can you imagine how Americans would react to their president admitting so but telling them to put it behind them and move on? Can you imagine how Americans would react to being told to not protest it violently out of respect for the law?

You'd have a revolution in America. Yet here all we saw were those Fil-Ams grinning from ear to ear and making the thumbs-up sign. Thumbs up to what?

What took the cake, of course, was GMA saying only she could lead the country to salvation, her enemies could lead it only on the road to nowhere. My cell phone was deluged by text messages that are not fit to print. I myself have always wanted to propose that TV carry a warning that says, "GMA causes hypertension, emphysema and cancer." I've had to tell friends to take life, including GMA-though they would protest the association-with a little more humor or end up drawing heavily on their health insurance. I'm not being entirely facetious when I say that GMA has not only caused more corruption, poverty and natural disasters, she has also caused more patients in hospitals.

At the very least, of course, better a road that leads nowhere rather than one that leads to perdition. The candidates the Comelec routinely weed out as "nuisance candidates" clearly have better programs than GMA for the simple reason that they do not include her. Their idea of love, peace and music may at least be argued to be possible, GMA's idea of democracy, decency and prosperity may not.

But that is nothing. Because the real question is not who has the better program, it is who has the right to offer any program. A thief may not scoff at the owner of a cell phone he has stolen and say he has a right to keep it because he has a better use for it while all the owner does is make tsismis with it. GMA may not scoff at the voters whose votes she has stolen and say she has a better use for the presidency, all the voters do is waste their votes on people like FPJ.

But we may not go without comment on the road GMA proffers. A year ago, shortly before the elections, I wrote a couple of columns, the first titled "Scary" and the other "More than ever, scary," both about GMA. In the first one, I said I had not seen such a scale of ambition and ruthlessness in anyone since Marcos. Not from Cory (Aquino), not from (Fidel) Ramos, not from Erap (Joseph Estrada).

Marcos won a second term by unleashing guns, goons and gold to an unprecedented level. GMA looked headed to a second term because she was unleashing gold, goons and guns to an unprecedented level. Marcos dreamt of ruling forever. GMA dreams of ruling forever.

A GMA supporter wrote angrily to say surely I knew in my heart that wasn't true, GMA was no Marcos. I replied in the second column that, on the contrary, I not only knew it to be true, I felt it to the very marrow of my bones. Was it possible, I asked, that people could not actually see how this person's compulsive drive to power resembled Marcos'? I look at our situation today and I am astounded at how we are reliving the nightmare all over again.

But there is one very fundamental difference between Marcos and GMA. That was that Marcos at least won the right to be president twice. He won the elections against Diosdado Macapagal in 1965 and against Sergio Osmeña in 1969. The irony in the latter was that he cheated when he never needed to. That isn't the case at all with GMA.

I look at our situation today and I am astounded even more by the fact that the one person who has wrought the worst crisis in this country since Marcos is one who never won the right to lead it. One who became President in 2001 without earning the moral right to, hiding under the bed while the battle was raging, and later thanking not Cory or Cardinal Sin, who took her by the hand when it was safe, but a Pope who was too dead to contradict her. And one who became President in 2004 without having the legal right to, conniving with Hello Garci to defraud the voters but refusing to step down upon being found out, clinging to her position with a tenacity beyond the powers of Epoxy or Mighty Bond to effect. Talk of tragedy repeating itself as farce.

But the consequence is bound to be the same: martial law, official or de facto. That is the road GMA offers.

Walking down that road has the same sensation as being flushed down the drain.

Inquirer Editorial

MALACA?ANG seems to have settled on a new strategy for dealing with the political crisis that is rooted in allegations of election fraud: Run last year's campaign all over again.

This is a gross error, because it mistakes mere motion for actual movement. It confuses the requirements of public relations with the requisites of governance. Not least, it hardens public perception that political survival is indeed President Macapagal-Arroyo's only objective, as the Hyatt 10 had warned.

It is a serious mistake, but one that's easy to understand. It worked the first time around. Last year, the make-work initiative gave a considerable number of out-of-work adults and out-of-school youth simple short-term but high-visibility jobs; the T-shirts they wore were walking advertisements for the President. PhilHealth cards were also issued to at least 5 million Filipinos during last year's campaign, with the President's face on the health insurance cards and the administration footing the bill for the first year's premiums. Both programs were controversial; the alleged diversion of the road-users' tax to finance the temporary employment program, in particular, was attacked as unconstitutional.

But they did what they were supposed to do; together with a tsunami of advertising and a series of effective town-hall open forums moderated by her running mate, then-Sen. Noli De Castro, the campaign's centerpiece programs helped the President raise her survey numbers and create an aura of inevitability.

Now the President proposes to do it all over again.

On the PhilHealth cards: "The Philippine national government gave the first year's premium with the hope that the local government will give the second year's premiums for indigents. But because these programs have become valuable for the local governments that are not able to provide the premium for another year, the national government will help to renew that insurance," she said. First estimate of total cost: P4 billion.

On the emergency employment program: "I have a budget of P2 billion for that. One part of it will go to the pavement [rehabilitation] which has to be done more professionally by the companies but the other part [involves] things that can be done manually. We hope that after it worked so well last year, it will also work this year to help reduce the unemployment problem," she said.

In making the announcement, Ms Arroyo also sought to soothe funding concerns. "With the increased tax collection from our phase one reforms [the increase in taxes on beer and cigarettes], we can now focus more money on things that will hopefully affect the poor more directly."

The two initiatives will certainly impact on the poor "more directly." But that doesn't necessarily mean that the administration should proceed with them, or even that the time is ripe for proceeding.

In the first place, it is premature to declare that "phase one" of the reform agenda has been completed. The expanded Value Added Tax law, to point only to the most prominent exception, continues to hang fire at the Supreme Court. To begin new spending programs before the new law is upheld is fiscally irresponsible.

Secondly, the proposed spending is itself suspect. The administration has the burden of explaining to the business community, the constituency that is tracking the reform agenda most closely, that these billion-peso programs were already on the drawing boards before the political crisis struck. (That will take some doing; the PhilHealth second-year premiums fell due last February and March.) To spend new money without the support of the business community is therefore politically risky.

Thirdly, the twin programs will reinforce public perception about last year's elections: That the President may have bribed, stolen, cheated or forced her way to the winning column. Palace advisers may have recommended that the President take a leaf from the political handbook of her Georgetown classmate Bill Clinton. But a perpetual campaign will only rub an already over-patient public the wrong way. The Arroyo administration needs a new controversy over warmed-over election gimmicks like a large hole in a very small head.

Arangkada for July 18, 2005

 

DI MAGPATARA

 

        Abunda ang mga ebidensiya nga giwaling ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ang binilyon ka pesos nga para unta sa mas dinalian ug mas importanteng mga proyekto sa gobyerno ngadto sa iyang kampanya pagseguro sa iyang kadaogan sa eleksiyon sa niaging tuig.   Nilingiw ang mga botante sa makauuwaw niyang pagpabaha sa kuwarta para sa nagkalainlain niyang gimik kay para nila mas mameligro ang nasud kon modaog ang nag-unang kaatbang nga si Fernando Poe Jr.

Kon nahibawo pang mga botante nga kabahin diay sa kuwarta sa gobyerno gigasto para sa higanteng maniobra ni kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano paglubag sa resulta sa eleksiyon sa Mindanao ug ubang bahin sa nasud, di kong kaseguro kon sama ba sila kamapasayluon.

-o0o-

        Karon, samang mga tilimad-on sa pagwaling sa nihit nang daan nga kuwarta sa lokal ug nasudnong panudlanan gikan sa mas dinalian ug mas importante untang mga proyekto ngadto sa iyang kampanya pagseguro nga magpabilin siya sa katungdanan.   Ang labing uwahing ebidensiya mao ang bantang, pabaga ug papating nga paghinakotay, pagpakaon ug pagsuburno sa gibanabanang 120,000 ka mga tawo nga nagtapok sa Luneta niadtong Sabado aron pag-abiba ni Presidente Arroyo:

·        Managsama ang kolor ug marka sa t-shirts ang mga tawong gipanghakot sa de-numerong mga sakyanan gikan sa nagkalainlaing bahin sa Metro Manila ug sa Luzon;

·        Mga ambulant vendors nangreklamo nga wa silay halin kay nagsobra ang pagkaon, tubig ug softdrinks nga giapod-apod sa tibuok Luneta;

·        Pipila sa mga nangapil niangkon nga napugos sila pagtambong kay gi-check ang ilang attendance ug gipangsaaran silag P1,500 para sa mga kawani sa gobyerno ug P500 para sa ordinaryong mga molupyo; ug

·        Kasagaran sa nanambong nagsige lang og tabi ug lakaw-lakaw, klarong wa maapil sa bayad nga mamakpak sila matag higayon nga dayegon sa stage si Presidente Arroyo.

-o0o-

        Sa pikas nga bahin, di ko andam nga manalipod nga wa panghakota ug pangsuburnohi ang mga nanambong sa rally sa oposisyon sa Makati City niadtong Miyerkules.   Tradisyonal sang mga politiko sila si Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay ug ubang lider sa oposisyon.

        Maong masulub-on kaayo kon ang kinabag-an igo lang magtan-aw sa duha ka grupo nga nibasura sa tanang lagda sa kaligdong aron pagdason sa ilang nagkasungi nga pangangkon nga silay gipaluyohan sa mayoriya.

-o0o-

        Di hangtod sa hangtod nga magpakahilom ang kinabag-an.  Moabot rang higayon nga ipahamtang ang ilang kabubut-on.

        Kumbinsido na sila nga nanikas si Presidente Arroyo sa niaging elksiyon ug busa angay siyang pakanaugon sa Malakanyang.   Pero mas nagduda sila sa kaligdong sa mga mopuli pagduma sa nasud.

        Padayon kong nisalig sa kaligdong sa kinabag-an.  Di sila paspas, ni lantip ug makinaadmanon.   Pero way makasukol ni makapugong sa ilang hiniusang pagbarug ug paglihok.  [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Arangkada for July 17, 2005

 

                        TINGOG SA KATAWHAN

 

            Ang labing uwahing survey sa Social Weather Station (SWS) nga nagpakita nga 62% sa respondents niawhag na sa resignasyon ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo segurong isalikway na sab sa Malakanyang.   Pero kon toohan ang nang-resign nga mga sakop sa gabinete nga, kon mogawas nang resulta sa surveys nga nagpakita sa pagtibugsok sa popularidad sa presidente, ang tanang tigom sa Malakanyang gisentro sa pagtuki sa mga paagi ug mga programa nga mohimo sa presidente nga mas popular ngadto sa publiko, segurong makadugang ni sa way tulganay nga pagtukaw sa mga propagandista sa administrasyon unsaon pagpahumot ang nangalisbong administrasyon.

            Ang survey niadtong Hulyo 12-14 nakakuha sab ning mosunod nga mga tubag gikan sa 608 ka respondents gikan sa 17 ka syudad ug lungsod sa Metro Manila:

·        61% kumbinsido nga gisugo ni Presidente Arroyo si kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano pagtikas sa eleksiyon sa niaging tuig;

·        66% nagtoo nga ang lahugay sa gabinete gipasiugdahan sa presidente aron magpabilin siya sa gahom ug di aron pagpalambo sa nasud;

·        91% sa mga niawhag sa resignasyon ug 76% sa mga supak sa resignasyon uyon nga palagputon siya pinaagi sa impeachment;

·        62% uyon sa pagtukod sa Truth Commission; ug

·        45% ray nagtoo nga takos si Bise Presidente Noli de Castro.

-o0o-

            Ang surveys sa SWS, sama sa surveys sa Pulse Asia ug ubang research organizations, nagpakita nga lahi kaayo ang sentimento sa mga molupyo sa Metro Manila kay sa ilang mga opisyal.  Hapit tanang mayor kusganong nisuporta ni Presidente Arroyo ug niinsistir nga wa siyay nahimong bisan unsang kalapasan.   Pero makabungog nga mayoriya sa mga molupyo wa nay pagsalig niya ug gustong palagputon na siya sa Malakanyang.

            Sayop bang SWS ug Pulse Asia suma sa mga torotot sa Malakanyang?  Pero kon sayop pa, nganong gipabiyaan man sa presidente ang naandan ug mas mapuslanong mga gimbuhaton sa gabinete aron lang motabang niyag pamalandong unsaon pagbitik ang pagsalig sa katawhan?

O, sama sa naandan, wa mangonsulta ang mga politiko sa ilang mga molupyo sa ilang pagtila sa lapalapa sa ilang amo sa politika?  Nailad ba lang ang Malakanyang nga ang lokal nga mga opisyal maoy nagda sa tinuod nga tingog sa katawhan?  O ang Palasyo mismo maoy gusting momaniobra sa sitwasyon pinaagi sa pagpanghinaot nga ang abiba sa mga politiko makatabon sa mas lanog nga awhag sa publiko pagsilot sa tikasan nga presidente?

-o0o-

            Hinaot nga ang lokal nga mga opisyal sa Sugbo nangonsulta sab sa mga Sugbuanon sa wa pa sila mangangkon nga nahigugma ang Sugbo ni Presidente Arroyo.  

Kay kon gipalabi ang pagpabilib sa ilang amo, inay tumanon ang obligasyon pagrepresentar sa interes ug sentimento sa katawhan nga ilang girepresentahan, peligrong sama sa presidente isalikway sab sila sa kinabag-an.   [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Arangkada for July 16, 2005

 

TAPOLANG PROTESTA

 

Niang mga ebidensiya nga si Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, sukwahi sa iyang pasalig nga motingob na sa iyang panahon pagduma sa nasud ug pagpatuman sa gikinahanglang mga kausaban, nisentro sa tanan niyang paningkamot ug nigamit sa tanang kahimanan sa gobyerno aron paghaw-as sa iyang kaugalingon gikan sa nitibugsok nga popularidad ug seryusong hulga sa pagkalagpot gikan sa puwesto:

• Ginamit ang nihit nang daan nga nasudnon ug lokal nga panudlanan, ang tanang alyadong mga politiko, gikan sa mga mayor ug mga gobernador ngadto sa labing ubos nga opisyal sa barangay, gitapok sa Malakanyang, sa luhong hotels sa Metro Manila ug sa ubang urban centers sa nasud sama sa Sugbo aron pagdeklarar sa ilang way kamatayong suporta para sa presidente;
• Bisan sa gideklarar nga kaandam ni Presidente Arroyo pag-atubang ug pagtubag sa mga pasangil batok niya pinaagi sa impeachment process, ang alyadong mga kongresista wa nay kukaikog nga nangamang sa ilang kaubanan nga nipakita nag tilimad-on nga mopirma sa impeachment complaint batok sa presidente;

-o0o-

• Way pupanaganang nipalihok sa iyang mga itoy ug mga torotot paglawgaw sa Garci tapes, apil nang (1) Edgar Ruado, ang nagpailang chief of staff ni Kongresista Iggy Arroyo, nga nipirma og affidavit pag-angkon nga siyay gika-istorya sa presidente sa telepono, (2) Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson kinsa nikalit lag pakita sa "X" tapes sa giingong plano ni kanhi presidente Joseph Estrada pagpukan sa administrasyon ug pagpatay ni Presidente Arroyo, ug (3) binayrang mga sakop sa media ug text, phone ug Internet brigades nga nipabaha sa tradisyonal nga media ug cyberspace sa nangalisbong propaganda pagtabon sa pagpanikas sa presidente;
• Paghakot sa iyang mga loyalista sa Metro Manila, sa Sugbo ug ubang bahin sa nasud—nakatag-an mo, ginamit gihapon ang kuwarta sa gobyerno—aron pagmatuod nga mas daghan sila kay sa otro sang hinakot nga mga dumadapig sa politikanhong oposisyon sa Makati City; ug
• Pagamit sa militar ug kapolisan paghudlat sa mga grupong tinuorayng nagprotesta para sa dinalian niyang resignasyon, sama sa pagpaulbo nila og kanyon sa tubig ug bomba sa teargas para sa gatosan ka demonstrador sa Malakanyang sa Sugbo ug sa ilang pagtanggong sud sa pipila ka oras sa mga demonstrador gikan sa mga probinsiya sa Luzon.

-o0o-

Niang mga ebidensiya nga di hingpit ang determinasyon sa mga grupong niawhag sa resignasyon ni Presidente Arroyo:

• Wa sila magkahiusa kinsay moduma sa nasud kon mabakanteng katungdanan sa presidente;
• Ang tradisyonal nga mga politiko andam mosayaw sa Cha-Cha bisan magpabilin sa puwesto ang presidente; ug
• Ang mas ligdong untang grupo nilang kanhi presidente Corazon Aquino ug sa nang-resign nga mga sakop sa gabinete gustong mokanaog si Presidente Arroyo pero tapolan na silang moprotesta sa kadalanan. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Inquirer Editorial

VICE President Noli de Castro may yet become the pivot in the crisis besieging the presidency of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. If the President is booted out of office, the constitutional mantle will pass on to him. This seems to be the consensus of some influential players, such as former President Corazon Aquino, who have called for the President's resignation. And if an earlier Pulse Asia survey is to be believed, 60 percent of Filipinos are ready to accept De Castro as president, acting or real.

The prospect may be discomfiting to thinking Filipinos. To some people, even as vice president, De Castro has merely been "acting." Such is the distaste and repugnance for media personalities engendered by the presidency of Joseph Estrada and the candidacy of Fernando Poe Jr. that many remain in denial that, indeed, De Castro, is a heartbeat away from the presidency. The prospect is too "real" as to be surreal for some. Perhaps this is what the poets mean when they write about the "harshness of reality."

But isn't De Castro a broadcast personality, a journalist? Alas, if in other countries journalists are considered intellectuals whose opinions and positions are eagerly awaited to resolve social problems and crises, in the Philippines they are mere carnival sideshows. For how else would one explain the broadcast media's description of their programs as "infotainment"?

This same distrust for entertainers is the reason there seems to be few takers for the call of former Sen. Loren Legarda that De Castro step down because the election results were allegedly rigged in his favor. If she indeed won the vice-presidency, would she be any different from him? At ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp., they were both newsreaders. They made the news believable. In short, they were actors. Entertainers.

But the fact that a big majority of Filipinos are willing to have De Castro take over the reins of government only shows that they are committed to resolving the crisis within the bounds of the Constitution. It shows that people are repelled by calls to resolve the crisis by means that undermine our constitutional foundations.

The calls are diverse, but they amount to the same thing: extra-constitutional jabs that could only worsen rather than remedy the problem. Pangasinan Archbishop Oscar Cruz, retired Bishop Julio Labayen and a few Metro Manila bishops have called for a "transition" government, while leftist forces have either proposed a "junta" or a "council of state" that would take over the government once Ms Arroyo resigns or is ousted. What all of these calls presuppose is a constitutional order that is a shambles.

The Left cannot exactly be accused of revisionism. It really looks at the liberal democratic order as a failure, an artifice of governance. It does not recognize such an order because it derides its basis-popular elections-as an exercise in bourgeois boredom. In short, it does not recognize the Constitution. It does not recognize the democracy that forms and informs the expression of constitutionalism. It does not recognize this because democracy is popular, people-centered. The Left's calls for De Castro to step down and the establishment of a state council to govern the nation (presumably, the Left forms the majority in the council) show its bias for statism, for centralized authority, for single-party fixes.

As for the so-called "progressive" bishops, there's a quixotic dimension in their initiative to form a group consisting of a number of academics, intellectuals and other leaders of society who would manage the transition. Since the group is envisioned to screen applicants for the highest government positions, it is nothing more than a talent search committee. Which may be well and good, but from where will the committee derive its authority? Do clerics have to be involved in the minutiae of personnel management? Is it within the competence of bishops and priests to run government or dictate how it is run?

All of these questions crop up because denying the succession and transition provided by the Constitution creates a black hole of ifs and buts, of trial and error, of hits and misses. It's a power vacuum that adventurists and interlopers will be eager to fill. The majority of our people apparently crave certainty. They want the Constitution, with all its flaws, to be respected and followed.

©2005 www.inq7.net all rights reserved

Gloriagate Blogs

Posted by Alecks Pabico
PCIJ

LET a thousand (journalist) blogs bloom.

No doubt about it, the current political crisis rocking the Arroyo administration has made blogging, for all its unmediated, instantaneous and personal nature, an attractive reporting medium for Filipino journalists. Of course, the case for blogging journalists has already been made by the likes of Manuel L. Quezon III, Jove Francisco (By Jove!), Chin Wong ( Digital Life), Erwin Oliva (cyberbaguioboy), to name a few, even before we at the PCIJ started venturing into the blogosphere ourselves.

Recent welcome additions to the journalist blogging community are GMA Network's Howie Severino (Side Trip with Howie Severino), who has a blog on blogs today, and Philippine Daily Inquirer's editorialist John Nery (Newsstand). Much earlier, we also saw GMA reporters coming out with blogs of their own — Tina Panganiban-Perez ( crimson page) and Joseph Morong (Essays and Other Lullabies). The media network is said to be encouraging its reporters to go into blogging.

Another journalist has also been blogging anonymously since May at The Early Edition.

While the mainstream media based in Metro Manila seem slow in grasping the potential of blogging as an important addition to the journalistic toolkit, interesting developments have happened elsewhere. In Cebu, Sun.Star has spiced up its coverage of "Gloriagate" by launching the Citizen Watch: The Arroyo Presidency blog. There's also dyAB, the first radio station (as far as I know) that is complementing all its programs with blogs ( dyAB Abante Bisaya). 

Chavit's Turn

Posted by Luz Rimban 
PCIJ

Things are getting curiouser and curiouser.

First it was the battle of the press statements. Then it was the war of news conferences. Then they launched the battle of the rallies. Today, it was the war of the wiretapped conversations, the latest engagement in the battle of pirated CDs.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis "Chavit" Singson, a diehard supporter of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, yesterday released to the media what he said was a wiretapped conversation in which former President Joseph Estrada appears to have approved a plan to assassinate Mrs. Arroyo and do away with former President Fidel Ramos.

Singson said two persons he did not know had given him copies of the CDs containing a wiretapped phone call supposedly made by Estrada in May 2004 to former armed forces chief Joselin Nazareno. He told reporters that this was part of the unreleased segments of the "mother of all tapes" in the possession of former National Bureau of Investigation deputy director Samuel Ong, the same tape from which the "Hello, Garci" conversations came.

Reporters lapped up the handful of CDs Singson brought along for distribution to the press. The CDs were stamped with labels: they were entitled "The X-Tapes" and even had a caricature of President Joseph Estrada, as well as a playlist of the six cuts in the CD, the last of which was the wiretapped Estrada conversation.

The first five cuts of the CD included a call in which Estrada inquired from Nazareno, who seemed to be the one being tapped, about the results of the 2004 count. Another call had an Estrada aide talking to a politician or political operative in Mindanao. Senator Panfilo Lacson said in an interview with DZMM that these calls appeared to have been recorded by the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines with the cooperation of Smart, the mobile-phone company. (The Smart spokesman subsequently denied they had cooperated with ISAFP.)

The last cut, where Estrada supposedly plots the president's assassination, sounds suspect, as the sound quality is noticeably clearer than those of the other cuts. Lacson insisted this was a manufactured conversation and so did Senator Jinggoy Estrada.

Over GMA Channel 7, the younger Estrada called Chavit's revelations a "diversionary tactic meant to shift public attention to Erap." Jinggoy said that in his father's long years of public service, had not heard of Erap plotting the murder of anyone. The same could not be said of the man who released the tape, Jinggoy said, referring to Singson.

In the alleged conversation, a voice, supposedly Nazareno's, told his caller, supposedly Estrada, that Lacson had approved a plan to remove "pandak" (midget) and replace her with a "tanda" (crone) through a transition government.

The first voice then said "tanda" would get sick, leading the way for Estrada's return to power. Tanda was apparently a reference to Ramos.

Beside Singson at the press conference was Ramon "RJ" Jacinto, former Lakas congressional candidate and owner of radio station DZRJ. In 2001,at the height of EDSA 2, Jacinto was also responsible for coming out with anti-Estrada CDs containing songs lampooning the former action star. He is also a staunch Arroyo supporter.

Early yesterday morning, text messages sent to journalists already announced that DZRJ would be playing wiretapped CDs implicating Estrada.

This latest release appears to be an attempt by the President's supporters to muddy the trail and confuse the public mind. It was apparently released in an attempt to draw public attention away from the "Hello, Garci" tapes and a recent revelation that the president had talked to Garcilliano about padded votes or dagdag.

Meanwhile, in Malacanang earlier today, a feisty Mrs. Arroyo lashed back at her critics and accused them of having no plan of action, merely a "blueprint for obfuscation."

"Even if people don't like me right now, neither will they follow a road to nowhere," she said in an uncharacteristically animated and forceful manner. In a meeting with some 500 Filipino-Americans gathered at Malacanang's Rizal Hall, the president also announced her endorsement of constitutional change and a restructuring of the Cabinet to allow her, she said, to focus on the business of reforms. She named erstwhile NEDA chief Romulo Neri head of the budget department and banker Peter Favila  secretary of trade and industry. She  did not, however, announce a timetable for charter change and made no commitment to calling elections earlier than the end of her term in 2010.

She sidestepped these issues, instead promising more doleouts, in an apparent bid to win more public support.  These included cheap rice to be sold in National Food Authority rolling stores, subsidies to local governments that would allow them to extend Philhealth cards for another year, and a road construction program to give jobs to the unemployed.

 The measures did not include the demands the Cabinet members who resigned last week had made of the president, among them, a revamp of government to rid it of those associated with First Gentleman Mike Arroyo. The president's speech was more like something she usually gave out while on the campaign stump. It was apparently intended to show she was in control and it was business as usual.

Arangkada for July 15, 2005

 

GASTO SA SUPORTA

 

Ang pagarpar sa lokal nga mga opisyal nga nahigugma ang Sugbo kang Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo gisukwahi sa mas lanog nga mensahe sa ilang mga aksiyon. Gawas nga gibabagan og barbed wire ang agianan atubangan sa "Malakanyang sa Sugbo," gigamitan pa gyod og puwersa ang pagbungkag sa mga demonstrador nga niawhag sa resignasyon sa presidente.

Nganong barbed wire may gibawos sa Malakanyang kon tinuod nga mahigugmaong gigakos sa mga Sugbuanon ang presidente? Ug gipaulbo bang kanyon sa tubig ug bomba tear gas kay nahadlok silang makit-an sa tibuok nasud ug kalibotan nga di diay tanang Sugbuanon nahigugma sa presidente?

-o0o-

Ang paglumbaanay sa lokal nga mga opisyal pagpadayag sa ilang suporta ni Presidente Arroyo di makatabang sa nagtakilid na natong ekonomiya. Ang namiyahok nang daan nga panudlanan sa gobyerno gisamotan pa gyod og kilkil sa mga politiko para sa dagkong gasto sa ilang pagbutang og streamers, pag-organisar ug mga delegasyon paingon sa Malakanyang, mga parada ug rallies sa ilang mga lugar para sa presidente.

Pilay gasto sa mga gobernador sa Kabisay-an sa ilang biyahe paingon sa luhong hotel sa Sugbo aron lang pagtuman sa diktar sa Malakanyang nga isiyagit ang binuang-ug-klarong-panghudlat-lang nilang plano pagtukod og buwag nga Visayas Republic kon mapalagpot si Presidente Arroyo?

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Kumbinsido si kanhi gobernador Lito Osmena sa Sugbo nga nanikas si Presidente Arroyo sa niaging eleksiyon. Labaw pa siyang kumbinsido nga bakakong dako ang presidente. Pero nagtoo sab siyang maluwas ang presidente gikan sa krisis nga naghulgang mopalagpot niya sa katungdanan.

Matod ni Osmena ang bugtong lusot parang Arroyo mao ang dinaliang pag-usab sa konstitusyon, nga mas maayong maglakip sa pag-usab sa sistema sa gobyerno gikan sa presidential ngadto sa federal. Nipasabot si Osmena nga mao ra ni ang makapakumbinser sa politikanhong mga partido sa paghatag og lugway sa presidente ug paglingiw na lang gikan sa higante niyang mga bulilyaso.

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Pero ang pasidaan ni Osmena nga di hingpit nga kasaligan ang panumpa ni Presidente Arroyo pagsuporta sa gisugyot nga kausaban sa konstitusyon, tungod sa daghan nang mga bakak nga iyang gisabod sa publiko, nakaangkon dayon og lab-as nga sukaranan dihang niinsistir si Rigoberto Tiglao, ang pangu sa Presidential Management Staff nga ang pag-uyon sa presidente sa charter change wa magpasabot nga uyon sab siyang laslasan ang iyang termino.

Sa ato pa, wa gyoy katagbawan ang presidente. Inay magpasalamat sa sugyot ni kanhi presidente Fidel Ramos nga maoy nakaluwas sa iyang administrasyon sa niaging semana, gusto sang motiwas sa iyang termino sa 2010 ug mopahimus sa tanang makabuhong nga mga benepisyo sa labing taas nga katungdanan sa nasud.

Kon lain gyod og sabaw si Arroyo, nipasidaan si Osmena nga dali ra kaayong bakwion sa politikanhong mga partido ang ilang suporta ug hingpit nang mahugno ang administrasyon. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Arangkada for July 14, 2005

 

P2M NI DOBLE

 

Kon nagsulti sa tinuod si Marietta Santos, ang uyab ni T/Sgt. Vidal Doble, di kahadlok sa seguridad ray nakapugong ni Atty. Samuel Ong, kanhi deputy director sa National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), pag-atubang sa Kongreso nga nagsusi sa audio recording sa istorya nilang Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ug kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

Maglisod si Ong pagpasabot nganong gibayran niyag P2 milyones si Doble bugti sa "mother of all tapes." Diin man gikan ang kuwarta? Kinuha ba lang ni Doble gikan sa hangin o may sukaranan ang pasangil nga gikang Laarni Enriquez, kabit ni kanhi presidente Joseph Estrada, ang dakong kuwarta?

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Dugang eskandalusong mga detalye sa kinabuhi ni Doble nga nitumaw human nabisto nga usa siya sa nag-wiretap sa cellular phone ni Garcillano nga gitawgan sa presidente ka-15 ka higayon niadtong Mayo ug Hunyo sa niaging tuig:

• Tulo ang iyang babaye, si Santos maoy numero tres, wa pa mailhing numero dos;
• Napugos si Doble pagawas sa San Carlos Seminary diin siya nitago uban nilang Ong ug Santos kay nakuha sa Intelligence Services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) ang iyang tinuod nga asawa, si Arlene, ug duha nila ka anak gikan sa Kidapawan;
• Mahimong natental si Doble pagbaligya sa Garci tapes kay kanunayng kuwang ang kuwarta tungod sa iyang ka-bohemyo; ug
• Nahibung ang iyang kaubanan sa ISAFP nga nikalit lag kadaghang kuwarta ni Doble pila ka semana sa wa pa iwara-wara ni Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye sa Malakanyang ang iyang kopya sa Garci tapes.

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Gawas sa pagsalikway ni Santos sa pangangkon ni Doble nga gidagit silang Ong ug gitanggong sa seminaryo, gibisto sa Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) ang pagkaduhig ni Doble sa away sa duha ka inilang obispo sa Simbahang Katoliko: Silang Teodoro Bacani ug Socrates Villegas.

Si Bacani maoy nipasud nilang Doble, Santos ug Ong sa seminaryo; samtang si Villegas maoy nikuha ni Doble sa seminaryo ug nitugyan niya sa kasundalohan nga nagda og armored personnel carrier.

-o0o-

Mas unang nakakuha sa Garci tapes kay nilang kanhi senador Francisco Tatad ug Atty. Allan Paguia, kansang kopya maoy gipaminaw sa mga kongresista, silang Senador Panfilo Lacson ug kanhi solicitor general Frank Chavez. Gihatag ni Tatad ang iyang kopya ngadtong Paguia Mayo 15 ning tuiga, ilang Lacson ug Chavez sa Abril pa. Posibleng mas sayong niabot ang kopya ni Tatad pero Mayo na siyang niabot gikan sa gawas sa nasud.

Si Chavez dunay bersiyon giunsa pagkuha sa Malakanyang ang ilang kopya sa Garci tapes: Silang NBI Director Reynaldo Wycoco ug kanhi NBI 7 director Reynaldo Esmeralda maoy nipabati ini nilang Presidente Arroyo ug Bunye sa Malakanyang. Nahugno ang presidente ug si Bunye maoy nag-una-una pagpabati sa publiko sa peke nga bersiyon. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Yung Dagdag! Yung Dagdag!

Posted by Sheila Coronel 
PCIJ

THE president's voice sounded urgent. She was muttering under her breath. This morning, using sound enhancement, we listened again to the "Hello, Garci" recording and heard clearly for the first time what Mrs. Arroyo told election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano in a conversation that took place at 11:17 p.m. on May 31, 2004.

That phone call began with the President relaying to Garcillano the information that the opposition was trying to get Namfrel (National Citizens Movement for Free Elections) copies of municipal certificates of canvass. Garcillano reassured her that Namfrel is "now sympathetic to us."

The president's reply is garbled in the recording, as she lowered her voice and muttered. We asked a sound engineer to enhance the sound for us. We listened again and this is what we heard her telling Garcilliano: "… Namfrel does not tally… pero yun nga, yung dagdag, yung dagdag (but you know, the padding, the padding)."

[PCIJ didn't put this in earlier versions of the transcript because we were not sure until now.]

This is the only time in all the 15 phone calls that Mrs. Arroyo made to Garcillano between May 26 and June 10 that she actually used the word, dagdag.

Some of the president's calls dealt with her anxiety about the count and her winning margin ("Will I still get more than 1 M?" she famously asked "Garci" at 9:23 a.m. on May 29).

The May 31 phone call was more direct. She actually referred to votes being padded. While she did not directly say that she had directed the padding or that she knew her votes had been padded, the purpose of the conversation appears to be to assuage her worry that the padding would not discovered if the Namfrel documents did not tally with the certificates of canvass.

Many of the presidential calls in the Hello Garci tapes dealt with Mrs. Arroyo's concern that the count reflected in various election documents — statements of votes and certificates of canvass — did not match. She expressed this worry about the documents from Basilan, Lanao del Sur and Sulu. She was worried because the mismatch in the figures might be seen by the opposition and used by them in alleging fraud by the ruling party.

The particular conversation where she talked about dagdag seems to be along the same lines. She was fretting about the possibility that the opposition would get hold of Namfrel documents (Namfrel gets the sixth copy of the precinct-level election returns) and discover that these do not match with the certificates of canvass, which contain the aggregated counts of all the precincts in a municipality, city or province.

This is why Garcillano had to reassure the president that Namfrel is "now sympathetic to us."

In her reply, she wanted more reassurance. "Pero yun nga, yung dagdag, yung dagdag," she said.

When this call was made on May 31, most of the certificates of canvass had already been submitted to Congress. It would have meant trouble if the count reflected in these certificates were questioned either by Namfrel or the opposition, based on their own copies of the election returns. At this point, the president seemed to be concerned about two things: 1) that the spurious documents would not be discovered; and 2) that the counts in the places where special elections were held and the counting delayed would show her as the winner.

Special elections were conducted in late May in some towns and barangay in Basilan, Lanao del Sur, Lanao del Norte, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. Some of the president's phone calls dealt with the counting in these places.

The content of those phone calls was previously reported in this blog. Here are the transcript and enhanced audio of the "dagdag" phone call.

Conversation between Gary (V. Garcillano) and an unidentified female believed to be GMA (Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) on 31 23:17 hotel May 2004

Garcillano: Hello, ma'am.

GMA: Hello, tsaka ano yung kabila, they're trying to get the Namfrel copies of the Municipal COCs.

Garcillano: Namfrel copies ho?

GMA: Uhm-um.

Garcillano: Ay wala naman, ok naman ang Namfrel sa atin. They are now sympathetic to us.

GMA (mumbling): Oo, oo … (garbled) …Namfrel does not tally. Pero yun nga, yung dagdag, yung dagdag.

Garcillano: Oho, we will get an advance copy ho natin kung anong hong kwan nila.

GMA: Oo, oo.

Garcillano: Sige po.

Arangkada for July 13, 2005

 

CYBER PROTEST

 

Niadtong Biyernes, dihang katumbahon nang administrasyon ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, gilusad ang signature campaign sa cyberspace pag-awhag sa presidente pag-resign. Ang GMA Resign Now! ( http://www.gmaresignnow.com/) gisugdan ni Vicente Romano III, ang utok sa eLagda nga dakog natampo sa pagpalagpot ni kanhi presidente Joseph Estrada niadtong 2001. Sa akong pagsuwat ini, ang nakapirma sa petisyon sa gitawag ni Romano nga "moral majority" niabot nag dul-an sa 20,000.

Si Romano niawhag sab sa mga grupo sa pagtukod sa ilang signature stations ginamit ang kopya sa petisyon ug signature sheets nga ma-download gikan sa website. Salamat ni Romano, duna nay kapahungawan ang katawhan nga di maato sa pagpaminaw sa tradisyonal nga media sa ilang sentimento sa krisis nga nihakop karon sa nasud.

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Gipatin-aw ni Romano ang sukaranan sa kampanya: "Naminaw mi sa tapes. Nibasa mi sa transcripts. Nagtoo ming ang pakigsulti ni Presidente Arroyo kang (kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio) Garcillano labaw pa sa "lapse in judgment." Ug kay gitudlo man sa presidente si Garcillano sa Comelec bisan gikaintapan nga "tikasan," klarong giplano nang daan ang pagpanikas.

Mahimo tang modangop sa impeachment. Pero ang tandugong sitwasyon mahimong modasig sa pipila ka grupo pagsakmit sa gahom sa ilegal nga paagi. Ug tungod sa kahuyang na sa presidente, nagtoo ming wa na siyay katakos pagduma, labi na sa pag-usab sa nasud ngadto sa lig-ong Republika.

Ang bugtong mahimo ni Presidente Arroyo mao ang pag-resign karon dayon, aron mapatuman ang lagda sa succession sa konstitusyon. Pinaagi ini, mahimong maluwas pa niyang Republika. Kon nagtoo ka, sama namo, nga si Presidente Arroyo kinahanglang mo-resign karon dayon, kuyog sa moral majority."

-o0o-

Gitubag sang Romano ang pipila ka pangutana:

• Nganong di man mong kapasaylo sa presidente? Nanikas siya. Bisan unsa niya katakos, ug bisan unsa kataphaw ang mopuli niya, imoral ang pagtugot sa pagpabilin sa lider nga mahimong di maoy tinuod nga presidente;
• Nganong di man paatubangon ang presidente sa impeachment? Si Gloria ang sentro sa krisis. Kon mo-resign siya, mawad-an nag sukaranan ang mga protesta;
• Kasaligan bang mopuli niya? Si Noli de Castro. Kon mo-resign sab siya, si Franklin Drilon. Bisan kinsa nila makahunong sa mga protesta. Kon magpabilin si Gloria, dako ang kahigayonan sa kudeta o people power. Ug ang modaog maoy magpili kinsay sunod nga mangu sa nasud;
• Di kasaligan si de Castro. Unsa man diay imong gusto, ang junta o si Erap? Si Noli wa pay eskandalo, way koneksiyon sa oposisyon ug popular sa masa;
• Kon mopirma ko, makumbinser ba si Gloria pag-resign? Way garantiya. Pero igo nang mahibawo siya nga ang mayoriya sa katawhan di molingiw sa iyang binuang. Kon di siya mo-resign, mahimong ang mayoriya sa gabinete maoy makumbinser pagbakwi sa ilang suporta niya. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Gloria Resign Campaign

Posted by Alecks Pabico
PCIJ

REMEMBER eLagda? In 2000, the "dotcom movement" led by IT professional Vicente Romano III tried to gather one million sign-ups in 21 days to be sent electronically to then Pres. Joseph's Estrada to call for his resignation. Unable to gather enough signatures as a consequence of non-cybersavvy protesters and a president who, Romano thought, probably didn't read anyway, the groups' efforts shifted to an email barrage campaign that targeted government officials still supporting Estrada at the time, particularly the senator-judges in his impeachment trial.

Today, the same people behind eLagda have come up with another online petition-signing campaign  to clamor for Pres. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down. On its website " Save the Republic, GMA Resign Now!" is a statement that reads:

We listened to the tapes. We read the transcripts. We believe GMA's conversation with Garcillano was more than just a lapse in judgment. And when you consider the fact that GMA appointed Garcillano as Comelec Commissioner in spite of his notoriety as an "operator" (one who engineers wide-scale electoral cheating), we can only conclude that the cheating was pre-meditated.

We can, of course, go through the process prescribed by law — impeachment. Meanwhile, however, we have a politically volatile situation that might encourage some sectors to pursue extra-constitutional means to seize power. And given the extent of damage on GMA's moral ascendancy, we believe she has lost the capacity to govern, much less the ability to transform this nation to a strong Republic.

The only decent thing for GMA to do is to RESIGN NOW, and let the constitutional process of succession take effect. By doing this, she can at least save the Republic.

If you believe, as we do, that GMA should RESIGN NOW, join the MORAL MAJORITY in petitioning GMA to RESIGN NOW.

As of July 8, 2005, the site has attracted 17,881 petitioners representing 17,268 individuals and nine organizations — a curious mix that includes the Judy Ann Santos Fans Club (with 5,000 members) , ERAP Fans Club (6,991), Bangon Pilipinas-Progresibong Kristiano (5,000), and Kapwersa Brotherhood (170).

CNN/Time Poll: Gloria Resign!

MANILA, Philippines (CNN) -- A majority of people surveyed this month say Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should not complete her presidential term, according to a new CNN/Time poll.

Additionally, the survey found that opposition to the Philippine leader fell and rose along age lines.

Of the 600 people surveyed in the poll, conducted by TNS during the past week, 57.5 percent said Arroyo should quit.

The poll was taken July 2-5, and had a margin of error of 4.1 percent. TNS is a London-based international polling company.

The results come as Arroyo faces mounting pressure to step down, following allegations of cheating in the 2004 presidential election.

She is accused of talking to an election official about ensuring a million-vote victory in the vote. Arroyo won re-election in 2004.

She won a reprieve of sorts on Sunday, when a group of influential Roman Catholic bishops declined to demand her resignation, saying no single option could be deemed "morally correct."

In the CNN/Time poll, people were asked, "Do you think President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo should or should not complete her six-year presidential term?"

Of the poll's respondents, 37.7 percent of those surveyed said they believed she should complete her term. A further 4.7 percent of people did not know.

Calls for her resignation fell along age lines in the CNN/Time. Among the poll's findings:

62 percent of those asked who were between 18-24 said she should not complete her term;

Nearly 63 percent of respondents aged 25-34 said Arroyo should not complete her term;

Approximately 61 percent of respondents aged 35-44 said Arroyo should not complete her term;

Nearly 54 percent of respondents aged 45-54 said she should step down;

And, 41.5 percent of respondents 65 and older said Arroyo should not finish her term.

Arangkada for July 12, 2005

 

BRASO UG BAKAK

 

Atol sa tigom sa gabinete niadtong Hulyo 5, usa ka buwan human giwarawara ni Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye ang audio recording sa giingong panag-istorya nilang Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo ug kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, ug usa ka semana human nangayog pasaylo ang presidente sa iyang pakig-istorya sa usa ka "opisyal sa Comelec" aron "pagpanalipod sa iyang mga boto," nakugang ang ligdong nga mga sakop sa gabinete sa bag-ong direksiyon nga giumol sa Malakanyang aron pag-alkontra sa lapad nga mga protesta para sa resignasyon ni Presidente Arroyo:

• Ang pasigehon nag atubang sa media mao silang Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte, Ilocos Sur Governor Chavit Singson ug Puerto Princesa City Mayor Edward Hagedorn, samtang ang mobanos pagduma sa krisis mao nang retiradong mga heneral nga sila si Interior Secretary Angelo Reyes, Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza ug Highways Secretary Hermogenes Ebdane, aron pagpakita sa "dagkong braso" sa administrasyon; ug
• Gisubli ang sugyot, nga natuki na sa nangaging mga tigom sa gabinete, nga mogahin sila og dakong kuwarta aron ipamayad sa mga sakop sa media pagseguro nga mayoriya sa mga magsisibya ug mga peryodista mopabor sa pagpabilin ni Presidente Arroyo sa katungdanan.

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Kon tinuod ang pangangkon sa nang-resign nga mga sakop sa gabinete nga gipangulohan ni Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima, di na ta maglibog nganong way tihiktihik ang panghudlat ug panghaylo nga gipabaha sa administrasyon sa pag-ulbo sa labing uwahing eskandalo nga nitay-og sa administrasyon. May sukaranan ang ilang kahadlok nga di managana ang Malakanyang pagamit og puwersa ug busa mamahimong duguon kon molapad ang umaabot nga mga protesta batok sa administrasyon.

Ang nagkadungan nga panghudlat nilang Duterte, Singson ug Hagedorn pagbuwag gikan sa republika kon palagputon gyod si Presidente Arroyo sa katungdanan di diay inosenteng pasidaan sa lokal nga mga opisyal nga nanalipod sa ilang lider. Kabahin na diay to sa agresibong propaganda sa pamakak nga gilusad sa Malakanyang aron paghadlok ug pag-ilad sa kinabag-an.

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Ang kuwartang gipabaha sa Malakanyang para sa mga sakop sa media niresulta na. Wa pasayloa silang kanhi presidente Cory Aquino ug ang mga sakop sa gabinete nga nang-resign sa makalilisang nga pagpanamastamas ug pakauwaw nga gilusad sa mga torotot sa presidente.

Angayng pahinumdoman si Presidente Arroyo sa leksiyon sa kasaysayan nga mahimong iyang nataligam-an. Napamatud-an sa pagkapukan sa diktadura ni kanhi presidente Ferdinand Marcos duha ka dekada nang nilabay nga way bisan unsa kagamhanan sa hulga ug bakak nga makapiog sa katawhang nahigmata na.

Si Presidente Arroyo, sama ni Marcos, nitoo sa iyang kaugalingong propaganda. Nakumbinser nga makalingkawas sa panudya sa bangis nga krimen nga iyang nahimo batok sa katawhan pinaagi sa pagtapok sa tradisyonal nga mga politiko. Nga kon maapiki na, segurong manglayat ngadto sa bag-ong mga agawon nga ilang ka-ulog-ulogan. [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com

Gloria's Statement

I GIVE thanks to the bishops for their statement of guidance and wisdom. I appreciate their collective voice of moderation and temperance at this time of national soul-searching. I will read every line and everything between the lines of the bishops' statement in our effort to bring moral enrichment for a nation impoverished both in its material and spiritual foundations.

I shall continue to pray with the Filipino people for true redemption from corruption and evil. I've searched deeply for moral discernment. The second letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians rings true for me: I cannot boast about myself except about my weaknesses. But I know in faith that in my own weakness His power can be made perfect in me to help me become the servant-president for you in the way He wants me to be.

We must also focus on getting our economy moving. I will work with the church, members of civil society, and all others to help build a better quality of life for the people of the Philippines, and to put an end to the political bickering that is causing such harm to our nation.

Once more, I pledge you everything within my power to earn your enduring trust and support.

Once again, beloved bishops, thank you.

CBCP Statement

1. As a people we seem to have passed from crisis to crisis in one form or another. For many analysts, reinforcing these crises are ambivalent cultural values such as palakasan, pakikisama, utang na loob, and family-centeredness. As Bishops we have long contended that the crises that we have suffered are basically moral--the lack of moral values in ourselves, in our relationships, in our social structures.

2. Today we are beset with yet another political crisis of such magnitude as to polarize our people and attract them to various options ranging from the extreme right to the extreme left. In this grave situation, various groups take advantage of one another, manipulate situations for their own agenda and create confusion among our people sometimes by projecting speculation or suspicion as proven fact, with the aim of grabbing power.

3. At the center of the crisis is the issue of moral value, particularly the issue of trust. The people mistrust our economic institutions which place them under the tyranny of market forces whose lack of moral compass produces for our people a life of grinding dehumanizing poverty. They also mistrust yet another key institution – our political system. This mistrust is not recent. For a long time now, while reveling in political exercises, our people have shown a lack of trust in political personalities, practices, and processes. Elections are often presumed tainted rather than honest. Congressional and senate hearings are sometimes narrowly confined to procedural matters and often run along party lines. Politics has not effectively responded to the needs of the poor and marginalized.

4. This question of trust in national institutions has taken a critical urgency with the resignation of some key Cabinet members, the realignment of political parties and the creation of new alliances. Amid this realignment of forces we commend the clear official stand of our military and police authorities who reiterated their loyalty to our Constitution that forbid them from engaging in partisan politics.

5. Moreover with academe, business, professional and civil society varied positions have been taken with regard to President Macapagal Arroyo. Some want her to resign; others want her to go through due process. Some want a Truth Commission. Others impeachment. Some want a constitutional process and others an extra-constitutional process. On the other hand there is also a wide manifestation of support for the chief executive by a cross section of society.

6. Today, we ask ourselves, "As bishops what can we offer to our people? Can we provide some clarity and guidance in the present confusing situation?" We can only answer these questions from who we are. We are not politicians who are to provide a political blueprint to solve political problems. Rather we are Bishops called by the Lord to shepherds the people in the light of faith. With Pope Benedict XVI we do not believe in the "intrusion into politics on the part of the hierarchy." But we are to interpret human activities such as economics and politics from the moral and religious point of view, from the point of view of the Gospel of Jesus end of the Kingdom of God. We are to provide moral and religious guidance to our people. This is what we offer in the present crisis. Not to do this would be an abdication of our duty.

Our Pastoral Role and Our Stand

7. In the welter of conflicting opinions and positions our role is not to point out a specific political option or a package of options as the Gospel choice, especially so when an option might be grounded merely on a speculative and highly controvertible basis. In the present situation we believe that no single concrete option regarding President Macapagal Arroyo can claim to be the only one demanded by the Gospel. Therefore, in a spirit of humility and truth, we declare our prayerfully discerned collective decision that we do not demand her resignation. Yet neither do we encourage her simply to dismiss such a call from others. For we recognize that non-violent appeals for her resignation, the demand for a Truth Commission and the filing of an impeachment case are not against the Gospel.

8. In all these we remind ourselves that a just political and moral order is best promoted under the present circumstances by a clear and courageous preference for constitutional processes that flow from moral values and the natural law. Hence, we also appeal to the people, especially their representatives and leaders, to discern their decisions not in terms of political loyalties but in the light of the Gospel values of truth, justice and the common good. We urge our people in our parish and religious communities, our religious organizations and movements, our Basic Ecclesial Communities to come and pray together, reason, decide and act together always to the end that the will of God prevail in the political order. People of good will and credibility who hold different political convictions should come together and dialogue in order to help move the country out of its present impasse. We believe with Pope Benedict XVI that through prayer the Filipino people and their political representatives and leaders guided by moral principles are capable of arriving at decisions for the common good that are based not only on political realities but above all on moral precepts.

9. Yet having said this we wish to subject specific situations to moral inquiry to guide our people in deepening their moral discernment.

Restoring Moral Values

10. On Moral Accountability: "Political authority is accountable to the people. Those who govern have the obligation to answer to the governed " (Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, 408) President Macapagal Arroyo has admitted and apologized for a "lapse [in] judgment" for calling a COMELEC official. The admission further eroded the people's trust on the already suspected electoral system and raised serious questions on the integrity of the elections. Beyond apology is accountability, Indeed, with forgiveness is justice. To restore trust would require a thorough, credible and independent process to examine the authenticity of the so-called Garcillano tapes, verify any possible betrayal of public trust and mete out due punishment on all those found guilty. Punishment should also imposed on those duly found guilty of corruption and illegal acts, such as jueteng and wire tapping. Moral accountability calls for radical reforms in various agencies of the government to make them more responsive to the requirements of integrity as well as to the needs of the poor.

11. On Constitutionality: In the present crisis some calls are being made of measures that are counter-constitutional. The Constitution enshrines cherished values such as human dignity and the common good, freedom, the rule of law and due process. On this basis, we reject quick fixes that cater to selfish political agenda and advantage rather than to the common good. We deplore the attempts of those groups who seek to exploit our vulnerable national situation in order to create confusion and social chaos, in order to seize power by unconstitutional means. We reject calls for juntas or revolutionary councils. Our political leaders have to be the first to observe and faithfully implement the Constitution. Revolving the crisis has to be within the framework of the Constitution and the laws of the land so as to avoid social chaos, the further weakening of political systems, and greater harm in the future,

12. On Non-Violence: Violent solutions, as Pope Paul VI taught us, "produce new injustices, throw more elements out of balance, and bring on new disasters" (Populorum Progressio 31) There are today, on different sides of the social and political spectrum, those who would instigate violence in order to promote their own agenda or causes. We reject the use of force and violence as a solution to our problems. Such cannot be an option of the Gospel, for we know that Jesus the Lord taught a Gospel of Love and non-violence.

13. On Effective Governance: "Public authority in order to promote the common good… requires also the authority to be effective in attaining that end" (Pacem in Terris, ch. IV) Together with competence, personal integrity is one of the most necessary requirements of a leader. Ineffective governance may be due to a lack of personal integrity or lack of competence. It could also be the result of a confluence of factors that have eroded trust and credibility and hence effectiveness. In our present situation we recognize that blame could be attributed to many, even all of us. Yet we would ask the President to discern deeply to what extent she might have contributed to the erosion of effective governance and whether the erosion is so severe as to be irreversible. In her heart she has to make the necessary decision for the sake of the country. We all need to do the same, Indeed moral discernment is very difficult since it is not based on political allegiance and alignments but on moral considerations.

Conclusion

14. Dear People of God, sadness and anxiety were our feelings when we as Bishops first met to study on various aspects of the crisis. To confront the fears and hopelessness that are the daily companions of our poor is to realize that we of the Church likewise contributed to them by our neglect, our bias, our selfishness.

15. To respond to the pastoral situation we commit ourselves to a more effective evangelization in word and deed so that moral values might become dynamic forces of human life in economics, politics and culture. We especially commit ourselves to the formation of men and women endowed with competence and integrity and empowered to effective leadership in the economic and political spheres. With the Gospel of truth, justice, peace and love in their hearts they might, indeed, be a leaven of social transformation for our country.

16. This year of the Eucharist reminds us to the abiding, loving, and healing presence of the Lord Jesus in our midst. By the grace and mercy of God and the maternal protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary, we pray that a deep sense of hope will prevail in these dark moments of our history. Our loving God will not abandon us no matter what pit of evil we have fallen into. We shall emerge stronger from this crisis. We shall rise endowed with greater integrity. We shall be witnesses to the power of God's grace to transform us into a noble nation, a holier Church, a united people.

FOR THE CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF THE PHILIPPINES

Fernando R. Capalla, D.D. President Archbishop of Davao

Arangkada for July 11, 2005

 

ALAS NI RAMOS

 

       Kon mangutana mo nganong nagpabilin pa si Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa Malakanyang, bisan sa lapad ug sibaw nang awhag sa iyang resignasyon, usa sa posibleng tubag mao ang pagkabuakbuak sa mga grupo nga managlahi og plano unsay angayng mahitabo kon mokanaog na ang presidente sa katungdanan:

·        Si kanhi presidente Corazon Aquino, ang Makati Business Club, faction sa Liberal Party ug nang-resign nga mga sakop sa gabinete gustong tumanon ang konstitusyon ug si Bise Presidente Noli de Castro ang mopuli niya;

·        Ang politikanhong oposisyon gustong magdungan pag-resign silang Arroyo ug de Castro usa ka caretaker council ang mopuli pagduma sa nasud; ug

·        Ang cause oriented groups nagplano pagtukod og transitory o revolutionary government nga maglakip sa tanang grupo nga nakigbatok sa administrasyon.

-o0o-

       Ang kahanap sa plano nga ipatuman kon mobiya na si Presidente Arroyo sa Malakanyang, bisan human motalikod sa presidente ang iyang suod nga mga alyado—ang nahibilin sa presidente mao na lang ang tradisyonal nga mga politico—nakahatag ni kanhi presidente Fidel Ramos og kahigayonan pagpagawas sa iyang alas.

       Sa di pa mag-piyesta ang mga loyalista ni Presidente Arroyo pagdeklarar ni Ramos nga manluluwas sa naapiking presidente, pahinumdoman ko namo nga grupo ra sang Ramos maoy usa sa nagsugnod sa pagtumaw sa sitwasyon nga nakahulga ni Arroyo.   Silang Heneral Fortunato Abat ug kanhi budget secretary Salvador Enriquez, mga batabata ni Ramos, maoy nagsugod sa awhag nga palagputon si Arroyo.  Si Ramos wa mokihol pagbadlong nila.

-o0o-

       Ang alternatibo nga gitanyag ni Ramos sa dihang niadto siya sa Malakanyang niadtong Biyernes sa hapon—kanus-a gitoohan nga hapit na malumpag nang Administrasyong Arroyo—dakong tamparos sa presidente.   Kon mapatuman, si Ramos nay tinuod nga hawod.  Magpabilin tuod si Arroyo sa katungdanan pero gilaslas ni Ramos ang iyang termino hangtod na lang sunod tuig.

       Ug mora na lang siyang kiko sa Palasyo.  Nga igo na lang magpaabot kanus-a mahuman ang gisugyot ni Ramos nga High Commission ug mga sakop sa Kongreso nga molingkod isip constituent assembly pag-usab sa konstitusyon ug pagpatawag og bag-ong eleksiyon sunod tuig.

-o0o-

       Nganong napugos man si Presidente Arroyo pagdawat sa sugyot ni Ramos?   Kay wa siyay kapilian.  Ang alternatibo mao nga napalayas na unta siya sa Malakanyang niadtong Sabado.  Bahalag lameduck na lang, mas madanihon gihapon ang usa pa ka tuig nga lugway pagpabilin sa Malakanyang.

       Gawas pa, ug mao ni mas dakong insentibo, ang plano ni Ramos maoy labing lig-ong garantiya nga di siya gukdon ug prisuhon sa bag-ong gobyerno tungod sa giingong higanteng mga atraso sa iyang bana, anak ug bayaw.

       Duna hinuoy nahibilin nga problema:  Unsaon nila pagkumbinser ang katawhan nga ang alas ni Ramos maoy labing makiangayong lusot gikan sa Gloriagate?  [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com       

Crowd Out Glo

Posted by Luz Rimban 
PCIJ

IT wasn't a quiet weekend at the Palace, as Malacañang went into overdrive bashing the Cabinet secretaries who tendered their resignations yesterday.

Lakas Congressman Prospero Pichay, interviewed on radio, flung accusations of conflict of interest against Customs Commissioner Alberto Lina who Pichay says formed a company called LGC logistics involved in the importation of electronic products for the Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal (Calabarzon) Area.  

Pichay claims to have confronted Lina a month ago with the matter but according to Pichay, Lina wouldn't let go of a P100-million business.

Pichay also says former Customs Commissioner Guillermo Parayno, until yesterday the chief of the Bureau of Internal Revenue, was also an incorporator in the company.

Presidential Chief of Staff Rigoberto Tiglao, interviewed over GMA-7, also had some things to say about his former colleagues, who he said "chose to grandstand."

Just four days ago, Tiglao said, President Arroyo gave resigned Secretary of Trade Juan Santos the go-signal to pursue an anti-poverty program.  There was also Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima whose proposal for the privatization of PAGCOR was considered by the administration but found impossible to implement without legislation from Congress. Tiglao also chastised resigned National Anti Poverty Commission Chair Imelda Nicolas for leaving the commission high and dry amid all the work that needed to be done.

"Para akong sundalo sa kainitan nang labanan, pagtalikod ko umalis na ang mga kasama ko (I felt like a soldier in the middle of a war who suddenly turned to find myself abandoned by my comrades)," Tiglao said of his resigned former colleagues who were themselves busy giving press conferences and interviews today.

What has happened is that for now, the Palace has shifted the focus of contention and debate from the President to her former Cabinet and sub-Cabinet appointees, which just might give the news media more than enough space to crowd out the President.

Arangkada for July 10, 2005

 

           AFP DISTANSIYA NA

 

       Si Kongresista Roilo Golez, ang labing unang sakop sa administrasyon nga niawhag ni Presidente Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo sa pag-resign, dunay talagsaong mensahe ngadto sa Armadong Kusog ug sa kapolisan:   Ayaw mo pagpanghilabot sa nagpadayong krisis sa liderato sa nasud.  Ang linya ni Golez sukwahi sa mensahe sa mga lider sa Edsa 1 ug 2 nga bukas nga nidasig sa kasundalohan ug kapolisan sa pagsuporta sa pakigbisog sa katawhan pagpalagpot sa administrasyon.

       Mahimong igo lang nagsunod si Golez sa linya sa US ug sa dagkong mga negosyante nga ang bisan unsang kausaban sa nasudnong liderato kinahanglang ipasubay sa konstitusyon.  O tingali masaligon siya nga mapugos sa oposisyon ug sa civil society groups si Presidente Arroyo pag-resign bisan kon di mosuporta sa ilang kawsa ang kasundalohan ug kapolisan.

-o0o-

       Makahuloganon sab ang pagdeklarar ni AFP Chief Efren Abu, di lang kausa kon dili kaduha gyod, nga magpabilin silang neutral ug nga ang ilang ipatigbabaw mao ang konstitusyon.   Napapas nang nahaunang pasalig ni Abu sa pag-ulbo sa kontrobersiya nga hingpit silang nagsuporta ni Presidente Arroyo.

       Naatol ba lang o tinuyo gyod nga nagkatakdo ang bag-ong postura ni Abu ug ang pasidaan sa US batok sa radikal nga mga paagi pagpalagpot sa administrasyon?  Unsa may implikasyon sa neutrality sa AFP:  Nga di na sila mopagamit sa ilang kasundalohan ug armoured personnel carriers aron paghasi sa mga protesta batok sa administrasyon?

-o0o-

       Gipamatud-an ni PNP Chief Arturo Lomibao nga mas lunod-patay siya para sa presidente.   Wa siya maghisgot og neutrality, hinunoa nilab-as sa iyang hingpit nga suporta para ni Presidente Arroyo.  Ambot bilib ba lang gyod sa presidente o nakumbinser nga ang iyang papel sa niaging eleksiyon, nga nabisto sa kontrobersiyal nga audio recording sa panag-istorya nilang Presidente Arroyo ug kanhi Comelec Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, maoy garantiya nga bitayon siya sa sunod nga pamunoan.

       Pero ang kapolisan ni Lomibao di na sama kalunod-patay.   Wa na nila babagi ang kaliboan nga nagprotesta sa Makati.  Ang maayong balita para sa Malakanyang mao nga ang mga demonstrador, kasagaran nila gidudahang hinakot ni Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay, nagkatibuwaag dihang tingpanihapon na.

-o0o-

       Ang pagtapok ni Presidente Arroyo sa mga politiko sa Malakanyang aron magsige lang gihapon og aleluya niya, nakapahinumdom nako sa kataposang mga adlaw sa diktadura ni kanhi presidente Ferdinand Marcos sa 1986.

       Ang giisip nga kataposang lansang sa politikanhong lungon ni Presidente Arroyo mao ang gikahadlokan sa Malakanyang nga deklarasyon sa Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) pag-awhag sa presidente pagkanaog sa katungdanan.   Ang tingog sa simbahan, kon modason sa awhag nilang kanhi presidente Corazon Aquino ug sa Makati Business Club, gipaabot nga maoy mopabaha sa minilyon ka katawhan sa kadalanan aron mapugos na gyod si Arroyo sa paglayas.   [30]  leo_lastimosa@abs-cbn.com