By: Aquarius
Posted by: Lozenge
All Freedom Fighters:
The Biliranons have already spoken and have started the fight against corruption when they have given the mandate to Rep Glenn Chong, Mayor Susan V Parilla and a few other candidates allied to Rep Chong in 2007 elections. The win may not have resulted to a desired majority control, but nevertheless it inflicted a major crack on the Espina Dynasty’s solid stronghold in Biliran.The unsuccessful candidacy of former Congressman and former Mayor, Gerardo Espina Sr, and the absence of ....more
UNITED WE STAND IN THE LAND OF FREEDOM
In the land of Freedom, "to be free is not merely to cast out the Espina dynasty from political power, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others." For generations, the paradise island of Biliran has breathed the fresh tone of stillness and serenity of freedom and peace. But when the Espina dynasty conquered and dominated the political power in our province, they corrupted not only our natural and economic resources but also the mental upbringing of needy people in rural places....more
June 3, 2007
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE??
The most drammatic success in our history as a young province was the recent May 14 election. Our Biliran voters in exercising their right to vote expressed their sentiments in a mature and valiant manner.
And so, the result of the latest election, contained a simple but very poweful message: " if you respect my peso....
...(more)
The most drammatic success in our history as a young province was the recent May 14 election. Our Biliran voters in exercising their right to vote expressed their sentiments in a mature and valiant manner.
And so, the result of the latest election, contained a simple but very poweful message: " if you respect my peso....
...(more)
Fathers, victims of genocidation
The whole world today celebrates FATHER’S DAY. The world dedicates a especial day to honor fathers as fathers are one of the most important influences in the lives of children, and their unconditional love is an indispensable anchor of certainty and strength.
However, as children in the world rejoice with their respective father, it is sad to contemplate that here in Biliran, 2 families have mourned because of the brutal killing of their father. Their lives had not been spared from any political problems that provide great havoc in our peaceful place. One of the many unfortunate, regrettable aspects of the tragic events of June 7th, 2008 besides the fact that two people have lost their lives. more
However, as children in the world rejoice with their respective father, it is sad to contemplate that here in Biliran, 2 families have mourned because of the brutal killing of their father. Their lives had not been spared from any political problems that provide great havoc in our peaceful place. One of the many unfortunate, regrettable aspects of the tragic events of June 7th, 2008 besides the fact that two people have lost their lives. more
STATEMENT OF TRUTH
REGARDING THE PERSON OF STEPHEN GREINKE AND HIS MALICIOUS ACCUSATIONS AGAINST THE BISHOP OF NAVAL
We, the Clergy and faithful of the Diocese of Naval, would like to express our strongest condemnation to the lies peddled by Stephen Greinke against the bishop of Naval, the Most Rev. Filomeno G. Bactol, D.D.
Last January 2, 2008, Stephen Greinke, in a nationally televised network, has accused the bishop of sexually molesting young boys. We are aghast at this accusation because the bishop is a person of integrity whose ministry of 40 years (15 years in the seminary as formator, 7 years as Pastor, and 18 years as Bishop of Naval) has never been enmeshed in any controversy, much less scandal. We are appalled even more at the brazermess of Greinke as to impute upon the good name of the bishop the very same crime he was accused of doing against innocent young boys in the very Association he bas come to found, purportedly to proclaim the love of God only to find out it has become a trap for his sexual perversions! Such lies therefore that he has concocted can anly come from a heart whose hatred is as deep as his own twisted understanding of what is good and moral. ..... more
GAS PRICE
Join the resistance! I hear we are going to hit close to $1.50 a litre by summer and it might possibly go higher! Want gasoline prices to come down? We need to take some intelligent, united action. Jun Paterno offered this good idea. This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the "don't buy gas on a certain day" campaign that was going around earlier! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to "hurt" ourselves by refusing to buy gas. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT, whoever thought of this idea has come up with a plan that can really work. Please read on and join with us! By now you're probably thinking gasoline priced at about $.79/litre is super cheap. Me too! It is currently $1.10 for regular unleaded in my town. Now that the oil companies and the OPEC ... more
From Advent through Christmas to New Year - a message from biliranevent.com
The Advent season is a special time in our Christian community and a perfect time to preparation to celebrate for the birthday of Christ. As we once again prepare to celebrate the feast of Christmas, we are reminded of God’s great love for us. More importantly, the feast of Christmas is a very special occasion and a time for us not only to reflect on Jesus’ love for us but also to respond to his love by demonstrating love for our fellow men and women. May the expressions of goodwill and the gifts that we exchange be the outward manifestation of that love. more...
CEBUANO KO BAI! ( author unknown)
I am not a Filipino, never considered myself one a long time ago. I am a Cebuano and my late father once said: "There's a whale of a difference between the two". And that distinction between the Cebuano and Filipino is never more pronounced than the result of the 2001 Senatorial Elections. The election results nationwide from Manila to Mindanao showed an even trend, far below the expectations of the anti-Erap advocates. Can you believe that? After we've been screwed in the ass by a pea-brained Tagawg! But the Cebuanos voted differently. We Cebuanos voted with the same clear sightedness and maturity that scared the shit out of Marcos and his KBL lap dogs who despite massive cheating and terrorism in collusion with his Ilocano Generals were defeated by the Pusyon Bisaya during the Parliamentary Elections in the seventies. We Cebuanos have a better sense of truth and justice and we have always been the vanguards against tyranny and oppression since 1521 when Chief Lapu-lapu whacked Magellan.( more )
VISITORS SITE STATS --"
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Since July 19,2007
1,415 comments:
«Oldest ‹Older 1001 – 1200 of 1415 Newer› Newest»Smart, tinood bitaw nga ang mga kabus ug walay kahibalo ang nabiktema sa atong corrupt ang governor, pero karon, ang ila na gyud nga tawo maoy nabiktema kay unsaon nga sa pag-abot sa hospital ni late Jevon Bernardes, walay tambal nga ikadapat bisan pang first aid lang. Ila na unta nga ihatud sa Tacloban pero ning bigay na ang biktema. Dugay na kaayo ni gireklamo sa atong congressman nga bisan plaster walay magamit sa hospital, mao nga scotch tape nlang ang ilang himoon nga plaster. Daghan na kaayo mga nagreklamo diha sa Hospital nga gawas nga walay available nga tambal, dili pa gyud maayo ang serbisyo, unsaon nga ang mga tambal ug mga doctors, tua sa ilang medical mission, pamolitica ang gi-asikaso sa atong bootan kuno nga doc roger. Let's pray for the repose of his soul!
Intoy 7008:
Wala bitaw mga hiya kining mga espina. Siguro kong ang kampo pa ni Rep. Chong ang may kagagawan nito, bangin saba na jud kaayo ang mga timbangero.
Ayon sa mga balita nga nagkalat diri sa Naval, ang iya bugto nga si Diane, nagtrabaho sa Capitolyo, in charge sa medical mission ug hospital nagsering daw sa atong governor nga " pabayaan mo na gov ang mga sabisabi na walang medicine at hindi maganda ang sebisyo sa hospital, lilipas din yan"
Yana, na patay na si JB, wala ba kaha mata-ohi ito si Diane? Kay ang ingon sa doctor nga kon na dapatan agad ng medicine si JB, 50/50 ang chances nga maka survive, bangin maparalize lang.
Itong mga Bernardes diehard supporters sa mga espina!!!
Naminaw man ko ganina sa Korokabildo, wala man lagi hisguti ni charlie ug boy nga namatay si JB kay walay gamot sa hospital? taka man lang mo ug sulti diri. Mangita lang gyud mo ug paagi aron madaot ang mga espina. Ako paninyo kay simana santa na, maghisulsol mo uy, labina ikaw KKB!
Anonymous 7010,
Naamaw ka na seguro. Si RS ang imong gisaway, unya ako ang imong pahimungtan. Gagoy ka man!
Anonymous 1710:
Dili kalang amaw, hanggaw pa! Siguro dili ka taga Naval ano kay hindi mo alam ang mga estorya karon diri mahitungod sa kamatayon ni JB. Si Mano charlie at Mano Boy naa na silay mga dilicadisa. Sensitive kaayo na nga issue, kon pwede lang dili jud musogot ang mga bugto ni JB nga ang mga espina maoy ma blame sa iya kamatayon. Kay ang mga espina ila ng mga amo. Bahala na mamatay ila bugto basta tuloy ila ligaya. Sana, ikaw sunod ang mahospital para masayod ka nga waray gamot yana sa hospital.
Por bida, suod na gayud diay nga dakong opisyal kang Dok Rabbit ang naamong karon sa iyang pagpakabaya sa mga medisina ug pasilidades diha sa hospital. Anugon ang ningpanaw, nga matabangan pa man diay unta to ug nagsunod lang ang hospital sa pinakaminos sa ilang trabahoon.
Na unsaon na man lang ni ninyo, Anonymous? Maputos na pod ug laing libak ang imong mga amo niini?
Wa hinuon ka nakabati sa Kurokabildo nga gisaway ni Charlie ang pagpago ni Pugak Bandido sa iyang saad didto sa buwangan sa Kawayan. Grabe ni nga pagkalapas uy! Pagbinuwa ug pangpago na lang mo sa ubang dapit, ayaw lang sa buwangan.
To all Bloggers
& All Freedom Fighters
As we all go into Easter break, allow me to put some issues for discussions that may help us educate our fellow Biliranons make informed decisions in as far as choosing potential candidates for the 2010 elections.
It has always been a prime concern, that present and previous nominations for candidacy are solely based on personality not relevant issues. Unlike matured democracies in advanced countries, Filipinos seem to be locked into the habitual habit of voting people to elective public positions based on their present personal economic status, current family political standing and popularity. It has always been the wealthy and popular members of the community who dominate elective public positions. As such, the chances of qualified and well meaning potential candidates to be of service to the community is almost nil. This is compounded by the fact, that the culture of patronage politics and vote buying makes elections in the Philippines a very expensive exercise of suffrage. Further statistics reveal that almost over 50% of elective positions are dominated by family political dynasties.
President Barrack Obama has recently proven that smart campaigning on issues accompanied by a simplistic fund raising scheme backed by a well-organised campaign machinery using cyberspace and technology to its maximum advantage, can make a difference in winning an election. It did help that the Bush administration was on its lowest popularity index.
Let us bring this to the Biliran political environment. We have a popular family political dynasty that is resolved on resurrecting their ambition: to win the full control of Biliran, lock stock and barrel. On the other side, we have a fragmented opposition led by an incumbent Representative, who until now has not fully organised its party and still at a loss on whom to field in the coming 2010 elections. In between are the Biliranons, who are divided on the issue of entrusting their vote back to the Espina Dynasty or Bando Espina or to a Rep Chong led Liberal Party who at this stage, is a minority. It should be noted that since the Espina Dynasty straddled three political parties: Kampi, Lakas and NPC, they control almost 90% of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, Sangguniang Bayan of each of the 8 municipalities, and Barangay Chairman and Kagawads of each barangay throughout Biliran. My figure of 90% may not be fully accurate but it is a very close estimate. In other words, the 2010 elections is a very tough one to call.
Biliranons will have to make a decision on whether to exercise their democratic right to entrust their votes to wider members of the community or entrust their future to one political family or dynasty. Ideally, Biliranons will need to be democratically represented by as many members from the community not by just one family.
(to be continued)
Puno moral force movement in place
Eight-man group has met twice in 3 weeks
By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:38:00 04/08/2009
MANILA, Philippines—A Moral Force Movement envisioned by Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno has taken shape and is set to come up with a criteria on who voters should elect in the 2010 balloting—from president down to the local levels.
"Puno earlier told law students that transformational leaders induce followers to transcend self-interest for the sake of the organization or the greater whole as against “transactional leaders” who motivate followers by appealing to self-interest."
(Please access the link below to read the full article)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090408-198458/Puno-moral-force-movement-in-place
1,000 LGUs go ‘full blast’ against red tape
By Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk
First Posted 00:25:00 04/08/2009
Filed Under: Regional authorities, Graft & Corruption
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – The 1,689 local government units (LGUs) and agencies with frontline services are working “full blast” to comply with requirements to enforce the Anti-Red Tape Act of 2007 (Republic Act 9485), which aims to stop graft at the local level.
The LGUs have until June 2009 to finish their “citizen’s charter,” a covenant of service standards between local governments and their clients, Civil Service Assistant Commissioner Anicia Marasigan-de Lima said here on Tuesday."
(Please access the link below to read the full article)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090408-198442/1000-LGUs-go-full-blast-against-red-tape
Impeach Ombudsman case ‘all set to roll’
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 07:11:00 04/07/2009
Filed Under: Impeachment, Congress, World bank road mess, Graft & Corruption
MANILA, Philippines—The House of Representatives will get the ball rolling on the impeachment case filed against Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez by a group of civil society personalities led by former Senate President Jovito Salonga when it resumes sessions next week.
Majority Leader Arthur Defensor said the administration-dominated House had no choice but to start the process of impeaching Gutierrez as the impeachment complaint had been properly filed by Salonga and 30 others on March 2.
(Please access the link below to read the full article)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090407-198302/Impeach-Ombudsman-case-all-set-to-roll
As of now, Biliranons, especially in Naval, are so much affected with the death of JB. His brothers and sisters are confused and bothered. They are in big dilemma. Now in their passion, its difficult for them to obtain justice for the earlier death of JB because their bread and butter are taken from the spoon of the Espina. The Espina camp had easily justified it that it was really his fate not because that there is no medicine available in the hospital. This issue is only propagated by their detractors, the camp of Rep. Chong, in order to destroy the popularity of Dr. Roger, the governor.
Some of the reactions I heard from the people are very apparent and practical, according to them “it is better to close the hospital, anyway doctors and medicine are no longer needed because if it is not your fate, then you will not die” and they gave some advices to Gerry Espina that once he will get sick, then he should not take any medicine, anyway he will not die if it is not yet his fate.
A food for thought.
(start of article)
« Are we ready for change?
Who is the reform candidate in 2010?
http://blogs.inquirer.net/philippineelections/2009/04/08/who-is-the-reform-candidate-in-2010/
04/08/09
Posted under 2010 Elections, Governance, Reform Leader
By Harvey S. Keh
WHEN the Philippine Daily Inquirer published a story about the leaders of Kaya Natin! discussing with Senator Mar Roxas the possibility of him taking part in a nomination and primary process (to be conducted by a separate group) to help select a common reform candidate for the 2010 national elections, we received various responses from the public. Some reactions were positive saying that they completely support the move to find a common alternative candidate that would champion good governance and ethical leadership in our country. Others were pessimistic saying that it might be too late in the game to actually conduct this process. While others expressed their disappointment saying that Kaya Natin might be mislead to thinking that Senator Roxas is a reform candidate when in actuality he is not.
How then can we determine whether or not a Presidential candidate is actually a real reform and alternative leader that we can entrust our support to?
I have always believed in the saying that great leaders are products of the need of their time. I believe that aside from poverty and the great amount of cynicism that Filipinos feel, the biggest problem is the lack of moral values, ethical fiber and principles of our government leaders. It seems that graft and corruption in our government has become so prevalent that many Filipinos now feel that it is an epidemic that can no longer be eradicated in our society. Sadly, many of us have accepted it as part of our way of life. I don’t think so. Imagine if the billions of pesos that is stolen by our leaders are used to create decent jobs, then I don’t think Filipinos will still be forced to leave their families behind just to earn a decent wage abroad. A reform leader should have a proven track record of moral integrity, upholding the rule of law and fighting against graft and corruption in our country.
A reform leader should also have a proven track record in public service. I agree with my friends and colleagues at the Ateneo de Manila School of Government that good intentions are not enough. A reform leader should be able to also govern effectively thus, s/he is able to deliver basic services to his constituents. It is sad that we have current Presidentiables who continue to look good when speaking in front of the camera but when you look at their track record you would realize that they have actually done nothing to help uplift the plight of the Filipino people. Leaders go beyond lip service to produce concrete outcomes and results.
Thirdly, a reform leader realizes that he is in government to serve and not to be served. Many of our government leaders use their power to gain certain privileges and perks that ordinary Filipinos like us don’t experience. Many of us have seen this while waiting in line at the airport while a so-called “VIP” is whisked away without going through the proper processes. For those of us who drive and are usually stuck in the middle of a traffic jam, we suddenly hear a loud siren coupled with a convoy of vehicles who don’t even respect traffic rules just because their passenger is a government official. We have even heard stories of government leaders using government funds and road projects to benefit their own companies. Now, these same government leaders are spending millions every month posing in TV and Radio commercials trying to get the support of people by showing us that they actually understand our plight. I hope we will be more discerning and no longer be fooled by them.
Fourthly, a reform leader is not beholden to the ruling elite and oligarchs in our country. Sadly, many of our current leaders continue to place the interests of a few rich businessmen above the interests of millions of suffering Filipinos who continue to live with less than P100 a day. This happens since in every election, a candidate would need to spend millions or even billions to have a fighting chance and this becomes an opportunity for the ruling elite to “buy” the support of the candidate in the form of huge campaign contributions. Thus, I have always said that the challenge is for all ordinary Filipinos to chip in their own share of resources no matter how small to help support a real reform and alternative candidate. We already saw it happen in Isabela and Pampanga wherein ordinary people chipped in to help elect Gov. Grace Padaca and Gov. Eddie Panlilio.
Fifth, a reform leader should have a solid track record in helping the poor and powerless in our society. A more recent test of this was the push for the extension and reform of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARPER). Land reform is very critical in solving our current state of poverty given the fact that the agricultural sector is one of the leading industries in our country today. Sadly, despite the fact that our farmers ensure food security for each one of us, they themselves continue to live in poverty due to their lack of ownership of land and adequate support from government. Many of our current Congressmen and Senators are against this since this will go against their own personal interests given that many of them come from landed families.
Finally, a reform leader should be someone that can make every Filipino believe and hope again for a better future. S/he must be someone who can unite and inspire all of us to believe that anything is possible if we all work together to promote good governance in our country. A reform leader is humble enough to admit that s/he is not the savior of the country but rather his or her role is to serve as the captain of the ship that will help move our country to a common vision of prosperity and a better quality of life for every Filipino.
Will 2010 be the year that we will finally be able to elect an inspiring, morally-upright, effective and ethical reform President?
Many people don’t think so but I continue to believe in the greatness and the goodness of the Filipino people whom I know if given the chance will always choose to vote not for the most popular but for the right leader for our country.
Food for thought
(start of article)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090409-198649/Luminous-folk-volunteer-for-Puno-crusade
‘Luminous’ folk volunteer for Puno crusade
By Ruby Villavicencio-Paurom
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:44:00 04/09/2009
Filed Under: Churches (organisations), Religion & Belief, Religions
WITH its dome fully covered with glass and its 14 floors filled with wall-to-wall paintings of Catholic doctrines, the Luminous Cross of Grace prayer sanctuary stands magnificent in the rural town of Agdangan, Quezon.
Yet, the work of building God’s sanctuary in the hearts of men has only just begun.
This is the general sentiment among the Servants of the Luminous Cross of Grace, the lay volunteers who, through prayers and hard work, helped in the making of this eight-story edifice.
In March, the Servants wrote Chief Justice Reynato Puno, asking him to include them in his movement calling for moral transformation.
Within the folds of the Catholic Church, the Servants likewise supported Manila Archbishop Gaudencio Cardinal Rosales who called on the faithful to do “good deeds and almsgiving.”
The inspiration to join the clamor for inner change came through Aia Santos Halili, who designed and supervised the construction of the Luminous Cross of Grace structure under the stewardship of Fr. Raul “Puti” Enriquez, former parish priest of St. Isidore Church in Agdangan.
Aghast
Halili recounts that in prayer, she implored the Blessed Mother to show her how she could help ensure a better future for her children in the Philippines.
Halili, a former resident of San Francisco, moved back with her family to the Philippines years ago. With her own home-based design business, she was mainly a housewife while her husband, Dan, managed the family-owned farm in San Mateo, Rizal.
When she first learned about the corruption in government, she was aghast: “I prayed for guidance on how I could help avert the tide of greed and selfish intents eating up our country,” she narrates.
Thereupon, she says, the inspiration to craft a “goodness card” came to her.
Inner goodness
The card asks a person to reflect on his innate goodness and to pinpoint a personal trait he can still improve on.
“It’s all about recognizing one’s positive traits and building on these traits for family, community, country and God,” Halili explains.
The card was further refined and renamed “Katapatan card” because it allowed a person to manifest outwardly, and more prominently, his inner goodness.
In the hearts of men
After four years of offering services, prayers and sacrifices for the project, the Servants of the Luminous Cross of Grace realized that the real sanctuary of God lay in the hearts of men.
Propelled by the Holy Spirit, the Servants started to spread goodness through the Katapatan card, which also caught the attention and approval of many religious lay and civic organizations.
Last Christmas, the Katapatan card was featured in the prayer offerings of the faithful at the Edsa Shrine through the Sacred Land Cenacle prayer group.
Last February, the Servants were amazed when Cardinal Rosales personally urged them to continue to spread this “tool of goodness.”
Volunteers
Like the Cenacle movement, the Servants of the Luminous Cross of Grace is not an organized group with a list of officers and a regular office.
The Servants are volunteers, with a core group of about 40 and 50 people, who continue to hear Mass Tuesday evenings at the Janssen Hall, Christ the King compound on E. Rodriguez Avenue, Quezon City. They continue to help lead pilgrims to the Luminous Cross of Grace prayer sanctuary in Agdangan, Quezon.
In the past year, Holy Masses with the Servants are heard by Fr. Orlando “Orly” P. Sapuay of the La Salette Missionary.
The sanctuary is under the care of Fr. Rommel Limbo with the transfer of Enriquez from the St. Isidore parish in Agdangan to Sampaloc, Quezon. Interested pilgrims may call Aia at 0917-8175578 and Dr. Paz Carandang at the Makati Medical Center or visit www.luminouscrossofgrace.com.
One livelihood idea our politicians need to investigate and consider.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/04/10/09/seaweed-farming-success-surigao
(start of article)
Seaweed farming a success in Surigao
By TRINI L. VELASCO, ABS-CBN Caraga | 04/10/2009 7:44 PM
Seaweed farming is reportedly a success in Surigao del Norte and Surigao del Sur, a Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) official said.
Brielgo Pagaran, DTI Caraga regional director, said seaweed farming can be considered an emergency livelihood amid the economic slowdown and it also has the advantage of being environmentally friendly.
Seaweeds are plants found in saltwater, an ingredient in making jellies, herbal medicines, and can even make for a delicious salad.
Talavera Barangay Chairman Marvin Tagpuyo of Taganaan town in Surigao del Norte said seaweed farming may be an additional livelihood for the people in his barangay.
Seaweed is a rich marine resource in the Philippines and seaweed farming is reportedly the third biggest industry under the fishery industry. According to the Bureau of Agrarian Research, the Philippines has been exporting seaweed to other countries, amounting to $94 million in 1996 alone. With May Diez, ABS-CBN Butuan as of 04/10/2009 7:45 PM
Aquarius 7020:
The public is tired of politicians. It is tired of civil society. It is tired of businessmen. It is tired of the Church (EDSA 1 & 11). All these have run, managed and determined the nature and course of the national situation and that situation has spelled only two things: Corruption and poverty, with both worsening rather than diminishing with time. Hence, the search for a new “establishment” has grown desperately with time and that desperate search is what explains the mounting clamor for Chief Justice Puno. An unprecedented event in our political history.
The Chief Justice, of course, isn’t all pure and all white. His critics, and enemies, murmur much against his morals and even competence but just the same, whatever they might murmur against him are far outweighed by the positives which surround him and which constitute his public aura.
And that explains the sudden emergence of a clamor for him to run for the presidency in 2010.
Niadtong miaging lunes, April 6 didto sa NIT, daghang mga tao ang gusto nga maminaw sa bugno sa kamatooran aron makita unta ang katag kon kinsay nagsulti sa tinood ang mga Espina ba or ang mga opposition, pero wala magpakita ang kampo sa mga Espina. Kay klaro kaayo ang mga papel nga gipakita ni Rep. Chong nga naghisgut sa ilang mga anomaliya. Kay ang guilty nga mga tao nahadlok mo harap sa kamatooran. Bisan gani ang hosts sa timbangan nga maoy saba kaayo, wala gyud nagpakita bisan anino lang. Maayo lang ning mga tawhana sa patago pero nahadlok makig-atubang. Mga bilyon gyud nga duro!!!!
Governor Rogelio Espina should read this article.
(start of article)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090412-198820/RP-in-deeper-debt-holeEscudero
RP in deeper debt hole—Escudero
By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:01:00 04/12/2009
Filed Under: World Financial Crisis, Debt Markets, Politics
MANILA, Philippines – Filipinos will find themselves mired in a deeper hole because of the Arroyo administration’s borrowing binge, Senator Francis “Chiz” Escudero has said in a statement.
The national debt has doubled in the last eight years, Escudero disclosed Saturday.
He said that when President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed power in 2001, the national debt stood at P2.004 trillion.
“This has since doubled to P4.221 trillion by end of last year, which, by the way, puts to shame Legacy’s double-your-money promo,” said Escudero, likening the ballooning debt to the fate of the bankrupt pre-need plan and investment scheme of Legacy Consolidated Plans and the Legacy Group of rural banks.
Governor Rogelio Espina should read this article.
(Continuation of previous post.)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090412-198820/RP-in-deeper-debt-holeEscudero
RP in deeper debt hole—Escudero
By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:01:00 04/12/2009
“The administration’s stimulus plan should not stimulate government into borrowing more under the guise of helping the poor. The plan to expand government spending should be done without enlarging national debt and indenturing future generations,” Escudero said.
Mountain of debt
The senator called on Malacañang to review all existing debts before resorting to more foreign borrowings.
“We should carefully spend what we already have before we seek out credit. Stop corruption, curb wasteful spending and spend only on essentials,” the senator said.
Escudero said the “shock does not stop there” as the national coffers paid more in interest and principal payments for the loans it secured from 2001 to 2008.
“What rubs salt to the wound is that during the same period, we coughed up P4.436 trillion in interest and principal payments which should have reduced the mountain of a debt into a molehill and not the other way around,” he said.
Escudero further illustrated that with the figures on the national debt, it could be calculated that the Filipino people shelled out P1.448 billion a day to pay for the loans made to the tune of P759 million every 24 hours.
He said the borrowing binge would continue this year amid the global economic crisis.
“The government’s credit panhandling will continue this year with a conservative deficit target of P177 billion, which translates to a daily debt of P484 million,” he said.
“A government that will bow out in 15 months would be so reckless to dump IOUs [I owe you] that will be redeemed from Filipinos yet unborn,” he said.
Escudero also stated that based on this administration’s debt management record, there was reason to fear that it would use the financial crisis as “smokescreen for a borrowing spree.”
Intoy,
In fairness to the Espina group, they acted smartly against being drawn into a debate where the bar of public opinion is the sole judge and executioner.
Rep Glenn Chong should have presented whatever documents and evidences he has in his possession to the Office of the Ombudsman to fast track the case he filed against Gov Espina. He should have done that back in 2007. Presenting these documents in an unofficial debate is the wrong venue which will not produce results but encourage more adversarial encounters between the two parties and their supporters. This is highly divisive and fans out heated arguments which could result to physical altercations.
Further, the debate should be organized and officiated by a neutral party if the objective is to educate the Biliranons of the issues proposed to be debated upon. The correct venue for evidences and testimonies is the Office of the Ombudsman and the court.
Rep Chong should have enough clout to pursue this case if he really is serious in getting a conviction against the Espinas. As it is, it will simply be viewed as grandstanding. Conviction against offenders is not the end result of debates but rather the outcome of a legal process.
Anonymous,
I would like to invite you, together with all Bloggers, to an exchange of opinion on this issue. Filipinos, as you said, are fed up with the current political processes that have not resolved the issues of poverty and corruption. That is true and a valid observation.
Our job, I believe, is to turn that cynicism into a positive energy to aim for reforms. We may not be able to catalyze a change in the whole country, but we maybe are able to make an impact in Biliran. Our prime concern is our beloved Biliran and our source of energy is our love for our fellow Biliranons.
I will be posting issues in the coming days and months aimed towards challenging Biliranons to be more pro-active in planning their own destiny. Politicians and government employees can only be as corrupt as we allow them to be. Armed with a mission for reform, we can demand, as voters, for them to toe the line.
I look forward to our exchanges of opinions.
Kamo unta diri ba! dili mo magpataka ug sulti bisan unsa nga walay basihan, ilabina sa kamatayon ni JB? Unta no, mag-ampo ta sa dayon nga pahulay sa iyang kalag dili kay himoon nato nga issue ang iyang kamatayon sama kang DP. Inyo manang gibuhat ba, para matabunan ang issue sa anomaliya sa adopt a child program nga gibulgar sa mga timbangan. Unsaonn nga may mga document man gud silang nakuha. Mangita lang gyud mo ug lusot no? pan-os na ito na style, maayo pa mangita nlang mo ug bag-ong gimmick kay diha man mo magaling!!!
Anonymous 7028,
Puros lang mo hadla. Gihagit bitaw mo ug public debate nga dalhanay ug dokumento didto sa NIT niadtong April 6, wa man lagi mutungha ang inyong panig. Didto unta to ninyo mayagyag ang inyong dokumento man kaha bahin sa Adopt a Child. "Proper forum" unta to, pero ningbahag man ang inyong ikog.
Ang Newsweek karong bag-o naglista sa mga pinakahakug nga mga tawo sa estorya sa tibuok kalibutan. Ang duha diha sa Top 10, si Genghis Khan ug si Imelda, nga mga modelo usab nga gipanghambug na sa imong amo nga si Pugak Bandido.
Maayo pod unta ug maghimo ta ug survey sa pinakahakug nga namolitiko dinhi sa Biliran. Wa na seguroy makatupong kang Pugak. Makita man pod ngani sa iyang buhat.
Imelda Marcos among Newsweek's greediest people
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 04/05/2009 12:06 PM
Former first lady Imelda Marcos has landed in a list of “greediest people of all time” by Newsweek magazine.
Marcos is said to be among the 11 greediest individuals worldwide.
According to Newsweek, Marcos “saw it as her duty to provide ‘some kind of light, a star’ for the impoverished Filipino people over whom her husband presided.“
“So she took $5 million shopping sprees to New York and Rome, reportedly owned the world’s largest collections of gems and 3,000 pairs of shoes,” noted the magazine.
Marcos was also known for holding extravagant parties for foreign visitors during the reign of her husband, the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.
The term “Imeldific” eventually stemmed from her lavish lifestyle as the word means “ostentatiously extravagant.”
Aside from Marcos, another woman made it to Newsweek’s “greediest of all time” list.
China’s Empress Dowager Cixi was also named “one of the greediest” after being the de facto leader of China for almost 50 years.
Newsweek noted that the Chinese empress had 3,000 jewelry boxes. She even used the navy’s money to “build herself a marble banquet boat, aboard which she ate 150-dish dinners with golden chopsticks.”
Meanwhile, rounding up the “greediest list” were Roman general Marcus Licinius Crassus, Genghis Khan, Pope Sixtus IV, industrialist William H. Vanderbilt, American politician William M. “Boss” Tweed, swindler Charles Ponzi, Wall Street arbitrageur Ivan Boesky, former Tyco International CEO Dennis Kozlowski, and Bernard Madoff.—with a report from dzMM.
Food for thought
(start of article)
http://blogs.inquirer.net/blogaddicts/2009/04/12/why-we-all-must-blog/
Why we all must blog
04/12/09
Posted under Citizen Journalism, Freedom of Expression, Interests, bloggers
By Niña Terol
(Editor’s note: Originally posted on author’s blog)
1. For writers and other creative souls, blogging is practice. Participants of my Freelance Writing for Dummies class know this: I cannot stress enough the importance of blogging, especially for an aspiring freelance writer. Blogging offers a free platform for writers and other creatives to test out their ideas, hone their writing style, explore various subject matters, and begin developing a relationship with an audience.
Writing is very serious work, and anyone who wants to become a writer—whether full-time or part-time—must treat it with utmost respect. It is a demanding art-craft that requires the reader’s full attention once the page is opened, so the writer must ensure that the written material is worth the ink, the space, and the reader’s time.
Blogging, then, is like the rehearsal before the actual performance. It allows the writer to flex those critical writing muscles and get into character so that once “real writing” is needed, the audience won’t be disappointed.
2. For public personalities, it is an avenue to connect with their audience using more than their on-cam persona. Ours is such a media-inundated culture that it’s sometimes difficult to tell which is real and which is reel. News is often biased, sensationalized, and “telenovela-d”; reality shows are sometimes “gamed” and are often part of the celebrity-manufacturing machinery of our ratings-hungry networks; and there is hardly any time or space for public personalities to just let themselves be. While blogging by celebrities is one more way of extending their media reach and, therefore, of expanding their popularity, it can also be a good venue for them to show the public what they’re really made of.
3. For politicians and other public servants, blogging is one way to connect to their constituencies and have an alternative forum for feedback-gathering. My principal knows this, which is why he tries to update his blog, Facebook, and other social networks as often as he can. Blogging is a great way to test out ideas, solicit instant feedback, and continue a two-way dialogue with constituents that is just made impossible by mainstream media. US President Barack Obama harnessed the power of blogging and social media to the max; other politicians from around the world have learned from his example and are trying to follow suit.
A note for politicians though: don’t use blogging and social media merely for grandstanding or to win an election. Use it, too, to improve on current projects, update your constituencies about your projects, ensure transparency in all your operations, and provide a forum for the public to air their grievances. Like reading on a page, reading a blog requires the audience’s full attention, so please make sure that your words are worth our time.
4. For organizations, blogging is an über-cheap alternative for reporting to stakeholders and constituencies, rallying support for a cause, expanding one’s constituency base, or announcing events. If your organization doesn’t have the budget to maintain a website or produce newsletters or annual reports, put up a professional-looking blogsite that can store your updates, photos, advocacy materials, and event announcements. In this age of free blogging platforms (I like WordPress and Blogger), free widgets, and even practically-free documentation courtesy of camera phones and low-priced digital cameras, you now have no more excuses to not have your org information and updates online.
Oh, and if you want to fund raise online too, blogging will NOT give you the platforms for online fund-collection, but it CAN give you avenues to begin a conversation with your constituency, build relationships, and “raise friends.” Then the money can start flowing in.
5. For artists, musicians, and other creatives (again), blogging is a free platform to promote your work and nurture a fan base. For years before he finally put up his Multiply site, I’d been bugging my fiancé Paul to have a venue for connecting to potential clients and audiences online. Now that he has a Multiply site and is also on Facebook, he’s enjoying the process of putting some thoughts down, choosing photos and videos to upload, making contacts, and meeting “online buddies” from different parts of the world.
For creative souls in search of inspiration, blogging is also a great way to call out to the Muse. So is reading others’ blogs. Who knows what images, words, rhythms, and ideas can arise while reading someone else’s words, commiserating with someone’s pain, or sharing someone else’s joy?
6. For companies, blogging is a great way to reach out to a certain segment of your target market. One brand-built blog that caught my attention is Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty, which featured real blogs by real women. It made real Dove’s brand proposition that beauty is not only the domain of models and celebrities, but of everyday women living everyday (but not necessarily ordinary) lives.
According to Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere 2008: “Brands make up a major part of bloggers’ online conversations. More than four in five bloggers post product or brand reviews, and blog about brands they love or hate… Companies are already reaching out to bloggers: one-third of bloggers have been approached to be brand advocates… Bloggers are most open to receiving marketing messages from other blogs. Even non-blog web content is more influential among this group than traditional media sources for brand information.”
If you see that blogging would complement your overall brand strategy, then there shouldn’t be any reason not to try it.
7. For families, blogging is a great way to document and share precious family moments that can never be replicated. More than just sharing photos and videos on your social networks, it’s also great to capture the feelings and the conversations that were all part of the experience. Whether it’s a momentous occasion such as a birth, a wedding, an anniversary, a graduation or a “non-event” such as making pancakes with the kids, taking the pet out for a walk, having an “adult-like” conversation with a toddler, or practically anything else under the sun, blogging is a way to make sure memories don’t just fade away.
I’d also recommend good ol’ scrap booking, but for busy parents who don’t have the time or the patience to artfully lay out photos and other mementos, blogging is the way to go. (Blogs can also be set as private so the whole world won’t have to see what’s meant only for your family and friends.)
8. For individuals, you actually don’t need a reason to blog. Some people blog to share recipes, others to share lyrics and quotable quotes. Some use their blogs as online journals and share their thoughts and feelings with the world; others use their blogs to comment on social events and be engaged spectators in a world that’s constantly shifting. Some write lengthy prose that seem like magazine articles; others write catchy one-liners. Some have an audience of millions; others have an audience of 10. But it doesn’t (and shouldn’t) matter. As long as you’ve got something (non-violent and non-offensive) to say, then you should be able to say it.
What is personal is universal
If you think about it, never before in the world’s history have we been given a chance to document the world’s collective consciousness. Now, thanks to blogs and other social media, the Web has become just that—a repository of the state of people’s consciousness at any given time.
What were people feeling when the United States elected its first African-American president? The blogosphere gives us a clear snapshot of that through people’s blog and micro-blog (e.g., Twitter) entries. How are people coping with job loss and financial instability? We can find out at any time, too. What went through your head the moment your crush told you that, yes, he wanted to be with you too? If you blogged about it, then you can revisit that time, too.
More than self-promotion or self- flagellation, blogs and blogging allow us to understand ourselves and our world better. Brands and politicians alike tune in to the blogosphere because, here, they are able to capture real, instantaneous thoughts and feelings that don’t have the normal editing or censure processes of traditional media. Through micro-blogs like Twitter or Plurk, we’re able to capture “The State of My Nation—Right Here, Right Now”.
The world is constantly changing, the Web is constantly changing, WE are constantly changing. But thanks to the introduction of blogging and other forms of social media engagement, one thing that will never change is our desire and our ability to connect to other human beings—even if it’s just through flickers of words or images on a computer screen.
__
Niña Terol is a self-proclaimed Communicator, Enabler, and Organization-Builder, using the power of vision, words, and connections to inspire, empower, and motivate others around her. She is a political communicator by day, a freelance writer and poet by night, and an advocate for reform in Philippine governance 24/7. To subscribe to Long Live Blogging, click here: http://longliveblogging.wordpress.com/subscribe/
FYI, SCJ Reynato S. Puno belongs to the family of mason, became Grand Master in 1984. Being dedicated and devoted leader of the Craft, he was looked up to by old and young Masons alike not only for his single-minded commitment to Masonic tenets, ideals, and principles, but also for his enlightening lectures on the same.
Chief Justice Puno has been deeply involved in church work despite his tremendous responsibilities in the judiciary and his many engagements as a much-sought-after leader of the Craft. He is a lay preacher, United Methodist Church; present Chairman of the Administrative Council, Puno Memorial United Methodist Church; past Chairman of the Administrative Board of the Knox United Methodist Church, the biggest and eldest Methodist Church in the Philippines. A Sunday School teacher, he plans to devote more time to church work when he retires from public service. He was conferred the Gold Medal of Honor, the highest award within the gift of the MW Grand Lodge of Free and Accepted Masons of the Philippines, in April 1998.
Aquarius 7031:
Tama bitaw ka, pero ingon pa ni Congresman Chong nga kon maghulat pa kita sa justice system, basin ten years pa ayha masabtan sa mga tao na corrupt ang mga Espina, ug karon hapit na ang 2010 election. Nakafile na ang kaso against sa mga Espina sa ombudsman pero until now wala pay action. Ang kaso bitaw sa Naval ambush, mag 1 year na pero wala pa matapos ang preliminary investigation. abtan pana ug 10 years ayha masabatan kon naa bay probable cause, basin patay na pod ana si pawiks! Thanks
Intoy
I understand where you're coming from. However, I don't think Rep Glenn Chong meant it that way. You cannot take the law into your hands and continue to allow the judicial system to deny justice to the victims by unnecessarily delaying its process.
Rep Chong has enough clout to put pressure on the DOJ and the Office of the Ombudsman to act promptly on those cases. Unfortunately, he has not effectively used it. Gerry Espina Sr has effectively used his political connections to delay if not eliminate the cases filed against them. With all due respect to his present legal panel, I believe that he needs a more experienced legal panel to handle these cases. Finally, he needs to submit all documentations he has in his possession to the Office of the Ombudsman for immediate processing not simply use it as leverage against the Espinas.
Gerry Espina Sr and Governor Roger Espina are on borrowed time. Up to what extent Rep Glen Chong flexes his muscles will determine the fate of these two respondents. Rep Chong has currently maintained a very close relationship with the First Family. Whether he uses it, is up to him. As the Representative of the Lone District of Biliran, he can put due pressure on these departments to get on with the case.
Biliranons can help by lodging complaints with the Office of the Ombudsman on any known violations. Biliranons can start by filing a request for assistance from the Office of the Ombudsman on the 15/30 issue which seems to be rampant in the Provincial Capitol.
Any takers? Click on the link below to access the website:
http://www.ombudsman.gov.ph/index.php
KKB, ano ningbahag ang ikog sa mga Espina? waka ba malipong diha sa imong nahimutangan? Basaha ug sabta pag-aayo ang gipanulti ni Aquarius ayha ka dada ng dada! ko lang ka gyud ug paminsar ba!
Kay sa tinood lang walay gamit ng gihimo ni con chong nga dialog. Political propaganda lang na niya. Kon magkasamok, kinsa naman sab ang basulon, dili ba ang mga Espina na pod? Wala man ganiy moderator.
Kon dad-on sa mga timbangan ang document nga ilang nakuha sa adopt a child, mamsulbad na? moangkon si Noel P? kay huna-hunaa ra gud pag-ayo kon ngano nga nasabtan sa mga timbangan nga naa diay trust fund ng adopt a child? nagpasabot na nga naa siyay kauban nga ningbulgar ana, tingali kon nangalisngaw na, ingon pa sa mga baltok, there's something fishy? Paminsarmisar gud usahay ba!
Anonymous 7035,
Kahibawo gad ko nga ang mga Bandido ning adto sa SEC ug gipanguhaan ug kopya ang registration ug mga dokumento sa tanang mga NGO ug uban pang mga grupo nga dunay operation dinhi sa Biliran. Apil man na sa dugay na nila nga racket.
Ang ngalan sa NGO sa adopt a child mao ang Biliran ACTF, Inc. Ug duna ni trust fund nga ang makuha sa NGO mao lamang ang interest. Mao ni ang gipalit ug school supplies ug giapodapod sa daghang pinili nga mga pupils gikan sa mga pobreng pamily sa tibuok Biliran.
Ug naay misteryo sumala pa nimo, mao nga nganong madugangan man hihuon ang bale P300,000 nga interest kada tuig, hangtud nga bale P500,000 na hinuon ang maapod apod nga school supplies.
Kung Bandido pa ang gipadala ani nga kuwarta, tingali ug natibhangan o nawala na hinuon ni.
Aquarius,
Thanks for the encouragement. Although, I’m very much willing but I can’t promise to do it regularly, maybe once or twice a week. At any rate, I will try my best as much as possible. I’m also willing to share my ideas that maybe somehow it can help to elevate consciousness of our bloggers for the benefit of our political situation in Biliran. As of now, the political situation in Biliran is very shaky. Now that election is coming, political butterflies are looking for its own refuge. What is being compromised is the political fabric of our society. It is not a question of guilt; instead, it is a matter of good, old-fashioned delicadeza and personal interest.
Aquarius 7014:
Your observation that “the chances of qualified and well meaning potential candidates to be of service to the community is almost nil” is perfectly said.
An honest and upright politician will never win in a Philippine election especially in Biliran. Don Quixote was fighting the following great windmills: Our culture of indifference; the electoral illiteracy among the vast majority of voters; cheating, vote-buying and harrassment by rich and powerful candidates; incompetence in reading and math of canvassing bodies and the Comelec; and corruption in the election tribunals and other courts of resort.
All candidates can be upright and honest if they want to. The problem starts when they choose to fly like the rest of the birds. I’m sure whoever wins will make a difference if our voters and supporters are honest and upright too.
Kahit ano pa ang gagawin nyo dito, wala rin gamit yan dahil ang mga tao ngayon sa Biliran ay natuto na rin. Hindi na kailangan na gisingin pa nyo sila sa sinasabi nyong political education dahil mas practical na ang mga Biliranon nganyon. Alam nayan ng mga tao na ang political education ay para lang sisirain ang mga Espina at epromote ang mga tao na uhaw ng political power.
Hanggang ngayon nga ay nalilito pa ang mga tao kon sino talaga ang may-ari ng school bus ang governo ba o ang mga chong?
Mora man ni ug nagmahay si Decoy, nga si Dok Rabbit pagkatinuod. Kairo lang pod, giping-itan na sa mga blogs dinhi.
Ang segurado karon nga gikan sa gobyerno ang materyales, trabahante ug ekipo nga gigamit mao ang paghimo sa Biliran Garden Resort. Mabawi ba kaha ni sa gobyerno no?
maayo nalang diri nga blogs kay naay abugado si cong chong. Atorney no case, unsaon nga mosulti lang bisan ug walay insaktong basihan. Puro lang mga speculation. Dapat ang titlenimo KKB, MA (morag abugado).
Kanang school bus klaro kaayo na nga issue, makita na sa mga tawo nga nagdagan pero dili masabtan kon kinsay tag-iya, basin sa adopt a child program ni siya ano? Sigi morag abugado tubaga dayon kay diyan ka man kaha magaling!!!
Anonymous 7041,
Huwat ug dili na ikaw, o dili na inyo, ang gobernador. Manggawas na ang mga affidavit sa mga trabahante ug mga drayber una sa Kapitolyo nga apil sa pag construct anang inyong Biliran Garden Resort.
Kabahin sa school bus, kitaa na lang nang graphics diha sa kilid, ayaw ug tutuki ang plate number. Walay nag angkon nga sa pamilya Chong na. Buot nimo ingnon nga duna nay free school bus system and pamilya sa congressman?
Kung mao ni imong argumento, libre pod unta ang pagsulod ug pagkaligo sa swimming pool as BGR, kay klaro man nga dunay kuwarta ug kabtangan sa gobyerno nga gibanlud dinha.
Vigilant 7038
Anonymous 7037
All Bloggers
Continuation of previous post 7014:
Indeed. Finding the righteous and suitable candidates are like looking a needle in a haystack. The reality is that, qualification and good heart is not enough to win an elective position. It requires funding to finance the campaign, paraphernalia, and mobilisation costs, not to mention requests for donations, sponsorships, medicines, food funeral costs and miscellaneous expenses.
I have taken the liberty to paste cost scenarios as presented in Bacolod posted by Bulatlat in their website, with due consideration to the past 2007 elections.
Please take note that the figures on the article are based on 3000 precincts. Biliran, from my recollection has only slightly over 400 precincts. You can do your sums by extracting per precinct cost from their figures and adjusting the Biliran figures accordingly.I will discuss this further in my next post.
(start of article)
http://www.bulatlat.com/news/7-11/7-11-trapo.htm
How Much Does It Cost to Get Elected?
Profile of a trapo’s war expenditures
A candidate for mayor or representative to the Lower House has to spend around P73, 060, 000 ($1,537,781). If s/he wins, how will s/he be able to recoup his/her expenses? If others helped him/her to fund the campaign, to whom will s/he be beholden to? Whose interests will s/he be serving if s/he won?
BY KARL G. OMBION AND MAX CORDERO
Bulatlat
An independent group in Bacolod advocating alternative politics to trapo (traditional politician) politics computed how much a candidate running for a congressional and mayoralty seat spends to get elected.
Payroll accounts for the highest expenditure of politicians. As many as 6,000 ward leaders are maintained by trapos. Ward leaders constitute the backbone of election campaign organizations. They are the campaigners in the puroks or barangays (villages) where they live. They receive a minimum of P2, 000 ($42.09 at an exchange rate of $1=P47.51) per month for three months prior to the election. This alone costs P12 million ($252,578) per month or P36, 000, 000 ($757, 735) for three months.
In between elections, ward leaders of incumbent officials are hired as casuals, or job order casuals, or holds office in the city's bureaucracy. If not, then the wife or husband or any of the children of the ward leaders get the job. Casuals are allocated jobs for a minimum of three months a year. Aside from the casuals, there are 15-30 “ghost” employees hired by the city or municipality. Trapos live on patronage politics and the incumbent has the advantage, "To the victors go the spoils."
Precinct leaders are also maintained. They belong to a precinct and keep tab of the voters in the precinct. They identify voter preferences and concentrate their campaign on those who they can sway to vote for their candidate. They focus on the undecided and determine the amount needed to buy votes.
Bacolod City has about 2,500+ regular precincts and 1,300+ clustered precincts. For the sake of computation, the number of precincts is pegged at 3,000. Two precincts leaders are maintained for the job. A precinct leader gets P1, 000 ($21) each multiplied by 6,000 leaders amounts to P6 million ($126,289) for one month or P18, 000, 000 ($378,867) for three months.
Barangay captains are also maintained. Generally, they are beholden to candidates, especially the incumbents. There are 61 barangays in Bacolod. A barangay captain is given a minimum of P50, 000 ($1, 052) during elections, although some receive more. This totals P3, 050, 000 ($64, 197).
Purok presidents are also included in the scheme of things. Assuming that there are about 10 puroks per barangay and each president is given P2, 000 ($42.09). The accumulated cost is P1, 220, 000 ($25, 678) for one month or P3, 660, 000 ($77,036) for three months.
On Election Day, a candidate needs watchers. Two watchers are assigned to each one of the 3,000 precincts. At a minimum of P500 ($10.52) per watcher, the total cost is P3 million (63, 144). This does not yet include the budget for the meals of the watcher.
The campaign needs sound systems for various campaign sorties. For the 45-day campaign period the cost for the sound system would amount to P1, 350,000 ($28,415)
The candidate also spends for transportation. Campaigners need transportation to go to various barangays, puroks and other areas. On Election Day, vehicles are also hired to transport voters from far-flung barangays to the voting place. Transportation costs amounts to least P3 million ($63, 144).
Finally, the candidate must spend for streamers, posters, handbills, leaflets and other campaign materials. Some of these are donated or provided by friends, relatives, business associates and others who endorse the candidate. The cost for these items is conservatively pegged at P5 million ($105, 241).
In sum, the minimum expenses of a trapo for an election are as follows:
Ward leaders P36,000,000
Precinct leaders 18,000,000
Barangay Captains 3,050,000
Purok Presidents 3,660,000
Watchers 3,000,000
sound systems 1,350,000
transportation costs 3,000,000
streamers, posters,
handbills, etc 5,000,000
TOTAL EXPENSES P73,060,000
($1,537,781)
On this minimum conservative figure, why is a candidate willing to spend this amount in an election when the accumulated salaries of a mayor for a three-year term amounts to P 2 million ($42, 096) and P3 million ($63, 144) for a representative of the Lower House?
How would the mayor or House representative recoup his/her campaign expenses? What are the “benefits” of winning in an election that political clans are willing to kill for?
If businessmen put up these costs, what are the paybacks?
Do voters really have a choice?
People’s growing political maturity
To the trapos most voters are mere commodities for sale to the highest bidder. Some voters do sell their votes because they feel that nothing comes out of elections anyway so might as well make a profit out of their votes.
However, a number of independent cursory surveys in Bacolod city and nearby provinces reveal that the number of voters who vote on the basis of principles and programs are increasing by the year, and after every election period.
Though still the minority, mature voters are slowly making their presence felt. During the 2004 elections, Delia Locsin who is identified with groups working for social reforms challenged the post of Governor Joseph Maranon. Although she lost by a wide margin, many were still surprised that she got close to a hundred thousand votes as against Maranon’s more than half a million. When she filed her candidacy, many speculated that she would only get between 30,000 to 50,000 votes.
Militant partylists who have the biggest command votes among the non-trapo forces supported Locsin’s candidacy.
Today, observers noted, the combined force of organized and non-organized non-trapo forces could have increased by several fold as shown in the number of people per district who campaigned for militant partylists and known non-trapo independent candidates.
Whether they will make a big difference this time remains a big question. But political observers here said that the fact that trapos are desperate to increase their political war chest to as much as P150 million ($3, 157, 230) to P200 million ($ 4, 209, 640) may mean that the stakes are getting higher and there are less votes available in the market.
Call for rejection of trapos and political dynasties
Bacolod Congressional aspirant Andy Hagad, an independent candidate who belong to circles which promote alternative politics said that the coming elections is the proper time to reject trapos and all trimmings of traditional politics.
“In order to break the stranglehold of these trapos in our political lansdscape we must not vote for them on May 14, 2007. This way, we declare once and for all, the message that we, the electorate, finally has come of age. Then and only then, can we have the candidates with the best minds and with the best intention to serve the needs of our people in 2010.”
“The time to shift our political paradigm is now. Let us not lose it,” he concluded. Bulatlat
Sa pag-ari ni PGMA sa naval para mag-enagurate sa RORO Port, klaro kaayo nga ang iyang permi ka-estorya mao si Rep. Glenn, pero ingon pa sa tigulang nga hubakon, si gov roger maoy permi nakahinabi sa presidente.
Dili man siguro ni angay ilogan kon kinsay gusto ni PGMA pero dili man gud igsakto nga tuison sa lagas ang panghitabo. Pero mao pod ni ang panghitabo sa una last presidential election between PGMA and late FPJ. Sa dihang miari si FPJ sa Naval, ang nag-arrange ug ang nagrequest adto si DP, pero pag-abot ni FPJ diri ang miabi-abi mao ang kampo sa mga Espina kay ilang gilawgaw ang programa, nausab ang etinerary ni FPJ ug ang nahimo nga host mao ang bando Espina. Nawala sa pasing ang kampo ni DP.
Sa tinood lang, gusto na pod unta lawgawon sa mga Espina ang pag-ari ni PGMA pero na intercep sila sa kampo ni Rep. Chong. Gusto unta isahan sa mga Espina ang kampo ni Rep. Glenn pero wala sila molampos.
Mao nang giingon nga siguro kon maka-uwat ka sa unang panahon, apan dili sa tanan nlang panahon na mauwat mo ang mga tawo.
ERRATUM: PREVIOUS POST.
Shoud read as:
Kumbati 7038
Anonymous 7037
All Bloggers
Sorry Kumbati.
Aquarius:
Elections in the Philippines are the arena in which the country's elite families compete for political power. The wealthiest clans contest national and provincial offices. Families of lesser wealth compete for municipal offices. In the barangays, where most people are equally poor, election confers social prestige but no real power or money but sometime, it is accompanied by violence.
It is not only the culture of violence that is at fault but also the toleration of such extensive violence that goes unchallenged that contributes as well. Moreover, the failure of the country's legal system has worsened the situation. The lack of law enforcement has become so pervasive that ordinary people attack perpetrators as a form of instant justice, thus furthering lawlessness in the country. In such a climate, there is no amount of changing society's morals or values, as the police claim, that can stop the violence that the people are forced to accept as a way of life. Once, the culture of violence is highly practiced, it becomes a standard way of getting more votes, then, it will be morally accepted especially for the politicians whose political moral values is eventually distorted.
Intoy 7044:
Morag karon ka pa ana sa mga Espina! wala jud tarong nga mga ginagawa ng mga tawhana, puro lang ka tuyawan. Mao jud nang ilang kaliwat mga baga ug nawong. Hindi marunong mahiya. Bisan klaro na jud kaayo nga mga corupt na sila pero morag manhid na ang ilang conensya. Wala nay paki-alam kon unsay hunahuna sa mga tao para sa ila. Ito lang si Gerryboy nga obvious kaayo nga sugarol, mao na pod ang ilang planohan nga padaganon pagka governor. Sus, unsa nalang kaha ang mahinabo sa aton probinsya kon siya ang madaug nga pagka gobernor???
RS, tinood manang imong obserbasyon ba nga itong mga Espina dili lang corrupt mga immoral pa. Kini lang si Roselyn nga maoy modagan pagka mayor sa Naval, usa man ka babaing pakawala! Mahubog na gani kining babayhana, bisan kinsa lang nga lalake ang mobira. Hasta raw mga kauban niya sa SB, duha kabook sila, nakabira man pod gani. Dili lang nato nganlan kay wala ra ba tay insakto nga ebidensya pero that is the talk of the town in Naval uy!
Sus kon modaug na siya no, simbako lang didto lang sa ikapito ka lawod, unsa kahay mahitabo sa Naval. Imbis, hapsay na ang dagan sa muncepyo karon, wala nang mga anomaliya, unya mobalik na pod ning mga garapal nga mga politician. Gihimo lang nga gatasan ang politika sa Biliran. Hastang bagaa man gyud ang ilang mga nawong ba.
anonymous 7035
FYI.This much discussed trust fund of ACTF is not a secret contrary to the claims of Jerome Arcenal. Arcenal needs to do more research before he opens his mouth. There are also numerous articles explaining the structure of ACTF contained in various articles which prove that there is nothing irregular about the existence of such trust fund.
Please refer to the article below released by PIA Biliran back in 2006.
PIA Press Release
2006/11/29
Biliran ACTF coordinator plans fund drive initiatives
By Rodrigo S. Victoria
Naval, Biliran (29 November) -- In order to raise more funds to sustain and improve the implementation and service delivery of the Adopt-A-Child Trust Fund (ACTF) program in the province of Biliran, Noel Pla, the program coordinator of ACTF plans several fund drive initiatives to be launched soon in the community.
ACTF is a private sector initiative whose aim is to help and support children to finish their studies and this will be made possible through the provision of school supplies such as notebooks, pencils, crayons, paper and other materials that will be used for the whole school year.
Presently, the interest from the existing trust fund deposited in Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP)-Naval Branch in the amount of P3.5 million at 8% interest per annum was the only source of fund used as provided in the scheme to implement the program plus the support from the Local Government Units (LGUs) and other private sector and individuals here.
So far the ACTF program in the province has already distributed school supplies to 1,916 pupils from 38 elementary schools in the entire province including 1,600 raincoats since the start of the program this year.
According to Pla, during his guesting at the PIA Kapihan recently, there is really a need to raise more funds so that more children can avail of the program.
He said, the estimated program cost per child is P500.00 for the whole year study and considering that there are still a lot of children who belong to depressed families in the province that need to be given enough attention and consideration for them to finish their studies.
He said that the three fund drive initiatives he planned to launch were named as follows Children Helping Children, Friends of the Children and Barya Mo Kinabukasan Ko.
Furthermore, he said that in the Children Helping Children initiative, children who are in school like their classmates, playmates and friends can give and share their extra or surplus school supplies to other school children who lack or in dire need of basic school supplies in their schooling.
In the Friends of the Children initiative, private individual, a group, institution, organization, sector, agency of the government may sponsor the one year worth of school supplies which is pegged at P500.00 only for a single child to finish a year round study, he explained.
To have a wider involvement of the people in the community in the fund raising activity, he said the Barya Mo Para sa Kinabukasan Ko, which is the putting of tin cans in the entrance of business establishments where everybody who are willing to help raise funds for the program can drop any amount inside these cans.
The ACTF coordinator candidly said that the educational development and welfare of the Filipino children should not be left alone to the government but rather it is also one big responsibility that each and every Filipino must think about.
He admitted that if they will rely on the yearly interest of the ACTF trust fund in the implementation of the program, only few will benefit when in fact based on statistical records of DepEd-Biliran, there are 40 out of 100 pupils in Biliran province who do not have school supplies.
He said that the other reason why he plans to have these fund raising initiatives because he wanted to include the feeding program in the identified elementary schools in the province where the ACTF program is implemented because statistical data from DepEd-Biliran also show that 20 out of 100 pupils are malnourished and that 18 out of 100 pupils come to school without breakfast.
He likewise urged Biliranons and other Filipino countrymen living abroad to help the ACTF program in Biliran province.
In closing, Pla reminded everyone to feel of his involvement in the education of the children and that the amount is not important but what matters most is the collective effort of the people in changing the lives of these pupils in their own little way. (PIA-Biliran) [top]
Kumbati 7046
Valid observation. We will discuss this topic over the coming days and months.
Thank you for your feedback.
FYI
PIA Press Release
2006/09/06
ACTF project gains support from private sector
By Rodrigo S. Victoria
Naval, Biliran (6 September) -- After a day’s exhange of ideas and meticulous scrutiny on the over-all view of the Adopt-A-Child-Trust Fund (ACTF) Project initiated by the Department of Education (DepEd)-Division of Biliran, representatives coming from the private sector have signified their strong support for the success and sustainability of the pupil-centered educational project.
The P3.5M ACTF Project is one of the key result areas achieved during the Education Summit held in the province of Biliran on April 18-19, 2006 where stakeholders coming from the different sectors have converged to carve-out the roadmap of the province’s educational development.
The project is focused in answering the basic school needs of the pupils thru the provision of P500 worth of school supplies in a school year like school bag, pencil/ballpen, pads of paper, set of crayons, notebooks, eraser, ruler and sharpener to identified indigent pupils in selected elementary schools in the province of Biliran
The private sector representatives mostly coming from the different financial establishments in Naval town have come-up with several strategies in sourcing-out funds to financially support the project.
Mr. Demetrio Jaguros, Manager of the Rural Bank of Naval and at the same time the chairman of the finance committee together with the representatives of various financing establishments stationed in the capital town like the Taytay sa Kauswagan Incorporated (TSKI) and Ormoc Community Credit Cooperative including a local philanthropist named Ms.Lorna Ferguson who is married to a foreign national have agreed to solicit funds here and abroad.
The fund sourcing strategies include giving-out solicitation letters to the clients of their respective establishments and close acquaintances in the country and abroad. Other strategy includes the posting of solicitation announcement in local broadsheets and thru the biliranisland.com, a website in the province of Biliran for the purpose of getting a wider and broader scope of financial support from various institutions and personalities that are willing to help the project.
Jaguros said that he will even solicit the support of his fellow bankers here and other bankers in the country in which he has an established connection in order to source-out more funds for the success in the implementation of the project in the province of Biliran.
Meanwhile, Dr. Luisa Bautista-Yu, Schools Division Superintendent of DepEd-Division of Biliran said that ACTF is the most sustainable program in education since the 8% interest of the total amount deposited as trust fund of the project will be utilized in the provision of a package of school supplies to be given to indigent pupils in the elementaty grade.
However, Dr. Yu added that the collaborative effort of the private sector is also one of the important factors in sustaining the implementation of the project because more indigent elementary pupils will be covered by the project and other avenues like the intervention in the school feeding program and inclusion of indigent high school students are being considered to be a part of the project implementation in the province of Biliran.
The DepEd chief in the province of Biliran admitted that DepEd-Biliran cannot do it alone and it really needs the active support coming from the private sector in order to give quality education and provide a productive life to Biliranons in the end. (PIA-Biliran)
FYI
Please access the link to read the full article:
http://www.deped.gov.ph/e_posts.asp?id=386
Excerpts from The TEEP Executive Summary Report
"The PhP83 million fund from the Demand-Side Financing of the SIIF, which provides direct aid and subsidies to the poorest students, has been used for 253 projects, 60 of which have been completed. DSF is ready to be institutionalized in the form of the Adopt-A-Child Trust Fund (ACTF). TEEP has worked with the DepED Undersecretary for Legal Affairs and the office’s lawyers, the Commission on Audit and the Securities and Exchange Commission in coming up with the guidelines to set up the ACTF in each schools division. Thirteen TEEP divisions already have allocations for ACTF and six divisions have ready counterpart funds for additional ACTF projects."
Aquarius,
Sa akong nahibaw-an ani nga ACTF program, 6 ra TEEP divisions ang nakadawat eventually sa P3.5-M trust fund nga gi commit pag allocate sa kada usa sa 21 tanan ka TEEP implementing divisions.
Ang usa ka major requirement aron kini makuha mao ang "seed money" balor P50,000.00 cash nga i-deposito sa bank account para sa ACTF lamang. Walay opisina o politiko nga ning boluntaryo niini, apan naka solicit si Noel niini sa usa na NGO. Mao nga nadali ang pag release sa ACTF trust fund sa Biliran. Una man ngani seguro na release-an ang Biliran.
Ang mga ubang kontribusyon sa local donors para sa ACTF dinhi ning abot dihang klaro na nga duna nay interest nga naani sa bangko ug andam na kining ipanghatag sa mga beneficiaries sa mga eskwelahan.
Ang unang press release nga akong nabasa bahin niini nag angkon nga proyekto kono ni ni Dok Rabbit. Mora ug na publish pod to sa Bulletin. Gi angkon kini sa panahon nga naligutgot na ang mga tawo tungod kay bag-o pa lang ang pagpusil-patay kang anhing Gob. Danny Parilla.
Wa ngani intawon manganli si Noel ug ang DepEd.
KKB
Indeed. As you know, Gerry Espina Sr and Gov Roger Espina is searching for any issue that they can use to discredit Rep Glenn Chong. Noel Pla is a collateral damage due to his position with ACTF which has been working with Rep Chong on the school bags distribution program. They know about the ACTF structure but as expected use Jerome and Jerome to twist the issue.
It is obvious that the funding of ACTF comes primarily from the interest earned from the trust fund deposited at LBP plus any funds raised from donations, sponsorships and fund raising schemes.
As such, no one is allowed to draw on the P3.5m but can only use the interest earned for the projects outlined by the program.
There is no secrecy, nor impropriety on this issue. What is improper is the twist on this issue to hit Rep Chong.
BTW the ACTF has no funds to buy 8 school buses. AS such, bloggers who have been implying that the school buses are owned by ACTF is incorrect.
The school buses are the fulfillment of Rep Glen Chong's promise in line with his agenda on education. It is funded from his CDF. He has taken the step to entrust the operation and maintenance of the buses to an NGO to relieve the pressure of his office with the daily management of the service. That is the most cost effective and proper way. The Office of the Lone District of Biliran is not supposed to be running bus service but rather provide the funding for its operations. It will also be proper for the NGO to find ways to reduce its dependence on the CDF of Rep Chong to insure long term sustainability of the project. This they can do by running commercial advertisements on the buses.
As I said in my previous post, the Espinas did not think about this in their 12 years of full control. Now they find it strategically necessary to discredit it because it is working for Rep Chong.
Kanang school bus, kay para mana sa education, unta adto na DepEd ibutang or ang magmanage aron dili puro pamolitika lang. Klaro man unta na nga kuarta ( CDF ) sa mga tawo mana ang DepEd na unta ang bahala ana aron dili ba mabahiran permi sa politika. Nganong sa NGO mana ipa-manage? adop a child man kaha nang ilang programa, nganong sila man ang magpatakbo anang school bus?
Unya unsa man, baliwalaon nalang pod ang mga document nga nakuha ang timbangan mahitungod sa mga anomaliya sa a dopt a child program ni Noel Pla? Unta inyo pod nang panginanoon kon unsa ka tinood ang mga anomaliya sa maong NGO dili kay puro espina lang ang inyong nakita permi. Dili ba kaha mga libat mo kay one eye sided man ang inyong panan-aw sa anomaliya. Kapag kakampi nyo, no problem, tuloy ang ligaya.
Anonymous 7055
That is the prerogative of Rep Glenn Chong. It his project and initiative.
I am not familiar about Arcenal's issue on the alleged anomaly at the ACTF. Would you care to elaborate? Don't you think Gerry Espina Sr will not jump at the opportunity to take Noel to court if there is any?
Kung Si Noel Pla didto pa nadool sa mga Espina. Sigurado ko wala ni issue kuntra kaniya. Unya kay didto man siya kang Chong nadool. Mao daghan issue kuntra kaniya.
Makita naman nato na kini na school bus para sa kaayuhan sa mga studyante. Pero para sa uban ilang pang gipagawas kini na maot. Ugaling pilipino talaga
Anonymous 7057,
Sakto jud ka, kay kini bitawng pagkamatay ni JB tungod kay walay tambal sa hospital, wala jud ni himoa nga issue sa kampo ni Rep. Chong, pero kon nahitabo pa nga si Rep. Chong ang hinungdan sa kamatayon ni JB, dili jud ni undangan ug hisgot sa mga timbangero nga mga hambugero.
RS
kanang mga tibangero,
Mga binaydan na sila.
Kung dili na sila maka on AIR sa RN wala na silay kita.
Mao bisag unsa na kapan os an issue , Ila na balik balikon arong lamang dunay ikasibya.
Murag ang migawas mao na niy ilang gisaligang pakabuhi aron ikabuhi sa pamilya.
Nakapaminaw ko gahapon sa mga timbangero ug mosugot na sila nga makig-atubang sa debate kang Rep. Chong pero didto sa Almeria ang ilang gusto. Unya ang ilang condisyon nga walay security guards nga kauban si Rep. Chong, ug kinahanglan daw nga walay mobuto.
Ang ako lang gikatingad-an kon ngano dili man sila mosugot nga adunay security si Rep. Chong? kay unsa man diay ning mga security guard ni Rep. chong mga abusado? nakadungog ba kamo sa Naval nga nagpabbuto ang iyang mga security guards? ug nganong didto man gyud sa Almeria unya open field pa?
Bisan kinsay imong ipa analisar aning ilang mga conditions nga usa lang ang ilang tumong, ipa asasinate nila ang atong congressman. Mao nang hinungdan nga saba kaayo kining mga timbangero mahitungod sa presensya sa mga security guards ni Aty. Chong kay wala man silay chance aron ipapatay siya.
Kay dako man gyud kaayo ang ilang kalisang nga mapilde gyud si doc gov. roger sa 2010 election mao nga wala nay lain nga paagi aron modaug sila sa election. Mao man gyud ning hinungdan nga ilang gipapatay si DP kay nasayod man gyud ang mga Espina nga pildehon si lagas sa recounting. Kangil-ad gyud ug mga kina-iya kining mga tawhana. Kanus-a pa kaha ning mga espina ibalhog sa imperno!
anonymous 7059:
Kini di ay si KKB kay bisan ug panis na nga issue iya man gihapong balikbalikon nabayran di ay ni siya sa mga Chong? kay nagingon man ka nga nabayran ang mga timbangan mao nga bisan ug panis nga issue balikbalikon nila?
Anonymous 7061,
Saba diha Dok Rabbit uy! Kung ako pa sa imo, tarungon na nimo ang imong takuban nga binisaya. Kay klaro kaayo nga linangka.
Intoy 7060,
Morag dili gyud maayo ang gibuhat sa BILICO manager nga Si Mr. Marlon Roa, last Saturday, tungod sa brown out nga nahitabo. Dili man unta kalikayan ang brown out sa atong lugar pero ang gikatingad-an sa mga tawo kon ngano man nga sa dihang mag-program na ang Timbangan, mibalik man ang coriente. Apan sa dihang nahuman na ang Timbangan, mga 1 and 1/2 hrs. nag brown out naman pod ug usab. Mibalik ang coriente mga 8:00 PM na. Mao ning hinungdan nga wala gyud makasibya sa ilang programa sila Boy Ty ug mga kauban.
Hinoon, dili man usab nato totally mabasol ang manager kay ang mga Espina man maoy nagpasulod niya sa pagkamanger through the intervention sa iyang mother-in-law nga si vice gov. Lucy Curso.
Ingon niana ka gamhanan ang mga Espina bisan ug dili na kompleto ang ilang political power. Naa gihapon nagalihok ang ilang galamay mao nga dili nato angay baliwalaon ang pagbabalik sa mga Espina to run again for higher political position this coming 2010 election. Mao man gani nga ang COMELEC busy na kaayo sa Voters Education ug ang ilang gihimo nga mga leaders mao ang mga pastors sa ibang religion. Actually, gusto unta sa COMELEC nga mojoin ang simbahang katoliko sa maong Voters Education, pero ang mga leaders sa simbahan wala modawat unless ang Social Teaching of the Church, isingit as one topic sa Voters Education. Pero, ingon pa sa atong Provincial COMELEC head, Atty. Mejarito nga plantsado na ang mga topics nga gi-andam sa COMELEC head office, "take it or leave it" mao kini ang final statement sa atong provincial head sa COMELEC.
Bisan ug unsaon dili gyud mosugot ang COMELEC nga isingit ang Social Teaching of the church kay masagasaan man gyud ang Espina dynasty. So, unsaon na man lang ang Cash-sundoan kon maisingit ang Social Teaching of the church? bahala na ug mapuno sa utang ang provincia sa Biliran basta sigurado lang nga mapuno pod ang ilang bulsa. Hinoon, dili man pod tunay nga biliranon si Atty. Mejarito kay dili man gani kabalo mag binisaya. Mao ra kini sila nga mga dugo sa mga Espina.
After having explained my side on the ACTF issue in earlier posts, I wonder why they kept on asserting on a certain document re: alleged anomaly in the ACTF. They are liars! Those documents does not exist, they are only bluffing! What are they up to? Unsa may ilang katungod nga magduda sa ako, donor ba sila? Nakahatag ba sila ug amot sa ACTF? Unsa may ilang ikaso sa ako, if ever? Am I accountable to them? to the government? to the Espinas? As I said earlier, I am only accountable to my donors, and not to anybody else.
Besides, ACTF is an open book. Anybody is free to scrutinize all the transactions, e.g., donations and purchases. It has to be like that to keep the donors updated, otherwise, the project will cease to operate without their trust.
I have the impression that these people would like to end the ACTF project in Biliran because it is working more effectively in partnership with Rep. Glenn A. Chong. I wonder why it is only now that they are barking this issue of anomaly, when the ACTF was already there 5 years ago with less than 2,000 beneficiaries. Di ba nagkuyog-kuyog man pud si Gov. Espina sa pagdistribute sa ACTF ug school supplies before? Unya nag press release dayon nga “Biliran school children receive school supplies from Gov. Espina”?. Now, that the project is making impact to 27,000 school children all over the province, they wanted to discredit the people behind it – a clear manifestation of “crab mentality”.
Alang sa wala masayod sa operations sa ACTF, angay ninyo masabtan nga kini volunteer effort lamang. We are not receiving any compensation. In fact, (bragging aside) the records will show nga kami nga naningkamot sa maong project maoy pinakadako ug donation nga nahatag, wala pay labot sa among kahago, oras, gasolina, sakyanan nga gigamit sa distribution. Sanglit sakit sa among kasingkasing, nga kami nga nag-invest ug dako alang sa kaayohan sa mga bata sa Biliran, imbis hatagan sa pagdayeg, pakadauton na hinuon. That is very unfair.
For those who recognize the important role of ACTF, I can assure you, together with the other ACTF volunteers, of the sincerity of our intentions. My conscience is clear, so that I do not have to explain my side to vindicate myself. But I have to clarify the issues when they are twisted. (Noel B. Pla)
Noel Pla
You have my full support.
Jerome and George are acting on the instructions of Gerry Espina Sr. If I were you I won't lose a sleep over them. These people have no moral ascendancy to act as fiscalizers as they are paid by Gerry espina Sr to do only one thing: to destroy Rep Glenn Chong at all cost, at every opportunity 24/7 to lay down the ground work for a come back. Unfortunately the instructions also include anyone identified with Rep Chong including yourself.
Ironically, they have a lot of explaining to do to the Biliranons about the NGO formed to sponsor their program Timbangan. I have challenged them in my prevous blogs to explain the nature of the sponsorship, but like any of Gerry Espina's creations, they could not explain where they get their funds from or whether they have been simply used by Gerry Sr to serve as conduit for raising funds through government grants and requests for donations and sponsorship.
At any rate, Gerry's day of reckoning is fast approaching and he is now hitting the panic button.
The truth will prevail.
Copy of my previous blog at biliranisland.com.
Biliran Citizens Alliance for Rural Development is the NGO sponsoring the program Timbangan. this entity needs to be investigated as to its memebrship and funding structure.
(start of article)
Aquarius
October 17th, 2008 at 12:49 pm
For purposes of transparency Timbangan hosts should answer the following questions:
1. What is Biliran Citizens Alliance for Rural Development?
2. Is this a registered entity?
3. Who are the officers of this entity?
4. How many registered members?
5. Has the sponsorship been declared to Radyo Natin?
6. Has the sponsorship for Timbangan documented by way of board resolution and if it is, is Biliran Citizens Alliance for Rural Development prepared to come out and own to it?
7. How does Biliran Citizens Alliance for Rural Development raise its funds to sponsor a radio program which costs a lot of money?
The officers of Biliran Citizens Alliance for Rural Development should come out in the open and explain this sponsorship deal and what are they hoping to achieve.
Is this sponsor regularly mentioned on regular basis on the program?
If not, what is the objective of the sponsorship?
In addition, Jerome and George needs to be transparent and explain why they also serve as alternate hosts for Gerry Espina Sr's program Pagusapan.
This simply confirms the fact that both programs are funded by Gerry Espina Sr for political purposes.As such, the program content is 95% anti Rep Glenn Chong.
Considering that Gerry Sr is currently unemployed, it is surprising to know that he has a lot of funds to finance these activities. Likewise, the other members of his family are government employees and as such the income is predictable. Current business operations yield minimal income and as such cannot be relied on to finance his political ambition to retake all top positions in Biliran.
The question is: where do all these money come from?
Platypus:
Your justification is very valid. Now, I understand why the timbangan hosts are destroying your credibility. It’s completely certain that since the Espina camp is not benefitting anymore from the bags that you’re distributing to the children, then, your charitable works became obstruction to their political ambition. Then, the Espina camp will do everything to harm the reputation of your NGO.
I heard from a reliable source that right after last election, Gov. Roger called your attention in order to hire you as one of his advisers, in other words, one of the 15/30? If it is true, then confirm it, don’t hesitate to tell the truth. It will help us to get into the truth about the malicious expose of the timbangan hosts regarding the unfounded anomaly they charged on the adopt-a-child NGO. Remember the words of Christ “ the truth will set you free”. Cheer up!
KKB, wala na ba ikaw lain nga ikatubag sa pangutana ko? Na unsa ba intawon ka na, pulos lang ikaw mga pagduda ug walay klaro nga tumong!
Noel P, kon ikaw dili sad-an, atubanga ang timbagan, ayaw pagtago sa anino mo!
Anonymous 7069,
Dili gihapon na mao ang imong binisaya. Tarunga! Natubag na nako ang tanang pangutana nimo dinhi. Unsay pagtoo nimo sa ako, pareha sa imong tatay nga Pugak ug giubo-ubo?
Naa man diay debate nga paghimoon ugma sa Almeria, ang grupo sa mga oposition ug espina dynasty. Pero, wala pa may confirmation sa kampo ni Rep. Chong. Kon ugaling madayon man, hinaot unta nga walay kasamok nga mahitabo. Sigon sa mga hisgot-hisgot diri sa Naval, maayo unta kon dili nalang motambong ang atong congressman kay gusto gyud sa mga kontra niya sa politika nga ipa-murder siya, kay siya lang karon ang pinaka kusog nga kaatbang nila. Wala man pod nay gamit nga debate, mocreat lang na siya ug kasamok sa mga supporters. Sayod manta nga ang mga supporters sa mga espina puro nga walay mga maayong pamatasan. Mao nga kita nalang ang maglikay!
Tag P5,000.00 diay kono kada buwan ang kubra anang mga 15-30 sa Kapitolyo karon. Moreport lang ug kubra. Mas dako pa ang ilang kubra kontra sa mga casual nga nagsingot intawon ug trabaho.
Nadayon gyud ang debate ganina sa Almeria pero wala mo-atubang ang governor, ang mga timbangero ra. Gi-ayo-ayo gyud ang timbangan pagboo sa mga tawo. Unya nanguli sila nga pwerting pungota kay wala man sila ka ek kang congressman. Completo ang grupo ni Rep. Chong, daghan kaayo mga tawo ug kadaghanan mga taga Naval.
Nangisug pag-ayo si George Mangco kay pipila lang kabook ang ilang mga supporters. Sa iyang kapungot, wala na ihatag ang microphone kang Charlie, kay usa ra ang ilang microphone ug dala sa mga timbangan. Kay unsaon nga ang giandam nga microphone sa Almeria dili maayo, mao nga ang sa timbangan nalang ang gigamit. Tungod kay dili man gyud ihatag ni George ang microphone, giilog ni Charlie. Sa dihang na ilog na ni Charlie, gipatay sa mga timbangero ang sound, mao nga wala na makasulti si Charlie. Nanguli dayon ang mga timbangero nga pwerting sukoa.
Pero ganina sa ilang programa sa RN, puro baliktad ang ilang gipanulti. Mga buwaon gyud ning mga tawhana. Maayo gyud pagkaliwat sa mga Espina.
CONGRATULATIONS:
MANNY PACQUIAO
MANNY PACQUIAO
MANNY PACQUIAO
WE ARE PROUD OF YOU!!!
Intoy 7071 & 7073
All Bloggers
Thank you for the information.
It is for the very reason that I don't support the action of Rep Glenn Chong on challenging Gov Roger Espina and allies to unmediated debates. It just won't yield any positive results. As a matter of fact I will call it irresponsible on his part to expose himself and the public to the dangers of possible violent physical confrontation.
Now, if he really wants a clean debate on particular issues affecting the agenda on public management and accountability, development programs and health initiatives, for example, he can request the College of Law of NIT to organise a formal debate and invite qualified resource persons to moderate. This will be a productive debate. It can then be covered by biliranisland.com on live streaming, Radyo Natin and cable TV. The invitation must be extended by a neutral body with the end to educate the public on the propositions to be debated upon.
Calling a debate to resolve who is telling the truth or who lied is not really a debate but rather a finger pointing exercise where nobody is a winner. Only a court of proper jurisdiction can resolve who is telling the truth and who is telling lies based on evidences and testimonies presented. The Office of the Ombudman and the courts are the proper venues for these deliberations.
Intoy:
Wala ko maka tambong sa debate didto sa Almeria, pero ang uban nakong mga amigo, didto sila. Ang siring pa nila nga kon giunsa pagkulata si Hatton ni Pacquiao, mao usab ang nahitabo sa grupo sa mga Espina nga gipanguluhan sa mga timbangan. Waray ka puntos ang mga timbangan amo nga ning uli nga bug-at kaayo ang mga nawong, mora jud ug natamaan sa suntok ni Pacquiao.
Si jerome, nga subra ka isug diha sa RN, utot niya, waray ka imik sa dihang giingnan ni Rep Chong nga " jerome, magpaligis kaman kaha kong modagan na ang mga school bus, nganong wala paman ka lagi magpaligis nga dugay naman kaayo ang mga bus nagdinagan? Ang reaction daw ni Jerome morag sisiw nga gibuhusan ug bugnaw nga tubig.
Sa totoo lang nahadlok ko moadto sa Almeria kay bangin magkasamok. tinood jud ang giingon ni Aquarius nga dili jud to maayo nga debate kay dako ang posibility nga magkasamok. Mao nga salamat gihapon sa Dyos nga malinawon ang debate sa Almeria.
Mao diay nga didto sa Almeria gihimo ang debate kay mag sponsor diay si Doc Roger sa kasal diha sa simbahan sa mga aglipay. Apan, wala man pod magpakita ang governor, si Kokoy Canija raman ang mitambong sa kasal. Gusto man diay sa atong congressman nga corneron ang governor para moatubang sa dibate. Pero bahag man ang ilang ikog. Ang tawo kuno nga guilty mahadlok gyud moatubang sa kamatooran.
Copy of my response to Coun Jun Del Rosario at biliranisland.com
(start of article)
May 6 2009.
Coun. Jun del Rosario: all your posts
Biliranons appreciate your response to the issues raised on this blog. I admire your candid admissions to your shortcomings and I do understand under what difficult circumstances you have been put on in line with the performance of your job as an elected public official of Naval.
Let us put that behind us now and deal with issues that until now have not been addressed by present and past government administrations ran by the Espina Dynasty.
You have the entire year leading to 2010 to address and take some action on issues within your area of responsibility. I will then put forward to you other issues that you maybe of assistance as we go along.
1. A lifestyle check on the members of the Espina Dynasty is long overdue.
You can initiate this by filing such request with the Office of the Ombudsman in your capacity as an incumbent Councilor of Naval. That falls within your area of responsibility and expertise having filed a complaint against Rep Glenn Chong.
2. Provide the residents of Naval the true statement of affairs of the following projects:
Naval Gymnasium
Naval Public Market
Naval Mall
Naval Terminal
Land Bank Building
Naval Fire Trucks
Naval Drainage
Please indicate the following: dates of commencement and completion, Total Budget allocated, Sources of Funds, Present status of the projects and explanations why some projects remain incomplete, Names of principal contractors, remaining budget available for each project allocation and what courses of action have the present administration under Mayor Susan Parilla taken to complete these projects.
These issues have been debated for along time in various sections of this website.
3. The Statement of affairs of all loans entered into by the municipality of Naval for the last 12 years detailing what bank, loan amount and term, purpose of the loan, monthly amortizations, interest accumulated, and outstanding balance of the loan. It will also be important to reveal the total cost of the loan including the principal and the accumulated interest at the end of the term. You can also provide us with the details of Sangguniang Bayan resolution authorizing such borrowings.
You can simply do this by going over SB resolutions and bank loan statements. These are public documents and should be made known to the public.
4. Conduct an inquiry on the veracity of some Barangay Officials within the municipality of Naval allegedly being paid as 15/30 employees by the Provincial Capitol. This is a sore issue as it deprives Biliran the funding that should have been spent on the much needed projects. This is a pure political maneuver intended solely to benefit Governor Roger Espina not the Biliranons. It is illegal for anyone to receive the benefit of a wage without having to render the equivalent amount of work.
Let us start with these issues and we will move on as we go along. I am not expecting you to lead an inquisition but rather take action that will allow Biliranons, specifically on this instance, the Navalenos, to make informed judgment on matters of public governance, management and accountability.
We cannot prolong this period of political and economic uncertainty brought about by the lack of public information. Let us not allow anyone to exploit and twist the truth for their own selfish benefit.
Finally, I am still waiting for your unequivocal statement that as the Provincial Representative of the Ang Kapatiran Party, you will not support a family political dynasty and as such, you will not be supporting any family political dynasties like the Espina Dynasty in any shape or form.
I look forward to our exchange of information.
Aquarius,
Coun. Jun del Rosario has proven that he is the real political butterfly. He backtracks on his word whenever it suits him best. Obviously, his political move is nothing but a classical example of an ambitious politician. Now, he knows that the Espina’s boat is going to sink that is why he has no other choice but to abandon the Espina dynasty. This person is absolutely liar. I remember one time that he told Noel Pla about his plan to resign as majority floor leader because they were always in conflict with SB. Roselyn. When Noel Pla wrote it on Biliran Clarion, JDR totally denied it in RN during his regular program. His political blood flows from the Espina that is why I have a lot of suspicions that he would refuse to carry out your request.
Kumbati 7079
I think he will shoot himself on the foot, so to speak, if he fails to deliver. He has responded to many posts at BI promising to take the Espina Dynasty to the Office of the Ombudsman if he can substantiate any complaints.
Of course I don't expect him to do that. He will be too scared of the consequences. However, the best possible option for him is to at least file for a request for a lifestyle check for the members of the Espina Dynasty and let the Office of the Ombudsman do the rest.
As to addressing the other issues, he can simply extract it from official available documents which he has access to. He is simply reporting facts, and as such should not fear the wrath of Gerry Espina Sr and the rest of the Espina Dynasty.
If he fails, then he will lose his credibility with Ang Kapatiran Party and I will make sure that they will know about this.
He has just put himself against a wall.He has no choice but to respond in any manner that suits him.
I wish him the best of luck.
FYI
Please access the link below to read the full article.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090506-203361/P25-M-reward-on-political-slays
P25-M reward on political slays
Solons asked to raise funds from their pork barrel
By Tarra Quismundo, TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:39:00 05/06/2009
MANILA, Philippines—A P25-million fund to end political killings has been ordered put up by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who also called on lawmakers to use part of their pork barrel to help raise the amount.
In a statement issued Tuesday from abroad, the President said the fund would finance a reward system for informants who could foil such killings or lead to the arrest of masterminds, in order to achieve a “violence-free political culture” once and for all.
http://www.manilastandardtoday.com/?page=politics6_may7_2009
Two mayors in graft rap over Cebu lampposts
The Ombudsman has affirmed its decision indicting two city mayors in Cebu and 19 other people for the alleged fraudulent purchase of decorative lampposts used during the 12th Association of Southeast Asian Nations Summit in Cebu last year.
Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez ordered the filing of the charges after her office reinvestigated the charges on orders of the Sandiganbayan .
Indicted for graft were former Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza.
Other city officials charged were: Mandaue OIC-city engineer Hidelisa Latonio; assistant city engineer Gregorio Omo; Gerardo Surla, chairman of the board, Gampik Construction and Development Inc.; Isabelo Braza, president and chairman of the board, Fabmik Construction and Equipment Supply Co. Inc.; Lapu-Lapu City city engineer Julito Cuizon; assistant city engineer Fernando Tagaan Jr.; and engineer IV Rogelio Veloso. Macon Araneta
Aquarius & Kumbati,
Kini si JDR, usa ka tawo nga doble kara ug maayo manglipatlipat. One time sa iyang Radio program sa Radyo Natin, miingon na siya nga nagbag-o na siya, after sa iyang birthday morag 25 yrs old. Unya nangayo siya ug pasaylo sa RN ngadto sa atong obispo sa Naval sa tanan daw niyang mga lapses. Pero diay, nagplano na siya nga mo file sa iyang candidacy as SB member. Morag vice governor man gani ang iyang plano pero SB ra ang gihatag sa iya sa mga Espina. So wala siyang choice kon dili dawaton nalang ang gi-offer sa mga Espina. Sa dihang napilde si Gerry Sr., suko kaayo siya nga nagsulti sa RN, iyang gibanatan ang obispo, mga pari ug mga madre nga maoy nanghatag ug kuarta for vote buing. Iya pa ganing gitagaan ug malicious meaning ang BEC, Bactol Economic Corporation. Unya sa dihang gi acuse ni Steve Grienke si bishop for immoral acts, gi-interview pa ni JDR sa RN si Steve. Karon kay nakita man ni JDR nga walay effect ang ilang paninira sa obispo, kay puro man lang mga intriga, midool personaly si JDR kang bishop ug nangayo ug pasaylo. After one month, ningdiklarar nga mingbulag na siya sa bando espina, ug siya na ang provincial head sa Partidong Kapatiran. Nagbag-o na raw siya. Ang iyang plano karon nga modagan pagka mayor sa Naval, apan ingon niya ganina sa RN nga daghan daw nag text sa iya nga governor ang iyang daganan.
Botbot nimo JDR, timan-i ni, ingon pa pa tagalog " itaga mo sa bato" kon mapilde ka , ang simbahan napod ang imomg banatan. Ayaw nag ilara ang mga tawo kay dili ka modaug sa sa pagka SB kon wala nimo busga ug icecream ang taga Caray caray, ug kuarta nga gipanghatag mo sa mga tawo sa kabukiran. Moingon ka pa nga maayo pa ang taga bukid kay kabalo pa mopile. Na unsa ka ba uy, maayo pa ug mobalik ka sa Villalon, adto ka magpinagarpar basin ma uto pa nimo ang mga tawo.
FYI
Copy of Councilor Jun Del Rosario's reply to my post at BI.
#
50. Coun. Jun Atok del Rosario
May 7th, 2009 at 11:22 am
TO AQUARIUS
1.YES I WILL SEND SOONEST A REQUEST TO THE OMBUDSMAN TO SUBJECT THE ESPINAS INCLUDING REP. CHONG AND OTHER OFFICIALS FOR A LIFESTYLE CHECK.
2. AS TO THE STATUS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE FOLLOWING PROJECTS:
NAVAL GYM, NAVAL PUBLIC MARKET, NAVAL TERMINAL, NAVAL MALL, LAND BANK BUILDING, NAVAL FIRE TRUCKS AND DRAINAGE
I RESPECTFULLY SUGGEST YOU REQUEST TO SECURE COPIES OF COA REPORT. I AM CERTAIN ALL OF THESE TRANSACTIONS WERE COVERED IN THEIR ANNUAL AUDIT REPORT FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF NAVAL AND OTHER COMMISSIONED SPECIAL AUDIT CONSIDERING THAT THESE PROJECTS WERE PREVIOUSLY QUESTIONED.
3. AS TO LOAN SECURED BY THE MUNICIPALITY OF NAVAL, ALL OF THESE TRANSACTIONS WERE SUBJECTED BY THE ANNUAL COA AUDIT REFLECTED IN THEIR RELEASED REPORTS. COPIES OF THOSE COULD EASILY BE SECURED. ONE OPTION IS TO CHECK ALSO WITH OUR MUNICIPAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND OTHER RELATED DOCUMENTS AVAILABLE FROM OUR MUNICIPAL TREASURER.
4. AS TO CASUAL/JOB ORDER EMPLOYEES OF THE CAPITOL, I AM CERTAIN IT CANNOT ESCAPE FROM COA AUDIT IF IT EXCEEDED THE P.S CAP/LIMITATION. YOU CAN AGAIN REQUEST FOR COA REPORTS.
5. LASTLY, TO BE CLEAR, I CANNOT AND WILL NOT SUPPORT ANY PARTY/FAMILY WHO WILL BE ESTABLISHING POLITICAL DYNASTY IN BILIRAN. OUR CONSTITUTION PROHIBITS THE SAME.
Wa gay gamit ning pagarpar karong bag-o ni JDR, alyas Darna. Lain pang tawo ang iyang pakuhaon sa COA report, nga naa man unta siya sa posisyon nga maka uyog sa resident COA auditor sa munisipyo sa paghatag ug kopya niini. Pangita ug laing rason, kay dili na mosalir ang imong pasangil.
FYI. Copy of my response to Coun. Jun Atok Del Rosario.
#
63. Aquarius
May 8th, 2009 at 1:35 pm (20 minutes ago)
Coun. Jun Atok del Rosario 50
Thank you for your prompt reply. Indeed, filing a request for a lifestyle check is just the start of the process. If the Office of the Ombudsman releases official statements declaring either positive or negative findings we can them move on to the next appropriate steps.
With all due respect Councilor Del Rosario, I am simply asking for a statement of facts on those issues I mentioned. I am confident you can give us the relevant information in point form. At this stage the Bloggers simply wants to know the statement of affairs of those projects not the full audited details. Unfortunately, although I have much fate in our government departments, releasing documents to ordinary Biliranon like me, seems to be hard a task especially where COA is concerned.
It is for this reason, that I am requesting you, in behalf of the bloggers, to just give us the basic information within your area of discretion. Surely, the SB has been kept up to date of what is happening with these projects and the status of the loans entered into by the municipality of Naval with various financial institutions.
Again, thank you for taking the bold step of requesting for lifestyle checks. I fully understand how difficult it will be to request for a lifestyle check against previous colleagues you used to have been associated with. It is also noted that for the sake of impartiality that you have indicated that you will also be requesting lifestyle checks on other elected public officials which I assume also include other government employees as well.
Finally, thank you for your unequivocal pronouncement not to support any family political dynasty in Biliran. I take it that this means you will no longer be supporting nor be a part of the Espina Dynasty in the forthcoming political exercises.
Aquarius:
Ako mismo magtoo jud nga ito si JDR anak ni Gerry, sr. Pero diri lang jud na nila ibulgar kay para maprotectahan ang ila famly, ilabina nga gusto ni JDR nga mosikat siya para sa politica. Mao nga ningbulag siya kay wala man jud siyay chance nga mo dagan sa higher position. Sa totoo lang ginsaaran mana siya ni Gerry, sr. nga maoy padaganon sa vice governor. Mao nga daghan na siya ug pagmahay at yana naka amgo na siya na ginagamit lang siya sa mga Espina. Pero, ang pagbuwag niya sa mga espina, dako ang pagtoo sa mga tawo na may ada ito blesing sa iya unrecognize faher.
May ada lang ako paki-ana kang JDR kon talaga na tinood na siyang nagbabago: JDR, sa imong huna-huna, corrupt ba ang mga Espina? siguro ang imong baton nga waray basis o waray documento. Ang ako lang boot ipasabot na sa imo lang sariling pag-analisar kon may pagduda ka ba na corrupt ang mga Espina. PK sagot lang ng " yes or no". Ma aram ako na nagbabasa ka dito sa blogs.
ERRATUM: 7086
Unfortunately, although I have much fate in our government departments, releasing documents to ordinary Biliranon like me, seems to be hard a task especially where COA is concerned.
SHOULD READ AS:
Unfortunately, although I have much FAITH in our government departments, releasing documents to ordinary Biliranon like me, seems to be hard a task especially where COA is concerned.
RS
To me, it does not make a difference if somehow Coun. Jun Atok Del Rosario is related to the Espinas or not.Although, I sincerely believe he is not. If he is, I don't find anything wrong about it.Unfortunately, as the saying goes, we can choose our friends but not our relatives we have been brought up to this world.
In his responses to previous posts at BI, He frankly admitted his shortcomings and understand, that he is accountable to his past actions.That is a good sign.
Whether he is sincere in his intentions to make a difference in Biliran, specially in Naval, will be judged by the results of any action he takes from now on.
It is too early to tell whether his shift to Ang Kapatiran Party is a genuine campaign for reform or another Espina Dynasty sponsored political maneuver to divide the Biliranons to reduce the chances of any opposition winning against their own candidates in 2010.
Since it is a long way to 2010, I am prepared to give Coun. Del Rosario the benefit of the doubt. His credibility is anchored on what actions he will take that can be identified with the ideology of Ang Kapatiran Party. I don't think AKP will support any candidate who runs counter to their stand against family political dynasties and corruption.
Thank you for your comments. Let us keep on blogging and raising issues which we think are relevant to our cause.
Tabili 7083
Coun. Jun Atok Del Rosario understands that he is accountable to his previous actions.
Please refer to my latest post on the same topic.
Thank you for sharing your opinion. Let us keep on blogging and raising issues to keep our decision makers on their toes.
Bisan ug unsaon, dili na unta ta magpabulatik niining kaliwat ni JDR kay kining mga kaliwata hugaw pa sa tae. Kay kon magpa-uwat napod ta sama sa nahitabo sa mga Espina, ang giliwatan niya, kadako na gyud ug dimalas sa mga Biliranon.
Mao nga molihok na unta gyud ta aron dili na ma-usab kining mga kaalaut nga atong natagamtanan sukad ming abot ang mga Espina sa Biliran.
Karon moingon si JDR nga kon naa tay ika pakita nga documento nga corrupt ang mga espina, iya dayong kasuhan sa ombudsman. Iya lang nang alibi, kon tinood gyud nga siya against sa corruption, daghan kaayo ug anomaliya ang mga Espina ug nakasabot siya niining tanan. Kon matinud-anon siya, naay daghan nga anomaliya nga dili na kinahanglan ug ebidensya. Ang 35 million nga loan diin pipila lamang ka epiko ang napalit, ang mekado nga gipa-atopan na Gerry Sr. nga naka loan ug 6 milyon. Pero kon imong tan-awon ang trabaho, kaya kaayo bisan 1 milyon lang. Bisan kinsa pa nga kontractor ang imong pangutan-on, over pricing gyud. Naa pa ang SB building nga over pricing gihapon. Kon iya lang nang ipa-imbestigate, mogawas gyud ang kamatooran. Naa man ang mga papers diha sa municepyo kay project man kanang market ug SB building ni Gerry, sr. sa mayor pa siya.
Kining iyang mga alibi klaro kaayo nga walay kamatooran nga against siya sa corruption, tinood nga against siya kon sila ni Atty. Chong ang na involve. Maayo pa nga maghilom nalang siya!
Sa akong kabahin, dili na kinahanglan nga kasuhan pa ni Jun ang mga espina ug coruption, ang maayo niyang buhaton mao ang pag-usab sa iyang affidavit mahitungod sa Naval ambush. Iya man gud nga gi-deny ang affidavit sa duha ka witness nga ilang nakita ang mga pulis nga maoy na involve sa crimin.
Kon iya gani ng buhaton, ayha pa ko motoo nga nagbag-o na siya. Kay mas cridible man ang duha ka mga bata-on nga mga witness. Nasayod kining mga batan-una nga kuyaw ang ilang kinabuhi kon ila ng buhaton. Gawas pa, ang ilang lolo ug mga pariente, puro nasuhulan sa mga espina. Mao nga kon nagtumotumo lang sila, unsa may ilang nakuha? gani karon lang mga panahuna, limitado ang ilang panglihoklihok ug kanunay silang may mga security. Pero ang mga wtiness sa mga espina naa bay mga security? wala! kini tungod kay dili mamamatay tao ang familya Chong. Busa Jun del Rosario maayo pa nga ikaw nlang ang state witness kay sigurado ka pa nga modaug pagka governador.
FYI
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090511-204276/NGOs-fight-vote-buying
Movement launched to change RP politics
By Philip Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:39:00 05/11/2009
Filed Under: Elections, Eleksyon 2010, Politics
MANILA, Philippines—With 12 months to go before the next elections, veteran community organizers and development workers across the country launched a nationwide movement on Sunday to get rid of vote-buying.
The ChangePolitics Movement, which includes former Social Welfare Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, will map out the “vote-buying vulnerable areas” so that NGOs could pour their resources there and eliminate the scourge of Philippine politics.
The movement plans to turn these places into “vote-buying free areas” come election day as a beginning of its long-term vision to end “patronage and transactional politics” in the country by 2022.
“Our members are already going around the country so that we could map out the vulnerable vote-buying areas,” Soliman said at the group’s launching at Ateneo de Manila University in Quezon City.
“And then we will invite and encourage development NGOs, micro-enterprise programs, cooperatives and livelihood programs to start helping these areas to decrease vote-buying because (people) will now have an answer to poverty,” she added.
Soliman said her group was capable of implementing its plan because its core group of 2,000 members had “on average” 15 years experience in community development work and organizing.
“Why do we say this is doable? Because the individual members of ChangePolitics are former and current community organizers who have different ongoing development programs,” she said.
“In other words, this is a movement to link the development work that we do into getting and changing politics, one of which is by reducing the vulnerability to vote-buying,” she added.
Soliman said that some ChangePolitics members in the Visayas were already working to have their areas declared “vote-buying free areas” by November.
Not products for sale
“They tell candidates that if they have money they should give these to community projects rather than through individual gifts because, (as one ChangePolitics member) said, we are not products (for sale),” Soliman added.
Vote-buying has been rampant in the Philippines with politicians paying P500 to P1,500 to each voter.
An April, 2007, survey by Social Weather Stations found that one in two registered voters thought that it was not wrong to accept money from candidates so long as one voted “according to one’s conscience.”
Asked for their opinion on the statement “In an election, it is not bad to accept money provided one votes according to one’s conscience,” 50 percent of the respondents agreed, 32 percent disagreed, while 16 percent were undecided.
Those in the rural areas (56 percent) were found to be more likely to approve of accepting money, compared to those in urban areas (43 percent), according to the survey held before the May 2007 elections.
Nationwide reach
Fifty-four percent in the Visayas, 51 percent in Mindanao, 49 percent in the rest of Luzon and 45 percent in Metro Manila also agreed with the statement.
The survey also showed that seven out of every 10 registered voters (69 percent) expected vote-buying to occur in their areas.
“In my talks when I go around the country I tell my audience the story that ‘Come May 9, 2010, I’ll be given P500 which I’ll use to pay for the graduation of my children.’ How can I judge such a person who will accept that P500?” Soliman said.
“That is why we’re saying that we should start now,” she added.
To show its nationwide reach, ChangePolitics was simultaneously launched Sunday in Mandaue, Dumaguete, Davao, Cagayan de Oro, Iloilo, Ormoc and Naga cities, Samar and areas in the Caraga region. These areas were even linked by streaming live video.
“The prevailing view is that the poor can be easily bought. That is why our politicians do not do their work because they think that when voting day comes, we can be bought,” said Jose Morales, an urban poor organizer.
Integrity and track record
“This time, we will make sure that our colleagues won’t be bought in the coming elections because we want to change the political system. We will encourage them not to sell their right and dignity to change the country,” he added.
The movement also plans to nominate and campaign for local and national candidates who meet their criteria in the coming May elections.
The group’s members in August will vote, through text messaging, on who they should campaign for based on the candidates’ “integrity and track record, immediate and specific agenda for reform, and capacity to win and have access to power for reform.”
They will also look into his or her platform on eradicating poverty, improving education, protecting the environment and respecting “multiculturalism and the right to self-determination.”
“This is just the first step in our discussions on how to make sure that we remain idealistic and realistic at the same time,” Soliman said.
“We will look at our criteria and the (candidate’s) track record and these will guide us on who will be our candidates,” she added.
Patronage politics
Soliman said the movement reckoned that with the groundswell at the grass roots, the country would be free from traditional patronage politics by the 2022 elections.
“We set it at 2022 because, based on our studies and the experience of countries that have political structures and history of politics similar to the Philippines, it took them two or three elections before they were able to change the practice (of politics),” Soliman said.
“And we recognize that transactional and patronage politics have deep roots in this country. That is why 2010 is our first step. If by 2010 the citizenry unites and mobilizes to end patronage politics, by 2022, we believe we’ll be organized enough to actually have a candidate that will come from the people themselves,” she said.
“Not from any dynasty, not from any plan, but from the people themselves,” Soliman added.
Part of governance
If ChangePolitics’ presidential candidate wins in the coming elections, the movement would insist that it has a say in the decision-making process in that coming administration, Soliman said.
“We should be included in governance. We will not agree that after he or she wins, we will be (left out) in the streets. We will sit down and be a part of governance as a group, not necessarily having positions,” she said
ABS-CBN launches Boto Mo, I-Patrol Mo: Ako ang Simula
By Maria A. Ressa, Head, ABS-CBN News & Current Affairs; Managing Director, ANC |
"It’s time to stop complaining, and time to start doing.
It’s time to stop blaming everyone else, and time to accept responsibility for building our future.
It’s time to stop accepting the world as it is – corrupt, inefficient, unfair and unjust – and start visualizing the world as it can – and should – be."
(Please access the link below to read the full article)
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/05/10/09/abs-cbn-launches-boto-mo-i-patrol-mo-ako-ang-simula
Admin:
Thanks for posting that movie Chicken a la Carte. I believe that the main reason for rapid poverty problem because of corruption. We cant blame those people who wasted their food instead we must be thankful to them. Why? because without these foods from garbage, the scavengers have nothing to eat and of course they would die for hunger. This is a sad reality. Now, another cases of corruptions are under investigation and this is about the " Noodles scam" for malnourish school children and US-RP visiting forces fund scam. Our good senators and congressmen will stand in row for publicity while doing nonsense investigation.
Ako man minsan kon mokaon sa Jollibee, dili ko na kaunon ang mga balat sa manok ug ang taba sa carne. Dili man boot pasabot nga im wasting food. Pero dili man pod na maayo nga imong kaunon ang panit ug taba ky not good for health. Unya unsaon mana nato, alang-alang man kon imong dad-on sa balay. So, kasagaran biyaan jud na sa plato, bahala ang waiter sa paghipos. Kon mahi-adto sa mga basurero aron ilang mapahimuslan, sala ko ba?
Ang minsahe pod ani nga short movie, nga unta dili ta magusik-usik kay daghan ang naghirap. Pero kon imo nga tan-awon pag-ayo ang nabilin nga pag-kaon, taba naman lang to ug mga panit sa manok. Dili jud to pag-usik-usik. Busa ang angay jud natong mabasol nining laganap nga kapobrehon sa pinas mao ang atong mga politicians nga mga corupt. Hantud kanus-a kaha nato mabuntog kining hiwi nga systema sa ang goberno. Kanus-a kaha nato matagaan ug hustisya ang mga kabos nga maoy nag-antos tungod sa kahakog sa atong mga politicians. Ang Ginoo lang ang nasayod niining tanan.
FYI. Sounds familiar? A government employee on fixed salary accumulating millions? It does not make a difference whether it is an elective or appointive position, lifestyle check will reveal irregularities that may have been committed.
Coun. Jun Atok Del Rosario have committed to request the Office of the Ombudsman to conduct lifestyle checks for members of the Espina Dynasty, other public officials, and I hope, government employees and officers as well.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090514-204920/Customs-exec-with-P17-M-probed
Customs exec with P17 M probed
By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 04:43:00 05/14/2009
Filed Under: Government offices & agencies, Graft & Corruption, Crime
MANILA, Philippines—The Office of the Ombudsman has summoned a top-ranked Bureau of Customs official for allegedly amassing more than P17 million in unexplained wealth.
The anti-graft body directed BoC intelligence officer Eric Albano to answer with a counter-affidavit the criminal and administrative charges filed against him by the Revenue Integrity Protection Service (RIPS), the anti-corruption arm of the Department of Finance.
Mary Susan Guillermo, director of the Ombudsman’s preliminary investigation and administrative adjudication bureau, said the Ombudsman found “enough basis to proceed with the administrative adjudication” of the cases against Albano.
In the Ombudsman’s order, dated April 17, Albano was also asked to file the sworn statements of his witnesses and other documents that may help him in his defense.
Albano, 56, the operations chief of the BoC’s Customs Intelligence and Investigation Service, faces charges of violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, perjury, dishonesty, falsification of public documents and violations of Republic Act 6713, or the Code of Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.
The RIPS also asked the Ombudsman to confiscate the assets of Albano and his family.
If found guilty, Albano could be dismissed from government service and serve a jail term.
The Philippine Daily Inquirer tried to contact Albano, but a staff member of his office said he was not around.
RIPS said its field investigators discovered that Albano had acquired assets worth over P17 million despite his limited income as a government employee for 29 years.
Thanks for posting this, Lozenge. I think the film touches a raw nerve in us not because we didn’t know such poverty (or worse) exists, but because it so succinctly projects, visually, the extra mileage of a piece of discarded food; the last mile I should say. It forces us to confront the issue head on by the time it has led us through the journey of the chicken.
My dear Kababayan,
This short video shows how desperately destitute and starving our fellow countrymen are. I believed this caused by government economic mismanagement of the country?
How come nobody addressed this problem? Apparently this movie was shown in Berlin.
I know in Biliran, Espina government addressed this problem by providing rice and noodles to the poor. But do you think this kind of acts solve the problem of poverty? As long as corruption is rampant, then poverty would be getting worse forever.
wala lang kamo nakita nga iba ang mga Espina lang. Ang Biliran lang ang daghan pobre? maayo pa ang Biliran kay walang namatay sa gutom, doon sa Manila daghan kaayo. Mao ayaw ninyo insultohon ang mga Espina kay nakatabang man ito sila sa mga polobe.
Tingali kon walang pobre sa una sa wala pa ang mga Espina sa Biliran, mao nga mosulti mo sa mga bagay na ingon ana. Mga paninira lang ito, walang basihan.
that is exactly what is heart breakin to see ,hear & read about ...everyday we see people wasting food and politicians wasting money while thousands starve ... just fuckin heart breaking events. these people must go to hell first.....
Kana si Anonymous 7100, si Dok Rabbit na. Wa pa uroy ma konsensiya nga ang ilang pamilya ang nakahatag ug dakong kalisang ug nakakawat sa kinadak-ang kabtangan sa gobyerno dinhi sa Biliran sa niaging 14 ka tuid na karon. Mao nay giingon nga pabaga na lang sa nawong.
i-copy/paste nla sa adres bar ang link below, fyi. tnx
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/05/18/09/citizens-protest-vs-hike-taxes-passi-iloilo
FedUp 7103:
This is a good article that is why I post the whole story below. I hope the Biliranon will also do the same actions. It's sad to know that during the economic crises, our governor doc Roger increases taxes without prior consultation and consideration.
These taxes are utterly devastating to poor Biliranon.
Start of Article:
Citizens protest vs hike in taxes in Passi, Iloilo
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 05/18/2009 1:15 PM
Members of the Alliance of Concerned Taxpayers (ACT) staged a silent protest at the plaza of Passi City in Iloilo over the weekend to oppose an increase in the taxes imposed by the local government.
Holding and waving placards, the group expressed dismay over a new city ordinance hiking taxes, particularly the real property tax. Its members alleged that city officials railroaded the passage of the ordinance, saying this did not go through public hearings.
Rocky Camiña, a member of ACT, said that residential and commercial areas in Passi have been re-assessed and taxes on these properties were jacked up from 5 to 12 percent or P7,000 to P14,000 per square meter.
In a dialogue with ACT, city councilor Noe Lico argued that this was the first time that the local government of Passi increased taxes since it became a component city in 1998.
Lico added that the city's realty tax is much lower than the average 15 percent being charged by the province of Iloilo.
But Lico failed to convince the protesters, who demanded for a tax rollback.
The ACT said it will meet again to work on a position paper they will submit to the city government regarding the issue. -- With a report from Jennifer Garcia, ABS-CBN Iloilo
Kagahapon sa Pag-usapan natin, gisulti ni gerry sr. nga na dismiss ang kaso nga gifile ni charlie against sa iya sa nahitabo nga naval ambush last year. Apil usab si former provincial commander saburnido na dismiss usab. Dili lang klaro kon apil ba usab ni Saul na dismiss pod. Kon tinood kining maong taho, nagpasabot nga hinay diay ang evidensya nga gipasang-at ni Chalie chong. Gamhanan diay gyud ang mga espina kay tanang kaso nga gifile sa mga Chong puro man na dismiss.
Intoy,
The case dismissed was the Perjury complaint filed by Mr Charlie Chong against Gerry Espina Sr as an offshoot of the ambush incident.
Gerry Espina allegedly stated in public, that Mr Chong was interviewed by Radyo Natin; and in that interview, Mr Chong said that because of the ambush he will be running for the position of Governor of Biliran.
Mr Chong complained that statement was a lie and he had never been interviewed by Radyo Natin on the matter.
Mr Chong then filed a case of perjury against Gerry Espina Sr.
The criminal cases against Gerry Espina Sr et al is on-going and has not been dismissed.
To all bloggers:
Mypodcast.com is having some technical problems, so, we transfered to another podcasting site. Hope this will be working better. What you need is to download first Quicktime Player to listen the episode. Just copy and paste the site link below. Thanks!
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
Admin, salamat sa podcast nga Pag-usapan Natin. Siguro alam karon sa mga Biliranon na walang sala ang mga Espina sa pangyayaring ambush niadtong tuig kay nadismis na naman ang kaso. Ikalawang kaso na kini ang dismis. Klaro kaayo na puro paninira lang diay ang tumong sa mga chong, walang basihan. Kay bisan unsay nahihitabo sa Naval, Espina man agad ang babasolon. Parang puro dautan ang ginawa sa mga Espina at parang walang nahihimong mabuti ang mga Espina. Busa mamalandong na kita para dili kita ma iilad sa mga political maniobra sa mga oposition para mananalo sa election.
All Bloggers
It has been confirmed by Gerry Espina Sr on his latest broadcast at Radyo Natin that the cases filed against him and company relative to the ambush have been dismissed by the Department of Justice.
I would assume Rep Glenn Chong will take the immediate steps to file either a motion for reconsideration or appeal the dismissal in a higher court.
Let us keep an eye on the developments as that decision did not solve the case. Justice for the late Inton Parilla and Tony Barcelo and the injured Joe Cases has still not been achieved.
Anonymous:
Bisan ug kapila pa madismiss ang criminal case nga gifile ni mano Charlie, dili boot ipasabot nga wala silay labot sa among crimin. Kolang lang ug mga evidencia. Gawas pa, ang mga tao sa Biliran nasayod na kon kinsa ang mga utok sa maong crimin ug kini dili na jud malalis bisan ug kanapolo pa madismiss. Sayod man jud ta nga inutil ang atong hustisya, ilabina nga masuholan usahay. Gani ang alabang boys case nga naaktohan jud nga may mga ilegal drugs, karon mingaw na. Unsa naman kaha ang nahinabo?
Busa ayaw dayon kamo ug hudyaka mga pro-espina kay diri ninyo mailad ang mga tao sa Biliran tungod lang kay nadismis ang kaso. Hulat lang sa election!
Aquarius,
Ask lang! Do you think that SPO3 Renato Saul's case wiil be also dismissed?
Anonymous
It is too early to tell. However, I believe that the dismissal refers only to the case filed against Gerry Espina Sr, Col Sabornido, the 2 alleged CIDG, and another police officer under SB Member Roselyn Espina Paras on the basis of the affidavit of the 2 witnesses. SPO2 Saul was pinpointed by Mr Charlie Chong on the night of the ambush as one of the assailants and not included in that particular witness account.
I have the feeling that SPO2 Saul will remain in prison until proven innocent beyond reasonable doubt. Unfortunately, he may have been the unlucky fall guy. The one that did not get away.
Rep Glenn Chong needs to consult with high profile lawyers who have deep experience in high profile cases like the Espinas. Whether we like it or not, they still hold connections on the right places to help them. And one of them is Sec Raul Gonzalez of DOJ.
In saying that, I also have the feeling that this could actually be an opportunity for Rep Chong's legal panel to take it to a higher court where Sec Raul Gonzales has no control. Gonzales is confirmed to be a Kumpadre of Gerry Espina Sr; and records show how he is known to normally defend any ally instead of performing his job as DOJ Secretary.
I also have the feeling that since Rep Chong has developed a close relationship with the First Family, that this is a way out of the case for Sec Gonzales. This way, he still was able to help his kumpadre and yet create a situation where it can be taken out of his hands by way of appeal to a higher court and let his successor handle the appeal. His previous pronouncements confirmed that he will need to resign when the time comes to file his certificate of candidacy to run for Mayor of Iloilo. Dismissing it now will give him enough time to distance himself against the case in the event that his opponents will use it against him during the election campaign if the case goes to the media.
It maybe farfetched, but very possible. The dismissal is only a temporary as DOJ will be compelled to conduct deeper investigation on the grounds that video clips on file clearly showed that the late Tony Barcelo pinpointed the CIDG as the assailants before he passed away. Where are these CIDG officers now? It would have been easy to identify the officers by simply looking at the roster of who were assigned to Biliran at the time of the incident. Further, if indeed the CIDG were the assailants as identified by the late Barcelo, what were their motives and who ordered them to conduct the operations? It was a legit operation they would have surfaced by now. The investigators will need to revisit the CIDG angle.
In the last 2 years I have been advocating the use of high profile lawyers who have deep experience in handling high profile cases. They could have acted as consultants for Rep Glenn Chong’s legal panel. My suggestion was unheeded and now Rep Chong’s cases are heading towards miscarriage of justice if he continues his way. This with all due respect to his legal panel who is struggling both in handling the criminal cases and the cases filed at the Office of the Ombudsman.
Cases are won not by conducting unproductive debates in Biliran but rather using expertise and deep experience in court proceedings. Rep Chong should differentiate political grandstanding from hard realities of winning real legal battles in the Philippine style of justice system where innocent people go to prison and guilty mongrels walk around free with smile on their arrogant faces. This is a lesson he must ponder upon and move on with more determination to obtain justice for the victims.
CONGRATULATION TO THE PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS OF BILIRAN AS A TOP TEN PERFORMERS TO REDUCE POVERTY INCIDENCE OF OUR PROVINCE. From no. 63 in 2003 now rise to no. 29 in 2008.
MABUHAY ANG BILIRAN! MABUHAY ANG MGA ESPINA!!!
Na unsa ba ito si Doc rabbit, siya raman pod gaunay pagcongatulate sa iyang kaugalingon. Wala ba kaha ning tawhana manervous break down kay pildehonon na sa election. Sila ray gabuhibuhi sa ilang dugo. Naa lagi economic growth sa provincia pero gamay ra kaayo na kon ecomparar sa ilang economic growth sukad ilang gihawiran ang rinda sa pamagamhanan sa Biliran. Maayo pa ug manguli nalang mo sa Manila uy.... ayaw namog hulat sunod election kay siguradong deadball mong tanan!!!!!
Ano ba ang nangyayari sa inyo dito? bakit ang mga Espina lang ba ang marunong mag-internet? nakakahiya naman kayo! mabuti nalang siguro at tumahimik nalang kayo at hintayin nalang natin ang election upang makita natin ang mga kayabangan na pinagsasabi-sabi ninyo. Palibhasa mga uhaw kayo nang political power kaya atat na atat kayong agawin ito sa mga Espina lalo na ngayon na marami ng development sa Biliran. Alam na alam na ng mga tao sa Biliran kung ano kung gaano kalaki ang naitulong ng mga Espina sa development sa Biliran.
Decoy 7115,
Kana! Lantaray na lang sa imong pinulungan, nga kang Dok Rabbit gayud. Ayaw na lang pagpatahap ug burobinisaya diha kay hilaw ug luyat ang gawas. Sige, buybuya pa ang mga tawo nga gipangawatan sa inyong tibuok pamilya Bandido. Mga baga ug nawong.
Admin
Are there any recent podcasts from Kurokabildo? It will be helpful to the bloggers if they can listen to both sides to get more balanced reactions.
Thank you.
Aquarius,
Thanks for your concern. The person in-charge of recording the RN program was late maybe about 20 minutes. Then, the Kurokabildo program was only aired 30 minutes instead of 1 hour. So, we decided not to publish it because it is only 10 minutes and the topic they discussed was not very relevant. He missed to record the important parts which are about the dismissal of criminal case. Our apologies to all bloggers for this inconvenience.
Are Gerry Espina Sr and Bando Espina so desperate, that in his latest broadcast, he is conditioning the minds of his supporters to expect a leaning towards an Erap and Binay tandem? He then proceeded to expound the advantages and benefits of such partnership.
According to Gerry Sr, Erap and Binay are the true opposition as they are not in one way or another linked to PGMA while others are.
In as much as Gerry Espina Sr, the Espina Dynasty and Bando Espina have always represented the Administration through their representations as LAKAS, KAMPI & NPC, cavorting with Jojo Binay who is the Opposition in each and every meaning of the word seems to be another attempt of straddling another party? Reminiscent of the late FPJ visit during the time of the late Gov Danilo Parilla?
It is insulting to the incoming merger of Lakas and Kampi that their representatives in Biliran have basically indorsed the partnership of Erap and Binay who will be opposing their candidates in the forthcoming 2010 elections. It will be interesting to know what the merged Lakas and Kampi leadership thinks if they listen to Gerry Espina’s broadcast.
Delicadeza, anyone? Or this is a prelude to major party changes on the leadership of Kampi and Lakas in Biliran? Or is it greed, now straddling Lakas, Kampi, NPC and Erap and Binay’s party? Perhaps, it is all about money, don’t you think?
Lastly, why would Jojo Binay seek out Gerry Espina Sr who is the known Administration leader in Biliran? Should he have sought and meet with the Opposition personalities in Biliran? Unless, Gerry himself made the arrangement for Binay to meet Biliran local officials?
Too many questions. The truth will unfold in the very near future.
Aquarius:
I appreciate that you don't have any bias as you state opinion as fact. Gerry Sr. is a veteran politician. He knows the need for their political career. HE is trying to fly over in a field of six or seven running in 2010 for personal, political and financial reasons of course. And politics having essentially the properties of addition, whichever which way doesn’t make any difference as long his political dynasty will be in safe hands.
Uneasy is the head that wears the political crown in Biliran before. And now their political popularity is sinking down, what else we could expect for? Especially that some of his supporters among the majority are expressing discontent with his leadership, except a few diehards.
All I can say at the moment is that in politics, it being the art of the possible, anything can still happen. Thank you Aquarius!
Admin 7118
Thank you for your reply. I understand. The podcasts have been of great help to us bloggers. Again your efforts are much appreciated.
Vigilant 7120
Indeed. It is worrying when people join politics for the sake of politics and self preservation. Gerry Espina Sr will do everything he can to re-take the top positions in Biliran come 2010. Even if he has to sleep with the enemy.
Biliranons should then be wary. A repeat of 12 years of full control of Espina Dynasty or any family political dynasty for that matter, is a scenario every Biliranon should be worried sick of. Inherent in family political dynasties is the lack of check and balance which creates the breeding ground and environment for unchecked graft and corruption.
God Bless Biliran.
Sigurado na jud na ang modagan pagka ogvernor sa Biliran, sa line up sa mga Espina, mao si Gerry boy. Bantog ra kay sigi ug suroy-suroy sa mga kabaryohan. Kini gisibya na sa ilang amahan nga lagas. Sa Naval diay ang mo-alkontra kang mayor Susan Parilla mao usab si Roselyn. Kon madayon pagdagan ito si JDR, kay morag wala na maapil sa SB line-up, tulo sila ang modagan pagka mayor, pero, morag governor man ang target ni Darna kay siya man ang provincial head sa iyang partido nga kapatiran. Hayyyy, abangan nalang ang sunod nga mga panghitabo sa atong politika sa Naval kay morag medyo kolba hinam man uy!
To All Bloggers
Freedom Fighters
Gerry Espina Sr in his latest broadcast has confirmed the following:
Bando Espina is a coalition of the following parties:
Lakas
Kampi
Puwersa ng Masa
NPC
Lakas-Kampi CMD has just merged and as such will be demanding total loyalty from its members.
Gerry is saying there are no problems with the local elections as they have full control of the major parties. Governor Espina is the Lakas Representative, Gerryboy Espina Jr is the Kampi Representative, and Gerry Espina is the NPC Representative. The question is: who is the Biliran representative of Puwersa nang Masa? Roselyn Espina Paras? In as much as Gerry Espina Sr has stated with utmost certainty that Jejomar Binay of PDP Laban will run as Vice President under former President Joseph Estrada, will Bando Espina carry PDP Laban as well? Obviously it has to if it supports Puwersa ng Masa which is former Pres Estrada's party. In this scenarion Bando Espina is now a coalition of the following opposing parties:
Lakas Kampi CMD
Nationalist People’s Coalition
Puwesa Ng Masa (Joseph Estrada)
PDP Laban (Jejomar Binay)
Goodness gracious, he has all the party in his so called Bando Espina Coalition. How will then Gerry Espina Sr justify this coalition to the new leadership of the merged Lakas Kampi CMD party? I don’t call this smart politicking, THIS IS PURELY GREED.
To All Bloggers
Freedom Fighters
Gerry Espina Sr has finally formally announced the big comeback of the Espina Dynasty:
Congressman: Roger Espina
Governor: Gerryboy Espina Jr
Naval Mayor: Roselyn Espina Paras
Kawayan Mayor: Gerry Espina Sr
Kawayan Councilor: Rudy Espina
Anymore Espina around?
Correction on previous post: Partido ng Masa, not Puwersa ng Masa for former President Joseph
Aquarius,
Biliran becomes the paradise of greedy politicians. The Espina dynasty is no. 1 who never think for our good. They just smile and promise so many thing and after voting them in the positions they are totally over ruled their power.
making project that was good but on the other hand the price of the project was over price, The budget of any project that they will make is from the peoples taxes, they have no rights to put their name
on the that project nor tell the people that the project is made by them!
Greedy of money! Corruption Face to Face!
Greedy of power! Over rule! therefore the one who will take the effects are those who are in
the low class and middle class,,,
There is no Equality,
Discrimination of poor looking people with a good heart!
Some bloggers are right that this corruption causes poverty
and poverty that causes so many crimes around the peaceful island before....
It’s not very surprising if Gerry sr. will politically act that way. His move to accumulate all major political party in our country is nothing but a symptom of desperate politician. Now that they are going to run again occupying the highest political position in our province creates a scenario of greediness that they were doing it ever since. So, this is the reason why they want to clinch all major party because of their greediness. These king of politicians are having no DELICADEZA at all, GREEDY OF POWER, GREEDY OF MONEY, CORRUPT, CRIMINAL, IMMORAL. All kind of wickedness be in their right place.
Oh my gosh thank you! I've been waiting for someone to say this. And I was thinking the SAME EXACT THING ... how come the Espina family become very rich? They're proud of things that don't even help us but their pocket. I mean they get excited and proud when they are all in power controlling our province . Seriously ? I love Biliran, but the espina tends to brag about the stupidest accomplishments. I'd love to see our congressman finds new ways to help out the economy, global warming, or someone inventing a new way of transporation. I wish someone would do the same way. We're basically useless when it comes to winning something IMPORTANT. Aquarius, you post something like this that bloggers actually understand. More power!
All Bloggers
Freedom Fighters
You reactions of disgust are valid and we have to translate that into action at this early stage of preparations for 2010.
This clearly explains the loss of the Administration Senatorial candidates in 2007.Gerry Espina Sr cornered the campaign funds from Lakas, Kampi, Partido ng Masa and Nationalist Peoples Coalition and did not campaign for anyone of them as he is supporting opposing parties.Instead, he used the funds to insure the win of his local candidates. Unfortunately, he did not expect to lose to Rep Glenn Chong and he underestimated the intelligent vote of the Biliranons.
Gerry Espina Sr is prepared to prostitute the Biliranons by offering himself as a pimp to opposing political parties to insure Bando Espina controls the local elective positions. He does not care who wins in the national elections as he has already covered that by representing all of them.
His main concern is the Espina Dynasty. All the rest are merely pawns to his greedy political ambitions. Unlike normal people, the members of the Espina Dynasty are not capable of finding other descent employment based on qualification and skill. For them, the easiest way to make money is for all of them to control the purses of Biliran and run it like their own business.
In the coming months we will tackle these issues to help Biliranons make informed choice and avoid a repeat of 12 years now 15 years of unchecked graft and corruption committed by this family.
Please keep on blogging to let them know we are watching.
FYI Part 1
http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20090530-207895/The-ethical-moment-in-politics
The ethical moment in politics
By Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:25:00 05/30/2009
Filed Under: Politics, Social Issues
There is a view of politics that Filipino politicians have been professing lately. “Politics is a numbers game,” they love to say. And they say it as if that is all there is to politics. Of course the statement is true—in a shallow sense: If you have the numbers, you get to make the decisions. If you have the numbers, you will not be convicted of any wrongdoing.
But this view of politics is flawed, not only in a moral sense but also in a sociological sense. It ignores the fact that, when you live in a society, you cannot avoid having to answer ultimately for your actions. Sheer numbers will not shield you from accountability. I call this the ethical moment in politics.
One does not run in an election simply because he is confident that his wealth, political network, or popularity will carry him to office. Rather, he couches his bid in terms of a moral or professional worthiness coupled with an overflowing need to serve. Not even the most cynical politician wants to be perceived merely as a shameless power-seeker. He may buy votes, or cheat, or coerce his way to public office, but he cannot completely ignore the ethical dimension because he wishes his election to be seen not only as legal but, above all, as legitimate. Even the most ruthless dictator nurtures a wish to be loved.
What is true of politicians applies to voters as well. A voter may sell his vote, demand or accept something in return, but he will always try to rationalize this in morally acceptable terms. He will say: “This politician may be dirty but no one is clean anyway, and so it comes down to who can best help the needy.” The voter’s conscience may not bother him, but, if they’re not like him, his neighbors, friends, and relatives will. Unable to account for his action, he invites contempt and derision.
This sense of accountability (answerability or responsibility) for one’s actions remains strong in communities where urbanization or migration has not “ground men into masses,” to borrow a phrase from Karl Polanyi. But where the organs of the State and the market have completely replaced the natural fabric of the community, not even the new norms of citizenship can recreate the ethic of accountability that human beings felt toward one another in older societies.
(continued in part 2)
Part 2 (Continuation)
The ethical moment in politics
By Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:25:00 05/30/2009
We are at that precise point in the transition—when the old is dying and the new, still struggling to be born, is already mangled beyond recognition. Take a look at the condition of our institutions, at the way the rule of law has been bastardized, and at the way politics itself has been used to poison every pore of our national being. Take a look at the situation of our families and communities today, after more than three decades of being fed into the belly of overseas employment in order to satisfy a crude utilitarian thirst. Of what use is politics if we cannot call our leaders to account for the rate at which they have allowed the social tissue to deteriorate in the pursuit of blind capital accumulation?
It is my belief that, as it stands today, institutional politics—especially its regular electoral expression—has become nothing more than a way of further assimilating our people into a diseased social system. It offers no paths to social transformation. It deadens all instincts for balanced growth. It offers entertainment and diversion, instead of debate and the contest of visions. It forecloses options, rather than open new spaces for invention.
The British writer Simon Critchley thinks of politics as “the creation of such a space around a demand and then articulating it in relation to the state.” The demand, whatever it may be, acquires an unstoppable force to the extent that it can be woven into an ethical narrative. There has to be “a moment of sacralization in the constitution of any polity,” says Critchley. From the perspective of the political subject, I believe that. Using this simple concept of politics, let me point to remaining pockets where, I think, real politics may still be found in our society today.
I saw these the other night in Ditsi Carolino’s “Lupang Hinarang,” a powerful documentary film of the recent struggles for land by the peasants from Bukidnon and Negros Occidental. The Sumilao farmers undertook a 1,700-kilometer journey on foot from their remote village in Mindanao to Manila, where they hoped to bring their demand before the nation’s president. The grueling 59-day communal trek through heat and rain took on the meaning of the Biblical desert crossing of God’s chosen people, and made the whole journey sacred. Bajekjek, the youngest marcher, stated the issue in stark ethical terms: “Pigs do not farm, only human beings can till the land” (in reference to the planned conversion of their land into a corporate piggery farm). They won.
In Negros, the sugar cane farmers of Hacienda Velez-Malaga, finding that the land owner would kill them before he would allow them to take over the land that had been granted them under the agrarian reform law, decided to camp out in front of the main office of the Department of Agrarian Reform. Demanding that the government install them to their lands, they went on a hunger strike that lasted 29 days. In the cramped space they claimed for themselves beneath make-shift tents, they created a sheltering Church of the poor in which they nourished their fading hopes. They, too, won in the end.
Oscar Wilde was right: “Every thing to be true must become a religion.”
May 30, 2009 7:29 PM
To All Bloggers
Freedom Fighters
Based on the pronouncements of Gerry Espina Sr in his program "Pagusapan" dated May 19 2009, I posted a comment confirming the dismissal of the double murder, frustrated murder, attempted murder and grave threats filed by Mr. Charlie Chong vs Gerry Espina Sr et al.
In that broadcast, Gerry Espina Sr has clearly announced the dismissal of the case filed against him, Col Sabornido, CIDG operatives and SPO2 Saul. He even read the case numbers leading us to believe that he is quoting direct from the resolution of the Department of Justice.
In the absence of available documentations at that time, I took his word for it. Now it has been revealed by the subsequent broadcast of Kurokabildo on 30 May 2009 confirming the dismissal, but issued clarification, based on the same resolution, which Gerry Espina Sr quoted, that the dismissal only applied to: Gerry Espina Sr, Col Sabornido and SPO Bacalla not including the CIDG operatives and SPO3 Saul.
On that same resolution DOJ has found probable cause and recommended the filing of criminal charges of 2 counts of murder, 1 count of frustrated murder, 1 count of attempted murder against SPO2 Renato Saul, PO3 Jovito Cabillan and PO Charlie Ando.
It is obvious that Gerry Espina Sr has taken advantage of his access to Radyo Natin to broadcast only information for his own convenience to suit his own motives. In this particular case I call it, the convenient truth. In this broadcast he did not tell us the full truth but rather a half truth to create the impression among the listening public that the complaint filed has been fully dismissed. He conveniently omitted the portion of the resolution that found probable cause against SPO2 Renato Saul, PO3 Jovito Cabillan and PO Charlie Ando.
Ironically, Jerome Arcenal, the alter ego of Gerry Espina Sr, in the effort to control the damage, denied on the subsequent program of Pagusapan on May 30 2009d , that Gerry never announced that the case was dismissed against Gerry Espina et al, but rather the dismissal was only for Gerry Espina Sr, Col Sabornido and SPO Bacalla. He also confirmed that indeed, probable cause was found and recommending filing of cases against SPO2 Renato Saul, PO3 Jovito Cabillan and PO Charlie Ando.
Jerome Arcenal can listen to the May 19 2009 podcast of Gerry Espina Sr on this site to confirm. Gerry Espina Sr is devious and cunning employing the manipulation of truth to suit his own end. Jerome Arcenal, who pretends to be a lawyer, has done a very poor job of controlling the damage.
Now the truth has unfolded: DOJ has recommended the filing of 2 counts of murder, 1 count of frustrated murder, 1 count of attempted murder against SPO2 Renato Saul, PO3 Jovito Cabillan and PO Charlie Ando.
I hope that the subsequent hearings on the cases filed will reveal the motive of the ambush. I am confident that when the motives will have been established that the mastermind behind this atrocious incident will be identified.
Finally, Gerry Espina Sr, Col Sabornido and SPO Bacalla cannot rest on that dismissal. Until the cast has been fully resolved, the shadow of suspicion still hangs over their heads. The truth will prevail and there is nothing that Sec Raul Gonzales can do about it.
God Bless Biliran.
Aquarius,
Karon, nahuli na jud ang mga Timbangero sa ilang kabuwaon! maayo jud nga naka podcast na siya kay ang mga bloggers mismo ang nakahuli sa ila. Nakakahiya naman ito,klaro kaayo nga gipanalipdan nila ang mga espina kay nganong siya man ang mutobag sa maong issue nga dili man sa ila naka address! kagarapal jud ito si Jerome, obvious kaayo nga timbangang guba....
I just want to congratulate the Diocese of Naval sa ilang pagsaulog sa ika 20th Anniversary. Actually, nakatambong ko sa maong celebration ug daghan kaayo ang mga tao, dili lang hundreds of peole attended but more than 1000 ky puno gud ang gym!
Karon, mapamatood na nga mali-mali si Steve Greinke sa iyang mga accusation against the Msgr. Filomeno Bactol nga wala na siyay spiritual leadership sa Diocese sa Naval. Thanks Admin!
Aquarius:
Hastang gagoha bya kining mga timbangerong gong-gong.... nagpagamit lang sa mga corrupt nga mga politicians. Na unsa na bya ning mga tawhana nga kon magsalita morag sikinsa. Pulos mga walay silbi ang ilang mga topic. Mga bwesittttt.....
Tabili:
Correct ka dyan!!! unsaon nga nagpagamit man usab si Steve sa mga Espina, karon siya ang napahiya kay kaingon niya nga mga bugo nalang gyud ang mga Biliranon.
CONGRATULATION TO Bp. Filomeno G. Bactol, DD. and TO ALL THE FAITHFUL IN NAVAL DIOCESE. GOD BLESS US ALL!!!!
Freedom Fighters
All Bloggers
BAGGAT-CPC
CONGRATULATIONS ON THE SUCCESSFUL LAUNCH OF THE MOVEMENT!!
Biliranons will need to support these well-meaning volunteers who offered their time, effort and money to help usher in reforms to create an environment, where good governance should be the norm among our public officials and employees; and transparency a must in the management and disbursement of scarce public funds.
Together, we will fight graft and corruption.
Well Done!
Anonymous
RS
It is sickening to watch how some people can sacrifice their principles for misguided leadership and money.
Jerome Arcenal and George Manco should look at themselves in the mirror and discern what exactly are they in for. For fame? Recognition? or Money?
The audacity to call their program "Timbangan sa Katilingban" when in fact, it is simply an offshoot of Gerry Espina Sr's "Pagusapan Natin".
But then again, that's democracy at work. Whether they spill out truth or lies, it is up to them to be held accountable to the Biliranons. I believe, Biliranons are intelligent enough not to fall into the lion's lair.
Let us keep on blogging.
Aquarius:
Kagahapon didto ko sa NIT gym pero sa open forun na kay wala ko kalugar sa buntag. Ang timbangero nga taga maripipi jerome arcenal nangutana mahitungod sa mga ekipo nila congressman nga gigamit sa mga project ni cong. Napahiya hinoon siya kay gisupla man dayon ni Ombudsman Pelageo. Gipangayoan pa siya ug document pero newspaper ra ang dala. Mao nga ninglingkod nalang siya ug nagsamugkoy, gikantyawan pa sa mga tawo. Pagkataud-taud ning lakaw kay wala man gud siyay kakampi. Ambot kon nauwaw bakaha to kay baga naman kaayo na ug nawong.
Intoy,
Thanks for your update.
Jerome Arcenal, the alter ego of Gerry Espina Sr at RN, have been carrying a copy of that newspaper everywhere he goes. The funny thing is that, if you read that particular article, it actually vindicated Rep Glenn Chong as PCIJ confirmed, after their thorough investigations, that the Chong's businesses namely: Glenjoben and A & C Enterprises have never entered into any contract with DPWH Biliran since he assumed office as the Representative of the Lone District of Biliran in 2007. Last contract entered in to was around November 2006.
This is a clear case of manipulation of information to suit their own motives. Same strategy that Gerry Espina Sr employed when he announced the dismissal of the ambush case.
BTW please access www.biliranisland.com as the video and photographs of the BAGGAT-CPC event have already been posted.
Intoy,
ingon pa sa kaila ko nga nakatambong pod gahapon, personal issue man jud ang pangutana sa timbangero nga hambogero, directa nga naka address kang congressman
chong. Unta, ang iyang pangutana dili pang-akusar kay may pagkabastos man jud to nga pangutana. Bisan ug mangutana lang unta siya kon pwede ba nga ang mga ekipo sa amahan sa congressman maoy gamiton sa mga prohekto sa Congressman. Dili kay mangutana siya kon ngano man nga ang mga ekipo sa amahan ni congressman chong maoy gigamit sa iyang mga project. Mao nga gibara dayon siya sa ombudsman. Maupay nga sa iya!!!
I, too, am glad that these pictures taken during the 20th anniversary were already posted here. Actually, I’m active in the church activity that is why I know personally what’s going on there. The accusation peddled in the internet and local television by Stephen Greinke known as Brother Steve in Naval was totally a lies. His very malicious accusation against the bishop, I know, is a kind of vengeance because he wanted the bishop to support him during the trial on homosexuality accused against him. His brothers under the stage of formation, recruited personally by him to join his own founded association, strongly accused him of homosexual acts. Since, there is probable cause that is why he was deported right away to the United States of America. With low growls and angry snarls assailed the feeling of Stephen Greinke on every side, He deliberately harm the good name of the bishop as an act of revenge. Then politics came in, riding on the sensitive issue, again, to destroy the personality of bishop Filomeno Bactol because he leads in belligerent against corruption in Biliran province. He worked hand in hand with his priests to protect the sanctity of ballots during last election. That is why, election fraud, during the last election in Biliran, was totally minimized. Now, truth has prevailed!
The 20th anniversary celebration refurbished the good name of MSGR. FILOMENO G. BACTOL, D.D., BISHOP OF NAVAL. Belated congratulations!
Sana naman, naa untay mahitabo nga kabag-ohan sa atong provincia, labina karon nga matag partido kanya-kanya nga molabay ug maot nga pulong sa kada usa. Pulos nag-akusar nga siya korap nga opisyal sa goberno.
Lisod pa ang atong ekonomiya, sigi pa ug bagyo, naa pay swine flu, nia pa ang atong mga politiko sigi lang ug away. Samok na kaayo ang atong palibot. Kanus-a pa kaha kini matapos uy!
Karon nga aduna nay mga tawo nga andam mogukod sa tanan nga mga anomaliya sa governo, molampos unta ang ilang mga maayong tumong ug tuyo. Alang sa BAGGAT-CPC among mga pag-ampo para sa inyong kalampusan. Tabangan unta kamo sa Ginoo sa kanunay.
I'm jsut wondering who was organizing that Good governance and Integrity Forum. Obvious man kaayo na it was controlled by the Espina. The good congressman was not recognized by the Ombudsman during his speech. Actually, we cant blame him because somebody provided him a note and i'm sure it was the list of personalities to be acknowledge by ombudsman Apostol. In response, Rep. Chong, during his speech never acknowledge also the presence of governor Roger Espina. Gantihan lang!!!
Anonymous 7144,
Morag ang BAGGAT ang overall nga nagpa siugda sa Forum diha sa Naval Gym. Sila ang nag imbitar sa Ombudsman, ug sila usab ang nag imbitar kang Father Alejo. Apan ilang gipakita ang Forum nga usa ka Ombudsman activity. Ngani ang mga imbitasyon para sa mga opisyal sa gobyerno pirmado sa taga Ombudsman, dili sa taga BAGGAT.
Kung ninglutaw man ngani nga mora ug gi control ang Forum sa mga Espina, dili na to sayop sa BAGGAT. Ngani morag gipasagdan na lang to nga mahitabo, aron makita sa nagpinsar nga katawhan kung kinsa gayud ang mga parapanghurat ug tigdala sa samok dinhi sa ato.
Mora ug ning backfire to sa ila ang katuyuan sa pag intirbinir ug pag maniubra aron mabulabog ang Forum sa lagas nga pildido.
Mora baya hinuon ug naibanan sila ug tawo sa kadtong ilang gipanghakot, human makabati sa mga speakers ug sa pagbinastos sa usa ka kimpang nga timbangan.
Kon mao na nga ning over power ang mga Espina para ma control ang program, morag they are powerless. In other words, dili nila kaya makipagconfront sa mga Espina. Mora ba ug nagbahag ilang ikog. So unsaon man nila pagfight against corruption kon mga walay mga kapas kining mga member sa BAGGAT. Basin mahimo ni silang "Noguts"?
Tamsy, nagpatawa man ka? he he he!
sa tinood lang nga pagkasulti, isa lang diha sa mga member sa NOGUTS ah este, BAGGAT pala nga may balls si Prof. Borrrinaga lang kay ever since kini nga tawo mosukol gyud sa mga Espina, pero kanang uban diha nga mga officers,ambot lang kaha. naay usa nga hadlok man gani moatubang sa mga timbangero unsa pa kaha sa mga Espina? Hinoon, medyo bago pa sila basin mahawa sa kang prof. Borrinaga ug maka ambit sa iyang tinagoan nga princepio.
Morag ingon ani ang nahitabo sa forum sa Naval Gym. Gipasagdan sa taga BAGGAT nga mahitabo ang gustong mahitabo sa mga Espina. Gitugutan si Dok Rabbit nga makadala ug mga 100 sa iyang supporters, kay nagbahad man pod siya nga dili siya moatender sa forum ug dili kini tugutan. Mao na nga gitugutan. Maximum tolerance ang gibuhat sa taga BAGGAT ngadto sa tanang minaru nga plano sa mga Espina, apil ang pagbinastos sa kimpang nga tibhanganan.
Kumpiyansa man gud ang BAGGAT nga dili musalir ang mga plano sa lagas pagbulabug sa forum. Ngani, nagdahum ngani sila nga kung makabati lang sa mga speakers ang mga gihakot nga supporters, lagmit makumbinsir kini sila sa kaligdong sa anti-corruption campaign ug makaamgo sila sa mga panguwat sa naghakot sa ila.
Wa ba mo makamatikod nga ningkalit lang ug kahilis ang gipanghakot nga naglingkod didto sa grandstand dihang nagsugod na ug sulti si Fr. Albert Alejo? Morag gisinyasan to sila pagsibat na kay nahadlok ang ilang amo nga madutlan sila sa mga Ehem! nga pasidaan sa pari nga speaker. Gipareho sila kang satanas nga hadlok sa krus, o sa tangkaw nga hadlok sa kahayag, o sa usa ka lagas nga hadlok sa hulga ni Reggie.
Mora baya to ug naibanan hinuon ug ubay-ubay ang gihakot nga supporters ang mga Espina. Labina gyud tong nakapinsar sa ilang nabatian sa mga speakers didto sa forum. Morag mao ni ang gustong mahitabo sa BAGGAT dihang gitugutan nila ang tanang sugyot ni Dok Rabbit.
To All Bloggers
Freedom Fighters
The difficult task of promoting good governance, accountability and transparency has now taken a major step with the accreditation of BAGGAT as a Corruption Prevention Unit (CPU) by the Office of the Ombudsman. BAGGAT is composed of volunteers who have taken on the difficult challenge to institute reforms in Biliran by hoping to create an environment where good governance becomes the norm for our public officials, and transparency and accountability, a must in the management and disbursement of our very scarce public funds.
It is unavoidable that at the on-start cynics will question the political affiliations of each and every individual involved in this movement. For who is not affiliated to any political parties or politicians the moment you turn 18 and eligible to cast a vote? The moment you cast a vote, whether to a certain party or individual, you become partisan. You become partisan because you believe in what that party or individual represents or believe in their advocacy.
There is no one in Biliran who can claim to be purely non-partisan. Every one of us of voting age cannot claim to be non-partisan. However, being a party to certain individuals or political party is just the first step towards achieving political maturity. It is not enough that we cast our vote, and allow those people whom we entrusted our vote to dispense the authority we have entrusted them at their pleasure. We now have to take a second look at how the people we entrusted our vote, achieve what we are hoping they will accomplish for us and our children’s children: a decent, happy and healthy lives. In general terms, this is what any politician should endeavor to accomplish within the limits of their term, budget and public management ability.
Good Governance, Transparency and Accountability demands that Biliranons be informed of how Biliran is being managed by our public officials and employees; and how funds allotted for the delivery of services are spent. It requires transparency and accountability too insure that funds will only be applied to its original allocation and avoid unnecessary loses which leads to unfinished projects and inferior delivery of services. Good governance requires good public management ability while, transparency and accountability requires honesty. These are the basic traits we should be looking for in our public officials and government employees.
I appeal to all Biliranons to give this movement a go. This is a major step towards our journey to achieve political maturity in our province. There will be hiccups along the way and we don’t expect the BAGGAT to be the ultimate solution to the problems of graft and corruption which have been embedded in our culture for a long time. Rather, BAGGAT will become our eyes and ears to insure individuals and parties we have entrusted our vote and trust; and government employees entrusted to perform the day to day management of our public coffers will remain steadfast and honest in the execution of their duties.
It is now a big challenge for the volunteers of BAGGAT to demonstrate to the Biliranons their unquestionable sense of neutrality in dealing with issues raised within their area and limitation of responsibility. Biliranons will be right behind you.
God Bless Biliran
FYI. Copy of my blog in response to some reactions on BAGGAT at biliranisland.com.
(start of blog)
Utip & Kenneth
I can understand your cynicism on this latest development. Let us give these volunteers ample time to do their task and then we can react. You will need to remember that their task goes beyond political issues. Biliran is not only about the Espinas and Chong. There is more to it than what you are alluring to in your posts.
Good governance, transparency and accountability are not the exclusive dominion of these two families. This is about everyone involved in the decision making process and the day today execution of duties in public service. This is not limited to congressional fund allocations or the IRA for the provincial government or the proceeds of any loan entered into by our government branches with any financial institution. This is also about transparency and accountability that all government employees must adhere to in their day handling of any public funds at all levels: national, provincial and local.
Graft and corruption cannot just be committed by the elected public officials alone. It will require the connivance of the government agencies’ personnel and officers for it to flourish. The politicians do not write the cheques for the release of funds. It is the procurement and disbursement process, which is handled by our government employees, that effectively releases the funds to any payees. Whilst it is true that funds are ordered to be disbursed by the politicians, the career government employees CAN ALWAYS SAY NO, if they believe that it violate any existing applicable guidelines.
The excuse that they may lose their employment if they don’t follow orders is a worn out line. If government employees safeguard the sanctity of the processes, there is nothing that the politicians can do. Politicians come and go but our career government employees’ stay.
As such, we need to look at and safeguard the process. This is where BAGGAT-CPC comes in. They are tasked to insure that the process is observed and if not, they can bring it to the attention of the rightful authorities for immediate action, in this case, the Office of the Ombudsman.
The personalities involved in the movement may have their own previous political affiliations, but now that they accepted the task, they will be compelled to shed those affiliations and take on the firm ground of neutrality for this movement to succeed. It will be difficult but not impossible.
Again, the fight against graft and corruption goes beyond politics, it is about safeguarding our scarce public funds by insuring processes defined by law are observed and enforced at all times.
Aquarius,
Yes, I agree with you,BAGGAT is composed of volunteers who have taken on the difficult challenge to institute reforms in Biliran. And much difficult if ombudsman Pelagio will never support them.
Take the recent decision of the Sandiganbayan dismissing the case against a number of DPWH and local officials and a supplier, FABMIK, by the Visayas Ombudsman for “alleged overpricing and irregular practices” in connection with the supply and installation of lampposts for the Asean meeting in Cebu in 2007. For two years, Visayas Ombudsman Pelagio Apostol went to town informing all who cared to listen that his office caught “big fishes” on this one issue.
He boasted he had the “goods” on them and will present these in time. He fed his bosses all kinds of information and swore to the “tightness” of his case. He got caught in his own hype and bombarded the media and the public with all kinds of claims to boost his credentials as a “corruption fighter.”
Well, it now turns out he did not have “enough evidence” to warrant a conviction. He himself asked his boss and Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio to withdraw the information to give him and his staff time to “reinvestigate” and strengthen their case. Which they did. For the first time since their public spat, Gutierrez and Villa-Ignacio jointly signed a petition to the Sandiganbayan requesting withdrawal of the information and time to “reinvestigate.” So the court dismissed the case. Yet, Apostol blames others except himself for this debacle.
Instead of admitting his mistake and saving the office from further embarrassment, he again went to town railing against Manila-based Prosecutor Danilo Lopez, who told the court there was “no evidence against the respondents” and that Apostol and his crew may have been rushed into filing a case by forces in Cebu who had axes to grind against the respondents. In a word, Apostol allowed his office to be pressured and its findings somehow “politicized” to suit the purposes of the “critics.” He has forgotten his oath and his duty to his superiors. He has, in fact, put them in a bad light by not doing his work and, worse, blaming others, including Manila-based prosecutors, for his incompetence.
Anonymous
Thank you for your comments.
Indeed. I view the initial dismissal of the case by the Sandigan Bayan as a "tactical withdrawal" for the Office of the Ombudsman to insure that flaws in their arguments and evidences be ironed out to insure an airtight case.
Latest press release dated May 6 2009 justified the wisdom of that course of action. Unfortunately, the justice system in the Philippines has the tendency to favor the stronger party to the case,specially, where political allies of the powers that be are involved. This is where the people needs to be involved to safeguard the processes instituted by law are enforced at all times.
From the layman's perspective, this particular case is undeniably simple: a case of rampant overpricing.
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/nation/9922-dpwh-director-2-mayors-18-others-charged-for-cebu-lamppost-scam.html
DPWH director, 2 mayors, 18 others charged for Cebu lamppost scam
Written by Zaff Solmerin / Correspondent
Wednesday, 06 May 2009 21:44
OMBUDSMAN Merceditas Gutierrez on Wednesday ordered the filing of graft charges before the Sandiganbayan against two city mayors and 13 others for their involvement in the controversial Cebu lamppost scam.
Gutierrez said the filing of charges against the 15 was based on the results of the fact-finding and preliminary investigations conducted that found them liable as charged based on gathered evidence.
Named respondents were former Mandaue City Mayor Thadeo Ouano; City Engineer’s Office officer in charge Hidelisa Latonio; Assistant City Engineer Gregorio Omo; Gerardo Surla, chairman of the board, Gampik Construction and Development Inc.; and Isabelo Braza, president and chairman of the board, Fabmik Construction and Equipment Supply Company Inc.; and Lapu-Lapu City Mayor Arturo Radaza; City Engineer Julito Cuizon; Assistant City Engineer Fernando Tagaan Jr.; and Engineer IV Rogelio Veloso.
(continued in part 2)
Part 2/2 Previous post
Also ordered charged were Public Works Regional Director Robert Lala; Assistant Regional Director Gloria Dindin; Assistant Regional Director and Bids and Awards Committee (BAC) Chairman Marlina Alvizo; OIC-Chief, Maintenance Division Pureza Fernandez; OIC-Assistant Chief, Maintenance Division, Cresencio Bagolor; BAC Members Agustinito Hermoso, Luis Galang, Restituto Diano and Buenaventurada Pajo; Technical Working Group (TWG) Members Teresa Bernido, Ayaon Manggis, and Marilyn Ojeda.
Lala, Dindin, Alvizo, Fernandez, Bagolor, Hermoso, Galang, Diano, Manggis, Ojeda, Bernido, Radaza, Cuizon, Tagaan, Veloso and Braza were ordered charged for awarding the contract for the supply and installation of street lighting facilities along the Mandaue-Mactan Bridge 1 to Punta Engaño Section, Lapu-Lapu City amounting to P83,935,000 to Fabmik.
The Ombudsman computed the cost of the project at only P65,889,109.99.
Lala, Dindin, Alvizo, Fernandez, Bagolor, Hermoso, Galang, Diano, Manggis, Ojeda, Bernido and Surla were ordered charged for the award of the contract for the supply and installation of testing and commissioning of light emitting diode (LED) bulbs, traffic signal lantern and other traffic control devices at junctions M.L. Quezon Avenue-Terminal Building access road and M.L. Quezon Avenue-Patalinghug Avenue; supply and installation of street lighting facilities along Punta Engaño Road Network, Lapu-Lapu City, along Terminal Building Access Road, Lapu-lapu City, and along Patalinghug Avenue, Lapu-Lapu City, in the amount of P35,634,401.25 to Gampik. The amount is in excess of the Ombudsman computation of only P23,004,804.26.
Lala, Alvizo, Fernandez, Bagolor, Hermoso, Galang, Diano, Manggis, Ojeda, Bernido, Ouano, Latonio, Omo and Braza were ordered charged for the award of the contract for the supply and installation of street facilities along Wo Seno, C.D. Seno, Plaridel and J. Briones streets, Mandaue City, for P19,980,000 to Fabmik. The said amount was found to be in excess of the Commission on Audit (COA) Cost Evaluation of only P13,849,923.22.
Lala, Dindin, Alvizo, Fernandez, Bagolor, Hermoso, Galang, Diano, Pajo, Manggis, Ojeda, and Surla were likewise ordered charged for the award of the contract for the supply and installation of street lighting facilities along Mandaue Causeway Station 6+305-Sta. 9+069, City of Mandaue in the amount P24,975,000. The amount was found to be in excess of the Ombudsman computation of only P17,487,862 or the COA cost evaluation of only P16,229,434.23.
Anonymous,
The Cebu Lampposts case have clearly demonstrated the fact, that graft and corruption cannot be successfully committed by the politicians on their own without the connivance of the government department heads and government employees involved in the management and disbursement of public funds.
Keep on blogging.
TULISOK 7151,
AQUARIUS,
SALAMAT SA MGA PASIDAAN. NAHISGUTAN SA INVESTIGATING ENGINEER SA OMBUDSMAN VISAYAS NGA NAKABUTYAG SA LAMPPOST SCAM SA MANDAUE UG LAPULAPU ANG ILANG NABUHAT BAHIN NIINING KASOHA. MORA UG AWARE NA ANI ANG NGO COMMUNITY SA BILIRAN, KAY TAGA OMBUDSMAN MISMO ANG NAG ESTORYA SA ILA BAHIN SA DETALYA NIINI DIDTO SA NGO BRIEFING, NGA WALA NATO MABASAHI SA NEWSPAPERS.
MAO DIAY TO NGA NAGHANGYO GAYUD SI OMBUDSMAN APOSTOL UG HUGOT NGA TABANG UG KOOPERASYON SA MGA CHURCH GROUPS, N.G.O., UG UBAN PA SA PAGSIKOP SA MGA KAWATAN SA GOBYERNO.
MAAYO UG TUMANON NI SA BAGGAT-CPU SA BILIRAN, BISAN SA ATUBANGAY NA NGA PAKADAUT KARON SA MGA KAANIB SA MGA BANDIDO. TIAW MO BA NA NGA GIAPIL NA MAN NILA UG PAKADAUT ANG OMBUDSMAN.
PGMA names Devanadera as acting DOJ secretary
Date : 2009-06-08
http://www.gov.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2000781&Itemid=2
PGMA names Devanadera as acting DOJ secretary
MANILA (PNA) –-
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has appointed Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera as acting Justice Secretary in place of Secretary Raul Gonzalez who was appointed as new chief presidential legal counsel.
Deputy Presidential Spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo said in a press briefing at the New Executive Building (NEB) that Gonzalez will replace current Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Jesus Dureza who also holds the chairmanship of the Mindanao Economic Development Council.
Fajardo said Gonzalez lobbied for the post after announcing his plan to retire in November so he can run for Iloilo City mayor next year. The justice chief is also planning to bring his sick son, Jose Marie, to the Lourdes Shrine in France.
The younger Gonzalez is reportedly afflicted with cerebral palsy.
Devanadera was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 1977. She became Solicitor General in March 2, 2007.
Devanadera was also the first and only woman mayor of Sampaloc, Quezon. Among others, she was also the first and only woman national president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines.
An alumnus of Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU)-School of Government, Devanadera is married to Noriel Devanadera. They have three children. She started her career as an accountant at Carlos J. Valdes and Co.
Do you think that having new DOJ secretary will give justice to the victims of Biliran Ambush?
TULISOK 7155:
Maayo bitaw ning mga blogs ni Aquarius kay ma update jud ta ug ayo. Bitaw, tinood ng imong ingon nga ang mga pakadaut karon nga gihimo sa mga espina against kang Rep Glenn grabe na jud kaayo. Sigi sila ug paprinta sa mga issue against kang Atty ug ipakalat nila sa kabaryohan. Ang mga 15/30 ang naghimo ani. Sa RN kada adlaw sila mosibya ug ang timbangero nga hambugero mao nay mobanat. Kagahapon ingon pa sa pigit nga jerome, naa na daw warrant of arrest nga eserve para kang congressman tungod sa libel case. Kon matood ito, baliktad na jud ang hustisya kay ang mga kriminal maoy naabsuelto ang mga wala sala ang mapriso. Poderoso jud ang mga Espina nga mga criminal.....
Na kay mapipriso na ang inyong idol cong chong! Ang DOJ nagdidicide na nga may probable cause ang libel case gingfile ni Gov. Doc Roger.
Ano kaya ang gingbabati karon ni Charlie ug Adelfa na mapipriso na ang ilang anak? makakalooy man, pero unsaon nga hindi man gud nila pag-estoryahan ang ilang magaling na anak. Maayo, aron magkikita na sila ni Saul!...he he he!
Anonymous 7157
It will make a lot of difference. Gonzales is known to lobby for allies than perform his job as Secretary of Justice. He has been confirmed to be very close to Gerry Espina Sr. As a matter of fact, he is allegedly the Godfather of one of the children of Gerry Espina Sr.
Gerry Sr has been boasting on the radio about his close relationship with Gonzales.
FYI
Loyalty doesn’t pay — sometimes
EDITORIAL
http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20090610com1.html
06/10/2009
Any which way it is cut, Raul Gonzalez was sacked from his Justice secretary post, even if he is now being given, as consolation prize, the post of presidential legal counsel, a do-nothing post really, since even the statements of previous presidential legal counsels, such as Serge Apostol and Jesus Dureza, who has suddenly disappeared, were hardly ever taken seriously.
Appointed Justice chief is Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera, who is just as loyal a lapdog of Gloria Arroyo as Gonzalez is.
He was obviously sacked as even when Malacañang claimed that he had spoken to Gloria about his desire to take things easy. Gonzalez kept telling the media that he had not talked to Gloria about this matter and even says that he wants to stay on as Justice chief until November, as he will be resigning to run for mayor in an Iloilo town.
Despite being sacked, Gonzalez continues to hang on to his post, claiming that he still has much to finish in his department, such as the Dacer-Corbito murder case with the return of former police aides of Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Cezar Mancao and Glenn Dumlao as state witnesses, and even, so he says, in the matter of today’s massive protest rally in Makati City against the constituent assembly (con-ass) resolution that would effect Charter change. But isn’t that like saying he is indispensable? But perhaps he believes he is. After all, he has shown such dogged loyalty to Gloria and wants to “please her” some more by going after her perceived political foes and critics, so much so that it has clouded his judgment.
To retain his post — at least until November this year when deadline for the certificates of candidacies comes — he also points out that Devanadera really wants to be an associate Supreme Court justice, pointing out that she still is in the running for the SC post and has to clear up her case before the Ombudsman, which the former Justice chief claims has already been dismissed.
Yet Gonzalez knows that Devanadera has no chance in hell to be nominated by the Judicial Bar and Council (JBC) which has thumbed her nomination down twice, for the same reason: The charges against her before the Ombudsman have not been dismissed, apart from another reason known to the JBC members.
Besides, the reason Gloria appointed Devanadera to replace Gonzalez was due to her not being able to make it as an SC justice. And she, too, must be rewarded by Gloria for being such a loyal female dog as the Solgen in the many cases filed before the high court and the Court of Appeals, such as the Joc-joc Bolante frozen bank accounts that allowed to be lifted by her, and the Anti-Money Laundering Council’s deliberate non-compliance with the court order to meet the deadline set twice over, as well as the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain issue, along with many other constitutional cases.
It is being said in reports that Gonzalez was removed because he had refused to reverse the National Bureau of Investigation’s suicide findings of broadcaster Ted Failon’s wife, which doesn’t quite fly. More probably it was due to a powerplay which he lost within the Justice department with regard to the issue of the Alabang Boys drug charges where one sub official was reinstated and where his boys, Resado and Zuño, were, and still are, suspended.
With his post lost, Gonzalez also loses his seat and vote in the JBC. It will be Devanadera who will be giving the Malacañang nod for two more SC justice nominees, as Gloria wants. He also stands to lose a lot more, such as his security, his perks and, of course, his power over so many cases for review, which he either sits on for some reason, or gives it the thumbs up if the accused is a critic of his boss Gloria, even when there is no probable cause.
Besides, he has outlived his usefulness to Gloria.
Still, Gonzalez’s ouster is no cause for rejoicing, as he will be replaced by yet another loyal dog.
Blatant unethical conduct
http://www.tribune.net.ph/commentary/20090610com4.html
MR. EXPOSE
Amb. Ernesto Maceda
06/10/2009
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez appeared shocked by his sudden removal from his post. Talking to newsmen, he said he was hesitant to leave because of the Dacer-Corbito case. He said he was the one who “developed” the case and that “so much of the confidence of Mancao and Dumlao is because of me.”
He expressed the fear that if he leaves his post as Justice secretary, they might change their tune. He added: “Just to strengthen the confidence of the two, I offer my services as legal counsel.”
This is shocking for a Secretary of Justice to admit that he is the one developing and orchestrating a case that is still under preliminary investigation by a three-man panel he created to hear the case.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez speaks of his “Moral Responsibility” to support Mancao and Dumlao in the form of lawyering for them after he leaves his post at the DoJ.
Moral responsibility? Doesn’t he mean the duty to remain impartial and neutral in the reinvestigation of the Dacer–Corbito case instead of openly avowing his commitment to them, and his fear that they might change their mind should he leave?
Moral responsibility? Doesn’t he mean the delicadeza to refrain from making statements and taking public positions that would influence the outcome of the investigation? As Justice secretary he created the reinvestigation panel and he ultimately decides on the disposition of the case upon submission of recommendations to his office. Yet he now declares that he would even lawyer for them when he is removed.
Moral responsibility? Doesn’t he mean that he cannot lawyer for Mancao and Dumlao even if he wanted to as this would be a blatant violation of the tenets of the Code of Professional responsibility for lawyers, specifically “Rule 6.03 — A lawyer shall not, after leaving government service, accept engagement or employment in connection with any matter in which he had intervened while in said service.”
This is not the first time that the department under Secretary Gonzalez has been suspected of “developing” cases against those who would oppose the administration. Batasan 5, Vice Gov. Ricky Recto, Eke Cardenas and many more. Now they are “developing” a case against Sen. Panfilo Lacson and President Joseph Estrada, violating this Canon: The primary duty of a lawyer engaged in public prosecution is not to convict but to see that justice is done.
Diay blog nga gipost sa laing website:
EHEM... EHEM... EHEM... MAGKALAKAT NGAY-AN ANG ATONG GOBERNADOR, SP BOARD MEMBERS, DEPT HEADS YANA NGA WEEK-END. MAKADTO KUNO HIRA HA MAKATI CITY KAY MAG PIRMAHAY HA SISTERHOOD AGREEMENT BETWEEN BILIRAN PROVINCE & CITY OF MAKATI. TAPOS IBALIGYA ANG BILIRAN HA PROLEND, YANA IPA-ADOPT NA LIWAT KITA (AN BILIRAN) HA MAKATI CITY. IN OTHER WORDS, MA SUPORTA AN ATON GOBERNADOR HA KANDIDATORA NI BINAY KUMO PRESIDENTE COME 2010 ELECTIONS. IN OTHER WORDS, OPPOSITION NA NGAY-AN ANG SUPORTAHAN NI GOB RABBIT? DILIKADO KA HITON IMO BUHAT. PAGHUNA-HUNA MAKADAMO...
Sa akong pamati, kining sisterhood agreement, para lang kini sa equivalent local government units. For example, municipality to municipality, city to city, o province to province. Kining plano para sa Biliran ug sa Makati, morag dunay balinsuhi dinhi, kay province to city kini. Bahala na ug pinakadato nga LGU ang Makati karon.
Morag gihimo na lang gayud ug makililimos ang Biliran Province ni Dok Rabbit, nga payukboon na lang ta sa Makati, nga morag wa tay bukog sa atong buko-buko.
Supilan ni natong planoha mga Biliranon. Pagkalapas kini sa atong dignidad isip usa ka probinsiya.
Sa pagkaron, ang mga tawo sa Naval, nagpakabana sa mga panghitabo ilabina nga gusto ipapriso ang atong maabtik ug bootan nga congressman.
Pero dako ang pagtoo sa mga tawo nga dili mapriso si Rep. Chong kay kabalo na siya kon unsaon pagpanalipod sa iyang kaugalingon. Tinood gyud nga usa kini ka harassment kay maglisud man ug daug ang governor sa iya karong umaabot nga election.
Moabot ra gihapon ang panahon nga magabaan kining mga MGA KRIMINAL NGA MGA ESPINA!
KKB 7163:
Maayo ning imong taho kay aron masabtan sa tanan! Tingali, ila lang kining esekrito sa mga espina sama sa prolend nga utang. Kon wala mo-entefer ang atong congessman dili masabtan ug dili masanta ang pagbaligya sa mga espina sa Biliran. Karon ila n a pod nga himoon nga makililimos ang
Biliranon pero ang ilang makuha diha nga benefit para lang usab sa ilang bulsa! good job...
Aquarius 7162
A source of The Manila Times on Tuesday said that Gonzalez earned the ire of President Arroyo for taking too long in pushing for the extradition of Mancao and Dumlao, and the prosecution of Lacson.
It was also pointed out that the President allegedly got irked with Gonzalez because he does not know what is happening inside the Justice department, particularly the allegedly rampant case-fixing.
The source said that the US Drug Enforcement Agency reportedly disliked the way the Justice department was handling drug cases.
while at the House of Representatives, Rep. Teodoro Casiño of Bayan Muna said the sacking of Gonzalez was long overdue, since the former Justice secretary allowed himself to be used by the administration for partisan ends.
Rep. Roilo Golez of Parañaque City, the spokesman of the House opposition bloc, praised the decision of Malacañang in picking Devanadera as acting Justice secretary
TO REP. GLENN CHONG:
YOU ARE NOT ALONE! WE WILL SUPPORT AND PRAY FOR YOU!
I BELIEVE THAT JUSTICE WILL PREVAIL, JUST CONTINUE YOUR TRUST AND FAITH IN GOD... YOU WILL NOT BE ABANDONED BY HIM.
Itong nahitabo ni Rep. Glenn klaro kaayo nga political harassment. Ito mga espina puderoso jud kaayo. Ang gusto nila ipasabot sa katawhan nga naa sa ilang side ang hustisya.
Tama jud tong iyang giingon last saturday nga wala siyay dapat ika-ulaw kay ang iyang kaso is libel ug dili murder, rape, corruption, immoral, ug damo pa. Morag ang tanan nga kadimonyohan naa sa mga wspina.
Pero sayod ang mga Biliranon na kaya ito lusotan ni congressman. Ang mga biliranon nag-ampo kaniya sa kanunay.
God bless you!
To All Bloggers
Freedom Fighters
These latest developments are simply legal processes that have come to a head. It has been expected that the members of the Espina Dynasty will file counter charges after the dismissal of the charges filed by the Chong family as a result of the ambush incident. It is surprising though, that it is Governor Roger Espina who first filed the libel case against Rep Glenn Chong, as everyone expected Gerry Espina Sr to fire the first salvo in these forthcoming charges and counter charges that may never end.
Incidentally, Rep Glenn Chong is in the position to file libel charges against Governor Espina, Gerry Espina Sr and his leaders who repeatedly been broadcasting on radio and several media accusing the Chong family of masterminding its own ambush to win elections. In Gerry Espina Sr’s words, it was a drama staged by the Chong. These statements were uttered in numerous occasions intended to defame the honor of the Chong family. All the elements of libel are also present on this case.
As such I won’t be surprised if warrants of arrest will be issued against the Governor Espina and Gerry Espina Sr in the very near future.
In the Philippines, dozens of libel cases are filed everyday. Warrants of arrests are issued in as fast as the court clerks can type. Likewise, filing of bail, cash or bonds, is a regular occurrence that it loses its value apart from a short lived satisfaction of the complainants and the embarrassment and inconvenience of the respondents.
In Biliran, Gerry Espina Sr has dramatized the issuance of the warrant of arrest against Rep Glenn Chong as if he has won a major victory and spell the end of the latter’s career. Unfortunately, although cases filed against Gerry Espina Sr, Col Sabornido and SPO3 Bacalla have been dismissed for now, the charges of 2 counts of murder, 1 count of frustrated murder and 1 count of attempted murder against SPO2 Renato Saul, CIDG operatives Ando and Cabillan will now go into full blown trial. In the forthcoming trial proceedings, a motive will be established and it is evident that those three suspects will eventually confess to the motive of the killings. That will be the tricky part of this saga of events. It does not help too, that the ally they have been relying on to defend them no longer possess the power and control to insure cases filed against them will favor their way.
That could be the reason why Gerry Espina Sr is holding back his own filing of counter charges against Rep Glenn Chong, or he could be vying for the right time to file the case for maximum effect, the 2010 elections. I still think, Governor Espina has jumped the gun and has prematurely filed the libel case. The elections is still a year away, and the ambush case may not have been resolved by then, putting the proverbial sword of Damocles hanging over Gerry Espina Sr’s head. At this stage, his future is uncertain.
Unfortunately, Rep Glenn Chong has to go through the unnecessary expense and time to resolve this case and may take the option of filing counter charges against Gerry Espina Sr.As I said, this will be a never ending saga. The ultimate winners will be the lawyers, neither the the Espinas nor the Chongs. It does take a lot of money and time to try cases of this nature under the Philippine style of judicial system. Let us keep a close watch at the turn of events and insure that truth and justice prevails
God Bless Biliran
FYI. Sounds familiar? Families that cannot explain their possessions against their legitimate income?
DoJ chief opposes Imelda’s retaking of P15-B jewelry
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20090616hed6.html
06/16/2009
Embattled and supposedly cash strapped former First Lady Imelda Marcos won’t be getting the P15 billion worth of jewelry anytime soon.
Newly installed Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera, in clarifying her predecessor’s findings, yesterday said the pieces of jewelry that are in the government’s keeping “are not within (their) legitimate income.” Thus, she asked the
Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) to investigate before ordering the release of the jewelry.
Devanadera said it will probably take two weeks to determine whether to return or not the precious stones to Mrs. Marcos.
Former Department of Justice (DoJ) Secretary and now chief Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez earlier has ordered the PCGG to “deliberate on the legal ramifications” of releasing the pieces of jewelry.
Mrs. Marcos is demanding the immediate return of the prized jewels.
In his letter dated June 4 when he was still the Justice chief, Gonzalez told PCGG Chairman Camilo Sabio that “(PCGG) has not initiated any civil or criminal proceeding in any court, tribunal or agency for the forfeiture of the subject (pieces of) jewelry…Evidently, Mrs. Marcos remains to be the legitimate owner of said prized jewels.”
Devanadera, during a press conference, said her predecessor’s statements are “properly couched.”
“In our discussion last week (with government lawyers), there were certain aspects that we saw that must be studied very well, and which could be the legal impediment in releasing the jewelry,” she added.
At first glance, Devanadera said the price of the pieces of jewelry goes beyond what is considered the Marcoses’ income.
“There is a Supreme Court ruling that all properties, of which value go beyond legitimate income, are considered ill-gotten,” she stressed.
She also noted the jewelry could be an incidental or attached issue to one of the many sequestration cases filed against the Marcoses, and should thus be dealt with accordingly.
Notwithstanding this current position from the DoJ, Mrs. Marcos, in a statement, said: “Thank God that after more than 23 years of relentless persecution and deprivation initiated by the Cory Aquino administration, Mrs. Arroyo’s government has now started efforts for truth and justice to prevail.”
She said the pieces were “intended for religious images, like tiaras for the Blessed Virgin Mary. But there are valuable pieces of personal jewelry that are not in the inventory although I know they were left in our bedroom at Malacañang in 1986, among those inside the 34 Louis Vuitton suitcases taken out of the Palace without proper authorization and inventory by Mrs. Margarita ‘Tingting’ Cojuangco.”
Officials from the PCGG, meanwhile, remained mum on the issue, as Sabio, to which the letter was addressed to, was indisposed.
Reporters tried to get in touch with the chairman, but failed.
PCGG Commissioner Ricardo Abcede, who had been very vocal about the jewelry being sold or auctioned, said he is unaware of the report.
“Not that I know of,” he said when asked to comment on the DoJ order.
PCGG Commissioner Narciso Nario said the truth of the report will be made known after their en banc meeting. Benjamin B. Pulta and Jason Faustino
FYI. It seems that former DOJ Sec Raul Gonzales had been making "midnight" orders before his sacking on June 8. Is it possible that the dismissal of the Biliran ambush case and the issuance of warrant of arrest against Rep Glenn Chong are parting gestures of Gonzales for his Kumpadre Gerry Espina Sr? Further, has Gonzales now started the fund raising gimmicks for 2010 elections by sucking up to Imelda Marcos?
(start of article)
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090616-210721/Gonzalez-bid-to-return-Imeldas-gems-assailed
Gonzalez bid to return Imelda’s gems assailed
By Christine Avendaño, Leila Salaverria
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 03:24:00 06/16/2009
MANILA, Philippines—The jewelry collection belongs to the National Treasury and should not be returned to Imelda Marcos, Etta Rosales, chair of a group of Marcos human rights victims, said Monday.
Rosales said the recommendation of former Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to give back the jewelry to Imelda because these were not proved to be ill-gotten was outrageous.
She noted that officials had reached the point where they were considering either auctioning off the jewelry or exhibiting them in a museum.
“That was a done deal, then all of a sudden there’s a technicality,” Rosales said in a phone interview.
She said the apparent change of tack could show that the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was trying to find new allies or to get in the good graces of the former first lady and her business allies because elections are near.
Rosales said the jewelry, or any money made from selling them, should go to the national coffers or to compensate the victims of the Marcos regime’s brutal rights violations.
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. called for a Senate probe of the circumstances that led to the “midnight” order of Gonzalez.
Pimentel said there was something “extremely suspicious” about the whole transaction.
Assuming that Gonzalez’ claim was true that no forfeiture order was made on the jewelry the past 19 years, Pimentel asked “who had been terribly remiss in the discharge of duties?”
The senator said the transaction raised a lot of questions that may be answered in a Senate probe. The Senate minority leader said the jewelry could be used for the construction of hospitals, schools and classrooms.
Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III also questioned the Gonzalez order.
“What is the justification for it?” said Aquino, son of former President Corazon Aquino whose administration led the pursuit of the ill-gotten wealth of the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos and his family.
The senator said that under the law “any unexplained wealth is presumed to be ill-gotten wealth” and that there was no prescription period in dealing with cases of ill-gotten wealth.
It sounds semilar of what we are doing here.
Start of article:
IRAN PROTESTERS FIGHT USING BLOGS, TWEETS AND TEXT MESSAGES
(The battle on the streets is fought also online as authorities attempt to block, jam and cut off communications.
By Jeffrey Fleishman
12:03 PM PDT, June 16, 2009)
Reporting from Cairo -- Iran has slipped into a guerrilla-style Internet and Twitter game of strategies and slogans pecked out by protesters attempting to outflank a government that has shut down communication outlets, leaving the nation breathless on snippets of text and stealthily uploaded pictures.
It is a battle on the streets and across the airways affecting the rest of the Middle East as well, a realm where technology is both churning out and smothering polarizing messages and images. Iranian authorities have blocked opposition websites, jammed satellite TV channels and cut off text messaging. Still, word is trickling beyond the censors, linking, however sparsely, opponents of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's rule from the capital of Tehran to those in villages in the north.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran-image17-2009jun17,0,5364897.story
FYI. Sounds familiar? How did
the Espina Dynasty accumulated such possessions, when all of them were government employees for the last 15 years. Gerry Espina Sr was a career government official and so was his wife during the Marcos era. How the family became multi- millionaires is a big puzzle.
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=478650&publicationSubCategoryId=64
EDITORIAL - Failure of justice
Updated June 18, 2009 12:00 AM
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How much can a Philippine president earn in 20 years? While in office, he is prohibited from engaging in private business. His immediate relatives are supposed to be barred from using their access to power for self-enrichment.
Yet in his two decades in power, the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos managed to accumulate a mind-boggling fortune, with his widow building up a personal jewelry collection valued at P15 billion. This treasure trove is apart from millions of dollars stashed away in foreign banks, with the Philippine government managing to trace over $350 million in Switzerland. That amount, turned over by the Swiss government and still held in escrow, has grown to nearly $700 million. The Philippine government has also managed to recover several pieces of prime real estate property in New York.
With the Philippine president one of the lowest paid heads of government in the world, how did Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos manage to amass all that wealth? The government places the Marcoses’ wealth at around $10 billion. Simply comparing the wealth when Marcos rose to power against the family’s bank deposits, jewelry and other assets 20 years later in 1986 should give the government a strong case to convict at least one of the Marcos heirs for corruption.
Yet neither Imelda nor her children, and not one of the Marcos cronies has been sent to prison for any offense in connection with ill-gotten wealth. The Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program ended with little of the Marcos wealth going to CARP, as envisioned in the land reform law. Today, 23 years after Marcos was toppled, a comment from Raul Gonzalez shortly before he was replaced as justice secretary has reminded the nation that none of the top personalities during the Marcos dictatorship has been punished for the crimes of the regime. Gonzalez had told the Presidential Commission on Good Government that if there was no legal reason to hold on to P15 billon worth of jewelry being claimed by Imelda Marcos, the collection had to be returned to her.
How hard is it to finalize the nation’s claim over ill-gotten wealth? And how hard is it to find someone guilty of amassing wealth illegally when the verified amount is way beyond the capability of any public official to have earned the wealth through legitimate means? This failure of the justice system guarantees that more public officials will be accumulating wealth beyond their means in the coming years.
Aquarius:
Dynasty politics should be stopped. At least for the families that have negative public image should be banned, especially the Espina dynasty. So no surprise that all crooks want to get into politics & amass wealth.
One can understand Business men becoming rich overnight due to the wealth created by the stock market, but politicians turning rich overnight is a very suspicious phenomenon that is why Gerry Sr will do everything to control political power in Biliran again so that no one can prevent them from any illegal transaction in their administration.
Aquarius,
I agree with you, the existing wealth of the Espina dynasty is open to doubt.
Banning political dynasties is one of those “too good to be true” things and that’s why we find ourselves intensely attracted to the idea. The sad part is when we begin to realize that politics in our province is controlled by only one family before, and after 12 years, evidence of unexplained wealth is a sad reality. Banning political dynasties is totally nothing but a dream. That’s a fact, and despite our desperate attempts to get closer to this dream, our efforts will always be futile and we’ll just end up feeling sorry for ourselves.
The Biliran is controlled by Political dynasty for more than 12years, with powerful family of Espina and their entourages plundering a weak state in a climate of uncertainty and insecurity especially that victims of political killing are still away from justice. Political terrorism is now a phenomenon in our province. Acts of terrorism take place at the point of intersection between political harassment and political intimidation. The major component of this political terrorism is due to graft and corruption because of unexplained wealth accumulated by the tyrant Espina dynasty. Political terrorism is driven by relative deprivation resulting in triple deficits - humane deficit, democratic deficit and moral deficit.
FYI. The skeletons from Raul Gonzales closet are starting to come out. I have the feeling that the ambush case and the warrant of arrest were just some of the midnight resolutions Gonzales ordered before being sacked.
Gerry Espina Sr should now start feeling uncomfortable.
(start of article)
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=479964&publicationSubCategoryId=64
Opinion
GMA candidacy can hasten her downfall
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc Updated June 22, 2009 12:00 AM
Drugs. That, insiders aver, is the reason Raul Gonzalez was removed as Secretary of Justice. President Arroyo was livid with his actions on three big drug cases. First, he agreed to dismiss charges against the Alabang Boys in the wake of exposure of likely bribery to do so. Then, he sat on the case of the Balasan Boys in the midst of findings that they’re close to his protégé, the Iloilo head prosecutor. Lastly, he dropped from the complaint sheet the financier of the Naguilian, La Union, shabu lab operated by the Dagupan police chief. Apparently Gonzalez had misread how serious Arroyo was with her anti-narcotics drive.
Had she known, Arroyo might have gone wild over a fourth case. It resurfaced from Gonzalez’s odder actions just before relinquishing office.
Gonzalez’s transfer as presidential chief legal counsel should have taken effect June 4. But, sources say, he asked successor Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera for a week’s delay, purportedly to clean out his stuff. Late Wednesday, June 10th, Department of Justice personnel frantically text-messaged their counterparts at the Office of the Solicitor General. “Di lang pala sa Pasig may (shabu) tiangge; dito sa DOJ may tiangge ng resolusyon (ng kaso),” it went, “Not only in Pasig is there a (shabu) flea market after all, at the DOJ there’s now a flea market of (case) resolutions.” Early the next day the OSG staff went to the DOJ to inspect. Shocked, they found dozens of midnight decisions, signed the week just past and ready for registered-mailing. The OSG crew stopped the dispatching of the resolutions. On review they found that some had no requisite bar code, since the coder was busted. One case had two contrary conclusions, both signed for delivery to opposing parties. Several decisions already had been sent out before the OSG detected the mess. One of the intercepted rulings was for the PCGG to return Imelda Marcos’s confiscated jewelry.
Devanadera finally assumed office on Monday the 15th. Because the S-O-S text mentioned the Pasig shabu tiangge, she reportedly called in the three plucky female prosecutors on case. Murmurs at the DOJ are that Gonzalez had wanted them to go light on indicted shabu den owner Amin Boratong, but that they refused. He had even ordered them to drop out of the prosecuting team, but they found a loophole in his memo to justify their stay. Now backed by a new chief, the trio was glad the pressuring is over. Colleagues similarly situated were happy too that the new woman at the top seems determined to bring back to the DOJ its lost glory. Devanadera had halted the PCGG from returning the Marcos jewels because of pending court cases, and ordered a review of the Naguilian drug rap.
Devanadera had a pending application to fill up one of two Supreme Court vacancies when tapped to replace Gonzalez. She’ll have to postpone that dream till the next vacancies come in succession in four months or so. Meantime, she has that short a time to re-up the DOJ’s battered morale.
Walang hiya jud itong mga Espina, obvious jud na ila lang gisabutahe ang kaso nga gifile ni Atty. Glenn unsaon nga unay man sa luwag kay kumpadre man ang dating secretary sa DOJ. Amo nga damo jud ang nalipay nga gipalagpot na ito si Gonzales kay damo lang anomaliya. Maayo jud, ibig sabihihin nga ito si PGMA may wisdom as president. Karon kinabahan na ang lagas kay pila na kaadlaw nga wala na mag-usap usap. Gadanghag lang ang lagas na ito. Baga jud ug nawong mao nga karon adto na siya modagan as mayor sa Cawayan bisan ug dili siya taga Cawayan kay aron lang iyang matakpan ang mga anomaliya sa anak niyang addict ang mayor karon sa Cawayan.
RS:
Kining bang mga espina dili lang mga walang hiya, saksakan pa gyud ka mga walay uwaw ug garapal kaayo ang mga nawong.
Pero karon nga wala na si gonzalez sa DOJ, mao na ni ang panahon sa panudya. Karon nga wala na silay alas angay na nga magtago nalang sila kay sayod ko nga dili na gyud sila lung-an ni Aty. Glen. Kay dili man ila tanan ang panahon. Dili man sila ang tag-iya sa justisya. Busa mao ni kining panahon nga angay na usab nga kita ang mobuhakhak ug katawa sama sa gihimo ni pawiks sa RN sa dihang na issuehan si Aty. glen ug warrant of arrest. Mao nga wala na siya magtingogtingog sa radyo kay halata man kaayo nga hadlok na siya. Dili na man siya makakatawa ug sama kang lucifir nga katawa. Hala sigi kita napod ang mokatawa sa kadalanan.
FYI,
Wala pa man diay makafile ang prosecutor sa RTC Naval para sa murder case kang Ando ug mga kauban nga nasangkot sa Biliran Ambush. Kana raba nga order sa DOJ nga may probable cause mas una na siya gerelease sa DOJ ulahi na ang libel case kang Rep. Glenn, pero mas na una pa nakareleas ang warrant of arrest kang Rep. Glenn.
Dinhi nato maklaro nga bias kaayo ang atong court of justice sa Naval.
Kining mga Espina for better or for worse dili gyud na sila basta-basta mogive up sa ilang gahom nga na angkon sa atong probinsya. Kay diha nila naangkon ang kayamanan nga karon ilang gi-enjoy pag-ayo. Mao nga buhaton gyud nila ang tanan to control again the political power by whatever means possible, fair or unfair.
Ang pagkapatay ni DP usa lang ka basihan nga andam sila mokalas ug kinabuhi basta dili lang ma-ilog sa lain ang ilang trono. Busa karon, kuyaw gyud kaayo ang kinabuhi ni Rep. Glenn mao nga triple ingat unta ang atong congressman kay siya nalang ang atong pag-laum nga mabawe nato ug balik ang kalinaw sa Biliran. Maningkamot kitang tanan nga dili na modaug ang mga Espina sa Biliran. Bahala ug dili na sila mapriso basta mahanaw sa dayon ang ilang anino sa atong politika aron mobalik ang tinood nga kalinaw ug kahamugaway nga gimutya sa atong mga katigulangan. Sana naman lord, maawa ka sa tunay na mga Biliranon, Amen!
Yes, I agree with you guys! Sa ngayon, nangyayari ito dahil ang mga kasamahan ng mga Espina like our vice gov. Lucy Curso ay gahaman din sa polical power at sunodsunoran pa sa mga Espina. Paano malaki din ang kanyang pakinabang dahil ang sasakyan ng capitulyo ay ginagamit nya para sa kanyang mga workers in her farms.
They are the most insincere, selfish and ruthless people in our province.
Hindi lang ang mga Espina, pati na rin ang kanilang mga kampon. Get rid all of them. Sa ganitong paraan lamang mababago ang takbo ng ating pamumuhay sa Biliran.. MAGBAGO NA TAYO. KAHIT NA ANONG SYSTEMA NG GOBYERNO ANG ATING PIPILIIN KUNG HINDI NATIN BABAGUHIN ANG MGA TAO DIYAN SA ATING POLITIKA, WALA RING MANGYAYARI SA ATIN!
Prevention is better than cure. Don’t let the number of corrupt officials increase in number. Let us start by choosing the right leaders, the right servants. This will not ensure the eradication of corruption for there is still appointed officials, but this will give us hope.
The bigger challenge is still on the government. Biliran is now going to be one of the spotlights and the audience is the whole world because of the internet. We need to redeem ourselves and prove them that we can do something about it.
As citizens of this paradise island, we must try to help our fellowmen. We cannot be apathetic about their situations. The only way we can help them is to change totally our political leaders especially the corrupt one. Let us dig deeper as we investigate the political problem in our beloved province.
FYI. This is the second case reversed by the new DOJ Secretary against previous dismissal by former Sec Gonzales.
This is just the start. Gerry Espina Sr and the members of the Espina Dynasty should be feeling more uncomfortable. It is getting closer and I hope justice will prevail.
http://www.tribune.net.ph/nation/20090704nat1.html
DoJ revives dismissed raps vs La Union drug lab financier
07/04/2009
Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera yesterday ordered the revival of charges, which were earlier dismissed, against the suspected financier of the shabu laboratory that was raided by police and Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) in La Union on July 9 last year.
Devanadera issued the order after the Office of the President overturned a resolution that was earlier approved by her predecessor, former Justice Secretary and now Chief Presidential Legal Adviser Raul Gonzalez, that cleared Joselito Artuz alias George Cordero, the suspected financier of the clandestine drug laboratory in Barangay Bimmotobot in Naguilian town of La Union.
Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, a non lawyer, reversed Gonzalez’s earlier findings that there was no due process accorded to Artuz.
"Based on the review, there is evidence showing will participation of Artuz. Also, his name was mentioned by other witnesses," Devanadera said. Following Devanadera’s order, Artuz’s name would be included as one of the accused in the pending case involving the shabu laboratory.
According to Ermita’s review Gonzalez’s resolution, due process was accorded to Artuz since he even had a barrage of lawyers during preliminary investigation and that he was also positively identified by a witness as one of the main players in the illegal drug trade in the province.
Devanadera said new prosecutors would be assigned to handle the case against Artuz and his co-accused. "This case is important since it has proven the significance of vigilance of community in drug cases," she explained.
Artuz was arrested along with several Chinese nationals during the raid. He was charged with conspiring in the manufacture of shabu as penalized under Article II of the RA 9165 (Comprehensive Dangerous Dangerous Act of 2002).
Seized were six truckloads of essential raw materials, equipment, precursors, chemical and paraphernalia used in the making of shabu.
Aside from Artuz and several Chinese nationals who were also arrested in the raid, 44 other police officers were implicated in the case after a re-investigation.
The Office of the La Union Provincial Prosecutor later recommended the filing of charges against Artuz, alleged drug protector Supt. Dionicio Borromeo and a Chinese national.
Last June 2, Artuz filed a petition for review after a witness recanted his statement that implicated him. On the same day, Gonzalez issued a resolution no. IS 06-615-LU-BG directing the provincial prosecutor to withdraw the information filed against Artuz.
The provincial prosecutor ordered the dismissal of cases against other suspects, namely PO3 Joey Abang, PO1 Rodolfo Damian, PO2 Walter Banan, and caretaker Eusebio Tangalin.
Gonzalez left the DOJ last June 15 after he was appointed as chief presidential legal adviser.
This prompted concerned residents led by La Union Bishop Artemio Rillera to appeal the DOJ resolution.
As prescribed by Presidential Executive Order 253, all drug cases dismissed in court since Jan. 29 should be forwarded to the Office of the President for review.
FYI. It seems, that it is not only Biliranons who strongly feel that the reign of the Espina Dynasty in Biliran should end. Please take note of the last paragraph of this article in part 2.
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/209454/antidynasty-bill-revived
Anti-dynasty bill revived
N. Ecija solon gives life to bill
By BEN R. ROSARIO
July 5, 2009, 8:43pm
A decision of a member of the longest-ruling political clan in the country to give up politics set off
a strong move in the House of Representatives for the swift enactment of bills aimed at dismantling political dynasties.
Opposition and administration lawmakers joined Nueva Ecija Rep. Edno Joson in his bid to give life to the anti-political dynasty provision of the Constitution by passing an enabling law to make it effective.
Makati City Rep. Teodoro Locsin Jr., chairman of the Committee on Electoral Reforms, vowed to push for the two anti-dynasty measures pending before his committee.
Deputy Minority Leader Satur Ocampo, author of one of the two bills, admitted he is about to give up on his bill until Joson issued the statement.
Ocampo said that failure of Congress to pass an enabling law that would dismantle political dynasties should be presented as a 2010 election issue.
The other bill was authored by Majority Leader Arthur Defensor who refiled the measure after Congress ran out of time to pass it during the 13th Congress.
Defensor said the measure faces formidable opposition in Congress, apparently referring to members of influential political families in the country.
“I re-filed it without entertaining any illusion it will pass. But I have not given up hopes it can, “ the House official said.
In a news forum, Joson, a member of the most powerful political clan in Nueva Ecija, said he is “90 percent sure” he would give up politics in order to serve as an example to heads of other political clans in the country.
The veteran lawmaker challenged President Arroyo and former President Joseph Estrada to lead their respective families in the anti-dynasty effort. He said this could spark off genuine political reform in the country.
Both Arroyo and Estrada have reportedly set their sights at joining the 2010 national elections.
Mrs. Arroyo’s family of politicians include her sons, Rep.
Part 2
Juan Miguel Arroyo of Pampanga and Rep. Dato Arroyo of Camarines Sur. The president’s two in-laws, Reps. Ignacio Arroyo and Ma. Lourdes Arroyo, are members of the Lower House.
Ma. Lourdes’ husband, violinist John Lesaca, has also set his sights at joining local politics by running for councilor in Quezon City.
Part 3
On the other hand, politicians among the Estrada family also include the former president’s two sons - Sen. Jinggoy Estrada and his half-brother, Mayor JV Ejercito of San Juan. His wife, former senator Loi Estrada finished a six-year term in the Senate while several relatives are lording over provincial politics in Laguna.
Joson confessed he is not optimistic that either the Lower House or the Senate will pass its own version of the bill.
“This is because the bill is against self-interest,” he pointed out.
Stressing that banning political dynasties would reform the political structure of the country and put an end to corruption, Joson urged members of his own family led by former governor Tomas Joson to give way to new leaders in the province which has earned the notoriety for its history of political violence.
Joson said incumbent Nueva Ecija Gov. Aurelio Umali is also guilty of building a political clan in the province despite his election vow to dismantle dynasties deeply rooted in Nueva Ecija politics.
Umali is married to Rep. Czarina Umali, incumbent congresswoman of the province’s third district.
“I challenge all political clans who are responsible to the proliferation of political dynasty problem not to run in next year’s scheduled elections,” Joson told reporters during the Usaping Balita News Forum in Quezon City.
Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco, chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, shares Joson’s observation, saying that the bill should be supported but approval can be next to impossible.
Locsin explained that while he believes the transition law is more urgent than the anti-dynasty bill, yet he will set committee action on the measure.
“With anti-dynasty, the US would have no Adams, Roosevelt, Kennedy and Bush dynasties. The Nazis and the communists would divide the world between them,” Locsin pointed out.
“Without the Bushes, we would all be on our knees on small carpets facing Mecca or losing our heads. On the other hand, almost all our politicians, opposition and administration, would be walking around with stumps where their hands would be, kasi amputation is penalty of kurakot,” he added.
Both Locsin and Ocampo noted that Joson can be the exemption rather than the rule on dynasties.
They stressed that Joson has demonstrated integrity as a public official and is among the most effective fiscalizers in Congress.
“Iba si Congressman Joson, he is very independent and his courage is admirable. There are families that have contributed significantly to national progress but there are many political families na despotic,” Ocampo explained.
He said among the families that should no longer be allowed to rule in their respective territories are the Espinas of Biliran and the Romualdos of Camiguin.
Sus! tiaw mo na? gi-single out man gyud ang mga Espina nga dili na angay nga modagan sa politica kay subra ka hangol sa political power,matud pa sa antidyansty bill. Unsaon nga gusto nga ilahon nalang ang tanan bisan ug dili mga qualified, unsaon nga permi man puno ang ilang bulsa.
Karon, lang ipugos nga si roselyn na pod ang modagan pagkamayor sa Naval, kay unsaon nga siya lang daw ang anak nga wala pay mga properties, ang mga negusyo nya puro pa bankrupt. Mao nga maningkamot gyud siya nga mahimong mayor kay nabiyaan na siya sa iyang mga igsoon nga naa nay palasyo ug nindut nga mga sakyanan. Pero niadtong miaging simana, ila na untang e-proclaim, pero wala madayon kay gamay ra nga mga capitan ang mitambong, basin ug the price is not right. Tan-awon lang nato kon maodaug ba? utot niya!!!!
Didto man mi sa giminahan sa Caibiran, ang cause sa landslide mao gyud ang pagmina. Mao nga ang tulay naguba ug dako gyud ang damage kay ang duol nga balay sa gimihan nadaut pod. Dili gani marehabilitate ang area nga giminahan, magpadayon gyud ang landslide ug dako gyud ang damage sa mga kayutaan sa ubos kay maepiktuhan man gyud ni pag-ayo.
Kay kon wala gyud masumpo ang mina pinaagi sa pakigbisog sa mga kaparian pinaagi ni Fr. Benjie ug Fr. Bing, guba na unta kaayo karon ang kabukiran sa Caibiran. Pero dako kaayo gihapon ang damage. Ug kada kusog nga ulan, dili na malikayan ang baha ug landslide.
Ambot kon unsaon nalang ni karon pero kay morag moaksyon legally ang atong congressman.
Kabaga jud ug nawong itong mga Espina. Kon wala pa aprobahi sa governor ang sulfur mine sa caibiran, dili man unta na maglandslide kon wala pa ang mina diha bukid. Karon lang, nga nasabtan napod ang ilang mga anomaliya aron na naman masira ang credibility ni Atty. Glenn, tudo alibi pa siya kay dugay na raw siya sa politika pero wala daw mga gulo nga nahitabo parihas sa time nila Jaro ug Danny Parilla. Kagago jud niya uy! unsaon man pagkasamok nga sila man permi ang daug, peldi man late wane Jaro ug Danilo Parilla. Tan-awa sa dihang nagparecounting si DP at mananalo na unta, unsa may nahitabo? Gipapatay siya! Mao na ang samok diha, kay Kon ang mga Espina pa ang natalo sa panahon ni Jaro, samok jud unta kay dili man maka-angkon ug kapildihan itong demonyo nga pawiks, sa totoo!!! lang!!!
FYI
Negros Oriental mayor faces graft raps
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/regions/view/20090710-214755/Negros-Oriental-mayor-faces-graft-raps
By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 06:50:00 07/10/2009
Filed Under: Local authorities, Graft & Corruption
MANILA, Philippines -- Taxpayers of a Negros Oriental city have filed graft charges at the Ombudsman against their mayor for the alleged illegal purchase of luxury vehicles and the disbursement of an alleged illegally obtained loan.
Guihulngan City Mayor Ernesto Reyes was sued by Guihulngan residents Kiben Masicampo and Edilberto Divinagracia in connection with the purchase of two pick-ups and a van, and the taking out of a P6-million loan.
Masicampo and Divinagracia alleged that Reyes and his cousin, Councilor Simplicio Mijares, maneuvered a city council approval of a multimillion-peso loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines.
The mayor, however, went on to sign the loan agreement even without the provincial board reviewing and approving the city council resolution for the loan in alleged violation of the Local Government Code.
Masicampo and Divinagracia also alleged that the city government bought two pick-ups worth P1.35 million each and a van worth P1.6 million. They alleged that local government units are prohibited from purchasing such vehicles.
They alleged that one of the pick-ups was for the use of the mayor while the van was for the use of the members of the city council. They, however, accused the mayor of using the van for the trips of his close relatives.
HAPPY HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO REP. GLENN CHONG....GOD BLESS YOU AND MANY MANY MORE BIRTHDAYS IN YOUR LIFE TO CELEBRATE. WE LOVE YOU!!!!
The opposition leader and lone representative to congress Rep. Glenn Chong is celebrating his birthday today.
Rep. Chong is the politician I admire and respect most in Biliran politics. The reason – his ability to make things done. Nowadays we hear about lot of developmental projects like road concreting and children education which he actually implemented. He had the vision for Biliran and more important had a God given ability to implement them.
Another quality I like in him – although he became an undisputed arguer of the Congress, he never lost contact with the ordinary Biliranon whom he always considered his “amo” that give him strength to move forward. His capabilities to go to any extend to defend and protect Biliranons and his leaders loyal to him have brought him many friends. More power and HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Happy Birthday Atty. Glenn. Thanks for all the leadership and guidance that you've given in our political struggle in Biliran politics. Great leader develop great people. Have a blessed birthday.
Biliran and people around the province are celebrating the birthday of Cong. Glenn Chong. We believe that Biliran should draw great inspiration from the courage and the ideals that people like him stand for. We are certain that his great political leadership will continue to inspire us and generations to come on our long road to build a peaceful, democratic and just society.
May God bless you on your birthday
Kataw-anan jud ang nahinabo sa election sa NIT SBO kay kasagaran mingdaug mao ang mga candidates sa the powers, ito ang mga leaders sa ABYD ang youth organization nga gitukod ni Rep. Chong kontra sa The Sacred nga gisuportahan sa mga espina kay ang ilang adviser si jerome arcenal. Morag waray nakalusot sa sacred. Na-uwaw jud ang mga espina kay sa wala pay election ilang gibiaybiay ang powers. Ito na ang dapat pagmalandungan sa mga espina nga diha sa mga grupo sa kabataan, si Rep. Chong ang ilang gilabanan. Firts time ito nahinabo kay kada election diha sa NIT ang tao sa mga espina ang mahimong member sa NIT board.
Anonymous:
Mao jud na ang nahinabo karon. Ang gibuhat sa mga Espina nga gipangkalat ang warant of arrest kang Rep. Glenn wala makadaut sa iya cridibilidad. Nalooy jud ang mga suporters niya ug sering pa sa iba nga nadugangan hinoon ang iyang mga dumadapig.
Ang mga Espina hinoon ang napahiya karon kay kita man jud nila nga dili hinakot ang mga tawo nga mitambong sa iyang b-day. Mga tawo na andam jud mudamay sa atong pinangga nga congresman.
Kataw-anan jud ang nahinabo sa election sa NIT SBO kay kasagaran mingdaug mao ang mga candidates sa the powers, ito ang mga leaders sa ABYD ang youth organization nga gitukod ni Rep. Chong kontra sa The Sacred nga gisuportahan sa mga espina kay ang ilang adviser si jerome arcenal. Morag waray nakalusot sa sacred. Na-uwaw jud ang mga espina kay sa wala pay election ilang gibiaybiay ang powers. Ito na ang dapat pagmalandungan sa mga espina nga diha sa mga grupo sa kabataan, si Rep. Chong ang ilang gilabanan. Firts time ito nahinabo kay kada election diha sa NIT ang tao sa mga espina ang mahimong member sa NIT board.
RS,
Mao diay nga pwerting pangugat ni Jerome nga bilyon kay siya man ang naghost last saturday sa Pag-usapan Natin. Iya panggi-acused ang Powers nga wala musonod sa election guidelines sa NIT.
Dinhi nato makita karon nga humot gyud ang atong congressman ug walay effect ang mga political gimick sa mga espina ilabina sa timbangan nga mga boang. Sacred pa ang ngalan sa ilang party pero ingon pa mga students, mga demonyo daw ang ang dumala.
Sukad ma sukad, kontrolado sa mga Espina ang mga activities diha sa NIT labina ang SBO election sukad nga si Genson ang presidente kay ila mang tao. Pero karon nga election wala nila macontrol ang mga students. Gipakita sa mga students ang ilang power to vote ug klaro na kaayo nga gisuka na nila ang mga Espina. Good report!
RS 7198,
Intoy 7199,
Dako ni nga kakimpangan sa mga Espina ang nahitabo sa NIT student elections. Lisod na ni nila mabawi pa nga taktika sa paghupot ug gahum politikal dinhi sa Biliran.
Sukad sa sinugdan, ginarapal ning ilang gibuhat nga pag politicize sa mga estudyante sa NIT. Sila ang nagpasiugda ug vote-buying sa student elections. Ambot unsaon pagbawi niini nga hiwi nga buhat.
Responsibilidad na kini sa mga estudyante pagtarong sa mga hiwi nga binuhatan nga nahitabo kanila, tungod lamang sa kahakog sa poder sa usa ka pamilya.
from reliable source:
Hala....Tinawagan diay sa mabait daw nga doc gov. roger espina ang presidente sa NIT mrs genson. Wala masabte kon unsay tuyo pero ingon pa sa nagbalita nga morag mahitungod sa resulta sa election sa mga studyante sa NIT. Hhmmmm... Basin nakasab-an si madam president sa governor kay pilde man ang ilang manok nga maoy mahimo nga usa ka member sa board. Ay naku...Obvious kaayo di ba nga ang governor motawag sa NIT? pero bisan ug unsaon pa niya ug pangasaba human na ang election ug makita nato ang pagpakabana sa mga kabataan sa atong politika kay ang resulta sa election sa NIT nagreflect lang sa resulta sa election 2010 diin majority sa mga botante ay mga mga kabataan. Igmat lang ta ha! aron dili na madaya.....babooooo!!
To all bloggers:
Kurokabildo July 25 is now available at podcast. Rep. Glenn Chong disclosed negative effects of Sulfur Mine in Caibiran.
To open latest post on this blog, just click newer. Thanks!
Among gitan-aw ang lugar nga nahitabo ang disgrasya diin upat ang namatay samtang naghatud sa ilang minatay sa cementeryo. Wala lang damha nga may dumtrak nga kusog kaayo ang dagan ug nawad-an sa control ang break mao nga nangaligsan ug namatay ang upat. Imbis nga isa lang ang patay, nahimong lima ang tanan.
Ang nakaprat lang ani kay gihimo nga political issue sa mga Espina against Rep. Chong kay kon naseminto na unta kini nga dalan, dili unta makadisgrasya.
Una, nganong si Rep. Chong man ang ilang basulon nga duha paman intawon siya ka tuig nga nagserbisyo. Komparar sa mga Espina nga 12 yrs unya tulo pa gyud sila, governor, congressman ug mayor.
Ikaduha, nasayod bitaw ang mga driver nga lisud gyud nang lugara ksy batoon, lugsungon ug paliko-liko pa gyud, nganong pakusog paman gyud sila ug padagan?
Ikatulo, daghan man kaayo moagi diha nga mga dumtrak ug ang uban mga mini-bus pa, dili man madisgrasya? mao nga kon si Rep. Chong ang basulon nga maoy hinungdan sa pagkadisgrasya kay wala ipasimento ang dalan, kini wala man gyud igong basihan. Wala namay lain nga ma-issue ang mga kampo sa mga Espina against kang Rep. chong mao nga bisan unsa nalang nga issue ang ilang daginuton aron lang masira ang credibility sa atong mabait ug maabtik nga congressman.
Intoy 7203:
Huwag mo nang pansinin ang mga timbangero sa capitolyo kay mga kulang na ng pansin. Hanapbuhay man gud na nila mao nga kinahanglan naa silay issue nga isulti sa ilang programa para dili makulob ang ilang kaldero ug aron usab si jerome dili biyaan sa iyang papa.
Gikantyawan man gani ang mga timbangero sa mga estudaynte sa NIT sa dihang miadto sila sa office sa president kay nakreklamo sa nahitabo sa ilang election.
Mga haler man gyud diay ning mga timbangero kay nagpakita lang sa ilang pagkabulok. Unsaon nga sila man gud ang nagvote buying unya katingalahan nga pilde sila. Wala na raw magpakita si Jerome sa governor kay basin nahadlok maksab-an pod. Ingon pa sa mga students, gamay ra ang nakadawat sa kuarta mao nga gamay ra pod ang ilang buto nga nadawat. He he he he..!!! asa man diay nanglupad ang budget nga para sa mga votante??? abangan......babboooooo!!!!!
Anonymous,
Tinood diay jud na ang mga Espina maoy nagvote buying sa elecltion sa NIT. Mao pod na ang sering sa akong pag-umangkon nga student sa NIT. Yana kay napilde man sila wala na magyabang ang timbangan nga siya ang founder sa ABYD at may control pa siya sa grupo. Ambot ha ira! puro lang sila dada. Kon matood ito na nahadlok ang timbangan pagpakita sa bootan daw na governor kay basin ma bus-an, ta, unsaon nalang ka ha? kay gipanghambog man jud sa timbangan ngadto sa governor nga siya maoy organizer sa youth sa Biliran. Hawak niya ang majority sa kabataan nga mga botante na. Kay iya man jud nga gibaligya ang mga batan-on sa Biliran ngadto sa mga espina. Yana, napahiya siya, bagay nga sa kanya.
These two persons died were washed away by strong water current while bathing at the famous Mag-aso Falls in Antequera town 20 kms away from Tagbilaran city.
The fatalities were identified as Nielmark Flores, 23, of Aliguay, Marobojoc town and Al Benson Lupos, 21, of Dauis town.
The two were enjoying the cascading waters at the falls when suddenly heavy downpour brought rainwater
like flashfloods which resulted to strong current that could even wash away pumpboats.
It brought residents of the interior towns of Antequera and Catigbian down the coastal towns of Maribojoc and Cortes to conduct search and rescue operations since the day the two were reported missing.
Even a team from BOEX, a local group of adventurers led by Roy Pernia joined the search together with the group of Lt. Col. Mendez.
The bodies of the two victims were found dead on the third day of search and rescue operation. The lifeless bodies of Lupos was found floating at the river in barangay Toril, Antequera while Flores' body was recovered in Busao, Maribojoc town.
Antequera Mayor Cecil Rebosura received the suggestion from well-meaning citizens to install an alarm system at Mag-aso Falls whereby bathers will be warned of impending heavy drop of water caused by continuous rains in the area. The said warning system will signal bathers to keep off the falls and stop swimming in the area
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