From the issue of The Philippine Star February 27, 2009

GMA wasn't only one missing at EDSA rites
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc Updated February 27, 2009 12:00 AM

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo wasn’t the only one missing at the EDSA Revolt’s 23rd anniversary rite Wednesday. Absent too, though for other reasons, were leaders who had ousted tyrant Ferdinand Marcos in 1986. Cory Aquino was elsewhere recounting how fellow-anti-Marcos movers had tried to derail her Presidency. Her old comrades then, if not deceased, preferred to stay home. Nowhere were the two million or so professionals and intellectuals who had made up the four-day peaceful uprising. The computer experts who had exposed the Comelec’s rigging of snap-election results for Marcos against Aquino are now mostly working abroad.

Gone most tellingly was the spirit of People Power. Exercising the right to change a despotic, corrupt leader has become irrelevant. Filipinos have become alienated from their government. More so after an EDSA-Dos in Jan. 2001 brought back, in Arroyo’s person, Marcos’s regime.

Sociologists and historians have tried to explain why EDSA lost its luster. The most evident reason is that People Power removed only Marcos but not the rotten system in which he thrived.
EDSA supposedly restored Philippine democracy after 14 years of martial law. What it actually brought back was the old oligarchy. The economic elite determines during elections which of its factions would rule for the next six years. Like under Marcos’s martial law, the people’s vote is not really counted. What matters is money with which to buy the election result. That’s why the same hundred or so families that came to provincial power in the last years of Spanish colonization still dominate local politics. Politicos have made voters dependent on them for alms. Knowing that their ballots won’t be counted anyway, the poor treat elections as opportunities to sell votes to the highest bidders, if only for a square meal. Marcos may be out, but the crooked Comelec he left behind remains. Virgilio Garcillano’s canvassing riggers of 2004 were promoted in time for the 2007 election; their protégés are in waiting for 2010.

As in Marcos’s time, a rubberstamp Congress allows the powerful executive to get away with murder, figuratively and literally. So long as sated with pork slabs, lawmakers will look the other way as Presidents illegally amass wealth. As in Marcos’s time too, the judiciary can be bought. Today jurists uphold not the spirit of the law but the ability to bend it to suit moneyed interests. The military is as politicized as ever. Marcos rewarded with Rolex watches and ambassadorships his trusty generals. Today the most senior of them are kept loyal by being given a taste of the chief of staff post, even if only for a few weeks, through a revolving-door policy.

Poverty rose in Marcos’s time because his cronies divvied up the economy. Today old and second-generation cronies are crowding into the energy sector, making Filipinos poorer from costly fuel and electricity. Under martial law people were forbidden to complain even when hungry. Similarly, in a recent poll, 28 percent of adult Filipinos said they are jobless, and Malacañang mechanically pooh-poohed the survey methodology. It prefers its definition of unemployment, one it cooked up in 2004, by which it brought down the jobless rate without any real job placement. It simply deleted from the list the millions who were no longer actively looking for work, although praying for one in seasonal sectors like agriculture, construction and transportation.

Before the spark of EDSA ’86 Filipinos endured a decade-and-a-half of abusive Marcos government. Today the government of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is perceived to be as despotic and dirty as Marcos’s. Seven of every ten Filipinos want her out fast, but don’t have the means to do it. With institutions broken down and people having no more recourse, the nation is said to be in a revolutionary situation. So why are Filipinos not marching anew to EDSA to reverse the decline? Because the thinking class that can lead them, close to nine million in all, are working abroad to make ends meet. Filipinos in 1986 failed to change the bad system along with the bad leader; today they are as helpless as ever.

Perhaps they won’t be so forever. Maybe the present-day powers are sensing something. That’s why Arroyo chose to be away from the People Power Memorial last Wednesday. Her excuse was that she already had feted EDSA — four days too early in an odd place and with the wrong men who were on Marcos’s side in 1986.

MISSING THE ACTION by: Kiko Ortelano

ALARMED!

There is no other way to describe it. GMA is obviouslly alarmed by the fact that the governor of her very own home province has provided another cause for embarrassment to her administration. The first was the revelation of the php500k payola in Malacanang. This incident is obviously the catalyst of the concerted action of all government officials against the governor of Pampanga. The latest one is the assigment of a Provincial Director for Pampanga by the PNP.

No matter what the final justification will be by the PNP, to those who will really look objectively at the issue of the Pampanga Provincial Director post of the PNP, there is really a very big hand toying with the Pampanga governor.

The flip-flopping and the differing and oftentimes incongruent statements of the PNP officers including those of the DILG Secretary, Ronnie Puno, have only strengthened the case of Governor Panlilio.

I do not know if Governor Panlilio has other legal courses of actions to take. If there are, we hope the governor pursues this issue until its correct conclusion. There has to be bastion within the very sick Philippine beureaucracy that aggrieved parties like Governor Panlilio can turn to. If there are none within the government system, the true concerned citizens of our country should rise as one to stop this.

THIS IS NOT THE FIGHT OF GOVERNOR PANLILIO OR THE KAPAMPANGANS ALONE. THIS IS THE FIGHT OF ALL FILIPINOS WHO YEARN TO HAVE A GOVERNMENT THAT WILL TRULY WORK FOR ITS PEOPLE.

The alarm is obvious when everybody who licks the _ _ _ of the president goes out smoking in protecting GMA. Yesterday, GMA spoke about stopping the fingerpointing and just work together. Yet immediately after, in the evening at the HAMON CLTV show, the Mayors of Minalin and Floridablanca and BM Tars Halili, did just that; pointed their fingers to Governor Panlilio for all the wrong that is happenning in Pampanga.

Yes, Governor Panlilio is to blame for:

1. Stopping the corruption at the capitol,
2. Corecting the plunder of the province's mineral resources; specifically lahar,
3. An official and real effort to stop illegal gambling specially jueteng,
4. Bringing the provincial government closer top the people (not necessarily local government officials) by way of the PAMISAUPAN Caravan,
5. Institutionalizing the assistance to deserving college students,
6. Always respecting laws even when it means antagonizing other government officials, both local and national,
7. Tapping of true and legitimate people's organizations in prooviding services to the poor, and more.

Admittedly, there have been members of the governor's internal team who have gone the other way. There may still be a few of those who stayed who are doing the province a disservice.

However, we still believe that Among Ed is the man we need at the capitol. We really just have to work harder if we want him to succeed.

LUID KA!

From the issue of Philippine Star February 25, 2009

Filipinos equate GMA with Marcos
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc Updated February 25, 2009 12:00 AM

“Let us go back to EDSA-1, not to relive it, for history must move on, but to report its lessons.” So uttered Gloria Macapagal Arroyo at the wrong date, venue and crowd to commemorate the 1986 People Power Revolt. She need not worry about Filipinos marching back to EDSA just yet. Much as they want EDSA-type regime change, they are still bewildered by its moral.

EDSA’s lesson is ironic. When Filipinos first asserted people power 23 years ago, ousting Ferdinand Marcos, they thought they got rid of state abuse forever. By the time they realized the mistake, they were reprising it with EDSA-2 in Jan. 2001 to install Arroyo, still erringly with no follow-up reforms. Since two wrongs do not make a right, they ended up with Arroyo as the most hated President since Marcos.

The similarities of Marcos and Arroyo are evident. Marcos co-opted Congress, the judiciary and local governments. He politicized the military by promoting officers for loyalty instead of performance. Conversely the communist rebellion and Moro secession intensified. Martial law stifled dissent. Relatives and business cronies were awarded industries to control: mainly, sugar, coconut, media, electricity, and ports.

The economy rose in the first few years of martial law. Business grew confident when Marcos posted technocrats in his Cabinet. But one-man rule was so strong that it tempted him to amass wealth illegally. His cronies’ domination also eventually choked the economy. Filipinos began to leave in droves for work overseas. Poverty worsened; at one point people were dying of hunger in Negros. Marcos launched 11 major industrial projects in a vain effort to arrest the decline; they only ended up in the hands of 11 major cronies. He held on to military power for 14 years by holding sham election after another, under a toady Comelec. A rubberstamp parliament legitimized his despotic acts.

Today Arroyo is said to have weakened the institutions. Not only are legislators, justices and local officials in her pocket, but businessmen and bishops too. She continues to politicize the military by dangling postings of retired generals — so far 39 in all — to civilian offices. The inept brass is letting Moro separatism and communist insurrection recover. At least three Arroyo edicts, against demonstrations, replicated Marcos’s repressive decrees. Dissidents are murdered or abducted, illegally detained and tortured. Reportedly Arroyo is aiming to formalize everything by similarly imposing martial law. Her sycophantic House of Reps is out to prolong their terms by fast break.

Like in Marcos’s time, the economy recovered during the first years under Arroyo. But absolute power corrupted absolutely. Breaking her vow to not seek a full term, Arroyo employed all the resources of the Presidency to rig the 2004 polls. To ensure electoral “victory” she appointed political allies to the Comelec, where they took kickbacks from huge government contracts. Those who helped her sit were awarded vital industries. Political allies who used to lord it over the coconut industry now control fuel. Others who rule the ports have moved into electricity via the nationwide transmission grid and the biggest distributorships in Visayas and Mindanao. Together they aim eventually to grab the largest power firm in Luzon as well. And Arroyo kin are there to help them do it.

As political and economic crisis marked the last years of Marcos, so is stagnation rocking Arroyo’s last 16 months. More Filipinos are leaving for overseas jobs — at a rate of 121 per hour or 87,000 a month. Seven of every ten families consider themselves poor, while nearly two in five go hungry everyday.

When a recent survey showed respondents rating Arroyo’s as the vilest admin, social critics cried that Filipinos have such short memories. Marcos in his time had stolen $2-$10 billion, they recounted. It’s infinitely bigger than the $400-$560 million that a report on despots in nine countries said Arroyo’s regime has pocketed. The sociologists seem to miss the point: in saying Arroyo is the most crooked President since Marcos, Filipinos meant the two are the same. They brought down Marcos via EDSA-1, and then cheapened the exercise by raising up Arroyo via EDSA-2. That is why, to the luck of Arroyo and the resurgent cronies, they are not people powering anew. Not yet.

Last Sunday Arroyo went through the motions of feting EDSA-1 at The Fort, after conveniently ignoring EDSA-2 last month. The celebration should have been today, Feb. 25, the day Marcos fled 23 years ago, and at the EDSA Memorial. But it didn’t matter to her. She was with the wrong crowd anyway — the Marcos cronies and descendants whom EDSA-1 failed to wipe out.

Theres The Rub

‘EDSA-ed’
By Conrado de Quiros Philippine Daily InquirerFirst Posted 23:57:00 02/23/2009

One Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said this: “The world embraced EDSA I in 1986. The world tolerated EDSA II in 2001. The world will not forgive an EDSA III, but it will instead condemn the Philippines as a country whose political system is hopelessly unstable.”

What a thoroughly graceless, tasteless, ungrateful thing to say. Of course, it’s not surprising that she should mistake EDSA People Power II for herself since she often mistakes God for herself — or God’s offspring, as in “God put me here.” In fact, the world merely tolerated her, it welcomed EDSA II with open arms.

Nobody really wanted her or liked her. Cory Aquino had every right to bristle when Louie Beltran suggested even in jest, or as a figure of speech as he argued, that she hid under the bed while the battle swirled around her. She was at the frontlines in EDSA, she was at the frontlines during Juan Ponce Enrile’s, or his subalterns’, failed coup attempts. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, well, she merely hid under the bed while her countrymen did the fighting, and emerged from it when the smoke cleared, or when it was safe to cross to EDSA, hastily donning the robes of a conqueror which had been readied out on the bed and rushing to Malacañang to grab Joseph Estrada’s crown from his weary head.

I don’t know that hiding under the bed is entirely figurative. I do know that hiding under Cory’s skirt and Jaime Cardinal Sin’s even bigger one is not. That was all she did, documenting her war deeds for posterity by being photographed between Cory and Sin, hands clasped prayerfully. We can bet she was praying with all her might. We just don’t know to whom; we only know that Cory and Sin were praying to God. That reminds me of what I said the other week, that unlike Jesus Christ Mike Arroyo will be crucified between two honest men at the end of the day. His wife will too, by way of closure, by way of karma.

Sin was at least lucky he died before the creature he helped to become president could disown him, as she has disowned EDSA II and as she has disowned Cory. And with a spawn from the pit like Raul Gonzalez to deliver the message, suggesting as he did when Kris Aquino worried about being bugged that Cory was doing the bugging, snickering all over the place at his j/oke. With Sin dead, the creature he helped to become president would bury his name along with him, like Eleanor Rigby, or his spirit, or his emanation, or his incandescence, propping up instead like El Cid the bishops and archbishops and cardinals with dead eyes and deader souls, who like to think that wearing a funny hat and carrying a staff entitle them to con the world into believing they are the voice of God on earth. It is a wonder their mouths have not been stricken with lockjaw from the sacrilege of opening them. Ah, but God’s humor is truly sublime: he caused his Church in the Philippines to have for its Cardinal Virtue Cardinal Sin.

Well, his humor is also truly mysterious he causes, or tolerates, one Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to pontificate on what is welcome and what is not. In a way of course she has become a perverse authority on it, having braved rain, sleet, and hail, like the frontier riders of the US Postal Service to get to see Barack Obama. That is not altogether figurative, as witness her walk on the tarmac in Washington at 2 a.m. on a cold, dark, and snowy early morning from a sudden urge to attend a Breakfast Prayer Meeting—only to have Obama not welcome her at all. One is tempted to say, only to have Obama tolerate her there, but he doesn’t even know she exists. Or he wants to convey that impression.

What is the surest sign a country does not have a political system that is hopelessly unstable?
A beneficiary of People Power who became so reviled by the people she had to vow to quit about while she was ahead, or behind, but went on to not quit anyway and to show no sign of wanting to quit to this day? A beneficiary of People Power who was caught in a conversation with an official of the Commission on Elections going along with his proposal to kidnap the family of a public schoolteacher in Tawi-Tawi province to keep her mouth shut about the cheating she witnessed? A beneficiary of People Power who badmouths People Power at every turn and extols the virtues of Mafia Power, pointing to a country reduced to smoldering ash in the wake of its rape and pillage, as the surest sign a country is hopefully stable?

What is welcome to the world? The spectacle of a once thriving democracy now brought to a pass where the good are punished and the wicked rewarded, both relentlessly and with indefatigable zeal? The spectacle of a land once lush and green sucked dry by leeches on two legs, everything that is not nailed to the floor crying out, “Steal me,” including the vote, including the souls of peasants and priests, wise men and jokers, including the lives of people who, like Jonas Burgos, longed only to help others? The spectacle of a people that once, or literally twice, refused to brook tyranny driven to silence, or acquiescence, or passivity, and mocked thereby as showing maturity and political stability?

I do hope one Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo tries something to keep power. Then may she know the difference between her and EDSA II, between what is tolerated and what is welcomed. Then may she know that the public’s apathy is merely a sign of their willingness to tolerate her until next year, after which they mean to loose upon her the hounds of heaven or the legal eagles of earth, whichever is the more implacable. Then may she know that the people whose generosity she has repaid with malice and abuse have not forgotten to say, “Tama na, sobra na, bwisit na,” and move their asses to prove the point.

Then may she see the world rise to welcome an act of absolute sanity and transcendence.

We are posting the Editorial of the National Daily The Philippine Star dated February 23, 2009

EDITORIAL - Return of jueteng

Pampanga Gov. Ed Panlilio is complaining that jueteng is back in his province. His Church superiors, the Catholic bishops, are echoing his complaint and saying that the illegal numbers game is once again rampant nationwide. Church leaders would have reliable information about the extent of jueteng operations. They work with people at the grassroots and often personally know the bet collectors and bettors.

Panlilio has a tough battle before him. Jueteng has become so deeply entrenched in Pampanga that the last time a real, honest-to-goodness police crackdown put jueteng lords out of business, their workers openly staged a mass protest, decrying the loss of their livelihood. Police officials in other parts of the country have openly admitted that funds contributed by known jueteng lords finance legitimate police operations or augment limited police resources.

That kind of culture has led to proposals in recent years to legalize the popular numbers game, or else kill it through the introduction of a similar game operated by the government. But until legalization pushes through, jueteng remains illegal. And the dirty money earned from it breeds corruption and finances other crimes.

Amid the bishops’ complaint, the speculation is that jueteng is being used to raise campaign funds for the general elections in May 2010. Unless a serious crackdown on jueteng is launched, public suspicion will inevitably focus on the administration. Laws against illegal gambling have been strengthened and must be enforced. If gambling barons prove too slippery, they can be pinned down for money laundering, tax evasion and even bribery where applicable.

A nationwide crackdown cannot be successful without the full support of President Arroyo. Stopping jueteng is the responsibility of Ronaldo Puno, whose Cabinet position gives him supervision over the Philippine National Police and local government units. If Puno cannot order the PNP to conduct a genuine and sustained crackdown on illegal gambling, he risks drawing suspicion that he himself is on the take in lucrative jueteng operations. The President should show the sincerity of her administration in fighting illegal gambling by demanding results from her officials.

Turntable defense
CTALK By Cito Beltran
Updated February 20, 2009 12:00 AM

The officials of the Republic of Arroyo have apparently adopted a new policy or strategy which I call the “Turntable Defense”.

Just observe the language and tactics of the Executive Secretary or the Secretary of Justice or a civil servant in the person of a Police Director and you will notice that whenever complaints, allegations or accusations are made, they no longer bother with the polite response of listening and assuring the parties concerned that the police or the government will look into it.

For example, respected businessman and community leader Raul Concepcion has for many years been an advocate of informing the public and uninformed or illiterate government officials concerning the supply and price movements of crude oil. His advocacy has cost him a lot of money and earned him a lot of critics and enemies in the energy sector.

Yet above all the slings and arrows directed at him, Mr. Raul Concepcion has remained the single-minded champion of this cause. Recently he has raised questions about the Arroyo Republic’s sincerity in enforcing the laws and regulation of the energy sector, particularly the issue of “cartelization”. Even members of Congress have begun to pay more attention to the obvious patterns in identical pricing of diesel fuel. There is such a stink that threats of audits and proposed taxes on windfall profits have been suggested.

Because Mr. Concepcion dared to cast doubt on the sincerity and integrity of the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice, the Secretary of Justice has now decided to investigate the claims of Mr. Concepcion by….investigating Mr. Concepcion. Now the DOJ demands that Mr. Concepcion show proof or back his claims against the state.

Not only is this an act of putting a spin on the issue like a turntable does to a record, the DOJ is now turning the tables on Mr. Concepcion by investigating if Mr. Concepcion actually has proof that officials of the DOE and DOJ have been amiss with their responsibilities. As a sound byte of a popular FM station puts it: “Kailangan pa bang i-memorize yan?”

Hello?! Does the DOJ have the technical competency to decipher the complex mathematics of crude oil supply, deliveries and exponential costings? If the DOE and the DOJ can’t get a straight answer why the big 3 oil companies have similar prices inside the Manila North tollway or the NLEX while their dealers in Novaliches have lower prices for diesel, what qualifies them to bang heads with people who have devoted more than a decade to such complex equations and processes?

Anyone with half a legal mind and love for country would have quietly cooperated with Mr. Concepcion to determine if they did have enough evidence to build a case. If none then make the painful determination that there is no smoking gun. But please…don’t do the turn table defense because it shows whose side you guys are really on.

PNP: Less talk — less mistake

Another case of “turntable defense” concerns the power of jueteng in the Province of Pampanga where Governor Ed Panlilio has long been asking for the removal of a leftover provincial police director because of the cop’s utter failure to stop jueteng.

After a whole year of inaction, the Governor decided to go public by declaring that the Republic of Arroyo and their Cabalens choose to ignore his request for the appointment of an upright police officer from outside Central Luzon because of the power and influence of jueteng money.

The police director for Central Luzon was obviously insulted by the subliminal message that high-ranking cops from Central Luzon are not upright or contaminated by jueteng. So the Governor’s request was met halfway by replacing the provincial police director with an officer from the ranks of the Central Luzon police officers.

In observance of the “Turntable defense”, the police director for Central Luzon is now telling the Governor of the Province of Pampanga to repeal legislation and franchises for government approved lottery accused of being “fronts” in order to stop jueteng in the Province. Perhaps Chief PNP Jesus Versoza should hold a command conference and retrain his officers about the policy of “less talk — less mistake”.

Giving out press statements to tell an elected official who has a higher position than you, how to do his job is bad publicity. Suggesting that STL or State lottery franchises in Pampanga be removed is asking for trouble directly from PCSO, PAGCOR and Malacanang. In turning the table against Governor Panlilio, the cops have called attention to a provincial matter.

* * *
Just to completely make the case that there is a policy called the “Turntable defense”, allow me to cite the statement of the not so little President known as Executive Secretary Ed Ermita who also challenged Governor Panlilio to prove that jueteng is back in the province of Pampanga.

Please spare us your self-serving righteousness. Practically every known radio commentator and host in the Philippines mockingly air the results of the illegal numbers lottery drawn in various parts of Northern and Central Luzon including Pampanga. I guess when you live in high rises, palaces or exclusive condominiums it is impossible to get an a.m. radio signal.

If you wish to be blind to the truth, that is your choice, but please don’t turn the tables on people who speak the truth and live the truth. Perhaps the officials of the Arroyo Republic have problems because: The smallest truth will always overwhelm the biggest lies.

As a Batangueño would put it: “Yung maliit ang sadyang nakakapuwing”. (That which is small is often what blinds us.)

Pahayag sa media ni Pampanga Gov. Eddie Panlilio
February 16, 2009

Magandang umaga po sa ating lahat. Una ay nais kong magpasalamat sa inyong pagdalo sa press conference na ito.

Nagpapasalamat din ako dahil binigyan ninyo ako ng pagkakataon na isiwalat ang isang nakakabahalang sitwasyon ngayon sa Pampanga.

Ang problemang ito ay lampas pa sa Pampanga dahil ito ay may kinalaman sa Philippine National Police -- ang mismong institusyon na inatasan ng ating mga batas para mangalaga sa peace and order ng ating mga pamayanan at bansa.

Ito ay hindi lang kaso ng unprofessionalism sa PNP. Klarong-klarong ipinakita ng PNP na wala itong pagpapahalaga o paggalang sa RULE OF LAW o maging sa isang duly-elected public official na gaya ko.

Pahintulutan ninyo akong baybayin ang mga pangyayari.

Isang taon at siyam na buwan na ang nakaraan nang una akong mag-request ng kapalit ni Senior Supt. Keith Singian, ang OIC-PD ng Pampanga ng mahigit dalawang taon na.

Ginawa ko ang request sa ngalan ng kapakanan ng mga Kapampangan.

Bilang duly-elected public official at alinsunod sa mga tungkulin na iniatang sa akin ng Diyos at batas, nais ko na pumili ng isang qualified at morally upright na provincial police director na magiging katuwang sa moral revolution at transformation sa Pampanga.

Kabilang na riyan ang pagsugpo sa illegal numbers game na jueteng. Ito ay hindi na lamang isang laro o libangan.

Tumatagos na ang impluwensya nito sa pulitika, sa simbahan, maging sa gobyerno. Ang plunder case ni dating Pangulong Joseph Estrada ay nagpatunay sa atin na tagos hanggang sa Malakanyang ang impluwensya ng mga jueteng lords.

Isang taon at siyam na buwan na ang nakaraan ay hindi pa rin napapalitan si Col. Singian. Kahit officer-in-charge o OIC lamang ang kanyang status, nananatili pa siya at nakapamayagpag pa sa puwesto nang mahigit dalawang taon.

Bakit ito nangyari sa kabila ng mahigit labingwalong (18) ulit ko ng requests? Lampas apat diyan ay personal pa akong nagkipag-usap sa mga kinauukulan.

May kopyang natanggap si Pangulong Arroyo at Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno sa halos lahat ng requests.

Tatlong Chief PNP at dalawang regional police directors na ang dinaanan ng aking requests na palitan si Col. Singian. At wala pa ring nangyayari hangga ngayon.

Para makapanatili si Col. Singian sa poder, walang pakundangan at walang pangingiming nilabag ng PNP ang Republic Act No. 6975. Itinalaga ng batas na ito na ang governors at city mayors ang may karapatang pumili ng police directors sa kani-kanilang lalawigan at lungsod.

Nilabag din ng PNP ang National Police Commission Resolution No. 2002-078 kung saan ang mga placement, assignment, reassignment o promotion ng senior officers ay idadaan sa Senior Officers Placement and Promotion Board (SOPPB).

Subalit hindi ito ang ginawa ng PNP sa Pampanga. Bagkus, sa tatlong resolution ang inilabas ng Napolcom para mag-endorso ng provincial police director sa Pampanga, isa lamang ang aking natanggap.

Ang una at ikatlong resolution ay hindi officially na-transmit sa akin. Laman ng unang resolution ang pangalan ng aking pinili, si Senior Supt. Cesar Hawthorne Binag.

Ang unang resolution ay itinago ng regional police director. Ang ikatlong resolution ay ibinalik ng regional police director kay Gen. Verzosa.

Ang ikalawang resolution ay ipinarating sa akin. Yun ay para ipagpilitan sa akin na piliin si Col. Singian na akin namang tinanggihan.

Lagi na lamang may excuses ang PNP sa pag-atras nito ng una at ikatlong resolution. Sa una, ayaw ibigay ni General Razon si Col. Binag dahil kailangan daw siya sa PNP transformation program. Sa ikatlo, nagpalit daw ng isip ang Napolcom. Hindi na raw Kapampangan ang itatalaga sa Pampanga.

Dahil sa mga pangyayaring ito, hindi maiiwasan na magtanong.

Sinu-sino ba ang mga taong nasa likod ni Col. Singian para umakto ang PNP nang hindi naayon sa batas?

Bakit ang kagustuhan nila at hindi ang karapatan ng gobernador ang nananaig gayong siya naman ang halal na lider ng lalawigan?

Bakit ganoon na lamang ang kanilang kapangyarihan at impluwensya na hindi kayang ipagpilitan ng PNP ang tama at makabubuti para sa mga mamamayan?

Ako man ay naghahanap ng kasagutan. May mga impormasyong ipinaabot sa akin na nakikialam si Congressman Mikey Arroyo. I ask Mikey to clear his name of this allegation.

Ang alam ko lamang sa ngayon ay may nakinabang sa ginawang paglabag ng PNP, sa mabagal o hindi pag-aksyon sa aking requests.

Nakinabang ang jueteng. Rampant pa rin ito. Hindi nga masusugpo ang iligal na sugal na ito dahil mismong si Col. Singian ay nag-iilusyon na wala ng jueteng sa Pampanga. STL o small town lottery na lang ang laro ngayon sa amin. Ang pamamayagpag ng jueteng ay patuloy na nagdudulot ng perwisyo sa mga Kapampangan, higit lalo sa mga kabalen ko na mahihirap.

What the PNP has done in Pampanga is deplorable. In violating the laws, it harms and dishonors the PNP institution and its values of honesty and service. In repeatedly denying my right as a governor to select a provincial police director of my choice, the PNP has undermined the power of a duly-elected authority and most especially, disrespected the civilians from whom that authority emanated. All these mock the so-called PNP transformation program. If this can’t be done with full decisiveness and honesty in Pampanga, the home province of President Macapagal-Arroyo, how else can the PNP be expected to do this with real success?

I strongly urge Interior Secretary, who is also chair of the Napolcom, to immediately correct the situation by:

1) ordering the PNP to give due course to my long-running request for a qualified, morally upright police officer;

2) rejecting the plan of the PNP, specifically Central Luzon police director Gen. Dela Cruz, to put in place, upon the initiative of the Pampanga Mayors’ League, Senior Supt. Gil Lebin Jr. as next Pampanga police director; and

3) transmitting Napolcom Resolution No. 2009-018 to me within twenty-four (24) hours.

The case of Pampanga, home province of President Macapagal-Arroyo


How the Philippine National Police violated
Republic Act No. 6975


R.A. 6975, otherwise known as “An Act Establishing the PNP under a Reorganized Department of the Interior and Local Government and for Other Purposes” enacted on December 13, 1990”, provides that provincial governors and city mayors have the authority to choose the provincial director and chief of police within their respective jurisdiction from a list of eligibles recommended by the PNP regional director [Section 51 (a) (1) and b (i) (4)].
Moreover, National Police Commission Resolution No. 2002-078 states that no placement, assignment, reassignment or promotion involving PNP senior officers to key positions shall be effected without personnel action passing through the Senior Officers Placement and Promotion Board (SOPPB).
In Pampanga, this is what happened:
June 23, 2007
Gov. Eddie Panlilio wrote then PNP Director General Oscar Calderon of his request to replace Senior Supt. Keith Singian. Even as an officer-in-charge, Singian has served as provincial police director since his appointment in January 2007. On even date, another letter of the same tenor was sent to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

August 10, 2007
Follow-up letter was sent to DG Calderon for the appointment of a new police director for Pampanga in order to ensure a stable peace and order condition and implement reforms.

August 29, 2007
National Police Commission issued Resolution 2007-339 [HEREIN REFERRED TO AS FIRST RESOLUTION] recommending Senior Superintendents Abner Dimabuyu, Cesar Hawthorne Binag and Keith Singian as Pampanga police director. This resolution is said to have been hidden and not transmitted by Chief Supt. Errol Pan, then the Central Luzon police director.
September 2007
Gov. Panlilio received an unofficial copy of the FIRST RESOLUTION endorsing a list of police officers as possible candidates for provincial director. Gov. Panlilio selected Col. Binag who is endorsed by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal and 30 Catholic bishops.

September 10, 2007
Gov. Panlilio wrote Gen. Pan of his choice for police director for Pampanga based on the list of nominees in the FIRST RESOLUTION.

September 24, 2007
Gov. Panlilio wrote again Gen. Pan of his choice for new police director for Pampanga and reiterated his authority stated under Section 51(a)(1) and (b)(i)(4) of R.A. 6975, copies of which were furnished to the President and DG Calderon.

October 4, 2007
Gov. Panlilio wrote DG Calderon informing him of his choice and the insistence of Gen. Pan to have Col. Singian appointed as police director for Pampanga. A copy of the letter was furnished to the President.
November 19, 2007
Gov. Panlilio went to Camp Crame for a meeting with new PNP chief DG Razon to reiterate his request for Col. Binag.
DG Razon withdrew the FIRST RESOLUTION, explaining that Col. Binag has to stay put as deputy chief of staff of the program management office handling the PNP transformation program. From here until April 2008, Gov. Panlilio made FOUR REQUESTS to have Col. Binag as provincial police director.
April 21, 2008
Gov. Panlilio wrote DG Razon to tell the latter that the FIRST RESOLUTION has not been officially transmitted to him and that his choice, Col. Binag, has not been heeded.

April 28, 2008
Gov. Panlilio wrote Gen. Pan to reiterate his previous request for the transmittal of the FIRST RESOLUTION of nominees, with copies furnished to the President, Secretary Puno and Gen. Razon.
May 2, 2008
Gov. Panlilio received an official copy Napolcom Resolution No. ____[HEREIN REFERRED TO AS SECOND RESOLUTION], this time containing this list of names: Senior Superintendents Enrico Salapong, Cristino Campanilla and Keith Singian. The names originated from Gen. Pan.

Gov. Panlilio informed Gen. Pan and Razon that none of the nominees is acceptable to him.

May 7, 2008
Gov. Panlilio wrote Gen. Razon to reiterate his request to have Col. Binag appointed as new police director for Pampanga. The governor told DG Razon of the moral transformation needed in Pampanga. “You are well aware that our province has been for years been known as the subservient host to illegal numbers game called jueteng. In view of that, we need morally upright men and women, both in the police force, the government and the civil society to fight against and repulse the evils brought about by jueteng.”
This letter to Gen. Razon was also sent to President Macapagal-Arroyo, Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno and Gen Pan.
May 13, 2008
Gov. Panlilio received information that his choice, Col. Binag, a member of Class ’87, is 190th in the seniority lineal list (SLL) of the PNP.
Col. Singian, Gen. Pan’s pick, is 250th in the SLL even as he belongs to PMA Class ’83.
These standings debunked the claim of Gen. Pan that Singian was more senior.
In the SECOND RESOLUTION, the SOPBB listed Col. Singian (PMA ‘83), Col. Salapong (PMA ’81) and Col. Campanilla (PMA ’82). If Pan’s seniority rule based on PMA class was followed, why was he not considering Col. Salapong?
May 27, 2008
The Senate committee on local government, chaired by Sen. Benigno Aquino III, started hearing on the complaint of Gov. Panlilio about the PNP’s violations of his prerogative to select a provincial police director of his choice.
Sen. Aquino and Sen. Francis Escudero find irregularities in the PNP process of heeding the request of Gov. Panlilio, specifically the move to withdraw the first resolution, replacing that with another resolution and changing two nominees except for Col. Singian.
“The stint of Governor Panlilio will be almost one year but he has not yet exercised his right to choose his own provincial police director,” Sen. Aquino said.
“Hindi naman tama that after giving a list, the PNP chief would delete the name on the list,” Sen. Escudero said.
Director Edgardo Acuña, PNP chief for personnel and records, said the first resolution “got lost” due to administrative mis-coordination.” He said that when the resolution got to Gen. Pan, the latter asked for reconsideration, which led to Gen. Razon’s granting this because Col. Binag was “vital” in the PNP transformation program.
June 23, 2008
Gov. Panlilio filed a case of plunder against alleged jueteng lord Rodolfo “Bong” Pineda in relation to the conviction of ousted President Joseph Estrada for the same crime in September 2007. Mr. Pineda has never been charged, tried or convicted of the same crime although testimonies by witnesses identified him as among those who helped Mr. Estrada amassed ill-gotten wealth.
At least 69 of 86 members of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines wrote a letter asking Ombudswoman Merceditas Gutierrez to “really attend to the merits” of the case. August 21, 2008
A new group, Kapanalig at Kambilan ning Memalen Pampanga Inc. (Kambilan) announced the launch of a recall petition against Gov. Panlilio for “loss of confidence.”

September 22, 2008
Gov. Panlilio wrote again DG Razon expressing his dismay for the continued disregard of his request to have Col. Singian replaced considering his incompetence and inefficiency. A copy of the letter was furnished to Sec. Puno.

September 29, 2008
Gov. Panlilio wrote newly PNP appointed Director General Jesus Verzosa and brought to his attention the long-staying OIC status of Col. Singian as well as his repeated requests for his replacement, a copy of which was also sent to Sec. Puno.
October 15, 2008
After gathering over 200,000 signatures in a span of two months, Kambilan filed recall petition against Gov. Panlilio. The governor’s lawyers filed a petition asking Comelec to junk the recall petition for lack of substance and form, and due to a pending recount case Mr. Pineda’s wife, losing gubernatorial bet Lilia Pineda.
January 5, 2009
More or less 70 truck owners and retrenched quarry workers stormed the offices of Gov. Panlilio and Provincial Administrator Vivian Dabu as they demanded for a dialogue to discuss the anti-overloading ordinance. Col. Singian’s men did not stop or arrest them. Sacked quarry workers removed the streamers of the provincial capitol but were not reprimanded or arrested by Col. Singian’s men. Sacked quarry workers hit two visiting nephews of the governor but were not arrested by the police.
January 6, 2009
Gov. Panlilio asked Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno to relieve Col. Singian for failing to stop the Jan. 5 siege and to arrest those involved in it.
January 8, 2009
Gov. Panlilio reiterated the request after Col. Singian denied that a siege was mounted at the capitol on Jan. 5.
January 9, 2009
Replying on behalf of Secretary Puno, Senior Supt. Armando Ramolete wrote Gov. Panlilio that his request for the relief of Col. Singian and finding a replacement for him has been referred to the SOPBB and the new police regional director, Chief Supt. Leon Nilo de la Cruz.
January 12, 2009
Napolcom Central Luzon Director Atty. Verulo Mapanao told Col. Singian in a letter: “Had the police officers enforced their authority over the rallyists and adopted reasonable measures to prevent them from performing unwarranted acts, they could not have succeeded in entering the offices of the above provincial officials, thereby, disrupting the peace and order of said place.”
Atty. Mapanao did not issue administrative sanctions on Col. Singian, only advising that “tighter monitoring on like activities is hereby enjoined to maintain peace and order, and to ensure that no one transgresses the law.”
On the same day, Col. Singian turns two years as OIC on the post. January 27, 2009
Napolcom issued Resolution 2009-018 [HEREIN REFERRED TO AS THIRD RESOLUTION] endorsing three police officers from which Gov. Panlilio can choose a provincial police director. On the list are Senior Superintendents George Gaddi, Sonny Cunanan and Danilo Bautista.
Like Resolution 2007-339 [FIRST], Resolution 2009-018 [THIRD] is not officially transmitted to Gov. Panlilio.

January 30, 2009
Gov. Panlilio wrote DG Verzosa requesting for the replacement of Col. Singian and the designation of PSSupt. Sonny Cunanan, one of the police officers indicated in the Napolcom resolution.
February 3, 2009
The Pampanga Mayors League, chaired by Lubao Mayor Dennis Pineda, furnished Gov. Panlilio a copy of PML Resolution 2009-52 to recommend Senior Supt. Gil Lebin Jr. as provincial police director. Col. Lebin is an Ilonggo and a classmate of Col. Singian. February 10, 2009
Gen. De la Cruz returned copy of THIRD RESOLUTION to Gen. Verzosa.

February 12, 2009
Secretary Puno told Gov. Panlilio after the Galing Pook awarding in Malacańang that Napolcom decided to pull out Resolution 2009-018. Secretary Puno said Napolcom prefers to endorse a non-Kapampangan as provincial police director. Col. Singian is a Kapampangan. Why is that policy suddenly altered? Or does such a policy really exist?

From the foregoing, the following data are clear:

1. That at EVERY STEP of the way, President Macapagal-Arroyo and her alter-ego, Secretary Puno, and the PNP chief were properly informed by Gov. Panlilio of his requests to assign a new provincial police director in Pampanga. If requests are taken up in the echelons of power, why were the responses slow and nil?

2. That Gov. Panlilio made that request more than 18 TIMES and more than FOUR of those were made in person. If the frequency of the requests was seen as indications of persistence and urgency, and appreciated as done in behalf of public good, which was the governor’s intention, why the obvious dilly-dally, runaround and disregard for a duly-elected public official in the home province of the President?

3. That Napolcom issued three resolutions, each containing a list of nominees. These indicated that the SOPBB and the Napolcom for that matter went through the selection and endorsement processes. Why did they reverse or ditch the processes?

4. That the police regional directors took actions violative of the law and the right of Gov. Panlilio as a public official to select the provincial police director. They did not only fail to transmit the official copies. Gen. Pan hid the first resolution. Gen. De la Cruz returned the third resolution.

Gen. Pan gave the second resolution only because this still contained the name of his pet choice, Col. Singian.

Why did these regional police directors have the audacity to do their unlawful acts? From whom were they drawing their power to disregard the law?

5. Weak excuses were given to justify the withdrawals of the first and third resolutions. In the first, DG Razon said Col. Binag cannot be dispensed with because of the PNP transformation program. If the PNP cannot help in the moral transformation of Pampanga, where else can it succeed?

In the second, Secretary Puno said Napolcom will have to select a non-Kapampangan for the PNP provincial post. Why did the SOPBB or Napolcom not consider that qualification before, if such is indeed a requirement?

6. That Gov. Panlilio, after 20 months as the duly-elected governor of Pampanga, has not yet exercised his right to choose a provincial director per the mandate tasked on him under RA 6975.

Who was commanding all these machinations to render a duly-elected public official powerless to select a qualified, morally-upright provincial police director to help bring reforms to the so-called Vatican of jueteng in the Philippines?

7. Pampanga is the home province of President Macapagal-Arroyo. It is right in her backyard that the PNP transgresses the laws and makes a mockery of these. It is right in her backyard that Col. Singian has flaunted his undeserved, unwelcomed stint. It is not to Col. Singian’s credit that Pampanga was chosen best PNP provincial station in Central Luzon. That credit belongs to the toiling cops on the ground. Much has to be desired in the peace and order situation in Pampanga to support the clamors of local communities and business sector for a crime-free province.

Who benefited in all these? Indirectly or not, the jueteng lord. In the last 20 months, jueteng remains rampant in Pampanga, operating in the legal cover given to it by the national government itself through the small-town lottery (STL). Col. Singian operates in an entirely illusory scenario. Col. Singian thinks there is no jueteng in Pampanga. For him, what is being run on the ground is purely STL, no jueteng. There hardly is no truth to this.

The Pampanga case demonstrates a sickening, far-reaching problem in the country: DISRESPECT AND BLATANT DISREGARD FOR THE RULE OF LAW. When the rule of law is not upheld, public good and interests are sacrificed and so is the well-being and future of the poor who have already been rendered voiceless, powerless and further impoverished by deep-seated corruption in the government.

The 2010 elections is around the corner. If the PNP and other agencies bungled in the Pampanga case, how can the same institutions be relied upon to ensure peace and order in ordinary times and to remove the conditions for fraudulent elections in the country?

Ties that bind a string of scandals


By Cyril Bonabente
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:24:00 02/12/2009

Filed Under: Graft & Corruption, People, World bank road mess, NBN deal, Hello Garci


MANILA, Philippines—First Gentleman Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo has been implicated in corruption scandals since his wife became President in January 2001.

Just six months after Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo assumed the presidency, her former correspondence secretary, Veronica Rodrigo, accused Mike Arroyo and his friends of receiving a P40-million bribe to help recall a presidential veto on two congressional bills.

One bill sought to give Philippine Communication Clearing-house a franchise to operate a clearinghouse through which telecommunication firms could interconnect for a fee. The other bill sought to grant APC Wireless Interface Network a franchise to build a nationwide wireless telecommunication system.

Rodrigo later admitted to the Senate blue ribbon committee that she had no direct knowledge of the alleged bribery.

Alleged misuse of PCSO funds

In October 2001, Sen. Panfilo Lacson accused Mike Arroyo of urging the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO) to release P250 million in advertising funds, and of using the money to finance the campaign of four administration candidates in the May 2001 senatorial election.

Lacson identified his informant as Robert Rivero, former media consultant of the PCSO.

The Office of the Ombudsman conducted an investigation but suspended its probe after Rivero reportedly failed to substantiate his charges.

Jose Pidal accounts

Lacson struck again in August 2003, this time saying that Mike Arroyo had amassed more than P200 million from contributions to his wife’s vice presidential campaign in 1998 and had deposited the money in secret bank accounts, one of which was under the name Jose Pidal.

In the Senate inquiry that followed, Mike Arroyo’s brother, Ignacio Arroyo Jr., claimed ownership of the Jose Pidal account and repeatedly invoked his right to privacy. He had not yet been elected congressman.

‘Jueteng’

Two confessed “jueteng” bagmen testified in the Senate in June 2005 that the President’s husband was involved in the lucrative illegal numbers game.

But in August that year, Demosthenes Abraham Riva, who testified that Mike Arroyo had given Mario Espinosa, former presidential assistant for Bicol affairs, blessings to operate jueteng in the region, apologized to the President and said: “The First Family had nothing to do with jueteng.”

The other bagman, Richard Garcia, also apologized to Ms Arroyo in a televised news conference but said he was not retracting his earlier statement.

Hello Garci

Brig. Gen. Francisco Gudani, one of four generals mentioned in the wiretapped “Hello Garci” conversations, told the Senate in September 2005 that Mike Arroyo had flown twice to Mindanao in a private helicopter a couple of days before the 2004 presidential election to deliver boxes containing about P500 million.

It was in Mindanao where massive electoral fraud was allegedly committed to ensure the victory of Ms Arroyo.

Mike Arroyo cried foul after then House Deputy Minority Leader Alan Peter Cayetano hinted in August 2006 that a member of the First Family had a multimillion-dollar bank account at the HypoVereins Bank in Germany.

HypoVereins later issued a certification that no member of the Arroyo family had accounts in, or made transactions with, the bank in the past 10 years.

NBN-ZTE deal

In September 2007, Jose de Venecia III testified in the Senate that in March that year, Mike Arroyo thrust a finger inches away from his face and barked at him to “back off” from the National Broadband Network (NBN) project. A company co-founded by De Venecia, Amsterdam Holdings Inc., was then seeking to undertake the project.

In April 2007, the Philippine government signed a $329-million NBN contract with Chinese firm ZTE Corp. De Venecia claimed the contract was overpriced by about $130 million to cover kickbacks, and that $70 million of this would go to the President’s husband.

Mike Arroyo denied the allegation, saying he had only reminded De Venecia that it was inappropriate for the son of the then House Speaker to get involved in government contracts.

Early this month, Lacson released excerpts of a World Bank report indicating that Mike Arroyo, some politicians and public works officials had taken bribes from contractors to ensure that they would bag projects funded by the World Bank under the National Roads Improvement and Management Program.

PAHAYAG NG PEOPLE'S CRUSADE FOR PAMPANGA

Alinsunod sa pagtataguyod ng Good Governance kung saan ang pamahalaan ay dapat maging honest, transparent, accountable at naglilingkod sa interes ng nakararaming mamamayan, kami, ang buong kasapian ng PEOPLE’S CRUSADE FOR PAMPANGA (PCFP), kasama ang mamamayan ng lalawigan ay nagkakaisa at naninindigan sa mga sumusunod:

Na ang Ordinance 261 na pinatupad noong November 22, 2008 ay isinagawa pangunahin para mapangalagaan ang mga daan at tulay na naapektuhan sa pagdaan ng mga overloaded trucks.

Na bago ipatupad, ito ay dumaan sa mahabang proseso ng serye ng mga pulong ng mga iba’t ibang regional at provincial government offices para sa pagtitiyak ng maayos at akmang pagpapatupad nito.

Ang kagyat na pagsunod ng mahigit na 3,000 truckers sa Ordinansang ito ay nagresulta ng maayos na regulasyon sa hanay nila habang nabibigyan ng sapat na pangangalaga ang ating mga daan at tulay.

Sa pagpapatupad ng Ord.261, nagbunga ito ng masigla at mas amalawak na partisipasyon ng lahat at maging ang pagsali ng mga small scale quarry operators dahil naitatakda ng regulated volumes ang pantay na presyo sa lahat. At kung gayon ay nangangahulugan ng mas malaking kita sa ating lalawigan.

Ang Ordinance 261 ang nagtitiyak ng regulated na volume na karga ng bawat truck sa pamamagitan ng praktikal, simple at di magastos na pamamaraan tulad ng pagpuputol ng bakal lagpas sa itinakdang taas ng truck. Sa simpleng paraan na laman ng Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) mapapadali ang monitoring dahil mas madaling malaman kung ang truck ay overloaded o hindi.

Na ang ganitong magandang kalakaran ang magtitiyak na ang Quarrying bilang pangunahing source ng ating local na ekonomiya ay napapaunlad pa upang lubos na mapakinabangan ng buong mamamayan ng Pampanga;

Na ang pag-repeal ng batas o ordinansa ay isinasagawa dahil ang nasabing ordinansa ay nagdudulot ng masama at nakakaapekto sa mga mamamayan. Kung ganoon bakit ire-repeal ang Ord.261 kung ito ay nagbibigay ganansya sa Pampanga?

Ang hakbang ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan na I-repeal ang Ordinance 261 ay nakatuntong sa makitid na mga dahilan: Una, bumili ng weighing scale o weight bridge; pangalawa, dahil may tumutol o nag rally laban sa Ordinance 261 na nagging batayan nila sa pagpasa ng Ordinance 326 na nagpapawalang bias sa Ordinance 261.

Ang weighing scale o weight bridge na pilit na inilulusot ng SP ay nagkakahalaga ng P7.7 milyong piso kada isa ( 4 proposed) at 2 portable weighing scale ay nagkakahalaga ng 4.5 milyon ( 2 and proposed). Bale 39.8 milyong piso ang magagastos sa monitoring operations dahil libo libong trucks ang kailangan pumila bago lumarga. Sa tindi ng hagupit ng global crisis, mas amakakabuting magamit ang perang nakalaan ditto para sa pagseserbisyo sa mamamayan.

Ang mga nagsusulong sa pag-repeal ng Ordinance 261 ay iilan lamang na siyang pinakingggan ng SP. Kanino bang interes dapat pumanig ang SP? Sa interes ng iilan o sa interes ng nakararaming mamamayan.

Malinaw kung gayon na ang Ordinance 326 na magre-repeal sa Ordinance 261 ay walang batayan at dapat tutulan ng mamamayan.

Ang kasalukuyang hakbang ng Sangguniang Panlalawigan na I-repeal ang Ordinance 261 at tuwirang pagwawalang bahala sa mga mabuting iniluluwal ng Ordinansang ito. Lubhang di makatwiran at illogical na I-repeal ang isang ordinansa na epektibong naipatutupad at nagsisilbi sa interes ng mayoryang mamamayan.

TULUYANG IPATUPAD ANG ANTI-OVERLOADING ORDINANCE 261! IPAGPATULOY ANG ORDIANANSANG MAKAMAMAMAYAN! TUTULAN ANG PAGPAPAWALANG-BISA O PAG-REPEAL NG ORDINANCE 261!

MISSING THE ACTION by: Kiko Ortelano

I had to wait another day.

Yesterday was fully anticipated by those who have been watching intently on the contentious Ordinance 261 of the Province of Pampanga.

To those who discern correctly, the repeal of Ordinance 261 was another politically motivated action by the SP. Those morons at the SP do not care if what they do harm the people of Pampanga or not. All they care about is their continuing destruction of Among Ed and his administration.

The SP conducted a moro-moro hearing on the issue. They think they can continuously fool our Kabalens. ENOUGH!

1. The Implementing Rules and Regulations of Ordinance 261 was crafted by a technical working group (TWG) where all stakeholders were represented.

2. The TWG was politicized when the representative of the Truckers Association, Mike Tapang was ostracized publicly by some people within his same group. Those opposing members were later proven to have lied publicly about their allegations against Tapang, when the latter produced a video contradicting the misinformation against him. Clearly, they are also being used by the dirty politicians of the province. What the SP fails to tell our Kabalens is that the group that they are using against Ord. 261 are very few compared against the majority of the law abiding truckers and quarry operators.

3. Undeniably, the use of weighing scales and weigh bridges is more accurate in deterring overloading of trucks. However, this is absolutely impractical!

One would hope that the SP could have at least conducted tests and time and motion studies in the use of scales and weigh bridges. They did not! This would have shown the SP the absurdity and absolute impracticality of their proposal. Initial research by the group of Tapang revealed that with the present volume of trucks operating daily in Pampanga, it would take about four (04) days to process them! This is also based on the proposal of 4 weigh bridges and 2 portable weighing scales. IS THIS NOT ANTI BUSINESS? Consequently, is this not detrimental to the people of Pampanga?

The proposed total of 6 units is insufficient to provide regular, normal operations for hauling.

4. The insufficient units of scales and bridges in the current proposal of the SP is already morally untenable, considering the economic hardships that have befallen our peole. If we follow the logic(?) of the SP to pursue the scales and bridges, then they would probably propose more scales and bridges. Which will make their proposal all the more financially absurd. To think that to this date, the SP will not even provide the normal budgetry requirements for the operation of BALAS.

5. Where will be the location of the scales and bridges? Will these not impede traffic flow in areas where they will be located? Does the SP knows what happens every night right at the JASA righ before the southbound entrance of the NLEX? Will the repealed ordinance 326 not create more loopholes in the checking of trucks considering the very limited coverage and capability of the csales and bridges?

6. The scales will have to calibrated regulary. This is another aspect of the proposal that will have to be scrutinized as it can be a tool for corruption. Additionally, because of the environmental conditions that will be prevailing in the operations of the scales and bridges, maintenance of the units will be major concern. Breakdown of any unit will constitue more delays and even traffic to the other road users.

We could provide more arguments for Ord 261 and against Ord 326 but we know it will be futile.

The SP have been publicly claiming that the governor is the problem in all that is happening in our province. May you be hit by lightning so you can wake up from your sinful stupor! You are only fooling yourselves and your paid lackeys! You are also fooling your true heavyweight benefactors!

Thankfully, a big group of people's organization in Pampanga is continually mobilizing to support the governor in its worthy endeavors. But please pray tell, where is the (in)famous Fr. Resty Lumanlan in all of these? We thought he is working for the welfare of our Kabalens and yet he is silent on important issues? It seems to us that he has staged a crusade against Among Ed and not against the evils that roam our beloved province. It seem to us that politicking is more imporatant than serving our people. They have been claiming that KCI has about 70 organizations under its wings. Where are they? Do they have the people or all they have are their (active?) officers? We have seen a lot of civil society organizations. We can only pick few in Pampanga that have been consistent in actively pursuing their advocacies.

Where are the noisy professionals(?) and business leaders of Pampanga in all of these. Where is the justification of Rene Romero in all of these? He has spoken a lot in the past specially things against the governor, but where is he in all of these? To think that initially he was projecting to our people that he was speaking as the President of Pamcham until some of their directors publicly disavowed his public pronouncements. If he is such a good manager, he would have seen the absolute requirement of conducting research and studies on the use of scales and bridges. This would have provided him more and better information in making his decisions. He has been sitting in the past SP hearings and he seems to be just getting along the whims of the SP.

Sadly, HATRED has blinded a lot of people. JEALOUSY has boxed them inside their personal failings.

LET US GO BACK TO BASICS.

Let us look at the examples of LOVE and HUMILITY by our LORD.

To the SP, the mayors, KCI, and all their minions, WE LOVE YOU AND FORGIVE US FOR CROSSING SWORDS WITH YOU.

But we love our Kabalens better. See you in the battlefront again.

HAPPY VALENTINES!

MISSING THE ACTION by: Kiko Ortelano

This column have shown total support to the administration of Governor Ed Panlilio.

Our loyalty is to the ADVOCACY and not to the person.

We have made it clear with the governor that our loyalty to him is basically based on our pursuit of common goals based on the advocacy of Good Governance and Responsble Citizenship.

That being stated, we would like to point out a few things in his administration which we did not agree with and what has tanspired to date.

1. The time during his first year as governor that he committed to defend the capitol's budget at the Sangguniang Panlalawigan and backed-out at the last minute. We were still affiliated with Kapampangan Marangal, Inc. (KMI) at that time, and we went to KMI's headquarters to voice out our concern on this turn-around.

So what if it was going to be the first time a governor will be defending his capitol's budget at the SP? First times are not really bad.

A LEADER is firm. A LEADER is a proponent of change.

The governor has gone to the SP a few times as of this time to defend his budget requests at the SP.

2. The start of Among Ed's term as governor was phenominally similar to that of then President Corazon Aquino. There was so much euphoria. There was so much freedom to talk about anything, including things that happened during past administrations.

However, even the inner circle of the gov was afflicted by this. Some of them did not exercise much self control to reign in information that only they should know. We were learning and hearing things from some of them even before the gov made the announcements. There was also in-fighting and the creation of factions. The past year had mended most of these problems. There were the celebrated parting of ways, and then there were the more somber and professional goodbyes. We would have been more firm if it were us. But we are not the governor. To date, we still get comments that the gov should show more teeth in his administration., but the gov have been consistent.

A LEADER is COMPASSIONATE.

Even when some of the former members of the governor has "gone over to the other side", the gov has kept peace with their departure and always wished them well. Even when political foes, specially those that are being controlled by the powers at the Pasig river, have done everything to bring him down, the gov is keeping on.

3. There are also issues of incompetence and biases. We are also personally privy to this as we had been a "victim" to some of these problems. As we write this, this is still going on.

We have seen some actions from the gov to address this. However, government service will always be tainted. This is where, monitoring programs must be implemented. This is also where civil society palys a big role. We must be vigilant in our responsibilities of being watch dogs for our people. We must always work hard to help govrnment in delivering services to our people.

A Good LEADER is a Good Follower.

Civil Society Leaders must always set correct examples specially in following Good Leaders. Then we can also be GOOD LEADERS.

KASAUP is trying very hard to do these.

LUID KA!