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A Re-post From Christine O. Avendano And Norman Bordadora Of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 20:05:00 +0000

Aquino: Question is simple, can we trust Mr. Corona?

2:02 am | Friday, February 17th, 2012

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President Benigno Aquino III. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Attending the first of a series of events to mark the 26th anniversary of the EDSA Revolution, President Aquino said Thursday that Chief Justice Renato Corona’s failure to fully declare his multimillion-peso bank deposits was sufficient basis to remove him from his post.

The President wondered why there was still disbelief that Corona had committed an impeachable offense when he declared bank accounts worth only P3.5 million in his 2010 statement of assets, liabilities and net worth (SALN) despite evidence presented at his impeachment trial showing his peso deposits then at P31.5 million.

In a speech delivered in Filipino at a “town hall meeting” with students from various universities and colleges at La Consolacion College near Malacañang, Aquino expressed frustration over the lengthy legal discussions in the impeachment trial that, he said, appeared to be aimed at confusing the public and causing it to lose interest in the proceedings.

“Would Juan de la Cruz allow himself to be left out of this process? Are we going to allow only a few to decide for all of us?” Aquino said.

“The question in this trial is rather simple: Can we still trust Mr. Corona? We can answer that with the truth coming out during the trial,” he said.

In the question-and-answer portion of the meeting, the President said he would have a hard time implementing reforms in the judiciary should the impeachment court favor Corona.

To the question of what will happen to his campaign to make corrupt public officials accountable if the court issues a verdict of acquittal, Aquino said: “Extremely difficult, if not impossible.”

Same standards

A number of senators have expressed doubt that Corona’s misdeclarations in his SALNs constituted a high crime—one of several grounds for impeachment under the Constitution.

The President said Corona should be held up to the same standards that caused court interpreter Delsa Flores to lose her job and other benefits in 1997 after failing to declare ownership of a stall in a public market.

“For a court interpreter, that is the standard. How much is the rent for a stall in the market? For the Chief Justice, should the standard be different?” Aquino said, adding: “If Mrs. Flores lost her job, what do you think should be the verdict on Mr. Corona? Do we even have to ask whether what he did was an impeachable offense?”

“If you were Delsa Flores, what would you feel if you learn that there’s a person who withheld a bigger amount in his SALN?”

The President said the SALN was not mere scratch paper but a document sworn to by every public official, as provided for in Article 11, Section 17 of the Constitution.

He said the Constitution also directs public officials to have their SALNs disclosed to the public.

“As the truth comes out, the reasons why Mr. Corona was hiding his SALNs in a vault are becoming clear,” the President said. “It’s clearer than the light of day. Mr. Corona, the declaration you swore to isn’t consistent with what has been discovered to be your assets. In any school in the world, P3.5 million does not equal P31.5 million.”

‘Cover-up for GMA corruption’

Aquino expressed mock gratitude for Corona for the discrepancies in his SALNs, saying the inconsistencies were drawing attention to the latter’s unexplained wealth.

He also thanked lead defense counsel Serafin Cuevas for seeking the disclosure of Corona’s monthly balances when the impeachment court had just asked for the Chief Justice’s yearend balances.

The President expressed hope that Corona and his lawyers would see the light, but said he doubted that this would happen soon.

“If you did nothing wrong, you have nothing to hide. Let me ask you this. Is this the way a person who has nothing to fear behaves? It’s already difficult to look at his SALNs and until now, he continues to hide his dollar accounts,” the President said.

“He said he would come out with the documents in due time. With due respect, Mr. Corona, many years have passed since you submitted SALNs that beg a lot of questions. When is due time? It seems that your time is long overdue,” the President said.

Aquino also said then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo appointed Corona to the Supreme Court “to cover up for her corruption.”

“Didn’t all of this start only after you almost succeeded in allowing Mrs. Arroyo to flee?” he said, referring to the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the travel restrictions on the former President, which almost gave her “a chance to hide.”

‘Remove this branding’

In explaining the need for Corona’s conviction, the President cited rulings made by certain courts that, he said, derailed the government’s reform agenda.

One ruling he cited was the 20-day TRO issued recently by a Manila Regional Trial Court on the results of the Department of Justice’s investigation of the former National Bureau of Investigation chief Magtanggol Gatdula, who was sacked in connection with the kidnapping of a Japanese national by NBI agents last year.

“There is an accusation that the NBI kidnapped a person. So you need to investigate it in order to bring back the credibility of the NBI as an institution. But the court now says that the DOJ cannot act on the result of its investigation,” he said in a frustrated tone.

In a statement that elicited applause, he said: “Some would say ‘Only in the Philippines.’ But … I want us to remove this kind of branding.”

‘Wimpy dictator’

The President also said he had been at the receiving end of many criticisms—that he was “a spoiled brat,” “immature,” “a wimp,” and now “a wimpy dictator.”

But even with these criticisms, he said, he wanted the next generation to not undergo what his generation had experienced.

Later in a TV interview, Aquino indicated satisfaction with Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s handling of the impeachment trial.

“He is trying to be extremely fair to all sides,” he said of Enrile, noting that the latter was, after all, a veteran lawyer.

The President also defended the performance of the House prosecution, saying the lawmakers’ not being practicing lawyers was the reason they were not as “polished” as the defense.

Not interference

Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Teofisto Guingona III, both allied with the President, said his criticism of the Chief Justice did not amount to interference in the impeachment trial.

“I don’t know how he is interfering. All I know is they’re [both] commenting, but if we are not affected by the commentaries, these have no value,” Pimentel said in Filipino.

“The challenge is for us [senator-judges] not to be affected by the commentaries of other people. We would have to now make our own decision based on the evidence,” he said.

Asked about the propriety of the President continuously attacking Corona and discussing the merits of the case in public, Pimentel said: “If somebody files a motion, then we will take it up. But no one seems to be affected that much…”

Guingona, a member of Aquino’s Liberal Party, said the President’s attacks had a “substantial difference” from the allegation by Corona’s lawyers that the Palace was trying to bribe senators.

Last Sunday, defense lawyers claimed that the offer was P100 million in “soft projects” in exchange for a senator’s vote against the TRO on Corona’s dollar accounts.

But Pimentel said both the defense and the prosecution should be sanctioned. He noted that prosecutors were now under fire for submitting to the Senate purportedly fake documents on Corona’s bank records.

“My attitude now is that both sides should be punished,” Pimentel said.

Tit for tat

In a press conference, Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. said even the Chief Justice had been criticizing the President and the prosecutors.

Belmonte said that the impeachment trial being a political process, even the senators and the defense had become fair game for criticism.

“And, of course, Corona should not be organizing rallies and speeches,” the Speaker said.

House Majority Leader Neptali Gonzales II said there was nothing wrong with anyone discussing issues involving Corona.

Re-posted From Christine O. Avendano And Norman Bordadora of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Re-post From Tarra Quismundo of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 09:33:00 +0000

Let the ‘fun’ begin: Netizens spoof, bash new tourism slogan

By Tarra Quismundo
Philippine Daily Inquirer

1:19 am | Sunday, January 8th, 2012

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'MORE FUN' TURNS FUNNY. Filipino humor overwhelms Facebook and other social networking sites as netizens parody the new tourism slogan. But it’s good news for Philippine tourism, says DOT. itsmorefuninthephils.com

Netizens did have fun either defending or (nit)picking apart the country’s newest tourism slogan, “It’s more fun in the Philippines.”

Filipino humor quickly found a new target and went viral over the catchphrase, giving it different spins which may or may not help the cause of Tourism Secretary Ramon Jimenez Jr.

Ideas fresh or farcical quickly sprouted on Facebook and Twitter pages: One user came up with a “poster” showing two men in a sing-along showdown and captioned “Death by ‘My Way’: It’s More Fun…” It was a reference to that joke about the Frank Sinatra classic being the usual fuse of videoke bar violence in these parts.

Another user thought “Watering the Plants” would also be a source of fun worth promoting in the Philippines, posting a photo of a boy urinating against a wall. The image was apparently an expression of disgust over locals relieving themselves in public.

Another mock “fun” poster featured a unique Philippine “water sport,” showing people scampering away from giant, crashing waves on Manila Bay at the height of a storm.

One gave a lighter spin to the notorious traffic jams in Metro Manila, posting a photo of a traffic enforcer dressed as Santa Claus.

Others thought that the “fun” slogan should also apply to the country’s rambunctious and often controversial elections, as well as to the coming impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

Still, there were also well-meaning suggestions: Have you tried local pastries like “fun de sal” and “fun de coco”?

Mere copy?

Some users weighed in on the observation that the new slogan was not a Filipino original but supposedly a mere copy of Switzerland’s motto in the 1950s.

Mark Manuel @mimattictheory) tweeted: “#itsmorefuninthephilippines, absolutely! But stealing one country’s tourism slogan is not cool!”

Another Twitter user, Sapphire Ong (@sappong), said that while the new slogan was catchy, “it sounded so much better when Switzerland used it in 1951.”

Other Twitter users thought the copycat issue should be given a rest. “I don’t care if there’s ‘It’s more fun in Switzerland.’ For me it’s way more fun in the Philippines!” said Marco Paulo (@countocram).

“Come on! Give me a break! Switzerland 1951? Nega people, stop it. I still say #itsmorefuninthePhilippines!” said Mikaela Lagdameo (@mikaelamartinez).

Part of DOT plan

The Department of Tourism is not actually complaining about all that cyber-buzz being generated by its new pickup line.

That the new slogan had gone viral within just hours of its launch on Friday could only mean good news for Philippine tourism, said Assistant Tourism Secretary Benito Bengzon.

“This is really part of our strategy, to let it go viral. It has been trending, a very good indication of the kind of interest we are generating in social networks,” Bengzon told the Inquirer on the phone on Saturday.

“We see the 25 million or so Facebook and Twitter users as our strength in the Philippines. This is something we could use to convey our message,” Bengzon said.

Positive voice

Jimenez himself has used his Twitter account to defend the new slogan, saying it was merely a coincidence that it echoed Switzerland’s old come-on—and that nobody has a copyright to fun.

“Tourism is successful in Thailand because their positive voice is louder than their negative voice,” the secretary added.

The early criticisms were expected, but the campaign’s success would be gauged by what foreign tourists would think of the slogan, Bengzon said.

“I think what people have to realize is that the application of this campaign is overseas. We will see how the Japanese react to it, how Koreans or Americans react to it,” he said.

Honest

The new slogan may not be bombastic but it tells the truth about the Philippines, according to Jaime Cura, a former vice president of the Tourism Congress.

“I think it is very simple, easy to understand and easy to recall. It’s an honest statement. It does not promise something that we don’t have,” Cura said in an interview.

He noted that Filipinos could be fun-loving “even to a fault” and that many foreigners who had visited the country always remember their happy experiences.

“My foreign friends tell us when they say goodbye that they had so much fun during their stay. So instead of copying other countries with their (one-word) tag lines, we should focus on this aspect that has already been proven,” Cura said.

Re-posted From Tarra Quismundo of Philippine Dailt Inquirer

A Re-post From Norman Bordadora of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Aquino declares state of national calamity

By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer

11:20 am | Tuesday, December 20th, 2011

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President Benigno Aquino III INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

Cagayan De Oro–President Aquino has declared a state of national calamity in the aftermath of the devastation and tragedy brought by tropical storm Sendong.

Mr. Aquino made the declaration during a briefing with heads of concerned national government agencies and local government officials on Tuesday morning here.

President Aquino said the government still has P1.17 billion of its calamity fund intact.

Aside from the hardest hit areas of Cagayan De Oro and Iligan City, Mr. Aquino said the government will also be assisting Negros Oriental, Ilocos Norte and Iloilo.

Re-posted From Norman Bordadora of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Re-post From Rose Garcia of PEP

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 10:05:00 +0000

Carla in, Rhian out—as Dingdong's leading lady in GMA's My Beloved?

December 8, 2011 3:48pm

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Sa gitna ng kontrobersiyang kinasasangkutan ngayon ni Rhian Ramos ay ang usap-usapan na papalitan na raw siya sa upcoming series ng GMA-7 na My Beloved.

At ang lumulutang na pangalan na makakapareha ni Dingdong Dantes sa naturang serye ay si Carla Abellana.

Kaya naman isa ito sa tinanong ng PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal) kay Carla sa presscon ng pelikulang Yesterday Today Tomorrow nitong Martes ng gabi, sa Imperial Palace Suites.

Ayon kay Carla, "Nababalitaan ko yun, pero wala pa naman akong nababalitaan from GMA at kay Tito Arnold [Vegafria, her manager].

"Hindi pa.

"So, sabi ko, hangga't hindi pa nanggagaling sa kanila, hindi tayo sigurado.

"Sa ngayon, tsismis lang."

Paano kung totoo ngang siya ang napipisil ng GMA-7 na gumanap sa role na dapat kay Rhian, tatanggapin ba niya?

"Walang problema. Trabaho pa rin yun," sagot ni Carla.

"Pero gusto ko sanang tapusin muna ang Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Langit kasi naumpisahan ko na.

"Alangan naman na iwan ko lang yun na basta-basta.

"Siyempre, I still have my responsibilities.

"Tatapusin ko yun. Gusto kong tapusin yun."

Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Langit ang afternoon soap ni Carla kasama sina Michelle Madrigal at Mike Tan.

Ayon kay Carla, hanggang January 2012 pa ang taping nila para sa Kung Aagawin Mo Ang Langit, pero hanggang sa February pa ang airing nito.

Kung sakaling matuloy si Carla sa My Beloved, ito ang unang pagkakataon na makakapareha niya si Dingdong sa isang soap.

Pero nagkasama na sila bilang co-hosts sa StarStruck V.

OFFER FROM OTHER NETWORK. Sa February 2012 ay matatapos na ang kontrata ni Carla sa GMA-7.

Hindi itinatanggi ng aktres na may offer siya mula sa isang rival network.

Kung sakaling matuloy siya My Beloved, isa ba ito sa kunsiderasyon para manatili siyang Kapuso?

"Puwede, oo," tugon ni Carla.

"Pero siyempre, hindi lang naman yun.

"Kailangan naming marinig kung ano ang plans ng GMA para sa akin.

"Hindi naman enough na, 'eto ngang if ever na project na ito, kailangan ano pa ang mga susunod na plano, di ba?

"Kailangan marinig muna namin the rest."

Sa palagay ni Carla ay magkakaroon naman ng meetings para mapag-usapan ang bagay na ito.

Pero detalyado na raw ang offer ng ibang network sa kanya.

Saad ni Carla, "Oo naman. Detalyado kung ano ang mga proyekto...

"Kung ilang taon...siyempre, nandoon na rin ang talent fees sa kontrata at naka-indicate."

Isang network lang naman daw ang nag-o-offer sa kanya.

Pero ayon kay Carla, "Ayoko sanang lumipat.

"Pero kung wala naman akong choice kung hindi i-consider, based on their plans for me, e, di uupuan natin yun at pag-uusapan natin yun.

"Nandiyan pa rin siya, hanging pa lang.

"Kasi, hindi pa naman kami nag-uusap ng GMA. Hindi pa kami nagmi-meeting.

"So, hindi pa namin alam kung ano ang plans ng GMA for me."

Paano kung maganda rin ang offer ng Kapuso network sa kanya?

"E, di okay. I will remain in GMA," nakangiting sagot ni Carla.

Paano kung mas maganda ang offer ng kabila?

"Naiiyak ako!" biro niya.

"Mahirap talagang desisyon yun.

"Kung maganda ang offer ng kabila, ang pagpipilian mo, ano ba, magandang offer or loyalty mo?"

Ano ang magiging deciding factor niya kung saka-sakali—magandang offer o loyalty?

"'Yun nga, e. Malay ko. Paano ako magde-decide?

"Tingnan muna natin, di ba?

"I cannot say which I will choose—loyalty or magandang offer—because I haven't seen GMA's offer also and plan."

GEOFF IS NOT A FACTOR. Posible bang manatili rin siya sa GMA-7 dahil sa boyfriend niyang si Geoff Eigenmann?

"Hayan na naman... Hindi ako mag-i-stay sa GMA dahil lang kay Geoff, ha.

"Walang problema. Kung trabaho, trabaho.

"Siyempre, I will consider him, but hindi naman porke't nandoon siya, susunod ako do'n.

"Sabi nga ni Geoff... Di ba, sa interview n'yo, sabi niya, 'Kung trabaho, trabaho.'

"Hindi naman magma-matter, iisang industriya lang 'yan.

"Kahit magkahiwalay kami ng network, okay lang."

Yun nga lang, minsan pumapasok ang problema ng magkarelasyon kapag magkahiwalay sila ng network.

Ayon naman kay Carla, "Ganoon talaga.

"Pero, doon mate-test kung trabaho or lovelife.

"Sa ngayon, ang priority talaga, trabaho." -- Rose Garcia, PEP

Re-post From Rose Garcia of PEP

A Re-post From Cathy Yamsuan and Christine O. Avendano of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:08:00 +0000

Aquino-Corona face-off at justice summit

By Cathy Yamsuan, Christine O. Avendaño
Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:48 am | Monday, December 5th, 2011

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President Benigno Aquino III and Chief Justice Renato Corona. INQUIRER file photo

Will President Benigno Aquino III face off with Chief Justice Renato Corona today (Monday)?

The two are guests at the opening of the first National Criminal Justice Summit hosted by the Department of Justice (DOJ) after the President, using the 30th anniversary celebration of the Makati Business Club on Thursday, slammed the Supreme Court for allegedly hobbling his reform programs.

Mr. Aquino will keynote the summit at the Manila Hotel; Corona is expected to deliver a speech for the judiciary.

“I guess we’ll have to see,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said when asked over state radio dzRB if the two will meet during the two-day gathering. “We’ll just have to wait for that particular event.”

“The President does not shy away from discussing national issues, if necessary,” Communications Secretary Ricky Carandang said in a phone interview.

“The President has every right and even the duty to express his views and sentiments on such issue of national importance,” Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said in a text message to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

The Palace and judiciary have been at loggerheads since Mr. Aquino was elected last year. The President had even refused to take his oath before Corona, a so-called “midnight” appointee of outgoing President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The Chief Executive had been very vocal about his opposition to several decisions by the court, including its recent decision to allow Arroyo, now a Pampanga representative, to travel abroad for treatment of a bone ailment which De Lima defied.

Arroyo is now under hospital arrest but has questioned before the high court the constitutionality of the DOJ-Commission on Elections task force that recommended the election sabotage case filed against her that ultimately was used to justify the move to keep her under government custody.

Palace lawyers warned

Senator Joker Arroyo on Sunday said Mr. Aquino’s latest blast at the court was the handiwork of his legal advisers who must be cautioned against criticizing the high tribunal.

“I cannot blame the President for his remarks since he is not a lawyer. But he cleared his statements with his legal advisers so they should be the ones held accountable,” said the senator, who is not related to the former President.

“When government officials criticize the Supreme Court, it does not have the power to answer. And are they saying that the (12) justices appointed during the time of Gloria cannot render right judgment? That the present composition of the Supreme Court cannot make a right decision,” he asked.

“Before they speak again, they better look at history,” the senator said, referring to then President Corazon Aquino’s appointment of all 15 justices of the Supreme Court after the 1986 Edsa People Power Revolution that ousted the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Senator Arroyo said that the court was then led by Claudio Teehankee, a known dissenter as an associate justice during the Marcos years.

Martial law years

The senator recalled that the late Senator Lorenzo Tañada had advised his opposition colleagues in the anti-Marcos movement to “never get personal with the Supreme Court.”

“Even during those times when we cannot expect justice from the Supreme Court, we never got personal. We were careful not to attack it even if it gives an unfavorable decision. But now, just because it issues a TRO (temporary restraining order), it is branded as a lapdog of Gloria. Is that the situation now, that they are free to attack anyone? We should be careful there,” he warned.

Senator Franklin Drilon, a known critic of Corona, stressed that the Supreme Court “is not exempted from criticism. Any lawyer can question its decisions.”

Drilon said “respect” for the Supreme Court cannot be ordered. “You should show that you deserve respect. All this is happening because of public perception that the tribunal is not an impartial arbiter.”

Re-posted From Cathy Yamsuan and Christine O. Avendano of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Re-post From PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal)

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 07:35:00 +0000

"Gusto ko pong magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga nagdasal at saka sa lahat ng sumusuporta po para po sa justice [kay Ramgen]. Whatever po needed yung help ko, ibibigay ko po," says Janelle Manahan.

File photo

Janelle Manahan out of hospital; recounts night of boyfriend Ramgen Revilla's murder

Ibinalita Martes ng gabi, Nobyembre 29, sa iba't-ibang primetime news programs ng tatlong malalaking TV networks—ABS-CBN, TV5, at GMA-7—ang paglabas sa ospital ni Janelle Manahan, kasintahan ng napaslang na aktor na si Ramgen Revilla.

Matapos ang isang buwan sa Asian Hospital and Medical Center sa Alabang, lumabas na si Janelle pasado alas-dos ng hapon, Nobyembre 29.

Kasama ng kanyang mga abugado, naka-shades, maong, at sweater ang dalaga na guwardiyado ng mga pulis.

Dahil hindi pa tuluyang gumagaling ang kanyang balikat, naka-armsling pa rin siya.

JUSTICE FOR RAMGEN. Bagamat hirap pang magsalita si Janelle dahil sa nakakabit na braces sa ngipin niya, nagpaunlak pa rin siya ng interview pagsakay niya sa kotse.

Ayon kay Janelle, "Gusto ko pong magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga nagdasal at saka sa lahat ng sumusuporta po para po sa justice [kay Ramgen].

"Whatever po needed yung help ko, ibibigay ko po."

Saan siya humuhugot ng lakas sa hinaharap niyang trials?

"Kay God po at saka sa love ng family at saka sa lahat ng sumusuporta po."

Napaiyak din si Janelle sa pangalawang buhay na ibinigay sa kanya.

Nangako siyang hindi titigil hangga't hindi nakakamit ang hustisya sa pagkamatay ni Ramgen.

Sabi ni Janelle habang umiiyak, "Ngayon lang po nagsi-sink in lahat, e. Hindi ko po alam."

Nakahanda raw si Janelle na tumestigo sa kaso ng napatay na nobyo.

Nanawagan din siya sa pamilya Bautista-Revilla.

"Sana po tulungan po nila akong mahanap yung hustisya para kay Ramgen. Yun lang po."

Galit ba siya sa pamilya ni Ramgen?

Sagot ni Janelle, "Hindi ko po talaga alam yung nararamdaman ko ngayon, e.

"Ngayon lang po talaga nagsi-sink in lahat.

"Hindi ko po talaga alam kung ano yung napi-feel ko."

TRANSFERRED TO A SAFEHOUSE. Bagamat na-interview ng lahat si Janelle, tanging ang ABS-CBN News reporter na si Jay Ruiz ang nakasama sa sasakyang sumundo kay Janelle.

Re-posted from PEP (Philippine Entertainment Portal)

A Repost From Leila B. Salaverria and Philip C. Tubeza of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 10:12:00 +0000

Arroyo faces more troubles

Suits pressed for plunder, Maguindanao massacre

By Leila B. Salaverria, Philip C. Tubeza
Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:27 am | Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011

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Mug shots of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as shown from www. mugshots.com

As if her troubles were not enough, former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will be slapped Tuesday with a civil case for her alleged role in the gruesome Maguindanao massacre, a lawyer of the victims said Monday.

Arroyo, who is under hospital arrest in Taguig City on charges of electoral sabotage, is also facing plunder charges in the Office of the Ombudsman.

A lawmaker and two other complainants said that while Arroyo had been charged with electoral sabotage, there was still a need to make her accountable for alleged acts of corruption during her nine-year tenure in Malacañang.

The three asked the Office of the Ombudsman on Monday to immediately resolve the plunder case against Arroyo over the scuttled $329-million National Broadband Network (NBN) deal.

Harry Roque, who represents the kin of 13 media workers and two bystanders slain in the massacre on Nov. 23, 2009, said his clients would ask the Quezon City Regional Trial Court to order the former President to pay a total of P15 million in damages.

“We will file a civil case against her for her complicity in the Maguindanao massacre. She is responsible for coddling and abetting those behind the killings and for violating the rights of the victims,” Roque said in an interview.

The massacre claimed the lives of 58 people, including 33 media workers, two years ago.

Ampatuans

The government has charged members of the Ampatuan family—close allies of Arroyo when she was in power—and their supporters for the massacre.

The killings in Ampatuan town, Maguindanao province, is considered the worst election-related case of violence in the country. The remains of the 58th victim have yet to be found.

The 33 media workers were part of a convoy traveling with the wife of Esmael Mangudadatu who was going to file her husband’s certificate of candidacy. Mangudadatu’s wife was accompanied by women relatives and friends. They were all killed. Six other civilians who happened to be passing by were also killed.

While planning to formally charge Arroyo, Roque said his clients also vented their ire on President Benigno Aquino III for reportedly saying that he expected the trial of the massacre case to go beyond his term.

“The widows are really unhappy because he is the President and they expected him to do everything within his power to achieve justice in this case but, with his statement, he has thrown in the towel or raised the white flag,” Roque said.

He pointed out that the alleged election cheating machine that the Arroyo administration had in Central Mindanao began to unravel after the Maguindanao massacre.

Former Maguindanao Governor Andal Ampatuan Sr., along with Arroyo and former Election Supervisor Lintang Bedol, had been charged with electoral sabotage in the Pasay City Regional Trial Court.

Plunder case

In the plunder complaint, also named respondents were the husband of the former President, Jose Miguel Arroyo, former Commission on Elections Chairman Benjamin Abalos; and former Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza.

In an urgent motion to resolve the case, the complainants—Bayan Muna Representative Teodoro Casiño, former Gabriela Representative Liza Maza and Carol Araullo of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan—said Arroyo could use the delays in filing cases against her to her advantage.

“We are witnesses on how delay in the filing of an appropriate case could have almost allowed GMA (Arroyo) to leave the country and escape liability from her illegal acts, had the Commission on Elections not filed an electoral sabotage case,” they said.

Arroyo tried last week to fly abroad for medical treatment after the Supreme Court lifted the watch-list order against her, but she was stopped from leaving by immigration officials on orders of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima.

Before Arroyo could attempt to leave again, the Pasay City Regional Trial Court ordered her arrest for electoral sabotage.

Not enough

The complainants in the plunder case also said that although Arroyo was facing a criminal charge, this was not enough.

“There is still a need for the filing of information from cases like the corruption charges in the NBN-ZTE transaction,” they said.

Casiño, Maza and Araullo said the “people have waited for years for the respondents to face these charges.”

They also asked the Office of the Ombudsman not to grant any request from Arroyo for additional time to respond to the complaint, saying she had been granted an extension earlier.

If Arroyo failed to file her response at the proper time, she should be deemed to have waived her right to file it, the complainants said.

The Arroyo administration shelved the NBN deal with China’s ZTE Corp. amid allegations of bribery and overpricing.

Abalos and Romulo Neri, former director general of the National Economic Development Authority, are undergoing trial in the Sandiganbayan in connection with the criminal cases filed against them for their role in the scuttled deal.

Proper process

Assistant Ombudsman Asryman Rafanan said the cases against Arroyo were undergoing the proper processes.

Rafanan said the Office of the Ombudsman would evaluate the case based on the facts. It would not file cases haphazardly and would not be moved by emotions, he said.

He also said that if the agency would file cases, it wanted to make sure these were airtight.

Last month, at her first press conference, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales said she would focus on high-profile cases and would make sure that cases filed were airtight. But she also said she did not want to go berserk filing cases if there was no case just to please the public.

Reposted From Lel.ila B. Salaverria and Philip C. Tubeza of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Cynthia D. Balana and Jerome Aning of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 02:46:00 +0000

Arroyos will try to fly to Singapore Thursday

By Cynthia D. Balana, Jerome Aning
Philippine Daily Inquirer

2:37 am | Thursday, November 17th, 2011

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A FASCINATOR IT’S NOT A nurse protects the head of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo as she boards an ambulance to take her back to St. Luke’s Medical Center-Global City from Naia on Tuesday. LYN RILLON

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will leave Thursday for Singapore to see an endocrinologist, her spokesperson said Wednesday.

Arroyo, now a representative of Pampanga, postponed her trip planned for Wednesday because her “elevated” blood pressure, purportedly brought about by the refusal of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to allow her and her party to leave for abroad on Tuesday night, “has not normalized yet up to this time,” Elena Bautista-Horn said.

According to Horn, Arroyo and her party will fly out Thursday for a scheduled checkup at 12:15 p.m. with an endocrinologist in Singapore.

She said Arroyo would be accompanied by her husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, a nurse, a close-in aide, and two members of the couple’s respective staffs.

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) said the Arroyos had earlier booked passage on Singapore Airlines Flight SQ 919, which departed at 5:10 p.m. Wednesday.

But the airline said the reservations were voided when the couple failed to show up an hour before the scheduled flight, according to MIAA public affairs office chief Connie Bungag.

If the Arroyos intend to be in Singapore by noon Thursday, they should be in any of these flights: Philippine Airlines’ PR 511, which is to leave at around 6 a.m.; Tiger Airways’ TR 2729, 6:20 a.m.; Cebu Pacific’s 5J-801, 6:25 a.m.; and Singapore Airlines’ SQ 915, 8:10 a.m.

Glandular ailment

Horn said the meeting with the doctor was for an evaluation of Arroyo’s disease of the glands. She said the latter did not like taking too many medicines. Earlier reports said Arroyo’s medication came up to at least 25 capsules a day.

“I’m sure Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has run out of excuses. That’s Constitution 101. [On Tuesday], she said the DOJ had yet to receive the Supreme Court decision. But we’ve just learned that the department received it [Tuesday] night. So there is no more reason for her not to allow Mrs. Arroyo to leave,” Horn told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

De Lima said on Tuesday afternoon that the Arroyos would remain on the watch list of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) because she had yet to receive a copy of the temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Supreme Court on the travel ban on the couple.

Horn said Arroyo was still at St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City Wednesday morning because the latter felt bad after being stopped from leaving by immigration authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (Naia 1).

Commenting on the government’s offer to shoulder the cost of bringing in a foreign doctor of Arroyo’s choice, Horn said the money would be better used to pay government lawyers to defend the case against her boss.

Ready for jail

Speaking at a press conference, Immigration Commissioner Ricardo David Jr. said he was ready to go to jail along with other immigration officers at the Naia if they would be charged with contempt of court for barring Arroyo from leaving the country on Tuesday night.

“I will join them in jail because this is an order of the Secretary (De Lima) given to me, which I gave to our airport supervisors and relayed to our immigration officers. All of us are in this because there is a pyramid organization in BI. If they say we will be imprisoned for a few months, we will join them. But I pity our immigration officers who were just doing their jobs,” he said.

David said he was in the office of MIAA General Manager Angel Honrado when the Arroyos arrived at the airport.

The immigration commissioner said four persons who were to accompany the Arroyos were able to board the Dragon Air aircraft but that they deplaned after learning that the couple were not allowed to leave.

David said De Lima’s verbal and written orders to enforce the watch-list order (WLO) were simple.

“I’m from the military. The instructions to me by the person above me is very easy [to obey],” he said. “It was an instruction of our superior that we believed is a lawful order. I told the airport supervisor that in order for the WLO to be lifted, there should be a directive from the DOJ to me. So [Arroyo’s] passport was not stamped and she could not take her flight.”

Sympathy for BI officers

David said a written court order instructing the immigration bureau to remove the Arroyos from the watch list was needed before the couple would be allowed to leave.

“That is why I ordered the immigration officers not to allow them to leave. If there’s an existing WLO, only [De Lima] can lift it,” he said.

According to David, the Arroyos and their entourage brought numerous copies of the TRO, and they were advised to take these to the justice department or the BI for processing.

David said that even if the Arroyos were allowed into the airport, they would not be allowed to leave because their passports would not be stamped.

“The passport was given to one immigration officer who gave it to the supervisor. It was passed around. There was no delaying tactic. Why would there be a delaying tactic when their passports won’t be stamped in the first place because of the WLO? You can’t board the plane without the stamp,” he said.

David said he thought Arroyo’s trip to the airport proved “strenuous” for her. He declined to comment on criticisms that the couple were just trying to gain public sympathy.

“My sympathy is with our immigration officers because they were just doing their jobs. We didn’t block anyone,” he said.

Don’t argue

David said he told the immigration officers at the airport not to argue with Arroyo’s lawyers.

“My instruction to them is that we cannot discuss the point of law because we’re not brilliant lawyers. Even if we have a lawyer, this is not the venue to discuss the merits. They should discuss that with the DOJ,” he said.

The Arroyos were put on the watch list on October 28 in connection with their alleged involvement in the poll fraud being investigated by DOJ and the Commission on Elections.

The order is effective for 60 days unless revoked or extended by the justice department.

Reposted From Cynthia D. Balana and Jerome Aning of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Philippine Star

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 03:48:00 +0000

Arroyos will attempt again to leave today
(The Philippine Star) Updated November 16, 2011 10:05 AM Comments (34)

Former Philippine President and current member of Congress Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, center, is assisted by her aides as they leave the airport in Manila, Philippines, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2011. The Philippine government blocked former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her husband from leaving the country on Tuesday and said it will appeal a Supreme Court order that allowed them to travel abroad for medical treatment. (AP Photo/Pat Roque)

MANILA, Philippines - Former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband will attempt again to leave the country today.

Lawyer Ferdinand Topacio, who represents former first gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, made the statement after receiving information that the Department of Justice (DOJ) has received a copy of the Supreme Court's (SC) temporary restraining order (TRO), which bars the implementation of the watchlist order issued against the Mrs. Arroyo.

"Kung ang TRO ay natanggap na ng DOJ, solicitor general at Bureau of Immigration, babalik kami sa paliparan. 'Yan po ay aming karapatan," Topacio said in an interview with ABS-CBN News.

SC spokesman Midas Marquez said during the same television interview that the TRO was received by the DOJ this morning. Reports said that the copy of the TRO was received by DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima at past 8 a.m.

Marquez, meanwhile, said that the high court will order the DOJ to explain why it did not comply with the TRO and stopped Mrs. Arroyo and her husband from leaving the country last night.

The Arroyo couple tried, but failed to board a plane bound for Hong Kong last night. The Arroyos were supposed to take a connecting flight in Hong Kong to Singapore.

Elena Bautista-Horn, spokesperson of Mrs. Arroyo, said that they have an appointment with a specialist in Singapore on November 17 (Thursday) and they wanted to arrive one day ahead of the appointment.

Horn confirmed that from Singapore, the Arroyo couple was supposed to leave for Spain, where Mrs. Arroyo will meet with a bone marrow disorder specialist.

The Arroyos were barred by immigration and airport officers from leaving the country as ordered by De Lima, who announced yesterday that the watchlist orders issued against the couple are still in effect because the high court's TRO was not yet final and executory.

Defiance, imprisonment

Marquez, meanwhile, said during the interview that the TRO was executory, adding that the order needs no "interpretation, only application."

Quoting the TRO issued by the high court yesterday, he said that "This order is effective immediately and continuing until further orders from this court."

He added: "There is no need for interpretation. It's as clear as a sunny day; only application should be done."

Marquez said that based from reports about last night's incident at the airport, it seems that there was defiance on the part of the executive department.

"There seems to be defiance. Let's see if they will defy it again," Marquez said, referring to a possible repeat of the airport scenario with the Arroyos last night.

"I'm calling executive officials, especially those who have received copies of the TRO to implement the order," he said.

He added that under the rules of the court, those who will defy the SC's order can be held in direct contempt of court and may be punished with up to six months of imprisonment or ordered to pay a fine of not more than P30,000.

The camp of Mrs. Arroyo has threatened to ask the SC today to cite De Lima and other government officials in direct contempt of court for blocking the implementation of the TRO.

They have also threatened to file a disbarment case against De Lima.

Lawyer reiterates, Arroyos will return

In announcing her order to bar the Arroyos from leaving despite the SC’s TRO, De Lima reiterated Malacañang’s suspicion about the real motive behind the former president’s plan to immediately leave the country.

De Lima said that she was not convinced that the requirements set by the SC for Arroyo’s travel abroad are effective guarantees that she will return to the country.

Marquez, for his part, reiterated that there are several remedies to make sure that the Arroyos will return to the country to face the electoral and plunder complaints that have been filed against them.

He said that government embassies and consulates can locate the Arroyos. He added that the government can also ask the Interpol to help in locating the couple in case they try to flee.

“Marami pa namang remedy. Cancellation of passports; puwedeng tumawag sa Interpol. The world has become so small with the internet and all these things. Hindi naman sila makakapagtago ng habambuhay,” he added.

Marquez said that the possibility of the Arroyos hiding abroad was considered during the high court’s deliberation for the issuance of the TRO yesterday. He said that majority of the justices agreed that there are several remedies to prevent the Arroyos from not returning to the country.

Topacio, for his part, said that he was sure that the Arroyos will return to the country after their medical treatment abroad.

“There is the matter of personal pride,” he said, adding that the Arroyo couple would not be able to resist not seeing their children and grandchildren, who are all staying in the country.

The lawyer even joked during the television interview that he will have his "egg" removed if the Arroyos fail to return after their medical treatment abroad.

Mrs. Arroyo is currently at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig, where she was transported to after being barred from taking her flight to Hong Kong last night.

TRO propriety questionable

De Lima, meanwhile, said in a brief talk with the media today that the TRO should be revisited and discussed during oral arguments.

"The propriety of the TRO deserves a second look," she said.

In television interviews, Malacañang officials said that De Lima's order to implement the watchlist order against the Arroyo couple stays until today.

Presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said that immigration officials will still bar the Arroyos from leaving if they attempt again to board a plane out of the country.

Lacierda said that the government is set to file an urgent motion for reconsideration on the SC's issuance of the TRO. He said that the government will insist in the petition for the conduct of oral arguments first before the issuance of the halt order.

In another interview, Transportation and Communications Secretary Mar Roxas said that he has ordered all airport officials to heed De Lima's order to continue the implementation of the watchlist order against the Arroyos.

Reposted From Philippine Star

A Repost From Miko Morelos of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 09:14:00 +0000

Revillas find police conclusion unbelievable

Mother: I did not raise them to kill each other

By Miko Morelos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:22 am | Thursday, November 3rd, 2011

16 239 223

A MOTHER’S LAMENTATION Genelyn Magsaysay weeps over the body of her eldest son Ramgen Jose Bautista as the Revilla clan rallies around her during the burial rites on Wednesday at the family-owned Angelus Memorial Garden in Imus, Cavite province. At left is Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla. LYN RILLON

IMUS, Cavite—Overcast skies and a brass band set the somber mood at the funeral Wednesday of Ramgen Jose Bautista, a scion of the Bautista-Revilla clan whose murder has been blamed on his siblings.

Echoing the grieving family’s sentiment, Senator Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. cast doubt on the conclusion of police investigators that Ramon Joseph “RJ” Bautista, 18, and Ma. Ramona Belen Bautista, 22, had masterminded the crime.

“[W]e are appealing, if it’s possible, [for] a reinvestigation. It’s unbelievable that [the crime] could be done by our siblings,” the senator told reporters after the funeral. “The family thinks [the conclusion of the investigation] is unbelievable. They could not have possibly done it.”

The music of the band drowned the wails of the mourners led by the mother, Genelyn Magsaysay, who had to lean on family members to keep her footing as she wept over the white casket bearing the body of her eldest son.

Among the mourners at the family-owned Angelus Memorial Park were Revilla Jr. and his wife, Cavite Representative Lani Mercado.

At 3 p.m., the officiating priest said the final prayers and Revilla Jr., a half-brother of the deceased, signaled to have the casket closed and lowered to the ground.

The senator’s son Jolo burst into tears as his uncle’s casket was closed shortly after a family member put what looked like a Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch box inside.

Ramgen Bautista (Ram Revilla in show biz), 23, was stabbed and shot in the family residence in Parañaque City late on October 28. His girlfriend, Janelle Manahan, survived the attack but remains in critical condition at a hospital in Muntinlupa City.

‘They’re innocent’

Earlier in the day, Magsaysay lamented that her younger children had been charged with the murder of their brother.

She maintained that like other families, they had their “differences” at home. But that did not mean that her children had “the capacity to kill their sibling.”

“I did not raise them to kill each other,” the mother told reporters. “I did not raise them to be rude.”

RJ and Ramona Bautista were included in the charge sheet that the police filed with the Parañaque Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday afternoon. He was arrested early on Tuesday shortly after leaving his brother’s wake; she is at large, according to police.

Two men whom witnesses had named as the gunmen—Michael Jay Cruz Altea and Roy Francis Tolisoro—were arrested on Monday.

Police are still looking for at least three other persons, the alleged coconspirators.

Magsaysay appealed to the police to find her son’s “killers,” and sought public assistance to disprove the police conclusion that her two other children were the masterminds.

She insisted on their “innocence” and said: “I don’t know who could have done this, what kind of anger they might have against us, our family.

“Please hunt down the real killers. Don’t use our family. Don’t give us the runaround.”

‘Tough for them’

Chief Inspector Fergen Torred, head of the intelligence unit of the Parañaque police, said he understood the family’s sentiment and the grief they were experiencing.

He said their sentiments had been “anticipated.”

“They lost a loved one and yet the persons responsible for that [loss] are among them. It’s tough for them,” Torred said in a phone interview.

He expressed hope that any doubts in the investigation would be settled when city prosecutors release their recommendation within the week.

Torred said that while he considered the case “closed” at this point, some investigators were still sifting through Ramgen Bautista’s text messages and other evidence and testimonies to make sure they had not left stones unturned.

He said the arrest of RJ Bautista was valid, contrary to the claim of the latter’s lawyer who had threatened to file charges against the police in a radio interview.

“If there are questions on what we did, we welcome any administrative case and we will answer that in the proper forum,” he said.

Torred also denied that the killing concerned the P1-million allowance that the siblings were reportedly receiving every month from their father, former Senator Ramon Revilla Sr.

He said that the motive of the crime was “personal” and that the charges against RJ and Ramona Bautista and at least five others were based on “credible” testimonies that the investigators had pieced together.

‘Investigate properly’

Revilla Jr. said that he would let the law “take its course” and that he was leaving the investigation to the authorities.

He said he was asking them only one thing: “Make sure you investigate properly. Make sure that what you are doing is right.”

But the senator’s talent manager, Lolit Solis, said he was “disappointed” with how the investigation went.

“Bong thinks this is the result of the family’s decision to give a P500,000 reward [for information leading to the arrest of the killers],” Solis told the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

“He felt bad that their other siblings were dragged into this. He’s worried whether the two youngsters could ever recover from trauma because of this. He is asking the police to be thorough in their investigation,” she said.

Reposted From Miko Morelos of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Agence France-Presse/Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Tue, 25 Oct 2011 07:21:00 +0000

10,000 flee fighting in Mindanao

Agence France-Presse

12:15 pm | Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

4 53 47

MANILA, Philippines – About 10,000 people have fled their homes amid fighting between Moro rebels and government forces in the southern Philippines, a civil defense official said Tuesday.

The displaced population accounts for about one in seven residents of the towns of Payao, Alicia and Talusan on Mindanao Island, home of a decades-old Muslim insurgency, said provincial disaster monitoring chief Adriano Fuego.

The government said the fighting and the evacuations were an offshoot of a military operation against “lawless elements” engaged in kidnappings, but Muslim rebels have alleged their forces have been attacked as well.

“There was advance news, like text messages on the cellphones they [rebels] would attack the municipalities. There were text messages going around saying other municipalities would be attacked,” Fuego told Agence France-Presse.

Residents took refuge with their relatives shortly before Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) forces moved into parts of their towns, preventing potential civilian casualties, he added.

MILF fighters occupied schools in remote areas of the southern island of Mindanao over the weekend, triggering military air strikes and a ground assault on Monday that the government said left two soldiers and six gunmen dead.

The same group of rebels targeted by the air strikes was blamed for ambushes that killed four soldiers and four policemen in the same remote area of Mindanao on Thursday last week.

Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang said Tuesday that soldiers were still advancing on the positions of the gunmen in the area.

Reposted From Agence France-Presse/Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Julie Alipala of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 02:50:00 +0000

19 soldiers slain in Basilan

MILF: Our forces had edge, went for the kill

By Julie Alipala
Inquirer Mindanao

12:18 am | Thursday, October 20th, 2011

24 726 696

‘THEY KEPT COMING’ A soldier carries a wounded comrade airlifted by helicopter from Al-Barka, Basilan, for treatment in Zamboanga City on Tuesday. At least 19 soldiers of the Special Action Forces were killed in a clash with Moro rebels. A survivor of the ambush said they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. AP

The soldiers were running out of magazines preloaded with bullets and yet Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) fighters kept on coming, said a member of the Army’s Special Forces who survived a nine-hour clash in Al-Barka, Basilan province.

The encounter on Tuesday left 19 soldiers dead.

Private First Class Arnel Balili said that while some 90 Moro rebels were advancing, he and 39 other members of the Special Forces had to spend time loading fresh bullets into empty magazines so they could return fire.

The soldiers were overwhelmed. “We were only 40. There were more of them,” Balili, who was among the 11 wounded soldiers, said from a hospital bed in Zamboanga City.

When the smoke cleared, 12 soldiers lay dead, among them, three junior officers.

Twelve other soldiers were wounded, one of whom would later die in a hospital, and 10 more were initially declared missing but an MILF official said six of the missing soldiers were found dead yesterday.

Command conference

The encounter prompted President Benigno Aquino III to call for a command conference with the military and police.

“I have called for a command conference on Friday when the secretary of national defense arrives to precisely tackle the issue,” the President said in a short statement.

The command conference will be held in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

In a statement, Lieutenant General Raymundo Ferrer, head of the Western Mindanao Command (Westmincom), confirmed that 19 soldiers were killed in the encounter that lasted from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Flags were flown at half-staff in Camp Aguinaldo and all other major military camps in honor of the slain soldiers.

6 rebels killed

Mohagher Iqbal, MILF spokesperson, gave a bigger number of military fatalities. Iqbal said the military lost 22 men and the MILF six members.

In Camp Aquinaldo, the Army spokesperson, Colonel Antonio Parlade, said wounded soldiers reported that they saw their comrades captured alive after running out of ammunition.

“They were captured and then killed. So they murdered the six,” Parlade said.

He said one soldier remained missing and a wounded soldier was rescued by Scout Rangers.

Iqbal said no soldier was being held hostage in Al-Barka.

The bodies of the six soldiers had been retrieved by members of the Al-Barka police, he said.

Trap

Lieutenant Colonel Randolph Cabangbang, the spokesperson of Westmincom based in Zamboanga City, said the soldiers were sent to Al-Barka to check reports that armed men, including Dan Laksaw Asnawi, were holding kidnap victims.

Asnawi was among those involved in the beheading of 14 Marines during a 2007 clash, also in Al-Barka. He was arrested in the aftermath of the beheading but escaped from the Basilan provincial jail in December 2009 with 30 other inmates.

Cabangbang said the armed men indeed included Asnawi, who the MILF confirmed was an MILF commander under the 114th Base Command.

Silent, empty road

Balili said that while his group was on its way to Barangay Cambug at around 6 a.m. to check on the presence of armed men, the surroundings were eerily silent and the road was almost empty.

He said his group met only four people along the way and had no idea that the armed men were just nearby. “We were almost surrounded by then,” he said.

When the firing started, Balili said the soldiers were overwhelmed by the sheer number of the rebels. “We were not running out of bullets. But we had to load them into empty magazines to be able to continue firing,” he said.

Rebels knew terrain

Iqbal said only a platoon of MILF rebels fought the soldiers in Al-Barka. A platoon has about 30 men.

He said the MILF recovered 22 firearms—four M-203 rifles, five machine guns and 13 M-16 rifles from the soldiers.

Iqbal said the soldiers were not even outnumbered. “It so happened that our forces were better positioned and they knew the terrain,” he said.

Cabangbang acknowledged that the soldiers had problems with the terrain. He also said that some of the soldiers sent to the area were still undergoing scuba training, which has nothing to do with land combat.

Cabangbang said reinforcements were sent to the area to help the embattled Special Forces soldiers. The military also pounded the position of the rebels until late evening while the bodies of the slain soldiers remained uncollected from the encounter site.

Asked why it took the military 18 hours to retrieve the bodies, Cabangbang said the area had to be secured first.

He said Scout Rangers were then sent deeper into the area to retrieve the bodies. These had to be carried to a pickup area on foot.

The bodies were then flown to Tabiawan in Isabela City before they were shipped to Zamboanga City.

At about 10 a.m., the bodies of the soldiers were unloaded from a Navy boat at the Majini Pier inside the Naval Forces Westmin headquarters as the Army chief, Lieutenant General Arturo Ortiz, was having a closed-door meeting with Ferrer.

Blame game

Iqbal said the military should be faulted for what happened in Al-Barka.

“It was a deliberate attack by the military and we are filing a protest-complaint before the International Monitoring Team and ceasefire committees against the military for truce violation,” he said.

Iqbal said the Al-Barka encounter showed that the military had no regard for the peace process. He cited the October 15 clash in Payao, Zamboanga Sibugay, which he said was also prompted by a military attack.

No intrusion

In Al-Barka, the military knew it was assaulting an MILF camp and not just a temporary position of the MILF, Iqbal said.

Cabangbang said the troops did not intrude on a rebel stronghold and were about 4 kilometers from it when they were fired upon by the rebels, prompting the troops to fight back.

The military operation was supposed to be “strike and withdraw,” he said.

In a statement, Ferrer said the military was not at fault.

“It is apparent that the encounter took place outside of the MILF’s area of temporary stay,” he said.

Ferrer said this belied the MILF statement that the military violated the ceasefire accord. On the contrary, he said the MILF should be held liable for what occurred on Tuesday.

As of Wednesday, some 1,500 civilians had left their homes because of shelling by the military, said Basilan Vice Gov. Al Rasheed Sakalahul.

The 11,000-strong MILF has waged a rebellion since 1978 for an independent Islamic state in Mindanao.

Malaysian-brokered peace talks between the rebels and the Philippine government received a major boost in August when President Aquino met MILF chair Murad Ebrahim in Tokyo to bolster the negotiations.

The rebels, however, rejected a government proposal for Muslim autonomy when talks resumed a few weeks later in Malaysia but they said they would continue with the talks.

The rebellion has left about 150,000 people dead, with most of the deaths occurring in the 1970s when an all-out war raged.

Reposted From Julie Alipala of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:19:00 +0000

Italian missionary’s slay shocks Church

Lone gunman kills priest near convent

By Carlo Agamon, Jocelyn R. Uy, Williamor Magbanua
Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer

11:52 pm | Monday, October 17th, 2011

17 729 702

30 YEARS IN MINDANAO Undated handout photo of Italian missionary Fausto Tentorio who was shot dead outside a church in Arakan, North Cotabato, by a lone gunman armed with a pistol equipped with a silencer. PHOTO COURTESY OF PIME

ARAKAN, North Cotabato—Eight years ago, he eluded anticommunist gunmen by hiding inside a small cabinet made of bamboo. On Monday, a lone assassin with a gun equipped with a silencer shot him eight times as he was getting into his pickup truck outside a convent.

In a broad daylight murder that stunned members of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as government officials, Italian missionary Fr. Fausto Tentorio—fondly known as “Father Pops”—was gunned down in a church compound in Arakan town while a flag-raising ceremony was going on nearby.

The gunman, wearing a crash helmet, casually walked to a motorcycle waiting near the Mother of Perpetual Help church compound and sped away with a companion, witnesses said.

Tentorio, 59, was declared dead at the hospital—the third Italian priest and the third member of the Vatican-run Pontifical Institute for Foreign Missions (PIME) to have been killed in Mindanao in the past 26 years.

He had been working as a missionary in Mindanao for more than three decades.

Sources at the PIME said Tentorio had been receiving death threats from some groups since two years ago, prompting him at one point, when he was out of the country, to postpone his return to the Philippines for a few months.

Malacañang, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and members of the Roman Catholic Church in the country condemned the murder. The Department of Justice also ordered an immediate investigation.

Police said among those they would interview were Tentorio’s colleagues and other possible witnesses, including teachers at a preschool within the church compound who were at a flag-raising ceremony when the attack took place.

Tentorio was about to board his pickup at around 7:30 a.m. to attend a meeting of the clergy in the capital city of Kidapawan, 30 kilometers away, when the gunman approached him and fired, according to Arakan Councilor Leonardo Reovoca, a former parish worker.

Tentorio suffered eight bullet wounds from a gun of still unknown caliber.

Pastorally active

“I rushed to where he was and I saw him on the ground, blood oozing from his body,” Reovoca said.

The town councilor said he spoke with Tentorio on Sunday night and saw “nothing unusual” about him. “I cannot think of any reason why he should die this way,” Reovoca said in a radio interview.

Tentorio was a staunch antimining advocate since he started his parish work in Arakan, Reovoca said, adding that the Italian priest opposed “projects which are unsustainable and would harm the indigenous peoples.”

ARAKAN ATROCITY

Fr. Giulio Mariani, a spokesperson for PIME’s regional diocese, said Tentorio arrived in the Philippines in 1978, a year after being ordained in Italy.

He said Tentorio had dedicated his life to helping local tribesmen and other disadvantaged people. “He gave them dignity and he was very pastorally active among the poor.”

Worked for justice

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo condemned Tentorio’s killing and said over Church-run Radio Veritas: “This again taints our international image.”

Bagaforo said priests from Kidapawan, where the communist New People’s Army (NPA) operated, said the killing could have been done either by those “underground” or by a rightist group.

“There are many rightist armed groups that are offended by the work for justice being done by the Church, especially Father Fausto, who is a director for tribal Filipinos. That was his advocacy,” Bagaforo said.

Two other PIME missionaries were killed while assigned in separate areas in Mindanao several decades ago.

Fr. Tulio Favali was brutally murdered by militiamen led by Norberto Manero in 1985 in North Cotabato, while Fr. Salvatore Carzedda was killed in Zamboanga in 1992.

Death threats

Mariani said Tentorio, like other missionaries in Mindanao, had received death threats and his murder may have been linked to his efforts to help the tribespeople.

“Missionaries have always been the voice of the poor and, if you work on their behalf, sometimes you are bound to step on the toes of those who have other interests,” he said.

Founded in 1926, PIME missionaries work in 17 countries around the world, mainly in areas where there are conflicts and political turmoil, according to its website.

Mariani said there were at least 20 PIME priests in the Philippines, most of whom were in Mindanao.

PNP investigating

As of 4 p.m. Monday, the Italian Embassy had not issued a statement. An embassy source said it was still awaiting the official police report.

Malacañang on Monday night said the Philippine National Police was now looking into the murder.

“We condemn the killing of Father Tentorio,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

He said President Benigno Aquino III was aware of the murder and had been told by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo that he was now investigating the killing.

The DFA condemned the murder “in the strongest terms.”

Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario offered his “sincerest condolences to (Tentorio’s) family and to his congregation” and added: “We call on the police to immediately bring the perpetrators of this dastardly act to justice.”

Memories of Favali

Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales said: “It’s terrible. It brings memories of Fr. Tulio Favali.”

Rosales asked PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome to “give full attention” to solving the murder.

Rosales did not rule out the possibility that Tentorio’s mission to protect the indigenous peoples had put his life in danger.

“Advocates critical of big mining operations are gunned down with impunity while rebels demand higher taxes from these businesses at the risk of having their equipment burned. The PNP must step up its operations to protect innocent lives,” she added.

Tentorio had been in the Philippines for 33 years.

He was first assigned in the Archdiocese of Zamboanga in 1978. He was transferred to the Diocese of Kidapawan in 1980 and assigned as mission administrator in the parish of Columbio in the province of Sultan Kudarat. In 1985, he was transferred to the mission station of Arakan.

Killing the dream

North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Lala Taliño Mendoza vowed to work with other authorities to arrest the perpetrators of the killing.

In a statement, Bishop Romulo dela Cruz, D.D., of the Diocese of Kidapawan asked the parishioners of Arakan to remain calm and added: “May God touch the hearts of the perpetrator.”

Norma Capuyan, chairperson of the Apo Sandawa Lumadnong Panaghiusa sa Cotabato (ASLPC), said the assassin not only killed a priest but also the dreams of indigenous peoples who were scholars of the slain priest.

“He was the only hope of the indigenous peoples in Arakan. He was a father and a mentor to them. He sent them to high school and college,” Capuyan said.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), a religious order, also denounced the killing.

Describing Tentorio as a missionary who selflessly worked to help the indigenous peoples and the poor farmers, Lauro de Guia, OMI provincial superior, said: “We are saddened that there are sectors in our society who are against our work to help bring about peace in Mindanao.”

In Zamboanga City, Claretian priest Angel Calvo said the killing of Tentorio “confirmed once more that working for justice and peace is risky and dangerous in some parts of the country.”

Basilan Bishop Martin Jumoad said: “It is always painful when someone, a man of the cloth, is killed. We ask that his death be given justice and perpetrators immediately arrested and made accountable for the crime.”

Reposted From Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 08:19:00 +0000

Italian missionary’s slay shocks Church

Lone gunman kills priest near convent

By Carlo Agamon, Jocelyn R. Uy, Williamor Magbanua
Inquirer Mindanao, Philippine Daily Inquirer

11:52 pm | Monday, October 17th, 2011

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The gunman, wearing a crash helmet, casually walked to a motorcycle waiting near the Mother of Perpetual Help church compound and sped away with a companion, witnesses said.

He had been working as a missionary in Mindanao for more than three decades.

Malacañang, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and members of the Roman Catholic Church in the country condemned the murder. The Department of Justice also ordered an immediate investigation.

Tentorio suffered eight bullet wounds from a gun of still unknown caliber.

Pastorally active

“I rushed to where he was and I saw him on the ground, blood oozing from his body,” Reovoca said.

ARAKAN ATROCITY

Fr. Giulio Mariani, a spokesperson for PIME’s regional diocese, said Tentorio arrived in the Philippines in 1978, a year after being ordained in Italy.

He said Tentorio had dedicated his life to helping local tribesmen and other disadvantaged people. “He gave them dignity and he was very pastorally active among the poor.”

Worked for justice

Cotabato Auxiliary Bishop Jose Colin Bagaforo condemned Tentorio’s killing and said over Church-run Radio Veritas: “This again taints our international image.”

Bagaforo said priests from Kidapawan, where the communist New People’s Army (NPA) operated, said the killing could have been done either by those “underground” or by a rightist group.

Two other PIME missionaries were killed while assigned in separate areas in Mindanao several decades ago.

Fr. Tulio Favali was brutally murdered by militiamen led by Norberto Manero in 1985 in North Cotabato, while Fr. Salvatore Carzedda was killed in Zamboanga in 1992.

Death threats

Mariani said Tentorio, like other missionaries in Mindanao, had received death threats and his murder may have been linked to his efforts to help the tribespeople.

“Missionaries have always been the voice of the poor and, if you work on their behalf, sometimes you are bound to step on the toes of those who have other interests,” he said.

Founded in 1926, PIME missionaries work in 17 countries around the world, mainly in areas where there are conflicts and political turmoil, according to its website.

Mariani said there were at least 20 PIME priests in the Philippines, most of whom were in Mindanao.

PNP investigating

As of 4 p.m. Monday, the Italian Embassy had not issued a statement. An embassy source said it was still awaiting the official police report.

Malacañang on Monday night said the Philippine National Police was now looking into the murder.

“We condemn the killing of Father Tentorio,” presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said.

He said President Benigno Aquino III was aware of the murder and had been told by Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo that he was now investigating the killing.

The DFA condemned the murder “in the strongest terms.”

Memories of Favali

Commission on Human Rights Chairperson Loretta Ann Rosales said: “It’s terrible. It brings memories of Fr. Tulio Favali.”

Rosales asked PNP Director General Nicanor Bartolome to “give full attention” to solving the murder.

Rosales did not rule out the possibility that Tentorio’s mission to protect the indigenous peoples had put his life in danger.

Tentorio had been in the Philippines for 33 years.

Killing the dream

North Cotabato Governor Emmylou Lala Taliño Mendoza vowed to work with other authorities to arrest the perpetrators of the killing.

In a statement, Bishop Romulo dela Cruz, D.D., of the Diocese of Kidapawan asked the parishioners of Arakan to remain calm and added: “May God touch the hearts of the perpetrator.”

“He was the only hope of the indigenous peoples in Arakan. He was a father and a mentor to them. He sent them to high school and college,” Capuyan said.

The Oblates of Mary Immaculate (OMI), a religious order, also denounced the killing.

In Zamboanga City, Claretian priest Angel Calvo said the killing of Tentorio “confirmed once more that working for justice and peace is risky and dangerous in some parts of the country.”

A Repost From Aurea Calica of The Philippine Star

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 01:20:00 +0000

Palace distances self from poll fraud probe
By Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) Updated October 07, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (126)

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang is keeping its distance from pronouncements by Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Sixto Brillantes that former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo might spend Christmas in jail if indicted for election sabotage.

“Malacañang is hands off on the matter because they are still appreciating, evaluating the evidence. So let’s wait for that. We are also awaiting the results of their investigation,” presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said in a press briefing yesterday.

“We are not privy to the deliberations going on in the task force. So it’s a statement made by Brillantes. So we don’t know the stage at which they are right now.”

A joint Comelec-Department of Justice (DOJ) task force is establishing probable cause to charge the Arroyo couple with election sabotage for allegedly masterminding cheating in the 2007 senatorial elections.

Lacierda stressed there would be no special treatment for the Arroyos if they are indicted and detained for a non-bailable election offense.

“These are being studied. We don’t know what the status is right now. We don’t even know when it’s going to happen. But, nonetheless, everyone has to go through the legal process. If it is filed before the courts, it will be subject to the discretion of the courts and once it’s filed with the court, we know that we’re all hands off when it comes to that,” Lacierda said.

He said he he did not know why Brillantes made such a statement.

“Maybe because he’s involved in the task force, he is in a better position to dictate the pace by which the task force is undergoing the investigation,” Lacierda said. “So I leave it to them.”

Obvious bias

Meanwhile, the lawyer of Mr. Arroyo said yesterday Brillantes should resign for his obvious bias against his client.

Lawyer Inocencio Ferrer said Brillantes, who is leading a joint investigation with the DOJ on alleged electoral fraud committed by his client and Mrs. Arroyo, cannot be trusted to make a fair judgment because of his repeated public statements even when the probe is not finished.

He also cited reports that Brillantes was election lawyer for various opposition candidates against the previous administration as well as the notorious Ampatuan clan in the past elections.

“Brillantes should resign because his public pronouncement of the guilt of the Arroyos and his statement that the Arroyos will spend Christmas in jail before any complaint has been filed and prior to a trial have clearly shown his bias, prejudgment and clear conflict of interest,” Ferrer said in a text message.

“He should resign to protect the institution of the Comelec,” he said.

Brillantes earlier said the testimony of former Maguindanao provincial administrator Norie Unas could help prove the Arroyos’ involvement in alleged manipulation of votes.

He reiterated yesterday that the statement of Unas is strong and only his former boss, former Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr., can disprove it.

In his sworn affidavit, Unas alleged that Mrs. Arroyo had ordered Ampatuan to rig the elections in Maguindanao in favor of her Team Unity (TU) senatorial bets. – With Paolo Romero, Sheila Crisostomo

Reposted From Aurea Calica of The Philippine Star

A Repost From Marlon Ramos of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:44:00 +0000

Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo, wife face P73.8M tax evasion suit

By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer

12:37 pm | Tuesday, October 4th, 2011

2 37 35

Rep. Juan Miguel Arroyo and Angela Arroyo. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Justice (DoJ) has recommended the filing of a P73.85-million tax evasion case against Ang Galing partylist Representative Juan Miguel Arroyo and his wife Angela.

In a resolution, a three-member panel of prosecutors headed by Senior Assistant State Prosecutor Lagrimas Agaran found probable cause in filing the criminal information against the Arroyos.

The 28-page resolution was issued on September 16, but was released to the media only on Tuesday.

The DoJ prosecutors indicted Arroyo for three counts of violation of Section 255 of the National Internal Revenue Code while his wife was charged with seven counts for their failure to file income tax returns.

Arroyo was also charged with three counts of failure to supply correct and accurate information in his income tax returns.

On April 7, the Bureau of Internal Revenue sued the lawmaker for his alleged “willfull attempt to evade or defeat tax” over his alleged failure to settle his tax obligations to the government in 2005, 2008 and 2009.

Arroyo’s wife, on the other hand, purportedly failed to file her income tax return from 2003 to 2009.

The BIR complaint was the first case filed in court against a member of the Arroyo family since former President and now Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo finished her term last year.

Reposted From Marlon Ramos of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Jun Pasaylo of The Philippine Star

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:37:00 +0000

Flights, classes cancelled as 'Pedring' intensifies
By Jun Pasaylo The Philippine Star Updated September 26, 2011 07:28 AM 22 comments to this post

PAGASA-DOST MTSAT-EIR Satellite Image for 6 a.m., 26 September 2011

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MANILA, Philippines - Afternoon classes in the elementary and high school levels, as well as domestic flights, were cancelled as weather disturbance "Pedring" intensified into a typhoon before noon today.

The Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) reported that as of 10 a.m., the typhoon 's eye was estimated at 350 kilometers southeast of Casiguran, Aurora.

It was packing maximum sustained winds of 120 kilometers per hour and gusts of up to 150 kph. It was moving slower at 17 kph at a west northwestward direction.

As "Pedring" intensified, PAGASA included several areas in Luzon, including Metro Manila, under storm warning signals.

Afternoon classes in the elementary and highschool levels in Metro Manila and other areas under storm warning signals were suspended.

Public storm warning signal No. 2 was hoisted over Catanduanes, Sorsogon, Albay, Burias Island, Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte, Quezon,

Polillo Island, Aurora, Quirino, Nueva Vizcaya, Isabela, Ifugao and Cagayan.

Signal No. 1 was hoisted over Metro Manila, Masbate, Ticao Island, Marinduque, Batangas, Laguna, Rizal, Cavite, Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija,

Tarlac, Bataan, Zambales, Pangasinan, La Union, Benguet, Mt. Province, Ilocos Sur, Ilocos Norte, Abra, Kalinga, Apayao, Calayan, Babuyan Group of Islands and Northern Samar.

PAGASA expects the typhoon to move in the vicinity of Casiguran, Aurora by Tuesday morning.

The weather bureau said that the typhoon will enhance the southwest monsoon and will bring heavy rains over Southern Luzon and Visayas.

It added that the estimated rainfall amount within the 650 km diameter of the typhoon is from 15 - 25 mm per hour.

PAGASA alerted residents in low-lying and mountainous areas under storm signals against possible flashfloods and landslides.

Cancelled flights

As of 7:00 a.m. today, airport authorities also announced the flight disruptions due to the severe weather disturbance.

At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 2, domestic flights of the Philippine Airlines were cancelled, including PR 277 Manila to Legaspi, PR 278 Legaspi to Manila.

At the NAIA Terminal 3, budget airline Cebu Pacific cancelled domestic flights, including:

5J 821 Manila - Virac
5J 822 Virac - Manila
5J 707 Manila - Calbayog
5J 708 Calbayog - Manila
5J 325 Manila - Legaspi
5J 325 Legaspi - Manila
5J 521 Manila – Naga
5J 522 Naga – Manila

Air Philippines has also suspended its Manila-Masbate and Manila-Naga flights, including return flights, due to bad weather condition.

At the Manila Domestic Terminal, Zest Air also announced the cancellation of its flights to Masbate and its return trip this morning.

A total of 16 domestic flights were cancelled.

Reposted From Jun Pasaylo of The Philippine Star

A Repost From Alexis Romero of Philippine Star

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 22:55:00 +0000

Ex-AFP comptroller Garcia jailed at NBP
By Alexis Romero (The Philippine Star) Updated September 17, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (97)

Lt. Col. Edwin Machica of the Office of the Judge Advocate General (right) and Col. Herbert Yambing read to former AFP comptroller retired Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia his sentence as confirmed by President Aquino.
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MANILA, Philippines - Six years after a guilty verdict for misdeclaring his assets and hiding his status as permanent US resident while still in active service, former military comptroller and accused plunderer Carlos Garcia was arrested yesterday at his home in Quezon City to begin a two-year prison term at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa.

His arrest came after President Aquino approved a guilty verdict on Garcia by a court-martial in December 2005. The case against Garcia in the military court is distinct from the plunder case he, his wife Clarita and three sons are facing before the Sandiganbayan.

Malacañang defended his arrest, saying it was long overdue and should have been ordered by former President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

The court-martial ruled that Garcia violated Articles of War 96, or conduct unbecoming an officer and a gentleman; and 97, or conduct prejudicial to good order and military discipline when he misstated the value of his assets in 2002 and 2003 and withheld information on his status as permanent US resident while in active duty.

Garcia retired in November 2004. The court-martial also ordered Garcia dishonorably discharged from the service and his benefits forfeited.

A court-martial ruling can be carried out only after approval by the President. Armed Forces chief Gen. Eduardo Oban Jr. said Aquino affirmed Garcia’s sentence last Sept. 9.

“The AFP implemented the sentence imposed by the General Court Martial to dismissed AFP Comptroller Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia, Friday. The sentence was approved by the reviewing authority, the President of the Republic of the Philippines, Benigno Aquino III,” AFP spokesman Col. Arnulfo Marcelo Burgos said.

Policemen and members of the Armed Forces Provost Marshal General arrested Garcia in his house in Project 6, Quezon City at around 7 a.m. The former general did not resist arrest. He was brought to the detention center of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) in Camp Aguinaldo at about 9 a.m. He was escorted out of the ISAFP detention center at 2 p.m. for the trip to the NBP.

“The sentence of Maj. Gen. Garcia, which shall be effective this day (Sept. 16) will not be remitted or mitigated by any previous confinement,” Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin said.

He said Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo, when she was still president, was shown the court-martial ruling but ignored it.

“The court-martial had a decision (on Garcia’s case) and was forwarded to the President (Arroyo) for confirmation of the sentence. It was never confirmed,” Gazmin said.

Former military comptroller Carlos Garcia is accompanied by his lawyer Maricel Capa (right) upon his arrival at the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City yesterday. JOVEN CAGANDE

“The papers (on the ruling) were shown to President Aquino. It (ruling) has not been served. And this is what we are implementing now because the President has confirmed it,” he added.

Asked if Mrs. Arroyo had sat on the verdict, Gazmin said “we need to investigate thoroughly to determine what really happened.”

Armed Forces Judge Advocate General Brig. Gen. Gilberto Roa said that in court-martial decisions, the President is empowered to credit the period of a convict’s preventive suspension to his prison sentence.

“The President has the discretion to credit his (Garcia) preventive suspension but in this case, the President did not exercise that discretion. So therefore it is not credited. He has to serve the full length of the two years,” he said.

Roa said they expect Garcia’s camp to question his arrest before the courts.

“There is no law preventing him from going to court but we are ready to face it,” he said.

Arrest defended, lauded

At Malacañang, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda said President Aquino only affirmed what the military had ruled.

“The decision of the military court-martial is recommendatory… it becomes effective only upon the confirmation of the President of the Republic as commander-in-chief,” Lacierda said in a press briefing.

“Former president Arroyo did not act on the recommendation or decision of the court-martial. So it will only be implemented now because President Aquino confirmed it. And after the confirmation, the sentence is immediately executed,” he said.

“The decision has not yet lapsed until confirmed so once jurisdiction is acquired, it continues until the case is terminated,” Lacierda said.

He stressed that the court-martial case for which Garcia was to begin his two-year prison sentence was different from the plunder case with the Sandiganbayan in which he was allowed to post bail under a plea bargain agreement

“This is based on the decision of the court-martial, again, insofar as the case in the Sandiganbayan is concerned, that is still being disputed, and as I understand, the new Ombudsman, Justice (Conchita) Carpio-Morales is asking for more time to question the compromise agreement,” Lacierda said.

In the plea bargain deal approved by the Ombudsman and the Sandiganbayan in December last year, Garcia offered to return barely half of the P300 million he allegedly stole in exchange for the downgrading of his plunder case to direct bribery and money laundering. The deal also allowed Garcia to walk out of his detention cell in Camp Crame on Dec. 18 after posting P60,000 bail.

Lawmakers welcomed Garcia’s arrest saying it was a big step forward for the President’s anti-corruption campaign.

AThe higher the official punished, the better!T Ilocos Norte Rep. Rodolfo Fariñas, whose committee investigated the controversial plea bargain agreement, said. He said that by ordering Garcia s arrest, Aquino wanted sto send a clear message of his anti-corruption campaign.t

Ang Kasangga party-list Rep. Teodorico Haresco said the arrest meant that “at last, something concrete happened in the pursuit of accountability for bad people in government.”

“This (arrest) sends a powerful message and somehow inspires Filipinos that there is hope for the country,” Haresco said.

“Maybe we will become a little less cynical and a little more hopeful. This would also help encourage investors turned off by reports of corruption in government, to pursue their plans to put up business in the country,” he said.

Quezon City Rep. Winston Castelo, for his part, praised leaders of the AFP “for their courageous ruling against a high ranking colleague that will serve notice to all men in uniform that no one is above law.

“We hope the new leadership of the Ombudsman will do the same on erring public officials consistent with the personal crusade of PNoy, that is, to curtail corruption and eliminate poverty,” Castelo said.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone said the arrest has proven that the Aquino administration is serious in its campaign against graft and corruption.

“I hope that there will be no ‘plea bargain arrangement’ that will set free again General Garcia,” Evardone said.

Equal treatment

Bureau of Corrections chief Gaudencio Pangilinan yesterday guaranteed no special treatment for Garcia.

“We are all the same here. Every inmate will be treated equally,” Pangilinan said. “Everybody will be treated equally and fairly.”

He said even his former comrades in the military, including a classmate Maj. Rolando Maclang of Philippine Military Academy class of 1979, don’t get special accommodations at the NBP.

As part of protocol, Garcia will be quarantined for five days at the NBP hospital, during which only his lawyers will be allowed to visit him.

It is also in the hospital where Garcia will undergo physical examination, finger printing, and have his mug shot taken.

After five days, Garcia will be made to stay at the Reception and Diagnostic Center for 55 days, where he will undergo, among others, psychological and psychiatric tests. The RDC will also determine the cell Garcia will occupy.

NBP Superintendent Richard Schwarzkopf said Garcia will be temporarily considered a maximum security prisoner until the RDC completes its evaluation.

Security was tight when Garcia’s four-vehicle convoy arrived at the NBP at past 2 p.m. He was with his lawyers and escorted by more than a dozen soldiers and policemen.

Garcia was generally quiet while on his way to the NBP. “He did not show any emotions, anger, or aggressiveness. He was very calm,” Provo Marshal General Col. Herbert Yambing said. But he said the former general told him of his plan to question his arrest before the courts. He also asked permission to talk to his lawyers and to Pangilinan.

“He wanted to file a petition for bail but the court- martial does not allow bail. That’s the difference,” Yambing said.

The Sandiganbayan Second Division’s approval of the plea bargain sparked public outrage as well as calls for the impeachment of then Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez and of the justices of the anti-graft court. In approving the deal, the Sandiganbayan said evidence against Garcia was weak to convict him of plunder.

The military said that as the aggrieved party, it should have been consulted by the Sandiganbayan and the Ombudsman when Garcia’s plea offer was being evaluated.

Solicitor General Jose Anselmo Cadiz, in a 124-page consolidated motion for reconsideration, said the plea bargain agreement “suffers from fatally grave infirmities.”

The immensity of Garcia’s wealth first came to light in 2003 when airport authorities in San Francisco held one of his sons for trying to smuggle $100,000. In a written confession, his wife Clarita justified their son’s possession of such large amount saying her husband had amassed a fortune as military comptroller.

Reposted From Alexis Romero of Philippine Star

A Repost From Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 08:53:00 +0000

Angolan stuns; Shamcey Supsup shines

Philippine Daily Inquirer

2:56 am | Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

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AND THE WINNER IS… Miss Philippines 2011 Shamcey Supsup (C) is selected for the top five during the 60th annual Miss Universe beauty pageant at the Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo on September 12, 2011. Angola's Leila Lopes has become the new Miss Universe, edging out beauties from Ukraine, Brazil, the Philippines and China as the pageant marked its 60th anniversary. AFP PHOTO / YASUYOSHI CHIBA

Sao Paulo, Brazil—The newly crowned Miss Universe hopes her victory will allow her to assist her native country further escape its history of war and poverty, and believes that “racists need to seek help” for they are “not normal in the 21st century.”

Angola’s Leila Lopes on Monday night (Tuesday morning in Manila) became the new Miss Universe, edging out beauties from Ukraine, Brazil, the Philippines and China as the pageant marked its 60th anniversary.

The Philippine candidate, 25-year-old Shamcey Supsup, an architecture magna cum laude and native of General Santos City, finished third runner-up in the contest among 89 young women and watched by an estimated one billion people around the world.

Lopes, 25, wearing a glittery strapless gown with feathery fringe, accepted the crown from last year’s winner, Mexico’s Ximena Navarrete, after upsetting a lineup of Latin American beauties who had been favored to win.

Asked in the final round by a Filipino judge, Broadway star Lea Salonga, what physical trait about herself she would change if given the opportunity, Lopes replied: “Nothing, I am satisfied with what God gave me,” and added that it was important to have “inner beauty.”

Murmurs of wonder

Lopes wore a light-colored dress that contrasted well with her dark skin, and pinned her voluminous hair up in a bun that sent murmurs of wonder through the local press corps.

“Now I have work to do, and I want to try to keep my feet on the ground,” Lopes later told reporters as she struggled to hold back tears after receiving a standing ovation at São Paulo’s Credicard Hall.

She will go on to serve as a world ambassador of sorts, with a full calendar of public appearances to raise awareness about the fight against AIDS and other serious diseases.

Speaking in a timid voice shortly after taking the crown in South America’s largest city, Lopes said that “as Miss Angola I’ve already done a lot to help my people.”

“I’ve worked with various social causes. I work with poor kids, I work in the fight against HIV. I work to protect the elderly and I have to do everything that my country needs,” she said. “I think now as Miss Universe I will be able to do much more.”

No cosmetic surgery

Responding to questions, Lopes said that she had never had cosmetic surgery of any kind and that her three tips for beauty were to get a lot of sleep, use sunblock even when it’s not sunny and to drink lots of water. She said her smile was her best weapon in the competition.

Asked about racism in light of the fact that she’s one of the few blacks ever crowned Miss Universe, Lopes said that “any racist needs to seek help. It’s not normal in the 21st century to think in that way.”

Angola’s first winner, Lopes deftly handled the interview question that is asked of the remaining top five contestants. “Thank God I’m very satisfied with the way God created me and I wouldn’t change a thing,” Lopes said.

“I consider myself a woman endowed with inner beauty. I have acquired many wonderful principles from my family and I intend to follow these for the rest of my life,” she added.

The first runner-up was 23-year-old Olesia Stefanko of Ukraine and the second runner-up was the hometown favorite, Priscila Machado of Brazil. The third was the Philippines’ Supsup and the fourth was China’s Luo Zilin.

MOST BEAUTIFUL. Miss Angola 2011 Leila Lopes reacts after winning the 60th annual Miss Universe beauty pageant at the Credicard Hall in Sao Paulo on September 12, 2011. AFP PHOTO/YASUYOSHI CHIBA

Contestants spent the past three weeks in São Paulo, trying to learn samba dance steps, visiting impoverished children and kicking a football around for cameras as the Miss Universe pageant came to Brazil for the first time.

She knew what to say

Despite battling against a home country favorite, Lopes won over the audience, speaking in the shared language of Portuguese. Angola, like Brazil, is a former Portuguese colony.

“She captivated the crowd and we were all behind her,” said Brazilian Natalie Bursztyn, 20, who was in the crowd inside Credicard Hall.

“It was great that the judges also saw what the fans saw and gave her the crown. Her dress was beautiful and she knew exactly what to say when they asked her the question about her looks,” Bursztyn added.

Another fan in the audience, Carolina Rocha, said Lopes’ win was “well deserved, we were cheering for her all along. Her smile and her friendliness was what set her apart from the others. She also answered her question very well, that likely helped her a lot.”

US broadcast journalist Connie Chung was one of the celebrity judges, and said before the competition that she was taking the contest seriously.

“I know my job and I’ll be tough, but fair,” Chung said. “You have to keep in mind that these women are not objects just to be looked at. They’re to be taken seriously. I want to choose somebody I take seriously and the world takes seriously, too.”

Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe organization, was hyped for the night.

“It’s our 60th anniversary, it’s a very big show,” she said. “We’re anticipating close to a billion viewers from around the world.”

Brazil is the place

Shugart said it was fitting the globe’s biggest beauty pageant be held in Brazil amid the country’s preparations to host some major events in the coming years.

“I don’t think there is any doubt in the rest of the world’s mind that Brazil is the place, between hosting the Olympics and hosting the World Cup,” she said. “I love the fact we’re going to kick it off. I always say we’re the ‘World Cup’ of beauty.”

The contestants must never have been married or had children and must be at least 18 years of age and under 27 years of age by Feb. 1 of the competition year.

The pageant, hosted by NBC “Today” anchor Natalie Morales and the Bravo network’s Andy Cohen, was broadcast live on NBC and distributed to about 170 countries.

The contest is coowned by Donald Trump and NBC, and the celebrity judges included Chung and two prominent Brazilians, supermodel Isabeli Fontana and Indy race car driver Helio Castroneves.

Sharply dressed women and men jostled for chances to have their photos taken with stars on the red carpet. Some traveled from across the globe to support contestants.

Jehona Dreshaj, 17, arrived from Kosovo to cheer on her sister, Aferdita Dreshaj, who is representing the European country.

“It doesn’t really matter the outcome, she is already a winner in our eye and we are so proud of her,” Dreshaj said. “This has been an incredible experience for her and for all of us. It’s great for her to be representing our country in an event like this”

Barely there bikinis

There have been no headline-grabbing gaffes going into this year’s competition, as opposed to past years that have seen controversies of various stripes. The show itself went off without a hitch.

Some of the contestants have complained to the local news media about the size of bikinis used in some photo shoots, with Miss Mexico Karin Ontiveros saying they were “very small.”

That was enough to draw chuckles in Brazil, where women from all walks of life, not just beauty queens, sport barely there swimwear on beaches throughout the country.

Miss USA Alyssa Campanella failed to end a long losing spell for her country in the competition. An American has not been named Miss Universe since Brook Lee won the title in 1997.

The pageant started as a local bathing suit revue in Long Beach, California, organized by a swimwear company.

It was the ninth time the competition was held in Latin America but the first time it was hosted by Brazil.

Latin American women were the favorites this year after winning the crown in seven of the last 10 competitions, and all eyes were on the slender Vanessa Goncalves of Venezuela, which has a highly competitive beauty pageant circuit.

Venezuela won back-to-back crowns in 2008 and 2009—a first in the competition—and with a total of six wins falls just one short of the United States, which has more than 10 times its population.

But Goncalves and another favorite, Miss Kosovo, were eliminated after the swimsuit competition and did not make it into the group of finalists. Reports from AFP and AP

Reposted From Philippine Daily Inquirer (Reports From AFP and AP)

A Repost From AP (The Philippine Star)

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 00:22:00 +0000

World remembers 9/11
By AP (The Philippine Star) Updated September 12, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (3)

NEVER FORGET: Photo shows US flags being carried into St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York during a ceremony to honor city firefighters killed in the attacks on the World Trade Center. AP
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MANILA, Philippines - A mother in Malaysia greeted her dead son. People in Manila left roses for the victim who helped give them homes. And mourners in Tokyo stood before a piece of steel from Ground Zero, remembering the 23 bank employees who never made it out alive.

A decade after 9/11, the day that changed so much for so many people, the world’s leaders and citizens paused to reflect yesterday.

From Sydney to Paris, formal ceremonies paid tribute to the nearly 3,000 who perished from more than 90 countries. And, in a reminder that threats remain, Swedish police said four people were arrested yesterday on suspicion of preparing a terror attack as authorities in Washington and New York beefed up security in response to intelligence about possible plans for a car bomb attack.

For some people, the pain never stops. In Malaysia, Pathmawathy Navaratnam woke up yesterday in her suburban Kuala Lumpur home and did what she’s done every day for the past decade: wish her son “Good morning.” Vijayashanker Paramsothy, a 23-year-old financial analyst, was killed in the attacks on New York.

“He is my sunshine. He has lived life to the fullest, but I can’t accept that he is not here anymore,” said Navaratnam. “I am still living, but I am dead inside.”

In Manila, dozens of former shanty dwellers offered roses, balloons and prayers for another 9/11 victim, American citizen Marie Rose Abad. The neighborhood used to be a shantytown that reeked of garbage. But in 2004, Abad’s Filipino-American husband Rudy built 50 brightly colored homes, fulfilling his late wife’s wish to help impoverished Filipinos.

The village has since been named after her.

“It’s like a new life sprang from the death of Marie Rose and so many others,” said villager Nancy Waminal.

Among the Sept. 11 victims was Indian Jupiter Yambem, who was manager at the “Roof of the World” restaurant in the World Trade Center.

US President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama visiting Section 60, for military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, at Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia. AP

About 100 family members and close friends gathered at his ancestral home in the northeastern state of Manipur for prayers Sunday.

“Now that Osama bin Laden is dead, my brother’s soul will finally rest in peace,” Jupiter’s older brother, Yambem Laba, said. “Osama is dead but the threat from al-Qaeda has not ended.”

Players from the American Eagles rugby team were among the first to mark the anniversary at a memorial service in the town of New Plymouth in New Zealand. The players, who are participating in the Rugby World Cup tournament, listened to a speech by US ambassador David Huebner, whose brother Rick survived the attacks on the World Trade Center.

“We watched live on television the brutal murder of 3,000 individuals,” Huebner said. “We reacted with near unanimous horror and sadness.”

“As we mark the 10th anniversary of that day, we commemorate the triumph of human kindness, and the humanity and self-abrogation which sets us apart from every other species on this planet Earth.”

In Japan, families gathered in Tokyo to pay their respects to the 23 Fuji Bank employees who never made it out of their World Trade Center office. A dozen of the workers who died were Japanese.

One by one, family members laid flowers in front of an enclosed glass case containing a small section of steel retrieved from Ground Zero. They clasped their hands and bowed their heads. Some took pictures. Others simply stood in solemn silence. There were no tears, just reflection.

Kunitake Nomura, 76, a former Fuji Bank employee who mourns losing his younger co-workers, attended a subsequent memorial service.

“We need to try to understand each other,” Nomura said. “We need to overcome differences in race and religion and learn to live in peace. We are all brothers after all. We must remind ourselves of this today.”

Sydney resident Rae Tompsett, 81, said she’s never felt angry over the murder of her son Stephen Tompsett, 39, a computer engineer who was on the 106th floor of the World Trade Center’s north tower when it was hit by a hijacked plane.

“No, not anger,” she said. “Sorrow. Sorrow that the people who did this believed they were doing something good.”

The retired school teacher and her husband Jack, 92, were among more than 1,000 people who packed Sydney’s Roman Catholic cathedral St. Marys for a special multi-faith service.

“It’s incredible that it is 10 years - it feels a bit like yesterday,” Tompsett said.

South Korea’s President Lee Myung-bak sent a letter to US President Barack Obama, conveying his “deepest condolences” to the victims of the 9/11 tragedy, their bereaved families and the American public. Lee, whose country is one of the strongest allies of the United States, called the attacks “unpardonable” and praised decade-long US efforts to fight terrorism.

And leaders in Pakistan, which has been a victim of al-Qaeda terrorism but is also accused of not doing enough to crack down on militants, said they joined the people of the US in honoring the memory of those killed 10 years ago.

“As a country that has been severely affected by terrorism, we reaffirm our national resolve to strengthening international cooperation for the elimination of terrorism,” the foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

Meanwhile, authorities in New York and Washington are increasing security for their 9/11 memorial services after intelligence agents got a tip that three al-Qaeda members could be planning to set off a car bomb in one of the cities. Officials have found no evidence any terrorists have sneaked into the country.

The Sept. 11 attacks “could easily have happened in Paris, it could easily have happened in Sydney and it could still happen which is why the price of freedom is eternal vigilance,” Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said after laying a wreath at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra.

The Taliban marked the anniversary by vowing to keep fighting against US forces in Afghanistan and saying they had no role in the Sept. 11 attacks.

“Each year, 9/11 reminds the Afghans of an event in which they had no role whatsoever,” a statement e-mailed to news organizations said. “American colonialism shed the blood of tens of thousands of miserable and innocent Afghans.”

Hours later, a Taliban suicide bomber in a large truck blew it up at the gate of a NATO combat outpost in eastern Afghanistan, killing two civilians and injuring others.

The US and its allies invaded Afghanistan on Oct. 7, 2001, after the Taliban who then ruled the country refused to hand over Sept. 11 mastermind Osama bin Laden. The al-Qaeda leader was at the time living in Afghanistan, where the terror network retained training camps and planned attacks against the US and other countries. Bin Laden was killed four months ago at his Pakistan hideout by US forces.

Reposted From AP (The Philippine Star)

A Repost From Philstar.com

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Sun, 11 Sep 2011 00:02:00 +0000

Winehouse's dad says he thinks seizure killed her
(philstar.com) Updated September 10, 2011 09:32 AM Comments (0)

NEW YORK (AP) - Amy Winehouse's father said he believes she died after suffering a seizure related to alcohol detoxification and "there was nobody there to rescue her."

The soul diva, who had fought drug and alcohol problems for years, was found dead in bed at her London home on July 23. Her family said toxicology reports indicated there was alcohol in her bloodstream but it was unclear whether this had contributed to her death at age 27.

Mitch Winehouse said Friday during a taping of Anderson Cooper's new syndicated talk show that traces of the prescription drug Librium, which is used to fight anxiety and withdrawal symptoms of alcoholism, were found in her body.

"Everything Amy did, she did to excess," he said on the show, which is to air as Cooper's debut Monday. "She drank to excess and did detox to excess."

He said he regretted that his daughter — whose most famous song, "Rehab," has her answering "no, no, no" when told to go to rehab — was trying to kick her alcoholism without a doctor's help. He said "the periods of abstinence were becoming longer, and the periods of drinking were becoming shorter. It was heading in the right direction."

The singer, whose other hits include "Tears Dry on Their Own," had suffered seizures during this period and would lose consciousness. Her father admitted he was speculating that this happened on the morning she died and said he should find out more conclusively how she died when a full inquest into her death begins next month.

Years earlier, when Amy Winehouse was on harder drugs including heroin and cocaine, her father said, he would not have been surprised if she had died.

Mitch Winehouse, who is starting his own singing career, was in New York when his daughter's security guard called him in July. Hearing the distraught tone of the security guard's voice, the father said his first words were, "Is she dead?"

Amy Winehouse's breakthrough "Back to Black" album was recently certified as the best-selling disc in Britain so far during the 21st century. The updated take on old-time soul also was responsible for five Grammy Awards.

"When she wasn't drinking," her father said, "she was absolutely on top of the world."

He occasionally dabbed tears from his eyes as Cooper's show ran video clips of her. He said he was comforted by the outpouring of support from her fans. Her mother, Janis Winehouse, said she's had people approach her to thank her for having the singer.

Mitch Winehouse said he blamed the singer's ex-husband, a music industry hanger-on, for introducing her to hard drugs but did not blame him for her death. He said she had not taken drugs since December 2008.

Amy Winehouse's boyfriend at the time of her death, Reg Traviss, said they had spent a quiet evening looking at pictures and watching DVDs two days before she died. They were looking forward to attending a friend's wedding in a few days and were planning a trip to St. Lucia around her Sept. 14 birthday.

He said he struggled to find the right moments to talk to his girlfriend about her drinking without seeming as though he was nagging.

"She was a really clever girl," Traviss said. "She knew what she was doing. I would sometimes choose my moments when there was something that was needed to be said."

Winehouse's family has set up a foundation to raise money to help people beat alcohol and drug addiction. Her father met with British political leaders to seek backing for setting up a drug rehab center in her name.

The foundation officially starts operation next week, and her father indicated that was why he was coming forth to do interviews about her.

Cooper's program donated $50,000 to the foundation, although spokeswoman Laura Mandel said the donation was made after the interview was set up and the booking wasn't contingent upon giving the foundation money.

Amy Winehouse's stepmother and aunt also appeared on Cooper's show.

Reposted From Philstar.com

A Repost From Agence France-Presse

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 22:52:00 +0000

No more Mr Nice Guy as Pacquiao girds for battle

Agence France-Presse

10:49 am | Thursday, September 8th, 2011

2 25 22

BACK TO BACK. Boxers Manny Pacquiao, left, and Juan Manuel Marquez pose for pictures during a news conference in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2011. The pair are promoting their upcoming WBO welterweight title fight on Nov. 12, 2011, in Las Vegas. AP Photo/Seth Wenig

LOS ANGELES — Manny Pacquiao says he is through making friends with opponents in the build up to his championship bouts and vows to take a hard-line approach in his next fight against Juan Manuel Marquez.

The 32-year-old Filipino boxing champion has decisively won his last. three fights but failed to score knockouts over Shane Mosley, Antonio Margarito and Joshua Clottey.

“If my opponent is nice and friendly to me then that carries over into the fight,” Pacquiao said Wednesday. “Then I am not eager to finish the fight.”

The Filipino southpaw has vowed not to go easy when he puts his World Boxing Organization welterweight title on the line against Mexico’s Marquez on November 12 in Las Vegas.
“Before Marquez was saying bad things about me. Now he is saying good things about me,” said Pacquiao (53-3, 2 draws, 38 KOs).

In a sport that thrives on hype to sell tickets, staredowns and angry exchanges are usually common when two fighters get together to promote the fight. But that’s not been the case with nice-guy Pacquiao.

Mosley and Clottey were able to disarm Pacquiao with plenty of compliments and talk of how grateful they were the champion was giving them an opportunity to fight for a title, not to mention millions of dollars.

Margarito mocked and insulted Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach but stayed away from firing verbal jabs aimed specifically at Pacquiao.

The 144-pound bout will mark the third time Pacquiao and Marquez have tangled.

Both previous fights were close with just one round.separating the two. The judges’ scored the first bout a draw and Pacquiao was awarded a split decision in the rematch. Marquez insists he won both fights.

“I am thinking how can I shut this guy’s mouth,” Pacquiao said at a news conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

One boxer “Pacman” Pacquiao says he would have no trouble getting motivated to knock out is undefeated American Floyd Mayweather.”If that fight happens it would be a fight like there is no tomorrow,” Pacquiao said with a wink.

Previous fight talks between the two broke down over how drug testing would be conducted. Mayweather angered Pacquiao by accusing him of taking performance-enhancing drugs.

“I haven’t taken any drugs in boxing,” Pacquiao said Wednesday. “I don’t even know what he (Mayweather) is talking about. I don’t know what testosterone is. I don’t have any idea what he is talking about. He doesn’t want to fight.”

The Marquez bout will be a change from Pacquiao’s previous fights where he moved up in weight class to fight bigger, stronger boxers.

Pacquiao says this time he will be in his comfort zone and isn’t afraid of getting hit by a smaller fighter.

“For this fight I don’t have to worry about weight and size,” Pacquiao said.

“I won’t have to worry so much about the punches that I am taking in the ring because bigger guys punch harder.”

Marquez is no shrinking violet. He captured his first world title in 2003 and has won belts in three different weight classes. He has recorded victories over Marco Antonio Barrera and Joel Casamayor but lost a 12-round decision to Mayweather in September 2009 in Las Vegas.

“This is the biggest fight for me because Pacquiao is the best pound-for-pound fighter,” Marquez said. “Clottey didn’t want to fight and Mosley was the same. But if Pacquiao wants to fight I will give him a fight.”

Pacquiao and Marquez have been on a whirlwind tour across the ocean to promote the fight. They were in New York on Tuesday and the Philippines before that where 100,000 people came out to cheer Filipino congressman Pacquiao.

The tour finishes in Mexico City Thursday where thousands of Marquez fans will get a chance to see their hero.

“The Philippines, New York and now here. I don’t even know what time it is,” said Marquez (53-5, 1 draw, 39 KOs).

Marquez is another in a long line of current and former Mexican champions Pacquiao has defeated in recent years. Pacquiao said he doesn’t have a scorched-earth policy against Mexican fighters but is just trying to find the best opponents out there.

“I am just doing my job in the ring. It is not my intention to fight all the Mexican fighters.”

Reposted From Agence France-Presse

A Repost From Roy Luarca of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Sun, 04 Sep 2011 22:40:00 +0000

This time, Pacquiao going for decisive win against Marquez

By Roy Luarca
Philippine Daily Inquirer

10:20 pm | Sunday, September 4th, 2011

2 7 5

Photo by AP

MANILA—Juan Manuel Marquez is ripe for the picking and Manny Pacquiao is looking forward to putting the Mexican away for good this time.

Pacquiao was animatedly rolling his fists, his eyes getting larger, as he vowed over dinner on Saturday at Harbor View Restaurant in Manila to shut the Mexican’s big mouth.

The pound-for-pound king, peeved by Marquez’s incessant claims that he won their first two bouts, which ended in a draw and split decision for Pacquiao, respectively, said his rival will get what’s due him when they tangle anew on November 12 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the Filipino’s World Boxing Organization welterweight crown.

Recalling their second bout in 2008, Pacquiao said he could have finished off Marquez after knocking him down with 19 seconds left in the third round but ran out of time.

Now used to fighting and dominating bigger opponents, Pacquiao is eager to face Marquez, who just turned 38, and see if the Mexican can withstand the barrage of punches that have rocked Joshua Clottey, Miguel Cotto, Antonio Margarito and Shane Mosley.

Pacquiao also refuted the claim of legendary Mexican trainer Ignacio “Nacho” Beristain that Marquez will be able to handle him this time as the Filipino had become a technical fighter under the guidance of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach.

The 68-year-old Beristain, who has nurtured 20 world champions, had said in earlier interviews that as a refined fighter now, Pacquiao’s moves and punches have become predictable and they would be easier for Marquez to solve.

Smirking, Pacquiao pointed out that he fights differently against each opponent.

“That’s difficult to read,” said Pacquiao in Filipino.

Reposted From Roy Luarca of Philippine Daily Inquirer

A Repost From Delon Porcalla of The Philippine Star

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 00:04:00 +0000

After China state visit, P-Noy off to US, Japan
By Delon Porcalla (The Philippine Star) Updated September 03, 2011 12:00 AM Comments (30)

President Aquino is joined by Chinese Ambassador Liu Jianchao, who acted as his tour guide at the Badaling Section of the Great Wall in Beijing last Thursday. Some 400 state leaders and VIPs have climbed Badaling and admired the scenery at the Great Wall’s best preserved and most popular section.
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MANILA, Philippines - After his state visit to China, President Aquino is embarking on two more state visits this month, this time to the United States and Japan – the Philippines’ first and second largest trading partners, respectively.

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte confirmed to Palace reporters yesterday that Aquino is set to visit Washington and Tokyo this month.

“All in September? I think, yes, all in September,” she said, without providing details.

The President ends his five-day state visit to China today. China is the country’s third largest trading partner.

“I think there are several invitations for consideration also. I will have to get confirmation from DFA (Department of Foreign Affairs) because several countries have also extended their invitations to the President. I am not quite sure how the details are being threshed out,” Valte added.

“We can confirm that there is an invitation sent but we have no confirmation yet on whether the President will be accepting,” she said referring to an invitation from US President Barack Obama. Asked about details of the invitation from Tokyo, she said “still no confirmation from the DFA.”

But a source said Aquino’s Japan trip has been set for the first week of October while his US visit is likely to take place between Sept. 20 and 25. The source said Obama sent his invitation shortly before Aquino’s departure for China.

Another source revealed Aquino’s US trip may also include attendance at the UN General Assembly in New York, normally held in September.

Aquino is also scheduled to attend the ASEAN Summit next month in Bali, Indonesia and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in mid-November.

So far, Aquino has visited eight countries since his assumption into office in June 2010.

President Aquino tours the Forbidden City in Beijing yesterday.

He was in the US in September last year for the UN General Assembly, in Vietnam for a state visit in October and in Japan for the APEC summit.

He also embarked on state visits to Indonesia and Singapore last March and to Thailand and Brunei in May. He is expected to visit some European countries next year.

Valte said Aquino really has to juggle his official travels because of numerous invitations from heads of state.

“We really have to visit our neighbors. And, of course, being one of the relatively new presidents in the region, our President has been receiving many invitations,” she said.

She said Palace officials have to carefully study each invitation considering the President’s “very hectic schedule.”

Reposted From Delon Porcalla of The Philippine Star

A Repost From Norman Bordadora of Philippine Daily Inquirer

noreply@blogger.com (Mel Avila Alarilla) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 21:31:00 +0000

Spratlys: Sea of friendship

Both sides ‘very positive’ in resolving maritime row

By Norman Bordadora
Philippine Daily Inquirer

‘OPEN FOR BUSINESS’. President Aquino and President Hu Jintao witness the signing of an economic agreement between the Philippines and China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Wednesday. Earlier, Mr. Aquino said the Philippines is “open for business.” EDWIN BACASMAS

Beijing—President Benigno Aquino III on Wednesday told Chinese President Hu Jintao of his wish that the territorial dispute in the West Philippine Sea be settled with a “regional” solution, presidential spokesperson Edwin Lacierda said after the bilateral meeting between the two leaders.

In response, Hu reiterated the Chinese position that the dispute be resolved peacefully, Lacierda told reporters at a quick briefing outside the Great Hall of the People where the two leaders met.

The presidential spokesperson said Hu also encouraged the development of the strategic waterway into “a sea of friendship, peace and cooperation.”

“So both sides were very positive in addressing the issue in the South China Sea,” Lacierda said, referring to what China calls the body of water.

Spratlys, a group of islands in the West Philippine Sea that is believed to contain oil and gas deposits, is claimed in whole or in part by the Philippines, China and four other countries.

The Philippines has started oil and gas explorations in what Beijing considers its territory. Early this year, Manila accused Beijing of harassing its oil survey ship.

Beijing said recent construction work on an island by Philippine troops violated the spirit of a preliminary agreement with other Southeast Asian nations.

Lacierda said it was Mr. Aquino who initiated the discussion on the West Philippine Sea.

“He mentioned that we have differences but these differences should not deter us from moving forward,” Lacierda said.

The spokesperson said Mr. Aquino also mentioned the position of the Philippine government because the dispute over the Spratlys was a regional problem that required a regional solution.

Asked what Mr. Aquino meant by a regional solution, Lacierda said: “Because (of) the various claimants in the disputes.”

Trooping the line

Before the two leaders met, the national anthems of the two countries were played and both Mr. Aquino and Hu trooped the line of Chinese soldiers and Navy and Air Force personnel.

The two leaders then went into a bilateral meeting after the formal ceremonies.

Hu told Mr. Aquino that his state visit would enhance the relationship between the Philippines and China.

“I believe your visit to China will further deepen our friendship, promote our practical cooperation and elevate the strategic and cooperative relationship between our two countries to a new high,” Hu said.

Mr. Aquino apologized for taking too long on acting on the invitation of the Chinese leader who was the first to invite him when the former assumed the Philippine presidency.

“But it is a truly worthwhile trip so far and… we will spend this opportunity to broaden and deepen the ties that have been existing between our peoples centuries upon centuries,” Mr. Aquino said.

NorthRail project

Lacierda said that the issue of the NorthRail project was also discussed and that Chinese officials agreed with the proposition that it be “reconfigured.”

“The President mentioned that there were certain issues and in the NorthRail project that needed to be reconfigured. And the Chinese agreed and so in their own words, they attach a high importance to the project. Both sides directed their officials concerned with the project to resolve the NorthRail issue,” Lacierda said.

The NorthRail project, started during the Arroyo administration, is considered overpriced. The Chinese-sponsored project was initially worth $503 million but its cost reportedly ballooned to $2 billion.

Lacierda said the discussions between the two leaders delved mainly on trade and cooperation.

“What dominated the discussions primarily promotion of trade and investments and cultural, and the ties that bind the two countries,” he said.

“Generally the discussion was an expression of warmth on both sides. They welcomed each other. President Hu Jintao welcomed the Philippine President and President Aquino thanked the Chinese for their hospitality and grace in welcoming them,” he added.

Year of Philippine friendship

Lacierda said Mr. Aquino asked Hu to declare 2012-2013 as the year of Philippine friendship and “President Hu gladly agreed.”

The spokesperson also said Mr. Aquino encouraged more investments from the Chinese.

“Basically, we talked about issues, the ideas of investments, promoting more investments in the country. The President encouraged the Chinese side to invest more and the Chinese side also said they are willing to invest more in the Philippines and hopefully they can push with the $60-billion investment by 2016,” Lacierda said.

Hu and Mr. Aquino were expected to witness the signing of several agreements before a state banquet was held for the state visitor.

Reposted From Norman Bordadora of Philippine Daily Inquirer