SWIRLING THOUGHTS

Top Five Bankruptcy Myths

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 05:24:00 +0000

As consumer debt has skyrocketed to over $3 Trillion, many believe the only way out from under the mountain of bills is to declare bankruptcy. But is it right for you?

Many myths persist to misinform the public.

Myth: People who file bankruptcy can't get credit for 10 years

Nonsense. People in Chapter 13 can borrow money during the case; people who've filed Chapter 7 get inundated with credit card offers after they get their discharge. This is not credit at the best rates, but credit is available.

Myth: You lose everything you own in bankruptcy

Well over 95% of bankruptcy cases filed by individuals are "no asset" cases in which the debtor keeps everything he owns. That's because exemptions provide for assets that the debtor can keep and some assets, like pensions, are beyond the reach of bankruptcy trustees and creditors.

Myth: Bankruptcy represents personal or moral failure

More than 90% of bankruptcy filings are traceable to job loss; illness; or divorce, factors largely out of anyone's control. Bankruptcy is a safety value to prevent individuals from being buried by debts they can never repay.

Myth: You can't file bankruptcy if you have a job

The new "means test" is supposed to divert some filers who make more than the median income for households of their size in their state of residence to Chapter 13. The only way to fund a Chapter 13 plan is to HAVE a job. So, this is utterly untrue.

Myth: "You need to be flat broke before you should file."

“Probably the worst myth about bankruptcy is that you need to be flat broke before you should file,” says Sacramento bankruptcy attorney Gerald B. Glazer. “It is not good to wait until creditors are knocking on your door,” according to Glazer. Planning can prepare you for a bankruptcy that causes the least amount of financial disruption.

You Need a Bankruptcy Attorney On Your Side ... to stop those -

Bill collectors' calls and letters
Prevent home foreclosures
Block garnishments from your paychecks
Stop repossession of your car, boat,truck or other property

With a bankcruptcy attorney on your side, you can get immediate debt relief. You may even discharge all or part of your debt forever!

Make a fresh start without the burden of your old debt! Contact the Sacramento bankruptcy attorney now!

Lest History Repeats Itself

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Sat, 03 Apr 2010 12:32:00 +0000

Posted on Facebook Notes by Raymond Fuentes on Sunday, March 28, 2010 at 7:58am

We Seem to Have Forgotten that Once Upon a Time, Not Too Long Ago....

We seem to have forgotten that once upon a time, not too long ago, there was this family, the Marcoses, comprised of Ferdinand (now deceased), Imelda (still gallivanting and traipsing the light fantastic in Manila and occasionally, kung maka lusot, overseas), and 3 children, including Ferdinand “Bongbong” Jr who’s now running, under Presidential candidate Manny Villar, in the SAME Senatorial slate as political activists (??) Liza Maza and Satur Ocampo.

Charlie Avila, who HAS NOT forgotten what the Marcoses did, reminds us, in his CHRONOLOGY OF THE MARCOS PLUNDER, that in…

September 1976

This month the Marcoses bought their first property in the U.S. - a condo in the exclusive Olympic Towers on Fifth Avenue in New York. Five months later they would also buy the three adjoining apartments, paying a total of $4,000,000.00 for the four and using Antonio Floirendo's company, Theaventures Limited in Hong Kong, as front for these purchases.

October 13, 1977

Today, after addressing the UN General Assembly, Imelda celebrated by going shopping and spending $384,000 including $50,000 for a platinum bracelet with rubies; $50,000 for a diamond bracelet; and $58,000 for a pin set with diamonds.

The day before, Vilma Bautista, one of her private secretaries, paid $18,500 for a gold pendant with diamonds and emeralds; $9,450 for a gold ring with diamonds and emeralds; and $4,800 for a gold and diamond necklace.

October 27, 1977

The Marcoses donated $1.5 million to Tufts University in Boston, endowing a professorial chair in East Asian and Pacific Studies at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy. The students and professors discovered this and forced the school to reject the donation. To save face, the Marcoses were allowed to finance several seminars and lectures.

November 2, 1977

Still at her shopping spree, Imelda paid $450,000 for a gold necklace and bracelet with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds; $300,000 for a gold ring with emeralds and diamonds; and $300,000 for a gold pendant with diamonds, rubies, and thirty-nine emeralds.

July 1978

After a trip to Russia, Imelda arrived in New York and immediately warmed up for a shopping spree. She started with paying $193,320 for antiques, including $12,000 for a Ming Period side table; $24,000 for a pair of Georgian mahogany Gainsborough armchairs; $6,240 for a Sheraton double-sided writing desk; $11,600 for a George II wood side table with marble top - all in the name of the Philippine consulate to dodge New York sales tax.

That was merely for starters.

A week later she spent $2,181,000.00 in one day! This included $1,150,000 for a platinum and emerald bracelet with diamonds from Bulgari; $330,000 for a necklace with a ruby, diamonds, and emeralds; $300,000 for a ring with heart-shaped emeralds; $78,000 for 18-carat gold ear clips with diamonds; $300,000 for a pendant with canary diamonds, rubies and emeralds on a gold chain.

After New York, she dropped by Hong Kong where a Cartier representative admitted it was this Filipina, Imelda, who had put together the world's largest collection of gems - in 1978.

May 1979

The Marcos couple celebrated their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary in a party that cost $5,000,000.00

There was a silver carriage drawn by eight white horses.

November 23, 1978

A house was purchased at 4 Capshire Drive in Cherry Hill, New Jersey (actually near to Philadelphia where Bongbong was taking courses at that time) for use by servants and Bongbong's security detachment.

The Marcoses did not neglect their annual real estate purchase. During this year and next year, 1979, they purchased two properties - one at 3850 Princeton Pike, Princeton - a 13-acre estate for use by daughter Imee as she attended Princeton. The other was a house at 19 Pendleton Drive in Cherry Hill for use of Bongbong and under the name of Tristan Beplat, erstwhile head of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines.

April 1979

In two days in New York this month, Imelda spent $280,000 for a necklace wet with emeralds and diamonds; $18,500 for a yellow gold evening bag with one round cut diamond; $8,975.20 for 20-carat gold ear clips with twenty-four baguette diamonds; $8,438.10 for 18-carat gold ear clips with fifty-two tapered baguette diamonds; and $12,056.50 for 20 carat gold ear clips with diamonds. June 1980

For $1,577,000.00 in New York Imelda buys Webster Hotel on West 45th Street. She rewards Gen. Romeo Gatan as a limited partner.. Gatan arrested Ninoy at the beginning of Martial Law.

The insurgents' ranks grew by twenty percent a year.. Meritorious officers in the armed forces experienced low moral due to Marcos' penchant for promotig friends over more deserving officers.

February 16, 1986

In Fe's records of monies paid out during Marcos' last campaign, one unusually large item was authorized by "FL" (First Lady) and paid to Assemblyman Arturo Pacificador on this day. A few days later, two carloads of men drove into San Jose, the provincial capital of Antique. Evelio Javier, head of Aquino's campaign, was watching the votes being counted when the men opened fire and killed Evelio after he was still able to run through town but finally got cornered in a public toilet where he was gunned down in front of shocked townspeople. Pacificador was later convicted of the murder.

February 25, 1986

Marcos fled the Philippines leaving behind a foreign debt of $27 billion and a bureaucracy gone mad. "Cash advances" for the elections from the national treasury amounted to Php3.12 billion ($150 million). The Central Bank printed millions of peso bills, many with the same serial number. Sixty million pesos in newly printed bills were found in a vehicle owned by Imelda's brother Bejo in the Port Area of Manila, and another Php 100 million aboard the MV Legaspi also owned by Bejo Romualdez.

How massive and humongous a loot Marcos took can be deduced from the known losses he left behind.

The known losses he left at the Central Bank included $1.2 billion in missing reserves and $6 billion in the Special Accounts.

Imelda charged off most of her spending sprees to the PNB or Philippine National Bank which creatively wrote off her debts as "unresponded transfers". Ver also used PNB funds to finance his "intelligence" operations.

The known losses at the PNB amounted to Php72.1 billion At the DBP, the losses Marcos left behind totaled Php85 billion; at the Philguarantee, it was Php6.2 billion ; and at the NIDC or National Investment and Development Corporation (NDC) - the losses amounted to Php 2.8 billion.

These losses were primarily due to cronyism - giving loans to cronies that had little or no collateral, whose corporations were undercapitalized, whose loan proceeds were not used for the avowed purpose, and where the practice of corporate layering was common, i.e. using two or more companies with the same incorporators and officers, whereby one company which gives the loan owns the company which obtains the loan, or similar arrangements. The cronies enjoyed their closeness to Marcos. With him they formed a Grand Coalition. They participated in the exercise of dictatorship. But Marcos owned them. The wealth of the cronies belonged to him.

Because of the free rides taken by Imelda, Marcos and the cronies, the Philippine Airlines was in debt by $13.8 billion.

The conservative Grand Total for losses Marcos left behind (and therefore the kind of loot he grabbed and hid) amounted to $17..1 billion.

The Central Bank, the PNB, and other financial institutions badly need an audit. The special review (not regular audit because there seems not to have been any - there are no records anyway) did not uncover Imelda's spending - her name never appeared - and Ver's intelligence fund.

The review gave no hint of theft or missing money, only "downward adjustments" and "proposed adjustments" to "deficiencies" and "shortages of money".

February 26, 1986

A few hours after the Marcos party landed in Honolulu, their luggage arrived - 300 crates on board a C-141 cargo jet. It took twenty-five customs officers five hours to tag the bags and identify the contents. The process was videotaped because of all the money and jewelry found inside.

There were 278 crates of jewelry and art worth an estimated US$5 million. Twenty-two crates contained more than Php27.7 million in newly minted currency, mostly hundred-peso denominations worth approximately US$1,270,000. 00 (It was illegal for anyone to depart the Philippines carrying more than Php500 in cash. )

There were other certificates of deposit from Philippine banks worth about US$1 million, five handguns, 154 videotapes, seventeen cassette tapes, and 2,068 pages of documents - all of which were impounded by Customs. The Marcos party was allowed to keep only US$300,000.00 in gold and $150,000.00 in bearer bonds that they brought in with their personal luggage because they declared them and broke no US customs laws.

There were 24 one-kilo gold bars fitted into a=2 0$17,000 hand-tooled Gucci briefcase with a solid gold buckle and a plaque on it that read, "To Ferdinand Marcos, from Imelda, on the Occasion of our 24th Wedding Anniversary. "

February 1986

When Marcos departed the Philippines, the losses in the three Central Bank accounts surpassed Php 122 billion (more than $6 billion). The big bulk of losses was attributed to the RIR account mainly due to two items: forward cover and swap contracts. Forward cover referred to foreign exchange provided by the CB at a fixed exchange rate to importers of essential commodities. Swap contracts referred to CB's receiving foreign exchange from banks in exchange for pesos at the prevailing rate with a promise to deliver the foreign exchange back to them at an agreed future date.

There was no mention of losses due to CB transactions in gold or foreign exchange.

February 28, 1986

On this day, Jim Burke, security expert from the US Embassy, was tapping on the wooden paneling in Imelda's abandoned Malacanang bedroom when he heard a hollow sound. It was the walk-in vault. Inside were thirty-five suitcases secured with locks and tape. They contained a treasure trove of documents about Swiss bank accounts, New York real estate, foundations in Vaduz, and some notepaper on which Marcos had practiced his William Saunders signature. They also contained jewelry valued at some US$10..5 million.

March 16, 1986

Did Marcos steal any gold from the CB? The CB always refused to comment. Why?

Today the LA Times reported that 6.325 metric tons of gold was unaccounted for in the Central Bank. Between 1978, the year Marcos ordered all gold producers to sell only to the CB, and end 1984, the Bureau of Mines reported that 124,234 pounds of gold were refined.

But the CB reported receiving only 110,319 pounds during this same period. That left a difference of 13,915 pounds (6.325 metric tons).

March 1986

Jokingly referring to themselves as the Office of National Revenge, a vigilante team led by Charlie Avila and Linggoy Alcuaz received a tip in the morning that Marcos' daughter Imee had kept a private office in the suburb of Mandaluyong at 82 Edsa. They obtained a search warrant, then rushed to Camp Crame to pick up some soldiers. After devising a plan, they boarded four cars and drove to the premises, arriving around midnight. The soldiers scaled a fence and sealed off the area. Avila, Alcuaz, and their men moved in and found documents in cardboard boxes, desks, and filing cabinets. Gunfire could be heard outside but it didn't deter the search. The documents revealed the names of offshore companies and overseas investments of Marcos and his cronies - a late link in the paper trail that had been started abroad by the teams of Avila, Steve Psinakis, Sonny Alvarez, Raul Daza, Boni Gillego, and Raul Manglapus.

March 09, 1986

A Greek-American, Demetrios Roumeliotes, was stopped at the Manila International Airport before he could leave with eight large envelopes stuffed with jewelry that he admitted belonged to Imelda - valued at US$4.7 million.

March 15, 1986

Ernie Maceda, Minister of Natural Resources, revealed today that some 7 to 14 tons of Philippine gold are sold to the Binondo Central Bank annually and then smuggled to Sabah, Malaysia - this gold being part of some 20 tons produced by 200,000 panners all over the country. Maceda's query was whether part of the gold they produced was siphoned to the "invisible gold hoard of Ms. Imelda R. Marcos."

"We deliver to the Central Bank," the miners said. "If it happened (the siphoning), it happened in the Central Bank."

Is it true that Marcos propagated the Yamashita myth to hide the fact that he looted the Central Bank, that its gold bars were melted down and recast in odd-size bars to make them look old (how does gold look old, anyway?).

Marcos claimed that he "received the surrender of Gen. Yamashita" after a battle with his guerrilla outfit. History has recorded that Yamashita surrendered to Lt. Co. Aubrey Smith Kenworthy and that there was no battle. Yamashita's peaceful surrender had been arranged at least two weeks before the event.

In one entry in Marcos' diary he noted, "I often wonder what I will be remembered for in history. Scholar? Military hero…?" In a supreme irony, he did achieve what he so vainly sought - lasting fame - but not in the way he envisioned:

The largest human rights case in history - 10,000 victims.

Guinness Book of Records - the world's greatest thief.

The largest monetary award in history - $22 billion..

September 30, 1986

Questioned by Philippine and US lawyers about his hidden wealth, Marcos took the Fifth Amendment 197 times. Imelda followed suit - 200 times.

December 1989

An American jury found the Marcos estate liable for $15 million in the killing of anti-Marcos activists Gene Viernes and Silme Domingo. Manglapus, Psinakis, Gillego and other erstwhile exile oppositionists testified at the trial.

November 04, 1991 Today, a Sunday, the circus came to town. The Swiss Federal Tribunal had ruled the year before that the Philippine government must comply with the European Convention o Human Rights, especially due process. There had to be a lawsuit filed within one year. Thus, the solicitor general's office filed all sorts of cases against Imelda and the government had to allow her to return to answer the charges.

"I come home penniless," she tearfully said on arrival. She then repaired to her suite at the Philippine Plaza Hotel which cost $2,000 a day and rented sixty rooms for her entourage - American lawyers, American security guards and American PR firms.

December 1991

The Central Bank had accumulated losses of Php324 billion in the Special Accounts.

November 30, 1992

The Central Bank; losses were Php561 billion and climbing. Cuisia asked that the CB be restructured. Sen. Romulo asked to see the 1983 audit of the international reserves. He couldn't get a copy. It was "restricted" .

January 05, 1993

Imelda didn't show up for the scheduled signing of a new PCGG agreement. She kept vacillating on the terms and conditions - demanding she be allowed to travel abroad for thirty-three days to confer with bank officials in Switzerland, Austria, Hong Kong and Morocco to work out the transfer of the frozen funds.

Actually she was hoping a guy she had authorized, J..T.Calderon, would be able to move the funds just as the order was lifted, before the government had a chance to transfer them to Manila. When the government discovered the authority, all negotiations with Imelda were halted and her requests for travel suspended.

August 10, 1993

Georges Philippe, a Swiss lawyer of Imelda, wrote today a confidential letter to the Marcoses' old Swiss lawyer, Bruno de Preux, who handled almost all of the Marcos family's hidden accounts in Switzerland. Philippe requested de Preux for the status of:

A $750 million account with United Mizrahi Bank in Zurich;

Various currency and gold deposits at the Union Bank of Switzerland, at Kloten airport and at Credit Suisse;

A $356 million account (now in escrow and worth almost $600 million) which was being claimed by the PCGG.

1994

The human rights jury awarded the victims $1.2 billion in exemplary damages, then $766.4 million in compensatory damages a year after that, for a total of $1.964 billion. Two days after, another $7.3 million was awarded to twenty-one Filipinos in a separate lawsuit.

1995

The US Supreme Court upheld the $1.2 billion judgment.

March 29, 1995

The Swiss Parliament passed a law (an amendment to a previous act) that removed the need for a final judgment of criminal conviction of the accused (such as the Marcoses) in the case of criminally acquired assets which could now therefore be returned to claimants (such as the Philippine government) by Swiss court order.

July 1996

In part because of the torture of Roger Roxas, $22 billion was awarded to his Golden Budha Corporation.

December 10, 1997

The Swiss Supreme Court promulgated a landmark decision that took into account the March 1995 Swiss Parliament act and the fact that new criminal cases had been filed against Imelda Marcos. The court held that there was no need for any criminal proceeding; that a civil or administrative proceeding would suffice, and the Marcos Swiss deposits which had been "criminally acquired" can be returned to the Philippines in deference to the final judgment of the Philippine court as to the ownership of these deposits.

The Swiss court also announced that the interest and reputation of Switzerland was at stake if it would become a haven for money launderers laundering money obtained by crime. Therefore, in the case of the Marcos deposits, because "the illegal source of the assets in this case cannot be doubted" the Swiss court ordered that the money be returned to the Philippines to be held in escrow account in the PNB to await the judgment of the Sandiganbayan in the forfeiture case.

By the way, in January 17, 1975 a secret decree not made public until after the Edsa insurrection was signed by Marcos stating that in the event he became incapacitated or died, power would be turned over to Imelda. On June 7, 1975, in his own handwriting, Marcos amended the January 17th decree and clarified imelda's role as chairperson of committee with presidential powers.

In February 1979, Imelda was named chairman of the cabinet committee, composed of all ministries, to launch the BLISS (Bagong Lipunan Sites and Services) program, an ambitious attempt to centralize control of all economic and social development. She assumed responsibility for the "11 needs of Man" codified in her ministry's mufti-year Human Settlements Plan, 1978-2000. By 1986, the number of Filipinos living below the poverty line doubled from 18 million in 1965 to 35 million. And the ecologic al balance of the country had degraded from 75 % to 27% forest cover remaining - with 39 million acres of forest falling victim to rampant logging. This was BLISS.

She was head of the Metro Manila Commission, which by year-end 1985 had managed to accumulate debts of Php 1.99 billion (which included $100 million in foreign loans) in its ten years of existence. Imelda had accomplished nothing and left the people embittered and even more disillusioned.

In September 1992 Marcos was found guilty of violating the human rights of 10,000 victims. The ruling

occurred just after a judge found Imee Marcos-Manotoc guilty of the torture and murder of Archimedes Trajano, a 21 year old engineering student at Mapua who had the temerity to ask Imee after a speech she gave whether the Kabataang Barangay (a national youth group) "must be headed by the president's daughter?"

Imee and brother Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos, Jr. have been active in the political scene.. Bongbong, who

finished 3 terms as Ilocos Norte governor, is now running for Senator under Presidential bet, Manny Villar's senatorial slate.. he's been quoted as saying that if given a chance, he'd like to run for President one day...(gads) .

WOOF Contest Top Picks For March 5, 2010

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 03:42:00 +0000

WOOF Contest – Top Picks

Poetry

Bigdaddyrichard – “The Pretentious Prince and His Evil Maiden” – A poem about the laments of the youngest sibling in a family whose brother left the family in a haste to live with his scheming girlfriend who wanted the boy all for himself.

Dragon Blogger – “Imprisoned” – Random Twitter Poem about insanity and being trapped in your own mind.

Brought to you by PlotDog Press with the Serial Suspense Screenplay "Intervention"

(WOOF participants should re-post all the links above by next Monday. The following links may be excluded as long as you include all the above links.)

Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top posts as chosen by the March 5, 2010 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? The next contest ends March 12. Submit a link to your best writing post of the last 3 weeks using the form on this page. Participants, repost the winning link list within a week and you’re all set.

Enjoy This New Manny Bilyar Political AD - The Fun And The Pun Is Intended!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:34:00 +0000

Fast circulating on You Tube is this funny political Ad of Manny Bilyar!

It asks the very same question many of us wish to ask from a presidential candidate for the 2010 elections (with the same sounding name)!

Have fun and enjoy the pun!

Is This The Kind Of President You Want in 2010?

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 20:21:00 +0000

...Or, Why You Should Not Vote Villar As President In The May, 2010 Polls!

How can you vote for someone who is more cunning, more wily, more subtle, more evil scheming than Marcos and Arroyo into the presidency?

I thought we have had enough of too much plunder, too much graft and corruption, too many repulsive 'trapo' politicians? - that's why we stormed the lenght of EDSA to oust a dictator in 1986?

I thought we had grown tired of hearing excuses after excuses, seeing fall guy after fall guy being presented as escape goats, and reading well crafted cover ups after cover ups designed to literally 'sweep under the rugs' the many charges of impropriety and enrichment in office under Arroyo's nine years of despicable rule?

I can not imagine how you can even entertain putting a man like Manny Villar in control of the highest position in the land, when while still a congressman and a senator he had managed to use his authority and influence for the self-serving needs to benefit his various enterprises?...and, much much earlier in his political career,.. and with more astounding finesse at the art of political machination and manipulation than either Marcos or Arroyo!

I can not believe that many of us today, (about 31% according to the latest surveys), are still able to entertain the thought of voting for a candidate who had already skillfully mastered the art of deception and manipulation while still a congressman and a senator? (God forbid what he can and will do when he becomes president!)- A candidate who had skillfully honed his ways in using his public office to gain favors for his own companies, and corrupt government institutions by bribing and intimidating its employees in order to produce documents, certifications, and hasty project approvals meant to give him a 'clean bill of health' and provide legalized excuses for his plundering acts should anyone challenge him in the future!

Stop for a while and ask yourselves where Villar got his billions which he is now spending like "Mikey Mouse" money just to become president. Have you not been scandalized by the fact that this candidate has spent 2 billion in political ads in less than 3 months in his desperate pursuit of the presidency?

If your answer is "no" then you must be one of those belonging to the 31% of voters still cheering for Villar (according to the latest surveys)! If your answer is "no", then you must be one of those who have fallen for Villar's rags to riches tale and have swallowed hook line and sinker his empty and statistically improbable promise to totally eradicate poverty all over the country during his presidency!

(Have you not heard these kind of old empty promises from 'trapo politicians' before every election time?... Repeated over and over again like broken records - only to be forgotten soon enough after they get elected? I can't believe you will still fall for these same old tricks?)

Yet, no, I won't fault you for it. But, do read on to the end of this post!

Do not dismiss this post as another one of those black propaganda (as Villar always says), or a campaign ploy meant only to mudsling your favored candidate! ...because this is not!...Rather, this post is meant to bring out the truth behind the many charges being hurled against candidate Villar! This post is meant to open your eyes to who the real Manny Villar is and at the same time bare his plundering ways!

Take the case of the unpaid 1.5 billion emergency loan his company questionably secured from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas while he was Speaker of the House!

According to existing records, Cynthia Villar, wife of the then Speaker of the House Manny Villar together with a certain Anacordita Magno who was the first vice president of the Villar owned Optimum Development Bank (formerly known as Capitol Development bank) managed to obtain a loan for 1.17 billion on April 22, 1998 and another 334 million on April 24, 1998. Based on the promissory notes signed by Villar and Magno, they promised to pay their loan after six months at an interest rate of 14.957 percent per annum.

As collaterals, they put up -

(1) a property bought by Northwinds Prime Properties Inc. (a Villar company) for over P120 million from Sta. Lucia Realty and Development Corp. which they then mortgaged to Capitol Development Bank (a Villar-owned thrift bank now known as Optimum Development Bank) under the name of ADR Farms in the amount of P150 million (Northwinds making a hefty P30M profit) on July 4, 1996 ; and

(2) a 424 hectare farmland in Norzagaray, Bulacan (valued only at 290 million) covered by a spurious sales patent issued on July 17, 1944 and an original certificate title issued on July 25, 1944 (The documents submitted by Villar's CDB to BSP when they made the loan) - questionable and definitely spurious because the date of issuance of both the sales patent and original certificate title “took place when there was no civil government in the Philippines,” which was then under Japanese occupation. (Commonwealth Act 141, as amended, “authorizing the issuance of sales patent was illegal and inoperative during the Japanese occupation.”)

(Note: The original owners of this land are farmers whose ancestors have been tilling this land for ages. They are now currently contesting BSP's foreclosure case for the property with the Malolos City RTC.)

From the records, it appears that the first property (1) was eventually sold to RCBC Savings bank by Capitol Development Bank and finally bought back by Palmera Homes (another Villar company). How the transaction pushed through despite the fact that the property was used as a collateral for the almost 1.5 billion loan with BSP is highly suspicious and questionable.

Apparently, the BSP ended up with only the 484 hectares of agricultural land the ownership of which rightfully belongs to the resident farmers of Norzagaray who in April 27,1964 were granted Original Certificate of Title P-858/Free Patent No. 257917. Unfortunately, the original documents that will prove the farmer's claim burned in a suspicious fire that destroyed the building which houses the local Register of Deeds of Norzagaray in 2007. It was only then, after the farmers went to the Malolos City RTC to have their titles reconstituted that they found out the land was the subject of a foreclosure proceeding initiated by BSP against Capitol Development Bank - much to their amazement and dismay!

In 2006 (while Villar was already Senate President courtesy of Arroyo), plunder raps were filed by Villar's political opponents covering this issue. It was, however hurriedly and suspiciously dismissed by the Ombudsman for "lack of palpable merit" (whatever that means)! When the farmers themselves filed a new plunder case later on, Villar's camp were quick to cite double jeopardy! Neat, indeed! Now, they say this is a rehash of an old issue already dismissed by the Ombudsman...but the truth is the case will remain unclosed until the farmers get their end of the justice they deserve!

If you look at the issue objectively, it boils down to the Bangko Sentral granting a huge 1.5 billion loan to Villar's Capitol Development Bank covered by real estate properties which have been grossly over valued (apparently to justify the big loan amount). Now, with the farmers rightfully claiming ownership of the 484 hectares, the BSP risks to lose ownership of the land (should Villar's clout and Mafia like ways fail) ... with it, the whole amount lent to Villar!

However, if Villar wins the presidency, the whole issue will again be swept under the rugs the Arroyo way. The Norzagaray farmers will loose their entitlement to the land that they have been tilling for ages; and the BSP will be 1.5 billion short and holding on only to a grossly overvalued piece of property!

If you don't call this plunder, what is?

Let us now go over to Iloilo and scrutinize Villar's Savannah Property!

Villar’s company, Crown Communities Iloilo, bought 12.7 hectares in Jibao-an, Pavia, Iloilo from farmer CARP beneficiaries and converted this first-class irrigated rice land into a residential enclave, Savannah Subdivision. Construction of the subdivision started in the year 2000 but Villar only obtained the Department of Agrarian Reform’s approval to convert the agriculture land into a residential area in 2007 seven years after construction started.

Villar and his henchmen must have studied the CARP closely to find loopholes they can use to circumvent the provisions of the agrarian reform law and ended up buying and owning land formerly granted to farmer beneficiaries under the CARP - thereby undermining the true spirit of genuine agrarian reform in the country!

Under SEC. 27 of the CARP, Transferability of Awarded Lands. - Lands acquired by beneficiaries under this Act may not be sold, transferred or conveyed except through hereditary succession, or to the government, or to the LBP, or to other qualified beneficiaries for a period of ten (10) years. Further, under Section 65 of RA 6657 and AO 1 series of 2002 states that after the lapse of five years from its award, when the land ceases to be agriculturally sound and economically feasible or if the locality has become urbanized and the land will have greater economic value for residential, commercial or industrial purposes, the awarded land may be converted into residential, commercial and other non-agricultural uses.

Apparently, the first purchase of 12.7 hectares of awarded agricultural land in 2000 was preparatory to acquiring more of the adjacent land awarded to farmer beneficiaries of CARP - because immediately after acquiring said property, they plugged all the irrigation canals there effectively cutting off water supply to the other adjacent lots - rendering it totally useless as an agricultural land , and (according to section 65 of CARP above) since the land ceases to be agriculturally sound and economically feasible, they may now be used for residential or non agricultural purposes. (Subtle and neat, indeed). The other farmer beneficiaries, denied of the much needed irrigation water, had no choice but to sell out their now agriculturally useless land to Villar's Crown Communities. This explains the 7 year gap before finally the Department of Agrarian Reform granted them a green light for the conversion. They needed to render the whole area no longer feasible for agricultural purposes. Villar ended up expanding the project into a 250 hectare prime real estate property. And hey, he also gave his project a much needed boost to perk up its real estate value! Using P4 million from his pork barrel funds, Villar built a 585-meter national road that led right into the entrance of Savannah.... Villar's only public works project in the province! As a Result, from P150 per square meter, Villar's Savannah property has gone up to P3,500 per square meter!

Genuine agrarian reform was one of the clamor of the farmer peasants during the martial law regime. Enacting the CARP into law was Cory Aquino's answer to their clamor during her term. Land to the landless tenant farmers was the ultimate objective of CARP. Unfortunately, Villar, not even a president yet, has already shrewdly crafted a way to undermine it to enrich himself. He sees a goldmine in them those CARP awarded agricultural lands. He renders them useless for agriculture then buys them cheap. After developing them into housing projects, he then, using funds from his pork barrel, builds a road traversing the property immediately jacking up their real estate values!

Sounds familiar? You bet! That's exactly what he did with the C5 Road extension project! Despite his knowledge of an existing road project that will link C5 with the Coastal Road being undertaken by the Toll Regulatory Board, despite knowing that the government has already paid millions in road right of way payments for the said project, he initiated another road project running more than 80% parallel to the existing TRB road project but longer and traverses more of his housing projects in the area. He effectively forced the
contractor of the toll way to quit knowing Villars road project will render the proposed Toll Way totally usedless!....And with it, down the drain went the millions in RROW payments! We haven't touched much on the Daang Hari Road Project in Cavite which clearly, Villar constructed to link all of his housing projects in the area!

A pattern of using his public office to influence projects that will benefit his companies is turning out clearly to be his primary pre-occupation since he entered politics. It is a good thing that an LA-based Philippine Anticorruption Movement USA, Inc.is now here to help us unearth the truth behind Villar's plundering ways! Headed by Frank Wenceslao, Pamusa is authorized by the U.S. Department of Justice to work with and submit evidence of corruption against current and former Philippine public officials and people that have colluded with them in conjunction with the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).Wenceslao promised to start publishing its findings starting next month.

Now, in all sincerity,... for the love of your country, ...for the future of your children, for your own sake,... can you still say you'll vote for this man on May 10m 2010!

The Wily Villar And The Norzagaray Farmers - (Pro-Poor? My Ass!)

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:12:00 +0000

People, indeed have short memories! They tend to forget incidents in the past which may have grave implications on current issues they are facing! A case in point is the matter between a group of farmers from Norzagaray, Bulacan who woke up one day to find out that the 484 hectares of farmland the have occupied since the turn of the century is being claimed by its new owners, the Central Bank of the Philippines! They made one fatal mistake - they dealt with Manny Villar (now running for the highest position of the land - God forbid) and his family owned Capitol Development bank (now known as Optimum Development Bank)!

Ill-advised by politicians who had an axe to grind against Villar (who by then has wrested the speakership of the House of Congress), the farmers and their lawyers filed plunder cases against Villar - all of which were subsequently dismissed in his favor as expected! (Ponder...ponder...How can the poor farmers win against a wily businessman-turned-politician who knows how to use money and influence to nuy himself favors everywhere?)

In retrospect, lets recall that this case was blown into the open by then congressman and former Speaker of the House Joker Arroyo (amazingly one of his staunchest ally and defender today) in a speech he delivered on August 17, 1998. Smarting from his loss of the speakership of the house in June,1998 to Villar, Joker asked some investigative journalist to dig deeper into information he received about an alleged land-grabbing incident in the hilly town of Norzagaray in Bulacan, right beside the foothills of the Sierra Madre. Joker charged the new speaker with ten instances of graft and corruption among which was the case of the Norzagaray farmers and the 484 hectares of land they have been tilling since time immemorial which without their knowledge and consent, Villar used as a collateral for a 1.6 billion loan with the Central Bank.

Where is the spin and the rub here ?

To start with, the complaining farmers have occupied and tilled the 484 hectares of land in question for ages now for which they were granted titles in 1960 after proving continuous occupancy of what was then public domain.When a fire destroyed the building which houses Norzagaray's Registry of Deeds in 2007 (suspicious ain't it? ...Happening as it is at the time Villar was sounding out his intention to run for president!), the farmers had the surprise of their lives they filed for a reconstitution of their titles with the Bulacan RTC after that. They found out that the Central Bank was putting a claim of ownership to their land!

As it turned out, the 484 hectares occupied and tilled by the poor farmers was used as collateral for a 1.6 billion loan made by Capitol Development Bank headed then by Villar's wife Cynthia Villar in June, 2001. The loan was not paid on time and the Central Bank claimed the properties in April, 2008 instead.

How can this be? Well, your guess is as good as mine!

But wait, when the Central Bank went to file for the transfer of ownership of the now contested land, they presented the titles surrendered to them by Capitol Development Bank...and guess what!....the original certificate of titles were issued on July 25, 1944 - during the Japanese Occupation when clearly the civil government was non-existent then. Under the Commonwealth Act 141, "the issuance of sales patent was illegal and inoperative during the Japanese Occupation"! (Wily Manny, indeed!)

Today, the farmers are still contesting ownership of the land with the Bulacan RTC. Unfortunately, the farmers and their lawyers were used as political pawns by Villar enemies who saw a possibly bigger case than a simple land grabbing case which may only pin down his wife Cynthia who was president of Capitol Development Bank. They were urged to file a plunder case against Villar instead with a claim that Villar used his influence to get approval for a one and half billion loan with the Central Bank using the 484 Hectarea worth only a mere P290 million.

(A scandalous behest loan?...You bet! But I thought we put a stop to them after EDSA 1? Ask ERAP! All these transpired while he was president and Villar was the Speaker of his choice and mandate!)

Through power and influence, Villar managed to have the plunder cases against him dismissed. As for Senator Joker Arroyo, they are now staunch allies! ( Amazing what money can do even to one who pledged "uubusin ko ang corrupt!) And for the unsuspecting Norzagaray farmers, they still have to regain ownership of their land. Unfortunately for them, they have been left alone to fend for themselves after being used by the corrupt politicians who urged them to file the plunder cases.

As a side comment, allow me to add one more thing. I used to live in the Molino area near the SM Molino Mall. Along the "Daang Hari" road overlooking SM is a huge vacant lot whose ownership is being contested in court between 3 claimnants. I have personally witnessed several violent confrontations arising from these conflicting claims which have resulted with several lives lost. Guess who the third claimnant is? (Need I still spell it out?)

You need not wonder anymore why Villar have to spend billions to contend for the highest position in the land? With all these skeletons in Villar's closet, I wonder how Dolphy can still afford to make claims of "walang bahid, walang malisya" in his endorsement of Villar! Never mind Willy, he is just as wily as Villar. Besides, his words will only have weight within the confines of his noon time show! (Oh, I almost forgot that Dolphy is a comedianne!...and so is Willy!)

A Philippines that works - From NoyNews-

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:35:00 +0000

Villar's refusal to face the senate inquiry on the C5 Extension Project only confirms suspicion that he had indeed enriched himself in office. If he has nothing to hide, he has nothing to fear in the senate inquiry. But his continued refusal to attend the senate session serves as proof of his guilt. If he is innocent as he and his party mates claim he is, there is nothing that should stop him to clear his name on the issue. He can not be trusted much less expected to have transparency in governance should his billions in campaign funds succeed in buying him into Malacanang! To think that as a senator, he can already do such things...how much more when he becomes president. Kung walang bahid according to Dolphy, bakit takot humarap at ilabas ang katotohanan. All these so-called righteous people Villar supporters, like Senator Legarda, Joker Arroyo, Peter Cayetano, and Satur Ocampo should talk Villar into facing thecharges hurled against him....lest their own credibility goes down with him. If they think Villar's billions in his campaign kitty will buy them through this controversy, they may be in for the biggest surprise in their political careers....they may all find themselves in the dust bin of political history.

A Philippines that works

The latest display of parliamentary behavior best exemplifies why we desperately need a Philippines that works. Biro ninyo, pati ba ho naman sex jokes at personalang pagpapatol ang tinitira ng ibang mga senador.

Hindi daw sisipot sa senado ang akusado dahil he "will not get a fair trial.” I'm sorry Mr Villar, pero bilyones ho ng taongbayan ang pinaguusapan dito. Don't WE deserve a fair trial?

This is why the Philippines “doesn’t work” in so many different levels: because the system has shamelessly been broken by its leaders.

This is why we need change. This is why we need transformation. Kaya po kailangan natin ng mga pinunong may paninindigan. We’ve entrusted our country to that kind of leadership before, I don’t see why we can’t do it again.

Tita Cory’s birthday rekindled the memory of those golden years – as golden as the sunshine she wore. Her sunlight has been cast on her son, and last week at the MBC, I don’t think anyone could dispute that in his economic policy speech he radiated the wisdom, integrity and practical-mindedness we need in a leader.

The battlecry is simple: pag walang korapt, walang mahirap. The mission itself may be more challenging. It will involve all of us working together as a nation to set in motion the plans Sen Noynoy Aquino has beautifully envisioned (I highly recommend you take time to read or watch the speech).

Tayo, sa halip na ikaw at ako. Pag nagkaisa tayo, we are well on our way toward a Philippines that works.

~ Nina Sanchez,
Editor

Merry Christmas To One And All!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Fri, 25 Dec 2009 00:40:00 +0000

Hot Glitter Comments @ GlitzHeaven.com

INTO THE HANDS OF THIEVES!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:03:00 +0000

I am reposting this article in the light of new developments in the 2010 Poll Computerization Project being undertaken by controversial Smartmatic in behalf of COMELEC. As per latest news reports, Smartmatic has subcontracted the manufacturing of the vote counting machines to Qisda, China instead of Jarltech, Taiwan which they claimed to have 10% ownership of during the bidding process. Apparently, I was right when I pointed out that the whole thing (about Jarltech) was merely to win the bidding process and circumvent COMELEC bid rules.What worries me is the fact that the whole run-around is being done with the blessings of the Poll Body. I feel there is a need for utmost vigilance from here on and that both Smartmatic and Comelec must be made to explain the diversion from the original winning bid documents!

(My original post)

Today, I grieve for my country!

Today marks the day when the COMELEC (Commission On Elections of the Philippines) awards the contract for the Poll Computerization Project to Smartmatic!

Today marks the day when the COMELEC is handing over Philippine Democracy to the hands of thieves!

Today marks the day when our freedom to choose our rulers becomes a farce, a cheap sideshow!

Who is Smartmatic?

FACT: Smartmatic is a Venezuelan company funded by the Venezuelan Government under the Dictator Hugo Chavez who narrowly won a recall election which used the questionable Smartmatic machines.

Smartmatic: Hugo Chavez's e-voting firm

London 14.08.05 | The Florida register of companies contains details of the board of directors of Smartmatic Corporation, which is formed by Antonio Mugica, Alfredo Anzola, Antonio Mugica Rivero, Roger Piñate, Antonio Mugica Sesma and Luis Feliu . Its principal place of business is 1001 Broken Sound Parkway, NW, STE D, Boca Raton, FL 33487. The company's history in Venezuela dates back to seven years ago when the venture was "the Research and Development Unit of Panagroup in Venezuela" .

The Miami Herald reported on Friday May 28, 2004 [ F2 EDITION]:

"A large and powerful investor in the software company that will design electronic ballots and record votes for Venezuela's new and much criticized election system is the Venezuelan government itself... Venezuela's investment in Bizta Corp., the ballot software firm, gives the government 28 percent ownership of the company it will use to help deliver voting results in future elections, including the possible recall referendum against President Hugo Chavez, according to records obtained by The Herald... Until a year ago, the Bizta Corp. was a struggling Venezuelan software company with barely a sales deal to its name, records show. Then, the Venezuelan government -- through a venture capital fund -- invested about $200,000 and bought 28 percent of it" (sic).

Venezuelan journalist Orlando Ochoa Teran investigated the claims published by the Miami Herald and discovered that Venezuelan officials were behind the incorporation of Smartmatic. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel and Venezuelan Ambassador to the USA Bernardo Alvarez Herrera are intimately related, either through long time friendship or consanguinity relationship, to the directors of Smartmatic. According to registry documents, that went missing after the Herald blew the whistle, the names associated to the company are Alfredo Anzola, Antonio Mugica and families Gabaldon-Anzola and Herrera-Oropeza . The incorporation of Smartmatic took place in the Fifth Mercantile Registry, located in the ground floor of tower B in “Cubo Negro” building in Chuao Caracas. Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel's daughter -lawyer Gisela Rangel Avalos de D'Armas was, at the time, the head of the said registry.
Since March 2004 the CNE has disbursed at least $131 million to Smartmatic.

FICTION: Smartmatic International is a Dutch Corporation!

While it is true that Smartmatic International is registered in Amsterdam, its owners remains to be the same. The registry of the Amsterdam Chamber of Commerce, contains details of a venture trading under the name Smartmatic International Holding B.V., incorporated, under a different name, on March 18th 1.985. Its registered address is Naritaweg 165 Telestone 8, 1043BW Amsterdam. The company activities are described as "to purchase, develop and manage property and goods" . The sole shareholder of the holding is Amola Investments N.V., which in turn was incorporated in the registry of the Chamber of Commerce of Curaçao, under number 91615. A search for Amola Investments N.V. in the register of Curaçao's Chamber of Commerce returns no results. However the incorporation number does exist in the register, containing not information related to Amola Investments N.V. but to another company by the name of Smartmatic International Group N.V. Curaçao Corporation Company N.V. , Netherlands Antilles Corporation Company N.V. and Roger Alejandro Piñate Martinez -Vice President, Special Operations of Smartmatic Corporation - are the three listed statutory and managing directors of the group.

Evidently, Smartmatic's registration with the Amsterdam Chamber Of Commerce was a ploy to make it appear that it is a Dutch company. Apparently, this is in preparation to making a bid for the computerization of the Venezuelan elections as well as to buy total controlling interest on Sequoia Voting System which has a contract to run elections in a county in Chicago, USA.

FACT: Smartmatic does not have a manufacturing facility of its own and only subcontracts its machines with other manufacturing companies which do not carry the products Smartmatic is offering in their catalogs. As in the Venezuelan experience, Smartmatic bought the machines from Olivetti in Italy which never had prior experience in manufacturing electoral machines before.

Info Venezuela News had this to say on the matter:

20.000 AES300 machines were bought from Olivetti, however the Italian firm does not have such a model in its catalog of products but one called MAEL 205, which was designed to play lottery. Ochoa noted that the said machines produced by Olivetti were sold to Peru, India and Tunisia not for electoral purposes. Smartmatic did not fulfill the CNE's criteria in terms of experience in organization and conduct of electoral processes of companies that participated in the bidding process. The obstacle was circumvented by hiring Jorge Tirado, former contractor of IFES and director of Caribbean Government Consultants (CGC):

Jorge Tirado, president of CGC, has been consultant for the State Electoral Commission of Puerto Rico since1975. He has participated in more than 63 electoral processes as consultant or as head of CGC, leading technological initiatives and process lines to ensure transparent elections.

However El Universal reported that Tirado had indeed participated in 63 electoral processes not in the condition of organizer but as an observer contracted by IFES , Jimmy Carter's organization with which he has an old relationship.

FICTION: Smartmatic owns 10% of Jarltech Taiwan which will manufacture the PCOS machines.

Smartmatic's claim of 10% ownership of Jarltech has not been thoroughly verified by COMELEC's SBAC, and available information about Jarltech does not include Smartmatic as one of its investors. For a PHP 11.3B project, it is but prudent that extensive investigation on the matter must first be made and not rely merely on notarized documents submitted by the bidder (which can easily be fabricated). Besides, PCOS machines have never been fabricated by Jarltech before and this will be the first time they will be producing such machines - which make Smartmatic ineligible in terms of organization and experience in the conduct of electoral processes.

Smartmatic have had a history of circumventing rules to bag a contract as in the Venezuelan experience where they subcontracted the machines to Olivetti. Since COMELEC rules clearly forbids subcontracting the manufacture of the machines, Comelec in possible collusion with Smartmatic officials is bending rules at this point by relaxing eligibility requirements of bidders.

The whole idea behind the prohibition of subcontracting machines is to make sure the bidder has the manufacturing capability to undertake the project on one hand. On the other hand, it is for security purposes since the only one who undergoes the COMELEC's scrutiny is the bidder and not its subcontractors. For a matter as sensitive as the country's electoral process, this is one area we must all be concerned with. It is a matter we must see to the very end.

FACT: Smartmatic Sold US subsidiary due to CFIUS investigation

Smartmatic purchased Sequoia, a leading voting-equipment vendor, in 2005. The company has been under a cloud of suspicion since the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, or CFIUS, began a national-security investigation last fall. The concern was that the Venezuela, headed by President Hugo Chávez, who is known for anti-U.S. antics, might have undue influence in Smartmatic. Given the growing distrust of electronic-voting systems and the fear of vote manipulation, careful review of Smartmatic was justified. Smartmatic initially resisted the CFIUS investigation. Later, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Justice Department had undertaken a different investigation of Smartmatic. This investigation was related to possible bribes and tax evasion in Smartmatic's sale of voting equipment to Venezuela's government for use in its 2004 presidential recall election.

FACT: Smartmatic has a convoluted ownership structure

Smartmatic's ownership structure is so convoluted that it is virtually impossible to verify all its owners. Parent company Smartmatic International is owned by a Netherlands company, which is owned by Curacao trusts, which in turn, are controlled by unnamed investors.
The Venezuelan government once had a stake in a company closely linked to Smartmatic. Venezuela invested in Bizta, which is owned by two of Smartmatic's main owners, including Mr. Mujica. Bizta provides software for Smartmatic's voting system and joined Smartmatic in selling that system to the Chávez government for the 2004 recall election. Venezuela sold its stake in Bizta after The Miami Herald reported on the investment, which prompted complaints that the Chávez government shouldn't have any interest in machines that would determine his stay in office.

FACT: The Smartmatic machines used in the last ARMM election showed some faults. When the machines were presented before Congress, the same faults were noticed. During the just concluded technical evaluation of the machines, smoke came out of the cables.

Observers to the ongoing technical evaluation of the machines were also prevented from using their cell phones while machine testing was ongoing as they claim the cellphone signals may interfere with the machines' transmission of data....an open admission of a possible machine flaw which amazingly no one paid much attention to.

WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF ALL THESE?

There must be a hidden agenda behind the uncanny haste with which the COMELEC is pushing the Poll Computerization Project. I can even relate the recent Congress' approval of ChaCha as a smoke screen to divert people's attention to it so that the awarding of the project to Smartmatic will go on without a hitch and the project implemented promptly. It is equally concerning that the Parish Pastoral Council have not raised any of these points during the technical evaluation.

Huge Arms Cache Dug Out Behind Ampatuan Mansions! Who owns them?

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:45:00 +0000

After digging up a huge arms cache in a vacant lot behind the Ampatuan mansions, authorities also raided the NFA warehouse which also turned out to have a sizeable amount of sophisticated weapons and ammunitions and military vehicles. Although they have an idea as to who owns these military hardware, they were careful to point out that they yet have to establish ownership of the same.

Well, they need not go far. They can ask Sham Ampatuan (Zaldy Ampatuan's son?) He has blatantly published pictures of himself showing him test firing these weapons on his public Friendster profile. I am publishing the pictures here before he decides to go private and/or delete the pictures!

These pictures should help them establish ownership of the huge arms cache. They may also contain pictures of possible suspects who might have participated in the actual massacre!

So The World Will See: Unpublished Photos Of The Maguindanao Massacre

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 10:54:00 +0000

"Political warlords massacring 57 female foes, lawyers, newsmen, and passersby. The President running for Congress, together with four family members. Appointees campaigning for various offices but not resigning as the law requires. Crime cohorts also running for office instead of going to jail. The 2010 election is off to a most indecent start. So this early Filipinos can say they’re headed for politics worse than ever." - from GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) Updated December 02, 2009

The following photos have been circulating around social networks particularly at Facebook yet they have not seen the light of day on the pages of major dailies! Gruesome? Monstrous? You bet! I am publishing them here so the world will see to what extent these monsters will go to remain in power! Warning: if you have a weak heart, please don't proceed any further!

For a clear recap on the Maguindanao Massacre, here is a link to Jun Mercado's account of the incident including an insight of the various incidents leading to this fatal day - The Maguindanao Massacre Part 1.

SHAME ON YOU! LIST OF CONGRESSMEN WHO VOTED FOR THE CON ASS

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 05:57:00 +0000

In answer to Lilla Shahani's call to thwart Glora Arroyo's grand scheme to stay in power, I am also reposting this list of congessmen who voted for the con con. This is our "Shame On You List" of congressmen we should not vote for in 2010.

So the people will know. I am herewith publishing the names of the Philippine congressmen who, against the wishes of, and without consultations with the Filipino people insisted on pushing the legislation that aims to transform the legislative body into a constitutional assembly that will make changes to country's charter. They did this brazen act instead of spending time for more urgent matters requiring their attention for a long, long time like the extension of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program which the farmers have been clamoring for some time now. Read and remember their names. Do not forget them come election time! Do not forget that these are the congressmen who'd rather work for their selfish ends than attend to the concerns of their constituents. Let us relive the spirit of EDSA 1 and trash into oblivion all these trapo politicians in 2010!

ABANTE, Bienvenido M., Manila;
ABLAN, Roque R. Jr., Ilocos Norte;
AGBAYANI, Victor Aguedo E., Pangasinan;
AGYAO, Manuel S., Kalinga;
ALBANO, Rodolfo T. (III), Isabela;
ALFELOR, Felix R. Jr., Camarines Sur;
ALMARIO, Thelma Z., Davao Or.;
ALVAREZ, Antonio C., Palawan;
ALVAREZ, Genaro Rafael M. Jr., Negros Occ.;
AMANTE, Edelmiro A., Agusan del Norte;
AMATONG, Rommel C., Compostela Valley;
ANGPING, Maria Zenaida B., Manila;
ANTONINO, Rodolfo W., Nueva Ecija;
APOSTOL, Trinidad G., Leyte;
AQUINO, Jose S. (II), Agusan del Norte;
ARAGO, Maria Evita R., Laguna;
ARBISON, Munir M., Sulu;
ARENAS, Ma. Rachel J., Pangasinan;
ARROYO, Diosdado M., Camarines Sur;
ARROYO, Ignacio T., Negros Occ.;
ARROYO, Juan Miguel M., Pampanga;
BAGATSING, Amado S., Manila;
BALINDONG, Pangalian M., Lanao del Sur;
BARZAGA, Elpidio F. Jr., Cavite;
BAUTISTA, Franklin P., Davao del Sur;
BELMONTE, Vicente F. Jr., Lanao del Norte;
BICHARA, Al Francis C., Albay;
BIRON, Ferjenel G., Iloilo;
BONDOC, Anna York P., Pampanga;
BONOAN-DAVID, Ma. Theresa B., Manila;
BRAVO, Narciso R. Jr., Masbate;
BRIONES, Nicanor M., AGAP Party List;
BUHAIN, Eileen Ermita, Batangas;
BULUT, Elias C. Jr., Apayao;
CAGAS, Marc Douglas C. (IV), Davao del Sur;
CAJAYON, Mary Mitzi L., Bohol;
CAJES, Roberto C., Bohol;
CARI, Carmen L., Leyte;
CASTRO, Fredenil H., Capiz;
CELESTE, Arthur F., Pangasinan;
CERILLES, Antonio H., Zamboanga del Sur;
CHATTO, Edgardo M., Bohol;
CHONG, Glenn A., Biliran;
CHUNGALAO, Solomon R., Ifugao;
CLARETE, Marina P., Misamis Occ.;
CODILLA, Eufrocino M. Sr., Leyte;
COJUANGCO, Mark O., Pangasinan;
COQUILLA, Teodulo M., Eastern Samar;
CRISOLOGO, Vincent P., Quezon City;
CUA, Junie E., Quirino;
CUENCO, Antonio V., Cebu City;
DANGWA, Samuel M., Benguet;
DATUMANONG, Simeon A., Maguindanao;
DAYANGHIRANG, Nelson L., Davao Or.;
DAZA, Nanette C., Quezon City;
DAZA, Paul R., Northern Samar;
DE GUZMAN, Del R., Marikina City;
DEFENSOR, Arthur D. Sr., Iloilo;
DEFENSOR, Matias V. Jr., Quezon City;
DEL MAR, Raul V., Cebu City;
DIASNES, Carlo Oliver D., Batanes;
DIMAPORO, Abdullah D., Lanao del Norte;
DOMOGAN, Mauricio G., Baguio;
DUAVIT, Michael John R, Rizal;
DUENAS, Henry M. Jr., Taguig;
DUMARPA, Faysah Omaira M., Lanao del Sur;
DUMPIT, Thomas L. Jr., La Union;
DURANO, Ramon H. (IV), Cebu;
ECLEO, Glenda B., Dinagat Islands;
EMANO, Yevgeny Vincente B., Misamis Or.;
ENVERGA, Wilfrido Mark M., Quezon;
ESTRELLA, Conrado M. (III), Pangasinan;
ESTRELLA, Robert Raymundo M., ABONO Party List;
FERRER, Jeffrey P., Negros Occ.;
GARAY, Florencio C., Surigao del Sur;
GARCIA, Albert S., Bataan;
GARCIA, Pablo John F., Cebu;
GARCIA, Pablo P., Cebu;
GARCIA, Vincent J., Davao City;
GARIN, Janette L., Iloilo;
GATCHALIAN, Rexlon T., Valenzuela City;
GATLABAYAN, Angelito C., Antipolo City;
GO, Arnulfo F., Sultan Kudarat;
GONZALES, Aurelio D. Jr.; Pampanga
GONZALES, Raul T. Jr., Iloilo City;
GULLAS, Eduardo R., Cebu;
GUNIGUNDO, Magtanggol T., Valenzuela City;
HOFER, Dulce Ann K., Zamboanga Sibugay;
JAAFAR, Nur G., Tawi-Tawi;
JALA, Adam Relson L., Bohol;
JALOSJOS, Cesar G., Zamboanga del Norte;
JALOSJOS-CARREON, Cecilia G., Zamboanga del Norte;
JIKIRI, Yusop H., Sulu; KHO, Antonio T., Masbate:
LABADLABAD, Rosendo S., Zamboanga del Norte;
LACSON, Jose Carlos (V), Negros Occ.;
LAGDAMEO, Antonio F. Jr., Davao del Norte;
LAPUS, Jeci A., Tarlac;
LAZATIN, Carmelo F., Pampanga;
LIM, Reno G., Albay;
LOPEZ, Jaime C., Manila;
MADRONA, Eleandro Jesus F., Romblon;
MAGSAYSAY, Maria Milagros H., Zambales;
MALAPITAN, Oscar G., Caloocan City;
MAMBA, Manuel N., Cagayan;
MANGUDADATU, Datu Pax S., Sultan Kudarat;
MARANON, Alfredo D. (III), Negros Occ.;
MATUGAS, Francisco T., Surigao del Norte;
MENDOZA, Mark Leandro L., Batangas;
MERCADO, Roger G., Southern Leyte;
MIRAFLORES, Florencio T., Aklan;
NAVA, Joaquin Carlos Rahman A., Guimaras;
NICOLAS, Reylina G., Bulacan;
NOGRALES, Prospero C., Davao City;
OLAÑO, Arrel R., Davao del Norte;
ONG, Emil L., Northern Samar;
ORTEGA, Victor Francisco C., La Union;
PABLO, Ernesto C., APEC Party List;
PANCHO, Pedro M., Bulacan;
PANCRUDO, Candido P. Jr., Bukidnon;
PICHAY, Philip A., Surigao del Sur;
PIÑOL, Bernardo F. Jr., North Cotabato;
PUNO, Roberto V., Antipolo City;
RAMIRO, Herminia M., Misamis Occ.;
REMULLA, Jesus Crispin C., Cavite;
REYES, Carmencita O., Marinduque;
REYES, Victoria H., Batangas;
ROBES, Arturo B., San Jose del Monte City;
RODRIGUEZ-ZALDARRIAGA, Adelina, Rizal;
ROMAN, Herminia B., Bataan;
ROMARATE, Guillermo A. Jr., Surigao del Norte;
ROMUALDEZ, Ferdinand Martin G., Leyte;
ROMUALDO, Pedro, Camiguin;
ROMULO, Roman T., Pasig City;
ROXAS, Jose Antonio F., Pasay City;
SALIMBANGON, Benhur, Cebu;
SALVACION, Andres D. Jr., Leyte;
SAN LUIS, Edgar S., Laguna;
SANDOVAL, Alvin S., Malabon-Navotas;
SANTIAGO, Joseph A., Catanduanes;
SANTIAGO, Narciso D. (III), ARC Party List;
SEACHON-LANETE, Rizalina L., Masbate;
SEARES-LUNA, Cecilia M., Abra;
SILVERIO, Lorna C., Bulacan;
SINGSON, Eric D., Ilocos Sur;
SINGSON, Ronald V., Ilocos Sur;
SOLIS, Jose G., Sorsogon;
SOON-RUIZ, Nerissa Corazon, Cebu;
SUAREZ, Danilo E., Quezon;
SUSANO, Mary Ann L., Quezon City;
SY-ALVARADO, Ma. Victoria R., Bulacan;
SYJUCO, Judy J., Iloilo;
TALIÑO-MENDOZA, Emmylou J., North Cotabato;
TAN, Sharee Ann T., Western Samar;
TEODORO, Marcelino R., Marikina City;
TEODORO, Monica Louise Prieto, Tarlac;
TEVES, Pryde Henry A., Negros Or.;
TUPAS, Neil C. Jr., Iloilo;
UNGAB, Isidro T., Davao City;
UY, Edwin C., Isabela;
UY, Reynaldo S., Western Samar;
UY, Rolando A., Cagayan de Oro City;
VALDEZ, Edgar L., APEC Party List;
VALENCIA, Rodolfo G., Or. Mindoro;
VARGAS, Florencio L., Cagayan;
VILLAFUERTE, Luis R., Camarines Sur;
VILLAROSA, Ma. Amelita C., Occ. Mindoro;
VIOLAGO, Joseph Gilbert F., Nueva Ecija;
YAP, Jose V., Tarlac;
YU, Victor J., Zamboanga del Sur;
ZAMORA, Manuel E., Compostela Valley;
ZIALCITA, Eduardo C., Parañaque.

The Maguindanao Massacre - An Eyewitness Account

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Thu, 26 Nov 2009 07:11:00 +0000

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

The prime suspect in the Maguindanao Massacre gave himself up this morning to authorities. He denied any participation in the crime.(Rubbish!) A reporter from Al Jazeera.net, Marga Ortigas, who is In Buluan to cover the event, reported talking to an eyewitness to the incident. Here is an excerpt of her report:

"His surrender comes as a man who says he was a witness to Monday's killings told Al Jazeera that Ampatuan Jr had directly ordered the massacre targeting a political rival for the provincial governorship.

The witness, who identified himself only as "Boy", said he was among more than 100 armed men who held up a convoy of political campaigners and journalists before taking them to a remote mountainous area.

He said Ampatuan Jr had ordered the gunmen to kill all the members of a rival political clan, including women and children, and to make sure no evidence was left behind.

"Datu Andal himself said… anyone from the Mangudadatu clan - women or children - should be killed," he told Al Jazeera.

"We don't ask why, we just follow orders."

"Boy", who is now in hiding fearing his life is in danger, said all of the women in the group had been raped before being killed and their bodies dumped in mass graves that had already been dug out using an excavator."

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

With a backhoe from the provincial motorpool having been used to dig up the shallow graves for the victims (left in the crime scene apparently in a hurried escape), an accusing finger must be pointed at the older Ampatuan too! Ampatuan Sr. must also be charged as an accessory to this crime. Everyone responsible must be punished. Let us not be fooled into accepting Ampatuan Jr. as the sole escape goat for this despicable crime.

Latest Update On the Maguindanao Massacre

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:51:00 +0000

46 bodies have been dug so far. This despicable act was pre-meditated...planned and executed by no less than the 'political monster' created by GMA herself. It must be recalled that the Ampatuans delivered the crucial votes for GMA in the 2004 elections, and a 12-0 victory for GMA's senatorial bets in 2007. Maguindanao was also were the first dry run for computerized elections was help during the ARMM elections where Zaldy Ampatuan won hands down. Expect the worst for the coming 2010 elections.

For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Secretary Jesus Dureza with the Ampatuans immediately after the massacre"Concocting a whitewash?"

30 Killed In Poll Related Violence - Expect The Worst For the 2010 Philippine Elections!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:24:00 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

6 months away from the 2010 elections and barely 4 days after the start of the filing of the Certificates of Candidacies, and already 30 people died in the most violent 2010 poll related incident in the Philippines. Buluan vice mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu who is running for governor of Maguindanao told ANC that his wife, Jenalyn, his sister, and some relatives together with some 15 media men who went to cover the event were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy on his behalf when a group of about 100 armed men abducted them.

Responding Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel, the 601st Infrantry Brigade, recovered 13 female and 8 male bodies were found around 4:30 p.m. Monday. In a phone interview with ABS-CBN News, Buluan Mayor Ibrahim "Jong" Mangudadatu confirmed that at least 30 bodies have been recovered as of Monday evening. Madaser "Toy" Mangudadato, a member of regional legislative assembly of ARMM, told ANC that they sent their female relatives to file the certificate of candidacy for "Toto" in the hope that their political rivals would not harm them. Earlier, it was reported that the Ampatuans warned that if Toto will personally file his candidacy, he will be hurt.

The Ampatuans are known allies of the administration, and the audacity with which the crime was committed in broad daylight only goes to show to what extent these politicians are willing to go to remain in power.

Here are the news accounts from the two major television networks networks. Unfortunately the news accounts are in the local language and no annotations are available.

<p>This page requires a higher version browser</p>
For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV

Noynoy Aquino @ "GMA's Isang Tanong, Isang Sagot"

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 06:54:00 +0000

Together with the other presidentiables, Noynoy Aquino went under the spotlight in GMA'S "Eleksyon 2010 Isang Tanong, Isang Sagot", a GMA public affairs program that let the viewers know more about their candidates. My apologies to non -Filipino readers, the following video is in the local dialect and there are no translations nor annotations available.

Take A Load Of This! - A Potshot on Philippine Politics Today

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 05:11:00 +0000

If you were entertained by the popular Korean "Nobela", Boys Over Flowers, you'll surely find it hilariously entertaining watching the unfolding daily drama known as the Philippine Presidential Elections 2010.

Words of Warning: The performances of the above actors and actress in the forthcoming presidential campaigns can be deceptively convincing enough to divert your attention away from the unfinished tasks of EDSA Revolution of 1986!

The Open Letter To FVR From Lila Ramos Shahani

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:42:00 +0000

Yup! You guessed it right. Lila Ramos Shahani is the niece of former president Fidel V. Ramos. I came across her new blog Notes From An Insomniac - forays into things elliptical by Lila R. Shahani (through Noynoy Aquino's website). Lila is currently working on her doctorate at Oxford and doing consultancies for the UN on the side. Little known to the Filipinos, she must have grown up and schooled abroad, Lila's blog shows that her heart and soul is more pinoy than many of us. Lila has chosen to be outspoken as she boldly pronounced her stand on Philippine politics - to no less than former president Fidel V. Ramos who is her uncle, a staunch supporter of GMA, and a political kingmaker.

Her first ever entry on her new blog is an open letter to her uncle FVR. I am posting her letter here in its entirety because I believe every Filipino must read it...I believe this is how every Filipino must think about the forthcoming presidential elections too. Her letter to her infamous uncle shows her genuine concern for the Filipinos.

14 October 2009

Dear Uncle Ed,

I was very relieved to hear that you were all safe and sound in the wake of Ondoy and Pepeng. But how devastating that our people had to go through two such onslaughts (particularly in Pangasinan, Ilocos and Manila -- all of which remain very close to our hearts) one after the other! I hope and pray that the flooding eventually subsides and people are rehabilitated safely. And if Napocor and the San Roque people are in fact partially responsible for the terrible flooding in Pangasinan, I sincerely hope that they are made to face their day in court.

I thought I would write you because I’m concerned about some things that have been happening at home. I am not sure who you will endorse for president but I know that it will most likely tip the balance again, much in the way that your endorsements have done in the past. I have never felt the need to write you before, although I have always carefully observed your decisions through the years.

And I certainly had questions -- questions about human rights during the martial law years, military logging under the Marcos administration, the signing of IPP contracts after the power crisis (and the high cost of electricity for consumers), the San Roque dam, PEA/Amari, the Fort Bonifacio conversion/privatization program, the VFA, the Centennial celebration, the endorsement of Joe de V and the continued support of GMA until the bitter end. I was relieved to learn that you had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the PEA/Amari case, but always wondered whether your decision to endorse Joe de V (which was after all a party decision as well) was inextricably linked to it.

Why am I bringing all this up now? Only to say that, as your niece, I have had many questions about your decisions through the years, but none that ever made me feel the need to engage with you at length. To begin with, ours was not a particularly discursive relationship. More importantly, I always felt the need to give you the benefit of the doubt, and trusted that you had the best interests of the Filipino people at heart.

And there was certainly ample evidence that you had done tremendous things in your lifetime. Not only were you a hero of EDSA 1: you had had a brilliant military career and were arguably one of the best presidents the country has ever had. Winning by only a small margin, you turned what might have been a costly liability into the success of pluralism. With liberalization and deregulation during your term, FDI increased and the economy as a whole remained strong, even throughout the Asian financial crisis. In fact, privatization, revenue generation through a VAT on luxury goods and services, working with the communist and Muslim insurgency, and focusing on OFW rights (particularly in the case of Flor Contemplacion) -- were all hallmarks of your administration, and certainly the kind of decisions my Fletcher professors would have applauded. Indeed, the suggestions of corruption were minimal, seen in the context of all your positive contributions and in comparison with preceding and succeeding presidents. Without a doubt.

But I finally had to break my silence after having watched the Ondoy aftermath with horror, realizing that our government was as much to blame for the colossal loss of life and habitation in the country as was climate change. As an engineer, you know that the flooding was also due to poor civil engineering, urban planning and zoning; lack of waste management; lack of education and corruption.

The thought of your supporting Gibo (or even a Villar/Escudero tandem, for that matter, in the event that Gibo has become too unpopular since Ondoy) was finally enough to make me put pen to paper. Without a doubt, Gibo is “incomparably competent,” but then so were Joe de V and GMA, Uncle Ed -- and look what happened. I understand that you supported GMA because you wanted macroeconomic stability in the country above all, particularly in the apparent absence of any viable alternatives.

But I think the sweep of history speaks for itself: competent candidates with strong party affiliations are not necessarily going to be good leaders, nor will they necessarily be what the people want. Because they lack a certain basic honesty, and I suspect the people sense that. If Gibo were sincere, why would he stay with Lakas-CMD, particularly now that the merger with Kampi has been honored by the Supreme Court? Surely the ruling party has been discredited at this point, in view of everything GMA has done? There really is no need to enumerate anymore: I think, by now, we’re all pretty familiar with what those things are.

Even Obama was reluctant to have an audience with her, and overseas Filipinos continue to refuse to send money to the Ondoy victims through their embassies and consulates, so deep indeed is their distrust of the government! Moreover, his performance in the post-Ondoy relief effort has hardly been stellar, as you must have already noted. Gibo is also undoubtedly backed by Danding (despite the alleged rift), which suggests that the two things that very much impede progress in our country -- monopolies and oligarchy itself -- will ultimately remain unchanged. This is ostensibly the reason why many young people remain wary of Chiz/Loren or Villar/Escudero. As for Manny V, his meteoric rise to power is nothing short of impressive, to be sure, but his proclivity for engaging in back-room deals has certainly not gone unnoticed. In short, what we see in these candidates appears to be more of the same -- a position, I might add, we can no longer afford, and certainly not at this critical moment in our nation’s history.

Of course Erap’s decision to run will split up the opposition even further, which certainly strengthens the ruling party’s hand. But perhaps my biggest fear about Gibo (apart from the very real possibility that, in subtle ways, the ruling party might cheat) has to do with the fact that charter change appears to be imminent, in which case, if GMA runs for Congress in the meantime, it is not entirely inconceivable that she could become our next Prime Minister. To be sure, you would be granted the same type of soft power you’ve been granted during GMA’s administration, but is it really worth it in the end, Uncle Ed? Do you really want to go down in history as the guy who saved GMA after “Hello, Garci” and who continued to hand the country down to its unscrupulous elite from one administration to another? Isn’t the respect of the young -- and of history itself -- the most important thing, at the end of the day? In my humble opinion, the best way to refurbish the fading Eddie brand now is to do the right thing and heed the will of the people.

Noynoy, of course, is less than perfect: we all know that. His record is remarkable only in its lack of remarkable achievements, and he certainly isn’t a particularly brilliant thinker or charismatic speaker. But he has never been tainted by any suggestions of corruption and does not appear to have the propensity to throw his weight around. He is apparently thoughtful, respectful and humble, and we can only hope that his lineage will encourage him to sacrifice for the country the way his extraordinary parents did. Because of this inimitable heritage, he is now the one candidate with the potential to unite the opposition against the ruling party. For his part, Mar is no slouch, moreover, and the Liberal Party appears to have some progressive elements.

The point is: the people are clearly tired, not just of the “bickering,” as you say, but of the trapos themselves, and are willing to bet on someone who falls very far outside the standard mold (Noynoy is, if you will, a reluctant Cojuangco, something many respect and appreciate). At any rate, I sincerely hope you will consider my thoughts -- the thoughts of a young Filipina who loves her country immeasurably -- when you make your decision.

But none of this changes my love and respect for you, Uncle Ed. I’m just sorely disappointed and hope that, for once in my life, you might actually recognize that I'm old enough to make my own assessments. Nor does this mean that I’m not a “team player.” Because my definition of teamwork is not that you command the team and everyone is thereby obligated to obey you. Instead, team members should be able to have different view points, while still working together for the greater good of the collective whole. In fact, democratic exchange within the team can often enhance the quality of its collective decisions on the whole.

I sincerely hope that you place the country over any other considerations and choose the candidate who is really best for the country, and not in terms of who might further consolidate the tremendous power you already wield.

I hope you won’t be offended by what I have written (and hope you understand if I decide to include some of these ideas in my new blog) but, at 42, I think I’m finally entitled to my own opinion, Uncle Ed. You are after all the only father figure I have ever had (although you may not know it) and I’m writing you the way I would have written my own father, had I just been given a chance.

Please take care of yourself.

Love always,

Lil

Let us just hope the uncle will listen his niece because her thoughts are also the thoughts of millions of suffering Filipinos today.

My Apologies To My Entrecard Droppers!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:22:00 +0000

My sincerest apologies to all my Entrecard droppers.....I have not been able to reciprocate your drops for the last 8 days.....my internet connection went poooped for the last 8 days. Apparently, my phone lines were accidentally?!? cut off by another phone/ISP provider! Worst, it took 8 days for my own service provider to resolve the issue...after almost a dozen frantic calls from me...after I finally lost my temper and hollered like hell at the service agent on the other line.

I'm back to my dropaholic form with a promise not to miss a single day again!

Mea Culpa!

Failure Of Philippine Elections In 2010 Is More Than Likely - Read This!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 05:46:00 +0000

Remember Manuel Zelaya?....The former Honduran president who was ousted in June, 2009 through a military coup? Through an undoubtedly well-planned military operation executed in one single day, Zelaya was arrested and deported at gunpoint. He was supposed to complete his presidential term later this year but he was calling for a referendum to change the constitution so he can remain in power beyond the one term limit imposed by their constitution.

Apart from the similarities in their intentions to hang on to power beyond their constitutionally mandated term limits (of ousted Hondurian president Manuel Zelaya and incumbent Philippine president Gloria Arroyo), I am not inclined to discuss the Honduran incident any further than mentioning the common morbid intention of both leaders.

However, what struck me cold was an incident reported in the Honduran press after the ouster of Zelaya!

Computerized Election Results With No Election
july 10 | kdawson

Posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 12:23:58 AM by Pessimist

"In Honduras, according to breaking Catalan newspaper reports (translations available, USA Today mention), authorities have seized 45 computers containing certified election results for a constitutional election that never happened. The election had been scheduled for June 28, but on that day the president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted. The 'certified' and detailed electronic records of the non-existent election show Zelaya's side having won overwhelmingly."

Guess who supplied Honduras the computerized counting machines!.... The same consortium who will be supplying the machines for the Philippine's 2010 elections!... The same consortium that has supplied the same machines and kept Zelaya's friend and mentor Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in power!

With this revelation, you should not now wonder why practically everyone in Arroyo's cabinet have signified their intentions to run for public office in the coming 2010 elections! You should not wonder now why a practically unknown figure in Philippine politics, with no party affiliations at all to begin with, and only boasts of being Arroyo's Defense Secretary for a short while would run for the highest position in the country. You should not now wonder why Arroyo and her henchmen have the nerve and the gall to call for a charter change like Manuel Zelaya....why they have the nerve to go on wanton spending binges abroad while the rest of the country is mired in poverty!

You should no longer wonder...because Arroyo and her henchmen have the 2010 stage set to their advantage! They know they only need to wait for the 2010 elections and the results will be in their favor!

Winners Of The IzeaFest Prize Pack

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 02:26:00 +0000

Today MarketLeverageTV becomes the MarketLeverage TV Network with multiple shows. And during the debut episode of WrapUp the winners of BenSpark's Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack Contest will be chosen.

This contest sprang forth from the mind of Drew Bennett - AKA BenSpark (@BenSpark) after writing his list of 10 Essential items to bring with you to IZEAFest. While writing that post Drew was thinking about all the conferences that he's attended over the years and the things that were essential to a blogger at each event. His dream was to be able to provide those items as prizes to a lucky blogger who will be attending IZEAFest 2009. That along with his 10 Reasons to Attend IZEAFest 2009 gave him inspiration to ask for help in making his dream of giving a great prize pack to some lucky bloggers a reality.

So Drew went out and asked multiple sponsors for help. He is an IZEA Insider for the "I'm Not A Famous Blogger" Crew and as such was provided with tickets to IZEAFest. So prize number one was taken care of. You can't have an Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack without a ticket to IZEAFest. From there Drew recruited the generous help of Dina Riccobono (@MLDina) and MarketLeverage (@MarketLeverage) who provided Drew with an Asus Eee PC 1000HA and a Flip Mino HD that is Co-Branded BenSpark.com and MarketLeverage!

Early on when Drew started his search for prizes he made a request from ZINK Imaging who gave him two Polaroid Pogos and 200 sheets of ZINK Paper. He uses one of them to create unique Business cards. When Drew meets you he asks you to take a photo with him using his Xshot. He then prints out an instant photo with his Pogo on ZINK paper and sticks it to the back of his business card. Drew is donating one of his Polaroid PoGos to the winner. He also secured An Xshot for each winner because there are two runner up winners who not only get IZEAFest Tickets (A fantastic and valuable prize in its own right) but they will each get a smaller prize pack.

Drew's friend Michael at Xshot hooked him up with a business contact in the Flipbac Innovations Company and they kicked in some Flipbac (@flipbac) angled viewfinder and LCD screen protectors for digital cameras as prizes. Each Runner up gets one of those and Drew has a few extra to give away at IZEAFest.

To keep people going all weekend long Drew was able to get a case of BluFrog Wildly Healthy Energy Drink donated by Martha Decker (@MarDeck). He is also including energy drink packets from EBOOST (@EBOOST). Drew will have close to 100 packets to give away at IZEAFest 2009, come find him for one. Runner up winners also get an EBOOST prize pack.

Continuing to fill out his Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack Drew sought out help from one of his "I'm Not A Famous Blogger" crew members, Jennifer Leet (@jentifa. Jennifer is the queen of contests and she connected with one of her sponsors BriteView (@BriteView to get a Cinema Cube to add to the Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack.

Still not quite sure that he had the Ultimate Prize Pack for an IZEAFest attendee Drew sought out something innovative and cool that would reflect the fun open spirit of learning and networking of IZEAFest. He found the perfect prize in the Poken. Drew asked a question on Twitter about whether the Poken was worth the money and the call was answered by @PokenGirl. PokenGirl explained that the Poken is a device that one can use to connect with other people physically by slapping a "High 4" with that other person's Poken. What that does is exchange a digital business card that contains your online social media profiles. Since IZEAFest is all about learning, having fun and making connections with other people a Poken is a great prize that will be going to each of the winners. They even get to choose which of the cute little Pokens they want.

With the Prize Pack Assembled Drew only needed to find some willing judges and he did at Affiliate Summit East. First he recruited Famous Blogger Murray Newlands (@MurrayNewlands), then "I'm Not A Famous Blogger" crew member Tim Jones (@Timothy_Jones) or rather The Real Tim Jones. He also recruited Eric Schechter @ericschechter of ClickBooth and last but not least he recruited Kim Ann Curtin (@KimAnnCurtin, Life Coach to the Affiliates.

The Judges had a difficult task ahead of them. There were four bloggers who went that extra mile to try for the Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack. Those folks along with the many others who entered the random drawing are waiting on the edge of their seats until WrapUp airs on the MarketLeverage TV Network Monday Morning 10:30am EST.

Need Help In Looking For The Best Web Hosting Service? Try Web Hosting Geeks!

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Tue, 05 May 2009 09:01:00 +0000

Looking for the best web hosting service provider is not an easy task. It can be hopelessly difficult and truly confusing - what with hundreds of sites making a claim to be the best service provider in this category. (It's just like looking for a needle in a haystack!) A Google search for the 'best web hosting services' will yield 42,100,000 results while a Yahoo search came up with 269,000,000 sites. What may add up to your confusion is the fact that these major search engine results include sites that rate different web hosting service providers and those that post tips for bloggers - and there are as just as many rating sites as there are website hosting providers (with their numbers constantly increasing everyday).

The first thing you need to do is to first determine your specific website needs prior to choosing your hosting service provider since this will help you tailor fit your choice provider according to your requirements. Once you have determined what you want out of your website, you now need to compare services and benefits offered by the different listed providers. This is where rating sites become handy.

One web hosting rating site that will surely help you in your search for a hosting service provider that meets your needs to the tee is Web Hosting Geeks -Web Hosting Reviews, Rating and Awards since 2004!
This site constantly rates hosting service providers and features the biggest searchable web hosting directory. Web Hosting Geeks provides complete information on all web hosting providers, their web hosting plans, promotional and discount coupons, and includes unedited user comments by real customers in each review. Valuable information about each service provider can be found on this site such as general information about the site, pricing information, easy-install CMS features, availability of marketing bonus credits, domain and email features, site management tools, optimal database administration, scripting language support, eCommerce systems used, security features, and site building tools.

Web Hosting Geeks also provides users with valuable how-to articles to help web site owners gain additional knowledge in building and improving their sites. You can browse through the many useful articles in the Web Hosting Geek's blog.

So, if you are looking for the best web hosting service provider, don't just grab the first attractive ad that comes your way. Analyze and compare each one using Web Hosting Geeks

Visit this site now!

dedicated server hosting

THE LONGEST SERVING, AND THE MOST CORRUPTION-RIDDEN ADMINISTRATION - NEXT ONLY TO MARCOS

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:23:00 +0000

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assumed the presidency of the Philippines after the church-led massive

Image via Wikipedia

demonstrations forced the then incumbent president Joseph Estrada to vacate the presidential palace in the year 2000. Arroyo, being the vice-president then, assumed the presidency. It must be recalled that Estrada won the presidency overwhelmingly two years earlier due in part to his popularity as an actor but mostly for being forever sympathetic to the masses. Estrada won despite the unrelenting all out campaigns launched by various religious sectors and other business personalities against him citing his immoral , philandering ways(Estrada has several wives and mistresses) and belittling his ability to assume the highest position in the land. Estrada’s detractors never really stopped even after he won the elections by the biggest ever margin in Philippine election history. They succeeded in finally ousting him in 2000 throwing away the will of the silent majority who voted him into power into the trash bins of history.

I can still vividly recall the televised statement made by then Chief Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, when interviewed while on his way to administer the oath of office to Arroyo. In that interview, he declared that he is on his way to administer the oath of office on Arroyo as temporary president (since Estrada never really resigned his presidency). But alas, the ’temporary’ became permanent as turn-coat politicians started pledging their loyalties to Arroyo one after the other, and as various branches of the military gave their all out support to the new president. Davide even ruled later on that Arroyo’s governance is legitimate eating up his own words and providing a legal basis to Arroyo’s administration. Arroyo and her henchmen (the same bunch of infidel politicians and military advisers who turned their backs on Marcos, the same bunch who tried to grab power from Cory during her transitional term after martial law) established their foothold on the government.

Arroyo and her henchmen, wizened by experiences from the dictator Marcos’ ouster, and taking cue from former president Ramos’ expert handling of public relations to cover up government anomalies, did what Estrada failed to do! She courted, pampered, and spoiled the military, sealing their loyalty to her government forever. She also strengthened her own previously unpopular and unknown political party by adopting into her political fold the fallen political lackeys of the former dictator Marcos and other political turn coats, putting her two sons and brother in law into the mainstream political scene as congressmen, and solidifying alliances with former president Ramos’ political party.

Circumventing a legal loophole in the constitutional provision for a 6-year single presidential term limit adopted during Corazon Aquino’s presidency, she managed to run for the presidential election in 2004. She would have lost to an equally popular Estrada ally but with the help of an election commissioner (Garci) whom she herself placed into position days before the election, as well as with the help of the military, Arroyo successfully overturned the results of the elections in her favor in the last few days of the counting.
Arroyo has already served 8 years as Philippine president. Her assumption to office in 2000 was mired in controversy. Her electoral victory in 2004 was fraught with fraud! She has resolved to finish her term till 2010. Never the less, her political allies are now silently crafting a bill to amend the constitution designed to keep her and themselves in power! If she succeeds to stay in power till 2010, and especially if her political allies succeed in pushing the bill to make the charter changes, then Arroyo will be the longest serving president after Marcos!

And, much like Marcos, Arroyo’s presidency is mired by a long list of controversies, allegations of graft and corruption, political persecution of the opposition, and assassination of radio and print media practitioners critical of her government.

Among the many controversial issues and charges of Graft and Corruption which have hit the headlines throughout the Arroyo presidency include:
(From Bulatlat.com)

The Jancom Controversy ($360 million garbage incineration project despite the law banning incinerationplants in the country)

The IMPSA PROJECT ($470 million project to rehabilitate the Kalayaan, Caliraya, and Botocan hydropower plants) The approval was signed by then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez. Apparently, the DoJ approval was used by IMPSA to pressure the National Power Corporation (NPC) to make payments. IMPSA received more than $50 million although it had invested only $9 million, and in addition tens of millions of dollars more in fees not provided for in the contract.

The President Diosdado Macapagal Avenue (For this project, the PEA secured a P1 billion loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). PEA director Sulficio Tagud, Jr., however, later disclosed that the project had been overpriced by P533 million. A document in the possession of the government employees' group Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) reveals that the loan was approved by Avelino Cruz, then presidential legal counsel.)

Mismanaged Funds By PAGCOR - Pagcor, which had a negative cash flow of P170 million in 2002, reported a negative cash flow of P850 million from January to April 2003.
The net profit of Pagcor, which goes to the President's Social Fund, reached P1.1 billion last 2002. Surprisingly from January to April, 2003 its profit came to only P170 million. At its present rate, the 2003 PSF would amount to only P510 million or less than half of the 2002 total.

A Pagcor manager, interviewed by a national daily in September, gave among other things three sources of Pagcor's financial difficulties: "onerous" contracts, "profligate spending," and "massive, mindless" donations.
Mismanaged FundsBy GSIS - GSIS president’s Garcia's cash advances amounting to P3.4 million (U.S.$ 61,818.18), the establishment of district offices worth Php4 million (U.S.$ 72,727.27) each, and the appointment of outside legal counsel for the cost of Php200,000 (U.S.$ 3,636.36) a month were among the cases cited here.
Aside from these, Garcia has also been denounced allegedly for using GSIS money to purchase the painting Parisian Life by Juan Luna. The painting is currently on a national tour sponsored by the GSIS.
Garcia is also said to earn P540,000 a month. Aside from hiring outside legal counsel at P200,000 a month, he is also said to have appointed some 130 vice-presidents who earn P70,000 a month.
The GSIS president-general manager is also accused of contributing at least P100 million to the campaign funds of Macapagal-Arroyo. Late October, the President said she would retain Garcia in his GSIS posts despite appeals for his removal by GSIS rank-and-file employees all over the country.

Mismanaged Funds By The Judiciary - The judiciary, on the other hand, has always been exposed as a bulwark of corruption. The allegations assumed a face last July 8, when the Commission on Audit (CoA) revealed that some P300 million of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) for 2001 remained unaccounted for.
Court employees, including judges, have questioned the decrease in their cost-of-living allowances, and courts are known to be suffering from an acute lack of facilities. The SC led by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, on the other hand, is reported to have been spending for the construction of summer rest houses for its justices in Baguio City and for the purchase of luxury cars.

Peace bonds - Described as Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates issued by the government, the Peace bonds were conceptualized by the Caucus of Development NGOs (Code-NGO) supposedly to raise funds for the anti-poverty activities of its member organizations.
Code-NGO gained access to the corridors of power, through its links with Macapagal-Arroyo, after the People Power 2 uprising. Two of its leaders were appointed to the Cabinet: Corazon Soliman was appointed secretary of social welfare and development, while Teresita Quintos-Deles was appointed to head the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
Code-NGO is alleged to have used its political connections to make a profit of Php1.4 billion in a series of transactions in Peace bonds worth Php35 billion pesos.

Jose Pidal - By far the most explosive corruption case to erupt under the present administration is the Jose
Pidal issue. Jose Pidal is allegedly no other than President’s Arroyo’s husband.
As alleged, there are Php36 million in the Jose Pidal accounts, Php48.4 million in the account of the Macapagal-Arroyos' Lualhati Foundation, Php19.3 million in the account of Victoria "Vicky" Toh (the first gentleman's secretary and allegedly also his mistress), Php7.5 million in the account of Thomas Toh (brother of Vicky), and Php21.1 million in the account of Kelvin Tan (Vicky Toh's brother-in-law).
Although Macapagal-Arroyo had received Php321 million for her candidacy in 1998, she reported only Php50.2 million to the Commission on Elections.
In his affidavit, Eugenio Mahusay - Lacson's would-be "star witness" in the Jose Pidal expose - named, among the donors to the Jose Pidal accounts, Pagcor chair Efraim Genuino; Transportation and Communication Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez; lawyer Ching Vargas of the finance division, Office of the President; and Kishore Hemlani, a rice trader in charge of the rice importation of the National Food Authority. Mahusay also said that the biggest amounts deposited into these accounts came from Genuino.

Military corruption - The subject of military corruption has always been talked about in the Philippines, but an armed protest action by some 300 young officers and enlisted men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) brought it out in the open last July 27.
In the Oakwood mutiny, the rebel soldiers alleged that then Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes was involved in the sale of arms and ammunition to guerrilla and bandit groups. This was a charge corroborated by two officers of the Philippine Marines, Captains Danilo Luna and Ury Pesigan, in a separate venue.
Reyes was forced to resign from his position a few weeks later following a wave of public outrage. The Macapagal-Arroyo government, however, has resurrected him in another capacity - as anti-kidnapping czar.
Wong's expose created restiveness within the Marines. Reyes offered Wong the assignment of chief of the Northern Command. Realizing he was being demoted, Wong resigned from his post. Asked to comment on the matter, Macapagal-Arroyo said Reyes had done "the right thing."

A former Philippine Army Comptroller and his whole family is being investigated for smuggling millions of dollars to the U.S. A Philippine police officer attending a seminar in Russia together with other police officials, was also caught carrying a large amount of cash.

The $330 Million ZTE Broadband deal bribery scandal to grant the project to ZTE.

The Php728Million Fertilizer Fund Scandal perpetrated by Jocjoc Bolante prior to the 2004 presidential elections, the then Undersecretary for Agriculture and close friend of the first gentleman.

The October 11 Cash Dole Outs Ranging from Php200,000 to Php500,000 – Totaling between Php100 million to Php 200 million, cash was handed out in brown bags to 190 pro-administration congressmen and 50 governors to pre-empt another impeachment charge against the president.

The Legacy Case and The Blatant Bribery Scandal Involving A SEC Commissioner

The World Bank Report of Corruption in World Bank Funded Government Projects which mentions the participation of the first gentleman in the awarding of projects to ‘favored’ contractors in exchange for a bribe.

There is a seemingly endless list of corruption and scandals running throughout the more than 8 years of Arroyo administration so much so that the Millennium Challenge Corporation , the entity running the Millennium Challenge Program, a grants program by the U.S. government that provides funding to the poorest countries of the world, declared in their December 11 meeting that it will not be signing any compact proposal until such a time as the corruption level in the country has gone down to an acceptable level.
This, I doubt whether it will happen in Arroyo’s term. This administration has brought us back to the Martial Law era of widespread corruption. Arroyo and her henchmen have totally succeeded in reversing the democratic gains culled from the struggles of Benigno Aquino Jr. and the countless militants who died fighting for freedom at Mendiola and other picket lines. She has totally thrown into the waste bin of history the political gains born from the non-violent EDSA revolution that ousted a dictator. She has turned herself into a power-hungry political tyrant even her own late father (former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal) will condemn if he were alive today.

This administration has gone to great lengths in violating our rights, undermining our institutions and promoting a climate of impunity just to stay in power. The Arroyo administration will go tobrazen lengths to silence the whistleblowers who try to expose corruption.

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THE AROYO PRESIDENCY – THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER PERPETRATED ON A NATION

noreply@blogger.com (bigdaddyrichard) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 08:16:00 +0000

I have written about investment scams for some time now and I have long wanted (but never had the time) to write about the biggest scam ever perpetrated on a whole nation. I am talking about the presidency of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo current president of my birth land the Republic of the Philippines. Her ascendancy to the highest position in the land has been mired in controversy from day zero up to now. The infamous expose on the “Hello Garci” tapes (where an election commissioner named Garcillano was reportedly recorded in a conversation with the almighty Gloria talking about ensuring her win in the then on-going elections) never saw its fulfillment!
It must be remembered that Arroyo assumed the presidency from Joseph Estrada who was forced to leave the presidential palace at the height of successive church-led demonstrations spawned by an ongoing impeachment proceeding against him. I still recall watching an interview of the then Supreme Court Justice Davide where he said he will take the oath of office by Arroyo as caretaker president since at that time Estrada has not yet resigned. But lo and behold, Arroyo and her henchmen galvanized her ascendancy to the presidency immediately thereafter and Davide now claims her assumption to power is legal. One of Arroyo’s immediate moves was to make sure the military and the police force is solidly behind her. She showered them with benefits and pay increases and moved up in rank all those who are loyal to her putting them in sensitive positions in the chain of command. She expertly and effectively muffled all opposition to her presidency with money and political clout.
Arroyo did not stop there! She made sure that both congress and the senate are dominated by her henchmen. Traditional politicians who fell out of grace after the Marcos regime came back to power once more and allied with her. Her own two sons and a brother in law won seats in congress. Filipinos abhorred the proliferation of political clans during the Marcos era yet Arroyo resurrected the practice once more. Cause oriented groups who helped Arroyo wrest the presidency from Estrada realized too late the mistake they made.
When presidential elections came, Arroyo went up against Fernando Poe Jr. another popular figure and an Estrada ally. Initial election results showed Poe winning by large margins in the initial counting of ballots. But when the results from the southern islands where the controversial election commissioner Garcillano held sway, the final tally showed Arroyo winning by a slim margin. Poe’s camp claimed the results in Garcillano’s areas were rigged. They showed the media proof of tampered election results but they were prevented from presenting them at the Arroyo- dominated congress which acted as the electoral tribunal under the Philippine constitution. What it did was to accept the contested election results and merely noted the objections of the opposition. This is where the political propaganda of the Arroyo came to play. They effectively countered every issue in the press and gagged anyone who attacks Arroyo with Libel suits. Media became merely a rubber stamp of Arroyo and those who dissents are branded as activists.
I still recall there was one whistle blower from Davao who exposed the election fraud perpetrated by Garcillano for Arroyo in that particular presidential election. He too was gagged! He now drives around the city in a red Ford Expedition complete with several security escorts provided by Malacanang. And guess what he is doing now! He is establishing Jueteng operations (a popular numbers game similar to a small town lottery) all over Mindanao! And the military operative who provided the “Hello Garci” tapes was also effectively gagged after government operatives “convincingly” persuaded his family to appeal to him to retract his testimony.
I also can recall the time opposition senator Lacson got a witness for a case against Arroyo’s husband for financial impropriety involving campaign contributions illegally stashed by the first gentleman. The witness’ family was coerced into appealing to the witness to recant. Not only that, no less than Mike Defensor, a member of Arroyo’s cabinet swooped down on the safe house where the witness was being kept complete with a battalion of the Presidential Security Command in armored vehicles and helicopters. If the witness was ready to recant his testimony, is there a need for such a big military force just to fetch him?

Today, a senate blue ribbon committee is investigating a fertilizer program scam involving more than Php 700M. This was supposedly a legitimate program to provide fertilizers and farm implements. As it is turning out, there were ghost deliveries made, fertilizers that were delivered were grossly diluted, prices were 1000% over priced, and the original farmer recipients were changed to favor choice non-government institutions. And what is funny is the manner the fund was released with haste breaking all protocols! Guess what? These all happened only months before the controversial presidential elections where Arroyo won. Already, with the senate investigation still on-going, three of the witnesses have been found murdered!
I have written a blog about the alternative energy program initiated and spearheaded by Arroyo at the time oil prices were rising. Arroyo, complete with a well-funded multi media campaign heralded the project as the government’s response to the energy crisis at that time. Immediately, she allotted Php500M for the project. The lead government agency tasked to implement the program was the Department of Energy and the PNOC. The public official directly responsible for the release of the fund resigned after refusing to illegally disburse the funds. He was immediately replaced and the fund was released under mysterious circumstances after that. Yet, up to now, we haven’t seen any progress in the program except for some military camps being planted with “tuba-“tuba” which was supposed to provide the feedstock for the alternative energy program. And, guess what again? All these happened only months before that controversial presidential election.
Arroyo served the remaining years of the Estrada presidency. She is currently on the fourth year of her own six year term which is to end in 2010. Already, her cohorts in congress are pushing for approval of a legislation calling for a charter change. If approved, the bill will keep her in power as well as all her incumbent stooges in public office till 2011. Worst, if the proposed charter changes pushes through there will be a change over to a parliamentary form of government headed by a prime minister. Now, you’ve guessed it right! Under the new charter, she can run for the position of prime minister!
Simply put, the Philippines has a president serving more than the number of years allowed in the constitution, and whose assumption to the presidency is froth with cheating and deceit! Yet this president still wishes to cling on to power by engineering a charter change after her current term. The question for every Filipino now is this- will you still allow her to perpetuate the scam beyond 2010.

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THE AROYO PRESIDENCY – THE BIGGEST SCAM EVER PERPETRATED ON A NATION