True to form, Malacanang is shrugging off the latest brouhaha that has put First Gentleman Mike Arroyo under a most unflattering light, to put it lightly.
It is correct for the Palace to say that as always the burden of proof is on the accuser, the FG’s old nemesis, Sen. Lacson.
That’s also correct: the worn out but valid premise that the accused is accorded the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty beyond reasonable in a court of law.
But given how the presidential spouse has figured in not a few cases where the tongues wag feverishly and circumstantial evidence hang heavy, the already low public regard for ‘Big Mike’ is dropping a notch further.
To be fair, Atty. Mike belongs to the ‘old rich’ segment of Philippine society and his own legion of loyal friends and admirers.
A question that lingers quite disturbingly is just how much beating can his and this administration’s image take with public disgust simmering?
Popularity: 1% [?]
an endless amount of beating, because there’s no smoking gun. the smoking gun, the wb report, is with the ombudslady and she’s not sharing it with anyone.
Manolo,
That’s what’s doubly disconcerting: how the Ombudslady has remained Sphinx-like.
This morning one of Gutierrez’s deputies told DZMM that only the fact finding phase of their own action on the WB report is ongoing with Mrs. Gutierrez not likely to see their field investigators’ findings until next week yet.
After that they have anywhere frrom 30 to 90 days to make their recommendations to bring formal charges.
While this takes place, Ebdane concedes the blacklisted contractor continues to be a bona-fide qualified bidder/handler of DPWH. projects.
BTW,that WB reports is on the agency’s web site bro.
It is healthy in a democracy – where clear signs of corruption crawl in every layer of the bureaucracy – to have a fiscalizer in the Legislative Branch and a fiscalized in the Executive Branch.
FG’s ontological existence is not clearly defined. He is the First Gentleman alright but how is it now if charges are hailed against him because of some indicatively reliable involvement in the affairs of State? Does he not, by implication, also represent PGMA?
Anyone to the rescue, please?
Corruption has developed into the President’s Achilles Heel now that the World Bank, and therefore the US is gonna get in her face. This is not the sort of thing that can be made to go away or outlasted. The Bank has an institutional memory, after all, and we can rely on permanent blemish now on Gloria Macapagal Arroyo for what cannot be missed in international circles as “command responsibility.” Indeed it is hitting closer than that if FG gets his teats in this ringer.
If the “corruption” label can really be made to stick to the First Couple, it’s weight will grow as the end approaches, and none of the major candidates will even want her Kiss of Death. By this time next year GMA could be toxic waste.
The Candidate that ought to win is the one who can be relied on to bring all the criminals, especially the Big Fish to Justice.
JDV3 was threatened by the arroyo lawyers that he can be charged by the ombudsman by violating the anti graft and corrupt practices act because his participation on the bid for a government contract,while his relative is an elected official.
But JDV3 is a documented stockholder of amsterdam holdings, I wonder how they could pin it to the FG na lahat mula ZTE,Transco,highways,Pidal accts,jueteng,etc. na inuugnay sa kanya ay puro open secrets lang.
at ipagpalagay man natin na may sabit sya, kikilos ba naman si classmate Gutierrez?
“I recently met with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US agency that provides grants to countries based on governance. They have commended our gains, contributed P1 billion to our fight against graft, and declared us eligible for more grants. Thank you!”GMA 2008 State of The Nation address
“The Candidate that ought to win is the one who can be relied on to bring all the criminals, especially the Big Fish to Justice.” – djb
I dunno. I say the one who gets annointed and runs under Lakas/Kampi will win. If the Price is Right, He/She will Let’s Make a Deal.
Some reality check:
1. Not one of the big fishes went to jail: Marcos and cronies, AFP Generals from Abaya, Garcia, former justice secretary Hernando Perez, et.al.
2. Except Erap para sa Mahirap (remember only the poor gets punished in RP) but was immediately pardoned. It was actually the U.S. government who imprisoned Rep. Mark Jimenez.
3. I say the most of the present crop of presidentiables would make a deal, except probably Mar Roxas and Ping Lacson, but who knows?
4. With the caliber of Ombudman, state prosecutors and Supreme Court we have, the Arroyos’ crimes (???) will be forgotten.
To the Filipino people: charge it to experience, sadly again.
Pinoys’ regards to their leaders are so low that almost anyone making an expose is always believed by the populace.
It does give the pinoy a false assurance that may be those who are making the charges should be seated to powers because they would be guided by their sense of decency once they hold the reins of power.
But pinoy experience is otherwise. If you consider that Ping Lacson used to be one of the lackey’s of Erap, accused in the rubout of the Kuratong Baleleng whose banditry it was said was under the protection of the police, and that the two men who allegedly killed Dacer and Curbito used to be his trusted lieutenants, people’s suspicion that all these “immaculate” posturings as the 2010 Presidential election nears, are portentous omens that the public should be wary about.
Kuratong Baleleng deserved it. They were hardened criminals protected by cops before Lacson’s tenure, the AFP, and national officials. They were untouchables. But Lacson’s boys killed one of the Kuratong (Parojinog) brothers in Cebu to show them he means business. But when they brought their trade to Manila they were asking for it. BTW, one of the brothers is now mayor of Ozamiz City. Dig that?
Gloria has no case against Lacson, she knows it. He’s been an injurious, unrelenting pest for all of eight years and she has all the firepower in her arsenal to nail him, but she didn’t ‘cuz she can’t. All attempts, like those of Mawanay, Rosebud, Corpuz are at best, comic. Last year, they tried to reopen the case in the SCoRP, the SC “took cognizance”.
And oh, Dacer isn’t really an innocent angel as many may want to believe. Ask the journalists.
TONGUE,
So your take on Ping Lacson is that he is an honorable and an adorable “vigilante” that deserves the Office of the President?
I may even agree with your take because there is nothing wrong with shooting people as long as you shot the right people according to Dirty Harry, aka, Clint Eastwood. But Clint has some reservation about it. He said: “Today are the criminals, tomorrow is your neighboor whose dog had pissed on your lawn”.
BTW, this position is abhorrent to another wannabe, CJ Reynato Puno, who thinks that the “recurso de amparo” will address the corruption in the courts and their being considered irrelevant by the “vigilantes” who resorted to outright “extra-judicial” killing. No corrupt prosecutors and judges needed. Only a pistol and a round of ammo. Or in the case of Dacer and Surbito, a little shove on the ditch, and a lighter to torch the poor fellows.
If if you consider that Ping had expressed elation over giving way to CJ Puno if the latter will throw his hat on the political ring, then you can already see the tentative alliance of strange bedfellows here. That is politics for us folks and that what makes Juwan_D pukes. ;)
not taking the cudgels for FG arroyo but what is so wrong, even suspicious about “meeting” (regardless how many times) with an official of a wb-blacklisted corporation? where’s the beef?
Kill one save a thousand. Assuming Ping is one Dirty Harry, fine. Wasn’t Alredo Lim in the same mold? And people like them, even the Chinese.
Ping for president. Fine.
So Lacson, the “vigilante” would be happy to see CJ Puno, the “rule of law” guy to be the President. So, Karlpopper, if you do not see the anomaly, maybe you should stop writing and make one fast trip to the doctor. ;).
Or the fawning to CJ Puno was but a clever attempt to tell the old guy to sit down on his “kuratong baleleng case” which Tongue said is still with the Supreme Court. Strange bedfellows, neh. ;).
Atty. Ben,
Your “…what is so wrong, even suspicious about “meeting” (regardless how many times) with an official of a wb-blacklisted corporation? where’s the beef?”
This could very well have come from FG’s lawyer, Roy Rundain standing shoulder to shoulder with Sec. Dureza.
Sort of validates how many characterize the regime which has 467+ days till the 2010 elections: what is legal is whatever they can get away with. Who cares about damning public perception, right?
“We must weed out corruption and build a strong system of justice that the people can trust. We have provided unprecedented billions for anti-graft efforts. Thus the Ombudsman’s conviction rate hit 77% this year, from 6% in 2002. We implemented lifestyle checks, dormant for half a century. Taun-taon dose-dosenang opisyal ang nasususpinde, napapatalsik o kinakasuhan dahil labis-labis sa suweldo ang gastos at ari-arian nila.”Gloria Arroyo,2007 State of The Nation Address
Obviously, you missed the point. Read between the lines.
I don’t think it was a kind of blackmail – Ping endorsing CJ Puno – for president so that the latter will sit on the case of the former.
It seems, jcc seriously thinks it is the case.
Now, okay, even if I endorse Ping,I know he will not win because precisely of his kuratong baleleng past will always haunt him. He failed to do a damage control job when it begun to erode his credibility. Every prominent public figure has their inherent weakness.
karlpopper/primer
Please read between the lines too. Ping the vigilante fawning at the so-called “rule of law” guy by telling him that he would give way to CJ PUNO if the latter would run for President. What is the obvious motive?
If that was just a way of saying “I cannot win anyway I might as well endorse CJ Puno”. Why Puno when the two of them, if they really hold dear the ideals they want to portray to the public, (mr. vigilante and mr. “rule of the law”) are entirely oppose to each other.
And why endorse CJ Puno, how about the other wannabes which there are a lot of them?
Is not the reason obvious because CJ Puno’s Supreme Court is sitting right now on the “Kuratong Baleleng Case?”
Or maybe Ping does not really believe that the “rule of law” guy is really for the rule of law. If you ask me, CJ Puno is the kind of magistrate who tried to make a decrepit court system looks like a functioning judicial system. His “writ of amparo” was an attempt to sanitize the court’s stink and resolve the issue of “salvaging” (extra-judiical killing) by providing more power to the court than address the crucial issue of making the court more honest and responsive to the clamor of the people for justice.
In a related post I said that the “writ of amparo” is like a rope line thrown at shipwreck victims so that they can come aboard another ship teeming with crocodiles and serpent. Oh, boy you would be better off out the sea and try your luck with the sharks.
jcc,
Please accept my thanks. It now gives me the compulsion to read more about the writ of amparo so as to vet whether or not it succeeded in the objective it purports to achieve.
During a convention of the UP Broadcasters’ Guild, the resource person mentioned of at least 3 cases where blogs can assume a powerful role, namely – the Bambee dela Paz, the Quezon City Science High School students blogging about their teachers, and one other, that of a certain Brian. On a more positive note, is the case of Obama winning the presidency handy because of internet or the New Media.
Offhand, there is an objective reality out there – irrespective of our self-driven bias that ought to have some degree of rational basis.
Again, thanks jcc as it gives me reason to read more and write a lot – an advise given by Howie Severino of GMA 7.
Karlpopper;
The bambee-dela paz golf course melee coverage was a disaster; so was the Phil Science High School incident. Both cases have too little facts but awashed with too many assumptions. The Obama blog uplift was due to audience saturation brought about by the money brought into the campaign. Some say that Obama practically purchased the 2008 election. Add to this the number of Americans with internet access both in their homes and in workplaces.
You cannot transport the American experience to Philippine experience because only few have computers and access to internet. To be reckoned as a force, you have to bring the message to your target audience, which as of now remains captive of the MSM, (print, television and radio).
But this is nothing to be disillusioned about. In due time, I think, the blogsphere will be a force to reckon with in the country. Let us just watch how things will pan out in the future.
Meanwhile, keep blogging and keep learning. :)
Come May 2010 elections,Filipinos must learn now..from the past and by lookin ahead and no lookin back….we can see that poverty alleviation….doesn!t come from the hyporcrisy like what this Arroyo!s admin had been doin for the last 8 yrs. If we want changes takes place and so the breed of our genex….we therefor, need a BETTER,if not the Fatherly or brotherly kind of Leader..Someone who is like a Vigilante and a Dirty Harry by attitude.
If we can see now,,, all the upcoming presidentiables….aspiring to be like FG Mike….a cebuano and a buwaya ,,,corruptor. Many of his protege are on the presidentiable line-up.
Unlike his foe,Senator Panfilo Lacson has proven track record of benefiting the majority and not only himself….like FGMike Arroyo. for me, I have gone so many ridiculous kind of elctions ….way back in Marcos time. If we balance this predicament…we can therefor conclude,,that if Marcos had stayed in Malacanang 1986,,all the way until now,think we will be the only country who will feed the ASean Nations.We belong to the rich country now,,,Only Agrarian and Tourism are the only bureau the we will tapped to do all the enrichment in our GNP.
We must leave a Brass-Legacy for the genex breed.We are not always strong and sooner will be gone in theis worldy earth. But some one must continue the legacy that Our Elders had Left us.Like for example,Senator Panfilo Lacson…he has the ability to become a vigilante for The Untouchables and a Dirty Harry in the making…but apart from his status quo being a Senator…He may become a Great Leader in Our Time..Why??As you can see he is the Only Senator who always lambasted the Big Fish from all anomaly they`ve been doin since 2010.If u can see the big picture, you may describe him as another Pres.Marcos in the Making,,,,but takin out the mask of plundering.
So u know now why he is lambasting all the corruptors in our country?Very simple answer…. lets put it this way….Marcos lead our country in an essence of being a father to our homeland.
Any sickness or anomaly each of our brothers encounterd in our homeland….he has all the cures including the food for the poor.Now what can a mother like Glori Arroyo myt do now is to borrow from neighbors to feed to the homeland.
thought that if other presidentiables will win aside from Senator Lacson…I think our country in disastrous trend.Really!!!!This is not a joke……Lets face it NOw bfore its too LATE!!!
Fair enough.
But Ping first has to really wiggle, in a credible way, out of the black ops seemingly in progress against him.