COMELEC legal head Atty. Ferdinand Rafanan categorically announced the good news—the poll automation is on. Rafanan said he was privy to the 18 hour marathon negotiations between Smartmatic and TIM. And both companies will announce the good news this afternoon. However, Rafanan and officials of both companies are mum on what they actually agreed upon.
Rafanan and these officials of Smartmatic-TIM should be advised to reveal all before the public. Why? Because this is simply not a private matter anymore. This deal is now imbued with public interests. They should reveal the terms of the consortium. Otherwise, the Senate should again look into this more closely to protect public welfare.
Likewise,people are also urging Malacanang to release the executive checkup results of Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In the United States, medical checkups results of the president are fed to the media for publication to ally fears that the head of state is ailing or sick.
In the case of Mrs. Arroyo, there are reports that she underwent mammoplasty procedures at the Asian Medical Hospital for, what Philippine Star columnist Jarius Bondoc said, an operation to correct a “leaking silicone breast implant”. A cyst was also found, according to a news report in the Manila Bulletin, in Mrs. Arroyo’s groin.
If this is true, that Mrs. Arroyo went under the knife to correct a previous breast augmentation procedure, Malacanang’s spokesperson Cerge Remonde should tell us the truth to stop these kinds of news. Remonde yesterday denied the news. But, it is to the best interest of everybody for the Palace to release the medical checkup results of Mrs. Arroyo. Why? Because, like it or not, it is imbued with public interest. Some of us wants to know why Mrs. Arroyo decided to “just do it” at the Asian Hospital and not at the Belo Medical Group.;-)
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another gaya-gaya of the licentious western tabloid media. i, for one, is not interested in this kind of intrusion and gossip mongering.
“… I, for one, is (sic)not interested…”
Typo?
you got me there, ding. it should read: “i, for one, am…”
bencard, hay naku. where is gossip there? hindi ba natin karapatan na talagang malaman kung may sakit si gloria o wala? anung sama kung ipapublish nila ang medical checkup results ng pangulo mo?
FOR THE BENEFIT OF BENCARD….MALACANANG SPOKESPERSON CERGE REMONDE ADMITTED IN A PRESS CONFERENCE TODAY THAT DOCTORS AT THE ASIAN HOSPITAL FOUND CYSTS AND LUMPS IN MRS. ARROYO’S BREASTS DURING AN MRI. AND THAT MRS. ARROYO ALSO HAS LUMPS IN HER GROIN. SO THERE. RUMOURS PA BA ITO, MR. BENCARD?
so???
Hi Pat.
Yes, indeed, Malacanang is isuing a wholesale denial of both stoies.
But it must surely understand that the President, as Head of State and Head of Government must be fully transparent about her health.
The national interest is indubitably linked to a sitting President’s health.
Her health impacts on the entire nation’s political well being.
http://midfield.wordpress.com/2009/07/03/what-is-ailing-the-president/
unless disabling or life-threatening, the president’s health condition is a private matter to her, i believe. i think public disclosure is at her discretion and she may not be compelled, pressured or harassed to submit to any kind of intrusive inquiry, especially when the obvious purpose is to embarrass, ridicule, or put her in a bad light.
I agree with you that it is her “discretion.”
I just need to be clarified.
Is it your legal view that there is no public interest involved in the matter?
When a national leader is “put in bad light” does it not also impact on the nation he or she leads?
it is my personal view that a president’s illness is imbued with public interest when it is disabling or life-threatening immediately affecting her physical or mental ability, or fitness, to continue in office. i am not aware of any statutory or constitutional duty to disclose every aspect of a president’s medical condition.
hahaha. are you sure? please read your Constitution again, Bencard.anyone of her cabinet members can compel her to release a report stating the status of her health.
way over your head again, mangubat. the constitution explicitly says “in case of serious illness” the public shall be informed of the state of the president’s health.
you are also WRONG about the cabinet members. those in-charge of national security or foreign relations and the afp chief of staff cannot be denied access to the president during such serious illness but there is nothing in the constitution that empowers them, or any cabinet member, to COMPEL release of the president’s medical status report.
btw, are you still attending law school? if so, i don’t think you are making any progress in it, man.
What’s the protocol that your White House follows?
same as what i stated above, i believe. but, of course, you know how “leaks” have a nasty way of occurring.
Care to give me your view on this? -
When a national leader is “put in bad light” does it not also impact on the nation he or she leads?
ding, the president is the symbol of the nation, the representative of the entire PEOPLE, whether one likes him/her or not. anyone who calls him/herself “filipino” has a duty to respect, obey, and honor the office and its holder. deliberately putting a president in a “bad light” for malicious and ill-motivated purposes impacts the nation for it degrades, demeans, and tarnishes the highest office/officer of the land.
I agree with your there.
But is like fashion do you agree that any one holding public office or not either brings respect to the office or diminishes such respect on the basis of his or hers performance/track record?
The immense goodwill that Marcos, for example, had when he ascended the Presidency in 1965 was lost as he began to show his ‘true colors’.
Richard Nixon was elected in 1969 but eventually was thrown out of power,forced to resign, in shame.
When ‘cornered’about the Watergate crimes, Nixon even had the gall to assert – if the alleged crime is committed by the President it is not illegal (or words to that effect).
Even in dealing with our kids or subordinates do we simply ‘command’ them to respect us or should we not continually earn and nurture that respect.
In your own legal practice don’t you, as well, seek to protect your credibility?
You cannot demand it but earn it, too.
ding, this has been discussed over and over again in this blog and others. in a democracy, there are legal and proper ways to remove a nonperforming, mis-performing, or mal-performing officials. when you have tried all these prescribed ways and failed, you have to abide by the outcome – that is the rule of law. when you decide to disregard the rule of law and take it in your own hands, you go outside of it and set your own, but you better be strong enough, competent, fully equipped, and well-supported, to sustain your defiance. otherwise, you pay for it with your life and/or your freedom.
“Mrs. Arroyo decided to “just do it” at the Asian Hospital and not at the Belo Medical Group.;-)”
can you imagine another sex video scandal courtesy of hayden and …..
oh, stop it! i don’t want to imagine :D
siyetehan,
But your imagined video would fall into to the category of bestiality!
buencam, you made me laugh so hard, people here were piqued and they actually became interested in reading filipinovoices.
bestiality would be an understatement, i think
It is important that there be full transperency on the medical condition of Gloria. We know how one’s physical well-being affects one’s ability to make decisions. Even a pimple may distract one so much she may be incapable of keeping her mind focused on what she’s doing, what more of silicone leaking out her boobs, if that is indeed true.
Months ago when rumors were rife about Gloria’s liver, results of her tests were also withheld from the public. All we got were assurances that she was okay despite the fact that her doctors put her on a strict diet. Silicone has been known to affect the liver, by the way.
To quote Palace spokeswoman Lorelei Fajardo, after a shadow BIR was established by executive fiat, “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.”
Let it all hang out, the tests on Gloria, the agreement between TIM and Smartmatic, not Gloria’s boobs.
nick (if you’re following this), are you going to let FV degenerate into another “ellenville”? it seems that this fine (largely balanced regardless of your own personal views) blog site is being hijacked by the forces of hate. it is impossible to have a civil discourse with these viruses of humanity in play. i can trade insults and ad hominems in defense of our president 24/7 with these **^^##%^^ from hell but i’d rather not contribute to the desecration and sacking of a promising forum.
Gloria : “Doktora, can you do my face?”
Plastic Surgeon: “Ah..eh….eh….Ma’am. pwede poh ba I’ll do your boobs na lang.”
Along with MARCOS and ESTRADA, the one person who has degraded, demeaned and tarnished the office of the President of the Republic of the Philippines is non other than GLORIA ARROYO herself.
My respect for these scumbugs is non, zero, nyet, zilch, nada. Better advise your patron saint Bencard to increase her security detail because I plan to throw 3 dozen duck eggs into her face in one of her campaign sorties.
Still debating though if I should throw it fresh or hard boiled.
Who put the nation into bad light? Why is she so vain to have Silicon
Breast Implants? Bad judgement, we call it. Why did she not think
of implanting good programs to help her people.
Instead of implanting Silicon Gels in her breasts…Divine Providence knows how to embarass you to kick you
out to your senses!
Atty.Ben,
You don’t need to lecture me with this drivel – “when you decide to disregard the rule of law and take it in your own hands, you go outside of it and set your own, but you better be strong enough, competent, fully equipped, and well-supported, to sustain your defiance. otherwise, you pay for it with your life and/or your freedom.”
Have I ever advocated this in my writings?
C’mon.
you are reading too much between the lines, ding, against your own comfort. i felt that your comment which i’m responding to requires me to give my pov on the workings of democracy vis a vis the performance of an office holder or lack of it. just because your subjective judgment is that the president has unsatisfactory performance doesn’t give you the right to demean, dishonor or disobey him/her or her office. both marcos and nixon went through the process. they resigned, albeit involuntarily, because of belief in the hopelessness of their cause – a kind of “no-contest” plea.
Di naman ako tanga Atty. Ben. Nag-Nolo contendere is what you are saying.
Sadly for you, I don’t scare easy. Do you or you simply will call me “punk.”
UPDATE:
Malacanang has now reversed itself and is admitting that Mrs. Arroyo has had breast augmentation done on her and that was diagnosed with a cyst in her groin area:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/03/09/arroyo-admits-she-has-breast-implants
is there a reason i should call you that, ding? i only reserved that to those deserving.
btw, is there anything shameful or outrageous about being sick? why are you guys treating it as though it’s a scandal? nothing works, so you’re just trying something else different, right?
BTW, see the blogpost’s title?
why are you telling me? talk is cheap. enough with your verbal bravado and just do it. hope you have the legs to withstand the consequences.
I already did Bencard. Twice when I was driving north, Gloria’s convoy with wang wang and siren signalled me to pull over the side road to give way for the queen. I did not. Lowered my side glass window instead and stick out a middle finger on a waving Gloria..
After that I rarely see Gloria’s convoy anymore. She either uses the chopper or plane in going to Baguio.
Hold on, I am making a deal on purchasing a surface to air missile.:-)hahaha..
suit yourself. if the police don’t get you, the mental health doctors may.
Talk is cheap. So, are Silicon Breast Implants. There are also
Sexual Reasignments. If you like. They can change your sexual
organ. From Man to woman. Woman to man. Body implants are cheap
nowadays. We are the only nation on Earth with a President who
had Silicon Breast Implants. I think, I will nominate Britney
Spears for President. She has a good Silicon Breast Implants. Big…Big…Boobs…This is also a good hint to , Ms. Loren Legarda. You need a good Silicon Breast Implants to win the Presidency. Sorry,
for those Male Aspirants. They cannot have implants…
WE ARE GOING CRAZY, I THINK…
Now breaking:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/07/03/09/arroyo-admits-she-has-breast-implants
Aha! So those 2004 election returns are not the only fake things about her!
OKAY, She wanted to look like Angelina Jolie. It is now giving her
trouble by leaking Silicon Breast Implants.
“Some of us wants to know why Mrs. Arroyo decided to “just do it” at the Asian Hospital and not at the Belo Medical Group.”
Predictably poor-taste prognosis of the president’s predicament.
She knows that Hyden Kho may be hiding with his recording
camera in the clinic. Dr. Belo has the enterprising talent to sell illegal videos. You will only learn that the recorded CDs of the
Silicon Breast Implant Removal Operation are sold in the stalls of
Quiapo. WHAT A COUNTRY WE HAVE…WE ARE A CRAZY COUNTRY!
This is disgusting.
This is typical media frenzy over trivial matters (i.e. tsismis) in a search to embarass and demean. I would be disgusted if they did this to Cory or Erap, whther in power or not. Tabloid sleaze.
“Tranparency” is no more absolute than than the rights of speech, etc.
The headline story should be about automation. It most certainly should not be about the President’s breasts. I think I will boycott any newspaper that voted to carry this story. I might even put the editor’s pictures on public display.
Disgusting. Stupid. Bastos.
OK, so now someone tell me that this is also part of Oplan Moon Shot.
Your President, Bencard, is pangit on the outside, pangit on the inside.
No, she has a Good Silicon Breast Implant…can you beat that? Had
the warranty period of the silicon breast implant expired already?
She can have another implant…2009 model. Maybe, Ms. Fajardo wants
one also…
George Bush saw through Putin’s eyes and he gazed at his fine soul.
The same George Bush saw through Gloria’s eyes and he exclaimed “Mother freaking christ! Your sole is so small!”
Now that…is transparency!
I think George Bush, Jr. noticed something lacking in her anatomy. She decided to have a Silicon Breast Implant to augment and improve
it. Prosthetic breasts, prosthetic teeth, prosthetic smiles, prosthetic personalities, etc…What is next? A prosthetic Presidency? It is not in my eye, that is the window of my soul…
it is my breasts!