Computer Savvy Pussy

Ok, maybe not computer savvy but computer lazy pussy trying to get attention to himself...........
This long Thanksgiving holiday really makes one droopy......
and sleepy..... zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.
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cats Filipinos Filipino-Americans

Overseas Absentee Voters Registration Underway

“The overseas absentee voters registration drive and the campaign for dual citizenship in the Philippines are aggressively pursued by the Global Filipino Nation, a socio-civic, non-political international council,” reported Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, a GFN Convenor and Lead Harvester of the two worldwide campaigns.

Dr. Chua, a cardiac surgeon in Northwest Indiana and Chairman of the Filipino United Network (USA), pointed out that these two drives are aimed at waking up the more than 12 million strong Filipino Sleeping Giant overseas, who could be a most potent force in changing the political and economic landscape of the Philippines and fight for good governance and the eradication of the massive poverty in the country.

The GFN Lead Harvester is sounding the clarion call for every Filipino to register and vote for truly qualified and honest candidates in the 2010 elections in the Philippines, those who are for good governance, for honesty, transparency and accountability, unlike many of the current government officials who are involved in pervasive graft and corruption, causing more than 30% of our people to languish in the gutter of poverty.

All the GFN Harvesters around the world, led by Victor Barrios, GFN Chair, have been mobilized to aggressively campaign for dual citizenship (among those Filipinos who are now citizens of another country) and for the overseas absentee voting registration in time for the 2010 elections in the Philippines.

“Once registered, each Filipino overseas shall be empowered, thru the ballot, to help shape the destiny of our native country and our people, which is a great and historic privilege,” Dr. Chua emphasized.

Our country needs everyday heroes and every Filipino overseas is encouraged to spread the word around and lead in this drive for dual citizenship and overseas absentee voting registration, by contacting their respective Filipino organization in their area, or their Philippine Consular Office. For the info and benefits of dual citizenship, please access this website: www.FilipinoUNITEDnetwork.com or www.FUN8888.com, or send your email queries to scalpelpen@gmail.com

*********************************************************************************

*Philip S. Chua, MD, FACS, FPCS, Cardiac Surgeon Emeritus in Northwest Indiana, USA, trained at the Texas Heart Institute in Houston, is Chairman of Filipino United Network (FUN-USA), Vice Chairman of Filipino American Leadership Council (FALCONadvocacy) and Vice President for Far East of Cardiovascular Hospitals of America, Wichita, Kansas. He is a columnist for five newspapers and one magazine in the United States and five newspapers and one magazine in the Philippines.

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PoliticsPhilippine Politics Overseas Filipinos Filipinos Filipino-Americans

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo PoorEver & Beyond 2010 via Cha-Cha

Who would ever think that with the renewed effort to impeach the most unpopular president the Philippines ever had will we now witness another shameless response similar to mob rule in of all places the house of prostitutes errr Congress. Well, from the looks of it Gloria Macapagal Arroyo PoorEver & Beyond 2010 via Cha-Cha is looming in the dark horizon of pathetic Philippine political landscape of doom.

There is no truth to the humor errrr rumor that Cebu Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia was overheard saying forever GMA in his strong Visayan accent that made it sound POOREVER which actually is apt under Gloria's squandering habits.

Are Filipino politicians suffering from delusional bouts or am I going nuts? First we hear of claims coming from La Napoleona errrr Gloria Macapagal Arroyo that her presidency was “gods will" like she is the anointed one or is she hearing voices when she does not even attend those speaking in tongue sessions (unlike the Sarah Palin). Now it seems that her cohorts errr allies are taking it hook line and sinker that Deputy Speaker Pablo Garcia in responding to the impeachment complaint was babbling “holiness” to quote PCIJ’s article:

“The complaint has been weighed in the balance and found wanting…The allegations are not allegations of facts…they are conclusions of opinions and inferences,” said Garcia.

He likened the complaint to what he claimed was a popular opinion survey that unjustly led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

“Our Lord Jesus Christ lost in the survey so he was crucified. And that is how we are going to judge the President? Through an opinion survey?” said the Cebu lawmaker.

Huh, survey? Whew, what was that all about? Holy mackerel survey during the biblical days........ now if that is not a delusional bout I don’t know what is? The irony here is the shameless arrogance of these torture enablers cherry picking inconsequential notary dates on the complaint instead of looking into the seriousness of the human rights violations contained in the documents. Human rights violations similar to the World War II Comfort Women servitude unleashed against those they deemed “enemies” of the state without due process are subjected to the most inhumane barbaric treatment . The impunity is unbelievable where the barbarism of the lowest degree are perpetrated inside a military camp. If that is not a clear sign that these wanton abuses are not state sanctioned violence against our own people, what is it then?

If we allow these atrocities to be committed against our people what moral right do we have in seeking justice for the World War II victims when our very own government are doing the same to their constituents? How can these morons even speak or compare Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s predicament to that of god is beyond logic and simply an aberrant mindset.

Instead of looking at the merits of the impeachment complaint these mobs that has this penchant to be called “honorable” would rather dismiss the complaint on technicalities at the slightest opportunity available. Failing to force the non-issue on "forgery" due to the impeachment complaint date discrepancy these delusional dishonorable errr 'honorable" members of the justiis errr justice committee of congress junked the complaint for "lack of substance." Substance? Or are they expecting "substance" they get from the administration for them to see the merit of the complaint? Or was it because the impeachment complaint includes incriminatory allegations on payola that involves most of them as recipients of bribes from the administration? What are the chances that those recipients of the “bon-bons” are going to act according to their “conscience” when they have none and doing so is like indicting themselves? Top that with a justice committee where majority of the 60 regular members belong to the administratong errr administration party.

Liza Maza prior to the voting introduced a motion to disqualify Amelita Villarosa and the members of Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Partner of the Free Filipino, KAMPI) GMA's cohorts errr political partymates for accepting bribes committee chairman Matias Defensor ruled that they are not competent to rule on the motion. In short what he is saying is that they are shameless thick skinned mobs clueless that there is such a thing as delicadeza whose very presence clouds whatever credibility on the justice and fairness of the proceedings.

Once again mob rule prevails 42-8 vote against the impeachment complaint the 4th one filed this time by Jose "Joey" De Venecia's, Iloilo vice governor Rolex Suplico, lawyer Harry Roque, Leah Navarro of the Black and White Movement, Edita Burgos, mother of Jay Jay Burgos (son of the late press freedom icon Joe Burgoz) a victim of enforced disappearance, and representatives of human rights groups.

With the Impeachment complaint out of the way we can now expect the Cha-Cha wrecking train to forge ahead full speed loaded with circus freaks promoting their wares like peddlers of cure all snake oil panacea. When majority of the people would rather see Gloria Macapagal Arroyo go they shamelessly resort to sinister maneuverings to initiate charter change to extend their tenure together with the most unpopular Garcified president’s illegitimate stay in the Malacañang beyond 2010. An interesting take from Conrado de Quiroz writing about Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's classmates at Presumption errr Assumption joining the circus freak side show to support Cha-Cha, to quote:

Gloria Macapgal-Arroyo’s classmates are right at the forefront of Charter change, or Cha-cha. “Write your congressmen, tell them to support Charter change,” they say. The time to change the Charter is now, they say. And though they are from Assumption, they have discovered a gem of University of the Philippines activist tradition. Their battle cry is: “If not now, when?”

That, of course, is part of the famous slogan of the campus paper Philippine Collegian during the pit of martial law: “Kung hindi ngayon, kailan pa? Kung hindi tayo, sino pa?” If not now, when? If not we, who else?

I don’t know how the rest of the school feels about this. But unless they rise to protest it, they stand in very grave danger of having their school renamed “Presumption.” It takes a great deal of cheek to conscript that revered motto for this perverse project. Well, Arroyo’s qualities have been known to rub off on those she comes into close contact with. If I recall right, the last time these same classmates bestirred themselves to do something, it was to defend Arroyo during the height of the hearings on the national broadband network (NBN) scandal, when the stink rose, or sank, all the way to Malacañang. One of them even expostulated upon hearing that Romy Neri had called Arroyo evil: “Gloria evil? That’s like calling me a prostitute!”

I said then and I say now: I rest my case.

You know something is awry when rich matrons steal slogans from progressive groups but then again what can we expect from delusional people seeing totally different reality from ordinary mortals like us. It makes one wonder why they arrogantly ignore the peoples will or was it due to their delusions that “god” is on their side? For whatever its worth an extended stay of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's illegitimate tenure will surely relegate the Philippines to the POOREVER land

UPDATE 11/27/08 - The complete list of the congressional justice comittee members that once again acted as a mob except for the 8 Representatives who voted against the dismissal of the Impeachment complaint in favor of the people:

Minority Leader and San Juan Rep. Ronaldo Zamora, Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur C. Ocampo, Gabriela Rep. Liza Largoza -Maza, Liza, Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro A Casiño, Teodoro, Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto 'TG' L. Guingona III, Makati Rep. Mar-Len Abigail S. Binay, Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus B. Rodriguez, and South Cotabato Rep. Darlene R. Antonino-Custodio.

Representatives who voted for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint against Gloria Arroyo for "insuficiency" of substance:

Capiz Rep. Fredenil Castro, Albay Rep. Edcel Lagman, Baguio City Rep. Mauricio Domogan, Negros Oriental Rep. George Arnaiz, Iloilo Rep. Raul Gonzalez Jr., Cebu Rep. Pablo John Garcia, Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco, Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier, Apec Rep. Edgar Valdez, Bohol Rep. Edgardo Chatto, Lanao del Sur Rep. Faysah Dumarpa, Leyte Rep. Eufrocino Codilla, Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Belma Cabilao, Ifugao Rep. Solomon Chungalao, Zamboanga del Sur Rep. Antonio Cerilles, Masbate Rep. Rizalina Seachon Lanete, Sulu Rep. Munir Arbison, Bohol Rep. Roberto Cajes, Tawi Tawi Rep. Nur Jaafar, La Union Rep. Victor Ortega, Lanao del Sur Rep. Pangalian Balindong, Romblon Rep. Eleandro Madrona, Isabela Rep. Giorgido Aggabao, Cebu Rep. Eduardo Gullas, Quirino Rep. Junie Cua, Cavite Rep. Elpidio Barzaga, Surigao del Norte Rep. Francisco Matugas, Sultan Kudarat Rep. Arnulfo Go, Manila Rep. Theresa Bonoan-David, Iloilo Rep. Niel Tupas, Parañaque Rep. Eduardo Zialcita, Cebu Rep. Raul del Mar, Maguindanao Rep. Simeon Datumanong, Cebu Rep. Pablo Garcia Sr., Iloilo Rep. Arthur Defensor, Iloilo Rep. Janette Garin, Quezon City Rep. Bingbong Crisologo, Misamis Occidental Rep. Herminia Ramiro, Bukidnon Rep. Candido Pancrudo, Manila Rep. Zenaida Angping, Negros Occidental Rep. Alfredo Marañon (for Occidental Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa), Agusan del Norte Rep. Jose Aquino.

Quezon City Representative Matias Defensor, Matias, Jr., chairman of the justice committee whose name is not in the list is as culpable with those who voted. As chairman he cannot vote and the only time he can was to break a tie. His raising of the hand to urge his kuligs (insects) err colleagues to vote yea and his partisan stand was clearly for the dismissal of the impeachment complaint.

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Politics Filipinos Filipino-Americans Philippine Poverty Human Rights Social Issues Philippine Politics

Auto bailout: By all means but where are the solid reforms?

By Adolfo Paglinawan

Car manufacturing, like the housing market, is one of the top job creators in any economy. The sub-industries connected to it could be endless.

There are 1,700 to 2,200 parts in an average vehicle, so that alone will give you a fair idea of how many factories collaborates just to put one vehicle on the road. And when they are there, how many shops and business are there to service it during its life? How many other products are there that are related to motoring like traffic lights, guard rails and Jersey walls, highways and rest stops, motels and restaurants, parking lots, gas stations and tire shops, restrooms and car washes, oh really endless...?

I am sensitive to the issue of auto bailout because I was involved in the automotive industry in the Philippines for twelve years. While most of that time were in marketing, the Japanese made sure I knew my product knowledge by training me for a combined 18 months in Tokyo and Nagoya, including such basics as disassembling and assembling a car engine.

When the industry collapsed in 1984, I had invested many years in the development of the Toyota Tamaraw. Some of my concept designs in Asian Utility Vehicle (AUV) category resemble derivatives like the Revo and Innova that came out many years after I left the industry. So this is where I am coming from.

Yes, here is no doubt that the American automotive industry must be bailed out. In fact it must be funded further to make sure that American cars are not only pleasing, efficient and durable but that they would be marketed abroad. That said, American dollars should also be invested to collapse protectionism abroad, if not then there should be a move to introduce protectionism in-country, but moderated.

Why? Because the Japanese market subsidizes the loss in profit margins experienced by Japanese products abroad, and that is why they can sell lower in foreign markets. On top of that, their "customer-first" philosophy has enabled not only good products but best product mixes. For instance, Toyota alone has the low-priced Scion, the mid-priced Toyotas and the premium-priced Lexus.

American cars have also greatly improved. But they trade their access to hybrid models for more market access within the US., for instance the Vibe is really a Matrix, the small Ford SUV is a Mazda etc. The American auto industry must redefine its vision along lines what is good for the American consumer and not just follow the lead of the Japanese, a self-induced mentality of cannot-lick-them-so-join-them that has worked in favor of the import rather than the importer.

The American car executive must also resist its tendency to transplant its obese values to the product. A few years ago, Detroit sent the gas guzzlers to their graves - remember those hotdog-looking station wagons. Well they are back in today's bloated SUVs. As a result, markets disappear when the fuel environment changes as what we have experienced since four years ago.
And now that the public have been traumatized, who in his right mind would buy a Hummer?

When the Americans cannot compete with the Land Cruisers, they made the Expedition. Not content with that they introduced the Excursion. While they were doing this, the Japanese maneuvered to enable an SUV to match every pocket. Toyota alone has the Scion Xb and Xd, the Rav4, the Highlander, the Forerunner, the Lexus 300, the Land Cruiser, the Lexus 470.

Not content while Detroit was distracted on the big SUV race, the Japanese relentlessly pursued its green models giving birth to the Prius and the Matrix, thus paying off in gold when the gas pumps went as high as $4 to a gallon. As a result, I think Toyota now controls 56% of the hybrid market. They know Americans always wants to think big, faster but nowadays whose pockets can go as and big and rapid as their cars? They sure look awesome, but who can pay the monthly installment or lease in a recession.

There should also be a stimulus package that can be designed when one buys an American car product. Why, the US government subsidizes its farmers, so why not its industrial workers by way of incentives for patriotic consumers. If the citizenry do not benefit, they will not patronize - that is a key value i learned from an American auto dealer from California in the late 70s. People, in the final analysis, buy benefits not products.

Technology-wise there is no reason why the American cannot now compete with the Japanese and the Koreans. But American national pride must form part of the recipe to make their products sell and last in the market. Every Japanese value the CEO as their "sacho-san" or an equivalent of a demi-god. but sachos are also expected to commit harakiri when they fail their corporate community and the nation.

Finally, the greed that underscored Wall Street is also true to Detroit. Top-level auto officials must be paid in accordance to the value they serve their industry. The corporate pay must be restored to meritocracy. Burn the poofers, publish their names and make them famous. For heavens sakes CEOs - crash those corporate jets and just drive to Washington DC for the Congressional hearings!

The world renowned true American spirit is not evident in the American car products. But the American wants are, and that is why a complete rethinking is in order.

Politics Filipinos Filipino-Americans

Stop Human Rights Violations in the Philippines

If this does not make you seethe in anger enough to do something to stop and prevent this cruel madness from ever happening again, I don't know what will?

Calling on all decent freedom loving Filipinos, we implore you to stop this cruel inhumane treatment of fellow Filipino people!
**************************************************************************
Rebel without a clue

Rage

By Patricia Evangelista

Philippine Daily Inquirer

First Posted 02:06:00 11/23/2008

THIS is the story of one Raymond Manalo, farmer, who disappeared on Feb. 14, 2006 with his older brother from their farm in San Ildefonso, Bulacan. Manalo was neither activist nor rebel when he disappeared. He escaped more than two years later. He says there are many, many more like him.
* * *
They put you in a cage four feet by one foot small, the height of an average man. There are hollow blocks to the side and iron grills in front. You sit with three other men, crouched in a line. There is no other way to fit.

Your brother is in the same cell. The door opens, more of them come in. More of them like you—beaten, bruised, helpless. They are put inside the next cell. This time there are two men and a married couple. The woman has burns all over her body. She was raped, they tell you. She was raped and beaten until she soiled herself. They say she has gone mad. They take her away.

This is where you shit, where you piss, where you wash if you still care. You do not feel the wind; you do not see the sun. Your food comes rarely, and what comes is rotten, leftover pig feed. Three men arrive, from Nueva Ecija. They are tortured. One of them has both arms broken. Bleeding.

Sometimes, when the soldiers are drinking, they take you out of your cage and play with you. The game varies, but it is usually the same. Two by fours, chains, an open gardening hose shoved down your nose. You crawl back to your cage, on your hands and knees. You wake up to screaming, to the sound of grown men begging, and you wonder which one it is this time. Sometimes, one of your cellmates will disappear. Sometimes, they don’t come back.

Then they take you away, and there is a doctor, pills, antibiotics, a bed. They tell you they are taking you home to see your parents. You meet the man they call The Butcher, and he tells you to tell your parents not to join the rallies, to stay away from human rights groups, that they would ruin your life and your brother’s. He tells you, this small man in shorts, that if you can only prove you’re on his side now, he would let you and your brother live. He gives you a box of vitamins, and tells you that they are expensive: P35 per pill.

They put a chain around your waist. The military surround your farm. Your mother opens the front door crying, and hugs you. You tell them what you were told to say. You hand them the money Palparan told you to give. Then you are told you must go.

Always, you keep thinking of escape. You make yourself useful, to make them trust you. You cook. You wash cars. You clean. You shop. No task is too menial. And one day, while you sweep the floor, you see a young woman, chained to the foot of a bed. Her name is Sherlyn Cadapan, she tells you, Sports Science, University of the Philippines Diliman, the same Sherlyn who disappeared from Hagonoy, Bulacan on June 26, 2006. She says she has been raped.

Later, you meet Karen Empeño, also from UP, and Manuel Merino, the farmer who rushed to save the two girls when they were abducted. Karen and Sherlyn are in charge of washing the soldiers’ clothes, you and Manuel and your brother Reynaldo wash the car and carry water and cook.

The five of you are taken from camp to camp. You see the soldiers stealing from villagers. You see them bringing in blindfolded captives. You see them digging graves. You see them burning bodies, pouring gasoline as the fire rose. You see them shoot old men sitting on carabaos and see them push bodies into ravines. And in April 2007, you hear a woman begging, and when you are ordered to fix dinner, you see Sherlyn, lying naked on a chair that had fallen on the floor, both wrists and one tied leg propped up.

You see them hit her with wooden planks, see her electrocuted, beaten, half-drowned. You see them amuse themselves with her body, poke sticks into her vagina, shove a water hose into her nose and mouth. And you see the soldiers wives’ watch. You hear the soldiers forcing Sherlyn to admit who it was with plans to “write a letter.” You hear her admit, after intense torture, that it was Karen’s idea. And you see Karen, dragged out of her cell, tied at the wrists and ankles, stripped of her clothing, then beaten, water-tortured, and burned with cigarettes and raped with pieces of wood. And it is you who are ordered to wash their clothes the next day, and who finds blood in their panties.

And you are there, on the night they take away Manuel Merino, when you hear an old man moaning, a gunshot and the red light of a sudden fire.
* * *
The day Raymond Manalo and his brother Reynaldo escaped was the day he promised himself they would pay, all of them who tortured Karen and Sherlyn, who killed so many, who tortured him and his brother until they begged and pleaded. They were pigs, he says, those men were pigs. If he escaped, they told him, and if they couldn’t find him, they would massacre his family. And if they do not answer to the courts here, they will answer to God.

They can still kill him, he says. But even if they do, it is too late. He’s told his story.

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Philippine Politics Human Rights Filipinos Filipino-Americans Politics

Senator Gordon: 61 extra judicial killings of journalists since 2001

Delivered by Senator Richard Gordon

Philippine Senate
Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Privilege Speech on slain journalist Aristeo Padrigao

On November 17, another journalist was shot and killed in Gingoog City. Aristeo Padrigao was a blocktime commentator, radio show host of DZRS Radyo Natin and a columnist in the Mindanao Monitor Today. He made frequent exposes on illegal logging and other forms of graft and corruption in the city of Gingoog. He was shot dead at 7:15 a.m. in Gingoog City and died from a single .9 mm bullet in his right jaw.

Mr. President, my own father was assassinated and I hope this will be the last time that I would rise here but it seems that I've always made a commitment that when something like this happens, so dastardly an act, I am constrained to rise principally because it would appear that we have never learned, or we have never really pursued killers who kill with impunity in this country, especially judges, public officials, or for that matter, even the lowly

And so Mr. President, I rise on this matter again, hoping that it would be the last time, hoping that our policemen will finally take action on matters involving killing such as this.

Already, this country has been accused in the halls of Congress in the United States of America as being perpetrators of extra-judicial killings mainly because we had not been able to conduct any cogent investigation or for that matter, been able to arrest any of the suspects in these dastardly deeds.

Mr. Aristeo Padrigao was exercising his right as a citizen of this country, his right as a radioman, who take his role, seeing to expose things that are abusive and are certainly inimical to the interests of our communities.

Now Mr. President, this person, Aristeo Padrigao, was at the time he was killed, taking his children to go to school. A seven-year old child was with him and two motorcycle-riding men wearing dark jackets came by and shot him in the jaw and killed him instantly before the eyes of his seven-year old child.

Now Mr. President, what could be more dastardly than that, what could be more, so brazen in so far as our society is concerned? It is as if people of his ilk feel that they can go ahead and do it with impunity in broad daylight, in front of a school, in front of the families of these victims.

Having said that, it behooves the Senate which should be the forum upon which people can freely redress their grievances to their duly elected representatives such as us to move to finally put a stop and perhaps awaken our law enforcement authorities as well as our local officials to the fact that these killings must be contained. How many killings have been perpetrated using motorcycles? This is not the first time I've risen on this platform because in the past years, more and more killings have been conducted by people who are riding motorcycles.

We have filed a bill to make sure that people riding motorcycles should have a crash helmet and they should have a body number corresponding to the plate number so that anybody riding motorcycles could be stopped if there is no crash helmet with a body number. Unfortunately, it has been in the committee for so long. And I would like to awaken the committee concerned to perhaps take a look at that. Perhaps we can stop the killings if we create a way upon which we can take a bite out of crime, of making it difficult for them to commit these dastardly acts.

According to Uriel Quilingging, a friend of Padrigao, that the killing might have been due to the radio commentator's exposes about illegal logging.

All of us rise here from time to time. We conduct investigations here. We're not immune from the acts of these people and for that matter, so all the people who blow whistles on dastardly crimes in our country. If we do not act, we are encouraging in effect, these people who have no morals, who have no qualms of killing people in front of their families, to continue these acts.

My father was assassinated in 1967. It is now 2008 and it continues on and on, and so much so that it has become ho-hum to most of our people. It would appear that we just yawn and say, "These things happen. Talagang ganyan, wala tayong magagawa."

We should not be willing to accept it. And this Senate should call in the law enforcement authorities and haul them to task and bring in all the list of all those people whose families had been killed so that they can explain what they are doing to make sure that people don't get away with these criminal acts. And that is why, I rise once again to remind ourselves as well as the law enforcement authorities. We cannot just accept the statement of Supt. Leonroy Ga, Gingoog Police Chief, who said that his men were investigating reports that Padrigao had received death threats days before he was killed but found no other leads, except that the killing was related to Padrigao's work. Anybody can say that. What kind of policemen do we have, when all they can say is "we're investigating, we're making a follow-up. We're looking at this event but sorry there are no witnesses and we think it was related to his job that's why he was killed."

We must say no more. In fact, if the policemen of this country keep on saying that, this country has a right to start hauling the police chief concerned right here to let them know that the Senate of this country will not tolerate even the local police chiefs from saying "I cannot solve the case." We must tell them it's not gonna be business as usual anymore. And we should recommend that he be relieved and that the PNP chief himself explain to us what he is doing about it, what kind of programs he is doing about it to answer for all these motorcycle-related killings and public executions that have gone array in this country.

We call these policemen to task for taking P10-million out of the country. What is more dastardly than people who get away with killings when these policemen are supposed to be doing their jobs, making sure that they have criminal investigation techniques and they should be using the intelligence fund instead of using it for travel, they should have used that intelligence fund to identify organized crimes in this country, perpetrators of assassinations, guns for hire so that we can get these people to task.

And yet we heard the silly statement that day, "Ok na, bahala na ko jan. Pwedeng gamitin yung intelligence fund para gamitin natin pagpunta natin sa Moscow and spend the P10-million out there.

We can no longer tolerate this. I pray that is the last time I will rise on matters like this. But I'm afraid it will not be the last time because it has been my personal advocacy and the Senate president is aware of that, because as a young man when I was still in Law school, I went to the Department of Justice, at that time headed by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile. And while with my mother went to him three years after my father had been, five years after my father had been assassinated and continued with every Secretary of Justice at that time to try to get the assassins or the masterminds of the killing of my father.

There are people who are killed and they do not have the voice as strong as we have here. So we must speak for them, we must speak for the seven-year old child of this individual who was killed. He cannot just be a statistic, so much that every time I go to Washington with the Ambassador of the Philippines and I speak with senators, lobbying for the guerillas, for the veterans so that they would be paid. I would not be threatened by a senator and say "We cannot give this to you, because we cannot give American money to people, whose record, whose government has a record of having extra-judicial killings.

Balewala yun, ang tunay na sitwasyon dito ay yung pinapatay na tao because he speaks. And if he can no longer speak, no one is safe. If judges cannot govern because they are shot, they cannot make decisions because they are killed in public and you know that I have risen there and when we did, we were fortunate enough because when they investigated they found out that mastermind was in Muntinlupa.. When I spoke here last time, on an incident involving a child whose parents were both Muslims and Christians. A Muslim-Christian wedding occurred and she was the daughter of this wedding and she was killed. Somebody grabbed her bag while she was going out of her job early in the morning and she was shot. When we spoke, the policemen acted. But we cannot speak all the time every time somebody is killed. However, if we make sure that when we call the policemen this time and we ask them and we tell them that we would no longer tolerate the kind of "ok lang situation, wala tayong magagawa, bahala na, pipilitin namin magawa yan." We must demand more of law enforcement, we must demand more of our community and our country. Let me just cite today the glaring statistics insofar as journalists are concerned.

Are we aware that this guy Mr. Padrigao who was murdered is the 6th journalist killed in this year alone. And are we also aware that he is the 61st journalist to be killed since 2001. Are we just gonna say, "hey, another statistic; another one bites the dust; another daughter orphaned." A community that remains silent, and what do we have? A community that is deadened by fear, that is afraid to speak up, that no longer feels it can handle situations like this because "wag ka na makialam baka ikaw pa ang barilin."

We must strengthen the resolve of our people. We must awaken their righteousness. We must tell them that there is a Senate in this country that will not tolerate this and that will do something about this. And let it be impressed upon our minds once again, according to a sage once upon a time, let it be instilled into your children, that the liberty of the press is the palladium of all the civil, political, religious rights. If that palladium is destroyed, if that palladium that privilege of being able to report on matters that are important for people to know, that their environment is being destroyed, that their trees are being cut by those who are greedy in this country. If they start becoming afraid, then we will have as we have had in past incidence mudslides that kill other people. And that is why this gentleman was killed because he dared spoke up like that.

And so I would like to ask the Senate to refer this to the proper committee right away. And so that we can call no less than the Chief PNP, and no less than the people who are in charge of Intelligence in this country and make a demand upon them that they must come out with a report of all these unsolved crimes in this country so that finally we could have some action on this matter.

I would like to thank our members of the Senate for having had the patience to listen, but I think this cannot be ignored and we cannot be complacent or apathetic about it

Thank you Mr. President.

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Dionesio C. Grava - Community journalist based in Los Angeles. Member of New America Media, Society of Professional Journalists, and Society of Environmental Journalists, among others.

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Cha-Cha is Gloria Arroyo’s version of Change

When Barack Obama run on a platform of change, it meant exactly that but why are the Filipino politicians using the same mantra of change when it is actually more of the same? Not to be outdone and since the great copy cat will somehow concoct a look-alike change mantra except it was anchored on hopelessness Cha-Cha is Gloria Arroyo’s version of change except it is more of the same and the most horrible things is yet to come.

No, change is not just changing the constitution using the Mafiosi congress as constipational errr constituent assembly with both lower and upper house voting as one as a substitute for the elected constitutional delegates. Yeah, we understand that times are hard and there is a need to save the much squandered government resources but really why not just declare martial law if the intent was to scrimp. Gloria Arroyo has never been known to be frugal when it comes to taxpayers’ money especially when she squanders them like money is going out of style, just look at the Phil-Health, Fertilizer scams, and election spending so great that the Philippines experienced a huge surge in GDP.

What’s up with Juan Miguel “Mikey” Arroyo leading the signature drive of the rubber stamp congress kuligs (insects) errr colleagues to amend the constitution? Hudas errr who does he think he is fooling? Mikey Jr. probably never heard of shameless much less delicadeza an unheard of trait that younger generation politicians has no clue if such exist in the land of cheats. Ok, assuming that we take his mother dearest the Garcified President word (like she still has any credibility, lol) that her "intent" was to handover a “strong republic” to her successor, why in the name of Comelec math wizard is she dangling “bon-bons” (palace funds) to the mob errr congress loyal allies? Really, if the intent was leaving a stronger republic there is no need for them to be bribed, is it because the real purpose was so obvious as shown in the Dureza prayer slip?

Malacanang is in denial errr trying desperately to "distance" themselves from the cha-cha maneuverings even though it was obvious no matter how they lie errr deny their role. If indeed they are not in on this why did Gloria Arroyo and FG Mike Arroyo attended the private lunching of the signature drive? A party on November 15 was held, hosted by Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez for Gloria Arroyo and First Boor errr FG Mike Arroyo in launching charter change (Cha-cha) to extend Gloria Arroyo’s stay in Malacañang at 42 McKinley Road, Forbes Park teeming with 80 of her congressional loyalist as reported by Niñez Cacho-Olivares. A quote from Olivarez report:

“The consensus among congressmen is that the high court will rule in favor of the petition for joint voting, since the President is in control of the (majority) justices in the Supreme Court (SC),” one source said.

The plan also calls for a shift to the parliamentary system, to enable Mrs. Arroyo to run for a seat in Pampanga and end up with her becoming the prime minister.

It was not made clear whether a federal form of government is to be pushed, but what is clear is that it will be a parliamentary system that will be pushed, with all term limits lifted, including the term limits of the Local Government executives.

The sources also said that the plan also calls for an election in 2010, but with a new Constitution already in place, the elections to be held will no longer be for the presidency and 12 senators, but for district elections under a parliamentary system.

House members present at the launching of Mrs. Arroyo’s term extension via the Cha-cha claimed that Press Secretary Jesus Dureza, made that slip of the tongue, as an offshoot of the Cha-cha plot launched at Romualdez’ Forbes Park home.

Here is Dureza’s slip of the forked errr tongue posted by Manuel Buencamino at Uniffors:

Bless the President so we will have forbearance, good health, the tolerance to lead this nation up to 2010 and perhaps who knows even beyond.

Looks like there will be no presidential election if this pushes through with about 120 to 150 signatures already gathered according to Iloilo Representative Raul Gonzalez Jr. with the President’s party Kampi forming the sinister errr core group behind the campaign. With “bon-bons” floating around, the magic number of 196 votes needed comprising two-thirds of the combined membership of the Senate (23) and the House (238) is just around the corner. If the numbers game or the rule of the mob in the past impeachment attempts against Gloria Arroyo is used as a basis for predicting the outcome to arrive at the "magic number" then the die is cast that they will surely get it.

Jose Montelibano’s recent article, Change we do not know aptly describes the political situation in the Philippines, to quote:

The sustained unpopularity of Gloria, the sustained unacceptability of the Opposition, these are indicators that the Filipino is caught in between a rock and hard place. If the rock and the hard place were not locked in aggressive combat, then the Filipino has much more time to stay in between them. But they push hard against each other and will force the trapped Filipino to react in a way that is just as difficult to predict.

True, how people react is difficult to predict and I am sure Arroyo’s mobs are not worried about that as they are so used to have their way with nary a whimper from their constituents. But then again who knows if this time around things will be different and change may yet come to this forsaken land. Imagine throngs of angry and hungry people asserting their political will, not exactly a pretty picture should it happen according to Senator Kiko Pangilinan:

The times are harder than ever, and with the blatant display of personal political ambitions, our people do not trust the national leadership - it shouldn't test the patience of a deeply disappointed people. The Arroyo government shouldn't take the people for fools willing to swallow the garbage called Chacha it is now dishing out.

Will there be another Edsa people revolt should the administration push through with charter change? Is that why she was desperately and miserably trying to no avail to have a photo-op with President-elect Barack Obama? A much needed propaganda of "implied support" to fool the gullible people in her charter change maneuverings when she is clearly not getting any from the incoming U.S. President. Gloria Arroyo's moves may just be what The Equalizer believe as the pride before the fall and with the bizarre rise from the dead of an old relic of the ugly past something sinister may just occur........ a scary thought to contemplate according to Manuel Buencamino.

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