Pedestrian Observer GB: Charter Change

"In societies where Robbing Hoods are treated like a celebrity it is but natural to expect political parties to act like a Mafia syndicate" Political Jaywalker "In a nation where corruption is endemic people tend to confuse due process with aiding and abetting criminals" Political Jaywalker "War doesn't determine who is right, war determines who is left" Bertrand Russell "You have just one flash flood of money, you keep your people poor. It's like a time bomb and it's scary" Philippine Lawmaker

Showing posts with label Charter Change. Show all posts

Twittering on the Hayden/Katrina scandal and charter change

Bottom Line
By Marvin Bionat

If you haven't heard of Twitter yet, it's time to peek out of your cave. Like Facebook, it's a free Internet-based social networking service that allows its users to exchange quick updates known as tweets. Unlike blogs or e-mails, messages are limited to 140 characters, so there are no long essays to bore others. The instant character of the service has made it the new Internet sensation—fitting in nicely with today's instant-this, instant-that culture. According to Nielsen, Twitter is growing at a 1,382 percent clip, compared to 228 percent for Facebook.

Despite all the hoopla (this week's cover of Time magazine has the image of an iPhone with a tweet in it), I can't get myself to open a Twitter account. Celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres now have more than a million subscribers (or followers receiving their every tweet). Perhaps I don't want to expose what will probably be a close to absolute lack of followership. Even "Jose Rizal"
(http://twitter.com/joserizal1861) is not exactly drawing crowds. His first (could be his last) tweet: "Ang hindi lumingon sa kanyang pinanggalingan ay may stiff neck." (Loose translation: "Those who fail to look back to where they came from have stiff necks.") So far he has only one follower, and he (being "Jose Rizal") probably thinks he's too big to be following anybody.

So why this piece on Twitter when I'm a reluctant user? Well, I'd like to test the idea of issuing some tweets without the responsibility of having to follow and be followed by others. Tweets are supposed to answer one simple question: What are you doing? I think it's a little presumptuous to expect people to be constantly interested in what I'm up to. Imagine how petty messages can get:
"Breakfast time—I just threw in some walnuts into my cereal bowl. Yummy!" And people are supposed to care about that? If I were to send tweets to people crazy enough to follow me, I'd stick to "news tweetisms" akin to Larry King's old blah-blah, dot-dot-dot columns for USA Today (he wrote a hodgepodge column, with just a couple of sentences and some clauses comprising each paragraph).

Here are my few initial attempts at news tweets, specifically on the red-hot Hayden Kho and Katrina Halili sex scandal (if you haven't heard of this case, Google "Kho scandal," and have fun sifting through over 2.5 million results) and on the rearing, again, of the ugly head of charter change (cha-cha):

Man jailed for stealing sex pics of Chinese star Edison Chen: How is Hayden's case different? Edison's partners posed; Katrina was clueless.

* * *

Case against Hayden not clear-cut: If video was stolen, his guilt was in recording without Katrina's consent; no known law against that.

* * *

Prosecution argues that Katrina's humiliation and depression fall under violence against women. Key question: Who leaked the video?

* * *

Hayden will claim he's a victim too. Again: Who "stole" and posted the video? Will Congress then criminalize recording without consent?

* * *

If Hayden was complicit in video leak, he's in big trouble. His likely strategy is to drag the case and hope for a settlement.

* * *

FVR in his time gained respect for giving up on his charter change proposal. GMA's bull-headed push is becoming really exasperating.

* * *

A trend in the Third World: vast tracks of land being sold or leased by local leaders to foreign countries—huge payoffs suspected.

* * *

Aside from holding on to power, huge rent-seeking opportunities are also a possible motive behind charter change proposals.

* * *

GMA got away with all her past shenanigans, but ramming through charter change to stay in power is the straw that'll break the camel's back.

* * *

If she knows what's good for her (i.e., avoid a forced ouster), GMA will drop cha-cha and focus on helping her candidates win in 2010.

* * *

Whew! And I thought this would be a quick column to write. It's actually much harder to capture thoughts when you have to do it in less the 140 characters, so the tweets above required way more time than I expected; so much for "instant" updates. Mark Twain once said, "I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead." That's so true, unless of course all you tweet about is what you eat for breakfast.

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Marvin Bionat is the creator of PhilippineUpdate.com, a news and views site that has served as a virtual platform that promotes various advocacies, including the political empowerment of overseas Filipinos and accountability in government. He wrote the National Bookstore bestseller How to Win (or Lose) in Philippine Elections (Anvil Publishing, 1998) and is now based in the

U.S.

working as an editor.

Read more articles by Marvin Bionat

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

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Gloria Arroyo & her palaka dumping Con ASS HR 1109

As we prepare for the big rally to show our outrage on the Palaka dominated Tongress HR 1109 PJ received an invite from Manny Pacquiao or his handlers at FaceBook to join President Gloria Arroyo Appreciation Group. While I am a big fan of the undisputed world best pound for pound boxer the timing and his wallowing in the muck of Philippine politics is ill-advised. It only shows that he should not dabble in politics lest he destroys all the hard work in his glorious achievement in the field of boxing.

Lu tong Mancao describes below the latest shameless political maneuverings of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her merged political party of Laban and Kampi now better known as PALAKA that makes the Hayden errrr hidden camera video sex scandal of wanna-be pornographer mother figure lover boy toy Hayden Kho pale in comparison:

When insatiable greed in public office replaces even the most basic idea of what is right, what do we have?

H.R. No. 1109 - a pornographic display of leadership in national governance!

Sabog talaga ang tumb--g ng inang bayang sa mga pating na ito sa katihan!

Aruuuy ko po!

Indeed, I could not agree more that this is akin to pornographic display of political leadership on a national level, one that is truly perverted because it comes straight from the source of their political wisdom as depicted in the image above. House Resolution 1109 will pave the way for a CONstipational errrrr Constitutional Assembly or Con Ass for short but it is really nothing but a con in the ass.

Well, Randy David in his column titled House of Gloria, stressed the repercussion of staying quiet or apathetic in the midst of Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her merged PALAKA's shameless and arrogant display of political opportunism :

Clearly, the election has begun, ahead of the one scheduled for 2010. And there is only one candidate—Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. In this contest, no ballots will be distributed and counted. Only our voices and our feet will matter. We either protest and march, or we pray or make noise. To shut up and stay home in the face of this shameless display of political opportunism is to accept Gloria forever.

An aberrant political development I should say and a shameless act of impunity on the part of the dishonorable tongress errr congress people not content with their misdeeds has the audacity to literally flick a finger on the people (image stolen at The Equalizer).

If you are a blogger and want to show your outrage to this travesty you can download some badges at No to conASS site thanks to Jun Anteola my FaceBook buddy for the tip.

Those "geniuses" thought they can just dump their sick ill-timed constipational errrr constitutional agenda then they are wrong as shown on the growing outpouring of outrages and mass actions which thanks to these morons may just succeed in uniting the people where others have failed miserably. Stop Cha Cha Now! a cause I joined at FaceBook was just composed of 91 members and a few days later has reached 4,100+ and still growing.

Another FaceBook cause Stop Con-ASS now! has reached 16,143 and still growing with a target of 100K may just get there sooner than anticipated with the help of decent freedom loving Filipinos at FaceBook.

Rallies will be held simultaneously in different places on June 10, 2009 in Makati, Katipunan Avenue ( in front of of Gate 2 of Ateneo), in Tondo (Sto.Nino Church), in Negros, Iloilo and in many cities of the country.

Vicente Romano III sent an announcement on the TindigNation Anti-ConAss Rally MANINDIGAN LABAN SA CON-ASS ni GLORIA! Black and White Movement and TindigNation allies assemble in front of Greenbelt 5 along Legaspi St at 4:15 pm and march to Ayala cor. Paseo de Roxas to join other groups for a short program (5 to 7 pm) to protest ConAss ni GMA.

"STOP GLORIA'S CON-ASS!" June 10, 5pm-8pm in front of Ninoy Aquino Monument, Ayala Ave., Makati, Caring Cabrera's Datu's Tribe will open the program.

FaceBook's cause Stop Con Ass Now! 'command center' will be located in the Starbucks coffee shop in Insular Life Building, Ayala Avenue cor. Paseo de Roxas will be manned by Susan 'Toots' Ople, Noli Benavent and staff of Blas Ople Policy Center from 12noon till rally time within the vicinity of the anti-ConAss June 10, 2009 rally in Makati from 5:00pm to 7pm.

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Cha Cha Dancing Queen Gloria Arroyo's latest conASS!

As I surf the web I found this awesome No to cha-cha video featuring dancing queer errrr queen Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo at Manila Baywatch which she found on FaceBook on Ferrum Mann's posting who in turn found it on Dennis Garcia's also on facebook.

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Detour of our Democracy is Definitely in the Air

My attention was called by this posting in one of the yahoogroups:

With a Senate-less Constituent Assembly convened and directly controlled by Lakas and Kampi members, it is very easy for the said Assembly to extend the term of the President or simply delete the provision which prohibits the president from running for reelection.

Today are dark times when the ruling party is preconditioning the public mind that a constitutional assembly could be implemented through the unilateral action of our House of Representatives. Let us not contribute to this deception.

But if this were a flat-off fallacy, in fact an impossibility under our present Constitution, why the scenario?

Any student of Political Science 101 knows that nothing can be enabled out of the Congress of the Philippines without the bilateral action of both its lower house, the House of Representatives and its upper house, the Philippine Senate.

And any railroading will easily be overturned by the Supreme Court. This has happened once before in the Arroyo administration, it will just repeat itself. This is crystal clear from our basic law of the land.

There are three ways to initiate amendments to the Constitution. These are found in Article XVII: " Section 1. Any amendment to, or revision of, this Constitution may be proposed by: (1) The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members; or (2) A constitutional convention. Section 2. Amendments to this Constitution may likewise be directly proposed by the people through initiative upon a petition of at least twelve per centum of the total number of registered voters, of which every legislative district must be represented by at least three per centum of the registered voters therein. No amendment under this section shall be authorized within five years following the ratification of this Constitution nor oftener than once every five years thereafter. The Congress shall provide for the implementation of the exercise of this right."

Activating any of the three initiatives need the enabling action of the Congress. This is what legislation is all about. Section 1 Article 6 says "The legislative power shall be vested in the Congress of the Philippines which shall consist of a Senate and a House of Representatives, except to the extent reserved to the people by the provision on initiative and referendum." (The exception explained elsewhere in Section 32 has really nothing to do with the present issue.)

Either the lower or the upper house can file a bill. After passing one house, a similar bill is filed in the other house. In case there are differences, a conference committee is called. And the conference report is submitted back to the both Houses for separate confirmation. Then the conference version, as ratified, is submitted to the President for approval or veto subject to Section 27 of the Constitution pertaining vetoes and overrides.

In the case of the present initiative for the calling of the Constituent Assembly, it has only been passed by the lower house. It will now go to the Senate for equivalent enactment.

I do not think a mere resolution can be sufficient in form.

Besides, he House resolution has also been rushed in violation of the Constitution that provides in Section 26: (2) No bill passed by either House shall become a law unless it has passed three readings on separate days, and printed copies thereof in its final form have been distributed to its Members three days before its passage, except when the President certifies to the necessity of its immediate enactment to meet a public calamity or emergency.

There were no three readings on separate days. Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita denies complicity of Mrs. Arroyo, and besides there is no public calamity or emergency that can justify the exception.

Thus it is impossible to have a Senate-less Constituent Assembly. So back to the question, why the scenario?

The obvious answer to this question is first, money. Everytime Malacanang wants something radical coming out of the House of Representatives, large brown envelops bearing hundreds of thousand to millions of moolahs raised through the fertilizer scam and similar graft, show up in the corridors of the Batasang Pambansa. All of a sudden, regardless of the month, jingle bells ring its halls, and silent night symbolizing omerta in the country’s largest Mafia organization is hummed within its offices.

The second answer is strategic. Hooplas of this nature sweep the opposition off its feet. Civil society becomes busy with protests, activists fan grandstanding, and grandstanding heightens crab mentality as demagogues and politicians outdo each other playing to the media. It melts society to factions and the resident evil in Malacanang rules the chessboards of power – as classic divide-and-rule motions lower the 2010 election in priority and visibility.

But the third answer is insidious. The Constitutional crisis charter change through constituent assembly could setup the presidential option to call for martial law. Gloria Arroyo, and especially her husband-lawyer Mike, know they cannot amend the Constitution using due process, so they can razzle-dazzle the political air, feign dangerous zarzuelas like those former president Marcos and defense secretary Enrile staged in 1972 and exercise her powers to call for martial law citing political instability and danger to national security.

Some may say however that martial law is no longer open-ended under the present Constitution and must be defined by Congress after 60 days; democratic processes are not extinguished and continues to remain in force. Sure that is what it says on paper.

But even now the lower house is already pliant, and I doubt it very much if the stubborn Senate will prevail when the rules of the game are changed and the security of their lives and their families faces duress before the barrel of the guns of the military that is also clearly in the pockets of Malacanang.

Ask Melissa Roxas, the FilAm who was recently abducted and tortured by the Arroyo gestapo, what these animals are capable of.

Whichever way, under civilian or martial rule, the rape of our Motherland is once again in in the air. Extreme danger is foreboding. And once again, just as against the Spaniards, the Americans and the Japanese in our history, our country is in need of real heroes who will put their own lives on the line to defend our freedom and democracy, this time against tyrants of our same brown skin.

Not yet time to dig our foxholes, but for now, let us fervently pray for the Philippines.

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Ado Paglinawan is a former press officer of the Philippine Embassy in Washington DC who occasionally contributes to the Philippines Daily Inquirer. He writes for various email groups and blogs under the pseudonym "mymaestro888". Ado has best served overseas Filipinos as a resource person providing inside information and backgrounders about the celebrated fertilizer scam that rocked the Philippine Agriculture Department and the Presidency since 2004.

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Committee Aproval of Nograles Resolution Signals Start of Chacha War: Malacañang no chacha assurance only intended to lull people into complacency

(Press Release from the NATIONAL UNION OF PEOPLES LAWYERS IN THE PHILIPPINES)

With the Committee on Constitutional Amendments' approval of the Nograles Resolution to amend the Constitution, the cha-cha war has been declared.

The National Union of Peoples' Lawyers strongly condemns the sudden approval of Resolution 737 filed by Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday without the benefit of public hearings to hear those opposed to the proposal. Other than eliminating protectionist provisions in the Constitution, the Nograles Resolution now paves the way for the insertion of amendments that will allow Pres. Gloria Arroyo to run in the 2010 elections. Pronouncements by presidential allies that charter change is dead is nothing more than a scheme to encourage complacency among the people. Malacañang is very confident it will hurdle the four Legal Nodal Points along the path of a successful amendment to the Constitution to extend Pres. Arroyo's reign. The hundreds of millions of taxpayers money that Comelec will spend in the plebiscite this year and the billions that will be spent for the 2010 election that will be paid for by the impoverished Filipino people reeling under the current economic crisis is condemnable especially since it will be spent for the benefit of one person and transnational corporations. NUPL calls on Speaker Nograles to withdraw his chacha resolution as it will only worsen the economic crisis in the country and increase poverty among the people.

Railroading Cha cha

Resolution 737 which will constitutionally allow aliens and 100% foreign owned corporations to buy our lands and exploit our natural resources was only publicly heard last week when resource persons led by Mr. Gerardo Sicat and Alex Magno were invited to express support for Resolution 737. It was approved despite demands that the committee also invite those against opening the country to aliens. The Committee's vote against Resolution 888 urging Congress not to tackle charter change before 2010 shows the single minded intent of pro chacha forces to railroad amendments to the Constitution.

Eliminating constitutional provisions restricting foreign ownership of lands and participation in the exploitation of our natural resources will only lead to foreigners exercising more economic and political control of the country. The price of land will certainly shoot up beyond the reach of ordinary Filipinos once Japanese or other interested foreigners begin buying our land. Under the Art. XII, Sec. 7 of the 1987 Constitution, only Filipinos and Filipino owned corporations can own private lands, utilize our natural resources and operate public utilities. Resolution 737 grants aliens the right to own lands in the Philippines—virtually creating a situation where foreigners own vast tracts of land while millions of Filipinos remain landless. It also allows them decisive control over our economy by allowing them to exploit our natural resources. While Congress refuses to pass a genuine land reform law granting Filipinos a land to till, it readily supports efforts to give land to foreigners. Speaker Nograles and his co-authors are urged to immediately withdraw Resolution 737 as this would only increase poverty in the country.

The rush to approve Resolution 737 becomes more questionable since even Mr. Gerardo Sicat testified that due to the international economic crisis, benefits from further opening up the country to foreign investments will not happen in the near future. The sudden approval only confirms NUPL's belief that another important but hidden agenda geared towards the elimination of the constitutional provision prohibiting Pres. Arroyo from running in the 2010 elections is being readied before election fever sets in.

Pres. Arroyo is obsessed by the possibility that she will lose her immunity by July 1, 2010 and many criminal cases will be filed against her after her term. Considering the strong evidence against her and the difficulty of covering up her crimes once she is no longer president, President Arroyo is surely afraid that she will be the second president convicted for corruption, electoral fraud or human rights violation. There is therefore no recourse for Pres. Arroyo but to simply have the sentence "The President shall not be eligible for any reelection" in Section 4, Article VII of the Constitution deleted. This will entitle her to run in 2010 armed more resources and power than she had in 2004.

Allowing Pres. Arroyo to run for reelection: Hurdling the Four Legal Nodal Points

Resolution 737 will now be tackled in the plenary and therefore subject to amendments by just a mere majority vote and the insertion of a provision allowing Pres. Arroyo to run for reelection. This was admitted by Rep. Victor Ortega himself, the chairman of the Committee that rushed the approval of Resolution 737 during a committee meeting when he was asked if Resolution 737 may be amended in the plenary:

A majority vote of the Committee Members may amend the Resolution in the Committee level and in the same manner, a majority vote of all House Members may amend the Resolution in the plenary (Chairman Victor Ortega, Minutes of the 19th Meeting of the Committee on Constitutional Amendments, December 9, 2008).

Assurances that Congress as a Constituent Assembly will not insert term extensions is without any value not only because of the lack of credibility by members of Congress but also because the Constituent Assembly cannot indeed be bound by assurances from Congress much less from individual congressmen. It is a powerful body distinct from Congress tasked, not to amend laws, but to propose amendments to the Constitution.

Pres. Arroyo is confident that she will get a favorable decision in the four legal nodal points along the road to constitutional change namely the Congress, the Comelec, the Supreme Court and the plebiscite. Should Congress, with the presence of one or two senators, vote "jointly" and approve the charter change resolution by ¾ vote it can then order the Comelec to schedule a plebiscite immediately "after 60 days from such approval" as provided under Section 4, Article XVII of the Constitution. Malacanang is also confident that the Supreme Court will favor charter change and order the Comelec to push through with the plebiscite should anyone hale the Comelec to the Supreme Court. Because there have been no substantial electoral reforms and pro cha cha forces have all the resources and power at their disposal, it is highly likely that the amendment will be approved despite strong opposition.

The NUPL asserts that any proposal to amend the Constitution must be by both Houses of Congress voting separately, even if the Constitution which states under Article XVII (1) that any amendments or revision to the Constitution "may be proposed by The Congress, upon a vote of three-fourths of all its Members", did not expressly provide for separate voting.

The term "Congress" has always been taken to refer to both the House and the Senate voting separately because Congress is bicameral in nature, according to the Constitution itself. A similar provision for example is found in Article VII, Section 19 which also states that the President "shall have the power to grant amnesty with the concurrence of a majority of all the members of the Congress". This provision did not also specify whether voting is joint or separate. The practice of the Congress, however, in all amnesty proclamations including that promulgated by Pres. Arroyo has always been that concurrence by both Houses voting separately. Congress cannot now claim that because the Constitution is silent it is presumed to ordain joint voting of both Houses when it has previously interpreted an exactly similar provision on amnesty as separate voting.

The belated misinterpretation by presidential allies in Congress only exposes their plan to boldly and swiftly push charter change and run over any opposition. The NUPL warns that this "transactional" interpretation of the Constitution will merit the strongest response from the people who will not allow the extension of Pres. Arroyo's reign.

The chacha war has began and the people must use all its power to ensure that the second longest reigning President after Marcos, will not be allowed to amend the Constitution to perpetuate herself in power and further expand alien control over the country.

By calling yourselves the 'people's lawyer,' you have made a remarkable choice. You decided not to remain in the sidelines. Where human rights are assaulted, you have chosen to sacrifice the comfort of the fence for the dangers of the battlefield. But only those who choose to fight on the battlefield live beyond irrelevance." Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato S. Puno, in his message to the NUPL Founding Congress,Sept. 15, 2007

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Cheryl Chyt Daytec, is a Practising/Litigation Lawyer, Human rights advocate, Poet, Writer, and an Associate Professor at St. Louis University in Baguio City, Philippines. She is presently a member of the Board of Trustee of Cordillera Indigenous Peoples' Legal Center (DINTEG) rendering pro-bono services for the poor and the oppressed (marginalized women and children, informal settlers, IPs, laborers, HR victims, etc.).

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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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Change is Inevitable in the Philippine Senate

Talk about change that is ushering in the U.S. in light of an Obama win and not to be out done the Philippine Senate is also caught up in the same frenzy. Except in the Philippine Senate change is more of the same, that is pathetically moving backward instead of forward to its relics of its ugly past. It was more like waking up to a nightmare with Juan Ponce Enrile of all people as the new Senate President.

Congratulations senators, you just went into a full circle, not that the present leadership is not bad enough but surely it is was from bad to worse and then when the one swearing in the senate president is no other than the perennial coup leader Enrile side-kicked errr side-kick Gringgo Honasan it gets worst than ever.

Manuel Buencamino at Uniffors wrote:

Enrile thanked his supporters profusely.

“Even as I honestly never sought the position of Senate president for myself, I can tell you that no honor or recognition can compare to one such as this, which comes from my own peers. Allow me this opportunity to ask you, my colleagues, to forgive my shortcomings. I am an old man who has acquired some bad habits of sometimes being arrogant, rude, harsh with my words, insensitive and impatient. Yet, you have so kindly overlooked these shortcomings and generously chose me to be your leader.”

Senators who so kindly overlooked Enrile’s acquired bad habits and shortcomings and generously chose him to be their leader are Edgardo Angara, Rodolfo Biazon, Chiz Escudero, Jinggoy Estrada, Richard Gordon, Gregorio Honasan, Panfilo Lacson, Lito Lapid, Loren Legarda, Jamby Madrigal, Bong Revilla, Mar Roxas, Juan Miguel Zubiri, and Enrile himself.

Those who for reasons of their own were not so generous are Joker Arroyo, Alan Cayetano, Pia Cayetano, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino Pimentel jr., Benigno ‘Noynoy’ Aquino III. They did not vote against Enrile, they were kind enough to abstain.

The nightmare errr the coup was enough for Jove Francisco 's jaw to drop at Facebook when he learned about the still unknown events that transpired before the Senate coup.

MLQ III says it is a mutiny for a bounty or a re-alignment of evil errr of forces in view of the 2010 pissedential contest oooops presidential elections to neutralize Money errr Manny Villar who is a presidential hopeful. Heck that just goes to show how pathetic Philippine politics and The Equalizer sees the devil incarnate errr a Faustian bargain:

It shows that all the presidentiables are willing to make FAUSTIAN bargains to advance their own ambitions.

Mon Casiple’s Weblog on Philippine Politics entry Villar’s Senate Waterloo thinks Enrile’s rise from the dead errr to the Senate Presidency will pave the way for charter change:

Of course, there is the opportunity for the GMA administration to pursue the Charter change agenda under Enrile’s watch. However, he is too much of a wild card at this time of an increasingly lameduck GMA presidency. It is more correct to say that anything may happen. What is more discernible is that the ruling coalition will try to make a play to stay on top of the increasingly unstable situation.

We must watch out for the agreements that underpin the majority’s support for an Enrile Senate presidency. There is more than meets the eye on this one.

Jon Mariano an OFW in Hong Kong says that Philippine politics at least in the senate is all about back-stabbing and even front-stabbing, lol too much callousness in play perhaps that if there is really no rule in the game as in anything goes.

For whatever its worth one thing is certain the Philippine Senate truly reflects the kind of people that occupies that position and it is not pretty..... to think that we thought something positive will come out of Panfilo Lacson's expose' on the C5 extension project dubbed as the Sarah Palin counterpart of the Road to Nowhere, was nothing but a ploy to put his kuligs (insects) errrr colleagues on the spot. No wonder the probe was selective as usual and no one dares touch Mike Velarde whose properties also benefited from the funding (although there were claims they have not received a single cent) which I suspect was aimed solely at Villar. Anyway it is too early to tell if indeed they are too afraid to touch Mike Velarde for fear of losing a voting bloc that he commands coming from his fanatical sex errr sect followers if indeed he can really deliver those votes. Now that Manny Villar has been unseated, will they still pursue the C5 probe and extend the prove to include Mike Velarde? That remains to be seen and in the Philippine political realm we seem to see more of the aberration than change for the better...... let us see how this unfolds.........

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