Not So Good News [Archive] - Page 7

jpdm

August 12th, 2009, 11:25 AM

Gloria’s mysterious millions and undeclared houses

MALOU MANGAHAS, PCIJ
08/12/2009 | 12:03 AM
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(Last of three parts)

Ombudsman, CSC mum on Gloria’s SALNs

Getting the responsible officials to talk about issues of compliance in form and in substance with the Statements on Assets, Liabilities, and Net Worth (SALN) law is sure to test anyone’s patience and stamina.

It took two weeks for Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez to respond to a simple request from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for an interview on the declared net worth of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The lawyers and spokesperson of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo have spoken, in many words saying that the 114-percent surge in her declared net worth from 2000 to 2008 could be explained.

Lawyer Ruy Rondain, who also serves as counsel to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, seconded: “My feeling is that if the PCIJ has any evidence, it would be better if they bring it out because the report is just full of insinuations."

Indeed, there are more details that the PCIJ has uncovered, and which Arroyo’s lawyers themselves may well want to look at. Contained in various documents obtained from the Office of the Ombudsman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Register of Deeds of local government units, and other relevant public agencies, these details raise more questions that even Makalintal and Rondain may not be able to answer.

For instance, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) she filed in 2008, President Arroyo had declared ownership of only six real estate properties, with total book or acquisition value of a measly P5.7 million.

These include a “gift purchased" residential lot in Antipolo, Rizal; a house and lot in Baguio City; raw land in Coron, Palawan; a fishpond in Malolos, Bulacan; an agricultural lot in Nasugbu, Batangas; and a commercial lot in Tayabas, Quezon.

Until recently, the First Couple had owned a three-hectare agricultural lot in San Rafael, Bulacan that, according to then Senator Arroyo’s 1995 SALN, they acquired for P1.2 million. They sold it for P42 million on Dec. 23, 2008.

It was to be the only real estate property that the Arroyos liquidated to account for a significant cash inflow. Cash might have come in from the sale of three other real properties they owned -- a residential lot in Las Pinas, an island in Cagayan, and a condominium in Makati City – but these were sold in 1994 and 1999, or before Arroyo became president.

No La Vista, no Forbes

Curiously, over the last 17 years or from 1992 when she first served as senator, Arroyo had not once declared two prime real estate properties that her own Cabinet officials believe she owns or has interests in: her house on No. 14 Badjao Street in posh La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City, and her parents’ house on No. 92 Cambridge Circle, North Forbes Park in Makati City.

By August 8, 2008, official records show that ownership of 10 house-and-lot properties of the Arroyo clan in La Vista had been transferred in the name of La Vista Holdings and Investments, Inc., from another company whose registration the SEC had revoked in August 2003.

La Vista Investments and Holdings is the only company that Arroyo listed in her 2008 SALN in which she and her husband have “business interest and/or financial connections." The First Gentleman, President Arroyo said, is a shareholder of La Vista Investments.

Raul Gonzalez, chief legal counsel today and for five years justice secretary of Arroyo, recalls attending meetings at the North Forbes house until two years ago.

Karina Constantino David, Civil Service Commission chairperson until 2007, says she knows that the house on Badjao Street is clustered among several houses that all belong to the Arroyos and their children and immediate relatives.

In their separate SALNs, Arroyo’s sons Juan Miguel and Diosdado, both members of the House of Representatives, as well as the First Gentleman’s brother, Ignacio Jr., and sister, Maria Lourdes, now a party-list representative, have all declared owning houses worth multimillions of pesos in the Arroyo enclave on Badjao and Kalinga streets in La Vista.

An elephant’s mind

That Arroyo seems to have forgotten about these houses and other assets surprises Gonzalez, who swears that the Philippines’ 14th president has the memory of an elephant.

Arroyo, he says, remembers the minutest details, facts, figures, faces, numbers, and names from even years back. He says it is unthinkable for Arroyo to forget what she and her husband own.

“What is obvious, how can you forget what is obvious? How can I forget my wife has a chicken farm? How can I forget my wife is engaged in looking for properties which are foreclosed and sold in public auction and she tries to buy them those things she can afford," Gonzalez says.

“She is very meticulous, she is very retentive," he says of the president. “My God, she has the memory of an elephant, and things you discussed six months ago she can tell you."

Macalintal and Rondain meanwhile say that Arroyo’s wealth could be explained not just by her real estate properties, but also by her shareholdings in companies that she and her husband own.

In truth, in her 2008 SALN, Arroyo had declared that stocks already made up 70 percent, or P110 million, of her declared net worth of P144.5 million. Her SALNs, however, do not say in which companies she has acquired capital shares, and whether these are listed in the stock market.

Few profitable firms

The president, according to SEC records updated as of October 2008, still has business and financial connections in at least five entities: Optima Research & Consultancy Agency, Inc., incorporator as of Sept 15, 1980; L.T.A. Realty Corp., incorporator, as of Sept. 28, 1992; EVA Development Corp., incorporator/board member, as of May 18, 1993; Circulo Pampangueno of Guam, Inc., board member, as of Sept. 29, 1997; and Centrist Democrat International Asia-Pacific, Inc., stockholder, incorporator, board member, as of July 24, 2005.

The First Gentleman, by the SEC’s records, still has business interests and financial connections in at least nine entities: Trans Realty Co., Inc., incorporator, as of Oct. 8, 1980; Raco-Trading Philippines, Inc., incorporator, as of Oct. 9, 1980; L.T.A. Realty Corp., incorporator, as of June 28, 1982; Aviatica Travel & Management Corp., incorporator, as of July 22, 1987; Eva Development Corp., incorporator, board member, as of May 18, 1993; Philippine Blooming Trade and Development Corp., incorporator, as of Sept. 5, 1995; and Pacific Mint International Corp., incorporator, board member, as of May 15, 1997.

All these firms are not listed in the SALNs that Arroyo filed from 2001 to 2008. But since most are not particularly big or profitable, they could not have served as sources of the First Couple’s additional cash or equity shares.:ohno::ohno:

jpdm

August 12th, 2009, 11:40 AM

Bishops still irked over Le Cirque dinner

By Christian V. Esguerra, Dona Pazzibugan
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 02:02:00 08/12/2009

MANILA, Philippines—Malacañang may have refused to apologize for the $20,000 dinner of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her entourage at the ritzy Le Cirque in New York, but Catholic bishops are not letting the issue die down.

Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, who champions the cause of landless farmers, Tuesday called on Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, who purportedly picked up the tab, to donate the amount (or close to P1 million) to the impoverished.

“We can challenge those who paid for the dinner to also give the same amount to feed the poor,” Pabillo said.

The bishop said it was not right to use money—“whether government money or the money of any rich person”—in wasteful ways.

“Even if it was not the government but someone else, whoever shouldered the dinner tab has a responsibility because money is not only for ourselves but also for others. We are mere stewards,” he said.

Bishop Emeritus Teodoro Bacani said the Aug. 2 dinner “really leaves a bad taste in the mouth, especially for those who have nothing to eat.”

“The Filipino people should tell them, ‘Mahiya naman kayo (You should be ashamed of yourselves),’” he said.

Bacani also said that while Malacañang’s nonchalance over the dinner was unacceptable, the stance was “characteristic of the present administration—the lack of transparency, confusing the issues, and just ignoring even legitimate criticism.”

“Even in their defense, they cannot accurately say who paid for the dinner,” he observed.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde claimed on Saturday that it was Romualdez who had paid the $20,000 bill reported by the New York Post. But on Monday, the lawmaker’s legal and media liaison officer said it was his brother, New York-based architect Daniel Romualdez, who had done so.

The Romualdezes are nephews of Imelda Marcos, widow of the dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

‘Obvious story line’

In a briefing Tuesday at the Palace, Remonde assailed critics, particularly the media, for continuously raising questions about the dinner at Le Cirque.

Ms Arroyo flew to the United States on July 29 for a meeting with US President Barack Obama at the White House. The dinner was held on Aug. 2, a few hours before Ms Arroyo and her party embarked on the journey back to Manila to catch the wake of former President Corazon Aquino.

Remonde accused the media of playing up a picture of Ms Arroyo at a luxury dinner in New York while the majority of Filipinos lived in abject poverty.

“It’s so obvious how the story will go. The people are being angered by the idea that while so many are going hungry, the President and her officials are eating rich,” he said in Filipino. “I think that’s already too much.”

Remonde maintained that Ms Arroyo—whose wealth reportedly ballooned from P66.8 million in 2001 to P143.54 million in 2008—was not unaware of the hunger and poverty in the country.

“It’s very hypocritical for people to accuse the President of not being in touch with the hunger situation [when] it is [she] who has done the most in this country to address the problem of hunger,” he said.

Still no talk

Nevertheless, the relevant issues remained unanswered.

Remonde insisted it was Representative Romualdez who had paid for the dinner despite the statement of Nick Esmale, the latter’s legal and media liaison officer, that the generous hand was that of the lawmaker’s brother Daniel.

Malacañang has also yet to state what was on the menu that merited the $20,000 tab, beyond saying that the dinner was “simple.”

And the fact that Romualdez, an articulate lawmaker and a close ally of Ms Arroyo, has yet to speak on the matter is not helping the Palace any.

Remonde explained: “Not all people are gifted with the ability to speak before the media or microphones or reporters.”

He sought to put the controversy to rest, reiterating an earlier statement that the Palace would no longer “glamorize” the issue.

Told that the dinner was a matter of public interest, Remonde said: “That’s a matter of perspective.”

He said that while reporters had that view, “for the many, the media are just whipping up the controversy.”

French food

Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, who was with the President’s entourage but skipped the dinner at Le Cirque, said it was not all that lavish for “a presidential-level dinner.”

“That’s why some of the congressmen [in the entourage] said, ‘Hindi naman masyadong masarap (The food wasn’t that delicious),” she said, adding:

“That’s because it was French food. Only the rich and famous go to that place because it’s prohibitively expensive.”

Santiago, a former judge, raised legal points that tended to release Ms Arroyo from criminal or administrative liability arising from the dinner.

The senator said the question was whether the dinner was “manifestly excessive” or “nominal or insignificant.”

But this question has become academic, Santiago said, citing two reasons—the President’s immunity from criminal suit and her control of the House of Representatives.

“After all, an impeachment is not a judicial but a political process,” Santiago said.

She pointed out that Ms Arroyo enjoyed immunity from criminal prosecution during her term of office and, thus, could not be charged criminally at the Office of the Ombudsman.

“Theoretically, she can be impeached for graft and corruption. But there were some representatives present at the dinner, and [they] would unite to dismiss an impeachment complaint in the House,” the senator said. With a report from Michael Lim Ubac

jpdm

August 12th, 2009, 12:04 PM

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/images/stories/Daily_Images/2009/August/08122009/oped-pic.jpg

Sana tinulong na lang sa PGH ang ginastos na 20,000 dollars sa tsibogan at inuman dun sa restaurant sa New York.

bitoy

August 12th, 2009, 05:51 PM

:lol: meron na naman lumabas na balita tungkol sa garbong handaan.

Heartburn Over Two Big Meals (http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/08/rs-dinner12.html)

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's visit to the White House on July 30 didn't draw much attention, and her dinner in Washington that night got nary a mention. And that's how it might have stayed -- if not for a controversial meal in New York City.

Arroyo is under fire in her native country for a $20,000 meal at Manhattan's Le Cirque on Aug. 2, which included caviar and several bottles of champagne. The dinner, first reported in the New York Post, has Arroyo's critics comparing her to the extravagant Imelda Marcos.

The Reliable Source has learned that three days earlier, Arroyo and an entourage of about 65 people (including security and food tasters) had dinner at Bobby Van's Steakhouse on 15th Street NW hours after she met with President Obama. The group took over one of the restaurant's private rooms and dined on lobster, steak and fine wines; at the conclusion of the meal, an unidentified woman opened a handbag stuffed with cash, counted out bills and paid the $15,000 tab -- which included a generous tip.

The Philippine Embassy did not return calls for comment Tuesday.

:ohno:

RonnieR

August 12th, 2009, 05:55 PM

^^ Just peanuts. Some politicians can throw parties spending more than P500K to P1M. Don't these gov't officials deserve decent/good meal in the US?

In other instances, some politicians here bet millions of pesos in full view of their own countrymen during cockfighting....nobody dared to question.

This is hypocrisy of the bishops!

The dinner of $15K for a group of people is not that much....why create an issue?
Even in other developing countries, when they visit other countries, I'm sure the amount of bill is just like that....

Let's face it, for the rich (real rich), $15K is nothing...even top executives in the US (professionals) earn this in few days.

bitoy

August 12th, 2009, 06:01 PM

^^ Just peanuts. Some politicians can throw parties spending more than P500K to P1M.

In other instances, some politicians here bet millions of pesos in full view of their own countrymen during cockfighting....nobody dared to question.

This is hypocrisy of the bishops!

Naks! spoken like a true politician ka na tuloy niyan... :lol:

You dare question a politician at that instant and you are dead!

REPUBLIC ACT No. 6713 Sec. 4 (h)-Simple living. - Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.

RonnieR

August 12th, 2009, 06:06 PM

Naks! spoken like a true politician ka na tuloy niyan... :lol:

You dare question a politician at that instant and you are dead!

Well, this is what I see here... some of these crooks gamble a lot in casinos, the corrupt, nobody dared to ask....bakit sa Presidente lang? If they want moral crusade, let's overhaul the system....no more casinos, sabungan, drugs, vices.

bitoy

August 12th, 2009, 06:12 PM

Well, this is what I see here... some of these crooks gamble a lot in casinos, the corrupt, nobody dared to ask....bakit sa Presidente lang? If they want moral crusade, let's overhaul the system....no more casinos, sabungan, drugs, vices.

That's the point, tapos binabatikos niyo yung mga nagrereklamo. :lol:

Nakita nila ang amo nila na ganoon ang ginagawa, eh, ganoon na rin yung mga alipores ng amo.

RonnieR

August 12th, 2009, 06:15 PM

That's the point, tapos binabatikos niyo yung mga nagrereklamo. :lol:

Nakita nila ang amo nila na ganoon ang ginagawa, eh, ganoon na rin yung mga alipores ng amo.

simple lang, ang bumabato ba ng putik, malinis ba? Kung malinis sila, I would support the move....even the journalists included...malinis ba????

pareho pareho lang sila...why make it a big issue for $15K, $20K? In the US, it's not that much....

RonnieR

August 12th, 2009, 06:17 PM

again, similar stories of lavish dinner, extravagant parties - narinig ko na to since Marcos pa (worst cases).......kay Erap...(midnight cabinet, casino).

I'm only proud of Pres. Cory in this aspect.

nothing new here...

bitoy

August 12th, 2009, 06:18 PM

simple lang, ang bumabato ba ng putik, malinis ba? Kung malinis sila, I would support the move....even the journalists included...malinis ba????

pareho pareho lang sila...why make it a big issue for $15K, $20K? In the US, it's not that much....

It's not an issue to you or to others that can afford that, but to the masa, malaking bagay yan.
Kung sumusuweldo ng US$15~20K sa isang buwan ang bawat Pinoy, malamang nga na bale wala yan.

RonnieR

August 12th, 2009, 06:24 PM

It's not an issue to you or to others that can afford that, but to the masa, malaking bagay yan.
Kung sumusuweldo ng US$15~20K sa isang buwan ang bawat Pinoy, malamang nga na bale wala yan.

That's life, living in this world, there are super rich, rich, so so rich, middle class, poor, dirt poor...

.... sabi nga ni Kim Atienza, "weather weather" lang. I'm sure the next adminstration would do the same.

bitoy

August 12th, 2009, 06:43 PM

^^ Amen to that!!

manila_eye

August 13th, 2009, 01:31 AM

FlashCollider

August 13th, 2009, 01:54 AM

The hypocrisy of the church. I've seen priests and nuns eating at some of the poshest restaurants around the metro. It may not have the grandiose of Le Cirque but definitely expensive to commoners.

especially kung iisipin mong meron silang "vow of poverty". Baka naman turuan yan ni Padre Damaso?

manila_eye

August 13th, 2009, 01:58 AM

^^ Hindi nga nila ma-explain ng maayos kung paano nila naging pagmamay-ari ang EDSA Shrine.

FlashCollider

August 13th, 2009, 02:01 AM

^^ Hindi nga nila ma-explain ng maayos kung paano nila naging pagmamay-ari ang EDSA Shrine.

Oo nga neh! nakalimutan ko yan. hahaha. weird just weird. sana patawan na sila ng buwis.

absinthe_888

August 13th, 2009, 03:10 AM

Oo nga neh! nakalimutan ko yan. hahaha. weird just weird. sana patawan na sila ng buwis.

Eto talaga ang Amen to that!!!

Aerin

August 13th, 2009, 03:12 AM

If I may opine, it would have been different if they spent so much while they dine in the Philippines. But if they dine in New York where there is really high cost of living and someone answered for the bill, we should not make a fuss out of it. The Congressman was the second richest member of Congress, next to Cong. Villar, as per the news I've read today.

It is possible to dine well--a nice 3 course meal in a fancy 4/5 star restaurant in a city w/ a high cost of living--without spending that much.

(By the way, are people posting here enormously wealthy somehow? $20000 for me is a huge amount of money to waste in one night. I just don't get how people can be so dismissive especially in these economic times. The cynicism --well, others are doing it too so why criticize?--is just as sad. Apparently, no one should be held accountable anymore.)

Aerin

August 13th, 2009, 03:16 AM

^^ We should all put on hold experiencing anything luxurious until the country has reached developed status.

No Filipino shall experience luxury, anywhere, until we see ourselves out of 3rd world status.

I agree that it was a mistake for Arroyo to have had dinner in such an expensive place, but once someone has invited me for dinner and if we're already at the restaurant, i'd just go along with it since it'd be rude for me to turn down the offer and hell, im not paying for it.

The pope wears prada branded shoes, does he have that right given that such a large swath of the world's Catholics live in poverty?

Right, because there is no difference whatsoever between the leader of a country and an ordinary citizen.

And I'm no fan of the current pope.

RonnieR

August 13th, 2009, 05:21 AM

It is possible to dine well--a nice 3 course meal in a fancy 4/5 star restaurant in a city w/ a high cost of living--without spending that much.

(By the way, are people posting here enormously wealthy somehow? $20000 for me is a huge amount of money to waste in one night. I just don't get how people can be so dismissive especially in these economic times. The cynicism --well, others are doing it too so why criticize?--is just as sad. Apparently, no one should be held accountable anymore.)

Don't get me wrong. I belong to middle class with a little comfort in life :) .

However, let's stop this hypocrisy. How about those millions spent in ads by Roxas and Villar? There is NO election/campaign period yet.

Although these are claimed to be personal money, millions of poor filipinos could have been fed by the huge amount of money that went to the pockets of television/radio stations' owners and stockholders.

The dinner at Le Cirque was allegedly paid by this Architect based in NY unless proven otherwise, so personal money din yan.

bitoy

August 13th, 2009, 08:27 AM

Scores of Filipino troops, militants die in clash (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090813/ap_on_re_as/as_philippines_abu_sayyaf)

http://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090813/capt.photo_1250134106223-1-0.jpghttp://d.yimg.com/a/p/afp/20090813/capt.photo_1250124035158-1-0.jpg

By JIM GOMEZ, Associated Press Writer Jim Gomez, Associated Press Writer – 1 hr 24 mins ago
MANILA, Philippines – Philippine troops suffered some of their worst losses in an offensive against al-Qaida-linked militants on a southern island in which at least 23 soldiers and 20 guerrillas were killed, officials said Thursday.

Troops continued to scour the battlefield following clashes Wednesday with Abu Sayyaf militants in two of their jungle camps on Basilan Island, and the tally of slain guerrillas could rise, said regional military commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino.

"It was a slugfest," Dolorfino told The Associated Press by telephone. "It was really close-quarter fighting so we couldn't use our artillery," he said, adding troops were pursuing small pockets of fleeing gunmen.

Although weakened by yearslong U.S.-backed offensives, about 400 Abu Sayyaf gunmen on Basilan and nearby Jolo Island and the Zamboanga peninsula have recently turned to ransom kidnappings to raise funds for terror attacks, officials said.

The militants held three international Red Cross workers on Jolo for several months this year, as well as a dozen Filipino hostages. All have been released or rescued.

More than 400 marines, army and police commandos launched simultaneous pre-dawn attacks Wednesday on two Abu Sayyaf encampments in hilly Silangkum and Baguindan villages.

The daylong clashes killed 20 marines and three army members, including two officers, in one of the biggest single-day military battle losses in recent years, Dolorfino said. Troops also found the bodies of 20 militants in Baguindam, Dolorfino said. Sixteen troops and police were wounded.

The offensive targeted about 60 militants in the two hilltop strongholds led by Abu Sayyaf chieftains Khair Mundus and Furuji Indama, said Rear Adm. Alex Pama. It was not clear if they were among the dead but a brother of Indama, also an Abu Sayyaf commander, was killed, Dolorfino said.

The military has blamed Mundus and Indama for a series of deadly bomb attacks and kidnappings.

U.S. and Philippine security officials have particularly wanted to capture Mundus, a hard-line militant who was arrested several years ago but escaped. He is suspected of having connections to Middle East financiers who could provide funds to his group, according to police intelligence officials.

Indanan, a young ruthless militant, is suspected of orchestrating the beheadings of 10 marines during a 2007 clash. The atrocity shocked the nation and an angry President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo then ordered the military to crush the militants.

The two seized camps served as a stronghold and a bomb factory for the Abu Sayyaf on Basilan, about 550 miles (880 kilometers) south of Manila, Dolorfino said.

Troops found several bombs, booby traps and 15 assault rifles and grenade launchers in the camps, Pama said.

"The bombs were already primed to explode," he said. They may have been intended for another wave of terror attacks.

The Abu Sayyaf is on a U.S. list of terrorist organizations because its bombings, ransom kidnappings and beheadings of hostages made it into the Philippines' most brutal rebel group.

It is suspected of having received funds and training from al-Qaida.

Since 2002, hundreds of U.S. troops have been training Filipino soldiers and providing them with intelligence. They are also securing development projects like schools and medical clinics in an effort to convince the local Muslim population in the country's poorest provinces to turn their back on the militants.

Abu Sayyaf, which means "Father of the Swordsman" in Arabic, was founded in 1991 in Basilan with support from Asian and Middle Eastern radical groups. It gained notoriety in 2001 when gunmen kidnapped 20 people, including three Americans, from a Philippine resort. One American was beheaded and another killed in a military rescue.

The Abu Sayyaf also is believed to be sheltering members of the Indonesian-based group Jemaah Islamiyah, including Umar Patek and Dulmatin. The two are suspected of masterminding the Bali nightclub bombings that killed 202 people in 2002, then fleeing to the southern Philippines to evade a crackdown in Indonesia.

___

Associated Press writer Hrvoje Hranjski contributed to this report.

dvbaicrviser

August 13th, 2009, 02:00 PM

Solon wants more pork

Says P70M not enough
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 19:33:00 08/13/2009

MANILA, Philippines—A member of the House of Representatives wants the pork barrel fund increased, citing the rising cost of construction materials needed for congressional district projects.

Sorsogon Representative Jose Solis filed House Bill 1232 seeking to increase the discretionary funds of lawmakers “to adopt to the present high cost of commodities, especially construction materials.”

He did not say by how much the discretionary funds should be increased.

Each House member gets as much as P70 million from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) and the Various Infrastructure and Local Projects (VILP).

“The irregular, anemic and sometimes regressive annual adjustments in the aforesaid congressional funds, which have not taken into account the continuous rise in the prices of labor and construction materials, have correspondingly failed to stem the tide of widespread poverty and check the advance of disillusionment of the people,” Solis said.

He said the PDAF of House members had stayed at P30 million per lawmaker since 2007, while the VILP fund has been at P40 million per lawmaker since 2006.

The VILP was at P50 million in 2003 and 2004, and even plunged to P20 million in 2005 and 2006, he pointed out.

Senators, on the other hand, get P200 million a year in discretionary or pork barrel funds.

The pork barrel has gotten an unsavory reputation as a source of kickbacks for lawmakers, who deny the allegations.

Solis said the global financial crunch necessitates pump-priming responses from the government, which include stimulating the domestic demand to offset the drying-up of the export markets.

“The congressional discretionary fund was conceived precisely to augment the existing meager funds countryside development,” he said. “These funds have remained to be the most flexible, expeditious and responsive pro-poor instrument for progress in our districts.”

With Leila B. Salaverria, Philippine Daily Inquirer

:bash::ohno: Saan na ba ang Sparrow Unit ng ABB?

jpdm

August 13th, 2009, 02:22 PM

demented_pigeon

August 13th, 2009, 02:24 PM

Kapal din naman ngugok na congressman Solis na ito. Siguro kulang pa sa kanya yung tongpats na nakukuha nya dahil nagmamahal na daw bilihin.

Sorry mods pero tarandado din itong bobong kongresman na ito. Iisahan na naman ang taong bayan.

Tongresman at istupidong Solis ng Sorsogon, wag ka nang mag kongresman kasi isa ka sa mga salot ng lipunan!

don't apologize for telling the truth. apologize if you lied.

jpdm

August 13th, 2009, 02:30 PM

jpdm

August 13th, 2009, 02:38 PM

Matagal ko ng sinasabi ito, ang Puregold, haven ng smuggled goods dapat ipasara o wag tangkilikin ito!:bash:

Manila Standard
August 13, 2009

Customs raid Puregold warehouse:bash:

CUSTOMS police seized P400 million worth of imported wines and liquor for alleged failure to pay the correct duties during a raid of the Tabacalera compound in Ermita, Manila, early this week, an official said yesterday.

The authorities seized 105,469 cases of spirits—including Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey, Alfonso brandy, Baileys, and Spanish wines—from the Andalucia Warehouse within the Tabacalera compound, which is now controlled by Puregold owner Lucio Co(no.1 smuggler panahon pa ni Erap), Customs collector Arnel Alcaraz said.

Agents seized the spirits after the people at the warehouse, operated by Williams and Humbert Philippines Inc., failed to show proof that taxes had been paid on them.

“The Office of the Commissioner has visitorial powers to check if the establishment is storing imported goods without proof of payment,” Customs collector Arnel Alcaraz said.

“As always, there was initial resistance from the claimants, but upon the showing of the necessary authority and pertinent documents, they cooperated.”

Alcaraz said Williams and Humbert, a major distributor, was also one of the main suppliers of spirits to the Puregold chain of supermarkets.:bash:

He would give its officials three hearings to explain their side, Alcaraz said. Joel E. Zurbano

demented_pigeon

August 13th, 2009, 02:42 PM

Itong Hudas na Ugokgressman Solis nag Sorsogon na ito ito lalong nagpapabulok ng politika sa atin.

Mga palamunin na ng bayan puro kasakiman sa pera habol.

Sana matalo ka sa susunod na eleksyon at magising naman ang nasasakupan niya na ang binoto nila buhay na taong buwaya talaga!!!:bash::bash:

Ang puso ko!:nuts::lol:

on the bright side of things, these political fecal matter will likely suffer a heart attack after years of feasting on food with high levels of cholesterol.

dancethingy

August 13th, 2009, 03:25 PM

BOYCOTT PUREGOLD!!!!!!!!!

To Lucio Co, PAY YOUR F($%&#$ TAXES HO.

Matagal ko ng sinasabi ito, ang Puregold, haven ng smuggled goods dapat ipasara o wag tangkilikin ito!:bash:

Manila Standard
August 13, 2009

Customs raid Puregold warehouse:bash:

CUSTOMS police seized P400 million worth of imported wines and liquor for alleged failure to pay the correct duties during a raid of the Tabacalera compound in Ermita, Manila, early this week, an official said yesterday.

The authorities seized 105,469 cases of spirits—including Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey, Alfonso brandy, Baileys, and Spanish wines—from the Andalucia Warehouse within the Tabacalera compound, which is now controlled by Puregold owner Lucio Co(no.1 smuggler panahon pa ni Erap), Customs collector Arnel Alcaraz said.

Agents seized the spirits after the people at the warehouse, operated by Williams and Humbert Philippines Inc., failed to show proof that taxes had been paid on them.

“The Office of the Commissioner has visitorial powers to check if the establishment is storing imported goods without proof of payment,” Customs collector Arnel Alcaraz said.

“As always, there was initial resistance from the claimants, but upon the showing of the necessary authority and pertinent documents, they cooperated.”

Alcaraz said Williams and Humbert, a major distributor, was also one of the main suppliers of spirits to the Puregold chain of supermarkets.:bash:

He would give its officials three hearings to explain their side, Alcaraz said. Joel E. Zurbano

carl_vilches21

August 13th, 2009, 03:58 PM

dancethingy

August 13th, 2009, 04:07 PM

If i knew 100% where these pork barrel funds are going to I'd be lukewarm to increasing it, but in this congress????? Hell no.

manila_eye

August 13th, 2009, 04:09 PM

Umiinit ulo ko sa mga balita. Silent muna ako baka kung ano lang masabi ko dito.

3cr

August 14th, 2009, 01:41 AM

GMA aides hit critics of dinners
It is now up to the Ombudsman
Written by Recto Mercene & Butch Fernandez
Business Mirror
Thursday, 13 August 2009
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/14614-gma-aides-hit-critics-of-dinners.html

MALACAÑANG lashed back at the media for highlighting the expensive dinners President Arroyo and her entourage enjoyed while in New York in July, saying the issue is now in the hands of the Ombudsman.

“The controversy over the President’s wedding-anniversary dinner in New York is now a matter for the Ombudsman. This issue will be resolved based on facts and evidence, away from the character assassinations being launched by tabloids passing themselves off as news broadcasters,” said Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez in a statement.

For the last few days since arriving from Washington to meet US President Obama, President Arroyo’s achievement as the first Asian leader to be invited by Obama has been overshadowed by the national brouhaha over the alleged high cost of her dinners, first at the Le Cirque in New York; and then at the Bobby Van Steak House in Washington, both high- end restaurants, where the reported tab reached $20,000 and $15,000, respectively.

Golez described those who persist in criticizing the controversial food bash as “assassins.”

Reacting to the later reports about the Washington, D.C., dinner, as reported by the Washington Post and then picked up by Philippine media, Golez said, “And yet the assassins will not be restrained. Now they are spreading new poison about other dinners the presidential party had, the nature of the accommodations and the manner of their transportation throughout the official trip.”

He said that in the media’s frenzy to score media points at the President’s expense, these critics will go so far as to demean and debase the office of the President itself, not just its current occupant.

“They would now have us believe that the leader of our nation is somehow not good enough to be hosted in the best hotels, or chauffeured around town, whenever he or she travels abroad as the representative of one of the 15 largest countries in the world.”

‘Diversionary tactics’

But senators demolished the “diversionary tactics” being resorted to by Palace officials in trying to dodge mounting criticisms over the extravagant dinner affairs. The New York dinner, reportedly paid for by Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, was placed at $20,000, while the $15,000 tab for the Washington bash was reportedly picked up by Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez.

“They are just trying to deflect the issue. It’s an old trick,” said Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr., referring to the counter-arguments raised by Press Secretary Cerge Remonde and the President’s lawyer, Romulo Makalintal, who attacked media establishments for “immoral” acts in profiting from political ads, or infomercials by potential aspirants in the 2010 national elections.

“When he [Makalintal] says that media is immoral because of the advertisements of the ‘presidentiables,’ then Malacañang should start weeding out the immoral persons in her Cabinet who are also doing infomercials. It should start there,” Pimentel pointed out.

Golez executed a shift saying, “Can they refrain from forcing the rest of us to imagine ourselves only as perpetual victims and objects of charity? Can they rise above the limitations of vindictive ideologies or personal ambitions?”

He added, “Whatever monies may have been spent for the appropriately ceremonious conduct of her official trip abroad are but a tiny fraction of the billions of pesos she has committed, and will continue to commit, to the alleviation of hunger and the amelioration of poverty in our country. The President does not trifle with mere symbols and tokenism; she is all about hard work and real programs and measurable achievements when it comes to helping our countrymen.”

Pimentel said, however, that Palace officials should stop issuing contradictory statements that only put them in deeper trouble. “I think that the only remedy is for the Palace to come clean and issue a categorical statement, not issue contradictory explanations that this or that is what happened.”

“No matter what they will do, it will appear that they are really insensitive to the plight of the people, and especially in that period of national mourning that was proclaimed by the President herself,” he said.

Sen. Francis Escudero said at the weekly Kapihan sa Senado media forum the Arroyo delegation’s Washington and New York dinners could just be two of many other profligate parties by Palace officials that the public has yet to know about.

“These [costly dinners] are ostentatious display of wealth in time of acute public want [and they] should never be tolerated and done by any government and any government official,” said Escudero.

Sen. Pia Cayetano also bewailed the “expensive US dinners and callous remarks” by President Arroyo’s apologists. “No amount of fact-twisting and diversionary tactics by President Arroyo’s men can temper the people’s indignation over her contingent’s expensive dinners in upscale restaurants in New York and Washington.”

_____________________

‘Billions’ in investments vs dinner — Palace
By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
08/13/2009
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view/20090813-220127/Billions-in-investments-vs-dinnerPalace

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said Thursday that critics had no business complaining about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s supposedly lavish dinners abroad when she was bringing in “billions” worth of investments in return.

“The issue at hand cannot be the sincerity of this President’s commitment to uplifting our poor,” Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesman, said in a statement.

“Whatever monies may have been spent for the appropriately ceremonious conduct of her official trip abroad are but a tiny fraction of the billions of pesos she has committed, and will continue to commit, to the alleviation of hunger and the amelioration of poverty in our country," Golez said, reading from a statement at a media briefing.

Shifting to attack mode, Golez assailed what he called “the character assassination being launched by tabloids passing themselves off as broadsheets and rumor-mongers masquerading as news broadcasters.”

Only on Wednesday, Ms Arroyo’s election lawyer Romulo Macalintal lectured media outfits on the “morality” of questioning the propriety of the $20,000 dinner.

Macalintal said the media had no business raising the issue when media owners continued to earn millions of pesos by accommodating political ads violating the law against premature campaigning.

Media as mirror

But Sen. Manuel “Mar” Roxas II assailed “Palace attack dogs” for turning on the media following the public uproar over reports on the expensive dinner at Le Cirque.

“Media are not the problem, media are just the mirror. What media see reflected in the mirror is simply the truth,” Roxas said in a statement intended as a response to Macalintal’s remarks.

“Ang kapal talaga ng mukha nila at nakuha pang mag-sermon imbes na mag-sorry (They have the guts to lecture members of the media instead of just saying sorry)! They don’t know how to respond to the issue anymore because they have seen how outraged the public is right now,” he said.

The senator said Ms Arroyo and her entourage of politicians and Cabinet members should have exercised prudence during their trip to the United States.

“They were representing the country in a foreign land. They have put the country to shame. These reports came out in the American media. While Filipinos suffer back home, there they were burning money on expensive dinners,” Roxas said.

“Whether they spent public money or their own personal cash for the dinner, as so they claimed, the bottom line is this: The government is numb. They burned money while Filipinos could only find holes in their pockets,” he said.

‘Assassins’

Golez said he was not taking off from Macalintal’s tirade and clarified that he was not specifically referring to the local media.

“The assassins will not be restrained,” he said. “Now they are spreading new poison about other dinners the presidential party had, the nature of their accommodations and the manner of their transportation throughout the official trip.”

Golez, who was not part of Ms Arroyo’s entourage in her latest trip to the United States, said it was Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez who had footed the bill at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington.

He said Ms Arroyo had merely accommodated her generous host, and did not bother with the cost of the dinner out of “respect.”

“If you are an invited guest, normally, [you] don’t ask the host about the food that they will serve, or ask how much they paid for that,” he said.

Golez said the controversy did not center on propriety but whether Ms Arroyo’s critics would “stop at anything in their endless campaign against a President who is no longer even in the running.”

“Will they respect the ceremonial importance of the office she occupies? Can they refrain from forcing the rest of us to imagine ourselves only as perpetual victims and objects of charity? Can they rise above the limitations of vindictive ideologies or personal ambition?” he said.

‘Come clean’

At a press conference, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. called on the Palace to come clean on the expensive dinners.

“I think the only remedy is for the Palace to come clean and issue a categorical statement, not contradictory explanations,” Pimentel said.

“But no matter what they do, it will appear that they are really insensitive to the plight of the people, and especially in that period of national mourning [for former President Corazon Aquino] that was proclaimed by the President herself,” he said.

Pimentel called on Macalintal to stick to electoral matters.

“Malacañang officials are just trying to deflect the issue. It’s an old trick in argumentation and debate that if you can’t give straight answers, you will attack one’s physical appearance,” Pimentel said, adding:

“When Macalintal says that the media are immoral because of the ads of the ‘presidentiables,’ then Malacañang should start weeding out the immoral persons in her Cabinet, who are also doing infomercials. We should start with them.”

P1.7M in all

In another statement, Sen. Pia Cayetano said the Palace was missing the point in cajoling the media to stop dwelling on the expensive dinners that, she noted, amounted to $35,000 or roughly P1.7 million.

“Make no mistake that we acknowledge the decision of President Arroyo to meet with US President Barack Obama, and that her contingent would inevitably incur reasonable expenses related to the ... visit, but to travel with an entourage of over 50 people and to spend that much for two meals? That is just too much,” Cayetano said.

“And from the looks of it, they do not even see what is wrong with the picture,” she said.

Cayetano said no amount of fact-twisting and diversionary tactics by Ms Arroyo’s men could temper the people’s indignation over the dinners at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse and Le Cirque.

She also took Macalintal to task for saying that media companies themselves had been engaging in “immoral” acts by profiting from the infomercials of presidential aspirants.

“If Malacañang is wondering why people are getting angrier, it’s because of their spokespersons who try to take us for fools with their arrogant and insensitive ways of responding to issues. Imagine twisting the issue and blaming the media for their lavish dining?” Cayetano said.

House inquiry

Militant party-list lawmakers Thursday filed a resolution for the House of Representatives to investigate the “ostentatious” Le Cirque dinner, saying it was tantamount to a gift that the President was prohibited from accepting under the law.

“Even if no people’s taxes were used to pay for the bill, all government officials are prohibited from accepting any substantial gift—such as a million-peso dinner—on any occasion. It is not only unethical but also criminal to have had that embarrassingly expensive dinner. It is also not the job of those in the legislative to grant favors and defend the extravagances and excesses of the executive branch,” Bayan Muna Representatives Satur Ocampo and Teodoro Casiño, and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza said in the resolution

In a statement, the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) said there should be at least “some humility and honesty” from the President and her spokespersons in explaining the expensive dinners reported by the US media.

“At this point, people deserve to know the full extent of the spending done by the President’s entourage during their stay in the US,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said.

Dined like kings twice

“We detest the arrogance and utter lack of remorse being shown by this administration. What is happening is simply disgusting. They dined like kings, not once, but twice!” Reyes said.

He added: “Have they no shame? ... Malacañang cannot just dismiss the reports as agitation-propaganda. The people demand an explanation, some transparency and accountability. We cannot blame people for being outraged over these reports.”

3cr

August 14th, 2009, 02:10 AM

RP consulate got slapped with GMA’s bills
Daily Tribune
08/14/2009
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20090814hed1.html

So it wasn’t just once, but twice, that President Arroyo, her spouse, First Gentleman Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo, and her entourage (anywhere from 50 to 65 persons) dined at Le Cirque.

This information was disclosed by a source from the Philippine consulate in New York, who added by saying it is almost certain that having picked up the tab for the visit, the consulate employees’ paycheck will again be delayed.

The source also disclosed that the Arroyo couple stayed at the Waldorf in a suite, costing $3,500 (P168,210) a day while the congresmen and others in her party stayed in rooms costing $950 (P45,657) a day. Moreover, 60 rooms were reportedly occupied by the Arroyo party at the Waldorf in New York.

Also, a report from the ABS-CBN US bureau said its reporter had interviewed the floor manager and waiters of Bobby Van’s Steakhouse, with them saying that Arroyo had a reservation for 65 persons at the restaurant and that the entire group filled up at least one conference room.

They were quoted as saying that "someone called in advance to place the orders. Mrs. Arroyo had the house specialty, filet mignon."

Arroyo and the top Philippine officials ordered fresh oysters for appetizers and feasted on steaks and lobster for the main course, according to the source. The rest of the party, including Secret Service men and members of the Philippines’ Presidential Security Group, ate hamburgers and soda.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez yesterday admitted having shouldered the bill.

In a telephone interview, Suarez said he had paid for the group’s dinner at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington, DC."Yes, I paid for the bill for our dinner at Bobby Van’s but the $15,000 bill was inclusive of the service charges and tips," said Suarez.

Suarez, however, did not elaborate nor explain the report that it was an "unidentified woman" who "paid their $15,000 bill, including a generous tip, with cash — which was counted out, unseen, underneath a table by a staff member."

Another Arroyo ally who was part of Arroyo’s entourage, Manila Rep. Benny Abante, a Protestant minister justified the lavish dinner, saying it is only expected that the President be treated to the best there is.

Abante also admitted they were billeted at the posh Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York.

When pressed to name who shouldered the expenses for the Le Cirque dinner, Abante said he had no inkling as he did not join the group on both the Bobby Van’s and Le Cirque dinners saying he had a speaking engagement on both occasions.

Meanwhile, senators were also outraged at the way Malacañang has been giving its explanations,

No amount of fact-twisting and diversionary tactics by Executive officials, including Mrs. Arroyo’s lawyers, can temper the people’s indignation over her delegation’s expensive dinners in upscale restaurants reported by US media outfits, Sen. Pia Cayetano said.

"If Malacañang is wondering why people are getting angrier, it’s because of their spokesmen who try to take us for fools with their arrogant and insensitive ways of responding to issues. Imagine twisting the issue and blaming the media for their lavish dining."

Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel said the same, adding that Palace officials are just trying to deflect the issue by making such snide remarks.

"It’s an old trick in an argumentation and debate whenever you’re no longer capable of rebutting the issue, saying nasty things, making character assassinations to your opponent. When he said that media are immoral because of the ads of the presidentiables, then Malacañang should start weeding out the immoral persons in her Cabinet who are also doing infomercials. They should start cleaning from their own backyard," he said.

"I think that the only remedy is for the Palace to come clean and issue a categorical statement, not issue contradictory explanation, he stressed.

Sen. Francis "Chiz" Escudero also joined the fray, saying that from what the President’s lawyer, Romulo Macalintal is trying to impart, it is that the amount spent is insignificant.

"The point is, was it government money used? How come they cannot categorically admit who really paid for those dinners?" he asked, appearing in the weekly Kapihan sa Senado news forum.

"I will repeat what I’ve said before. It’s an ostentatious display of wealth in time of acute public want should never be tolerated and done by any government and any government official. Some Palace officials have the guts to say that the President can not be expected to patronize hotdog stands because of her stature when millions of Filipinos can not even afford to eat three times a day. What’s wrong with eating hotdogs especially if it’s "chizdog" (cheesedog)," he said in jest. "They should always keep in mind that we, public officials, receive salaries from taxpayers and also it’s incumbent upon us to shed light on matters that concern the general public especially if you do not have anything to hide. From the looks of it, based on their statements, they can not come up with a valid explanation," Escudero said.

Also yesterday, Sen. Mar Roxas rebuked Malacañang and its defenders for turning the tables on the media following a public uproar over reports of Mrs. Arroyo’s lavish spending while at the US and her family’s ballooning wealth. "Media is not the problem, media is just the mirror. What media see reflected in the mirror is simply the truth," he said.

He added: "They have the guts to lecture members of the media instead of just saying sorry! They don’t know how to respond to the issue anymore because they have seen how outraged the public is right now."

"They (Arroyos and company) have put the country to shame. These reports came out in American media. While Filipinos suffer back home, there they were burning money on expensive dinners," he stressed.

Whether they spent public money or their own personal cash for the dinner as so they claimed, the bottom line is this: government is numb. They burned money while Filipinos could only find holes in their pockets," he noted.

Malacañang was clearly exasperated at the continued public flak over the couple’s ostentatious display during the US visit.

Deputy Presidential Spokesman Anthony Golez said that the New York Post’s Page six where the issue first appeared is a page intended for gossips which do not really express veracity over the matters being discussed.

"The most important thing here is that the Palace never did anything wrong. We can say that Filipinos, in general, are constantly being flagellated. We get hurt, of course, because they’re attacking our President and the presidency. In other countries, they respect the President and the presidency," Golez said.

Golez also belied insinuations that the creation of the Local Anti-Hunger Task Force has something to do with the issue owing to the criticisms hurled by the people claiming that Mrs. Arroyo does not seriously care about the hunger situation in the country.

"The issue at hand cannot be the sincerity of this President’s commitment to uplifting our poor. Whatever monies that may have been spent for the appropriately ceremonious conduct of her official trip abroad are but a tiny fraction of the billions of pesos she has committed and will continue to commit for the alleviation of hunger and the amelioration of poverty in our country," Golez said in defense adding that "the President does not trifle with mere symbols and tokenism."

Golez stressed that these issues are only being sensationalized since the nation is now heading towards political season.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Neri Colmenares and other militant lawmakers are also seeking a congressional inquiry for splurging on at least two lavish dinners while on a US visit.

Colmenares said the President could be liable for 5 years imprisonment and perpetual disqualification from office if found guilty.

"The ostentatious eating habits of President Arroyo in the United States including the recently reported lunch at Bobby Van’s which amounted to US$15,000.00 not only shows her extravagance and insensitivity but also opens her to a host of criminal charges,"said Colmenares.

"A congressional investigation must be immediately conducted on whether a series of criminal and administrative laws have been violated by the President not only during her recent travel to the US but also on her previous 50 travels since 2001."

The solon stressed that the President and the female member of her entourage who reportedly paid Bobby Van’s thousands of US dollars in cash straight from her handbag must be further investigated for possible violation of BSP Circular which requires anyone who is physically transporting across borders foreign currency in excess of $10,000 to declare it in writing.

Colmenares added that the congressional investigation on the extravagant dinners should include an investigation of airport officials on whether the President has legally complied with this requirement in all her travels.

"One of the main purposes of this rule is to guard against laundering monies abroad by taking out the cash from the country . President Arroyo must not be exempted from this anti-money laundering requirement especially since there are questions as to the exponential growth of her assets since she became president," said Colmenares.

The lawmaker pointed out that Arroyo, from the 2008 CoA Report failed to liquidate at least P222.98 million in travel expenses. Also, what must be investigated is the woman who paid for that lunch in cash is an accountable officer entitled to handle cash.

"That same 2008 COA report previously found that the cashier who was then granted the 222 million cash advances "has not been a member or party to such foreign travels" of the President in violation of CoA Circular 97-002 which requires that "transfer of cash advance from one accountable officer to another shall not be allowed."

3cr

August 14th, 2009, 03:01 AM

P233.4-B deficit set for 2010
Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW081409/content.php?id=001

THE NEED to sustain pump-priming efforts has prompted economic managers to raise the programmed budget deficit for next year to P233.4 billion from P208.4 billion, officials yesterday said.

A source from the Development Budget Coordination Committee (DBCC), which sets fiscal targets, said the new deficit cap was agreed upon following a meeting with Cabinet officials yesterday.

Asked to confirm the new figure, Budget Secretary Rolando G. Andaya, Jr. said in a text message: "The revised deficit program for 2010 is P233 billion, 2.8% of GDP."

The DBCC source, a member of the technical group who attended yesterday’s meeting, said the higher figure was "due to the need for spending. This will ensure that the gains from the stimulus [this year] will be sustained and will continue in 2010."

The revenue and expenditure program for next year will still be finalized by the DBCC, which consists of the National Economic and Development Authority, Budget and Finance departments, and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

The adjustment will likely mean changes to the 2010 borrowing plan. "The revenues may not be lowered," the source said, adding, "Yes, it will involve changes in the financing."

Rosalia de Leon, head of the Finance department’s international finance group, also said the government still had to finalize next year’s plans but added that foreign debt issues may rise from the initial estimate of around $1.5 billion.

"Yes, that amount may rise," Ms. de Leon said, adding the government had to determine how much it would source from the global bond market, Samurai bonds, and official development assistance.

The government originally intended to achieve a balanced budget next year but declining revenues and the need to address the impact of the global downturn forced a deferment to 2013.

The Budget department has said the government would be implementing a stimulus program in 2010 similar to this year’s P330-billion Economic Resiliency Plan.

Next year’s package would focus on infrastructure and long-term projects in agriculture, health and other social services.

Government estimates released in June set the 2010 revenue target at P1.33 trillion from P1.24 trillion this year. Officials attributed the higher figure to a global economic recovery.

Expenditures, meanwhile, are expected to rise to P1.53 trillion next year from P1.49 trillion this year.

Treasury bureau data issued last month put 2010 state borrowings at P640.28 billion, down 3.12% from this year’s P660.9 billion. This is now expected to be changed given the new deficit figure.

As of now, however, the bulk of next year’s borrowings, 74.53% or P477.19 billion, is to be sourced locally. This is higher than this year’s P451.8 billion. Foreign borrowings were set at P163.09 billion, lower than this year’s P209.1 billion.

Aerin

August 14th, 2009, 03:22 AM

Don't get me wrong. I belong to middle class with a little comfort in life :) .

However, let's stop this hypocrisy. How about those millions spent in ads by Roxas and Villar? There is NO election/campaign period yet.

Although these are claimed to be personal money, millions of poor filipinos could have been fed by the huge amount of money that went to the pockets of television/radio stations' owners and stockholders.

The dinner at Le Cirque was allegedly paid by this Architect based in NY unless proven otherwise, so personal money din yan.

Then they should be crucified too. How's that for hypocrisy? :)

demented_pigeon

August 14th, 2009, 03:25 AM

If i knew 100% where these pork barrel funds are going to I'd be lukewarm to increasing it, but in this congress????? Hell no.

there shouldn't be pork barrel funds to begin with. They're legislators, their job involves making laws, screening appointees, investigating in aid of legislation, impeaching elected officials, etc. If they want to bring development to their provinces or districts, let the mayors and governors have the money. That way, at least we know that the opponents of those mayors and governors will closely watch those funds. Pork Barrel is simply legalized bribe money. Kung ako si tongressman, gagawa lang ako ng 500 foot bridges at ipagmamalaki ko sa distrito ko. kalokohan yan, konswelo de bobo yan ng kongresistang walang lugar sa kongreso.

absinthe_888

August 14th, 2009, 03:31 AM

there shouldn't be pork barrel funds to begin with. They're legislators, their job involves making laws, screening appointees, investigating in aid of legislation, impeaching elected officials, etc. If they want to bring development to their provinces or districts, let the mayors and governors have the money. That way, at least we know that the opponents of those mayors and governors will closely watch those funds. Pork Barrel is simply legalized bribe money. Kung ako si tongressman, gagawa lang ako ng 500 foot bridges at ipagmamalaki ko sa distrito ko. kalokohan yan, konswelo de bobo yan ng kongresistang walang lugar sa kongreso.

Tama Sir. :cheers:

Anyway, parang wala sa radar si Lore-lie ah?

demented_pigeon

August 14th, 2009, 03:36 AM

Tama Sir. :cheers:

Anyway, parang wala sa radar si Lore-lie ah?

lorelie can't do crap. She sucks at being a spokesperson, I wouldn't have her answer my call. Double team na nga sina Remonde at Ermita sa lagay na yan.

Askal82

August 14th, 2009, 04:18 AM

Eto sana kinanta sa SONA:

:lol: :lol:

sLnOkRlHGac

jpdm

August 14th, 2009, 04:22 AM

lorelie can't do crap. She sucks at being a spokesperson, I wouldn't have her answer my call. Double team na nga sina Remonde at Ermita sa lagay na yan.

Lore-LIE and Ab-cerge (absurd) bad combination indeed.

RonnieR

August 14th, 2009, 09:03 AM

Stop hitting Arroyo, Nograles asks critics

By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 11:49:00 08/14/2009

Filed Under: Government, Travel & Commuting, Politics

MANILA, Philippines -- Speaker Prospero Nograles appealed Friday to critics to stop hitting President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo over her much ballyhooed lavish dinners in Washington, D.C. and New York during her trip to the US.

"I think we should stop making the President a punching bag, and let us concentrate more on the donut, not the hole. And let's look at the better things in life," he told reporters in Malacañang after the ceremonial signing into law of the Magna Carta for Women.

"Because every time we hit the government, and hit it excessively, we are destroying our own house, we are destroying our own nation. We are destroying our nation before the international community. I don't think that's what we want," he added.

RonnieR

August 14th, 2009, 09:09 AM

‘Billions’ in investments vs dinner—Palace

By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 18:04:00 08/13/2009

Filed Under: Politics, Government, Food, Restaurants & catering

MANILA, Philippines – Malacañang said Thursday that critics had no business complaining about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s supposedly lavish dinners abroad when she was bringing in “billions” worth of investments in return.

“The issue at hand cannot be the sincerity of this President’s commitment to uplifting our poor,” Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesman, said in a statement.

“Whatever monies may have been spent for the appropriately ceremonious conduct of her official trip abroad are but a tiny fraction of the billions of pesos she has committed, and will continue to commit, to the alleviation of hunger and the amelioration of poverty in our country."

jpdm

August 14th, 2009, 10:48 AM

Let us call a spade, a spade.

Gloria the media sensation

EDITORIAL
Daily Tribune

08/14/2009

It seems that Gloria has gotten her wish for her recent working visit to the United States to become a news sensation.

The only kink about it was that it has become a public relations disaster for her and her hangers-on that Gloria once said, in 2001, she would not ever have.

Instead of her much-sought meeting with US President Barack Obama hitting the headlines, Gloria and her cabal have become the singular content of some of the biggest newspapers in the United States, let alone all media in the country for her ostentatious appetite.

First reported in the New York Post was a $20,000 dinner at glamor restaurant Le Cirque in New York where Gloria, Big Mike and choice members of her clique feasted on the best that the menu can offer.

The other day both the New York Post and the Washington Post carried a second Gloria bash, this time at a famous Washington steak house, Bobby Van’s, where the party blew $15,000 for steak and fine wines.

This came about shortly after the meeting with Obama.

It’s either Gloria was in a celebratory mood or as in the word of her mouthpiece Cerge Remonde, the Le Cirque bash was just an ordinary type of dinner for Gloria, meaning it’s regular for Gloria and her party to blow P1 million for every meal in her trips, accompanied by a large entourage, abroad.

The pricey tabs on the meals of Gloria’s US party is an argument to back the examination of the cost of her every trip abroad.

The Washington Post story was more pointed, comparing Gloria’s pompousness with that of former First Lady Imelda Marcos while rubbing salt on her wound, saying that her meeting with Obama was a non-event that could have stayed that way had it not been for the obscenely priced meals.

The US media’s comparison of Gloria with Imelda would be another source of trouble for her, since going by the way Imelda was hounded for her every moves for a scoop on her lavish lifestyle, so too now would Gloria be a rich source of US media for potential juicy scoops if not gossip.

The argument that in a place like New York, the tabs on the Gloria meals were ordinary considering the number of people which took part on it, is much too difficult for even an idiot to swallow, given the simple fact that even the media in the United States saw it as an out of this world extravagance from a Third World leader and in a country where millions are near starvation. For the US media to mention this ostentatious display of Gloria was something rare to merit a series of reports.

While local media seem to have had a daily dose of excesses from Gloria and her cabal that comes with the usual "the presidency is not a popularity contest" line or something similar from Malacañang, the less inured foreign media got a glimpse of what Gloria is capable of during her frequent trips abroad.

The Palace is trying to meet the publicity crisis head on by blaming media for blowing out of proportion the price tab on what Remonde called a simple dinner, thus further creating an image to the public of a government totally disassociated with reality.

A P1-million feast is a P1-million feast. Add to that, another P700,000 for steaks and lobsters at Bobby Van’s. There were other extravagant meals for certain, that have not yet been reported on. The party had more than two meals all the time Gloria and company were in the US.

Most Filipinos only dream of owning such amount in a lifetime and Gloria and her cabal are comfortable with squandering P1 million in one sitting and it seems to happen every time Gloria and Mike have their uncontrollable craving attacks.

Remonde and Gloria’s lawyer, Romulo Macalintal’s focus on blaming media for the recent publicity calamity is, however, understandable since the series of Gloria’s spending streak in the US is patently indefensible.

Greed is its own enemy.

jpdm

August 14th, 2009, 10:50 AM

Arroyo overspent by P1.6B in foreign travels since 2003’

MARK MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV
08/14/2009 | 01:04 PM

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's expenses for her foreign trips since 2003 went beyond the allotted budget by around P1.6 billion, the lawmaker-son of former Vice President Teofisto Guingona said Friday.

Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III said he obtained records from the Commission on Audit showing President Arroyo and her delegation had spent some P2.7 billion from 2003 to 2007, when the budget for the period was supposed to have only been P1.1 billion.

"Iyong ibang bagay na 'pag labag sa batas puwede mong i-explain pero ito numero lang. Ang question lang sumobra ka ba sa naka-budget pag sumobra lagot ka sa batas. Eh sumobra eh," Guingona said in a radio interview.

He said the COA report was dated August 12 this year.

The lawmaker added that in 2008 alone, the President's entourage had spent P722 million for their trips abroad when the budget for them was only P244 million.

According to Guingona, the Palace was able to compensate for the remaining expenses beyond the budget by getting money from the national contingency fund, which is supposedly used in cases of national emergencies.

He said that under the law, the Office of the President can use the contingency fund when the President's travel expenses go overboard.

Guingona also cited the COA report as showing that Mrs. Arroyo had also spent P120 million beyond the P800 million contingency fund for 2008.

GMANews.TV called up Guingona several times to elaborate on his claims but the calls went unanswered.

But Speaker Prospero Nograles, an ally of Mrs. Arroyo and frequent companion in her foreign trips, said the COA report was "speculative."

"We will see that when they present their budget (for the) Office of the President. Then, that’s the time to ask the question but right now that’s speculative because wala pang (there's no) budget hearing," Nograles said in an ambush interview in Malacañang.

Nograles also dismissed criticisms that Mrs. Arroyo enjoyed a good life during her foreign trips. He said the President's schedules were so stiff that she was even forced to work inside the plane.

"The problem is people do not want to listen to their explanation. They want to listen to the explanation of those na di naman kasama sa (who are not with us in the) trip," he said.

The Arroyo administration is being criticized over the reported $20,000-dinner of the President's party at Le Cirque in New York last week. Palace officials have since pointed to Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez as the one who footed the bill. [See: Arroyo dined lavishly in US before attending Cory's wake]

Soon after the controversy broke out, the Washington Post reported that the President and her entourage had dined at Bobby Van's Steakhouse in Washington DC hours after she met with US President Barack Obama. [See: Before NY, Arroyo entourage dined in Washington for $15K]

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, another administration stalwart, said he footed the $15,000 bill at the steakhouse held supposedly in celebration of the President and her husband Jose Miguel "Mike" Arroyo's 41st wedding anniversary. [See: Solon: I paid for Arroyo party's Wash. dinner]

Meanwhile, Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño urged COA chair Reynaldo Villar to form a special audit team "to find out the whole truth" about the controversies surrounding Mrs. Arroyo's US visit.

"This Representation absolutely finds the said meal expenditures irregular, unnecessary, excessive, extravagant or unconscionable even if the bills were footed by a private entity. Like most of our countrymen, I wonder, what other lavish expenses were made by the
Philippine delegation?" Casiño asked in his two-paged letter.

Casiño is also one of the authors of a resolution asking the House committee on good government to probe the New York dinner. [See: House probe on NY dinner sought]

In the resolution, Casiño, fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Satur Ocampo, and Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza said the committee should look into whether Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees and Presidential Decree No. 46 — which
makes it punishable for any public official to receive gifts on any occasion by reason of his or her official position — were violated when Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage dined at Le Cirque.

The militant lawmakers and several other critics of the government have slammed the presidential entourage's "lavish" dinners, saying they display the government's insensitivity to the poor state of many Filipinos.

jpdm

August 14th, 2009, 10:55 AM

After billions of pesos for foreign travel, million pesos for lavish dinners and hotel accommodations, we should pity President Arroyo and let the Filipino nation buy her a jet for her frequesnt travel with her lapdog government officials and stupid congressmen!!:bash::bash::bash:

Palace: Jet purchase to ensure President's safety

MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV
08/14/2009 | 03:14 PM

Malacañang justified its planned purchase of a used jet, saying future Philippine Presidents should be “thankful" to the Arroyo administration “for ensuring a safe, reliable, and efficient air transport."

The planned purchase is also expected to spare the future President from undergoing “the same fate [of] President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who risks her life and limb by using chartered civilian aircraft in performing her duties," the Office of the President said in a statement.

The statement was released after GMANews.TV reported and quoted a newspaper advertisement indicating that the Office of the President (OP) was looking to buy a used jet worth P1.2 billion.

Placed in the Philippine Star, the ad came out on Thursday, just as the President and her entourage remain under fire for having expensive dinners in New York City and Washington, DC.

The ad invited suppliers to bid for a used executive jet since one of two presidential aircraft – the 50-year old F-27 – is undergoing a maintenance check, the Office of the President (OP) said in a statement.

With only one aircraft available – a 29-year-old F-28 – the OP is still forced to charter civilian aircraft to address airlift requirements of the Philippines’ chief executive.

Besides being considered very costly, renting aircraft for presidential transport also poses “high security risks."

In turn, these risks may compromise “the life and limb of the President, members of her official and immediate family, the PAW [Presidential Airlift Wing] pilots, and the Presidential Security Guards accompanying her," the statement said.

“The PAW is not fully cognizant of the maintenance and operational procedures and practices being followed by the operators of the chartered civilian aircraft," the statement added.

Using a civilian aircraft also renders PAW pilots as mere co-pilots. "[And] in the past, there had been lapses on the part of civilian pilots."

The Palace assured that the new aircraft would be able to provide better security for the President and the people going along her, since the jet is equipped with an avionics system able to detect weather, terrain, and traffic factors among others.

"It is but fitting and proper that whosoever is the sitting President should be afforded proper amenities befitting his/her position as Head of the State," the Palace said.

The jet will benefit “will benefit more the next President and the Presidents after him/her" since Mrs. Arroyo is expected to leave her post in mid-2009 anyway.

The aircraft must be “factory new, twin-engine (turbo-fan engines), pressurized, fitted with auxiliary power unit, and with VIP cabin configuration," said an advertisement.

“The type of aircraft to be offered should have been used as a VIP/Executive aircraft by the country of origin and by at least two countries," the ad continued.

The ad was signed by a certain attorney Lynn Danao-Moreno, an assistant executive secretary and chairperson of the bids and awards committee of the Office of the President. - GMANews.TV

bitoy

August 14th, 2009, 11:23 AM

The jet will benefit “will benefit more the next President and the Presidents after him/her" since Mrs. Arroyo is expected to leave her post in mid-2009 anyway.
:lol: baka typo yan, wag naman sanang 2019.

absinthe_888

August 14th, 2009, 11:54 AM

^^ baka nga :D

Anyway, used jet ang bibilihin pero brand new ang jet engine? Ang t@nga naman nung bid document, dapat pressurized yung cabin. Aba eh malamang, eh di nakahinga ang magjujunket :lol:

amigo32

August 14th, 2009, 01:39 PM

^^ baka nga :D

Anyway, used jet ang bibilihin pero brand new ang jet engine? Ang t@nga naman nung bid document, dapat pressurized yung cabin. Aba eh malamang, eh di nakahinga ang magjujunket :lol:

kasi namn gawang China:D intindihin mo na English nila:D

carl_vilches21

August 14th, 2009, 02:24 PM

Sosyal na talaga pangulo natin..

Mas mahal pa nga ang binayaran niya sa mga travels niya kesa sa jet na yan..:lol:

bitoy

August 14th, 2009, 08:43 PM

Askal82

August 15th, 2009, 01:54 AM

manila_eye

August 15th, 2009, 01:55 AM

^^ That beeyotch should be imprisoned after her term.

3cr

August 15th, 2009, 02:32 AM

Palace: Jet purchase to ensure President's safety
MARK D. MERUEÑAS, GMANews.TV
08/14/2009 | 03:14 PM

Malacañang justified its planned purchase of a used jet, saying future Philippine Presidents should be “thankful" to the Arroyo administration “for ensuring a safe, reliable, and efficient air transport."

The planned purchase is also expected to spare the future President from undergoing “the same fate [of] President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo who risks her life and limb by using chartered civilian aircraft in performing her duties," the Office of the President said in a statement.

The statement was released after GMANews.TV reported and quoted a newspaper advertisement indicating that the Office of the President (OP) was looking to buy a used jet worth P1.2 billion.

Placed in the Philippine Star, the ad came out on Thursday, just as the President and her entourage remain under fire for having expensive dinners in New York City and Washington, DC.

The ad invited suppliers to bid for a used executive jet since one of two presidential aircraft – the 50-year old F-27 – is undergoing a maintenance check, the Office of the President (OP) said in a statement.

With only one aircraft available – a 29-year-old F-28 – the OP is still forced to charter civilian aircraft to address airlift requirements of the Philippines’ chief executive.

Besides being considered very costly, renting aircraft for presidential transport also poses “high security risks."

In turn, these risks may compromise “the life and limb of the President, members of her official and immediate family, the PAW [Presidential Airlift Wing] pilots, and the Presidential Security Guards accompanying her," the statement said.

“The PAW is not fully cognizant of the maintenance and operational procedures and practices being followed by the operators of the chartered civilian aircraft," the statement added.

Using a civilian aircraft also renders PAW pilots as mere co-pilots. "[And] in the past, there had been lapses on the part of civilian pilots."

The Palace assured that the new aircraft would be able to provide better security for the President and the people going along her, since the jet is equipped with an avionics system able to detect weather, terrain, and traffic factors among others.

"It is but fitting and proper that whosoever is the sitting President should be afforded proper amenities befitting his/her position as Head of the State," the Palace said.

The jet will benefit “will benefit more the next President and the Presidents after him/her" since Mrs. Arroyo is expected to leave her post in mid-2009 anyway.

The aircraft must be “factory new, twin-engine (turbo-fan engines), pressurized, fitted with auxiliary power unit, and with VIP cabin configuration," said an advertisement.

“The type of aircraft to be offered should have been used as a VIP/Executive aircraft by the country of origin and by at least two countries," the ad continued.

The ad was signed by a certain attorney Lynn Danao-Moreno, an assistant executive secretary and chairperson of the bids and awards committee of the Office of the President. - GMANews.TV

After posh dinners, a Palace jet for GMA
By Aytch S. de la Cruz
Daily Tribune
08/15/2009
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20090815hed1.html

Still living the lifestyle of the rich and famous while taking the stewardship of a country where half of its population is composed of poor and starving Filipinos, and where the proposed 2010 national budget is pegged at P1.5 trillion, despite the Arroyo’s administration’s massive budget blowout of some P223 billion in deficit, Malacañang is set to purchase a P1.3-billion jet plane for the exclusive use of President Arroyo.

A Palace statement yesterday confirmed that the Office of the President is now taking into consideration the procurement of a new executive jet with a purchase price of over a billion pesos and with a VIP seating configuration, unlike the commercial jets, to accommodate the head of state on official trips, here and abroad.

The President is being criticized for her luxurious lifesyle, and her inexplicable growth in wealth.

The Makati Business Club (MBC), in a statement, called on Arroyo to explain her accumulated wealth after her net worth doubled every three years as a government employee from 1992 to 2008.

In a statement, the MBC said: "Held against the light of economic reality and the First Couple’s declared assets and income sources, the impressive growth of Mrs. Arroyo’s wealth is difficult to fathom," MBC said, noting that Arroyo’s stock portfolio grew by 14 percent per annum from P55 million in 2006 to P110 million in 2008, at a time when the Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 21 percent.

"Like Caesar’s wife, the President must be above suspicion. As the highest public servant in our country and in the interest of good governance, Mrs. Arroyo must set an example by making a full and transparent accounting of her and her family’s wealth. She owes the Filipino people an explanation," the group added.

The Palace and its allies have asked the public to lay the issue to rest and "move on."

On the issue of the purchase of the jet for the use of Arroyo, the Palace statement read: "the Office of the President does not own a fixed wing aircraft which the incumbent President can use in her official visits to various parts of the country and abroad. Although the Presidential Airlift Wing (PAW), Philippine Air Force (PAF) has two fixed-wing aircraft, F-28 (which is currently used) and F-27 (presently undergoing maintenance check), the same are 29 and 50 years old respectively, and therefore, too costly to maintain."

The statement added that unlike the F-28 and F-27, the proposed executive jet is equipped with modern technology to ensure safety in all aspects of the flight.

Among its features would be the new avionics system which provides all pertinent information about weather, terrain, traffic and other factors that may affect the safety of the aircraft and its passengers.

"The presidency, being the highest position in the entire government bureaucracy, is the symbol of national pride and dignity. It is but fitting and proper that whosoever is the sitting President should be afforded proper amenities befitting his/her position as the head of State," the statement read further.

When asked why this proposal should come at this time, given that Mrs. Arroyo now only has about nine months to her term, the Palace said: "It may be worth mentioning that the aircraft to be procured by the Office of the President will benefit more the next President and the Presidents after her."

"The future President and those next to her should thank this administration for ensuring a safe, reliable, and efficient air transport befitting a head of State and for sparing him/her the same fate as (Arroyo) has who risks her life and limb by using chartered civilian aircraft in performing her official functions," the statement concluded.

Malacañang did not state that Arroyo’s trips are likely to cost even more if she uses the new Palace jet, which will be an additional and expensive cost to her many trips, here and abroad.

Rep. Teofisto Guingona III’s (2nd District, Bukidnon) yesterday charged that Arroyo has gone beyond the limits of her expenses which ballooned to P2.7 billion for her foreign trips alone.

Speaking before members of the press Friday, Deputy Presidential Spokesman Gary Olivar defended Arroyo, saying that as per advisory given by the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) the President did not exceed the amount spent for local and or foreign visits.

Olivar relayed the DBM figures which state that for the year 2008, the amount allocated for the local or foreign visits of the President was at P244.6 million and that the Office of the President only spent P233.8 million from that specified budget.

"In a similar vein, no releases were made by the DBM in 2008 for the Office of the President under the contingent fund," Olivar clarified.

He also expressed that even if there occurred an overspending, this was allowable since the Section 62 of the 2008 General Appropriations Act (GAA) stated that "agencies may augment any item of expenditure within maintenance of other operating expenses (MOOE) except confidential and intelligence funds from savings and other items of MOOE without prior approval of the DBM."

"So there is room for flexibility or what we call budget flex," Olivar explained, justifying the President’s overshooting her travel budget.

Olivar also underscored the so-called fruits of Mrs. Arroyo’s trips abroad saying that were it not for those trips taken by Arroyo, the economy would have been in a worse position today.

"You be the judge. We were not weighed down by the recession. Our economy continues to grow for the last eight years. Somehow it’s paying off. This is the exchange," Olivar pointed out, echoing the achievements Arroyo has displayed in her State of the Nation Address shadowing the assumptions on the issue of the President’s overspending.

Olivar also welcomed the idea of creating a separate audit group that would manage the Chief Executive’s expenses for her official travels in and outside the country and assess whatever benefits she would be bringing in return.

A lawmaker from the militant Anakpawis yesterday called on Malacañang to account for all the foreign trips of the President even as he charged that she has exceeded her budget for foreign travels by almost half a billion pesos.

Anakpawis Rep. Joel Maglunsod said Malacañang must present to the public a detailed accounting of all expenses of the President’s state and working travels abroad, including her latest trip to the United States.

Maglunsod is set to file a resolution before the House Committee on Good Governance to investigate the expenditure of the 52 foreign trips made by President Arroyo since 2001 that reportedly reached almost P3 billion, way too much of what is authorized in the national budget.

"The people deserve to know how much the President spent for her foreign travels," he said.

This developed as Bayan Muna Rep Teddy Casino yesterday asked the Commission on Audit to form a special audit team that would look into the expenses of the President particularly on her recent trip to the United States.

"Whether the meals were paid for by private individuals or government officials, Mrs. Arroyo has a lot of explaining to do about her expenses during her trips and her swelling wealth."

Malungsod added that Arroyo must be restrained from foreign travel for the rest of her term or until Malacañang makes public all its expenses for the foreign trips of the president.

^^ Aba ilan pa bang world tour gagawin ni GMA to justify this lavish P1.3B jet purchase/expense? Lubog na nga sa utang ang bansa at malapit na ang eleksyon para palitan siya eh bibili pa ng eroplano si GMA? Bakit ngayon pa? Hanep naman talaga naturingan pa man din "Public Servant" eh kung umasta eh parang walang pakiramdam sa kahirapang nararamdaman ng masang Pilipino. Siguradong kurakot nanaman ang balak ng mga may pakana nito lalo na palapit na ang eleksyon. Tsk, Tsk, Tsk,... :bash: :bash: :bash:

3cr

August 15th, 2009, 02:45 AM

‘RP gets poorer, Arroyo gets richer’
By Michael Lim Ubac, Abigail L. Ho
Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090815-220389/RP-gets-poorer-Arroyo-gets-richer

MANILA, Philippines — The President’s net worth may have risen “substantially” since she became the country’s top executive, but the country racked up more foreign debts than usual in the same period.

Citing data from the Bureau of Treasury as of April this year, Sen. Francisco Escudero said Friday that the net worth of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo increased by 114 percent from P66.8 million to P143.54 million, yet the country’s foreign debt ballooned this year to P4.8 trillion, from around P2.8 trillion in 2001.

Reports on the President’s assets were outlined in a recent article by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) that said it had increased significantly since her assumption to the presidency.

Expensive dinners

“In other words, the country grows poorer as she gets richer,” added Escudero in a statement that seemed to add fuel to public uproar over reports of expensive dinners during Ms Arroyo’s recent trip to the United States.

Escudero noted that P630 billon, or nearly half of this year’s budget of P1.4 trillion, went to debt payments.

“And yet nothing has been done to address the P300 billion lost annually by the Bureaus of Customs and Internal Revenue to inefficient collection tax collection,” he said.

“This amount would have sufficed to double the budget for education,” the senator added. “The next President should insist on lowering debt payments and review our debt policy, so it can focus more on domestic spending,” said Escudero, a presidential aspirant.

Respond to issues

Meanwhile, the Makati Business Club is challenging the President “to personally respond “to the issues raised by the PCIJ article.

The group said in a statement Friday that the growth of Ms Arroyo’s assets and net worth was “difficult to fathom,” considering the state of the economy and the stock market when she acquired her additional wealth.

“The business community would be particularly interested in the remarkable growth of Mrs. Arroyo’s net worth during her incumbency as a government employee from 1992-2008, when her personal wealth increased from P6.73 million to P143.54 million, according to the PCIJ account. That equates to a compounded growth of 21.1 percent per annum, wherein her net worth doubled every 3.4 years,” the MBC said.

“Her stock portfolio, meanwhile, grew by 41 percent per annum from P55 million in 2006 to P110 million in 2008, at a time when the Philippine Stock Exchange index fell by 21 percent,” the group added.

Like Caesar’s wife

“Like Caesar’s wife, the President must be above suspicion,” it added. “As the highest public servant in our country and in the interest of good governance, she must set an example by making a full and transparent accounting of her and her family’s wealth. She owes the Filipino people an explanation.”

The MBC also chastised Ms Arroyo’s legal advisers for “attacking the message as well as the messenger rather than responding in any meaningful and germane manner.”

“The press serves a watchdog function and, disagreeable as it may be to those who have suffered its nasty bite, we must allow the press to perform this function, without coercion or threats,” it said.

_________________________

Corruption worst ever — Bishops
By Marie A. Surbano
Daily Tribune
08/16/2009

With the lavish and ostentatious lifestyle being displayed by President Arroyo and members of her administration amid the dire poverty and growing number of hungry and starving Filipinos, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) yesterday said corruption in the Arroyo government is at its worse ever.

Cotabato Archbishop Orlando Quevedo, secretary general of the Federation of Asian Bishops Conferences (FABC), said this in reaction to recent news of a planned P1.3 billion private jet purchase on top of the lavish dinners that the President and her delegation had where the party had incurred nearly P2 million for two dinners, one in New York at Le Cirque and another at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington DC.

Only two dinners were reported in the US media, but embassy sources said that there was yet a third dinner, also at Le Cirque in New York. It was also discovered that the Philippine consulate was charged for all the rooms that were occupied by Arroyo and her entourage at the Waldorf Astoria.

"Corruption is nothing new as it has been with us since the time of (President Manuel) Quezon. But the corruption then was not as bad as today," Quevedo said during an interview with reporters at the Pope Pius Center in Manila during the 9th plenary assembly of the FABC.

Quevedo recalled that the CBCP had only issued two pastoral letter condemning corruption at this point and this was done ironically during the time of the late President Corazon "Cory" Aquino in 1987 and another during the term of current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

"The CBCP came out only with two letters (on corruption). Believe it or not, the first letter on corruption was written during the time of Cory," Quevedo disclosed but the bishops then had decided to delay the issuance of the said letter because at that time, Cory had a triumphant visit in Europe in 1987. And she was praised for the restoration of democracy in the Philippines.

He said the CBCP letter to Cory was entitled "Thou shall not steal."

It was also at a time when allegations of the relatives of Aquino, branded then by the media as "Kamag-Anak Inc. grabbing the sequestered properties for a song were being reported.

Quevedo, however, stressed that issuing the pastoral letter on corruption did not necessarily mean that Cory Aquino was corrupt. It was the entire system of government that was corrupt.

In Arroyo’s time, however, even when there was clear evidence of corruption, cheating, lying and stealing in the top echelons of Malacanang, Arroyo included, the CBCP, in its pastoral letters, had been very soft on Arroyo, and even urged Arroyo to lead the fight against corruption.

It was also a time when some of the bishops were found to have accepted bribes from Arroyo and Malacañang, in cash and in kind.

The bishops’ second letter which was sent to Arroyo, they have included the Congress.

"Corruption is really endemic in the Philippines it is not monopoly of one government," Quevedo said, noting that during the time of the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos, the bishops were also assessing corruption in the government, not only from top but from bottom to top.

"The problem of corruption is not simply on the leadership. It is also from the bottom up. The culture of corruption has spread since the first Philippine president, who was Quezon," he said, noting that even Kagawad, the Sanggunian Kabataan has been infected by corruption and this is evident in the "money used in this election level and that is a terrible thing."

But while the issue on corruption is an endemic problem, Quevedo said the Philippines is not the only country in Asia facing this problem.

The FABC, he said discussed the issue on corruption in Asia and is set to come up with a document that "will mention endemic corruption in countries in Asia, not just the Philippines. The corruption is in most of the government in Asia.

The Philippines under Arroyo earned the tag of being the "most corrupt" in Asia. She was also rated as the "most corrupt president the Filipinos have ever had."

Also, a vast majority of Filipinos, or 77 percent, voted down the Arroyo government as completely ineffective in the battle against corruption, the Global Corruption Barometer 2009 which the anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI) released showed.

The public rating was the second to the worst in Asia, only next to Korea in which 81 percent of those polled said their government was ineffective in the fight against corruption.

TI said the barometer, which was a public opinion survey, complements expert opinions on public sector corruption provided by TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index and the views of senior business executives on international bribery flows reflected in the Bribe Payers Index.

Asked on which social sectors respondents considers to be the most affected by corruption, the biggest number or 35 percent cited public officials and public servants, followed by political parties at 28 percent, and the parliament or legislature at 26 percent.

On the question of the respondents perception of corruption in six given institutions with the score of one as not all corrupt and five extremely corrupt, the scores given were 4 for public officials or civil servants and political parties; 3.9 for the legislature, 3.4 for the judiciary, three for the business or private sector, and two for the media.

The survey, nevertheless, showed the Philippines in the highest rung of more than 64 percent of the group of countries in which the percentage of respondents who said they would be willing to pay more from a corruption-free company.

Meanwhile, congressmen, also on the hot seat for the lavish dinners in the US, yesterday called on senatorial aspirants to stop using the issue of Arroyo’s foreign trip to further their political ambitions

Administration lawmakers yesterday assailed efforts of senators and senatorial aspirants in the opposition to exploit the foreign trips of Arroyo to advance their political ambition.

Camiguin Rep. Pedro Romualdo said it is obvious that the real intent of these senatorial aspirants in hitting the President and the budget for her foreign travels is to seek media mileage for next year’s elections.

"Too much politics. They will say anything at the expense of President Arroyo, so they will be in the news in aid of their senatorial obsession," aid Romualdo, chairman of the House committee on good government and public accountability.

Romualdo said the Commission on Audit report only proves that everything was accounted for in the President’s foreign trips.

"We are confident that the Palace has enough basis and justification for the trips and expenses. Let’s not politicize the issue. It is wrong and unfair to malign the President whom critics fail to realize has to work doubly harder and risk her health and security in every foreign trip she makes to promote our country’s interest."

As explained by Palace Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar, Romualdo said records from the Department of Budget and Management showed that President Arroyo only spent P233.8 million for her trips compared to the allocation of P244.6 million, and that no augmentation was allegedly released from the Contingent Fund.

Bulacan Rep. Lorna Silverio, chairman of the House committee on inter-parliamentary relations and diplomacy, said the series of attacks on the President and her foreign travels showed the desperation of Arroyo’s critics in seeking higher office.

"They are using the President to promote their personal ambition. People are tired of negative politics. What they want is for these senatorial wannabes from the opposition to bare their agenda for the country and the Filipino people, if they have any," said Silverio.

Silverio said the country’s uninterrupted growth for 36 quarters and its recession-free status attest to the success and significance of the President’s foreign travels. Critics just cannot accept this truth."

In a related development, the United Opposition (UNO) said the presidential entourage’s scandalous million peso dinner is merely the tip of the iceberg of Arroyo’s spending ways.

"From news reports we finally see the real score; her Waldorf suite costs $3,500 a day, $ 950 a day per room for the congressmen and others. No less than 60 rooms in the hotel were occupied," Uno National Capital Region chairman and San Juan City Mayor Joseph Victor Ejercito said.

"For two days they feasted in Le Cirque. At least 50 dined for two nights. They all came in stretch limos, rented for three days which are rented by the hour. "Ejercito pointed out.

Ejercito said that the conspicuous spending is truly on a frightening scale for a Third World leader. "If that is not a blatant disregard for government’s own proclaimed austerity program, I don’t know what is. There is no way that the money they spent there would find it back into the Philippine economy."

"Clearly when government economists say the Arroyo year has seen an exponential growth in the wealth of the Filipinos, they are only referring to the Arroyos and the administration lackeys. It is small wonder that the lawmaker cronies of the Palace are fighting tooth and nail to extend her term in office."

Fraulein

August 15th, 2009, 03:46 AM

pi_malejana

August 15th, 2009, 04:40 AM

ang di ko lamang maintindihan eh why do they always equate the expenses into pesos.. eh talagang mahal yun, in the eyes of the "poor" filipinos...:lol:

RonnieR

August 15th, 2009, 04:46 AM

Ph Man

August 15th, 2009, 05:06 AM

I beg to disagree. Media hypes it all. Arroyo is getting richer - doon pa ako naniniwala :lol:

Pero seriously, us Filipinos are poorer? We are the texting capital of the world, one of the highest internet users, kung mahilig tayo sa text, mahilig din tayo bumili ng gadgets such as mobile phone, computers, etc. Mobile phone is part of necessity.

I read in one of the magazines in the world states that:

"Philippines is a rich country pretending to be poor."
Sounds funny pero seriously it's true.:yes:

Agree. Or we just don't know how to spend our money. And the ones who are very vocal about them being poor are the richest.

Reminds me what a complainer we were with the compensation the company is giving us. Only to realize that we are much better off than some workers out there.

Sometimes, we are forgetting to count what we have. We keep on focusing on what we DON'T HAVE. And what do our lawmakers do? They resort to formulating laws that are not investor-friendly. Like lowering the cost of petroleum, cutting power costs, halving the price of medicines. :ohno: Very superficial. Ask any potential foreign investor out there. RP is not on their list. Unless you're talking with BPO companies. If we rest on our laurels on our success with the offshoring industry, we might realize how far behind we are already compared with our SEA neighbors like Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. These countries do not rely on BPO industry to propel their economy. HK and Singapore did not. I'm not trying to discount our success as a major BPO destination. But reality check tells us that this success may not be sustainable.

Sky Harbor

August 15th, 2009, 05:07 AM

^^ Well, 32 million Filipinos not having bank accounts tells something.

Yes... it's politics.....Escudero failed to mention the % of RP's debt to total GDP. Yes, total debt increased but the % of our debt to total GDP of the country has decreased under GMA. It means, our economy has improved since 2001....basta makaka panghamak lang sa gobyerno, okay lang

I'm sorry, but the more I see Francis Escudero lambast GMA, the more I begin to equate him to a maniacal spin doctor who has nothing better to do than to gripe and whine and complain.

Though the total amount of debt is increasing, the debt burden in proportion to the overall economy is decreasing. If the SONA doesn't escape me, the current debt burden is around 60% of GDP.

Ph Man

August 15th, 2009, 05:15 AM

^^ Well, 32 million Filipinos not having bank accounts tells something.

I'm sorry, but the more I see Francis Escudero lambast GMA, the more I begin to equate him to a maniacal spin doctor who has nothing better to do than to gripe and whine and complain.

Though the total amount of debt is increasing, the debt burden in proportion to the overall economy is decreasing. If the SONA doesn't escape me, the current debt burden is around 60% of GDP.

he thinks doing this will somehow improve his popularity ratings. poor guy...:ohno:

jpdm

August 15th, 2009, 08:18 AM

Maxxclip

August 15th, 2009, 09:04 AM

akala ko "Gawad Pambansang Alagad Ng Sining" lang ang papanaw:D

pati pala 'Delicadeza' (http://opinion.inquirer.net/inquireropinion/columns/view/20090815-220331/The-death-of-delicadeza) ng mga politiko sa bansa ay sumakabilang-buhay na din:hilarious

R.I.P.

bakasaurus

August 15th, 2009, 09:40 AM

Ito ba basis mo para sabihin mo na hindi naghihirap ang Pinoy? Great.

Funny, you took the magazine (data) seriously.

Suggestion; Read NSCB at NSO data.

I fully agree. When did texting and gadgets ever become the index of richness or poverty?

Wind Shear

August 15th, 2009, 01:05 PM

I fully agree. When did texting and gadgets ever become the index of richness or poverty?

That's what someone quips it: poverty is just a state of mind.

Askal82

August 15th, 2009, 06:20 PM

I'm quite curious with the price of a Krug Champagne and its ability to rack up $20k bill on Arroyo's dinner. Well, this is the closest wine review I can come up from New York Times:

http://thepour.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/29/effervescent-prices/

Some of its wines have a price tag of about $3,000 to $3,500 a bottle!!

:ohno::ohno:

Fraulein

August 16th, 2009, 03:30 AM

Why do I say that?

Filipinos spend their money to buy loads and gadgets. Akala ba, ang mga Filipinos hindi makabali ng basic needs such as bigas, asukal, etc. pero nakabibili ng load para may pang text, pangtawag. Ano tawag mo doon?:ohno:

RonnieR

August 16th, 2009, 04:44 AM

If this is true, then gullible filipinos were victims of American tabloids. :lol:

US$20,000 dinner claim called a lie
By MADEL R. SABATER
August 15, 2009, 5:39pm
http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/216036/us20000-dinner-claim-called-a-lie

Days after the media feasted on the alleged US$20,000 dinner tab of President Arroyo and her entourage at the Le Cirque restaurant in New York, the contact manager of Le Cirque has belied an earlier report that has made Arroyo’s dinner in New York very controversial.

In a letter to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, Philippine Consul General in New York Cecilia Rebong disclosed that the August 14 to 21, 2009 issue of the Filipino Reporter in New York reported that the $20,000 dinner tab controversy is a “lie,” based on an interview with Le Cirque contact manager Mario Wainer.

Wainer was quoted as saying, “it’s a lie” and “it’s far from the truth.” He said: “President Arroyo and her group had dinner here (Le Cirque) just like everyone else.”

“The $20,000 dinner tab was not true,” Rebong also said.

She added: “The article said the Filipino Reporter suggested to Mr. Wainer ‘that in the light of conflicting claims in Manila and by critics of Mrs. Arroyo and by the New York Post, on one hand, and the President’s men, on the other, perhaps, Le Cirque should issue a statement to clarify the issue.’ However, Mr. Wainer replied that we (Le Cirque) do not involve ourselves in politics.”

The Arroyo administration found itself in hot water after a New York Post article dated August 7 revealed that the President and some of her entourage ordered a sumptuous meal and paid $20,000 during her US state visit

But Malacañang said that the dinner was not extravagant as reported.

Askal82

August 16th, 2009, 08:00 AM

Muffstar

August 16th, 2009, 09:25 AM

Philippine leader cancels new jet orderAugust 16, 2009 - 5:14PM
Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo has cancelled an order for a presidential jet amid public outrage over her allegedly extravagant lifestyle during a financial crisis, her spokesman says.

The make and price of the aircraft were not disclosed but her spokesman, Cerge Remonde, said Arroyo "does not want more criticism about her spending".

"I am formally announcing the president has ordered the cancellation of the purchase of a presidential jet," Remonde said on Sunday.

Arroyo came under intense criticism after the New York Post reported this week that she and her officials ran up a $US20,000 ($A23,764) tab for dinner at a restaurant while on an official visit to the US.

The report triggered public condemnation and street protests in the Philippines, where, according to official data, about one third of the country's 90 million population lives on $A1.20 or less a day.

The presidential palace denied public funds had been spent on the dinner at the Le Cirque restaurant last month, saying that a rich Filipino architect whose brother is a political ally of Arroyo had paid the bill.

Remonde said on Sunday the purchase of the jet had been cancelled even though this "would have benefited the next presidents".

He said Arroyo's office was also preparing a report for Congress on expenses incurred during her trip to the US, where she became the first Southeast Asian leader to meet US President Barack Obama.

Arroyo was swept to power in 2001 after a military-backed popular revolt ousted her corruption-tainted predecessor, Joseph Estrada.

She served Estrada's remaining term in office and in 2004 won a highly contested second term amid allegations of cheating.

Her popularity has continued to drop since 2004, with her family accused of using the presidential office to enrich themselves.

jpdm

August 16th, 2009, 11:48 AM

Philippine leader cancels new jet order

August 16, 2009 - 5:14PM

Philippine leader Gloria Arroyo has cancelled an order for a presidential jet amid public outrage over her allegedly extravagant lifestyle during a financial crisis, her spokesman says.

The make and price of the aircraft were not disclosed but her spokesman, Cerge Remonde, said Arroyo "does not want more criticism about her spending".

"I am formally announcing the president has ordered the cancellation of the purchase of a presidential jet," Remonde said on Sunday.

Arroyo came under intense criticism after the New York Post reported this week that she and her officials ran up a $US20,000 ($A23,764) tab for dinner at a restaurant while on an official visit to the US.

The report triggered public condemnation and street protests in the Philippines, where, according to official data, about one third of the country's 90 million population lives on $A1.20 or less a day.

The presidential palace denied public funds had been spent on the dinner at the Le Cirque restaurant last month, saying that a rich Filipino architect whose brother is a political ally of Arroyo had paid the bill.

Remonde said on Sunday the purchase of the jet had been cancelled even though this "would have benefited the next presidents".

This is definitely a good move and a good news!:cheers:

jpdm

August 16th, 2009, 12:21 PM

Focus on repair of C130s, not jet'

By Artemio Dumlao
(The Philippine Star)
Updated August 16, 2009 12:00 AM

Photo is loading...

BAGUIO CITY , Philippines – Malacañang has lost its sense of priority in purchasing an executive jet for the president, Sen. Rodolfo Biazon said yesterday.

Instead of buying an expensive private jet for the president, Malacañang should prioritize the upkeep of the Air Force’s remaining three C130s that badly need repair and upgrade, he said.

Biazon, a former Armed Forces chief, said the mobility of the military should be the priority of the government.

“And besides, the president doesn’t need a jet… the Philippines is so small,” Biazon said.

Malacañang justified its move to buy a brand-new presidential jet worth P1.2 billion, saying it would also benefit President Arroyo’s successors and greatly reduce security risks and other dangers when the nation’s leaders use aging planes or charter aircraft.

President Arroyo either takes a commercial flight or charters a flight when going on foreign trips. For domestic trips or visits to nearby countries, Malacañang leases private jets.

The last presidential aircraft was an aging Fokker F-28 jet used by former Presidents Fidel Ramos, occasionally by Joseph Estrada, and a few times by Mrs. Arroyo at the start of her administration in 2001.

An older presidential aircraft was the Fokker F-27, which was propeller-driven.

In the later part of the Ramos administration, the same aircraft was used to ferry journalists or Palace officials. It is no longer in use as it is considered dangerous to fly.

Mrs. Arroyo earlier donated two of the presidential helicopters to the Air Force.

The Office of the President earlier published a notice of biddings for a “presidential fixed-wing executive jet” that must be factory new, with two turbo-fan engines pressurized and equipped with avionics and instruments that are prescribed and compliant with the standards of the Federal Aviation Administration and International Civil Aviation Organization.

The aircraft is set for delivery at the end of the year following the bidding process that starts this month.

http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/8929/59679211.jpg

bitoy

August 16th, 2009, 04:34 PM

Mrs. Arroyo earlier donated two of the presidential helicopters to the Air Force.

Katakot naman ito.

Delikado na sakyan at hindi naman sa kanya dinonate pa sa PAF.

jpdm

August 17th, 2009, 01:26 AM

GMA's dinner hosts needed govt favors

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
(The Philippine Star)
Updated August 17, 2009 12:00 AM

“If you’re an invited guest normally you don’t ask the host what food he’ll serve or how much he paid.” That’s the alibi of President Arroyo’s six spokesmen for her lavish US dinners totaling $35,000 (P1,750,000). She was supposedly just invited to parties thrown by Reps. Danilo Suarez (Quezon) and Martin Romualdez (Leyte) as wedding anniversary gifts.

Yet the fact alone that she has so many drumbeaters shows Arroyo to be no ordinary person. As the country’s highest official it’s her duty to lead in enforcing the Constitution and anti-graft law. She broke both wining and dining at swanky US restaurants. The Charter enjoins public officials to live frugal and simple lives. The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards forbids them from receiving gifts of value (upwards of P5,000).

Aides failed to shield her from disgrace, as they were themselves too busy gorging. It’s their job to screen menus and tabs for profligacy, assess if dinners would boost the Presidency, and detect if hosts are seeking favors.

A regular escort in Arroyo’s foreign jaunts, Suarez boasts of hosting presidential dinners all the time. The Palace says fellow-escort Romualdez is also her frequent party giver. Do the two do it out of pure generosity? Or is it because they need something from government, and Arroyo is in best position to grant it?

Suarez is rushing state-owned Development Bank of the Philippines to lend him P1 billion by month’s end. The money is for Coco Resources Corp., where Suarez’s sister, three children and son-in-law are stockholders and directors. CRC supposedly will erect for $22.7 million a 10-megawatt power plant (originally planned for only 1-MW) in Quezon. A lawyers club deplores Suarez’s loan as behest. CRC lacks collateral and capital, proceeds will go to activities other than the plant, and corporate layering masks the crony, cries Sentro Gabay Legal ng Quezon. But Arroyo appoints directors to the DBP board. With a hand wave she can signal them to dole P1 billion.

Romualdez should be facing a P138-million rap at the Sandiganbayan. This is because during his short stint as its chairman in Oct. 2005, he caused the withdrawal of that amount from PCIBank. The cash represents interests and dividends from shares of Trans Middle East Equity, owned by Kokoy Romualdez, Martin’s dad and Imelda Romualdez Marcos’s brother. The anti-graft court had put the shares in escrow pending its ruling if ill gotten, as the PCGG claimed in 1986. It is the President who chooses PCGG commissioners. With a finger snap she can order them to desist from a case. The PCGG has not sought the return of the P138 million; instead it is pushing a settlement of Marcos-Romualdez cases.:ohno::ohno::ohno:

jpdm

August 17th, 2009, 01:41 AM

Lessons in fine dining

SKETCHES
By Ana Marie Pamintuan
(The Philippine Star)
Updated August 17, 2009 12:00 AM

The furor over President Arroyo’s two expensive dinners in the United States refuses to die down. To make the best of a bad situation, the President and her flunkeys should just learn several lessons from this episode.

First, the world has become a global village, and you can’t pretend to be in mourning at home while celebrating in another continent, especially if you’re Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the developing Republic of the Philippines.

Not since the shop-till-you-drop days of Imelda Marcos has the American media been fixated on the inglorious spending habits of a top Philippine official. The eyes of the world, especially in a recession year, are on public officials with Imeldific tendencies, and news of perceived profligacy can go global in a matter of minutes.

Second, if you want to celebrate your wedding anniversary, it is generally better done in private, and don’t let someone else foot the bill. In our culture, the husband is expected to pick up the tab.

Third, it is not inappropriate for presidents to eat in fast-food chains. Leaders of other countries do it, including US President Barack Obama and his unpopular predecessor, George W. Bush, both of whom have even waited in line, carrying their own trays, for meals in cafeterias during their incumbency.

Fourth, having been rudely reminded that the world is now a global village, if a president still decides to splurge anyway on fine dining, the official receipt must be kept, if not in the interest of transparency, then at least to make it easier for AbCerge Remonde to prove that all you ordered was the set menu (minimum of $58 per head before tax and service charge). To this day, no one is sure who actually paid for the $20,000 dinner at Le Cirque in Manhattan.

Fifth (and this lesson is for both Malacañang and Congress), this episode should lead to tighter rules on spending and financial accounting in these two branches of government.

TheAvenger

August 18th, 2009, 12:07 AM

CEBU CITY -- While the government assistance to the families of the 23 slain soldiers was welcome, the live-in partner of Private First Class Elfie Igcalinos, one of those who died in last Wednesday’s Basilan clash, said it would have been better if the soldiers were better equipped to fight the Abu Sayyaf.

Grace Bacalla, 24, said on Monday that her live-in partner, a dedicated soldier, deserved the honors given him but she could not help but think that money spent on the expensive dinners of the President and her party in the US could have been better spent for the fighting troops in Mindanao.

"They (the soldiers) are our defenders. We should give them importance. It appeared like they were just the bait and if they die, the assistance was used only to appease the family," said Bacalla.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090817-220755/Grieving-girlfriend-woes-ill-equipped-soldiers

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af217/cris46/pic-08160806160681.jpg

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af217/cris46/12.jpg

http://i1009.photobucket.com/albums/af217/cris46/15-2.jpg

absinthe_888

August 18th, 2009, 02:48 AM

Congressmen want to charge taxpayers for US trip (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=497053&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated August 18, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Some of the more than 28 congressmen who accompanied President Arroyo on her recent working visit to the United States are willing after all to repay Malacañang for their trip – but using taxpayers’ money.

Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., one of those who joined the presidential entourage, said yesterday he would reimburse the Palace if he was asked to, but added he would use the travel funds he is getting from the House of Representatives for such reimbursement.

“You see, congressmen get about P1 million a year in travel funds from the House,” he told radio station dzMM.

He said he is not ashamed to use taxpayers’ money for his first trip with Mrs. Arroyo “because it really was worth it.”

“I worked during the visit. I attended counterpart US congressional conferences and meetings with members of Filipino-American communities. I can defend my decision to use my travel funds,” he said.

Abante, who is an evangelical bishop, said he was just being truthful about the fact that he did not pay a single centavo for his US trip and that he would use taxpayers’ money in reimbursing Malacañang if asked to.

Speaker Prospero Nograles, who led the large House delegation that accompanied the President, has reportedly asked his colleagues to pay for their trip.

The delegation included five newly proclaimed party-list representatives, one of whom left with the presidential party on his first working day.

Before leaving for the US, Nograles and his colleagues announced that they would be using personal funds.

Last Thursday, Abante told the Serye Café news forum in Quezon City that “I don’t know who paid for the plane fare, hotel accommodation and other expenses. I did not ask.”

He said since it was Malacañang that invited him to join the President, he assumed that it was the Palace that shouldered his and his colleagues’ expenses.

Asked whether his colleagues paid for their expenses, Abante said, “If I did not pay, I supposed that they, too, did not pay.”

He revealed that they were billeted at the expensive Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, where former First Lady Imelda Marcos used to stay, and at the Willard Inter-Continental Hotel in Washington.

According to newspaper reports, Mrs. Arroyo’s party occupied at least 60 rooms at Waldorf and Willard. An ordinary room at Waldorf reportedly costs $950 a night. Mrs. Arroyo was said to have occupied a $3,500-a-night suite.

At the Serye forum, Abante urged Mrs. Arroyo to account for all the expenses incurred in her US trip and not hide behind her spokesmen and election lawyer.

“After all, she’s the one accountable for this,” he said.

The President’s US visit was overshadowed by the death of former President Corazon Aquino and has become controversial due to at least two expensive dinners Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage enjoyed in New York and Washington.

Her spokesman claimed it was Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez who paid $20,000 for a dinner at the French restaurant Le Cirque in New York City, while Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez professed he paid $15,000 for steaks and lobsters at a Washington steakhouse.

bitoy

August 18th, 2009, 08:39 AM

^^ ..but who paid for the "THIRD" dinner to celebrate Arroyo's anniversary at David Bouley restaurant in New York. (http://www.spot.ph/2009/08/18/gma-had-another-lavish-dinner-in-nys-david-bouley-restaurant/)

Again? lalabas pa siguro yung 4th celebration sa DC... :lol:

Juan Pilgrim

August 18th, 2009, 03:25 PM

^^ Ang sarap ng Lobster Thermidor o Dungeness crab and black truffle broth diyan sa new Bouley!
Dinner ka diyan pag punta mo sa NYC. :okay:

:horse:

bitoy

August 18th, 2009, 06:43 PM

^^ When I'm in NYC, sa hotdog stand na lang kami kumakain pag tanghali at sa Chinatown sa gabi para magkasya yung per diem namin. :lol:

TeslaCoil

August 18th, 2009, 06:53 PM

^^ Bad news nga yan :lol:

Narnian_King

August 18th, 2009, 07:20 PM

Gusto niyo ba sa Mcdonald kumain ang Presidente? :lol:
tho kumain na rin si Gloria sa Mcdonald sa Makati kasama ang mga call center agents.

Pinalaki lang masyado ang issue.

bitoy

August 18th, 2009, 07:43 PM

^^ Kung dito sa Perlas ng Silangan (http://www.perlasnewyork.com/default.htm)in New York pa sila kumain, e di mas sikat pa ang balita sa kanila.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3547505047_b8a683b904.jpg

Kaso, baka na takot silang lasunin ng mga empleyado dun. :lol:

Narnian_King

August 18th, 2009, 07:46 PM

TheAvenger

August 18th, 2009, 10:50 PM

kung lalasunin, tiyak big news yan. :lol:

wow magandang photo ops yaon, makapaglibing ako.

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 12:48 AM

Wednesday, August 19, 2009
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/aug/19/yehey/top_stories/20090819top4.html

Gunmen take island, want to surrender

By Jefferson Antiporda, Reporter

The Philippine military on Tuesday deployed troops to Balabac Island off Palawan province after receiving reports that a group of armed men, believed to be members of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), occupied the island on Saturday and terrorized civilians there.

But now, the military said that it had received reports that the 30 or so gunmen want to surrender.

Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner, the chief of the military’s Public Affairs Office, said they were still verifying if the raiders belonged to the MNLF or other Muslim groups.

Brawner said that no civilians were hurt during the takeover, but that the gunmen were stopping residents from fleeing.

Navy spokesman Edgard Arevalo said that the Navy had deployed patrol vessels and gunboats to Balabac Island to prevent the gunmen, reportedly led by a certain Pa Guru, from escaping.

“We want to emphasize here that whoever commits acts of terrorism, criminal acts, and becomes hindrance to progress and development, be he a soldier, an Abu Sayyaf, an MNLF, or MILF [Moro Islamic Liberation Front], [he becomes an] enemy of the state and subject [to] annihilation,” Arevalo added.

The MNLF under then Chairman Nur Misuari entered a peace agreement with the government in 1996 during the administration of President Fidel Ramos.

The Abu Sayyaf and the MILF, like the MNLF, have said that they were fighting for an independent Islamic state in southern Philippines.

NewsFlash Home | More International News
Filipino troops to restore order on tourist island
8/18/2009, 4:16 a.m. EDT
The Associated Press
http://www.silive.com/newsflash/international/index.ssf?/base/international-11/1250584806287390.xml&storylist=international

(AP) — MANILA, Philippines - Philippine troops threatened to use force Tuesday to dislodge about 30 Muslim rebels who occupied two small islets next to the popular southwestern beach resort of Palawan, officials said.

The gunmen occupied a mosque and took over the islets of Montangule and Bangkalan on Saturday, leading residents to complain about extortion and insecurity, said military spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner.

Palawan province, famous for white-sand beaches and pristine forests, caves and waterfalls, has been largely isolated from a decades-long Muslim rebellion that has ravaged the main southern region of Mindanao and nearby Basilan and Jolo islands.

Brawner said it was not clear if the rebels were members of the Moro National Liberation Front as they claim to be. The Muslim separatist group signed a peace deal with the government in 1996 in exchange for an autonomous region that did not include Palawan.

Many of its members have refused to disarm, adding to insecurity in a region where two other Muslim rebel groups operate-the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front, which has continued to fight for Muslim self-rule, and the Abu Sayyaf, a smaller, more violent al-Qaida-linked group.

Brawner said the gunmen told authorities Tuesday they were willing to surrender and negotiations were ongoing with the local government. The gunmen did not air any demands.

"We will not allow lawless elements to sow panic and cause havoc to helpless civilians," said navy spokesman Col. Edgardo Arevalo.

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 12:52 AM

Britain expresses concern over abductions of aid workers in S Philippines
www.chinaview.cn 2009-08-18 18:33:29 Print

MANILA, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) -- The British government said Tuesday the spate of abductions of aid workers in Mindanao, particularly in the provinces of Zamboanga, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, has created "an atmosphere of fear and reluctance," jeopardizing the delivery of services to the people in these conflict-torn areas.

According to a statement released by the embassy on Tuesday, Chris Wright, head of political section of the British Embassy, expressed concern that aid workers have become targets of terrorism and kidnappings by lawless elements in Mindanao.

"Mindanao remains a priority area for development programs because of its current socio-economic and political conditions. Most of the workers involved in these programs are leaving the comfort of their own homes and spending time away from their families to help people in areas of conflict where their safety is compromised every day. Yet they continue because they know their mission is very important," Wright said in the statement.

On Jan. 15, Abu Sayyaf gunmen snatched ICRC workers Eugenio Vagni of Italy, Andreas Notter of Switzerland and Filipina Mary Jean Lacaba after inspecting a jail water sanitary project in Jolo. All three have been released after months in captivity.

The Abu Sayyaf, which is believed to have links with the Al-Qaeda terrorist network, is in the U.S. government's foreign terrorist organization list. The group has claimed responsibility for several terror attacks in the country and is notorious for kidnapping foreigners in exchange for huge ransom.

Experts from the United Kingdom trained this week Philippine and foreign aid workers assigned to places with the highest level of threat in the Philippines. John Walker, one of the trainers, emphasized the need to help susceptible individuals such as development workers to protect themselves from abduction.

Funded by the British government, the training is aimed at addressing their security needs in areas vulnerable to kidnap-for-ransom activities.

"I hope this training, which has been provided by the same organization that trains members of the U.K. government for deployment to Iraq and Afghanistan, will help committed aid workers keep themselves safe while they work to improve the lives of the people of Mindanao," Wright said.

Held in Zamboanga City, the training was a result of a series of roundtable discussions with different institutions and government agencies to offer aid workers tools to deal with potential dangers that come with their line of work without compromising their commitment to assist others in need.

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 02:38 AM

Palace: GMA overspent travel budget by P1 billion

By Marvin Sy
(The Philippine Star)
Updated August 19, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Malacañang admitted yesterday that the Office of the President had exceeded its budget allocation for travel expenses by over P1 billion from 2001 to 2009 but insisted that there was nothing wrong with it.

Deputy Executive Secretary for administration and finance Susana Vargas presented figures showing the overspending at a press briefing in Malacañang yesterday.

Vargas disclosed that P1.4 billion had been allocated for local and foreign trips of the Office of the President (OP) from 2001 to 2009 but the actual amount spent was close to P2.5 billion.

Vargas noted that on a yearly basis, the OP received P130 million for travel expenses until 2007, when the figure was raised to P170 million and then to P244.6 million each for 2008 and this year.

Malacañang’s disclosure came on the heels of an announcement by Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto Guingona III that the OP exceeded its travel budget by P1.3 billion from 2002 to 2008. Guingona said his figures were provided by the Commission on Audit (COA).

But Vargas explained that there was nothing irregular about the OP’s travel expenses and that it was allowed to draw from “savings” on other items in the miscellaneous and other operating expenditures provision in the OP’s budget.

She said that most of the additional funds needed for the travels were taken from the maintenance and other operating expenses (MOOE) while only P67 million was taken from the contingency funds.

“The difference was drawn from our regular MOOE. It’s allowed. It’s still within the allotment cast,” Vargas said.

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar also defended the Palace’s travel expenses.

“It is the ability provided within the GAA (General Appropriations Act) to cover expenditures on any given item in excess of the budget allocation by savings from other budget items and it should be within the appropriately authorized class,” Olivar said.

“For example, under the local or foreign travel which is an item under MOOE, the savings have to come from class of MOOE,” he explained.

Olivar also defended the use of the contingency fund for President Arroyo’s travel expenses, saying it is legal.

“When the congressman said that the entire contingency fund was exhausted because of the travels, he is wrong. The contingency fund can be used for other MOOE in excess of allocation as provided by the law. So he misspeaks,” Olivar said, referring to Guingona.

The controversy over the President’s travel expenditures came immediately after reports on her supposed lavish dinners in US restaurants with her entourage and friends. The controversy overshadowed reports on her meeting with US President Barack Obama.

Vargas noted that Mrs. Arroyo’s trip to the US cost the taxpayers a total of P19.19 million.

But Olivar emphasized that the overall benefits of the trips should also be taken into account.

“This is a mishmash of numbers. If we look at all the numbers together, we are looking at over $6 billion, a very rough estimate. That’s about 312,000 dinners at Le Cirque, assuming that the number is correct, which by the way, the restaurant management has denied,” Olivar said.

Le Cirque was the posh restaurant in New York where Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage had dinner.

According to the New York Post, the presidential entourage was billed $20,000 for the dinner.

An article in the Filipino Reporter quoting the contact manager of Le Cirque denied the $20,000 bill reported by the New York Post.

At yesterday’s briefing, Vargas also clarified that the OP did not spend a single centavo for the expenses of the members of Congress who accompanied the President to the US.

Probe, not excuses

Guingona, meanwhile, challenged Speaker Prospero Nograles yesterday to lead an inquiry on allegations of overspending in Mrs. Arroyo’s foreign travels instead of making excuses for the controversy, which has sparked public uproar.

“I had expected that, as the leader of the House, Speaker Nograles would be the first in ensuring the proper use of the budget, especially so because the power over the purse is exclusively entrusted to Congress,” Guingona said.

“Instead, he is providing excuses for the abuse of budget,” he told reporters at a press briefing.

Guingona earlier said a Commission on Audit briefing last Aug.12 revealed that in 2008, the Office of the President spent P920 million from the contingency fund when the budget only allowed for P800 million.

“From previous hearings I already knew that the travel expenses of the Office of the President in excess of the budget was, in fact charged to the contingency fund,” Guingona said. – With Perseus Echeminada

Well, kailangang magpasasa si Gloria kasi pag hindi na sya presidente na hindi na sila makapag-travel na libre at makakain sa mamahaling restaurant (kasi di na sila ililibre ng mga kawatan tulad ni Romualdez at Suarez..:bash::bash:

3cr

August 19th, 2009, 03:02 AM

Palace aides admit Gloria overspending
By Aytch S. de la Cruz
Daily Tribune
08/19/2009
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20090819hed2.html

Malacañang, beleaguered by public furor over the high-flying lifestyle of President Arroyo, tried to fend off charges Arroyo has been constantly overspending on her numerous trips but ended up confirming Bukidnon Rep. Teofisto "TG" Guingona III’s allegation of overspending.

Malacañang presented to reporters the Palace’s deputy executive secretary for administration and finance Ching Vargas to dispute Guingona’s claims.

Equipped with copies of documents furnished by her office, Vargas gave a breakdown of the budget allocated to the Office of the President (OP) for Arroyo’s local and foreign trips.

Based on Vargas’ record, the OP was given a P130-million budget from 2001 to 2006 for the trips, the following year, 2007, this increased to P170 million and soared to P244.6 million from 2008 until August of this year, totaling approximately P1.5 billion during the entire period Vargas cited.

When asked on the reason for the rapid increase in the budget in the past three years, Vargas said it was due to the fluctuating exchange rate of the peso against the dollar and as a result of the "demands of the time." The peso in the past three years, however, was on a constant rate of below 50 per dollar and had even strengthened to around 47 per dollar during the period.

"For an allocation of the Office of the President of P1,439,232,000 for local and foreign trips, we spent from 2001 up to August 14, 2009 P2,499,280,595.08," Vargas stated which clearly indicated that the OP has indeed exceeded its budgeted allocation for Mrs. Arroyo’s trip by P1.2 billion.

Vargas, however, was adamant to admit the apparent overspending by resorting to what she referred to as the three ‘allotment classes’ which was allowed according to the mandate of the budget procedure that include personal services (PS), maintenance and other operating expenditures (MOOE), and the capital outlay.

"So we stayed within our regular MOOE. We spent for foreign travels, instead of…let’s say as of Aug. 14 the total allocation, as I said earlier, was P1,439,232,000. But we spent P2,499,280,595.08. The differences in these were obtained from our regular MOOE, since it is allowable," Vargas asserted.

She added that the OP only drew P67 million from the contingent fund last 2007 for the foreign trips which was part of what Guingona was alleging.

Arroyo’s Economic Spokesman Gary Olivar tried to back up Vargas citing the concept of ‘budget flex’ in respect of the provision in the budget.

"There was budget flex applied, over the period in question, wherein we were short or rather we were in excess of allocation by about P1.2 billion. Out of that P1.2 billion, budget flex was applied to other MOOE items to a total of P870 million and a balance of P337 million was taken from the contingency fund," Olivar said.

He lectured media that such measure was allowed under the budget act and under normal budget procedures in any organization.

Olivar claimed Guingona erred in his assertion with regard to the use of the contingency funds citing an article written in the official gazette which says that ‘contingent funds are used to fund requirements of new and/or urgent projects and activities that need to be implemented during the year including the cost of local and foreign travels of the President.’

Arroyo’s spokesmen appeared vexed when reported demanded further clarification on the overspending allegations.

The Palace nonetheless remained clueless as to where some of the congressmen who were part of the recent US trip of Arroyo got the money spent for their own expenses given that these congressmen already said they did not draw any amount from their own wallets.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde only said that Speaker Prospero Nograles take care of this matter since he already issued a statement that some of the congressmen who tagged along in the recent official visit to the United States were already informed that they would be the one to shoulder the expenses they incurred from that particular trip out of their own personal funds.

Despite the public furor over the ostentatious junkets of Arroyo, Nograles rejected calls for the forming of a special body to look into what he charged as overspending in Arroyo’s travels.

Nograles said creating a special body for the sole purpose of investigating the President who Guingona is accusing to have spent over her budgeted travel allocation is highly illegal.

In a press conference yesterday, Guingona said the President had violated the law when she overshot by P2.7 billion her travel expenses since assuming the presidency in 2001.

"The Office of President has consistently exceeded its budget on travel. The excess amounts were charged to the contingent fund. In 2008, the expense of the Office of the President exceeded even the contingent fund," Guingona said.

"That was illegal and she had violated the law. I dare Speaker Nograles to stop making excuses in behalf of the President and create a special investigate this matter as it is Congress which is empowered to appropriate the national budget," he added.

He, however, admitted most of his figures came from the Department of Budget and management (DBM).

Nograles said the President is empowered to realign the budget as provided for in Presidential Decree 1177.

"It’s better for him (Guingona) to file a measure and let it go through legislative process," said Nograles.

The Speaker also shrugged off Guingona’s accusation that he is making excuses in behalf of Malacañang.

"If he stops attacking then we’ll stop defending," Nograles said.

"I also have the right to reply but my reply is not an excuse," Nograles said.

Senators were also united in saying that legislators who took part in the US junket should shell out money to pay for what they spent during the trip.

Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile did not buy congressmen’s claims that they do not have any idea as to who covered their bills, including their hotel accommodation.

Asked on who foot the travel expenses of Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Manuel "Lito" Lapid, Enrile admitted being unaware of these.

"I don’t know, this has become muddled. Maybe the best thing is to find it out from the restaurant," Enrile said, referring to the reported lavish dinner incident.

Sen. Panfilo Lacson said there might be a fourth or a fifth lavish dinners. "We don’t know that," he said. Why is Malacañang so evasive in tackling this issue? Why is Malacañang pointing to just anybody of footing the bills? There must be something into this evasiveness, he said

Earlier, three lawmakers named two more restaurants that President Arroyo and her entourage dined at while in the US. Her entourage reportedly also visited Bouley restaurant and Wolfgang’s Steakhouse in New York.

Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante and Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas earlier confirmed that the group had dined in Bouley restaurant on Aug. 2. Mindoro Occidental Rep. Amelita Villarosa, meanwhile, said the entourage also dined at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Park Avenue, Manhattan.

The two dinners are separate from Mrs. Arroyo’s two "lavish" dinners in Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on July 30 and Le Cirque restaurant on Aug. 2.

_________________________

Probe pork barrel overspending, Speaker told
By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
INQUIRER.net
08/18/2009
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090818-220892/Probe-pork-barrel-overspending-Speaker-told

MANILA, Philippines — Spending for the controversial pork barrel or Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) in 2008 exceeded the budget by almost P2 billion, while that of the calamity fund was above the budget by about P1.3 billion.

These were the initial findings of the Commission on Audit (CoA) on the implementation of the 2008 budget presented to select members of the House of Representatives in a briefing last week.

In a press conference Tuesday, Bukidnon Representative Teofisto Guingona III distributed a portion of the CoA findings to point out the excesses in government spending of Malacanang's travel budget and contingent fund.

Quoting the report, he also said that contingency fund for 2008 amounted to P800 million, but that Malacanang has spent P919 million last year, or P119 million more.

Guingona surmised that portion of the contingent fund could have been used for travel, too, as this was allowed by the law. But when asked, he said CoA did not give details how the government spent the amount.

Guingona said the contingent fund should not be used up “for the capricious travel of the President.”

He asked Speaker Prospero Nograles to form a “special investigating committee” to look into the “abuses” in the travel and contingent fund.

As the leader of the chamber, which approves the budget, Nograles should show the way that the budget is spent for its desired purpose, he said.

“Take the lead in this investigation. Be objective, be factual, do your homework, be the leader that Congress badly needs at this time. Stop making excuses for those who abuse the budget. Stop lawyering for those who do not respect the rule of law,” he said.

Malacanang has been in hot water over the July trip of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to the United States, where she and her entourage reportedly spent close to a million pesos in a dinner at the Le Cirque restaurant in New York City.

Several of the 28 congressmen who joined the trip also said they did not spend for their plane fare and hotel expenses. The Speaker said he did not know if Malacanang shouldered the cost or if it was the US government.

Quoting the Department of Budget and Management's Budget of Expenditures and Sources of Financing (BESF), Guingona earlier said that Malacanang had already spent P2.8 billion for travel from 2001 to 2008 as against the total budget for eight years of P1.530 billion.

In the CoA document, appropriations for PDAF-Maintenance and Other Operating Expense also totaled to P6.895 billion or some P2 billion above the appropriated amount of P4.98 billion.

Pork barrel is the amount used by congressmen and senators to fund their pet projects. Each congressman receives P70 million in PDAF a year, while each senator gets P200 million.

According to the CoA document, spending for calamity fund also totaled to P3.275 billion, or some P1.3 billion more than the appropriated amount of P2 billion.

"They have to answer for this too, but let's take it up some other time," Guingona said.

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 03:13 AM

WB pitches tuition-caps removal

Written by Cai U. Ordinario / Reporter
Tuesday, 18 August 2009 21:51
Business Mirror

A NEW World Bank study on education is expected by many sources in the education sector to roil the field because it is recommending that all tuition caps, at least in all private schools, should be removed.

The bank said this would encourage more private investments in the education system that this early, a source said, could give rise to charges of dividing the poor from the rich in such a desperately desired asset for the children of the not-so-well- off.

But, the bank said, regulating the distribution of tuition and other fees among school owners or requiring schools to consult the government about any fee increases to make private education affordable for the poor or prevent price gouging “can also have negative effects such as causing the quality of education to deteriorate and limiting the profitability of education investments.”

The study titled “The Role and Impact of Public-Private Partnerships in Education” argues that making high-quality education accessible for all in developing countries requires innovative programs and initiatives in addition to public resources and leadership such as allowing more private-sector players in education.

“Governments can promote private involvement in education by allowing private schools to set their own tuition and other fees,” the study said, and noted that Ghana, India, the Philippines and Vietnam limit the level of tuition and other fees charged by independent private schools—private schools that do not receive government subsidies.

The World Bank also said another problem occurs when tuition and other fee limits are not fully enforced. This further decreases the chance of the private sector investing in education because of the uncertainty this creates.

The study believes that to improve the education system of developing countries like the Philippines, there is a need to deepen and create partnerships between the private sector and the government. “This will be a reliable way of financing quality education and making it more accessible to the poor.”

“There are ways in which the public and private sectors can join together to complement each others’ strengths in providing education services and helping developing countries meet the Millennium Development Goals for education and to improve learning outcomes,” said Harry Anthony Patrinos, one of the authors of the study.:bash::bash:

Well, what can we expect from a discredited fuck up satanic and bankrupt institution like profit-oriented and addicted stupid World Bank!:bash:

World bank, word of advice, just go to hell!!:bash:

manila_eye

August 19th, 2009, 04:07 AM

^^ Hindi pa ba sapat ang skyrocket tuition fee and tax-free education ng mga religious schools to propel the standard of their education nila? I hardly hear any research study from those schools.

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 04:18 AM

Well, kailangang magpasasa si Gloria kasi pag hindi na sya presidente na hindi na sila makapag-travel na libre at makakain sa mamahaling restaurant (kasi di na sila ililigre ng mga kawatan tulad ni Romualdez..:bash::bash:

true - no more freebies.

pi_malejana

August 19th, 2009, 07:46 AM

don't know where to put this but yeah, someone sneaking to the palace is a bad news...:D

18 militant students held for sneaking into Palace premises (http://www.gmanews.tv/story/170172/18-militant-students-held-for-sneaking-into-Palace-premises)
08/19/2009 | 12:51 PM

Tension erupted inside Malacañang premises Wednesday after presidential security personnel arrested around 18 militant students who managed to sneak in to stage a protest there.

Those arrested, who slipped past presidential guards, were part of a group of 50 students who staged a lightning rally outside the Palace’s Gate 7 to condemn President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's "continued corruption" as shown by her overspending on foreign trips and "lavish" dinners in the US.

"Patalsikin na si Arroyo. Ito ay pagkondena sa garapalang korapsyon sa panahon ng kahirapan. Korapsyon ang tugon nila sa krisis imbes tulungan ang mga Pilipino na makaahon. Ang ginagawa lang nila ay ang magnakaw," said one of the protesters who identified himself as Elvin.

(We want Arroyo out. We are here to condemn corruption amid so much poverty. Corruption is their response instead of doing something to shore up Filipinos from poverty. What they are doing is to steal from government coffers.)

Radio dzBB's Aileen Intia reported that some of the students were injured when police and the Presidential Security Group (PSG) attempted to disperse the rally.

"Sinapak ako sa may kilay (I was hit near the eyebrow)," said Elvin.

Shortly after the incident, Palace guards called in a fire truck and set barbed-wire barricades to keep the students away from Gate 7.

The protesters belonged to the League of Filipino Students, Civil Christian Movement, Center for International Studies, and the Kabataan party-list, radio dzBB reported.

It said that protesters who were not arrested were being held off outside Gate 7 (a condemned Palace entrance) by members of the PSG, the Manila Police District and the Bureau of Fire Protection.

According to the report, a PSG man claimed he lost his cellular phone after militant students allegedly snatched it from him. Also, a protester reportedly tried to snatch the mobile phone of a member of a news team covering the rally, mistaking the reporter for a presidential guard.
______________

wala ring pinagkaiba sa mga inaakusahan nila...!!:bash::bash::ohno::ohno:
kaya ayoko ng mga rally rally....:bash::bash:

bitoy

August 19th, 2009, 08:17 AM

^^ If not for those street rallies, baka Marcos regime pa tayo. Iba iba naman kasi yan, meron organized and pasaway rally.
Pag may bayad na P500~P1000, aba, e duon tayo, may pa borjer pa yan. :lol:

pi_malejana

August 19th, 2009, 08:24 AM

^^ If not for those street rallies, baka Marcos regime pa tayo. Iba iba naman kasi yan, meron organized and pasaway rally.
Pag may bayad na P500~P1000, aba, e duon tayo, may pa borjer pa yan. :lol:

ibang rally naman yun..:) everyone had the same cause...
dito maganda nga yung cause nila but the method was wrong imo, just like nung katatapos palang patalsikin si Erap... lahat ng nagrarallly gusto may confrontation, gusto makapasok, gusto na lahat, pati cellphone na di naman kanila....:D

bitoy

August 19th, 2009, 08:34 AM

^^ I can imagine right now kung gaano karami ang nagsisisi sa pagsama nila sa rally ng pinatalsik si Erap at paupuin si Donya Pidal... :lol:

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 08:51 AM

kaya ayoko ng mga rally rally....:bash::bash:

Tama! Umayaw ka sa rally na-organisado ni Gloria "Ate Glue" mo kasi sigurado bayad yung mga kasali dun!

As for the rally in Mendiola ng students, tama ginawa ng mga yun!:cheers:

Kung walang rally, walang Cory Aquino at demokrasya ngayon! Yan ang pakatandaan mo iho.

pi_malejana

August 19th, 2009, 08:54 AM

Tama! Umayaw ka sa rally na-organisado ni Gloria "Ate Glue" mo kasi sigurado bayad yung mga kasali dun!

As for the rally in Mendiola ng students, tama ginawa ng mga yun!:cheers:

Kung walang rally, walang Cory Aquino at demokrasya ngayon! Yan ang pakatandaan mo iho.

eh di wala rin silang pinagkaiba...:ohno:
buti nga mga estudyante yan--bata bata pa; kung si guingona na naman yan...:lol:

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 08:58 AM

eh di wala rin silang pinagkaiba...:ohno:
buti nga mga estudyante yan--bata bata pa; kung si guingona na naman yan...:lol:

Malabo sagot mo:ohno:

Di bale, tama yung ginawa ng mga istudyante at nagrally sila! Ipaalam sa bulok na administrasyon ni Gloria na sobrang umaalingasaw na baho nila!!!

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 09:17 AM

Theres The Rub

May araw din kayo

By Conrado de Quiros
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:04:00 08/17/2009

Bukod pa d’yan, saan ba nanggaling ’yung limpak-limpak na salapi ng mga kongresista na pinansisindi nila ng tabako? Di ba sa amin din?

Tanong n’yo muna kung ayos lang na i-blowout namin ng wine at caviar ang amo n’yo habang kami ay nagdidildil ng asin—’yung magaspang na klase ha, ’di yung iodized. Ang tindi n’yo, mga p’re.

Marami mang sugapa rin sa aming mga taga media, di naman kasing sugapa n’yo. At di naman kami sineswelduhan ng taumbayan. Wala naman kaming problemang sumakay sa PAL at kailangan pang bumili ng P1.2 billion jet.

Anong sabi n’yo, kailangan ng amo n’yo sa pabyahe-byahe? E sino naman ang may sabing magbabyahe s’ya? Ngayon pang paalis na s’ya—malinaw na ayaw n’yang umalis. Bakit hindi na lang s’ya bumili ng Matchbox na eroplano? Kasya naman s’ya ro’n.

Binigyan n’yo ng mukha ang katakawan. Katakawang walang kabusugan. Mukhang di nakita ng masa sa usaping NBN, mukhang di nakikita ng masa sa usaping SAL. Mukhang nakita lang ng masa dito sa ginawa n’yong ito. Sa pagpapabondat sa New York habang naghihinagpis ang bayan.

Isinusuka na kayo ng taumbayan, mahirap man sumuka ang gutom.

May araw din kayo.

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 09:22 AM

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 09:26 AM

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 09:30 AM

:lol: tuloy ang inuman ng mga mahihirap kuno, tuloy ang text, pa pasa load, tuloy ang ligaya, tuloy ang anak ng mga asawa nila :) tuloy ang paporma, shopping, kain, kain kain, sugal, jueteng, sabong, droga, whew, ang daming pera ng mga Pinoy

korek. daming beer ang nagkalat sa kanto :lol: yung lola ko nga sa tondo, may sari-sari store duon. Ang kita niya sa beer pa lang ay 15,000 sa isang gabi.

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 09:39 AM

re article: i don't think na naghihinagpis ang bayan. Ang mga taong tamad lang ang naghihinagpis. :nuts:

:lol: tuloy ang inuman ng mga mahihirap kuno, tuloy ang text, pa pasa load, tuloy ang ligaya, tuloy ang anak ng mga asawa nila :) tuloy ang paporma, shopping, kain, kain kain, sugal, jueteng, sabong, droga, whew, ang daming pera ng mga Pinoy

korek. daming beer ang nagkalat sa kanto :lol: yung lola ko nga sa tondo, may sari-sari store duon. Ang kita niya sa beer pa lang ay 15,000 sa isang gabi.

Hmmm...usapang kanto at lasing?:wave::naughty::cheers1::drunk::nocrook:...:lol::nuts:

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 09:43 AM

Hmmm...usapang kanto at lasing?:wave::naughty::cheers1::drunk::nocrook:...:lol::nuts:

mixed emotions? sapul ang article dba :cheers:

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 09:46 AM

mixed emotions? sapul ang article dba :cheers:

Hindi. Sobrang layo at sablay nga e.:lol::):cheers:

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 09:52 AM

re article:
Bukod pa d’yan, saan ba nanggaling ’yung limpak-limpak na salapi ng mga kongresista na pinansisindi nila ng tabako? Di ba sa amin din?

How did you know? :nuts:

Tanong n’yo muna kung ayos lang na i-blowout namin ng wine at caviar ang amo n’yo habang kami ay nagdidildil ng asin—’yung magaspang na klase ha, ’di yung iodized. Ang tindi n’yo, mga p’re.

labo nito, asawa ka ba ng nanlibre? :lol:

Marami mang sugapa rin sa aming mga taga media, di naman kasing sugapa n’yo. At di naman kami sineswelduhan ng taumbayan. Wala naman kaming problemang sumakay sa PAL at kailangan pang bumili ng P1.2 billion jet.
Sugapa pala kayo, bakit kayo nandadamay ng iba? gusto mo din ata kumain sa fine dining resto pero sabi mo nga, hanggang dildil ka lang ng asin pero bakit sa PDI ka nagwowork? grabe yang inquirer ah, wala atang benefits :bash:

Anong sabi n’yo, kailangan ng amo n’yo sa pabyahe-byahe? E sino naman ang may sabing magbabyahe s’ya? Ngayon pang paalis na s’ya—malinaw na ayaw n’yang umalis. Bakit hindi na lang s’ya bumili ng Matchbox na eroplano? Kasya naman s’ya ro’n.

Hindi ba kailangan? Presidente siya eh. Trabaho niya yun gaya ng trabaho mong dumakdak sa dyaryo. :lol:

Binigyan n’yo ng mukha ang katakawan. Katakawang walang kabusugan. Mukhang di nakita ng masa sa usaping NBN, mukhang di nakikita ng masa sa usaping SAL. Mukhang nakita lang ng masa dito sa ginawa n’yong ito. Sa pagpapabondat sa New York habang naghihinagpis ang bayan.

Marami din bondat na masang pinoy na umaasa sa pamilya abroad kasi ayaw nila magtrabaho!! naghihintay lang sila ng biyaya gaya ng pag-asa nila na palalamunin sila ng gobyerno. :cheers:

Isinusuka na kayo ng taumbayan, mahirap man sumuka ang gutom.
Nagsuka ako sa dyaryo na ito. :lol:

Peace out.

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 09:52 AM

Tama na usapang lasing...seryoso uli..:lol:

Analysis

Flawed judgment

By Amando Doronila
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:21:00 08/19/2009

With barely 10 months to go to wrap up her presidency, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has run into a storm of controversies that mar her legacy as she takes stock of her achievements.

During the past few weeks, the President has walked the stage of history like a heroine in a Greek tragedy, hounded by a slew of flawed decisions during the twilight of her government. There cannot be a more inglorious fate for an exiting president than to be engulfed in controversies over dining in expensive restaurants in New York and Washington.

The expenses incurred in those celebrated forays into gastronomic temples serving food with French titles and vintage wine did not involve grand larceny of public funds. The reports on these meals by a large presidential entourage were followed by a press report of a Malacañang plan to purchase a brand-new presidential jet worth P1.2 billion, which has been cancelled after a torrent of pubic outrage.

These decisions provoked fierce public criticism mainly because they were made at the wrong time and displayed insensitivity to the difficult economic circumstances the population is facing during a global recession. The public opinion backlash was triggered by outrage over flawed decisions, not over felonies that could fuel a fresh round of impeachment complaint. This time, the President’s judgment is under fire, even as she is summing up her legacy to the nation.

The responses to this public opinion backlash are even more damning to the President and even more flawed. To make up for the lapses, the President has launched a new spending binge by increasing from 700,000 to 1 million the number of poor households to which to distribute cash doles.

The increase would mean an additional P5 billion to the existing P10 billion budget for the program of cash relief for poor families. The Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino program, according to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, is a “development program that invests in human capital.” The DSWD said that beneficiaries could receive cash assistance only after meeting certain requirements, such as sending their children to school, visiting health centers for check-ups and attending family planning sessions.

Notwithstanding these requirements, the program is plain handout that does not create productive activity and employment. It is different from the emergency employment program of former President Diosdado Macapagal, the President’s father, who launched a program to deploy jobless people into public works projects. Ms Arroyo’s doles make people idle and do not create wealth.

As the President is engaged in rear-guard measures battling the mounting controversies stemming from her flawed decisions, she is being diverted from organizing her presentation of the legacy of her administration. It’s a wrong time to be engulfed in these controversies.

When she entered her first elected term in 2005, she was plagued by the so-called “Garci tape” scandal arising from her alleged rigging of the 2004 presidential election results.

In her last State of the Nation Address last July 26, the President trumpeted her infrastructure development program as the centerpiece of the achievements of her nine-year presidency. In that SONA, she distracted the focus on her legacy from the infrastructure program, which in my view is the strongest suit of her presidency, by delivering a combative speech hitting back at her critics and detractors.

She devoted a good part of the SONA to the economic and financial reforms she carried out during a five-year period of political turbulence that rocked her administration with charges of corruption and abuses. She claimed, witch credible evidence, that “the strong, bitter and unpopular revenue measures of the past few years have spared our country the worst of the global financial shocks. They gave us the resources to stimulate the economy,” which posted a record-breaking GDP growth rate of 7.2 percent in 2007.

There is verifiable and visible evidence in her claim that, “We have built more and better infrastructure, including those started by others but left unfinished.” She cited expressways going to south and north of Luzon and a number of modern provincial airports and ports. By the time she steps down in June 2010, she should be inaugurating some of these expressways as well as extension of the Philippine Railways to the Bicol region. This will include the Alabang expressway extension.

But the tragedy with the Arroyo government is that it is leaving office under a storm of controversy, like the political turbulence that heralded her second term. Many of these controversies were caused by lapses in judgment. In many an assessment of the legacy of the Arroyo presidency, the concrete achievements in the economy and infrastructure development are diminished by the glaring downsides in the areas of governance, human rights violations, and abuse of power.

The corruption scandals surrounding a number of economic projects of the administration mar the President’s economic legacy and will continue to plague her after she steps down from the presidency. She should not compound these shortcomings with a fresh round of flawed judgements. The last-minute controversies are mostly of her own making.

bitoy

August 19th, 2009, 09:52 AM

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 09:53 AM

^^^^

Oo nga...

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 09:59 AM

Meron din si gloria niyan.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/222/mcdoj.jpg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3971/mcdo2c.jpg

gen1

August 19th, 2009, 10:02 AM

Malaki suweldo sa Inquirer.

Kaya nga hard hitting ang mga reporter nito, hindi katulad ng MB :D

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 10:03 AM

REP.MIKEY ARROYO - MCDONALD'S OR TURO-TURO? NO DIGNITY FOR PRES. ARROYO TO EAT IN TURO-TURO (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ng7spMHEolE)

ng7spMHEolE

Mag react kaya ang Macdo at mga turo-turo dito sa sinabi niya? :lol:

Then, these 2 guys have no dignity. :D

vcp7qwF_r_E

It's totally different scenario. Obama was in the US and Arroyo was visiting there.

GMA did that too here in Manila, you have to be objective.

LIKE OBAMA : Arroyo slips into fast-food joint in Makati
http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090522-206446
By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: May 22, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—Away from the glare of news cameras, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday quietly slipped into a fast-food restaurant at the Makati Central Business District, and ordered a value meal breakfast before chatting with call center agents.

Ms Arroyo motored to the McDonald’s branch at the Paseo Center on Paseo de Roxas Avenue in Makati City and ordered a meal of longganisa (local sausage) before joining a gaggle of call center agents at a table at around 6:30 a.m.

She chatted with more than a dozen call center pioneers from companies like People Support, Convergys, DSM Manila and E-Telecare, according to RTVM (Radio Television Malacañang).

Ms Arroyo’s trip to McDonald’s brought to mind US President Barack Obama’s sortie on May 5 into Ray’s Hell burger joint in Arlington, Virginia, where he ordered a cheddar cheeseburger—without ketchup.

Obama also bought burgers—reportedly costing roughly $7.95 each—for the journalists covering him, and left a $5 tip.

On video

Ms Arroyo’s unexpected sortie into McDonald’s was not open to media but RTVM has a video footage of it.

The value meal of rice and longganisa costs P67. It was not known if Ms Arroyo left any tip.

Ms Arroyo later spoke at the general membership meeting of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines at the Philamlife Tower on Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas.

At McDonald’s, Ms Arroyo, who was accompanied by Anthony Chua, chair of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), talked about the government’s plans to boost the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry.

No age limit

According to RTVM, Ms Arroyo told the call center agents that the government had been investing heavily in training individuals to work for the BPO industry, one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

The trainings are being spearheaded by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), she said.

“She thanked everyone and noted happily that working in the BPO industry requires no age limit and when you’re employed part-time, you can still continue schooling or get a day job,” RTVM said on its website.

Ms Arroyo took note of the agents’ request that the Metro Rail Transit extend its operations on EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) by another two hours until 12 midnight to accommodate them, according to RTVM.

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 10:03 AM

Malaki suweldo sa Inquirer.

Kaya nga hard hitting ang mga reporter nito, hindi katulad ng MB :D

kaya pala. :lol:

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 10:04 AM

It's totally different scenario. Obama was in the US and Arroyo was visiting there.

GMA did that too here in Manila, you have to be objective.

LIKE OBAMA : Arroyo slips into fast-food joint in Makati
http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090522-206446
By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer

Posted date: May 22, 2009

MANILA, Philippines—Away from the glare of news cameras, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Thursday quietly slipped into a fast-food restaurant at the Makati Central Business District, and ordered a value meal breakfast before chatting with call center agents.

Ms Arroyo motored to the McDonald’s branch at the Paseo Center on Paseo de Roxas Avenue in Makati City and ordered a meal of longganisa (local sausage) before joining a gaggle of call center agents at a table at around 6:30 a.m.

She chatted with more than a dozen call center pioneers from companies like People Support, Convergys, DSM Manila and E-Telecare, according to RTVM (Radio Television Malacañang).

Ms Arroyo’s trip to McDonald’s brought to mind US President Barack Obama’s sortie on May 5 into Ray’s Hell burger joint in Arlington, Virginia, where he ordered a cheddar cheeseburger—without ketchup.

Obama also bought burgers—reportedly costing roughly $7.95 each—for the journalists covering him, and left a $5 tip.

On video

Ms Arroyo’s unexpected sortie into McDonald’s was not open to media but RTVM has a video footage of it.

The value meal of rice and longganisa costs P67. It was not known if Ms Arroyo left any tip.

Ms Arroyo later spoke at the general membership meeting of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines at the Philamlife Tower on Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas.

At McDonald’s, Ms Arroyo, who was accompanied by Anthony Chua, chair of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), talked about the government’s plans to boost the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry.

No age limit

According to RTVM, Ms Arroyo told the call center agents that the government had been investing heavily in training individuals to work for the BPO industry, one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

The trainings are being spearheaded by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), she said.

“She thanked everyone and noted happily that working in the BPO industry requires no age limit and when you’re employed part-time, you can still continue schooling or get a day job,” RTVM said on its website.

Ms Arroyo took note of the agents’ request that the Metro Rail Transit extend its operations on EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) by another two hours until 12 midnight to accommodate them, according to RTVM.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/222/mcdoj.jpg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3971/mcdo2c.jpg

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 10:04 AM

Meron din si gloria niyan.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/222/mcdoj.jpg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3971/mcdo2c.jpg

This is what I'm referring to :)

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 10:05 AM

Meron din si gloria niyan.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/222/mcdoj.jpg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3971/mcdo2c.jpg
Yoko nyan noh!!-Ate Glue

Explanation:
Kahit kunwari lang at ginaya nya si Obama,mukhang ayaw ni Gloria yung pagkain halata sa mukha nya:lol::):cheers:

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 10:05 AM

^^ ayan tuloy, lumalabas na cool si GMA, si Bitoy kasi eh :)

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 10:07 AM

Yoko nyan nho!!-Ate Glue

Kahit kunwari lang at ginaya nya si Obama,mukhang ayaw ni Gloria yung pagkain halata sa mukha nya:lol::):cheers:

Ayan ang mahirap sa pinoy kaya maraming naghihinagpis kasi close minded. nakikita lang puro hakan-hakang mali. :nuts:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z7EgmP1awV4/SI8C7frptfI/AAAAAAAACAw/ZVcnvbFaWxk/s400/arroyo.bmp
Peace!

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 10:08 AM

Ayan ang mahirap sa pinoy kaya maraming naghihinagpis kasi close minded. nakikita lang puro hakan-hakang mali. :nuts:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z7EgmP1awV4/SI8C7frptfI/AAAAAAAACAw/ZVcnvbFaWxk/s400/arroyo.bmp
Peace!

Asus! Mali nga haka-haka mo e...:lol::cheers::)

P.S.

Yan yung sign nina Ferdie Marcos at Turing Tolentino nung snap election nuong 1986 a(kalaban ang L sign ni Cory at Doy)! KBL na ba si Gloria ngayon? Hmmm...maka-Macoy at idol pala nya si Strongman after all...aminin....:lol::cheers::)

bitoy

August 19th, 2009, 10:14 AM

ibang rally naman yun..:) everyone had the same cause...
dito maganda nga yung cause nila but the method was wrong imo, just like nung katatapos palang patalsikin si Erap... lahat ng nagrarallly gusto may confrontation, gusto makapasok, gusto na lahat, pati cellphone na di naman kanila....:D

Wow, they are younger than I thought.

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0gEu0651Eq49S/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0eWIboC9xmfR5/610x.jpg

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/03g854n1iNe01/610x.jpg

Policemen try to grab student protesters during a scuffle as rally participants reached the gates of the Malacanang compound in suburban Manila, Philippines on Wednesday Aug. 19, 2009. More than a dozen protesters were arrested and some injured after their group scuffled with police and breached through security gates and barbed wire barricades during an anti-corruption protest directed against Philippines President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's government.

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 10:17 AM

eto pa hehehe
http://www.op.gov.ph/gma/15.jpg

pi_malejana

August 19th, 2009, 10:18 AM

@bitoy haha, sinabi mo pa... sigurado na off-guard ung mga pulis at PSG, di naman expected dudumugin sila ng mga bata...:D

bitoy

August 19th, 2009, 10:20 AM

Meron din si gloria niyan.

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/222/mcdoj.jpg
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/3971/mcdo2c.jpg

^^ ayan tuloy, lumalabas na cool si GMA, si Bitoy kasi eh :)

Eh hindi naman kinain ni GMA yung order niyang breakfast, pinakain sa female guards niya.

Ayan ang mahirap sa pinoy kaya maraming naghihinagpis kasi close minded. nakikita lang puro hakan-hakang mali. :nuts:

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_z7EgmP1awV4/SI8C7frptfI/AAAAAAAACAw/ZVcnvbFaWxk/s400/arroyo.bmp
Peace!

2 MORE TERMS !!!

:lol:

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 10:20 AM

Eh hindi naman kinain ni GMA yung order niyang breakfast, pinakain sa female guards niya.

2 MORE TERMS !!!

:lol:

loko ka talaga bitoy hehe. :lol:

RonnieR

August 19th, 2009, 10:22 AM

Eh hindi naman kinain ni GMA yung order niyang breakfast, pinakain sa female guards niya.

2 MORE TERMS !!!

:lol:

:cheers: nag take home pa....

jpdm

August 19th, 2009, 10:24 AM

Wow, they are younger than I thought.

http://cache.daylife.com/imageserve/0gEu0651Eq49S/610x.jpg

Bad ang mga pulis na ito. Nananakit na, manyakis pa!(AC-DC):ohno::nuts::lol::bash:

Narnian_King

August 19th, 2009, 10:25 AM

Bad ang mga pulis na ito. Nananakit na, manyakis pa!:ohno::nuts::lol::bash:

Ok lang yan. Alam naman nila na ganyan mangyayari sa kanila. :cheers:

TheAvenger

August 20th, 2009, 12:25 AM

Ok lang yan. Alam naman nila na ganyan mangyayari sa kanila. :cheers:

OK lang ba sa iyo ang mabugbog ang mga kabataan na namumulat na at ayaw sa mga kasamaang nangyayari dito sa bayan ?

OK lang ba sa iyo na magwaldas ng pera ng bayan si PGMA at mga alipores nya habang naghihirap ang mga Pinoy, habang nagkakamatayan ang mga sundalo natin at mga rebelde sa isang giyera na bunsod ng kahirapan at kasakiman ng mga politiko at tiwaling officials ng gobyerno ?

Hindi yaon ang sigaw ng bayan. Ang sigaw ng bayan ay patalsikin ang mga katulad mo na isa ding corrupt.

Narnian_King

August 20th, 2009, 12:53 AM

OK lang sa iyo ang mabugbog ang mga kabataan na namumulat na at ayaw sa mga kasamaang nangyayari dito sa bayan.

OK lang ba sa iyo na magwaldas ng pera ng bayan si PGMA at mga alipores nya habang naghihirap ang mga Pinoy, habang nagkakamatayan ang mga sundalo natin at mga rebelde sa isang giyera na bunsod ng kahirapan at kasakiman ng mga politiko at tiwaling officials ng gobyerno.

Then OK din na magkaroon ng Coup d'etat or Revolution para ibagsak ang mga kasamaan, kasakiman, at korapsyon ng administration na ito, mga government bureaucrats, politiko, at mga elitistang kinukunsinti ang malawakang kasamaang nangyayari sa bayan.

- Ok lang sa akin kasi namulat sila sa maling pagmulat mula sa alipores na media na nais lamang manipulahin ang mata ng mamamayan.

- Ok lang sa akin ang paglaan ng pera ng masisipag na pilipino(na yumaman dahil sa tiyaga sa buhay, hindi nagbulakbol sa pag-aaral para matamasa ang magandang buhay at kung hindi naman nakapag-aral ay nagsipag pa rin ng matinong pagkakakitaan sa pamamagitan sa tulong ng tesda at ngayon ay unti-unti ng yumayaman ang mga masisipag at madiskarteng tao na iyon.) sa mga world trip ni Pangulong Gloria para makakuha ng Bilyon-bilyong investment para magkaruon ng trabaho ang masisipag at madiskarteng pinoy. :cheers: Hindi dito kasama ang mga tambay na mga pilipino na gusto lang pakainin ng gobyerno sa pamamagitan ng pera naming masisipag na pilipino at sila pa mismo ang sumasali sa walang delikadesang rally dahil walang permit kung maghimutok sa kalye na nakakaistorbo sa pagpasok ng mga masisipag na pinoy. Para dun sa mga nag-cucutting class para sumali sa rally, nakakaawa ang mga magulang ng mga estudyanteng ito at maging pera ng mga masisipag na pinoy para sa mga iskolar daw ng bayan kasi naghihirap ang mga magulang nila para sila ay makapag-aral pero nilalalaan lang nila ito para magrally at hindi matuto sa kanilang mga piniling kurso. :nuts:

-Ok lang mag-Coup d'etat pero naman wag naman sila mag Coup d'etat sa 5 star Hotel dahil masyado naman silang choosy at nasisira pa at nadadamay ang mga negosyong tumutulong sa bayang ito. :bash:

jpdm

August 20th, 2009, 01:25 AM

Business Mirror

Editorial:

Let’s save BPO jobs

Wednesday, 19 August 2009 21:23

THE recession must be hurting the United States and the countries of the European Union so much that they are now thinking of preserving the jobs still available.

The United States and EU plan to craft legislation dissuading their companies from outsourcing jobs to other countries. Their governments also want to remove incentives of companies that continue to outsource some of their core operations.:bash:

If these plans push through, they will undoubtedly hurt the business-process outsourcing (BPO) industry, one of the fastest-growing industries in the world with revenues expected to top $180 billion in 2010.

The news is alarming to BPO businesses in India and the Philippines, the top two destinations of outsourced jobs. India has cornered 40 percent of the worldwide BPO revenues, with the Philippines a poor second with its 7-percent share.

Besides India and the Philippines, other countries that are destinations of outsourced business operations, including China, Morocco, Egypt and South Africa, will also suffer.

India needs those jobs because of its big population and the huge ranks of its unemployed. So does the Philippines. In the case of the Philippines, BPO jobs are the answer to the Filipino diaspora, where about 10 percent of our countrymen try their luck abroad to be able to send home money to provide a good life for their kin and education for their children. With the BPO industry, our countrymen are able to stay at home and outsourced jobs just come and provide them with employment here. As of the latest count, BPOs employ some 400,000 Filipinos and earn some $6 billion in revenues a year. The plan is to employ one million Filipinos in the near future, with BPO revenues topping $11 billion.

Both India and the Philippines are enjoying a surge in employment in the BPO industry. In return, both countries offer such benefits as cost-effectiveness, quality skills and competence coming from their educated and experienced sector. Unfortunately, the job gains in both countries come at the expense of the United States and EU countries that are losing jobs at home.

India—with a lot more to lose if the US and EU plans push ahead—has been actively lobbying through its National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) against this, and has asked its counterpart in the Philippines—the Business Processing Association of the Philippines (BPAP)—for support.

“Nasscom said we are the No. 2 BPO destination in the world so we should help them out. It’s just a matter of educating some geographies that outsourcing is now a reality and a global trend,” said Jonathan de Luzuriaga, executive director of BPAP.

De Luzuriaga said his group will meet with Nasscom officials next week to map out strategies on how to counter the looming protectionist legislation in the United States and EU.

Both Manila and Delhi should be able to argue that if such protectionist legislations are enacted in both the United States and the EU, everybody will lose. While India and the Philippines get the jobs, they offer cost savings to US and EU companies in return.

If that isn’t enough, Nasscom and BPAP can go directly to American and European companies to explain the cost savings they will get from outsourcing, plus the quality of work—these far outweigh any incentive they are getting from their governments.

We hope the CEOs of the companies can persuade their governments that protectionist policies giving disincentives to firms that outsource operations may not be good in the long run.

The governments of India and the Philippines should also play an active role in lobbying against the protectionist legislation. Anything short of this could imperil a key plank of the economy.

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/images/stories/Daily_Images:bash::bash:/2009/August/08202009/oped-pic.jpg

jpdm

August 20th, 2009, 01:26 AM

http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/images/stories/Daily_Images/2009/August/08202009/oped-pic.jpg

A very clear evidence that the US and EU will only subscribe to 'globalization" if they will benefit from it.

They keep on talking about the ill effects of protectionism and yet they are the first one to implement it.

Protectionism is bad move from Third World countries like the Philippines and its ok if they are the ones who will do it.

bitoy

August 20th, 2009, 04:26 AM

Malacañang said Thursday that critics had no business complaining about President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s supposedly lavish dinners abroad when she was bringing in “billions” worth of investments in return.

“The issue at hand cannot be the sincerity of this President’s commitment to uplifting our poor,” Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesman, said in a statement.

Wala namang investors sa US na pinakain dun sa dinner nila sa NY at DC....sana nga may mga investors para pang enganyo sa mga businessmen.

Hoy! mga investors, kain na kayo :lol: (voice of Ate Glo)

jpdm

August 20th, 2009, 05:36 AM

Wala namang investors sa US na pinakain dun sa dinner nila sa NY at DC....sana nga may mga investors para pang enganyo sa mga businessmen.

Hoy! mga investors, kain na kayo :lol: (voice of Ate Glo)

Oo nga puro matatakaw na congresman at mga alipores ni Gloria nandun a. Siguro may ininisip na namang pakulo mga ungas para makadali na naman bago umalis sa puwesto.:ohno:

pi_malejana

August 20th, 2009, 05:56 AM

^^ maawa ka naman, tignan mo nga si cerge (tama ba??) naki share na lang daw sa isang room makatipid lang...:D

jpdm

August 20th, 2009, 05:56 AM

^^ maawa ka naman, tignan mo nga si cerge (tama ba??) naki share na lang daw sa isang room makatipid lang...:D

:lol::lol:

Juan Pilgrim

August 20th, 2009, 06:08 AM

Wala namang investors sa US na pinakain dun sa dinner nila sa NY at DC....sana nga may mga investors para pang enganyo sa mga businessmen.

Hoy! mga investors, kain na kayo :lol: (voice of Ate Glo)

This is true, I didn't see any important investor worth your while in the NY dinner.:ohno:

:horse:

bitoy

August 20th, 2009, 06:47 AM

^^ maawa ka naman, tignan mo nga si cerge (tama ba??) naki share na lang daw sa isang room makatipid lang...:D

Hehehe, tatlo ata silang lalakwe dun, but let's leave alone their intimate privacy. What happened inside their room, stays inside that room. :D

c6josh

August 20th, 2009, 07:22 AM

bad news for us who rely on the benefits of philhealth.

Philhealth on the brink
Bankruptcy in 7 years unless DBM pays
By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA
August 19, 2009, 5:22pm

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is in danger of going bankrupt in the next seven years unless the government pays the P19.2 billion arrears it owes the agency.

Sen. Loren Legarda made this assessment Wednesday after a hearing on the measure calling for mandatory universal health care coverage pending at the Senate committee on health and demography.

Legarda, who chairs the committee, said Philhealth officials themselves disclosed that the country’s health care institution is in danger of insolvency because of unpaid debts by the Department of Budget and Management to the company since 2001.

Philhealth Vice President and Deputy Chief Actuary Nerissa Santiago pointed out to the committee that the multi-billion debt of the government could affect its delivery of services to some 17 million current Philhealth members by 2016.

Legarda slammed the DBM for failing to pay its obligations of nearly P20 billion. Officials of the DBM were a no-show during the hearing.

“Papaano na iyong 17 million Filipinos na umaasa sa Philhealth para sa kanilang pangangailangan sa kalusugan? Kaya dapat talaga tingnan ng husto ang operations ng Philhealth at bayaran ng national government sa pamamagitan ng DBM ang utang na halos P20 billion sa Philhealth mula 2001,” Legarda said after the hearing.

Santiago said that based on their study, the life fund of Philhealth could shrink in the next seven to ten years if the DBM debt remains unresolved.

“Regarding the resource and the life of the fund, based on our study as of 2008…without increasing the contribution rate…and considering the projections based on what we perceived would be the membership for the next 10 years or so, the life of the fund is only until 2016,” Santiago told the committee.

During the hearing, it was also learned that some politicians are using Philhealth cards to advance their electoral plans but the cards themselves are already expired.

Legarda vowed to look into the matter, saying that while there is nothing wrong for politicians to allot their countrywide development funds (CDF) or “pork barrel” to Philhealth premiums, it must not be used for politicking.

“I want to know what comprises the P19.2 billion that could cause the bankruptcy of PhilHealth,” Legarda said.

“I also want to know who were those who got an ‘overnight’ concern with Philhealth at meron mga litrato sa mga PhilHealth cards, tapos expired palang ipinamimigay,” she stressed.

Retro

August 20th, 2009, 08:42 AM

[QUOTE=c6josh;41545982]bad news for us who rely on the benefits of philhealth.

Philhealth on the brink
Bankruptcy in 7 years unless DBM pays
By HANNAH L. TORREGOZA
August 19, 2009, 5:22pm

The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. is in danger of going bankrupt in the next seven years unless the government pays the P19.2 billion arrears it owes the agency.

^^:ohno: I think we should take this seriously that our Philhealth contribution be protected from any misappropriation by any politician. Hindi
biro ang magkasakit ngayon, lalo na if you're going to pay for your hospital bill.
:wallbash:

Maxxclip

August 20th, 2009, 09:02 AM

^^you're right, sa panahon ngayon mahirap magkasakit...although naisa-batas na ang cheaper medicine law... :D

ito na nga lang ang inaasahan ng mga maliliit nating manggagawa sa oras ng kagipitan, maglalaho pa:no:

bitoy

August 20th, 2009, 08:54 PM

GMA's US dinner host admits applying for P1-billion loan (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=497902&publicationSubCategoryId=63)

By Jess Diaz (The Philippine Star) Updated August 21, 2009 12:00 AM

MANILA, Philippines - Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez admitted yesterday that his family corporation is applying for a P1-billion loan from the government-owned Development Bank of the Philippines and two other banks but stressed he was not trying to get President Arroyo’s help for it when he paid for a lavish dinner for her and her entourage during her recent US visit.

Suarez was part of a 28-member delegation from the House of Representatives that accompanied Mrs. Arroyo and her husband to the US. Speaker Prospero Nograles led the delegation.

Suarez claimed it was he who paid $15,000 for dinner for Mrs. Arroyo and her party at Bobby Van’s steak house in Washington, after the event was featured in a gossip column in the Washington Post.

He had even boasted that he usually treats the President and her husband to expensive lunches or dinners whenever they travel abroad. He is one of Mrs. Arroyo’s favorite foreign travel companions.

Another dinner in New York City cost $20,000. Malacañang said Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez footed the bill, but the congressman in turn pointed to his brother as the host.

The dinners have sparked public uproar in the country.

The STAR columnist Jarius Bondoc exposed the Suarez family corporation’s loan.

As for Romualdez, Bondoc said the Leyte congressman is facing charges in connection with more than P130 million taken from a sequestered bank.

Suarez said his family corporation applied for the loan with DBP, Banco de Oro and another state firm, the Land Bank, more than four years ago.

He said the loan would be used to build a 10-megawatt power plant using coconut waste as fuel.

He said the banks are evaluating the project “based on its viability, and we think the plant is viable.”

Suarez said he has never interfered in the banks’ decision-making process or lobbied with Malacañang for the loan’s approval.

But he admitted having discussed the plant’s potential for generating jobs with Mrs. Arroyo “in one Cabinet meeting more than two years ago.”

As for their US trip, Suarez said he did not know who paid for it.

He said he is willing to reimburse the expenses using personal funds but does not know whom to reimburse.

Nograles earlier said that since the trip was an invitation from the US government, he assumed the US shouldered the expenses.

But US embassy spokesperson Rebecca Thompson denied the US government spent for Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage and said the US provided only security protection for the President.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ninang, pakiasikaso naman yung loan namin". :D

REPUBLIC ACT No. 6713 Sec. 4 (h)-Simple living. - Public officials and employees and their families shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income. They shall not indulge in extravagant or ostentatious display of wealth in any form.

REPUBLIC ACT No. 6713 Sec. 4 (d)-Solicitation or acceptance of gifts. - Public officials and employees shall not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any gift, gratuity, favor, entertainment, loan or anything of monetary value from any person in the course of their official duties or in connection with any operation being regulated by, or any transaction which may be affected by the functions of their office.

RonnieR

August 20th, 2009, 08:57 PM

jpdm

August 21st, 2009, 03:12 AM

That will be the end of Suarez' plan.....the media will surely monitor the progress of that pending loan. That's huge.

Isa sa pinakamatakaw na ugokressman yan. Hindi ko alam kung ano pinakain ng tukmol na yan sa mga taga Quezon para laging manalo buwaya na yan!:bash::bash:

Ady001

August 21st, 2009, 03:38 AM

3cr

August 21st, 2009, 04:16 AM

GMA's Plan B for Jet purchase... Totoo kaya ito? :bash: :bash: :bash:

Palace jet purchase still on
By Aldrin Cardona Sports Editor
Daily Tribune
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20090821hed1.html

President Arroyo may have publicly announced that Malacañang is dropping its plan of purchasing a $1.2-billion jet after drawing public flak, but the plan to purchase a jet plane is still on, except that the "mode" of purchasing the jet plane has shifted to what is termed as Arroyo’s Plan B.

Malacañang will still be purchasing a jet plane, now at a reduced price, and will now be utilizing the funds allotted for the elite 250th Presidential Airlift Wing of the Philippine Air Force.

Despite claims by Malacañang that Arroyo has realized that she only has some months to go prior to her departure from the Palace and that the decision to purchase a Palace jet for the use of the Malacañang tenant will be left to her successor, a highly-reliable source yesterday claimed Malacañang has not totally dropped plans to buy a new plane for Arroyo despite public pronouncements it was withdrawing its invitation to bid for a "presidential fixed-wing executive jet" amid public furor over Arroyo’s reported lavish spending during her state visit to the US early this month.

The evidence of Arroyo’s lavish and ostentatious lifestyle is found in the official documents of the Malacanang’s expenses for her US visit which showed that Arroyo and her entourage lavishly spent P6 million in tips during their six-day US stay.

A report in the GMA Website said Arroyo and her entourage gave away about P6 million in gratuities during the chief executive’s working visit to the US from July 29 to Aug. 5.

The report stated that based on an official breakdown of expenses provided to GMA News by Ching Vargas, Malacañang’s deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, Arroyo’s party spent $66,000 in Washington DC and $59,000 in New York for various service tips, or a total of $125,000 in tips.

All this spending in a foreign country in the tens of millions in dollars amid a recessionary period in the country.

The National Economic and Development Authority (Neda) official yesterday said the Philippine economy may have contracted in the second quarter of this year. Technically, with the economic growth contracting for two quarters, this puts the country in a recession (see related story this page).

And still, the purchase of the jet is still on.

The Tribune source revealed that the PAF is now quietly looking for bidders in its plan to purchase a "second hand" plane, which is claimed to be much much cheaper than the original plan to purchase a jet for $1.2 billion.

It is not known whether the second hand plane will be a different purchase from a "brand new jet engine" with a separate expense for the presidential jet’s special VIP configuration.

The Tribune source also claimed the budget reserved for the second hand plane will be coursed through the 250th Presidential Airlift Wing, an elite Air Force unit whose function is to secure the First Family by providing them with safe and efficient air transport.

The Wing utilizes an aging air transport fleet for the Chief Executive, among them F-28 and F-27 Fokkers, S-70 Blackhawk, S-76 helicopters, S-330 Puma and Belljet helicopters, some of which, however, are scheduled for maintenance work.

"The involvement of the 250th Wing is actually part of Plan B as (Malacañang) officials are aware their first invitation to bid for the $1.2 billion jet won’t fly," the source said.

"But they are quietly working for this second plane as they don’t want another botched job in acquiring a plane for Mrs. Arroyo."

According to the Tribune source, who purposely did not specify the model of the jet being eyed by the Palace, the plane is "now presently in the country," even hinting that it "could be owned by a top business leader who is a known close supporter of the president."

"Those in the know about plane and chopper purchases would know (the plane’s present owner) if we will divulge the make and model of the plane," the Tribune source said. "There are only few very influential people who own planes in the country."

Air Force officials, he said, are currently under negotiations with civilian aeronautic agents looking to form a consortium that would act as "middle men" to make the purchase possible.

Malacañang recalled its call to bid for a presidential fixed-wing jet worth $1.2 billion early this week after criticisms over Arroyo’s lavish spending and high-flying lifestyle snowballed.

The President came under fire after two US newspapers revealed Mrs. Arroyo and her entourage spent more than P2 million to wine and dine at Le Cirque, Bobby Van’s, David Bouley and Wolfgang (Puck’s) Steakhouse, all ritzy restaurants serving only wealthy clients.

On the lavish spending in the US, dining in expensive Washington DC and New York restaurants and staying in very expensive hotels in both cities, the GMA website said the Arroyo party distributed money to bellboys, porters, drivers, convoy escorts, and housekeeping personnel in the US for the services they gave Arroyo and her entourage, and the tips certainly weren’t peanuts, considering the fact that Malacañang documents showed that $125,000, or P6 million, was handed down by the Palace in both cities for tips,

Malacañang last Tuesday presented to reporters copies of documents furnished by Vargas, who gave a breakdown of the budget allocated to the Office of the President (OP) for Arroyo’s local and foreign trips.

Based on Vargas’ record, the OP was given a P130 million budget from 2001 to 2006 for the trips, the following year, 2007, this increased to P170 million and soared to P244.6 million from 2008 until August of this year, totaling approximately P1.5 billion during the entire period Vargas cited.

Malacañang has defended the President over critics’ claim that the expensive meals showed Mrs. Arroyo’s insensitivity toward the plight of many Filipinos suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis.

According to Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, said when the President is abroad for official visits, her expenses are exempted from the government’s austerity measures. He says Mrs. Arroyo’s "aggressive" foreign engagements have brought huge investments to the country.

But the United Opposition, through its president, Mayor Jejomar Binay, reminded Malacañang that Arroyo is not exempt from the austerity measures she herself had ordered implemented in 2004.

"Malacanang should be reminded that no one, most especially Mrs. Arroyo, is exempt from government rules and regulations, including the austerity measures which Mrs. Arroyo herself had imposed on all government personnel and offices," Binay said.

The statement, he added, "betrays the mind set of Malacañang that Arroyo and those who surround her are exempt from the law."

Arroyo signed Administrative Order No. 103 in 2004, citing the need to maintain "prudent fiscal management" in order to ensure "a balanced budget by 2009."

Among other measures, Arroyo ordered a suspension on all foreign travels "except for attendance in ministerial meetings, scholarship/trainings that are grant-funded or undertaken at no cost to the government."

Palace officials - determined to stamp out the controversy over the lavish dinners and the plush accommodations of the Arroyo party during their recent trip to the United States - said Wednesday that her foreign travels are an exception to the austerity measures.

The opposition leader also questioned the veracity of the list of benefits from Mrs. Arroyo’s recent scandal-ridden US trip.

The list of benefits, he said, is no different from the list of so-called benefits from Mrs. Arroyo’s other trips.

"They contain mostly pledges that may or may not materialize, commitments made under existing agreements with the US government that will materialize even without a visit to the US, and agreements entered into by previous administrations, including that of President Joseph Estrada," he said.

"This is what is called ‘drawing’", he added.

In a related development, a youth group yesterday, in a statement, challenged Malacañang to show the nation the receipts.

Directed at the Palace occupant, the statement said: "Show us the receipts! Not your cheap talk, but the details of all your spending from air fare to hotel accommodation up to the last payment receipt you made during the Obama trip. You claim your expenses were not illegal? Then show us!"

This was the challenge made by the Movement of the Youth for Empowerment, Reform, Advocacy and Progress (MYERAP) amid left and right denials and cover-ups of the Arroyo allies in Congress. Ginno Jaralve, the movement’s spokesman said.

"Somebody must be made accountable for that display of lavishness and callousness while hunger and poverty are escalating in surveys."

3cr

August 21st, 2009, 04:21 AM

Arroyo party gave P6M in tips during six-day US stay
GMA News
08/20/2009
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/170245/arroyo-party-gave-away-p6m-in-tips-during-six-day-us-stay

President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her entourage gave about P6 million in gratuities during the chief executive’s working visit to the United States from July 29 to August 5.

Based on an official breakdown of expenses provided to GMA News by Susanna Vargas, Malacañang’s deputy executive secretary for administration and finance, Mrs. Arroyo’s party spent $66,000 in Washington D.C. and $59,000 in New York for various service tips to bellboys, porters, drivers, convoy escorts, and housekeeping personnel in the US for the services they rendered to the President and her party.

Mrs. Arroyo came under fire after media reported on her supposed lavish meals with husband Jose Miguel Arroyo and government officials in at least four restaurants in Washington D.C. and New York City.

The Washington Post reported that President Arroyo and her entourage dined on lobster, steak, and fine wines for $15,000 at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse on 15th Street in Washington D.C. The dinner took place on July 30 hours after Mrs. Arroyo met with US President Barack Obama.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, an Arroyo ally, later claimed that he paid for the Bobby Van’s dinner, including the $1,500-tip for the celebration of the 41st wedding anniversary of the President and her husband.

The second dinner was at Le Cirque last August 2, according to US tabloid New York Post. Arroyo’s group reportedly spent $20,000 for the meal that included "very expensive wine" at the upscale French restaurant in Manhattan, New York City.

Malacañang later admitted that Mrs. Arroyo’s group dined at Le Cirque, but denied that the Office of the President spent for the meal.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde said it was Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who picked up the tab for the Le Cirque dinner. But Romualdez evaded media queries about the issue.

The third meal was at the posh Bouley Restaurant on Broadway Avenue in New York also on August 2. This was confirmed by Batangas Rep. Hermilando Mandanas who said it was part of the celebration of the First Couple’s wedding anniversary.

The fourth was at Wolfgang’s Steakhouse on Park Avenue in Manhattan, according to Mindoro Rep. Amelita Villarosa.

Malacañang has defended the President over critics’ claim that the expensive meals showed Mrs. Arroyo's insensitivity toward the plight of many Filipinos suffering from the effects of the global financial crisis.

According to Remonde, when President Arroyo is abroad for official visits, her expenses are exempted from the government’s austerity measures. He says Mrs. Arroyo’s "aggressive" foreign engagements have brought huge investments to the country.

____________________

Suarez left P70-K tip for Arroyo dinner at US restaurant
ANDREO C. CALONZO, GMANews.TV
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/170140/lawmaker-left-p70-k-tip-for-arroyo-dinner-at-us-restaurant

A congressman with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on her controversial trip to the United States early this month thought nothing of leaving a $1,500 tip at a Washington restaurant.

Besides admitting that he forked out $12,000 for the Arroyo entourage’s pricey dinner at Bobby Van’s Steak House in Washington D.C. on July 30, Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez also said that he gave the restaurant a gratuity equivalent to P70,000.

The lawmaker showed GMA News the receipt to prove his claim. Suarez said that in the US, it was “customary" to give a tip equivalent to about 15 percent of the total restaurant bill.

Suarez said he hosted the dinner to celebrate the 41st wedding anniversary of the President and Jose Miguel Arroyo.

“Embarrassing naman na ako ang nagyaya tapos iba ang pagbabayarin ko (It would be embarrassing if I let others foot the bill since I was the one who hosted the dinner)," Suarez said.

The lawmaker also said that The Washington Post was correct in reporting that an unidentified woman with a handbag stuffed with cash paid for the dinner.

But Suarez clarified that he later paid the woman for the dinner expenses. He identified the woman as an official from Malacañang.

“Ayoko naman na bumunot dun at magbibilang ako. Kaya sinabi ko sa protocol, tinanong ko muna sila, ‘May pera ba kayo?’" he said. “(I told her),’Bayaran muna ninyo, give me the receipt, and I will pay you back."

(I don't want to take out my wallet and count money there. Thus I asked the protocol officer if she has money. I told her, 'Pay this first, give me the receipt, and I will pay you back.')

“Pagdating sa hotel, pinadala na sa akin ‘yong envelope (containing the receipt), (When we arrived at the hotel, the woman sent me the envelope containing the receipt)" he added.

Suarez, a known Arroyo ally, said the Washington dinner was not the first time he treated the President to a meal during a foreign trip. He says he usually sets aside personal money for these kinds of expenses.

Suarez represents a district in Quezon province that is one of the poorest in the country, the Bondoc peninsula, a traditional insurgency hotbed and a land of extreme social inequities. -

bitoy

August 21st, 2009, 05:39 AM

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez
“Ayoko naman na bumunot dun at magbibilang ako. Kaya sinabi ko sa protocol, tinanong ko muna sila, ‘May pera ba kayo?’" he said. “(I told her),’Bayaran muna ninyo, give me the receipt, and I will pay you back."

(I don't want to take out my wallet and count money there. Thus I asked the protocol officer if she has money. I told her, 'Pay this first, give me the receipt, and I will pay you back.')

The congressman must have a very huge and thick wallet (a purse?)... :lol:

TheAvenger

August 21st, 2009, 02:49 PM

I posted these articles from the MILF not because I sympathise with them, though I sympathise with the plight of the innocent moro civilians. Also I feel sad seeing Filipinos (Moro guerillas and heroic young soldiers of the Republic killed in this senseless war.

I posted these articles so that we can discuss further about the recent fighting in Basilan which resulted to 23 young soldiers died fighting without any protective vest nor fire support and air support.

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

Sunday, 16 August 2009 21:59 administrator
By Maulana M. Alonto

We have seen these images before.

http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t218/jibrael_2008/dejavu.jpg

Grieving widows and parents, many given to hysterics, of slain Marines contained in rows of coffins covered by Philippine flags; government and military bigwigs viewing the corpses with long faces (for the TV cameras) and issuing saber-rattling statements in front of the media vowing to run after and send the Moro guerrillas responsible to kingdom-come; allegations of mutilations committed on the dead soldiers by the MILF and the Abu Sayyaf hugging the headlines (thus increasing the sales of major dailies and provincial tabloids ); and then the all too-familiar anti-Moro invectives spewing out of the frothing mouths of war drumbeaters and ‘Morophobics’ frantically demanding the total extermination of the “Moro terrorists” who dare challenge the might of the Philippine Republic.

These images rolled past our eyes in the aftermath of the day-long “slug-fest”, as Marine Corp Commander Maj. Gen. Benjamin Dolorfino bizarrely describes it, between MILF mujahideen forces and the Philippine Marines on the island of Basilan on August 12, 2009. The good general must have regarded the incident as ‘entertaining’ as to have likened it to a boxing match.

But to those who still remember the battle between the MILF and the Marines that took place in Basilan two years ago, they must be experiencing déjà vu as this parade of images flashed before their eyes.

The uncanny thing is that even the place where the incident took place is the same – Basilan. Even the number of Marines who were killed is the same: 23 dead. For on July 10, 2007, 14 Marines, 10 of whom were beheaded allegedly by the Abu Sayyaf after the encounter, were killed in a fierce battle with the MILF. That’s the government version. The MILF, however, said that 23 Marines died in that armed engagement. There was an actual body count by the Moro mujahideen guerrillas of the Marines who fell in battle and whose corpses were not completely retrieved by the AFP until more than a day after the engagement took place. This tallied with the number of M-16 and M-14 service rifles, 23 in all, recovered by the MILF from the dead Marines.

In the recent Basilan encounter, though, it is the government this time that insists that only 23 Marines were killed. This is at variance with the MILF’s count that Marine casualties, excluding the wounded, could not be lower than 50. The MILF mujahideen themselves suffered 10 martyred in battle and many injured.

The point that we would like make, however, is not to validate which figures are correct or wrong. It is enough that there are casualties on both sides, and the number is appalling. What disconcerts us – and this is the point - is that this loss of lives is unnecessary because both the Philippine government and the MILF have just announced a ceasefire.

In this light, someone has to take the blame for the August 14 tragedy in Basilan. If accounts by witnesses to the incident have to be given weight, the finger points at the commanders of the AFP who were responsible for the military operations (pardon me, the term used is ‘police action’) in Basilan which failed to distinguish the Abu Sayyaf from the MILF. This has happened not once but several times in the past as what transpired on that island-province two years ago when Marines also violated the standing ceasefire agreement by entering and invading MILF territories unannounced, uncoordinated and with their guns a-blazing.

There is one disturbing element in all of this. It has become habitual for the Marines in Basilan to ignore the ceasefire between the MILF and the Philippine government by deliberately provoking armed clashes with the Moro mujahideen whenever peace talks are imminent. Why?
In the previous commentary I wrote, I said that the rule of thumb on the ground in the Moro areas is: no soldiers, no fighting. The MILF in Basilan had been observing this rule until a unit of the Philippine Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 ostensibly out to reinforce another unit engaged in a firefight with the Abu Sayyaf inexplicably made a diversion and attacked the main camp of the MILF-BIAF’s 114th Base Command instead. The resulting battle took a heavy toll on the Marine unit concerned, with almost every man being killed or wounded by the MILF mujahideen defenders.

This raises several questions: why was the reinforcing Marine unit diverted from their original mission? Who ordered the attack on the MILF camp? The more puzzling question is why was this Marine unit, consisting of newly-trained 70 men or so, ordered to attack a larger force of battle-seasoned mujahideen considering the fact that it was suicide to do so?

One observer with a very fertile mind is of the opinion that the Marines are being ‘punished’ and deliberately ‘sent to their graves’ in Basilan by the ruling regime for their role in the 2007 failed coup d’état.

Another goes further by saying that the Marines, majority of whom are still fiercely loyal to their detained commanders implicated in said coup, want to foment a big war in Mindanao to economically and thus politically weaken the regime in Manila and pave the way for another coup attempt.

Still, another opinion entirely opposite those aforementioned avers that someone big - as in BIG - in the regime is creating the conditions for the declaration of martial law and consequently the cancellation of the 2010 presidential election.

These conspiracy theories may contain some grain of truth in them. But what cannot be denied is that no matter what the truth is, it is the Moros of Basilan and the families of those killed in armed engagements, whether Moro mujahideen or Filipino Marines, that have to bear the costly expense in terms of the loss of their loved ones.

We need not go through another déjà vu concerning Basilan. But it seems that we are consigned to suffer the experience of going through it again and again for as long as the Philippine government and powerful vested-interest groups in the country avoid resolving the root cause of the Mindanao conflict and, for that matter, renege on their commitments to peace agreements.

http://www.luwaran.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=911:deja-vu&catid=60:maulana-bobby-alonto&Itemid=346

By the way :

My stand on this Mindanao problem.

A just Peace under the framework of Philippine sovereignty and territorial integrity.

jpdm

August 21st, 2009, 02:57 PM

^^^^Well said, Avenger. Well said.:cheers:

bitoy

August 21st, 2009, 11:00 PM

This is true, I didn't see any important investor worth your while in the NY dinner.:ohno:

:horse:

Eto yung dinner niyo. :D
j5XkE4CHJM8

GMA FILUSA Speech Part 2 NY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WvpTmzaw86E

3cr

August 22nd, 2009, 01:55 AM

GMA's imprudence increases public disapproval
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/aug/22/yehey/opinion/20090822opi1.html

THE Palace admission that it exceeded its foreign travel budget by a billion pesos is frankly quite horrific, to say the least. For one, a billion pesos is hardly loose change.

That amount can finance the construction of at least 300 three-story, six-classroom buildings—infrastructure that our public school system desperately needs to ensure the rural poor’s children get a decent education.

Education experts had said the country needs at least 74,000 more classrooms to ensure a single-shift arrangement, which is the ideal situation—and by ideal we mean an environment conducive to learning.

In fact, Malacañang’s overspending on its foreign sorties already amounts to more than half the P1.7 billion the Department of Education (DepEd) allocated for the construction of new classrooms and repair of existing ones for this year alone.

We can’t help but suspect that one of the reasons Malacañang accepted the sub-par arrangement of having at least two shifts a day in the public schools is to ensure the Palace entourage would have ample money to wine and dine during state visits in the US and elsewhere.

Now that leaves a bad taste in the mouth for existing and potential sponsors of the DepEd’s Adopt-a-School Program.

How can the government expect the private sector to forgo their corporate jets and huge expense accounts for the benefit of the country’s public school system if the national leadership is hardly the model of judicious spending?

Palace spin-meisters protest that a president cannot be expected to eat at McDonald’s.

But we beg to disagree.

Indeed it would have been a very strong sign of fiscal prudence—and a publicity coup, to boot—had Mrs. Arroyo led her entourage all the way to Times Square and spent less than a dollar each on a Sabret hotdog sandwich.But Malacañang opted for the very insensitive route of dining in a ritzy place like Le Cirque.

Many countries—including the world’s richest—are scrambling to secure money to pump prime their economies and prevent a prolonged global slump.President Arroyo’s US host, President Barack Obama, is spending 5.6 percent of his country’s output this year to stimulate the world’s biggest economy, even as his lieutenants are hot on the heels of Wall Street’s high-flying executives, especially those manning the boardrooms of some of the largest banks that benefited from Federal subsidies.At a time when every other nation’s leader is trying to boost confidence among their people so they can help jump-start their economies and prevent a repeat of the 1930s Great Depression, Malacañang is breeding public contempt for itself, and eroding the thankless efforts of its economic managers to keep the Philippines from slipping into a recession.

It’s too soon to wine-and-dine and celebrate. Clearly, we’re not yet out of the woods.

____________________

GMA windfall from US visit may actually not be what it seems
By Jose Katigbak STAR Washington bureau (The Philippine Star)
August 21, 2009
http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=497907&publicationSubCategoryId=63

WASHINGTON – Who says a bird in hand is better than two in the bush? By counting the birds before they have even hatched or counting them long after they’ve flown the coop, Malacañang has come up with a rosy estimate that “the Philippines generated at least $6.2 billion in investments, trade, and aid from the recent visit of President Arroyo to the United States.”

A Philippine embassy press statement on Wednesday quoted Press Secretary Cerge Remonde as saying the windfall from her visits to Washington and New York in July was higher than the total benefits generated in her combined foreign trips for 2007 and 2008.

Remonde said benefits received by the Philippines included $136 million in security and development aid, $350 million Millennium Challenge Corp. grant, $1.6 billion involving the Generalized System of Preferences, $198 million for the Filipino veterans’ equity fund, $1 billion in estimated garment exports, and $1.2 billion in estimated investments.

He also cited a $1-billion investment commitment by US-based Coca-Cola Co., $300 million of which has already entered the country, the embassy statement said.

Remonde’s tally as reported by the embassy does not conform to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, a set of standardized accounting rules, so it is not surprising that the sum conjured seems totally out of whack with reality.

The STAR Washington bureau, parsing his tally, notes that:

• The $350-million millennium grant has not yet been approved as the Philippines still has to pass a ‘control of corruption’ criterion.

• The $1-billion in garment exports refers to a bill filed by Rep. Jim McDermott in June to allow certain types of clothing made in the Philippines to enter the US duty free or at substantially reduced tariff. If, and that’s a big IF, Congress takes up the bill next year and approves it, Philippine garments exports to the US are projected to increase by $1 billion after the first full year of implementation.

• The $198-million for veterans was signed into law by President Barack Obama in February after decades of tortuous negotiations between both sides.

• On the $1.6 billion involving the GSP, the Philippines has consistently not fully utilized its benefits under this program aimed at promoting economic growth in the developing world by providing preferential dutyfree entry to the US for nearly 5,000 products.

• The rest of Coca Cola’s proposed $1- billion investment in the Philippines will be spent over five years for the construction of a new soft drink plant as well as the improvement of distribution networks.

President Arroyo is under fire at home for alleged extravagant dinners during her recent US visit and for overspending her travel budget and it appears the “Remonde Defense” is aimed at deflecting some of that criticism.

3cr

August 22nd, 2009, 02:04 AM

Ironic articles centering on fastfood/Mcdo. What a contrast! Ang mura sa iba/mayaman, mahal naman sa iba/masa. Really shows the growing gap between the rich and the poor in our country. :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:

LIKE OBAMA : Arroyo slips into fast-food joint in Makati
By TJ Burgonio
Philippine Daily Inquirer
http://services.inquirer.net/print/print.php?article_id=20090522-206446

MANILA, Philippines—Away from the glare of news cameras, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo quietly slipped into a fast-food restaurant at the Makati Central Business District, and ordered a value meal breakfast before chatting with call center agents.

Ms Arroyo motored to the McDonald’s branch at the Paseo Center on Paseo de Roxas Avenue in Makati City and ordered a meal of longganisa (local sausage) before joining a gaggle of call center agents at a table at around 6:30 a.m.

She chatted with more than a dozen call center pioneers from companies like People Support, Convergys, DSM Manila and E-Telecare, according to RTVM (Radio Television Malacañang).

Ms Arroyo’s trip to McDonald’s brought to mind US President Barack Obama’s sortie on May 5 into Ray’s Hell burger joint in Arlington, Virginia, where he ordered a cheddar cheeseburger—without ketchup.

Obama also bought burgers—reportedly costing roughly $7.95 each—for the journalists covering him, and left a $5 tip.

On video

Ms Arroyo’s unexpected sortie into McDonald’s was not open to media but RTVM has a video footage of it.

The value meal of rice and longganisa costs P67. It was not known if Ms Arroyo left any tip.

Ms Arroyo later spoke at the general membership meeting of the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines at the Philamlife Tower on Ayala Avenue and Paseo de Roxas.

At McDonald’s, Ms Arroyo, who was accompanied by Anthony Chua, chair of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology (CICT), talked about the government’s plans to boost the BPO (business process outsourcing) industry.

No age limit

According to RTVM, Ms Arroyo told the call center agents that the government had been investing heavily in training individuals to work for the BPO industry, one of the fastest-growing industries in the world.

The trainings are being spearheaded by the Business Processing Association of the Philippines and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA), she said.

“She thanked everyone and noted happily that working in the BPO industry requires no age limit and when you’re employed part-time, you can still continue schooling or get a day job,” RTVM said on its website.

Ms Arroyo took note of the agents’ request that the Metro Rail Transit extend its operations on EDSA (Epifanio delos Santos Avenue) by another two hours until 12 midnight to accommodate them, according to RTVM.

_________________________

Metro Manila workers must toil more to afford a Big Mac
Business World
http://www.bworldonline.com/BW082009/content.php?id=005

METRO MANILA workers have to toil roughly twice longer than the global average to earn enough for a Big Mac, again placing nearly at the bottom of purchasing power rankings in this year’s UBS Prices and Earnings study.

An hour and 18 minutes’ work equals a Big Mac in Metro Manila. The metropolis ranked 71st out of 73 cities in terms of domestic purchasing power or the ratio of wages to local prices, only a notch improved from when it placed second to the last in 2006.

Workers here must put in 88 minutes — seven more than in 2006 and more than double than the 37-minute global average — to be able to afford the fast-food chain’s burger.

The city’s purchasing power index score of 18.7, however, is up 38.5% from the 13.5 recorded in 2006.

The UBS study, conducted every three years, bases the comparison on the average wage of 14 professions and price of a standard basket of 122 goods and services in March 2009.

It is in Zurich where workers get the most bang for their buck, followed by Sydney, Luxemborg, Dublin and Miami.

Manila is better off than last-placer Jakarta but is outranked by the three other Southeast Asian cities on the list: Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, and Bangkok.

The poor ranking came even as the cost of living in the Philippine city was said to be still among the lowest in the world. Prices of goods and services here are third to the cheapest among the 73 countries, bested only by Delhi and Mumbai.

The study mentions specifically that, "nowhere in the world is clothing cheaper than in Kuala Lumpur and Manila".

The price gap among easy-to-transport goods such as food, clothing, and electronics is small across cities, while prices for services fluctuate more.

"Thanks to countless international trade agreements and efforts to eliminate protective tariffs, people and companies can now buy a seemingly limitless variety of products and exploit the relative cost advantages of the global marketplace," the UBS study stated.

"[But the gap in prices of services] persists because virtually no trade exists between countries for many services," it added.

The low prices in Manila are offset by the similarly low wages earned by its workers. Wage levels in the city ranked 71st out of 73, higher than only Jakarta’s and Mumbai’s and again outpaced by the three other Southeast Asian neighbors.

"Zurich and Geneva top the rankings in our international comparison of wages. By contrast, the average employee in Delhi, Manila, Jakarta and Mumbai earns less than one-fifteenth of that amount," the study stated.

Even as the study notes that "what really matters is how many goods and services workers can buy" after taxes, net hourly income in Manila remained third from the bottom of the list.

Sought for comment, University of Asia and the Pacific economist Peter Lee U said in a telephone interview: "To improve purchasing power, it’s more of a question of income really, and the increase in the level of development... since our prices are relatively low."

"Income is tied up to people’s productivity so investing in people I guess, in education, will mean higher-paying jobs."

Mr. U noted, however, that the ranking does not mean Metro Manila is among the poorest in the world.

"I’m sure there are other poorer cities not included," he said.

3cr

August 22nd, 2009, 02:18 AM

Instead of lavish dinner:
What $20,000 can do for our environment
By Anabelle E. Plantilla
Manila Times
http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/aug/22/yehey/opinion/20090822opi5.html

Much has been said and printed about the lavish dinner our president had in New York. A little birdie even told me that she celebrated her wedding anniversary in their presidential suite at the Waldorf Astoria. What can $20,000 do for our environment?

It can buy 12,800 native seedlings that can be planted and maintained in at least five hectares of denuded forests. Our forest cover is less than 20 percent and scientifically we need 54 percent to regulate ecological processes, water supply being one of the primary benefits we get from a healthy forest ecosystem. Without water, our food security is threatened because agriculture (irrigation) is the primary user of water. It is imperative that we restore our forests as soon as possible. In relation to this, $20,000 can help establish ten native tree nurseries to ensure a steady supply of seedlings to bring back our forests.

Last week I was in Surigao where I had the opportunity to interact with our partner peoples organizations (PO) to whom Haribon is providing livelihood projects to relieve human pressures on the forest. Upon their request, we provided them with training on liquid dishwashing and detergent soap-making as these are basic household needs. Materials to make one cycle of 24 liters of liquid dishwashing soap cost P700. When sold, the PO generates 100-percent profit. $20,000 will enable these POs to produce approximately 1,370 cycles of soap and profit a thousand fold. Definitely, the much-needed revenue will benefit the POs and enable them to use the extra income for primary household expenses like food, education and health.

$20,000 can buy a dozen motor boats for the Bantay Dagats to patrol marine protected areas and deter illegal fishing activities in these important breeding areas and shelters of fish and other marine organisms. A multitude of stakeholders depend on fisheries including municipal and commercial fishers, canneries, fish markets and various industries. Fish provides direct income to some 1.3 million small fishers and their families. This generates an average earning of P4,000 per household per month, or over P62-billion worth of employment every year. (Haribon/Pamana Ka, 2005)

Last year, Congress signed into law R.A. 95121, or the Environmental Awareness and Education act of 2008. $20,000 can buy almost a thousand reference books on Philippine biodiversity that can be distributed to school libraries on the month of November which is Environmental Awareness Month. These reference books are the best tools a teacher can have in making sure that this new law is enforced. The knowledge that will be gained by the students on the environment is priceless and can change their behavior toward how the environment is perceived and valued as a resource.

$20,000 can provide funding to ten field-based research on threatened species and their habitats. Our country is one of the world’s mega-diverse countries and the endemicity or uniqueness of our wildlife is very high. Five out of 10 plants and animals can only be found in the Philippines. Brazil, which is almost 25 times the size of our country has an endemicity of only 25 percent! Data on our species is important in developing policies that are responsive and appropriate. For example, aquatic mammals are generally less known than the terrestrial mammals. Although dolphins are widely distributed and perhaps better known locally, they are poorly understood at the global level (Baillie et al. 2004). Whales are also poorly understood even though they have been hunted commercially for centuries. Thus, while these animals are listed at lower categories of endangerment, the real picture of the level of threat is not necessarily low, especially for populations in the Philippines (Sinha 2005). Thus, this situation calls for information that is accurate to help policy makers respond properly.

Indeed, money spent for dinner could have made strides in conservation and could have inspired and motivated natural resource dependent communities and other stakeholders to look at the environment at an entirely different perspective, care for it and appreciate it for what it is—our life support system that should always be protected above all else.

____________________

Hopefully this is finally a dead issue! Put the money for better use.

No Arroyo ‘Plan B’ in jet purchase according to Palace
Daily Tribune
08/22/2009
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20090822hed6.html

Malacañang yesterday denied the reported continuous pursuing of the new executive jet for President Arroyo despite publicly announcing that the proposal was already turned down by her for the second time around.

"I personally talked to the commander of the Presidential Security Group and the commander of the Presidential Airlift Wing and they were as shocked as all of us here in Malacañang about that report.

There is no such plan as far as I know. There is no Plan B," Press Secretary Cerge Remonde told a press briefing.

The Palace official said if ever there would be any new proposal submitted to the Chief Executive regarding the purchase of the Palace jet it would still be rejected and disapproved since the decision of the President to cancel such purchase was already final and considered irrevocable at this point.

The Philippine Air Force (PAF), for its part, reiterated that the plan to purchase a presidential plane has been called off.

"The plan to buy a presidential plane has been called off," Air Force spokesman Lt. Col. Gerry Zamudio told the Tribune, citing the announcement made by Malacañang earlier.

"There is no ongoing plan to buy that plane," he added, citing the specific instruction of Arroyo to scrap the plan and allot the P1.2 billion to the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).

At present, the Air Force 250th Presidential Airlift Wing, which is tasked to provide secure air transport for the President and the First Family, only has an S28 plane, five Bell412 helicopters and one Blackhawk in its fleet.

Zamudio, however, said there are programmed purchases under the Air Force capability upgrade, among them are the acquisition of P3.2 billion worth of attack helicopters, P3-billion combat utility helicopters, 18 basic trainer aircraft worth P207 million, two light lift plane – which can carry a maximum of 12 passengers – amounting P460 million each.

"These are all programmed to address the capability gap of the Air Force’s internal security operations," Zamudio said.

Also in the pipeline are the refurbishment of one C130 airplane and the purchase of 20 engines for the upgrading of MG520 helicopters.

The Tribune reported on Friday that despite pronouncements from Malacañang that the planned purchase of a presidential plane was called off, the plan still is still in the works but shifted to Malacañang’s supposed Plan B.

Under such plan, the Tribune source revealed that the PAF is now quietly looking for bidders in its plan to purchase a "second-hand" plane, which is claimed to be much much cheaper than the original plan to purchase a jet for P1.2 billion.

"If ever the said amount (P1.2 billion) would be given to the Armed Forces, the general headquarters (Camp Aguinaldo) will have the authority where to allocate that," Zamudio said.

The source also claimed that the second-hand plane being considered for the purchase could be owned by a top businessman who is known to be a close supporter of the President.

The procurement of the new executive jet was first announced last week by presidential economic spokesperson Gary Olivar.

A couple of days after that announcement, Remonde declared that the President has reversed her decision and would no longer pursue such plan.

According to the Palace, Arroyo’s decision to cancel such purchase came upon realizing that she now only has less than a year to complete her term and thus leaving the procurement decision to her successor instead.

It also clarified that this decision by the President was not part of the defensive measures being taken by the Palace to stop the critics from pressing so much on the issue of the lavish dinners partaken by the presidential party several weeks ago while on official visit to the United States.

Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, however, criticized Malacañang’s overspending amid reports that it will still pursue plans of purchasing a presidential jet.

"The overspending on the wrong items and misplaced priorities combined with a worsening tax collection inefficiency may explain the ballooning budget deficit," he noted.

"This administration has incurred more debts than many previous presidents combined. Her spending pattern shows an illusion of a poor country pretending to be a first world, what with her P1 million dinner and a dream of a P1.2-billion jet at a time of growing hunger among Filipinos.

"They’d rather pursue political and graft-ridden projects rather than engage in programs that will uplift the lives of Filipinos," Cayetano added.

Malacañang’s mouthpieces have constantly spoken in unison that they did not want to give further comments involving the series of reports released by local and international media that exposed how lavish the President’s lifestyle had always been especially when visiting foreign countries.

The President came under fire after two US newspapers revealed Arroyo and her entourage spent more than P2 million to wine and dine at Le Cirque, Bobby Van’s, David Bouley and Wolfgang (Puck’s) Steakhouse, all ritzy restaurants serving only wealthy clients.

c6josh

August 22nd, 2009, 03:22 AM

Para atang Medicaid yata yan ng US na kung di masolusyonan, talagang tigbak within the next 7 or so years.

Mas malala pa siguro ata dito. Tigbak na kung tigbak.

that's right my friend, kasi naman malapit na yung election kaya ang funds depleted.

c6josh

August 22nd, 2009, 03:23 AM

GDP growth shrinks further in Q2
By DOW JONES
August 20, 2009, 5:30pm

The Philippine economy continued to limp in the second quarter, hobbled by sluggish growth in the agriculture and services sectors and a likely contraction in the industry, the latest forecast of the National Economic and Development Authority showed Thursday.

Dennis Arroyo, NEDA Director for National Planning and Policy Staff, told reporters that the agency projected gross domestic product in the second quarter to have shrunk as much as 0.1 percent or expanded up to 0.9 percent from a year earlier.

The economy expanded 0.4 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, and grew 4.2% in the second quarter of 2008.

The government is set to release second-quarter GDP data on Aug. 27.

Arroyo said the services sector is expected to have grown between 1.7 percent and 2.2 percent in the second quarter, while agriculture likely expanded between 0.4 percent and 1.4 percent. Industry is projected to have contracted between 1.3% and 2.9% in the second quarter despite the government's increased infrastructure spending. Industry comprises manufacturing, construction, mining and utilities.

In the second quarter of 2008, services expanded 4 percent, agriculture was up 4 percent, while industry gained 4 percent.

Arroyo said the government is sticking to its downgraded 0.8 percent -1.8 percent growth target for GDP this year in view of preliminary indications.

"We expect the economy to bottom out in the second quarter," Arroyo said. "Just going through the indicators, the third quarter will be better than the second quarter."

NEDA also expects campaign spending ahead of the elections in May next year to provide the economy a boost. In 2007, election spending contributed around 0.34 percentage point to GDP growth.

Arroyo said although second-quarter economic performance may be slower compared to the year-earlier period, "that is par for the course" amid a global slowdown.

In the first quarter, GDP contracted 2.3 percent from the previous quarter, putting it on the edge of a technical recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarter-on-quarter contractions.

c6josh

August 22nd, 2009, 03:25 AM

With this news it only proves na busy na talaga ang mga politicians natin para sa campaign nila, tignan mo nalang sa tv napa karaming walang kwentang info commercial...nakaka inis talaga...

jpdm

August 22nd, 2009, 01:39 PM

jpdm

August 23rd, 2009, 04:49 AM

Kutob ko ang mga tongresman na mga ito yung mga buwaya at sinungaling na galing lahat sa LAKAS-KAMPI at kaalyado nitong NPC,NP, KBL at mga partylist!

PhilHealth woes blamed on lawmakers

by Macon Ramos Araneta
Manila Standard
August 22, 2009

A LABOR group blamed lawmakers for the financial difficulties besetting the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. and called on the national government to save the state-run health care financier from becoming insolvent.

Former Senator Ernesto Herrera, secretary- general of the Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, said senators and congressmen have apparently appropriated as their pork barrel allotments part of the health agency’s funds.

Certain politicians distributed “free” PhilHealth membership cards to buy votes, Herrera said. The “free” cards provided health insurance coverage for 12 months.

“The question now is who paid for the premiums of these free cards? Somebody has to pay the premiums. Surely the politicians did not, unless of course they have in fact effectively converted some Philhealth funds as their pork barrel allocations,” Herrera said.

While the free cards may have actually helped some constituents who later required hospitalization and other services, these could have also damaged PhilHealth’s finances, Herrera said.

At the same time, Herrera stressed that Congress could appropriate a lump sum of P19.2 billion to cover the unpaid dues.

“It has become absolutely imperative for the national government to redeem PhilHealth now—to guarantee the health insurance coverage of its 79 million members, the majority of whom are private and public sector workers,” said Herrera.

PhilHealth officials reckon that the firm lost anywhere from P2 billion to P4 billion annually to fraudulent or padded claims over the last 10 years.

demented_pigeon

August 23rd, 2009, 04:56 AM

absinthe_888

August 25th, 2009, 05:11 AM

Byahe na ulet! :lol::lol:

GMA's next stops: London, Saudi (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=499160&publicationSubCategoryId=63)
By Marichu Villanueva

MANILA, Philippines - Still smarting from the flak concerning her latest visit to the United States, President Arroyo is embarking on yet another trip that will take her this time to Saudi Arabia and London starting Sept. 23.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Alberto Romulo told The STAR yesterday the President has accepted the invitation to make a state visit to Saudi Arabia as well as an invitation to speak before an international forum organized by the London-based magazine The Economist.

Romulo said preparations are underway to ensure a successful state visit in the oil-rich Arab country which hosts and employs close to a million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).

Her forthcoming trip to Saudi Arabia is her second visit there this year. When Mrs. Arroyo went to Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 31, she made a side trip to Riyadh after a stopover in Milan, Italy. From Riyadh, she proceeded to Bahrain and then to the US to attend the prayer breakfast, returning to Manila on Feb. 8. The President first made a working visit to Riyadh in 2006 when she negotiated for the release of several OFWs jailed in Saudi Arabia for various offenses.

Meanwhile, Romulo broke his silence on the brouhaha over the lavish dinner in New York that President Arroyo and her official delegation had during their trip to the US last July 29 to Aug. 4.

A few days after the President returned to Manila, reports from the New York Post came out that she and her official entourage had a $20,000 dinner at the pricey and upscale Le Cirque restaurant in New York.

Romulo particularly took strong exception to text messages being passed around that salaries of Department of Foreign Affairs employees at the Philippine consulate in New York were delayed because funds were purportedly used to pay for the expenses of the President and her official entourage that included First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and their son, Camarines Sur Rep. Dato Arroyo.

“It’s not true. It’s what they call a ‘hatchet job,’ those stories that came out,” Romulo said.

“Our Philippine consul-general Cecille Rebong told me they did not spend for the President and her official entourage while they were in New York,” he pointed out.

The latest Palace disclosure explained that the Le Cirque dinner was a party for the 41st wedding anniversary of the President and the First Gentleman hosted by the New York-based architect brother of Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, who was part of the 28-member congressional delegation to the US trip. The congressman nephew of former first lady Imelda Marcos, however, has refused to comment on the controversy up to now.

Another congressman, Rep. Danilo Suarez, confessed that he, too, hosted a dinner for the President and the First Gentleman and the rest of the delegation right after the White House meeting in Washington. Suarez claimed he paid $15,000 for a dinner at Bobby Van’s Steakhouse in Washington.

Susana Vargas, Malacañang’s senior deputy executive secretary for finance, subsequently clarified that the Palace only paid for the expenses of the President and the First Gentleman, Speaker Prospero Nograles, Senators Miriam Defensor-Santiago and Lito Lapid.

Cabinet members who joined the US trip led by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita, Romulo, Finance Secretary Margarito Teves, Defense Secretary Gilbert Teodoro, Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, Metro Manila Development Authority chairman Bayani Fernando charged their travel expenses to their respective departments.

On the part of the congressmen who joined the presidential trip to the US, Nograles earlier claimed that each of them was paying their own travel expenses. But Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante admitted he did not pay for anything and assumed Malacañang paid for his plane ticket and hotel accommodations. Abante said he and his fellow congressmen who joined the US trip of the President are willing to pay back the Palace, but he said they do not know where and to whom to pay their bills, which they will charge to their foreign travel allowances from the House of Representatives.

After so much controversy over the latest US trip, the DFA Secretary declined to say if they would be stricter this time with members of the official entourage of Mrs. Arroyo in her forthcoming trips to London and Saudi Arabia.

Romulo pointed out it is not for the executive branch to restrain congressmen from tagging along on presidential trips, saying it’s the call of the House leadership.

This would be the seventh foreign trip that the President will be making this year. She previously also went to Thailand (Feb. 28 to March 1); Egypt and Syria (May 1-5); South Korea and Russia (May 30 to June 7); and Japan and Brazil (June 17 to 25).

bitoy

August 25th, 2009, 06:09 AM

^^ unahan na naman ang mga junketeers para makasama sa biyahe niya. :lol:

*isang presidential jet sana para sa pasko*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3818715484_1c0551dfb7.jpg

jpdm

August 25th, 2009, 10:29 AM

*isang presidential jet sana para sa pasko*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3818715484_1c0551dfb7.jpg

Gloria: LOrd, sana wag magalit Pinoy sa akin kung talagang hindi ko macontrol ang sarili kong bumiyahe. Kasi po pag hindi ko ginawa ngayon ito, hindi ko na magagawa next year. Sayang libre kasi at madali naman gaguhin mga pinoy...

Patawad po kung hindi ko po mapigilan na lokohin at gaguhin ang Pinoy kasi po gago po talaga ako e...

Me: My GOd! Talagang sobrang manhid at kapal talaga ng mukha ng Gloria Arroyong ungok na ito!..:bash::bash::bash:

jpdm

August 25th, 2009, 10:34 AM

Manila Times

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Ramos rains barbs on GMA

Ex-president accuses govt of ‘opaqueness’

By Cris G. Odronia, Reporter

Former President Fidel Ramos seemed to have drawn the line against President Gloria Arroyo.

Although President Arroyo was in the twilight of her term, Ramos on Monday said that it was not too late for her to “change.”

According to the former president, it was still possible for the President to “reform, perform and transform.”

“Those three [ways of effecting the change] go together,” Ramos told reporters during a press conference in Makati Ciy.

There, however, must be a “bold” approach to the change that he was asking of Mrs. Arroyo because she has little “precious time left,” the former president said.

Mrs. Arroyo’s term ends on June 30, 2010, or more than a month after her successor will have been picked in presidential elections in May of that year.

Ramos said that Mrs. Arroyo was not a good role model.

“She must set the example,” he said, adding that she was a study in opaqueness and transparency.

The former president said that the credibility of the country has worsened compared to that in 2005. “Comparatively we are much, much way [down the list],” Ramos added without elaborating.

Filipinos were all onboard the ship called the Republic of the Philippines, and making a safe voyage aboard that ship was the responsibility of all of citizens, he said. “We must not put holes on the ship. If there is a hole on the ship, we must repair it. We must help in pushing for the steady progress of this ship of ours.”

_leonell_

August 25th, 2009, 01:04 PM

^^ unahan na naman ang mga junketeers para makasama sa biyahe niya. :lol:

*isang presidential jet sana para sa pasko*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3818715484_1c0551dfb7.jpg

Parang mas sincere pang magdasal si santino diyan............:lol::lol::lol:

3cr

August 26th, 2009, 02:24 AM

Wow grabe na to! :ohno: :ohno: :ohno:

Where did RP debt go? (http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/08/22/09/where-did-rp-debt-go)

MANILA - All borrowings under President Arroyo's term--that racked up the country's outstanding debt to a whopping P4.2 trillion as of 2008 from only P2.2 trillion in 2000--were necessary, her economic managers argue, amid accusations the President was responsible for the country's deepening financial woes.

The question now is: Where did all the debt go?

Finance Secretary Margarito Teves said bulk of the present administration's borrowings were used to settle debts, which were not its own. He added some went to interest payments while some were used to pump-prime the economy to highs in the recent past.

But President Arroyo's critics, including University of the Philippines economist and former budget chief Benjamin Diokno, beg to differ.

Diokno said while the Arroyo administration paid off debts, it also nurtured an appetite for overspending and corruption that filled up the pockets of a few.

Paying off debts with debts

Insisting that the President should not be blamed for the growing national debt, Teves said in recent interviews that Mrs. Arroyo's predecessors actually started the debt problem.

Of the Philippines' P4.2 trillion debt, Teves said the chunk of P2.7 trillion was paid for principal maturing obligations of the past administrations of Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos and Joseph Estrada.

He said P1.2 trillion of the amount was used to pay interests on existing loans, and P300 billion for the government's cash build-up program.

"Anywhere between P300 to P320 billion annually is used for interest payments. The portion that was used to pay for principal maturing obligations amounts to P2.7 trillion or 64% of the P4.2 trillion total national debt," he said.

Nonetheless, the figures don't change the fact that the country's debt stock more than doubled under Arroyo's watch.

Data from the Bureau of Treasury showed that Mrs. Arroyo contributed P2.06 trillion to the P4.2 trillion debt stock, exceeding the aggregate amount of debts of the 3 presidents before her. (Read: Lower RP debt: Truth or spin? - http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/07/28/09/lower-rp-debt-truth-or-spin [12])

Even when new debts incurred by all post-Marcos administrations are adjusted to 1985 prices (to eliminate inflation and other aspects), the Arroyo administration's P923.76 billion was still the highest, according to data from anti-debt group Freedom from Debt Coalition

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/sites/default/files/a_images/graphics/graphs/Debts_per_president.JPG

Spending for debts vs investments

Diokno said paying off the past administrations' debts also won't pass as an excuse for the enormous borrowings the Arroyo government alone incurred.

Although he acknowledged the need to honor the previous debts, he said this should be balanced with sound spending to boost the economy.

Normally, when a government spends more than what it takes in through taxes or other means of generating funds (such as privatization), it must make up for the shortfall through borrowings. This shortfall is known as the deficit.

Ideally, according to Diokno, borrowings should be spent on public investments in infrastructure or social services, "which would pay for [themselves]" or generate funds enough to cover the government's expenditures and debt payments in the future.

"There's nothing wrong if the money you'll borrowing will be used for investments in, for example, roads and education, which would help expand the economy," he said.
But what happened during Arroyo's term was far from the ideal.

Statistics have shown high economic growth rates in the previous years, particularly the 30-year peak of 7.1% in 2007, but the increase in government revenues remained modest, Diokno said, noting that "tax collections are still not enough."

Measly revenues, coupled with what he said was Arroyo's bad habit of overspending, resulted in a yearly deficit of P200 to P300 billion for the government, which in turn, resulted in the pileup of debts, he added.

Overspending and corruption

Diokno said he, and the public, could not help but suspect that the yearly deficit is going into some people's pockets.

"Every year there is a deficit. Where does it go? We don’t see any projects that are actually going to the people,” he lamented.

Mrs. Arroyo's more than 8 years of stay in office has been marred by a series of corruption scandals (Read: Scandals! - http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/special-report/07/17/09/scandals [13]), which economists said very well explain the leakage of public funds.

Recently, the Arroyo government's excesses were highlighted in media reports after the President and her huge entourage reportedly incurred huge bills from expensive dinners in a recent visit to the United States.

Malacañang had admitted that Mrs. Arroyo's trips abroad went over budget, but insisted that the Office of the President did nothing illegal.

Deputy Executive Secretary for Administration and Finance Ching Vargas said that from 2001 up to this year, the government has already spent P2.5 billion for Mrs. Arroyo's travels, way above the allocated budget of P1.4 billion.

____________________

Despite GMA’s powers, RP in a drift, warns Ramos
Business Mirror
Written by Recto Mercene / Reporter
Monday, 24 August 2009
http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/top-news/15071-despite-gmas-powers-rp-in-a-drift-warns-ramos.html

FORMER President Fidel V. Ramos said on Monday he refused to accept the chairmanship of the administration’s merged parties of Lakas-Kampi- CMD because his concern is not about political parties or about “presidentiables” but the direction the country is going.

“My concern is not about political parties or presidentiables, my message is also addressed to the leader of this nation, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the Chief Executive, Commander in Chief, head of government, head of state all rolled into one,” Ramos said at a press conference at his office in Makati.

Ramos emphasized the vast powers of Mrs. Arroyo, compared to some countries where the head of state and the head of government are in two different persons. As Mrs. Arroyo has only 10 months to go before she leaves office, he urged her to “reform, perform and transform.”

“There is precious little time left, she should set a good example from the highest office of the land down to the lowest barangay.”

The former President described the administration’s policies as “opaque,” “malabo” and without transparency, and said many others shared this observation.

As a result of such drift, Ramos said the country has fallen in the United Nation’s Human Development Index to 93 (out of 177 countries), where before the country used to be ranked in the lower 60s.

Ramos said there is only one word that the President should follow and that is “pagbabago [reform].”

“It’s not yet too late. If the President makes a bold change, reform, transform, perform; at siya ang nagtitimon [she holds the rudder] and she sets the example that represents the whole nation in the whole community,” then the drift and decline may yet be arrested.

Ramos said the President’s popularity started going downhill since the revelations of the “Hello Garci” tapes and the resignations of the so-called Hyatt 10.

He said that since then, he had been writing about things that in his experience he saw as not contributing to the overall welfare.

Ramos said leaders can listen but they don’t have to carry out the unsolicited advice given them. “That’s the privilege of any leader who is elected by the people and made responsible to the electorate, it’s a take-it-or-leave-it situation.”

In this respect, the former President said: “You know the best advice that we can give at this point—because perhaps the incumbent President is fearful of being brought before a congressional commission or before a court of law—is just to face the music.”

He said that during his incumbency, he also faced two Senate and one congressional investigations, and his testimony led to the exoneration of other personalities linked to the alleged scandals.

Ramos said there are many other things “on the table” in Malacañang that President Arroyo could address, such as whether she is going to run for a congressional seat in Pampanga.

“For instance, and it should not be the spokesperson saying it [but] the President, is she going to resign before she runs for her congressional seat, or is she going to run for that congressional seat while still retaining her position as President, even if it is allowed under the law?”

But Ramos said he sees no advantage of a congressional position because it does not guarantee immunity for criminal prosecution.

“I don’t see any advantage to that one, and why is she hanging on to that option?” he asked, adding that “at least she has not denied it personally, although it’s her spokesperson saying this and saying that and therefore continuing to muddle the issue.”

“You are not immune to heinous crimes. The immunity of a President is not absolute while in office. Neither is that of a prime minister in a parliamentary system, because the nonperforming or abusive president or prime minister can be removed by a no-confidence vote in parliament. Ano ba ’yung hinahabol nilang immunity na ‘yan. Parang napakapowerful yung immunity na ’yan.”

“What I’m saying is, if you have done your best according to your own judgment at the time—because everything is [a judgment call] in the Office of the President—you can’t be listening to everybody, you have to make a decision.”

Ramos said that no one should be afraid to face the music.

bitoy

August 27th, 2009, 09:33 PM

We don't know how this evidence will hold up in court and Lacson seems to be quiet nowadays. :D

Abangan ang susunod na kabanata since this is really serious kung tutoo.

Estrada ordered slay, Mancao tells court (http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090827-222207/Estrada-ordered-slay-Mancao-tells-court)

Cop affirms affidavit on Dacer case

By Marlon Ramos
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 01:02:00 08/27/2009

—Three months after his awaited return to the country, former Senior Supt. Cezar Mancao Wednesday testified that then President Joseph Estrada was the brains behind the 2000 killing of publicist Salvador “Bubby” Dacer and his driver Emmanuel Corbito.

In a 15-minute testimony before Judge Myra Fernandez of Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18, Mancao confirmed the contents of his affidavit on the existence of “Operation Delta” and his role in the twin murders, his lawyer Ferdinand Topacio told the Inquirer.

Topacio said Mancao also told the court that Sen. Panfilo Lacson, who was then chief of the Philippine National Police, received direct orders from Malacañang to “neutralize” Dacer.

Both Estrada—who was deposed in January 2001, convicted of plunder in September 2007, and swiftly pardoned by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo—and Lacson have denied involvement in the Dacer-Corbito murders.

“Colonel Mancao testified about Operation Delta and that it was specifically designed to ‘neutralize’ Bubby Dacer. He said Lacson authorized the operation,” Topacio told reporters after the 90-minute hearing.

Journalists were barred from getting close to the courtroom.

‘Bigote’

According to Topacio, Mancao also admitted that Estrada used the code name “Bigote” (Moustache) in issuing orders to the now defunct Presidential Anti-Organized Crime Task Force (PAOCTF), which Lacson once headed and of which Mancao was a ranking officer.
But Mancao said he had never talked to Estrada directly regarding the plan to kill Dacer.

“He said it was General Lacson who relayed to them Malacañang’s direct order. He said [former Senior Supt.] Michael Ray Aquino also got direct orders from Estrada to kill Dacer,” Topacio said.

Askal82

August 29th, 2009, 12:43 AM

^^ unahan na naman ang mga junketeers para makasama sa biyahe niya. :lol:

*isang presidential jet sana para sa pasko*

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3525/3818715484_1c0551dfb7.jpg

May gusto ka kay GMA no? :lol:

Bakit palagi mo nalang syang napapansin? :lol:

bitoy

August 29th, 2009, 02:19 AM

^^ Eh, ang ganda na ng hinaharap niya, magkapares pa, pati si Erap nabighani. :lol:

Pati si Chiz nakikisilip na rin... :lol:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2263/1838778159_7a61993da2.jpg

wise_zech

August 29th, 2009, 08:21 AM

^^ Eh, ang ganda na ng hinaharap niya, magkapares pa, pati si Erap nabighani. :lol:

Pati si Chiz nakikisilip na rin... :lol:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2263/1838778159_7a61993da2.jpg

OT: pakitang tao talaga to mga politics...hehehe

FlashCollider

August 29th, 2009, 11:29 AM

^^

weird, inaasahan nyo bang magbangayan sila in front of the public? I don't think they want to be walking side by side if given the chance but they were invited to be the sponsors and proper decorum dictates that they should be cordial and civil to each other unless of course wala silang pinagaralan.

TheAvenger

August 29th, 2009, 01:04 PM

.

I am shocked when I found from some publications that B.F. committed some corrupt practices.

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/emmanuel_kristofer/mmdabayani.jpg

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view/20090828-222389/MMDA-chief-told-to-explain-cash-gifts

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/emmanuel_kristofer/bayani.jpg

http://wawam.wordpress.com/2009/08/28/bayani-fernando-admits-he-received-p1-6m-cash-gift-he-says-will-do-it-again-fernando-does-not-deserve-to-be-president/

Now I am wondering if he is really a good government administrator.
Apparently according to some publications, he is doing some corruptions on the sidelines.

.

higen

August 29th, 2009, 01:34 PM

TheAvenger

August 29th, 2009, 01:47 PM

^^I think its interesting that issues such as these issue always come out before the elections?

He who can find a candidate who have not done any form of corruption (from accepting a t-shirt as a b-day gift to recieing 1.6million in cash) and can prove that that candidate indeed, without any reasonable doubt DID NOT DO ANY FORM OF CORRUPTION...then I would bid that person good luck in his search for humans dont live forever...

I also find it interesting that those who accuse Bayani or other offcials of being corrupt are ALSO CORRUPT themselves...One may ask, where is the credibility??? Is this a good example of the Tagalog salawikain "galit ang magnanakaw sa kapwa magnanakaw?"

Two wrongs will not make one right.

Kaya lalung nagiging corrupt ang Pilipinas ay dahil ang karamihang mentality ng mainstream society ay "okey ang mag corrupt dahil ang iba namang govt officials ay corrupt din.

That is a very wrong mentality and principles NYO, kaya bulok pa rin ang Pilipinas at hindi umunlad.

Para luminis ang Pilipinas ay dapat magkaroon ng cultural revolution na dapat simulan ng united front ng mga rightist and leftist.

Kailangang magkaroong ng Final Solution sa mga corrupt na mga Pilipino.

" SULONG MGA KAPATID, IBAGSAK ANG MGA CORRUPT NA NAGHAHARING URI "

"galit ang magnanakaw sa kapwa magnanakaw?" hindi applicable sa aming hanay ang salawikain na yaon. kami ay makabayang Pinoy. Of course applicable iyan sa mga politicians from Administration and opposition political parties.

higen

August 29th, 2009, 02:08 PM

Two wrongs will not make one right.

Kaya lalung nagiging corrupt ang Pilipinas ay dahil ang karamihang mentality ng mainstream society ay "okey ang mag corrupt dahil ang iba namang govt officials ay corrupt din.

That is a very wrong mentality and principles NYO, kaya bulok pa rin ang Pilipinas at hindi umunlad.

Para luminis ang Pilipinas ay dapat magkaroon ng cultural revolution na dapat simulan ng united front ng mga rightist and leftist.

Kailangang magkaroong ng Final Solution sa mga corrupt na mga Pilipino.

" SULONG MGA KAPATID, IBAGSAK ANG MGA CORRUPT NA NAGHAHARING URI "

FYI kaming mga makabayan ay hindi magnanakaw. nasa hanay nyo ang mga corrupt at magnanakaw.

^^:lol: this statement in bold is funny...."nasa hanay nyo ang mga corrupt at magnanakaw." You even know who I am or what I do for a living???...Did I say OK lang maging corrupt? :ohno: Haayyyy...Look friend it would take a million words and an entire thread to explain what my sentiments are about corruption and what i think should be done to corrupt officials...

Your an idealist and it tells me things about you...nothing against idealism and i can think of many reasons why it should be encouraged...Whay I was trying to imply in my previous post is this...Kung ikaw boboto sa susunod na election, sino ang candidato mo? And I supposed that candidate is free from any form of corrupt practices too???

Even the so called student leaders or activist leaders have done some form of corruption...

In this country I think it is important to choose between the lesser evil when choosing a candidate...Im a realist and Im a result oriented person. I deal with results, not theories, assumptions or potentials and this guy, among the other candidates have shown results I can see...If only I was able to vote this elections id still vote for him, IF HE IS STILL QUALIFIED to run after this fiasco...

By the way your other statement "Two wrongs will not make one right."...so certain are we? Machiavelli has an answer for that statement...

TheAvenger

August 30th, 2009, 01:09 AM

^^:lol: this statement in bold is funny...."nasa hanay nyo ang mga corrupt at magnanakaw." You even know who I am or what I do for a living???...Did I say OK lang maging corrupt? :ohno: Haayyyy...Look friend it would take a million words and an entire thread to explain what my sentiments are about corruption and what i think should be done to corrupt officials...

Your an idealist and it tells me things about you...nothing against idealism and i can think of many reasons why it should be encouraged...Whay I was trying to imply in my previous post is this...Kung ikaw boboto sa susunod na election, sino ang candidato mo? And I supposed that candidate is free from any form of corrupt practices too???

Even the so called student leaders or activist leaders have done some form of corruption...

In this country I think it is important to choose between the lesser evil when choosing a candidate...Im a realist and Im a result oriented person. I deal with results, not theories, assumptions or potentials and this guy, among the other candidates have shown results I can see...If only I was able to vote this elections id still vote for him, IF HE IS STILL QUALIFIED to run after this fiasco...

By the way your other statement "Two wrongs will not make one right."...so certain are we? Machiavelli has an answer for that statement...

Komrad inaanyayahan kita na dumalo sa either sa Magdalo or sa Akbayan para sa tunay
na pagbabago ng Bayan. Your choice if you are from the right or the left.

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/emmanuel_kristofer/samahangmagdalo.jpg

http://www.samahangmagdalo.org/site/

or sa Akbayan

http://i778.photobucket.com/albums/yy70/emmanuel_kristofer/akbayan.jpg

http://www.akbayan.org/

Panahon na na dapat mag-unite / magbigkis ang mga rightist and leftist para lumakas ang paglaban
sa mga naghaharing uri na mga corrupt at para din sa tunay na pagbabago ng ating bayang sinilangan.

.

Brandon32

August 30th, 2009, 06:53 AM

^talaga?...hindi kaya mas lalong gugulo ang pilipinas nyan? papano mo mapapag isa ang rightist at leftist groups eh they are from different wings...

TheAvenger

August 30th, 2009, 07:04 AM

^talaga?...hindi kaya mas lalong gugulo ang pilipinas nyan? papano mo mapapag isa ang rightist at leftist groups eh they are from different wings...

Bakit hindi puwede ? Lahat sila ay mga Filipinos. Lahat sila ay mga nationlaist at gusto ng malinis na pamahalaan at maunlad na bayan.

Ano ang kaibahan sa leftist and rightist ? only Ideology

Capitalism versus Socialism or Communism. Ang issue na iyon ay pinalaki lang ng mga banyaga dahil sa kanilang geopolitical interest. To me the Americans, Chinese, etc were all imperialist and they were all after their own interest.
So who cares now about " ism ", now is the modern world.

So, walang problema na mag-unite ang mga leftist and rightist.
Lahat sila ay makabayan at handang ialay ang sariling buhay para sa bayan.

Pagualon

August 30th, 2009, 07:05 AM

would u guys say, that the magdalo group is far right wing?

Brandon32

August 30th, 2009, 07:13 AM

Bakit hindi puwede ? Lahat sila ay mga Filipinos. Lahat sila ay mga nationlaist at gusto ng malinis na pamahalaan at maunlad na bayan.

Ano ang kaibahan sa leftist and rightist ? only Ideology

Capitalism versus Socialism or Communism. Ang issue na iyon ay pinalaki lang ng mga banyaga dahil sa kanilang geopolitical interest. To me the Americans, Chinese, etc were all imperialist and they were all after their own interest.
So who cares now about " ism ", now is the modern world.

So, walang problema na mag-unite ang mga leftist and rightist.
Lahat sila ay makabayan at handang ialay ang sariling buhay para sa bayan.

^ ay ganun...diba yan ang pinakamahirap na part kung ang pagkakaiba ng dalawang iyan ay ideology...pag magkaiba ang ideology...never will it be united...sa mag asawa nga lang pagmagkaiba ang ideolohiya ay naghihiwalay eh...yan pa kaya na puro pulitika lang???

demented_pigeon

August 31st, 2009, 12:21 PM

would u guys say, that the magdalo group is far right wing?

I can't say its a right wing group especially when one of its key leaders is dabbling with socialist revolutionaries. I don't think that if a certain rebel group comes from the military, it can immediately be dismissed as right wing. A good example of that is Hugo Chavez the current president of Venezuela who was once a rebel soldier himself. I have to categorize magdalo as being in a transition phase as many of its members are treading unfamiliar political grounds.

Pagualon

September 1st, 2009, 03:43 AM

I can't say its a right wing group especially when one of its key leaders is dabbling with socialist revolutionaries. I don't think that if a certain rebel group comes from the military, it can immediately be dismissed as right wing. A good example of that is Hugo Chavez the current president of Venezuela who was once a rebel soldier himself. I have to categorize magdalo as being in a transition phase as many of its members are treading unfamiliar political grounds.

the magdalos are talking bout nationalism, they see themselves as defendants of the country, coming from the military, and displaying the katipunan sun, is somehow adding up to my suspicion that they are right wing.

nationalism is right wing, socialism is left wing. if they are right wing, i would have great sympathy for them. i dont agree how they carried out their political vision so far, but i have great respect for men, who are nationalists, and deeply love their country, being true patriots.

but in the case of the madalos, its not really clear, if they are positioning themselves as a nationalist movement, specially not after the announced political collaboration with the liberal party. which is somehow center left, from the middle to center left. and right wingers dont work with political movements like that, specially in the case of the liberal party, being somehow related to the whole people power aquino movement and so on.

the army, is rather pro marcos, nowadays pro ping lacson maybe, or should work together with the nationalistas of manny villar. these are the things, that make me somehow confused about this magdalos. where do they politically stand.

fighting corruption and being against arroyo is not really a full spectrum political program, but i am willing to give them the benefit of doubt, and would like to know more, about what they really want and what they stand for, they display the katipunan sun, therefore must have a certain nationalist political philosophy. if they are even far right wing, i would like to see them in a future coalition when manny villar wins the presidency in 2010.

FlashCollider

September 1st, 2009, 05:26 AM

Pagualon

September 1st, 2009, 05:52 AM

Working with an enemy in this case the magdalo with the leftist group is not unity but connivance. I hate groups of people who resort to anything just to grab power ie Oakwood Mutiny and Manila Pen Siege. Magdalo are suffering from Messianic Syndrome which is the highest form of hypocracy.

Ano ang nagawa ng panggugulo nila sa estado ng bansa? wala, nagcause lang sila ng kaguluhan at masamang impresyon sa ating bansa. I rather have an evil whom I know is evil than an evil dressed in sheep's skin. Soldiers are the protector of the constitution, when they start thinking that they are the solution to our problem is the time they start disregarding the constitution. I have so much regard with our soldier but none to Magdalo, they repeatedly undermined the civilian authority which is at all time superior to military as enshrined in our constitution.

yes your comments make sense, i mentioned in my last post, that i do not agree with the way the carried out their political ambitions so far, i.e. oakwood and manila pen.

but it seems the magdalos learned their lesson for the meantime, by trying to gain political influence by campaigning and running for political offices by doing it in a more civil way, and not using force or coups and so on.

i just ask myself if they are somehow the new RAM and if trillanes is somehow the new gringo honasan? its just not easy to really know, what their agenda is all about.

demented_pigeon

September 1st, 2009, 05:59 AM

the magdalos are talking bout nationalism, they see themselves as defendants of the country, coming from the military, and displaying the katipunan sun, is somehow adding up to my suspicion that they are right wing.

nationalism is right wing, socialism is left wing. if they are right wing, i would have great sympathy for them. i dont agree how they carried out their political vision so far, but i have great respect for men, who are nationalists, and deeply love their country, being true patriots.

but in the case of the madalos, its not really clear, if they are positioning themselves as a nationalist movement, specially not after the announced political collaboration with the liberal party. which is somehow center left, from the middle to center left. and right wingers dont work with political movements like that, specially in the case of the liberal party, being somehow related to the whole people power aquino movement and so on.

the army, is rather pro marcos, nowadays pro ping lacson maybe, or should work together with the nationalistas of manny villar. these are the things, that make me somehow confused about this magdalos. where do they politically stand.

fighting corruption and being against arroyo is not really a full spectrum political program, but i am willing to give them the benefit of doubt, and would like to know more, about what they really want and what they stand for, they display the katipunan sun, therefore must have a certain nationalist political philosophy. if they are even far right wing, i would like to see them in a future coalition when manny villar wins the presidency in 2010.

Its a misconception that when a movement displays certain katipunan symbols or claims to be a descendant of the movement that it is right wing. The Kabataang Makabayan contradicts this view especially because its symbol is the baybayin letter K inside a triangle. Its mother party, the CPP also claims its origin from the Katipunan because of its lineage from the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas which had members that were once Katipuneros themselves during its early years.

Also, another misconception is that if a movement is nationalist, it is immediately right wing. Numerous national liberation movement during the 60s disproves this erroneous misconception. We have the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which is one of the more militant faction calling for Palestinian statehood which is marxist. Then we have the African National Congress which fought to abolish white minority rule in South Africa. The ANC is a member of the Socialist International and has been in a longtime partnership with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The most popular example of a leftwing natioinalist movement of course are the Vietnamese Communists under Ho Chi Minh which successfully fought the French and secured a Vietnamese state.

Also, the Liberal Party is center-left, you got that right. But you are wrong to assume that military rebels do not associate with anyone on the left of the spectrum. If you remember the Young Officers Union very well, they nearly split the military aventurists during the time of Cory especially because of their emphasis on ending American Imperialism, a stand that the rightwing pro-Marcos Soldiers of the Filipino People (SFP) did not share nor support.

Also, the military is generally rightwing with the exception of the marine corps which has had its share of military adventurists coming from the YOU movement. It was once commented that if the student movement had the radicals, the military establishment and military rebels had the marine corps.

demented_pigeon

September 1st, 2009, 06:04 AM

Ka Erano G. Manalo, executive minister of the Iglesia ni Cristo has just passed away. My condolences to SSC members who are members of the INC.

Pagualon

September 1st, 2009, 06:36 AM

Its a misconception that when a movement displays certain katipunan symbols or claims to be a descendant of the movement that it is right wing. The Kabataang Makabayan contradicts this view especially because its symbol is the baybayin letter K inside a triangle. Its mother party, the CPP also claims its origin from the Katipunan because of its lineage from the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas which had members that were once Katipuneros themselves during its early years.

Also, another misconception is that if a movement is nationalist, it is immediately right wing. Numerous national liberation movement during the 60s disproves this erroneous misconception. We have the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which is one of the more militant faction calling for Palestinian statehood which is marxist. Then we have the African National Congress which fought to abolish white minority rule in South Africa. The ANC is a member of the Socialist International and has been in a longtime partnership with the South African Communist Party (SACP) and the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU). The most popular example of a leftwing natioinalist movement of course are the Vietnamese Communists under Ho Chi Minh which successfully fought the French and secured a Vietnamese state.

Also, the Liberal Party is center-left, you got that right. But you are wrong to assume that military rebels do not associate with anyone on the left of the spectrum. If you remember the Young Officers Union very well, they nearly split the military aventurists during the time of Cory especially because of their emphasis on ending American Imperialism, a stand that the rightwing pro-Marcos Soldiers of the Filipino People (SFP) did not share nor support.

Also, the military is generally rightwing with the exception of the marine corps which has had its share of military adventurists coming from the YOU movement. It was once commented that if the student movement had the radicals, the military establishment and military rebels had the marine corps.

i agree on many of your points above, in former colonies, nationalism was more of aN anti colonisation movement, to free its people from colonial rule. in the sense of liberation. this might be the reason, why some leftwing movements claim to be descendants of the katipunan movement.

i am talking about the right wing form of nationalism. the marcos version of nationalism if you want, if one goes further on the right side, you end up in fascism. on the extreme left its communism. or just like here...from left to right...

(far left) communism....< socialsm.....< liberalism.....(left wing)....centre......liberalism ->.....conservatism >....nationalism>....fascism (far right)

jpdm

September 1st, 2009, 11:04 AM

nationalism is right wing, socialism is left wing. if they are right wing, i would have great sympathy for them. i dont agree how they carried out their political vision so far, but i have great respect for men, who are nationalists, and deeply love their country, being true patriots.

Me and my group are nationalists, and we come from a broad spectrum of our society. Our group boasts of members from the academe, military, people's organization, government, business sector, non-governmental organizations, religious and students and yet we are neither right wing or left wing.

The point is nationalists are more for the national patrimony and interests and political affiliation is secondary..

Pagualon

September 1st, 2009, 10:15 PM

Me and my group are nationalists, and we come from a broad spectrum of our society. Our group boasts of members from the academe, military, people's organization, government, business sector, non-governmental organizations, religious and students and yet we are neither right wing or left wing.

The point is nationalists are more for the national patrimony and interests and political affiliation is secondary..

you mentiond your group, pls specify, who or what is that group all about?

you said, this group is neither left wing, nor right wing, so where would u place it on the political spectrum? in the political center?

and what does nationalism mean to you, what kind of definition do you have of nationalism?

jpdm

September 2nd, 2009, 06:25 AM

you mentiond your group, pls specify, who or what is that group all about?

you said, this group is neither left wing, nor right wing, so where would u place it on the political spectrum? in the political center?

and what does nationalism mean to you, what kind of definition do you have of nationalism?

NEPA ( founder Araneta and Maramba)

Economic nationalism

Pagualon

September 2nd, 2009, 07:50 AM

NEPA ( founder Araneta and Maramba)

Economic nationalism

there is no data available for this NEPA you are talking about, provide me some informations bout that.

i guess you are talking bout protectionism here, when u mentioned economic nationalism.

bitoy

September 2nd, 2009, 08:55 AM

demented_pigeon

September 2nd, 2009, 05:29 PM

there is no data available for this NEPA you are talking about, provide me some informations bout that.

i guess you are talking bout protectionism here, when u mentioned economic nationalism.

if i may interject some of my opinion, you can also look at the Kilusang Makabayang Ekonomiya since I believe they are of the same strain. You have to understand that some of the people leading these movements are not really internet savvy and it is possible that you have not heard of them or their work in the media. But they are out there.

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 03:27 AM

Chavit beats up common-law wife, lover (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=501828&publicationSubCategoryId=63)

MANILA, Philippines - Deputy National Security Adviser Luis “Chavit” Singson said yesterday he had beaten up his common-law wife and her lover after catching them in bed.

Singson said he had no regrets in hurting “Che,” (http://images.webdiva888.multiply.com/image/18/photos/59/400x400/8.JPG/DSC01098.JPG)the woman with whom he has five children.

“Mabait pa nga ako, hindi ko sila pinatay (I was still good, I did not kill them),” Singson said.

Che filed a complaint against Singson for domestic violence and physical abuse.

But Singson said Che is using the issue for extortion. “I will never settle with her,” he said.

Singson appealed to women’s rights activists not to help Che. He requested the groups “not to let themselves be used for extortion activities.”

Singson said the only thing that concerns him at the moment is the welfare of their five children

Singson showed to reporters at his residence in Corinthian Gardens in Quezon City an envelope of “evidence” against Che and her lover, which, according to him, showed them “in an incriminating situation.”

He said the two were caught in the evening of Aug. 21 in the apartment unit in Quezon City that he had acquired for Che.

He said it was not the first time that Che had cheated on him. Singson said he had previously caught Che with another younger man in a motel.

“Pinalayas ko na siya noon (I kicked her out),” Singson said. He added Che had asked for his forgiveness and his permission to see their five children.

Singson said he forgave Che “for the sake of our children” – who, according to him are aged 16, 13, 12, 9 and 7.

“Eventually, she requested me to get an apartment where she could stay. I agreed and then she asked for (financial) support again,” he said.

“I also told her that if ever she would go back to living with me, I would have her monitored and she agreed to this,” Singson said.

Singson said he was tipped off by a friend to monitor Che’s activities. After two months of surveillance, he confirmed Che was seeing another man.

The former Ilocos Sur governor even described size of the penis of Che’s lover as one for the books.

“Pinakamaliit na ari ang nakita ko, pang Guinness Book of World Records (It was so tiny, it can qualify for the Guinness Book of World Records),” he remarked.Singson said he made an excuse of going home to Vigan.

“Because then I knew that they would use the opportunity to meet each other again in my absence and so I caught them in the act,” he said.

– Reinir Padua, Cecille Surte Felipe, Perseus Echeminada

:lol::lol::lol:

Photo : Rachel Singson (http://webdiva888.multiply.com/photos/album/59/2007_July_Trips_to_Manila_and_Makati##photo=8.JPG)

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 03:51 AM

there is no data available for this NEPA you are talking about, provide me some informations bout that.

Why?

i guess you are talking bout protectionism here, when u mentioned economic nationalism.

Your point?

if i may interject some of my opinion, you can also look at the Kilusang Makabayang Ekonomiya since I believe they are of the same strain. You have to understand that some of the people leading these movements are not really internet savvy and it is possible that you have not heard of them or their work in the media. But they are out there.

Correct, DP.:)

Very true. Like me.

Some members of NEPA are active members of KME.:)

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 04:08 AM

Peaceful Philippines?

Shot dead - a witness for the Dacer Corbito slay case.

Dacer-Corbito murders witness slain in Cavite (http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/02/09/dacer-corbito-murders-witness-slain-cavite)

Tsinoy kidnapped found dead.

Couple murdered in Sorsogon (http://abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/regions/09/02/09/couple-murdered-sorsogon)

Businessman in Zambales shot dead by armed men.

Ikaw naman sa 90 million population ilang percentage ba yan sa total.

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 04:52 AM

Ikaw naman sa 90 million population ilang percentage ba yan sa total.

Ano ang percentage para maging significant sa iyo? Hindi ko pa nga dinagdag yung ibang patayan from other dailies on that same day.

And the last one on that list, I just found out he was our distant relative from Zambales. Napagkamalan pang Koreano sa unang report dahil Lee ang apelyido.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090901-223027/Businessman_shot_dead_in_Zambales

Hopefully, wala kang kaibigan o kamag-anak na matutumba dahil sa percentage acceptance mo of heinous crimes commited daily in Pinas.

TeslaCoil

September 3rd, 2009, 04:53 AM

Ikaw naman sa 90 million population ilang percentage ba yan sa total.

Mas peaceful daw kasi sa America minus the gang wars:lol:

Jarvijarv

September 3rd, 2009, 07:44 AM

Here in the U.S., the cable channel National Geographic is showing the series called Locked Up Abroad: Abu Sayaf kidnaps a missionary. The actual missionary is narrating his experience. A disturbing part is during the scenes a caption is posted "Kidnapping in the Philippines is so common, it is considered(?) the kidnapping capital of the world". Wow! This makes us even worse than Nigeria?? This show can make you very angry! The beatings, beheadings....inhuman mentality!! :rant:

But I'm an optimist. I know the government recently has done an aggressive crackdown and total elimination has been ordered. Many soldiers have sacrificed their lives. This show exposes the Abu Sayaf to the world and why their eradication is justified. Terrorism, kidnapping, extortion must NEVER win!! :righton:

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 08:07 AM

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 09:24 AM

Ano ang percentage para maging significant sa iyo? Hindi ko pa nga dinagdag yung ibang patayan from other dailies on that same day.

And the last one on that list, I just found out he was our distant relative from Zambales. Napagkamalan pang Koreano sa unang report dahil Lee ang apelyido.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20090901-223027/Businessman_shot_dead_in_Zambales

Hopefully, wala kang kaibigan o kamag-anak na matutumba dahil sa percentage acceptance mo of heinous crimes commited daily in Pinas.

O, easy lang pre..wag kang magagalit..at wag mong isama kaibigan at kamag-anak ko dito...:bash:

I sympathized if relative mo yung naging biktima.

Its not that I dont care..heading kasi ng post mo ..peaceful Philippines? then these murders..

We are over 90 million, unfortunately, these terrible things happen, but

Ano gusto mong sabihin that murder is massive and widespread here?

O cge para hindi na pumutok butsi mo eto...

Thinker
October 01, 2008

Caracas: Murder capital of the world

By David Paulin

Caracas now ranks as the world's No. 1 murder capital, according to Foreign Policy magazine. When I was a Caracas-based journalist in the 1990s, Colombia's Bogotá was the world's No. 1 murder capital.How might Venezuela's murder rate compare to the rate of violent deaths in Iraq? Indeed, as Iraq's violence soared in 2006, Venezuela was itself a combat zone with 12,557 reported murders. That amounted to 34 murders per day -- or the rough equivalent of the lives snuffed out by a typical suicide bombing in Iraq; it population is about the same size as Venezuela's 27 million.

According to Foreign Policy's reckoning, Venezuela's murder rate is well ahead of four other top murder capitals that (in order of those boasting the worst rates) are: Cape Town, South Africa; New Orleans; Moscow; and Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea.

In the so-called "Rainbow Nation" of South Africa Cape Town suffered a 12.7 percent spike in its murder rate from 2006 to 2007 with 62 murders per 100,000) in the city of 3.5 million.

Foreign Policy observed of the city's murder rate: "Estimates range from 67 (New Orleans Police Department) to 95 (Federal Bureau of Investigation) per 100,000."

Then there's Moscow's murder rate, an "estimated" 9.6 per 100,000. It's "nothing compared to Caracas or Cape town, but the city still ranks way above other major European capitals," Foreign Policy noted. "London, Paris, Rome, and Madrid, for instance, all had rates below 2 murders per 100,000 in 2006."

In Papua New Guinea, the murder rate was 54 per 100,000, according to official 2004 statistics. The violence is driven by gang activity and "high levels" of police corruption, according to Foreign Policy, which observed:

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 09:29 AM

eto pa...

Intentional Homicides Per 100,000 People, 2000-2004
Ranked Lowest to Highest

Rank Country/Region Rate
------- ---------------------------- ----------
1 Myanmar 0.2
2 Sudan 0.3
3 Egypt 0.4
4 Japan 0.5
5 Singapore 0.5
6 Botswana 0.5
7 Morocco 0.5
8 Madagascar 0.5
9 Hong Kong 0.6
10 United Arab Emirates 0.6
11 Oman 0.6
12 Vanuatu 0.7
13 Greece 0.8
14 Denmark 0.8
15 Austria 0.8
16 Norway 0.8
17 Qatar 0.8
18 Ireland 0.9
19 Luxembourg 0.9
20 Saudi Arabia 0.9
21 Jordan 0.9
22 Iceland 1
23 Netherlands 1
24 Germany 1
25 Kuwait 1
26 Bahrain 1
27 Indonesia 1.1
28 Syria 1.1
29 Spain 1.2
30 Italy 1.2
31 Tunisia 1.2
32 Australia 1.3
33 New Zealand 1.3
34 Maldives 1.3
35 Brunei 1.4
36 Algeria 1.4
37 Belgium 1.5
38 Slovenia 1.5
39 Nigeria 1.5
40 France 1.6
41 Poland 1.6
42 Cyprus 1.7
43 Chile 1.7
44 Fiji 1.7
45 Portugal 1.8
46 Malta 1.8
47 Croatia 1.8
48 Canada 1.9
49 Tonga 2
50 United Kingdom 2.1
51 Hungary 2.1
52 China 2.1
53 Korea South 2.2
54 Czech Republic 2.2
55 Slovakia 2.3
56 F.Y.R.O.Macedonia 2.3
57 Sweden 2.4
58 Romania 2.4
59 Malaysia 2.4
60 Azerbaijan 2.4
61 Mauritius 2.5
62 Armenia 2.5
63 Israel 2.6
64 Finland 2.8
65 Dominica 2.8
66 Bolivia 2.8
67 Switzerland 2.9
68 Iran 2.9
69 Bulgaria 3.1
70 Nepal 3.4
71 India 3.7
72 Turkey 3.8
73 Yemen 4
74 Palestinian Territories 4
75 Philippines 4.3
76 Sant Kitts andNevis 4.8
77 Peru 5.5
78 United States 5.6
79 Uruguay 5.6
80 Albania 5.7
81 Lebanon 5.7
82 Costa Rica 6.2
83 Georgia 6.2
84 Sao Tome and Principe 6.2
85 Namibia 6.3
86 Sri Lanka 6.7
87 Moldova 6.7
88 Estonia 6.8
89 Seychelles 7.4
90 Ukraine 7.4
91 Uganda 7.4
92 Barbados 7.5
93 Tanzania 7.5
94 Tajikistan 7.6
95 Kyrgyzstan 8
96 Belarus 8.3
97 Zimbabwe 8.4
98 Thailand 8.5
99 Latvia 8.6
100 Papua New Guinea 9.1
101 Lithuania 9.4
102 Argentina 9.5
103 Panama 9.6
104 Suriname 10.3
105 Paraguay 12.6
106 Nicaragua 12.8
107 Mongolia 12.8
108 Mexico 13
109 Swaziland 13.6
110 Guyana 13.8
111 Bahamas 15.9
112 Kazakhstan 16.8
113 Ecuador 18.3
114 Russia 19.9
115 Guatemala 25.5
116 El Salvador 31.5
117 Venezuela 33.2
118 Jamaica 34.4
119 South Africa 47.5
120 Lesotho 50.7
121 Colombia 62.7

Source:World Fact Book

Data for the following table were reported by the United Nations Development Programme. For explanations, please refer to the notes below the table.

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 09:38 AM

Peaceful Philippines?

Shot dead - a witness for the Dacer Corbito slay case.

Dacer-Corbito murders witness slain in Cavite (http://abs-cbnnews.com/nation/09/02/09/dacer-corbito-murders-witness-slain-cavite)

Tsinoy kidnapped found dead.

Couple murdered in Sorsogon (http://abs-cbnnews.com/video/nation/regions/09/02/09/couple-murdered-sorsogon)

Businessman in Zambales shot dead by armed men.

Setting aside the unfortunate event that happened like this 4 murders (of course these incidents should be condemned especially if your relative was involved)...so why the heading peaceful Philippines? and these 4 murders?

What idea or scenario are you painting?

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 09:52 AM

O, easy lang pre..wag kang magagalit..at wag mong isama kaibigan at kamag-anak ko dito...:bash:

I sympathized if relative mo yung naging biktima.

Its not that I dont care..heading kasi ng post mo ..peaceful Philippines? then these murders..

We are over 90 million, unfortunately, these terrible things happen, but

Ano gusto mong sabihin that murder is massive and widespread here?

O cge para hindi na pumutok butsi mo eto...

Basura yang data mo ng homicide dahil patayan lang nailagay ko dito --- kung yan lang ang alam mo na krimen at kaguluhan na nangyayari sa Pinas, kulang pa ang balitang nasasagap mo.

Ano ang scenario na ibig kong palabasin?, ayan, malinaw ---

Peaceful ba sa Pilipinas?

Kung ang sagot mo ay "OO", eh di tapos!

Puwede ring sabihin mo na 99 % peaceful. :lol:

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 10:03 AM

Basura yang data mo ng homicide dahil patayan lang nailagay ko dito --- kung yan lang ang alam mo na krimen at kaguluhan na nangyayari sa Pinas, kulang pa ang balitang nasasagap mo.

Ano ang scenario na ibig kong palabasin?, ayan, malinaw ---

Peaceful ba sa Pilipinas?

Kung ang sagot mo ay "OO", eh di tapos!

Puwede ring sabihin mo na 99 % peaceful. :lol:

whatever.:lol:

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 10:04 AM

^^ There we agree, 99% peaceful... e di tapos... :lol:

Pero maraming hindi na bilang na balita galing Mindanao...

Ok, we leave it that way for now.

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 10:05 AM

^^ There we agree, 99% peaceful... e di tapos... :lol:

hindi.:lol:

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 10:07 AM

Eh di hindi peaceful... :lol:

jpdm

September 3rd, 2009, 10:16 AM

Eh di hindi peaceful... :lol:

sa yo:lol:

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 08:03 PM

Mikey may face criminal charges for alleged ill-gotten wealth - lawyer (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=502156&publicationSubCategoryId=63)

MANILA, Philippines - Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo could face criminal charges in the US and the Philippines for alleged ill-gotten wealth when he admitted that he received gifts and owned property in the US during a television interview, a lawyer said yesterday.

Speaking at the Daungan ng Balita at the Danarra Hotel in Quezon City, Harry Roque said Arroyo has practically plunged himself into legal quicksand when he admitted assets and liabilities amounting to more than P100 million when he is earning P2.5 million as a lawmaker.

“For accepting expensive gifts Representative Arroyo has violated anti-graft and internal revenue code laws which carry stiff prison terms,” he said.

Roque said public officials accepting gifts in cash or in kind violates the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

On the other hand, under the law, expensive gifts must be reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue where the donor and donee will have to pay a 30-percent tax, he added.

Roque said Arroyo could also be held liable for violating laws on unexplained wealth because more than P100 million in assets is a far cry from an annual salary of P400,000.

“Any asset that cannot be explained is ill- gotten and must be seized in favor of the government,” he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

magic! :lol:

manila_eye

September 3rd, 2009, 08:24 PM

^^ So hindi good news sayo na makasuhan si Mikey na may ill-gotten wealth?

bitoy

September 3rd, 2009, 08:38 PM

Kelan naman nakasuhan ang pamilya Arroyo?

Nuong nahuli yung pagimport ng kabayo ni Mikey na walang tax naglaho na lang yung imbestigasyon. Ganyan din ang mangyayari dito.

Yung mga nang-libre kay GMA sa mga lavish dinners, wala ng balita, ito pa.

Bibilib ako kung may magtangkang magsampa ng kaso kay Mikey.

Askal82

September 4th, 2009, 05:58 AM

^^
Mikey may face criminal charges for alleged ill-gotten wealth - lawyer (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=502156&publicationSubCategoryId=63)

MANILA, Philippines - Pampanga Rep. Mikey Arroyo could face criminal charges in the US and the Philippines for alleged ill-gotten wealth when he admitted that he received gifts and owned property in the US during a television interview, a lawyer said yesterday.

Speaking at the Daungan ng Balita at the Danarra Hotel in Quezon City, Harry Roque said Arroyo has practically plunged himself into legal quicksand when he admitted assets and liabilities amounting to more than P100 million when he is earning P2.5 million as a lawmaker.

“For accepting expensive gifts Representative Arroyo has violated anti-graft and internal revenue code laws which carry stiff prison terms,” he said.

Roque said public officials accepting gifts in cash or in kind violates the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

On the other hand, under the law, expensive gifts must be reported to the Bureau of Internal Revenue where the donor and donee will have to pay a 30-percent tax, he added.

Roque said Arroyo could also be held liable for violating laws on unexplained wealth because more than P100 million in assets is a far cry from an annual salary of P400,000.

“Any asset that cannot be explained is ill- gotten and must be seized in favor of the government,” he said.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

magic! :lol:

The headline should be reworded to make it credible:

Mikey may face criminal charges for alleged ill-gotten wealth - liar (http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=502156&publicationSubCategoryId=63)

:lol::lol:

Pagualon

September 4th, 2009, 06:26 AM