Julius Babao, Pres. Arroyo, Dawud Santos and Jonathan Tiongco
November 7th, 2005 at 8:19 am (General, National Politics, Media)
These past few days, there have been so much talk and discussion about how Julius Babao was accused by no less than Pres. Arroyo of posting bail for alleged terrorist Dawud Santos.
Unfortunately, for Julius Babao, who I believe to be innocent, Pres. Arroyo lacks the humility to admit that she was wrong. (I believe she also hasn’t asked for forgiveness for announcing to the country that another “terrorist” has been captured even if the military admitted that they got the wrong guy.) And even if the President and her cohorts were already proven wrong by the records which said that Julius Babao didn’t post the pail, they still continue to insist that Julius Babao did something wrong, and they continue to justify their actions.
Now, what does Jonathan Tiongco have to do with all this mess? Apparently, it was Jonathan Tiongco who actually (as shown in the records and as testified by Babao) posted the bail for Dawud Santos. For those who can’t seem to remember who Tiongco is, he was the “audio expert” presented by Sec. Mike Defensor to the media to testify that the “Hello Garci” tapes were spliced. He is also the topic of the controversial PCIJ Blog entry which was ordered a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) from the Quezon City Regional Trial Court (RTC).
Ahhh, the plot thickens. It does seem like something from a very bad teleserye. And it does call for the use of the tired cliché: “Truth is stranger than fiction.”
Julius Babao is fighting to protect his image and reputation. The President and her men are steadfast that their accusation is reasonable considering the so-called “circumstantial evidence” they allegedly have against Babao. Dawud Santos and Jonathan Tiongco are, for now, merely names without faces since both of them have been hiding for one reason or another. So basically, it’s down to Babao’s words (as well as those of Santos’ wife who denied that Babao posted bail for Dawud) against the President and her men. Luckily for Babao, his home station, ABS-CBN, have apparently supported him in this issue. Personally, I think that Babao should file a libel/slander case against the President and her men who continue to stand by their weak allegations.
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Liz said,
November 12, 2005 at 11:07 pm
Hi, I am a university student in the US. I am doing some research on the pork barrel and budgetary issues of the Phillipines. I am currently working on the fiscal years 2001, 2002 and 2003.
I was wondering if anyone can help me because I usually obtain figures and information from the dbm website which has been unavailable for more than two weeks. I wonder if anyone knows any helpful website and sources where I can get more information on the allocations of budgets etc,
Thanks
gayl said,
December 2, 2005 at 8:49 am
Try the phil. senate website and the philippine center for investigative journalism (pcij) website.
Monroe said,
December 16, 2005 at 12:48 am
People, you saw how the CIDG treated Gen. Abat Et Al. If you think that was nasty, you aint seen nothing yet! Remember Al Ghozi? Yeah… well his warden will be appointed as CIDG Chief. Yes. This is the same guy who was also the PNP-ATO Chief implicated to the killing of Lilia Diaz! Not to forget… The Anti Terror Bill is also being passed. So watch out everyone. No senior citzen, retired general, junior officer, media man, lawyer, politician, activist… Let’s welcome Al Ghozi’s warden to the CIDG!