Alleba Politics

These past weeks, one of the main issues that I have read and heard about is the depleting water supply in the Angat Dam causing a water shortage. Unfortunately, it may also cause a power shortage. This is, a lot of people contend, due to the climate change phenomenon. And I must agree. Although this is a very alarming emergency, the government and civil society should see this as a golden opportunity to educate the public and move towards a more environmentally-sound governance and public awareness and lifestyle.

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You must live under a rock if you don’t know what I’m talking about. Yesterday, another shameful Filipino legend was born… Armando “Jun” Ducat Jr.! This attention-seeking joke of a person hostaged 26 (that’s 20 plus six) pre-schoolers, allegedly, to get the attention of the local and international media and “lecture” them on the demons of the Philippine goverment. Ironic does not even begin to describe what happened.

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PCIJ reports that PGMA has hired a US-based law firm to lobby for funding from the US Congress for Cha-cha.

Former Presidential Commission on Good Government Chairperson Haydee Yorac succumbs to cancer.

Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines President Davao Archbishop Fernando Capalla urges the nation to move forward.

Half of the supposed 50 members fo the so-called Consultative Commision or ConCom that will formulate and recommend constitutional reforms have been selected by PGMA. This has been confirmed by Presidential Management Staff Chief Rigoberto Tiglao. The ConCom is scheduled to start working by September 15 and will work for about two and a half months.

Former Sr. Supt. Michael Ray Aquino was arrested by the FBI for allegedly conspiring to steal classified information on Philippine government officials. He is said to be a former aide of Sen. Ping Lacson.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer asks, “Hostage to Politics?“:

Today, the question has only deepened; we wonder whether the “costs” of the favorable impeachment vote in last Tuesday’s plenary session may have been too prohibitive. In other words: Has the President been fatally compromised? Is she now a hostage to all the politicians she is presumed to have cut a deal with or promised a favor to, in order to survive?

The Philippine Star talks about the “Merit System“:

It has been decades since promotions in the Philippine military were based on merit rather than connections. Ferdinand Marcos needed the military to enforce his dictatorship, and used promotions and appointments as rewards for loyalty. Demoralization over those rewards led to the creation of a reformist movement in the AFP that in 1986 triggered the people power revolt. The dictatorship ended, but the AFP remained politicized for a long time, with power-hungry cliques attempting coup after coup to install their political patrons at Malacañang.

Malaya writes about “A Slap on the AFP Face“:

It was a slap on the face of the whole AFP leadership. The Board of Generals is made up of the chief of staff, the vice chief, the deputy chief and the chiefs of the three major services. The collective decision of all these six people who run the AFP is to be blithely ignored in the name of “commander-in-chief’s prerogative?”

The Manila Times explains “The peace process as a chess game“:

Just days after reopening informal talks with the government panel in Norway, the NDF abruptly changed its mind, dashing hopes that the long-frozen formal negotiations could finally be thawed out by next month. The NDF explained that the government side had failed to act on the communists’ demand to have itself, the Communist Party of the Philippines and the New People’s Army removed from the list of terrorist organizations drawn up by the United States and several other governments.

Manny Pacquiao knocked out Hector Velazquez in the 6th round of their bout in USA.

PGMA is confident that Vice-President Noli de Castro is capable of running the country while she attends the 60th UN General Assembly in New York, USA.

A Filipina maid in Singapore faces the death penalty for killing another Filipina.

Lt. Gen. Generoso Senga, chief of the Armed Forces, conducted a press conference to deny reports that junior military officers are about to side with the opposition with PGMA is out fo the country.

The Department of Tourism is set to target Russia as a tourism market.

The peso is still at P56.06 per dollar.

The opposition will not bring the impeachment case to the Supreme Court.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo surprisingly appointed Philippine Armed Forces deputy Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Edilberto Adan as Southern Command Chief. Earlier, the AFP Board of Generals recommended Maj. Gen. Samuel Bagasin. PGMA’s surprise appointment of Adan raised a lot of eyebrows.

Rep Imee Marcos admits that she was absent during the voting for the adoption of the House Justice Committee report on the impeachment cases because of her mom’s stand to side with Arroyo.

Officials in the Malacañang are apparently not aware that the national government hired a lobby firm in the United States to lobby for grants from the US Congress to support the Charter change.

Sen. Richard Gordon expresses his dismay at an alleged trade-off between President Arroyo and Rep. Eulogio Magsaysay. Allegedly, the planned revocation of an EO banning the importation of used vehicles into Subic Bay is the price for Rep. Magsaysay’s withdrawal of his signature in the impeachment cases. Gordon threatens to break off his political ties with the president (which is definitely something that the president would not want to happen). Gordon also bared that about P26 billion in tax collections were lost in the last three years due to the smuggling into Subic Bay of second-hand vehicles, tobacco products and liquor in Subic.

Meanwhile, Sec. Ermita denies that there is a plan to lift the ban on the importation of second-hand vehicles into Subic Bay.

Sen. Ralph Recto bared that the national government used the controversial road users’ tax to create “street sweeping” jobs for the first half of 2005. 370,000 of these jobs were created, which Recto pointed out, is much more than the jobs created in the agriculture sector during the same period.

As the leadership of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines changes on December 1, 2005, the pastoral stand of the group is likely to change too.

Both Shell and Caltex raised their petrol prices by P0.50/liter.

The peso is at P56.06 per US dollar.

The incoming president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, Jaro Archbishop Angel Lagdameo states that the junking of the three impeachment cases “is not the end of the case.” He reiterates that GMA can still resign.

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita denies that GMA attempted to bribe the legislators to vote in favor of adopting the House Justice Committee report. Meanwhile, Bulacan Rep. Pedro Pancho confirmed that he was offered projects worth multi-million pesos in exchange for his vote.

Dinky Soliman says that the rallies yesterday are just precursors to bigger protests calling for the resignation of GMA.

Rep. Imee Marcos finally arrives from her spur of the moment trip abroad but avoids the media.

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago tells the CBCP to stay out of politics.

The government FINALLY confirms that Virgilio “Garci” Garcilliano left the country.

The peso is weak at 56.095 per $.

Both PDI and Philippine Star had showed the same image in their respective front pages: Akbayan Rep. Risa Hontiveros Baraquel, Anakpawis Rep. Crispin Beltran, Senator Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Bro. Eddie Villanueva, former President Corazon “Cory” Aquino, Susan Roces, and Fr. Armin Luistro together marching towards Batasan.

Rep. Imee Marcos was a no show at the voting for the adoption of the House Justice Committee report on the impeachment cases.

A house insider allegedly reported that it was Iglesia ni Kristo (INC) which tipped the balance in favor of GMA.

The hunt for former COMELEC Commissioner Virgilio “Garci” Garcilliano is now global.

Rep. Ace Barbers, Rep. Edmund Reyes Jr., and Rep. Robert Jaworksi Jr. may be sanctioned by Lakas. Currently, Barbers is the Chair of the House Committee on Accounts, Reyes is the Chair of the Committee on Education and Jaworski is the Vice-Chair of the Committee of Housing.

In the international front, New Orleans (USA) Mayor Ray Nagin stated that the death toll of Hurricane Katrina might rise to 10,000.

The impeachment was finally killed off with 158 yes votes. Only 51 voted to reject the report of the House Justice Committee. Meanwhile, 6 legislators proved themselves to be useless and spineless by abstaining.

Cory Aquino, Susan Roces, the Lasallite Brothers, et al marched to the Batasan. Read the rest of this entry »

Former President Corazon Aquino has expressed her support for a People Power if the situation calls for it.

Rep. Marcoleta ungentlemanly attacked Dinky Soliman in a privilege speech in the Lower House.

Rene de Villa has expressed his willingness to be the head of the transition caretaker government, if, according to him, it is the clamor of the people.

President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is confident that she will not be impeached.

Senator Nene Pimentel has accused the President of offering “pork barrel” to possible swing votes in the Congress.

Archbishop Vidal defends accepting money from PAGCOR. He states that the funds go to helping the poor.

Anti- and pro-impeachment legislators extend privilege hour in the House plenary, delaying the submission of the Justice Committee report on the impeachment cases against the President.