•  victimizing male children for their below normal profligacy and immoral excesses.

•  the exceedingly huge bribes and skim from drug trafficking syndicates and irregular drug operations - among many others.

the question is how long have the maricon and his "sisters" been tied together by their very intestines?  since when all the hoards of money were still flowing freely?

Questions on assets to confront Lacson
GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc
The Philippine Star 09/05/2005

Wednesday 2 p.m. in California (Thursday 5 a.m. in Manila) is Sen. Panfilo Lacson's moment of reckoning. Faced with a bench warrant, he must show up at the Superior Court in Alameda County to pay damages of $31,262 to a Filipino-American businesswoman, whose handcuff supply to the Philippine National Police he had reneged as its chief in 1999. Paying up is the easy part. Lacson's office announced last week that friends in the US would advance part of the equivalent of P1.7 million. That may not be the end of it, though. The controversial politician is also under the judge's order to explain how he intends to recompense Blanquita Pelaez with clean money. On pain of contempt of court, he must submit bank statements, real estate titles, business books, car registrations, stock certificates, insurance policies, and other proof of wealth – in compliance with US money-laundering laws. That could unravel details of Lacson's alleged hidden wealth that a Senate inquiry in 2001 did not disclose.

Pelaez's lawyer Rodel Rodis gives a preview of what is to come, in an article written for Fil-Ams entitled "Questions to Ask Lacson." Excerpts:

"Lacson apparently doesn't like me. In interviews with Manila dailies and radio stations on Aug. 20, he called me a liar for telling an ABS-CBN reporter that Judge Barbara Miller had issued a bench warrant for him. He insisted this wasn't true. Unfortunately for him, the TV reporter (Christi Morales) was present in court on Aug. 17 when Judge Miller rejected the excuses of Lacson's counsel for why he didn't show up at the hearing. The judge then ordered that a bench warrant be issued. The warrant would be withheld until Sept. 7, Judge Miller said, when Lacson will be given a final opportunity to appear in court to answer questions about his assets.

"Assuming he will appear at the hearing to lift the bench warrant, I will finally be able to ask Lacson what I was going to ask him on Mar. 5, 2003, the date the first order of examination (OEX) that I applied for on Jan. 13, 2003. I had personally served Lacson the OEX at a Manila TV talk show called Strictly Politics on Jan. 21, 2003.

"In that TV program Lacson had publicly declared he was willing to go to the Superior Court on Mar. 5 to answer my questions under oath. It would be a chance to clear the record, he said. But the senator then did everything he could to void or avoid the OEX hearing. He retained lawyers in San Francisco to set aside the default judgment I had obtained against him.

"Over the last two-and-a-half years since then, Lacson's lawyers tried to throw out the case for lack of jurisdiction, but succeeded only in reducing the amount of the judgment. After the matter had gone through various hearings and submissions of innumerable briefs, the judgment against defendant Panfilo Lacson remained. I was finally able to apply to the court for another OEX to compel Lacson to appear in court to answer my questions under oath.

"Lacson was served the OEX on Aug. 1, 'sneakily' he claimed, but in conformity with California law. He was required to appear in court on Aug. 17 and he didn't; thus, the bench warrant.

"Lacson has once again announced that he is willing to appear in court on Sept. 7 to answer all my questions. And once again, I believe, he will do everything to avoid it. But if Lacson does show up, I am prepared to ask him questions about his assets.

"I will ask him about the home he purchased on 1011 Laguna Seca Loop in Chula Vista, California, on Mar. 1, 1996. Where did he get the money to buy it? When he sold it on July 20, 1999, where did he deposit the proceeds? Did he then buy the property on 2305 Sea Island Place in Chula Vista? What other properties did he purchase?

"According to his Apr. 22, 1996 bank statement, Lacson had two bank accounts in his name at a Bank of America branch in Rancho Cordova, California. One was an interest checking account (17471-00188), the other a regular savings account (17478-00046), together totaling $104,793.26. His Oct. 23, 1996 bank statement showed that his two accounts had risen to $178,544.88. In 1996 Lacson was chief of the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission. What was his salary then? After he closed these two bank accounts, where did he transfer his funds?

"On Nov. 13, 2000, Lacson remitted $100,000 to his wife Alice at her Bank of America account in Woodman Sherman branch, Van Nuys, California, through the Bank of New York. Two days later on Nov. 15 the amount of $49,980 was sent by Teresita Go to her same Bank of America account through HSBC Bank in New York. On Nov. 27, $149,980 was remitted to her same account also through HSBC-New York. On Dec. 26 another $144,339.62 was again remitted to the same account through the Bank of New York. Where did all this money come from and what happened to it?

"On Jan. 8, 2001, Lacson's wife had two Bank of America accounts (24306-01369 and 24301-01390) totaling $356,464.54. Where did this money come from?

"Four months later on May 8, 2001, these same accounts had $251,174.25 left. From these two accounts on June 5, 2001, Lacson's wife withdrew $246,199.25. Where was this money transferred?

"From that Bank of America account, Lacson's wife made two checks to purchase two Toyota Sequoia SUVs from Longo Toyota in Sacramento, one on Dec. 3, 2000 for $50,000, the other on Dec. 27, 2000 also for $50,000. Where are these SUVs now?

"On Dec. 27, 2000, Lacson's wife formed a limited liability company called Orient Light LLC, with corporate papers filed with the California Secretary of State on Jan. 8, 2001. On Mar. 16, 2001, Lacson's wife made two checks to Orient Light Freight Intl. Inc. (Nos. 106 and 107), each in the amount of $50,000. On Apr. 6, 2001, Alice filed a statement of information on Orient Light LLC as 'President/CEO' of the limited liability company. This was filed in Sacramento on Apr. 10, 2001. Are Orient Light LLC and Orient Light Freight Intl. Inc. the same or are they two separate entities? Do Lacson and wife still have an interest in these two businesses?

"On Mar. 14, 2001, Lacson's wife withdrew $100,000 from her Bank of America account No. 24301-01390. Where was this money transferred?

"Earlier on Mar. 8, 2001, a Wells Fargo Bank account (201-8575365) was opened in the name of Orient Light LLC, with the account signatories listed as Robert Co, president, and Alice, vice president. On Apr. 17, 2001, the monthly statement of this bank account showed an ending balance of $200,098. What happened to the assets of this LLC? Is this LLC still operating?

"On Sept 7 I will grill Lacson about his assets. His lawyers may pose objections. In the end he will be required to answer my questions.

"Will Lacson appear for his OEX on Sept. 7?"

* * *

E-mail: jariusbondoc@workmail.com

The destabilizers are at their best element again. 

Anti-Arroyo coalition starts rallies to support impeachment

Former president Corazon Aquino, Jesus is Lord movement leader Eddie Villanueva, members of the civil society and the academe joined forces Monday and urged the public to march to Batasan Pambansa and support the impeachment of President Arroyo.

"We seek the truth. We want the truth to come out... but every avenue to find the truth is blocked," the group said in a press conference at the De La Salle University.

Mrs. Aquino said Susan Roces, wife of late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr, will join Villanueva and civil society members in front of St. Peter's Church in Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon City, on Tuesday for an interfaith rally.

"Para sa ating bayan magkita-kita tayong lahat [sa Batasan]. Umaasa ako na makakamit natin ang katotohanan (To my countrymen, let us all meet at the Batasan. I firmly hope that we will find the truth)," Mrs. Aquino said.

She called on congressmen to support the impeachment process. She added that she hopes the pro-impeachment bloc will be able to muster 79 votes to overturn the House of Representatives Committee on Justice report that junked the impeachment complaint.

"I am here to support the statement of unity," the former president said.

Villanueva said the people must support the constitutional process and not supress the truth. "Lahat po ng Pilipinong nagmamahal sa Diyos at sa bayan [ay makiisa sa pagkilos] (Every Filipino that loves God and country should join the movement)," he said.

Among those who attended the press conference were Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, Bayan Muna party-list Rep.Satur Ocampo, Fr. Robert Reyes, Freedom from Debt Coalition president Ana Maria Nemenzo, Renato Constantino, Manuel Manolo Quezon III, San Juan Mayor Juan Victo Ejercito and singer Leah Navarro.

Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo, however, said the movement is not seeking for the truth but only wants to remove the President.

"They are not asking for the truth, they just want the President to go. Let the public not be mistaken," Saludo told ANC.

He said that aside from the impeachment process, various government agencies could conduct separate probes to investigate allegations against the President.

He added that he supports the movement's right to hold peaceful protests outside Congress.

The President has been accused of betrayal of public trust and election fraud, among other allegations. The House of Representatives is set to meet in plenary on Monday to discuss the House justice committee report junking the impeachment complaints.

--------------------------------

There is no more hope for these power-hungry, conceited, selfish, self-centered and greedy for money creatures.  No mind that nothing is being done in the country anymore that is forward moving and everyone appears to be dragged to the bottom-most of the pits.  Let us all therefore pray that the rain pours hard and heavy and the winds drive these demon-possessed fools away!

Amen.

Betrayal of trust and confidence
COMMONSENSE By Marichu A. Villanueva
The Philippine Star 09/02/2005

I almost puked when I saw and heard again two former Cabinet officials of President Arroyo making public testimonies to their purported personal knowledge of more cases of her alleged indiscretions to save herself from ouster by impeachment.

The two, Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, former secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Florencio Abad, ex-Department of Education (Dep-Ed) secretary, made the latest accusations against Mrs. Arroyo in a press conference in Makati City last Tuesday.

The two ex-Cabinet officials are members of the so-called "Hyatt 10" who resigned from their respective posts and joined the calls for the resignation of President Arroyo from office after she apologized for a "lapse in judgment" during last year's May elections.

Soliman, with her signature brightly colored hair streak, dished out with a cracked voice near tears, her "true confession" about a supposed conversation she allegedly overheard between President Arroyo and presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio.

What was disgusting was the fact that while Soliman could indeed be telling the truth, she could not possibly have had this opportunity to be within hearing distance of such conversation of Mrs. Arroyo and Claudio at the Palace had she not been a member of the official family of the President.

In the case of Abad, the former Dep-Ed secretary revealed official discussions that they, as former Cabinet members, had with the President on why she should not heed demands for the removal of some of her administration officials associated with her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.

As alter-egos of the President, these "kiss-and-tell" antics of Dinky and Abad spoke ill of the quality of the Cabinet that Mrs. Arroyo has for her official family.

Let's compare them to Cabinet officials of two former Presidents of the Republic who were ousted from office after losing popular support, specifically, the late Ferdinand Marcos and deposed President Joseph Estrada.

The two former Presidents were both thrown out of office. Marcos was kicked out during the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution while Estrada was herded out during the so-called EDSA-2 in January 2001. Mrs. Arroyo's former Cabinet officials wanted her ousted.

Except former Defense Minister Juan Ponce-Enrile who led the military mutineers in 1986, no bitter words were ever spoken by the Marcos Cabinet members against their former leader if only to save their own skin when the administration of former President Corazon Aquino took over the government.

Former Prime Minister and at the same time Finance Minister Ceasar E.A. Virata and former Central Bank Governor and later Education Minister Jaime Laya are still around but they never spoke ill of the late leader who until now has never been convicted of the alleged crimes imputed to him.

Not one of Estrada's Cabinet members, not even former Trade and Industry Secretary and now Senator Mar Roxas III bad-mouthed the deposed President when he left his Cabinet at the height of the impeachment in Congress in 2000.

It was only Roxas and former Science and Technology Secretary Felimon Uriarte who resigned from the Estrada Cabinet when he was impeached. In the case of Uriarte, the former DOST secretary was pressured by his Couples for Christ colleagues to resign.

A tearful Uriarte even asked permission from and apologized to Estrada before he made public his curt resignation without any drama nor theatrics as to why he did so. He has kept his peace since then.

They stuck it out through thick and thin with their maligned Chief Executive true to their sworn oaths of office and will take to their graves the dark secrets of their tenure.

Estrada's former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu and former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado cannot be considered in this category because the two left the previous administration in totally different circumstances.

Estrada gave Espiritu a graceful exit in 1999 and did not publicly fire his former Finance Secretary for the latter's conflict of interests while in office.

Espiritu testified against Estrada at the impeachment trial in the Senate and subsequently at the Sandiganbayan. Lest I be cited for covering matters sub judice, I cannot go into the details of their testimonies at the Sandiganbayan where Estrada has been undergoing trial for plunder the past four years and three months now.

Mercado, on the other hand, joined EDSA-2 when the military top brass supported the groups behind Mrs. Arroyo, then Vice President and DSWD Secretary, in the ouster plot against Estrada.

Was Mrs. Arroyo the role model followed by the "Hyatt 10" men and women who professed their love for country and presented themselves as patriots when they betrayed the trust and confidence of their former Chief Executive?

It is a pitiful sight for these former Arroyo Cabinet officials who tried in vain to appear like martyrs and heroes for the cause of the people when they have been equally guilty of the acts of betrayal of public trust they allege.

Let me share with them these wise counsel from an unknown author: "The measure of a person is not how well he prepares for everything to go right but how gracefully he stands up and moves on after everything goes wrong."

The press conference of Dinky and Abad with some members of the so-called "Hyatt 10" was organized by the newly-formed Black and White Movement (BWM) which is composed of about 20 pro-impeachment groups, including tele-evangelist and defeated presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva.

The BWM press conference preceded the tumultuous tantrum-throwing and walkout by the pro-impeachment House solons to the delight of the people in the gallery who included actress Susan Roces, widow of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.

It is repulsive enough for politicians to resort to dramatic antics but it's much more revulsive when we see them resorting to theatrics as lawmakers.

Former President Aquino, who earlier added her voice to the resignation calls against President Arroyo, will join Roces at the 6 p.m. Mass hosted by BMW today at the La Salle Greenhills, San Juan. Draw your own conclusions.

* * *

Write to marichu@philstar.net.ph

Impeach hearing ends in a walkout

By MARICEL V. CRUZ, The Manila Times Reporter

August 30, 2005

Saying they were disgusted with the way the House committee on justice has been conducting impeachment hearings, congressmen seeking the ouster of President Arroyo walked out of the session hall Tuesday.

The impeachment advocates streamed out of the House plenary hall, some flinging copies of the impeachment complaint in the air, vowing not to attend subsequent committee hearings.

The tension began to mount when the Deputy Speaker for Visayas, Rep. Raul del Mar of Iloilo, suspended the regular session following the committee hearing. The committee chairman, Simeon Datumanong of Maguindanao, had declared the hearing would resume at 4:15 p.m. or a few minutes after the regular session was adjourned.

Lakas-CMD Rep. Robert Ace Barbers of Surigao del Norte, an impeachment endorser, protested, saying a session cannot give way to a committee hearing.

Barbers wanted to deliver a privileged speech in the session about the disclosure of former social welfare secretary Corazon Soliman that the original complaint filed by Oliver Lozano was a Palace-backed conspiracy to prevent the filing of a stronger charge.

"This is too much, Mr. Speaker, there is no other priority. Congress shall resume [its regular session]. Naglolokohan na tayo dito! [We are making a mockery of the proceedings!]," Barbers said.

There was a vote on whether to adjourn the session, and the ayes won.

That was when the members of the opposition stormed out of the session hall.

Undaunted by the walkout, the remaining committee members voted 52 to 2 to tackle the original Lozano complaint.

Proadministration lawmakers Teodoro Locsin Jr. of Makati and Antonio Roman of Bataan voted against, believing the opposition’s amended complaint was no different from the original charge.

The committee will now debate on the second and last question: if the one-year ban rule on the filing of an impeachment complaint had been observed.

The senior deputy minority leader, Allan Peter Cayetano of Taguig-Pateros, said he and his colleagues walked out because they felt the justice committee hearing had become a moro-moro, or mock proceeding.

Cayetano said Malacañan wants to kill the complaint before the opposition musters the 79 signatures needed to bring the complaint to the Senate.

Opposition Rep. Justin Marc Chipeco of Laguna said the opposition is six or seven signatures short of the target.

He said Nacionalista Party Rep. Cynthia Villar of Las Piñas was the latest to sign, bringing the total number of signatories to 49.

The proimpeachment lawmakers had wanted Soliman to be invited before the committee to shed light on her disclosure.

The opposition declared it would no longer participate in the proceedings and would busy itself gathering signatures.

The President’s allies, Salacnib Baterina of Ilocos Sur, Monico Puentevella of Bacolod and Douglas Cagas of Davao del Sur, in a joint statement shrugged off the opposition’s walkout.

The House majority leader, Rep. Prospero Nograles of Davao City, said the opposition should stop acting like spoiled brats.

"The walkout was staged by those who lost not only the vote but their cool and the debate as well. Walkout is the first option of the defeated," Baterina said.

Outside the Batasang Pambansa, party-list groups led by the Left-leaning Bayan Muna joined people’s organizations in protesting the "killing" of the impeachment complaint.

Susan Roces, widow of the actor Fernando Poe Jr., watched the hearing from the gallery together with supporters of the FPJ Movement.

Walkout a ‘wrong decision’–Macalintal

Max de Leon

The President’s spokesman on the impeachment process said Tuesday that the opposition made a wrong decision in walking out of the hearing in the House of Representatives.

The lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the President’s detractors are just muddling the issue with their failure to present a strong case against her and to lure enough congressmen to sign the impeachment complaint.

He said the President’s legal team wants the process to proceed and is confident of clearing the President’s name.

The walkout, Macalintal added, has no impact on the impeachment process, since Rep. Simeon Datumanong, the chairman of the House committee on justice, is on top of the situation.

Secretary Ricardo Saludo said the walkout appears to be a precipitate move by members of the opposition, and he expects them to return to the hearing and take part in the deliberations.

Macalintal said Datumanong was right in not giving way to the motion of Rep. Ace Barbers to allow former Cabinet member Corazon Soliman to speak before the committee before it voted on which of the three complaints to consider.

Thousands of Arroyo's supporters are turning against her, activists

Aug 08 08:24

By JIM GOMEZ

Associated Press Writer

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- Thousands of pro-democracy activists who joined the mass protests in 2001 that swept President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to power are now pushing for her resignation or impeachment over vote-rigging allegations, activists said Monday.

Arroyo's political support has eroded considerably since she became embroiled in an election scandal in June which prompted 10 Cabinet members to resign. They joined ex-President Corazon Aquino, business groups and prominent universities in calling for Arroyo to quit.

The activists, mostly from moderate nongovernment groups, said they were willing to go back to the streets and even join a new "people power" uprising if Arroyo's followers subvert constitutional avenues to keep her in power.

Arroyo has rejected opposition allegations that her allies offered bribes to lawmakers to unseat the impeachment process.

"We're prepared for that. We're veterans," said Elizabeth Yang, who joined the 2001 revolt that ousted Joseph Estrada over corruption allegations and actively campaigned for Arroyo in last year's closely fought elections.

Yang helped organize a new group, Citizens' Impeachment Watch, that will try to convince pro-Arroyo lawmakers to defect and set up public billboards to display developments in impeachment hearings.

A separate group, the Citizens for Truth, Resignation, Impeachment or Ouster, was formed by another Arroyo defector, Sixdon Macasaet. The group has organized anti-Arroyo forums in Manila and the provinces.

Macasaet said the groups have thousands of members from all over the country who previously supported the anti-Estrada uprising and helped to install Arroyo in power.

Yang said she had supported Arroyo because of her promise to reform the country's economy and politics, but felt betrayed by the allegations against her.

"It was right to expel Estrada, but unfortunately Arroyo did not deliver on her promise to work for the truth and reforms," Macasaet said.

Arroyo is facing two impeachment complaints, including violating the constitution, betraying public trust, corruption and bribery. At the center of the charges are alleged audio recordings of phone calls between Arroyo and an election official discussing ways to ensure her victory by 1 million votes.

Arroyo has insisted that she won the election fairly and denies any wrongdoing. She has apologized for a "lapse in judgment" in calling an official before results were announced, but has steadfastly refused to step down.

Lawmakers in the House Committee on Justice will on Wednesday begin debating whether to allow additional charges to the original complaints against Arroyo.

They also will decide whether to admit as evidence audio recordings of her conversation with the election official, reportedly made by military intelligence, and whether to allow opposition lawmakers to continue gathering the required 79 signatories to send the complaints to the Senate for trial.

The Senate is separately investigating allegations that illegal gambling kickbacks were used to bribe election officials to ensure Arroyo's presidential win. Opposition Sen. Panfilo Lacson said he would present later this week a still unnamed military or police officer whose testimony would support the allegation.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Lacson to fly to the US

Senator Panfilo Lacson faces possible arrest in the United States if he fails to appear before a court hearing in California on Sept. 7.

However, Lacson yesterday said he will fly to the US next month to appear before a Califonia court trying the case filed against him by businesswoman Blanquita Pelaez for nonpayment of a shipment of Smith and Wesson handcuffs when he was still Philippine National Police chief.

Lacson failed to appear before the Alameda Superior Court on Aug. 17 to answer allegations about his assets in the US.

According to the senator, his US lawyer, Michael Cardoza, has been informed that a subpoena was issued against him by Judge Barbara Miller of Alameda Superior Court in Oakland.

“The subpoena has yet to be officially served, buy my lawyer has been informed about it,” Lacson said in a television interview.

Nonetheless, Lacson clarified that no warrant of arrest has been issued against him but only an “order of examination” in his name.

In 2001, Pelaez filed a case against Lacson, who was then the PNP chief, for failing to pay for the handcuffs she supplied. The court ruled in 2003 that Lacson should pay Pelaez $31,263.

The senator pointed out that he did not pay Pelaez because the handcuffs were overpriced. “I did not pay her because what she was asking for was grossly disadvantageous to the government,” he said.

He insisted that Pelaez, as supplier, should pay the required customs and duties for the handcuffs. But a memorandum order from the Department of Interior and Local Government ordered the PNP to shoulder the taxes instead of Pelaez.

Lacson said his lawyer would file an appeal to reverse the court’s ruling. Rey E. Requejo

Why I quit gov't and asked my boss to resign as well
Dinky Juliano-Soliman published in INQ7.net, Aug 10, 2005

I JOINED government as a member of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's Cabinet because of the principles I have believed in and fought for in the last 30 years of my life. Justice, good governance, equality, empowerment of the poor and marginalized, truth, freedom and love are values and principles that have anchored my involvement in the struggle to transform society.

It is because of these same principles that I resigned from government service last July 8, 2005, exactly a month ago. Most of you have journeyed with me in the struggle to keep DSWD as I found it - insulated from politics. I admit to some actions that were politically motivated. I asked my colleagues in DSWD to implement projects for political accommodation. I now apologize for those instructions.

It was always a struggle between good and evil: old habits of traditional politics versus alternative new politics, with communities asserting their power. The first three years proved that the reforms far outweighed the political accommodation - especially when we were able to launch KALAHI-CIDSS; deliver on commitments on the Early Childhood Development program; install performance management systems; set-up the standards for DSWD institutions like Golden Acres as centers of excellence; start the Bright Child campaign for early childhood education, and many more enhancements of our on-going social welfare programs. These outweighed my discomfort with the Balikatan exercise (I do not believe in foreign troops in our country) and other activities that I felt compromised my principles.

I was conscious that compromises allowed me to protect the gains of the reform we were undertaking. The period after the 2004 elections became very challenging. Thinking that the President had a clear mandate, I anticipated less political accommodation and that we could zoom ahead on reforms. Most of you were witness to the series of accommodations that included the DSWD. Appointments of Cabinet members and heads of revenue-generating agencies were influenced by the factor of "those who helped in the campaign."

The last three months were particularly difficult in emerging scandal. Most disturbing was a "jueteng" scandal involving the highest levels of government (that's the perception) after we threw out former President Joseph Estrada on the same issue. While we do not prejudge the outcome of the investigation, the tapes definitely cast doubt on the President's integrity and electoral mandate. I have discussed these issues with her many times - alone, with the whole Cabinet, with the lady Cabinet members, especially in the last three months.

We discussed ideas on how to win back credibility from a high distrustful people. There were two schools of thought: 1} political survival at all costs 2} swift and credible action of reforms to survive politically and govern effectively and efficiently. Last June 27, the President broke her silence on the tape. I felt hope and was very encouraged because that was the signal to begin the swift and credible actions of reform.

Yes, I did sing and meant every word I sang. Then the same pattern of non-action or slow action set in, especially when it would affect people to whom she owes debts of gratitude. The July 5, 2005 Cabinet meeting was a tipping point, where it became clear that the frame of action is really survival at all costs. On a personal note, the questions of my children regarding what is right and what is wrong, what is true and what is false in all this made me realize that the only thing of real value I can leave them is a sense of right and wrong. I made up my mind that I needed to resign; I also asked her to resign for the sake of the country and our future.

Credibility and leadership

The reforms necessary to reduce and eventually eradicate poverty require sacrifice from all sectors. There are those who need to give up a significant amount of power and prestige; there are those who will have to tighten their belts. To raise revenues for poverty reduction programs of government, we need to discipline ourselves and raise tax collection. This has impact on the working class who must also sacrifice over and above their current difficult struggle.

To move the country forward, we need a leader who can unite the country and undertake these difficult reforms. Unfortunately the President herself is the cause of division. While we are still struggling to ferret out the truth from all the scandals, she introduces another issue causing more division –

Charter change.

And yet she also agreed to have a Truth Commission, which she will organize to investigate her actions. Over the past four weeks, however, we have seen the resources of government brought to bear on a media blitz to recover her image. The time and energy of Cabinet members have been used to defend the President and do things other than their work in their own departments.

This is a President fighting for survival. Mea culpa One question that has been often asked of me is, since I stayed four years and a half, was I not part of the mistake? I was. I believe that Arroyo is a product of her own personal history. She was exposed to and has accepted the practices of traditional politics like paybacks, pay-ups and dirty tricks, at the same time also believing in instituting reforms in the economic, social and governance spheres using principles of transparency, accountability, and service to the people. She believed both worlds could exist in one person, that the dissonance and disconnect would not clash in her and her actions.

On hindsight, the same thing happened to me. I was able to develop a team in DSWD that crafted and implemented a community-driven development program funded by the government through a 100-million-dollar loan from the World Bank. It brought the most marginalized communities the opportunity to use their power to analyze the situation and develop solutions implemented by them, for which resources would be made available to them. It was an empowerment program on a scale matched by resources.

It was consistent with my vision of power to the people and it covered 5,000 barangay. To get support for this program, I had to work with the rest of the Cabinet and Arroyo. I had to be and was a team player. So on the many times that protesters and critics of the administration were mobilized, I was to be part of the team, if not leading the effort, of what I now call "domesticating tactics."

I had directed my colleagues in DSWD to prepare packages of goodies for the urban poor communities either as part of raffle draws, food for work and family day activities to keep them from joining the rallies. We even had medical civic action with circumcision as part of the package. I admit I was one of those who crafted that strategy; I thought that rather than getting the urban poor out in the rally with the potential of getting pounced upon or even violently dispersed, it was better for them to stay in the community. In the meantime, most of those who wanted numbers on the street began giving cash incentives for the people to stand an hour or two for their rally.

The sacred right to stand up for your voice and be heard in the street, the right many of my friends had died for was now a commercial transaction. Truly, this has led to the commoditization of rights. This to me is the height of insult to the poor --we know they need the money so we bought their time. But it was not only their time we bought, we bought their soul, too, and in the process destroyed our own. Sadly, this was being done by both the opposition and government. So as I was undertaking the empowerment processes in the KALAHI-CIDSS area, I was part of the domesticating process of the urban poor communities.

The urban poor organizations I was relating with began to see me as their patron handing out favors or first information on benefits from government. I was living two sets of values now. I was like Arroyo -- contradicting myself and counteracting my programs the way Arroyo proclaims transparency and accountability but with several parallel operations on an issue.

We were buying the people's loyalty. Instead of serving them as part of government's responsibility, instead of recognizing that the services we were providing were the rights of the citizenry. We invoked the utang-na-loob syndrome, exacting loyalty instead of recognizing that it is the right of the citizen and taxpayer to exact such services and programs from government. We used our power and resources to domesticate the urban poor. I violated a basic principle that I had fought for, for so long - people empowerment. I had become a party to their disempowerment.

On loyalty

One of the strongest criticisms hurled against me was my disloyalty.

How could a Cabinet member, a perceived close friend of the President, have the gumption to ask her boss to resign? Even some of my friends silently believe I could have made a mistake on this one. I have been reflecting on this point. It was not an easy decision, as I have narrated. It was a long and agonizing process. It was to wake up everyday and ask whether I was still consistent with my principles and the people I vowed to serve. Arroyo, then VP, knew about Dinky only in October 2000.

Contrary to popular belief, I am neither a classmate nor a long-time associate. We had a common vision for good governance born in the struggle against the Estrada government. Over the four years and six months we worked together, we developed a bond of mutual respect and got pleasantly surprised that we had some shared values, even common personal likes and dislikes of certain people. I treasure the relationship and would have wished I did not have to do what I did.

I know it hurt her; it pains me that I had to do what I had to do. It was clear to me that I was in government because of the principles and vision I believed we shared. The source of her authority emanates from the people by virtue of the mandate they gave her, both in EDSA II and the 2004 election. While it's true that Arroyo appointed me to my post, my loyalty to the people is higher than my loyalty to her because we are all ultimately accountable to the people. I believed that the reforms and the truth were compromised because she has lost credibility and leadership. It would have been easier had I just resigned and carried on with my life in development work.

But then I would not have only been party to disempowering the poor, I, too, would have been disempowered. Some of you might say, "Hello, wake up. Government is all about compromise."

I say the people deserve more.

If we want our democracy to work for all, especially the disempowered and oppressed, we all have to lay our stake and get involved in making it work as active citizens of this democracy. We have to speak up and act now. Today's Gospel spoke of the time when Jesus walked on water towards the apostles in a boat. Most of them were frightened and thought Jesus was a ghost. But Peter was inspired. He jumped the boat and walked in the water, too. Pummeled by the waves and the lightning, he wavered, but ultimately kept the faith and did not sink. We too have taken our "walk in the water."

We too have been at the eye of a storm; we have been called traitors and have suffered much humiliation. But we believe our children deserve a truthful society and leadership with integrity. I have not taken an easy path, but we hope to keep the faith and our heads above the waters of despair and indifference.

working for the poor is noblesse oblige.

when you are alta sociedad, you have to

look after our stupid little brethren who,

because they can't fend for themselves

needs big brother and big sister to do it

for them.

(possibly ms. dinky's motto)

Meet the Real Corason's Corason

Rhea Untingco

I. The Lady, The Missing NGO Funds and the Burning Ayala Alabang Mansion

Ms. Corason Juliano affectionately called Dinky by her friends, is the daughter of KA LEONILO JULIANO, the capataz of Hacienda Luisita.  KA JULIANO, Ms. Soliman's father, answered only to the owners by the family of Corason "Cory" Cojuangco Aquino and he was loyal to them.  That was how he got his job in the first place.

Ms. Soliman however tried to re-invent herself and come up with a different package.  Being the daughter of an instrument for oppressing the workers of the Hacienda Luisita, she will not own a hacienda and bleed the farmers but will come up with a means whereby later she will claim that whenever she descends upon peasants, they will look at her as a "God."  She joined the NGO community by becoming a "social worker."  That began her disguise.

She married Hector Soliman now called former Assistant Secretary or former Undersecretary Soliman.  He used to be her ghost writer.  The former Ms. Juliano herself can read but she does not know how to write.

Through the years she learned how to hire people that will write good proposals to rich funding institutions in the advanced countries like U.S., Europe -- particularly Germany and Belgium.  She also enjoyed spending the money outside of what these were intended for.

Her finance officer had ticks on her NGO's bankbook and notations on very large, highly unusual, frequent withdrawals:

400,000   c/o Ma'am Dinky (Ms. Corason Soliman)
300,000   c/o Sir Hec (Mr. Hector Soliman)
500,000   c/o Ma'am Dinky (Ms. Corason Soliman)
200,000   c/o Sir Hec (Mr. Hector Soliman)
250,000   c/o Ma'am Dinky (Ms. Corason Soliman)
300,000   c/o Sir Hec (Mr. Hector Soliman)
190,000   c/o Ma'am Dinky (Ms. Corason Soliman)
80,000   c/o Sir Hec (Mr. Hector Soliman)
100,000   c/o Ma'am Dinky (Ms. Corason Soliman)
600,000   c/o Sir Hec (Mr. Hector Soliman)
700,000   c/o Ma'am Dinky (Ms. Corason Soliman)
900,000   c/o Sir Hec (Mr. Hector Soliman)

and so on and so forth.  And so she and husband, got a house in Ayala Alabang to be with the extremely rich in that posh village and be part of the elite, turning her back on her beginnings as the daughter of a peasant who learned to lick the Master's boots and become a trusted capataz. She and husband also acquired another house that was more subdued, inside the University of the Philippines Teachers' Village or thereabouts.

She and husband equipped both houses and they acquired several automobiles.

But in the process, they paid their employees low wages and provided only little for the real beneficiaries.  At least these little things proved helpful.  Every time Soliman went to the grassroots communities that were their milking cows, she was never scorned.  She was looked up to as God.  Her objective had been reached.  So now, like her own father and her father's masters, the Cojuangcos that she was just as beholden to, she was also bleeding the farmers dry of their own blood, sweat and tears.  But unlike the Cojuangcos that at times not seldom were hated more than they were loved by their peasant subjects, Soliman was looked up to now, as God.

She lived the life of the rich,  she travelled and went to trainings again and again, ostensibly to enrich her knowledge of ways to bleed the poor further.

Then she became very good at tendering parties, social occasions for her old and new found amigas y amigos.

She found a life, she had built herself a niche among the upper class.  She was no longer a peasant's daughter after all.  She had arrived.

The problem with her and her husband's arrangements was that the European and other funders got wind of their shenanigans.  When Soliman's house was about to be investigated, however, she burned it down in a jiffy and claimed to have "salvaged a few things" and transferred to their other "modest" house at the University of the Philippines vicinity.  Trouble started brewing in her NGOs, as well.  The staff of her NGO was complaining about her lifestyles of the rich-and-famous way of living while they were all suffering from poverty.

What was good with Soliman was that she kept some people close to the Catholic Church fat.  She invoked the Church and God often.  She often muses that she would not have been what she is now were it not for the "break" and the superb mentorship she received from the Church.  She projected a personality and character of pure virtuousness and integrity, of reform and high progressiveness.  She almost made you feel that the Church was the reason for her being what she is right now, an unbridled thief and incorrigibly corrupt creature.

Nevertheless, word spread all around the NGO community and she was not spared by her own detractors. Eventually she lashed back at them and admitted that she was using the NGO funds for peasant beneficiaries for her own private aggrandizement because everyone was doing it anyway!  Others claimed to be working for the urban poor, but they stole the urban poor funding!  Others, for rebel returnees, for migrant workers, etc., etc., but they were all also stealing their own beneficiaries' funds.  Enemies of Soliman emerged left and right.  Finally, some of her own enemies were able to reach the funders and got their attention.

II. No more AID from NGO donor agencies, Attack Government Funds

NGO donor agencies' funding for Soliman and her ilk, was cut off.  Soliman (for peasants) and Art Ellson, another partner-in-crime of hers were subjected to humiliation by the funders when they brought policemen to her headquarters at Cubao, Quezon City and padlocked her offices there, and Ellson's, a condominium office, at Mandaluyong was also unceremoniously closed down in the same manner.

Luckily, she had opened "new offices" for other "NGOs" in other places like the ones near Ateneo de Manila and another at Sikatuna Village.  Like a real thief, she could think five times ahead of all of us.

Eventually, without any one to obtain the millions of "project funds" that sustained her and her husband's lifestyles, she determined to join the government.  Later however, she will claim that she joined the government because of long-held principles.  Perhaps principlies should be the correct term.  She had been living a set of lies for a long time.

Her father's master, Don Jose Cojuangco, Sr. had a daughter, who was the inutile wife of a Senator and who was almost like an invalid in her own household.  She did not even have time to change from her own negligee and she would  immediately be receiving her guests to play the chinese game of mah jong with them in her home's gambling den.

When the Senator died however, she was immediately propelled into the presidency.  Don Jose's Corason, also popularly called, Cory, would later give her namesake, Corason Soliman a break.

When Soliman entered the government, first she was vomitted out instantly by the system since she proclaimed herself to be moral, of NGO fiber, with reformistic caliber, and virtuous.  But she wanted to amass money all at once.  The government bureaucracy was threatened by her voracious and rapacious appetite.  Imagine Chairman Manoling Morato's utter disgust when she propositioned Cory Aquino to divest the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office or PCSO of its fund-giving function and concentrate only on selling tickets!  He complained bitterly over the acts of Soliman.

Furthermore, the group of Soliman and her partners in the NGO rogue gallery bilked the agency of indebtedness of more than a hundred million for supposed "relending" projects to the poor and did not return the loans!  And this was done with a group that purports to be solidly Catholic and "Church-based."

After Cory's regime, she sort of laid low and her husband did the learning for both of them by also entering into the government service and remaining in his post, patiently learning the trades and opening, blazing trails for Corason Soliman.

But Soliman also tried to get other ideas from outside of the government.

Thus did Soliman learn how to mix the embezzlement of private volunteer organization money and government funds.

In the time of Fidel Ramos, Soliman and her allies including now National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales, of the NGOs and the Social Democratic mold, were able to get into the government.  However, they had some minor problems since Ramos and his people were also hungry for money.  So they had little to steal.

III. Using London's Money, Recovering London's Money

During the time of Ejercito, Soliman and her husband were at the end of their wits.  They had no large fund source to obtain skim from.  Their enemies within the NGO community were running the Department of Agrarian Reform.  They were reduced to mere begging and cavorting with this and that group that all the more made them look shadier in reputation.

Raring to go back into power and to steal from the government, Soliman and her allies managed to access new funds from a European Catholic institution on capacity building.

Using this money, they helped topple Jose Marcelo Ejercito also fondly known as ERAP or otherwise preferred to be called Joseph Estrada.

IV. Erap Gone, Camacho's Rescue

When the Ejercito Vice President, Mrs. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was finally convinced by her (Soliman) and other persons (Cory Aquino, Soliman's Master, and several others) to run the country and Arroyo agreed, Ejercito was no sooner ousted from the presidency.

Suddenly Soliman was again in the driver's seat.  She was again a member of the elite, but this time with immense power and influence.

Soliman wielded so much power in the Arroyo government that as some Cabinet members complain, she and her allies like Teresita Quintos Deles and Imelda Nicolas-Lewis, et al, could pull Arroyo into instant power meetings over several cups of coffee or tea, wherever and whenever they wanted.

To plug the holes about the missing money from London, Soliman and company, using a priest from Ateneo de Manila, put up a PEACE FOUNDATION.  They used the bank Rizal Commercial and Banking Corporation --- the RCBC, to join them.  Together with Arroyo's Secretary of Finance Department Isidro Camacho, they put up the PEACE BONDS deal that profited for their group One Billion and Seven Hundred Million Philippine Pesos (P1.7 B) at the beginning of the Arroyo government.

Soliman herself netted at the very least, P100,000,000.  Ms. Teresita Deles, another P100,000,000.  Ms. Marissa Camacho another P100,000,000, Ms. Imelda Nicolas-Lewis P100,000,000, Mr. Danilo Songco, also P100,000,000 (he was appointed by ex-President Ejercito / Estrada to Development Bank of the Philippines but since he also "fought" with Soliman in the EDSA II, was retained by Arroyo until 2004 whereupon he became an Arroyo critic after his removal from the bank's Board), an Ateneo priest, receiving the bulk of the money through the PEACE FOUNDATION, INC. which he was made the chief officer of, and down the line.

The London funds were possibly returned with some deductions for the "seminars" and "meetings" held, unless the London sponsors had decided to make them hold on to the funds for future references.

V. Soliman:  I am principled, I am moral, I stand for Truth, I am a people empowerment woman, etc. etc. …  Arroyo is corrupt, the people deserve more...

These words are from a Corrupt and "Civil Society" Liar, Thief and Cold-Blooded Peasant Killer (because she eats fine cuisine food from out of money that would have been for farmers' projects that would never be properly started, and she buys expensive houses and automobiles as well while the peasants continue to stay as there are for decades, many of them just dying from sheer hunger).

She attributes her own "sacrifices" to the people.  So that the people may have more.  Because the people deserve more.  That is hyfalutin bull.  The very people she "committed" herself to serve, she had duped from the time she saw the glittering money of the NGO donor agencies and she and husband and her accomplices ran off with the funds, leaving the poor farmer beneficiaries staring blankly at nowhere.

When her husband learned the inner workings of obtaining funds for Agrarian Reform Beneficiaries (ARBs), she plunged into the money for Agrarian Reform Communities and was able to steal none too small amounts from the till that their combined representatives in the Ramos Cabinet (including her own husband, Hec) were almost all swept away due to a succession of scandals that rocked the Department of Agrarian Reform.

Now Soliman is supposed to be a highly explosive witness serving the enemies of the Philippine Government that are plotting to make Arroyo Resign, be impeached or else, ousted like Ejercito a/k/a Erap.  How far can her testimony go without the Senators on the side of the government not someday discovering her propensity to commit evil deeds for her own and her husband's and her associates' selfish, vested interests?

Is this not a ploy to make the extremely anomalous, plunderous P1.7-Billion worth PEACE BONDS deal forgotten by the people? By the masses?  All of the Filipino people will be the ones to pay the entire sum of the PEACE BONDS once they become demandable in several years time.  And yet none of us are ever even complaining about what evil Soliman and company have done to us?

Soliman blames Arroyo for being the cause of the country's miseries and troubles.  Yet she fails to mention how much she had stolen from the time she began masguerading as a sincere NGO worker but behind the facade, she was really just her peasant-capataz father's grandly over ambitious daughter who wanted to live amongst the Ayala Alabang filthy rich and to be able to sustain her lifestyle at the expense of her own countrymen.

Granting that Arroyo is impeached and that suddenly, Soliman's new Master, Senate President Franklin Drilon will just suddenly become President, she must be given a new powerful Cabinet position.  Possibly as Secretary of the entire Cabinet who will have access to a President Drilon of the future. 

The problem is if the Resign - impeach - oust  movement will succeed and Drilon will ditch her.  Or if the movement will fail and she will have nowhere else to steal money from.  Or the people that she and her husband together with their accomplices have been using as fronts for stealing money from donor agencies and the government will suddenly realize what Soliman had been doing to them and they will take matters into their own hands.

Poor Corason.  That would finally be the actualization of the bad karma that she'd been spreading around.

Mischievous boy, or is it girl man (?).  Always in the limelight.  Never to be left behind.

Ex-general with ties to Ping linked to bribe try

By Jaime Pilapil

Two provincial election officers yesterday said a retired general allegedly working for opposition Senator Panfilo Lacson had offered them US visas and large sums of money to corroborate a whistle-blower’s story that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hosted dinners at her home in January 2004, where poll officials were bribed.

Lacson did not take calls from Standard Today when it tried to get his side.

In separate sworn statements, Commission on Elections officers Ferdinand Gerardo of San Simon, Pampanga and Gilbert Palogan of Hagonoy, Bulacan, said a certain General Yarcia met them last July 21 at a car dealer’s shop on Scout Borromeo, Quezon City, and told them he was tasked to “compile, assist and interview all election officers” from Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija and other provinces to show that the 2004 presidential election was rigged.

In particular, they said they were asked to corroborate the story of Michaelangelo Zuce, a former Palace aide who testified before the Senate that the President hosted two dinners in her La Vista, Quezon City residence, where poll officials were given P30,000 each.

More meetings

Palogan said Yarcia met them again on July 23 and reiterated the offer of money and US visas. A third meeting at an unspecified date was held, but the objective was “to establish the direct connection of President Arroyo to election fraud.”

The two also implicated former generals Renato de Villa and Thompson Lantion.

“I am exposing these activities to stop their continuous attack on the Comelec,” Palogan said.

Palogan said there were four other people at the meeting in the car dealer’s shop — the owner, David Tan; Yarcia, Gerardo and Lantion. A dinner was served and Yarcia talked about a plan to prepare “a documentary report to be used in the impeachment of the President,” he said.

Palogan and Yarcia were introduced by Comelec law department chief Deoden Dalaig, who said he would submit the complaints to the commissioners for action.

The affidavits were sworn before Jose Joson, Comelec executive director.

As election officers, the two were tasked to keep records of all election-related documents and materials, update voters’ lists and other jobs usually assigned to field officers.

Gerardo’s affidavit said the former generals assured them that their testimony would be “merely corroborative” as a witness would soon surface to prove that the President met with Comelec officials and watched as they were bribed.

Gerardo said the offer of a US visa and cash were not only for him, but his family.

Earlier yesterday, National Bureau of Investigation Director Reynaldo Wycoco said the Comelec officials had asked for assistance after they and their families received death threats from unidentified persons.

Wycoco said the officials asked the NBI to provide protection to their families.

Liability

Meanwhile, administration Senator Miriam Defensor Santiago said some of her colleagues in the Senate may be held liable for inciting to sedition or offering “false testimony in evidence” in the wake of jueteng witness Richard Garcia’s accusation that Lacson had pressured him to link the President to jueteng payoffs.

Santiago said any person who knowingly offers in evidence a false witness or testimony in any official proceeding is guilty of a crime.

Aside from Lacson, Garcia said he was coached by opposition Senators Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Jinggoy Estrada and Jamby Madrigal.

Garcia said it was Lacson who brought him and witnesses Wilfredo Mayor and Sandra Cam to antijueteng crusader Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Oscar Cruz as part of a plot to smear the Arroyo administration.

“The real issue is, did the opposition senators who allegedly met Garcia in a hotel coach him on what to say? If no, what was the senators’ purpose in meeting with him? If yes, then the senators may have committed crimes under the Penal Code,” Santiago said.

Pimentel, Estrada and Madrigal have denied Garcia’s story.

Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez, meanwhile, denied that the administration was behind Garcia’s confession.

“We didn’t even know he was coming out with that kind of statement,” he said. “I only saw it on TV.”

Witness for the Palace?

A lawyer on the President’s legal team said the Palace could get Garcia as a witness for the defense if an impeachment trial is held.

“This is a big thing for the President, although he is not the only witness,” said Antonio Nachura, a resource person for Ms. Arroyo’s legal team. “If he cannot be presented by the proimpeachment group, then he may be presented by the defense.”

Nachura, former dean of the Arellano University Law School, clarified that he is not a spokesperson but a resource person or legal adviser of the President on the impeachment case.

Presidential Spokesperson Ignacio Bunye, for his part, said Garcia’s turnaround is enough to vindicate the President and her family.

“The conspiracy to destabilize the presidency through the blackest propaganda has been unmasked,” Bunye said. “It also sends a strong message to the Filipino public not to fall prey to the smear and deception tactics of those who have no other agenda except to bring the President down.”

He also said it serves as a wake-up call to Cruz that “his noble advocacy may have been contaminated by partisan maneuvers.”

Bunye also debunked claims by Cam that Garcia was paid off.

“I think he acted on his own free will and he only wanted to let the truth come out. You have seen his demeanor; he looks like he was telling the truth,” he said.

Also yesterday, Senator Manuel “Lito” Lapid, co-chairman of a panel investigating jueteng payoffs, said he wanted to include Garcia’s information in the final committee report.

He did not say how this would be done, however, since Garcia made his statements in a press conference, and not under oath at the Senate hearings.

House Majority Leader Prospero Nograles, meanwhile, said Garcia and the other jueteng witnesses are still liable for libel for their “scurrilous remarks against the highest official of the land.”

Nograles hit the opposition for character assassination. With Fel V. Maragay, Rey E. Requejo, Joel Zurbano, Rey E. Requejo, Romie A. Evangelista