Ampatuans will miss Pacquiao-Clottey match
When Filipino boxing hero Manny Pacquiao faces Joshua Clottey of Ghana in the ring on Sunday (Saturday in the U.S.) in Texas to defend his welterweight crown, the Ampatuan clan won’t be in the audience at the Yankee stadium to cheer him like in his past fights.
Twelve prominent members of the powerful family, which counts among Pacquiao’s biggest patrons and fans, and 16 of their relatives have been implicated in the Nov. 23 massacre in Maguindanao and are either detained or at large.
Of the 12, Andal Ampatuan Jr., mayor of Datu Unsay town, is being held at the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila on charges of masterminding the multiple murders. The patriarch, former Maguindanao governor Andal Sr., is confined in a military hospital in Davao City, while his sons Zaldy, Anwar and Sajid, and brother-in-law Akmad “Tato” Ampatuan Sr. are detained at the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group in General Santos City on charges of rebellion and multiple murder.
Please click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.
March 11, 2010 10:55 pm
Tags: Maguindanao massacre, Manny Pacquiao Posted in: 2010 elections, Maguindanao massacre 
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Essay writing contest on malaria
Beginning 15 March 2010, Malaria No More, a non-governmental organization committed to ending malaria deaths in Africa, and Novartis, the Swiss pharmaceutical company, are sponsoring the “World Briefing: Telling the Malaria Story” contest for graduate students.
Malaria is a highly preventable and treatable disease – yet each year, malaria infects nearly 300 million people and kills nearly one million, mostly children under the age of five in sub-Saharan Africa.1 But with broad awareness and the right tools, like nets and medication, malaria deaths and suffering can be greatly reduced.
The goal of this contest is to encourage our future leaders to think about malaria and inform their peers about its serious impact. Participants will also be inspired to learn how organizations like Novartis and Malaria No More are working to reduce malaria-related suffering and have made impressive strides in saving lives.
To spread the word, we’re asking graduate students in the United States, Argentina, Ecuador, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines and Venezuela to develop a 500 word-or-less blog post and 140 character-or-less Twitter entry (“Tweet”) focused on the current malaria burden and ways in which the next generation can make progress in the fight. We’ve attached full entry details, contest guidelines and background.
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March 11, 2010 10:55 am
Tags: Malaria Posted in: Health 4 Comments
Pagpili ng senador
Nang umuwi ako sa aming baryo sa Antique noong isang buwan, humingi ang aming mga kapitbahay ng listahan ng mga kandidato para senador na kanilang bobotohin sa darating na eleksyun sa Mayo.
Sabi nila, lahat-lahat na mga nagkakandidato ngayon hindi naman nila personal na kilala. Kaya kung may mare-rekomenda akong magaling at makakatulong sa bayan katulad ng ginawa kung pagrekomenda kay Antonio Trillanes IV noong 2007 na eleksyun, yun ang kanilang bobotohin.
Kung wala naman daw, yung mga kilala nilang pangalan ang kanilang bobotohin. Ang mangyayari niyan yung nakikita nilang mga pangalan sa TV at sa pelikula ang kanilang isulat.
March 10, 2010 9:16 pm
Tags: 2010 elections Posted in: 2010 elections, Abante 6 Comments
Horoscope for vice presidential candidates
Last Monday, we ran Professional Heckler’s hilarious horoscope for presidential candidates. Here’s his equally hilarious horoscope for vice presidential candidates.
He said the hot, summer weather is affecting even the stars.” Ngunit bunsod ng patuloy na pag-init ng panahon, mainit din ang ulo ng mga bituin. Prangka sila ngayon.”
Enjoy and visit his site:www.professionalheckler.wordpress.com.
Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, Puwersa ng Masang Pilipino. Born: November 11, 1941, Scorpio.
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March 10, 2010 7:07 am
Tags: 2010 elections Posted in: 2010 elections, Malaya 5 Comments
The long arm of the Ampatuans
by VERA Files
A hitman confesses
In an interview with reporters, “Jesse” (not his real name) said around four days after Andal Jr., also known as “Datu Unsay,” was taken into custody by the National Bureau of Investigation in Manila, his cousin and best friend, Datu Kanor, received a call from him ordering that his driver, Tanto, be killed for being “careless.”
Jesse heard Andal Jr. mention his name to do the hit.
Jesse said reports had reached Andal Jr. that Tanto, who had witnessed the massacre but did not participate in the killing would not stay put in one place.
Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.
March 9, 2010 11:42 pm
Tags: Maguindanao massacre Posted in: Maguindanao massacre 4 Comments
Latest in the battle of surveys: Noynoy’s lead reduced, statistically tied with Villar-SWS
The race to Malacañang has become very tight with the top two “presidentiables” locked in a statistical tie, a Social Weather Stations (SWS) survey commissioned by BusinessWorld showed.
The poll, the third conducted by the survey research institution for this newspaper, found the front-runners — senators Benigno Simeon “Noynoy” C. Aquino III and Manuel “Manny” B. Villar, Jr. — both losing ground among voters with little over two months to go before the May 10 national elections.
The cost, however, was more substantial for the Liberal Party’s Mr. Aquino, who saw his overall score cut by a substantial six points to 36%, compared to just a one percentage-point drop to 34% for the Nacionalista Party’s Mr. Villar.
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March 9, 2010 12:33 pm
Tags: 2010 elections Posted in: 2010 elections 21 Comments
Hindi malinis ang pagka-ayos ni Mikey
Mula nang inilabas naming ang balita tungkol sa bahay ng magkapatid na Mikey at Dato Arroyo sa San Francisco, marami ang nagtatanong sa amin kung ano ang nangyari.
Marami ang naiinis na parang hanggang diyaryo lang. Wala naming nangyayari. Tuloy naman ang ligaya ng mga nagsasamantala ng kanilang posisyun sa gobyerno para sa kanilang sarili.
Kahapon, nilabas namin ang bagong impormasyun na nakuha mula sa San Francisco. Nilipat nang mga abogado ni Mikey ang bahay sa Foster City na nagkakahalaga ng $1.32 million na nasa pangalan ng kanyang asawa na si Angela Montenegro sa pangalan ng Beachway LLC noong Septyembre 18, 2009.
March 9, 2010 12:10 am
Tags: Mikey Arroyo Posted in: Gloria Arroyo and family, Governance 12 Comments
Bangit is next AFP chief
Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit
Bangit, the current Philippine Army chief, is a known Arroyo loyalist having been been head of the Presidential Security Group under GMA. He also had a stint as chief of the Intelligence Service.
He belongs to Class ‘78 of the Philippine Military Academy, which adopted Arroyo. Class ‘78 is considered the “favored” PMA class under Arroyo with a number of them in strategic positions.
Earlier, there were calls to extend until after the May 2010 elections the term of Ibrado, who is highly regarded for his professionalism unlike former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon whose name was mentioned in the “Hello Garci” tapes which revealed the participation of the military in tampering the results of the 2004 elections in favor of Arroyo.
In a statement, Bangit said, “”I am very thankful with the decision of the commander-in-chief. More than it is an honor for me, I would like to assure the people that I will do my very best to serve the interest of this nation and the Filipino people.”
March 8, 2010 8:43 pm
Tags: Military Posted in: Military 50 Comments
James Layug for Taguig congressman
Last Thursday, the family and friends of former Lt(sg) James Layug held a fundraising dinner for his candidacy for congressman for the second district of Taguig.
James, who is in detention at the ISAFP compound in Camp Aguinaldo, was allowed by the court to attend the dinner but his prison custodians refused to honor the court order.
We wish there were more people. But we had fun.
This was the video shown during the dinner:
Another Magdalo officer, former Marine Capt. Gary Alejano, who is running for mayor of Sipalay, Negros Occidental, is also holding a fundraising dinner at Planta Hotel in Bacolod on March 13. Those who are in Bacolod might be interested.
March 8, 2010 5:04 pm
Tags: 2010 elections, Magdalo Posted in: Magdalo, Military 7 Comments
Mikey Arroyo fixes Foster City problem – but not quite
Mikey's Foster City house
Arroyo lawyers and associates quietly reported the transfer of the property to the name of Beachway LLC on Sept. 18, 2009, nearly three weeks after VERA Files reported Arroyo’s failure to declare the property in his 2007 and 2008 Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN).
But in their attempt to cure the problems in the property’s ownership records, the lawyers and associates overlooked the fact that they were reporting a transaction two years late, and inadvertently also drawing attention to Arroyo’s failure to report the property in his July 2007 SALN.
Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.
March 8, 2010 2:59 am
Tags: Mikey Arroyo Posted in: Gloria Arroyo and family, Governance 7 Comments
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