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Month: August 2006

Patuloy and swerte ni Jocjoc

Talagang sinuswerte itong si Jocjoc Bolante.

Sabi ni Executve Secretary Eduardo Ermita at ng Department of Foreign Affairs, kailangan raw tulungan si Bolante at asikasuhin at kanyang hinihinging “humanitarian assistance.”

Humingi si Bolante, na ngayon ay nakakulong sa Kenosha, Wisconsin sa Philippine Embassy sa Washington D.C. na makipag-usap sa Amerika para raw mabigyan siya ng “medical assistance.”

Sigaw’s devious gameplan

The Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL) filed yesterday with the Commission on Election its opposition against the petition of Sigaw ng Bayan for verification of signatures they have gathered under People’s Initiative.

Like many others, Codal thinks Comelec is going to dismiss Sigaw’s petition which the pro Cha-cha proponents also expect because that’s part of their gameplan to raise the issue to the Supreme Court where they believe they will get a better deal with the Panganiban court.

There is serious concern now that the Panganiban Supreme Court would reverse the 1997 ruling saying, ““The Comelec should be permanently enjoined from entertaining or taking cognizance of any petition for initiative on amendments to the Constitution until a sufficient law shall have been validly enacted to provide for the implementation of the system.”

Codal’s statement:

Dentist ni Gloria

Dentist pala ni Gloria Arroyo itong si Leonor Tripon-Rosero, chair ng Professional Regulation Commission, na ngayon ay pinag-iinitan ng publiko dahil sa palpak na pamamalakad sa nursing board exam.

Kaya naman pala hindi magalaw ni Arroyo kahit nagkanda-lokoloko na ang nursing board exam.

Marami ngayon ang nagde-demand ng resignation ni Rosero dahil sa leak na nangyari sa June 2006 ng nursing at sa kawalan ng PRC ng aksyon. Ayaw ni Rosero na ipa-walang bisa ang resulta ng June 2006 exam at ipinasumpa pa niya ang ilan sa mga nakapasa kahit na alam niyang may naka-pending na kaso.

Muted response

My cousins, the Orendains, have a small beach resort in Guimbal, Iloilo and it is in danger of being ruined by the oil spill coming from MT Solar I that sank in the waters off Guimaras.

My cousin, Dolly O. Escobar, whose daughters, Marla and Carla manage Sunrise Beach (about 30 minutes away from Iloilo City), has been texting everybody last week to pray that the government do something to solve the problems that are endangering lives of people in Guimaras and Negros Occidental.

Dolly said the fumes and smell of oil can already be felt in Guimbal. Needless to say, business is down. With the strong winds and waves, they fear that it’s a matter of time before oil reaches their shores. To prevent that, the people in Guimbal are making booms containing feathers and hair to prevent the oil from reaching their shores.

Petition on Guimaras oil spill

Fellow Filipinos,
We all know so well that a huge oil spill happened in the Philippines several weeks ago now and started to destroy our beautiful beaches and ecology. From the onset until this moment, the government of Gloria Arroyo has not done any action to contain the oil spill or force the owners of the vessel to clean up their mess, nor fined the responsible party. We are petitioning the Government to take action before a total devastation occur in the region.

The site of this petition can be found at http://www.petitiononline.com/Guimaras/petition.html

Investors beware, warns US investment risk analyst

(This is in Saturday’s (Aug. 26, 2006) issue of Malaya.)

Increase in terrorist activities, political instability, and deteriorating economic and credit fundamentals make the Philippines a high risk for foreign investors, a US-based investment risk outfit said in its analysis of the Philippine situation this week.

Condor Advisers’ Aug. 21, 2006, analysis said: “Terrorist strikes in the Philippines are likely to become increasingly frequent over the next 16 months. The alignment between the Abu Sayyaf Group and Jemaah Islamiyah is expected to fuel terrorism as is the growing relationship between these organizations and the Rajah Solaiman Movement.”

The threat of terrorism, Condor Advisers said, “will be further attenuated by weakening governance and increasing political and social instability.”

Joc Joc to become US investor?

The latest in the case of former Agriculture Undersecretary Jocelyn “Joc Joc” Bolante is that he could be requesting the United States government permission to invest there.

This is what Harry Roque, who filed an amicus brief in the US court opposing the Bolante’s petition for asylum, suspects based on yesterday’s report of ABS-CBN correspondent Ging Reyes who quoted Bolante’s immigration lawyer as saying that the fertilizer scam is “not germane to the immigration relief sought by him.”

Roque said: “This would imply that contrary to earlier reports and popular belief, Bolante may not be asking for asylum. Instead he may be asking for an adjustment of status because of an approved application for immigrant visa, which in any case could only be an investor’s visa.”