This is the part in the press conference of US State Secretary Hillary Clinton today that caught my attention. The presscon was held at the Goldberg mansion at the Malacañang compound. Although she said this in reference to Afghanistan, it could very well apply to the Philippines.
Question: Concerns re large troops in Afghanistan given concerns about corruption in Karzai government; talk about concerns of corruption and if they play role in determination of us war in Afghanistan?
Clinton: I continue to loath to share any advice received by the President in the course of his review. Its been an extremely thorough and thoughtful process and i will continue to honor the right of the President to hear from any of his government members or those outside government and to add that to the process of his decision making.
On the separate question with respect to corruption, lack of transparency, poor governance, absence of the rule of law, the concerns expressed not only by US but by others including PM Gordon Brown and many of our allies are ones that i share.
The Afghan government has to accept greater responsibility for its own defense by participating in training and deployment of an effective professional security force. It has to do more to respond to the legitimate needs of the people of afghan to deliver services….
Tthe corruption issue really goes to the heart of whether the people of Afghan feel that the government is on their side, is working for them. Corruption is corrosive in any society when leaders enrich themselves at the expense of their people when they put their own fortunes ahead of the fortune of their own people. It has a very unfortunate impact – people don’t trust the government. They don’t rely on the government. They can’t imagine a better life for themselves because they don’t think their leaders are working to obtain that for them.
We are concerned and we have expressed those concerns and we are looking for measures of accountability and transparency that will demonstrate a clear commitment to the kind of governance and outcomes that the people of Afghan deserve to see from their government And the international community should be able to look to as we move forward in our efforts to try to rid Afghan of terrorists that not only affect their lives but pose a threat to us and people around the world….
We look at it everyday in the State Department. (If) we are going to be providing development assistance, we wanna be sure it gets to where it’s intended. I have required that we look at every single contract that goes into Afghanistan ; that we do an in- depth review to try to determine if it is producing the results we expect; is the money actually improving the lives of the people of Afghanistan or not. So even before the review we were taking hard look at how business is conducted outside Afghanistan.
Akmang akma sa Pilipinas ang sinabi nya tungkol sa corruption sa Afghanistan. Pero duda ako na ganyan pa rin ang linya nya kapag tinanong sya dito sa Manila tungkol sa corruption sa Pilipinas.
Pero kung uulitin nga ang mga linyang yan tungkol sa corruption sa Pilipinas, isa ako sa una at malakas na papalakpak!
Can Hillary tell that to her bff Gloria?
In Pinas, she does not have to keep looking for accountability…the most corrupt person is right before her very eyes.
Clap! Clap! Clap! But why are they babysitting the bitch? Lest I forget, a US military base is still in Pinas pala, though mobile. It’s in Mindanao right now and Gloria is jumping in joy to be their servant to carry on their interests to the detriment of the kapinuyan.
The US has a double-standard corruption policy for Gloria, all warnings no punishment. It’s all talk no walk.
Oblak, sinabi niya yan kahapon sa press conference sa Goldberg mansion sa Malacañang. Isang American journalist ang nagtanong sa kanya. Alam mo naman ang mga American journalist na sumusunod sa kanya, wala silang paki-alam kung saan ang venue, basta sa kanila ang itatanong nila ay ang mga bagay na interest ng kanilang bansa.
Regalo ni Gloria kay Hillary ang release ng Irish priest. Good for the priest at ginawa siyang poster boy ni unana. See, what Gloria wants she gets.
Everytime gustong magpasikat ni Gloria, kumpas lang ay may lumilitaw just in time!
Ay, oo nga ano. Hindi ko na binasa yung naka italic. Salamat sa correction.
Sayang naman at wala yatang nagpahabol ng “How about the corruption in the Philippines?”
What I find incredible is that the US always releases, if not doubles, the military $$$ assistance to Pinas every after ‘artificially’ withholding it to hold on to Gloria’s servitude. Palaging meron subo si panduck from Uncle Sam. As to the real purpose of Hillary’s visit, I have no damn care!
I find the statement hollow in the face of U.S. continuing support to Gloria Arroyo’s corrupt government.
The U.S. as long as you give them what they want (continued stay of their troops in the Philippines), they are willing to turn a blind eye to the cheating and stealing of leaders.
Talaga, Ellen, talaga!
I watched the interviesw in toto. The questions and answers were almost tailored to mean Philippines. Kaya lang ang mga ginamit eh Afghanistan at Myanmar. Why Afghanistan and Myanmar? Eh nasa Pilipinas siya? Hillary just can’t say upfront to the boobuwit that she is very corrupt and that she is being watched closely. Puro pahaging lang ang dating. Marami na ring nagawa si boobuwit para sa US kaya kahit na alam ng US kung gaano kasama ito, they look the other way. They did that to Marcos too. When they could no longer use him, they ousted him. Hindi nila magamit si Erap dahil maybe Erap was not very keen on supporting the US policies. Mas makabayan siay. Yun, they took him out too. The correspondents who asked the question were not local media. Puro mga sugo ng US.
@ psb : “Hindi nila magamit si Erap dahil maybe Erap was not very keen on supporting the US policies.”
Now that you’ve mentioned it, I remembered Erap as one of those senators who opposed the renewal of military bases (Subic, Clark..) agreement then. He also made a movie starring himself and Sen. Coseteng about the US bases, the title of the movie is Aguila…???
Woke up to find out what’s Hilary up to in RP. Checked out the world news in my PC, nothing! Clicked on Asia-Pacific site, still nothing on Hilary in RP BUT there was a news about a volcano about to erupt, meaning HC visit to Pinas is no big deal.
PSB: HC is the top diplomat of the US. Diplomacy is enforced in her speech but the tone and the message is the same; directed to Gluerilla and other corrupt countries.
Maybe Gluerilla won’t get it.
Father Sinnot had been captive for several months. Hilary comes to town and now the priest is released, hmmm….fishy na naman tu.
hindi ba best friend and classmate ni putot si bill?..hindi ba yong sabi ni hillary ay yon din ang tuno ni barak noong inauguration niya…are they (US) playing here we go round the mulberry bush? mag kickball na lang sila..o kaya sipa..hick putot out sa tagalog..sipain si putot!
Diplomatese. Good manners and right conduct lang si Hillary. One does not come as a guest and frontally tells the host she is a cheater, a liar and a thief.
But the message has been clearly delivered even if she talked about corruption in Afghanistan.
But yes, the US will play ball. They’ll string Gloria along until she is no longer useful to them.
The more interesting question is “Which of the Presidential candidates here are they backing?”
Pssssst, will President Barack Obama waltz with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo next year?
Calendar November 12, 2009 | Posted by raissa robles http://raissarobles.com/2009/11/12/145/
In the same way that the late US President Richard Nixon once waltzed with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos?
…
I skipped the invite to cover US State Secretary Hillary Clinton’s lightning visit to Manila yesterday because all the action will happen behind closed doors. And we will know what really took place maybe 30 years from now when the top secret report on her “intimate” talk with President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is declassified.
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A very interesting read why Hillary Clinton was here. (chi)
yes, tru blue, a fishy odor you can smell from halfway around the globe.
A few days before, a kidnapped principal is beheaded. Aha! The handiwork of the deadly Abu Sayyaf! Just before Hillary arrives, Sinnot is released unharmed telling media his abductors were MILF Lost Command, not Abu Sayyaf.
The scenario painted is one of utter lawlessness, from Abu Sayyaf, MILF LostCom, Leftist rebels, peace is a mere pipe dream in Mindanao. Hillary plays with them, “Okay, I get it. We’ll send you the Two Million Dollars we’ve been witholding for some months. And while we’re at it we will continue to send our troops here to help train your forces”. Big Brother is once again looking after OUR welfare, see, the cops blocked the rallyists everywhere she went – our way of thanking Hillary, right?
As a politician and guest Hillary knows her rightful place in a given situation. The basic rule in diplomacy is never insult your host.
Whatever message Clinton delivered either direct or indirect reference to the corruption of Philippine officials, it means nothing to Gloria and company. They have grown so thick-skinned and shameless that any kind of criticism or homily will never have any effect. Knowing these people they might even have responded with a dirty finger pointed at her.
Why do Philippine leaders care much about the Unites States of America? Is the world outside the Philippines consist only of America? It should be considered that this much touted world power has its own weaknesses, too.
And on top of it is it’s wickedness!
That is, putting everything under its own interest.
MILF: Obama wrote us, we met top US state dep’t execs before Hillary visit – http://www.inquirer.net
Lumabas na ang totoo kung bakit bumisita sa Pinas si Mareng Hillary.
Remember US forward defence policy is paramount as far as US is concerned (and to hell with Pinas!) hence they will do anything to make sure potential enemies of the Islamic variety can be contained anywhere and everywhere except in the US of A.
Ooops, “anywhere and everywhere so that they don’t reach the US of A.”