Philippines – Page 2 – ellen tordesillas

Chavit Singson named deputy national security adviser

Published by Ellen on September 6, 2008

Update from ABS-CBN news: Chavit hits back at critics. “They’re just jealous. If they want the position, then it’s theirs. If they can help, the job is theirs. But if they will only add up to the troubles of our nation, then they should get out of the country,” Singson told a radio dzMM interview, adding that those who are speaking against his appointment were just jealous of it.

By Michael Lim Ubac
Philippine Daily Inquirer

After a yearlong absence from the political scene, former Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson is back in the corridors of power.

President Macapagal-Arroyo has tapped Singson as deputy National Security Adviser (NSA) under Secretary Norberto Gonzales, a Malacañang official told the Philippine Daily Inquirer Friday night.

The official, who asked not to be identified because he was not authorized to make the announcement, said the appointment of Singson was signed by Ms Arroyo this week and would be announced on Monday by Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Panggagago sa taumbayan

Published by Ellen on September 3, 2008

Erased na raw ang peace panel na nakikipag-usap sa Moro Islamic Liberation Front, sabi ni Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita.

Ganoon lang ba yun? Paano na lang ang mga namatay at ang mga nawalan ng bahay na umaabot sa 250,000 dahil sa kanilang pinaggagawa sa Mindanao?

Ito ang statement ni Ermita:“President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has directed a new paradigm in the peace process by mandating that peace negotiations be refocused from one centered on dialogue with rebels to one of authentic dialogue.”

Hindi ko ma-translate sa tagalog dahil hindi ko maintindihan ang ibig sabihin. Ang nakukuha ko lang ay mas uunhain daw ang pakikig-usap sa mga taong apektado kaysa mga rebelde. Ngayon lang nila alam yan?

Small blessings

Published by Ellen on September 2, 2008

Maybe I should thank the Commission on Human Rights for saying that the arrest of journalists who covered Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim at the Manila Pen on Nov. 29, 2007 “constitutes arbitrary arrest/detention in violation of human rights standards.”

It’s definitely better than the dismissal of our class suit by NBI- agent- turned-judge Reynaldo Laigo of the Makati RTC who said that our arrest, handcuffing, and detention was “justified’ and even added that we were “so lucky” that the police didn’t initiate criminal charges against us.

With a leader who has no respect for the Constitution and disdains truth, CHR chair Leila de Lima gives me some hope. Maybe I should thank her for making the Commission say that “there have been violations of the human rights of liberty, security of person and freedom from arbitrary arrest of the complainants in the Manila Peninsula Siege.”

Piggery naging cemetery

Published by Ellen on September 1, 2008

Ang panibagong report ng VERA Files ay tungkol sa Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) na sinasabing bangko ng mahihirap.

Kaya talagang nakaka-ngitngit madiskubre na ginagatasan pala ito ng mga tauhan ni Gloria Arroyo. Talagang walang patawad. Isusubo na lang ng mahihirap, aagawin pa.

Ang isang kaso na ginawang showcase ng Verafiles ay yung kay Aura Drew Escanlar ng Iloilo City na ginamit ang kanyang pera para sa kanyang review sa nursing board examinations noong December of 2004 sa pagpatayo ng piggery o babuyan.

CHR: No basis in detaining journalists during Nov 29 standoff

Published by Ellen on September 1, 2008

The Commission on Human Rights said Monday there was no basis to justify the arrest and detention of several journalists during the Nov. 29, 2007 standoff at The Peninsula Manila hotel in Makati City.

In a news briefing, CHR chair Leila de Lima said some violations were committed during the arrest and processing of media personalities in the aftermath of the six-hour standoff between government forces and the group of Army Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and the Magdalo led by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV.

In one of its resolutions, the CHR recommended that the case be “referred to the Department of the Interior and Local Government and to the Philippine National Police for internal inquiry and for filing of proper administrative disciplinary cases and measures applied to proper persons.”

Quedancor swine program another fertilizer scam

Published by Ellen on September 1, 2008

Following is the first of a three-part series on Quedancor written by VERA Files.

by Diosa Labiste, Luz Rimban, and Yvonne Chua
VERA Files

(First of three parts)

ILOILO CITY— Aura Drew Escanlar was all set to take the nursing board examinations that December of 2004 when she decided instead to put up a piggery.

What changed her mind was an offer from the Quedan and Rural Credit Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor). Called “the poor man’s financing institution,” the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) credit guarantee arm was giving out loans in the form of piglets and feeds, with a buy-back scheme that assured borrowers some income.

Escanlar then used her parents’ savings to build pigpens and buy piglets, and signed up for the Quedancor Swine Program (QSP). Less than a year later, Escanlar lost almost everything. The income from the buy-back scheme was always delayed, and the feeds came late or were not delivered at all. After 50 of her piglets died, Escanlar stormed the Quedancor regional office here. “You have turned my farm into a graveyard,” she told Quedancor employees.

Desperately saving Gloria Arroyo

Published by Ellen on August 31, 2008

Now that it’s becoming clear that the Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front is unconstitutional and could be grounds for the impeachment of the one who authorized it, Gloria Arroyo’s minions are scrambling to protect her saying she never saw the document that has now claimed more than 200 lives and rendered homeless more than 250,000 people.

At the final hearing of the Supreme Court on the MOA-AD, Solicitor General Agnes Devanadera said “The panel conveyed to me that the MOA was not submitted to the Office of the President..She never saw it, she was never shown a copy.”

Wala ng delikadesa

Published by Ellen on August 27, 2008

Nakakalungkot itong pinaka-latest na pangyayari sa gulo sa Court of Appeals sa away ng Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) at Manila Electric Company (Meralco).

Hindi ako nagtataka sa report ng mga suholan sa mataas na korte. Ngunit nalulungkot ako sa garapalan at kawalang delikadesa. At ang mga taong sangkot ay edukado at galing sa matitinong pamilya. Hindi naman nagugutom ngunit mukhang iba ang kanilang ideya ng mali at tama.

Nong Martes, nagbigay ng kanyang testimony si Camilo Sabio, chairman ng Presidential Commission on Good Government sa panel na binuo ng Supreme Court pa mag-imbestiga sa expose ng kanyang kapatid na si CA Justice Jose Sabio, Jr na inalok siya ng isang abogadong malapit sa pamilyang Lopez ng P10 million para paboran ang Meralco.

Let the trial begin

Published by Ellen on August 26, 2008

Former AFP chief Hermogenes Esperon will be the first to take the witness stand when the court martial of 28 officers accused of mutiny in connection with the February 2006 alleged coup attempt starts.

At the pre-trial conference yesterday, Col. Feliciano Loy, head of the prosecution panel, told the court that he will be presenting 20 witnesses who executed affidavits on the alleged plan of the officers to withdraw support from Gloria Arroyo following the” Hello Garci” expose that showed her masterminding the manipulation of the results of the 2004 election in Mindanao in her favor.

Esperon was then army chief. His affidavit submitted to the panel that investigated the incident related the meeting with then AFP chief Generoso Senga the night of Feb. 23 where the accused officers talked about the restlessness in the military over the loss of confidence on Arroyo.

Matinong artista, may katuturang palabas

Published by Ellen on August 25, 2008

Noong isang linggo napanood ko na umiiyak si Pokwang sa “Wowowie” ng ABS-CBN. Dinedepensahan siya ni Willie Revillame sa panlalait na ginawa sa kanya ni Joey de Leon sa “Eat Bulaga” ng GMA-7.

Sinabi ni Willie na sa isang show raw ng “Eat Bulaga” sa United States, tinawag ni Joey si Pokwang na “aswang”.

Kahit naman sinong tao, hindi dapat tawagin na aswang. Lalo pa si Pokwang na isang magaling at kagalang-galang na entertainer. Ikinuwento ni Willie na may namatay na anak si Pokwang at ngayon ay may isa siyang anak na yan ang rason kaya talagang kayod si Pokwang.

Tag: Philippines