August 2007 – Page 6 – ellen tordesillas

Pinpointing the guilty

Published by Ellen on August 7, 2007

Now military officials are talking.

Brig. Gen. Juancho Sabban, deputy commander of the Western Mindanao Command, is denying he ordered the recall of the three aircraft sent to give support to the embattled Marines that tragic day of July 10. Fourteen Marines died in that encounter with elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, 10 of them beheaded.

“Marines were dying, why would I stop (the air strikes)?” said Sabban, a battle-tested officer who also heads Task Force Thunder.

Aliping Filipino

Published by Ellen on August 6, 2007

Pinapunta na naman ni Gloria Arroyo si dating AFP Chief of Staff, Roy Cimatu na ngayon ay special envoy to the Middle East, sa Iraq para imbestigahan ang report na 51 na Filipino ang parang alipin na nagta-trabaho sa construction ng U.S. Embassy sa Iraq.

Ito at nagsasayang na naman ng pera para lang lalong lokohin ang madlang Pilipino.
Magkano na naman ang gagastusin ni Cimatu sa biyaheng ito? Ano naman kaya ang makukuhang impormasyon doon sa Baghdad na hindi na nabigay ng ating embassy doon? Wala namang pagkukuhaan ng impormasyon si Cimatu kungdi sa embassy.

Ang pagpadala ni Arroyo kay Cimatu sa Midde East ay para lang masabi niya na may ginagawa siya kahit na wala naman.

‘Amnesty Me’

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2007

The twin rejection by Makati RTC Judge Oscar Pimentel Court in a span of five days in cases where Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is involved, gives credence to talks of an amnesty proclamation being worked out wherein Gloria Arroyo can ride on and ensure protection for herself for the crimes she has committed against the Filipino people.

House Speaker Jose de Venecia mentioned in one of his radio interviews last week about his plan to file a bill to grant amnesty to those who have committed political crimes. He has talked with Sen. Panfilo Lacson about filing a counterpart bill in the Senate.

Lacson’s advisers said the opposition senator is amenable to sponsoring a bill granting amnesty to those accused of political crimes but they said they would have to be careful about its coverage including the cut-off date. They said JDV and Lacson may not have the same definition of “political crimes”.

Joint panel finds military lapses in clash in Basilan

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2007

by Victor Reyes

What kind of military leadership do we have?

Update:Who gave order for aircraft to return without firing?

THE GRP-MILF ceasefire committee has found lapses on the part of the military that it said led to the encounter with MILF forces last July 10 in Al-Barka town, Basilan.

Fourteen Marines were killed. Ten were found beheaded the day after the encounter.

“It appeared there were lapses in coordination when the Marines conducted operations in Ginanta and other neighboring barangays in search for Fr. (Giancarlo) Bossi pursuant to the established mechanisms with the general cease-fire agreement entered into the by GRP and the MILF,” said a source quoting the findings of the investigation.

Sadya kaya?

Published by Ellen on August 5, 2007

Dumadami lalo ang mga katanungan sa paglabas paunti-unti ng mga detalya ng encounter sa Tipo-tipo noong July 10 kung saan 14 ang namatay na Marines. Sampo doon sa namatay at pinugutan.

Sinabi ni Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro na inorder raw ni AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon na imbestigahan palpak na pagbigay ng radio frequency sa mga pilot na siyang dahilan kung bakit hindi nabigyan ng air support ang mga Marines.

Ayon sa report ng mga sundalo at ni Jun Veneracion ng GMA-7 na nasabak sa encounter, mga alas-10 ng umaga nangyari ang pananambang sa mga Marines ng miyembro ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front sa Al-barka, Tipo-tipo sa Basilan.

How many offices does a secretary need?

Published by Ellen on August 4, 2007

by Regina Bengco

Even before his first day in office as energy secretary, Angelo Reyes has started throwing his weight around, and shocking officials of the Department of Energy and its attached agencies, a source at the energy department said.

The energy official, on condition of anonymity, said that Reyes, during a briefing last week with DOE officials in preparation for his takeover, requested his own room at the DOE and in each of its attached agencies like the Philippine National Oil Co. (PNOC), National Power Corp. (Napocor), and the National Transmission Corp. (Transco).

Each of the agencies has been trying to comply with Reyes’ request.

Court denies Magdalo petition to dissmiss coup d’etat case

Published by Ellen on August 3, 2007

Citing the “strong and sufficient evidence” presented by the Department of Justice, the Makati regional trial court yesterday denied the petition of members of the Magdalo group, including that of former Navy lieutenant-turned-senator Antonio Trillanes IV, seeking the dismissal of the coup d’etat case filed against them in connection with their short-lived mutiny in Makati.

In dismissing the petition, Makati RTC Judge Oscar Pimentel gave credence to the prosecution’s claim that the crime of coup d’etat was committed by the accused when they seized the Oakwood Premier Hotel on July 27, 2003.

“After considering all the evidence presented, the Court is convinced that there is sufficient evidence to strongly believe that the crime of coup d’etat was committed under Article 134-A of the Revised Penal Code,” said Pimentel’s 40-page ruling.

Palace junks extra powers after trial balloon

Published by Ellen on August 3, 2007

Nang hindi makalusot, umurong.

Malacañang yesterday abandoned a floater to grant emergency powers to President on the drought problem.

“On a scale of one to 10, I would put the possibility of the President resorting to emergency powers to address the situation at zero point five (0.5),” Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a text message to reporters.

Bunye issued the statement after administration and opposition lawmakers said Arroyo does not need emergency powers to remedy the dry spell, saying she has “billions” to mitigate the effects of the dry spell.

Marine officers probed

Published by Ellen on August 3, 2007

Update:Wrong radio frequency not true – Marine commander

Some Marine officers dispute report on radio snafu

Wrong frequencies prevented aerial bombing, strafing

by Victor Reyes

Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. has ordered a probe on the radio communications snafu that prevented bombing and strafing measures to aid a Marines contingent ambushed by secessionists in Al-Barka town, Basilan last July 10.

Fourteen Marines were killed, with 10 of them beheaded after the encounter.

AFP information chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro said the probe would look into the administrative liability of the personnel involved in the snafu.

Keeping the faith

Published by Ellen on August 3, 2007

Members of media and relatives of military officers on trial for their alleged involvement in the February 2006 aborted withdrawal of support from the Gloria Arroyo’s illegitimate presidency were surprised last week to see a light tank escorting the military truck that brought the junior officers to the trial venue.

At the same time, we were amused at the sight of the tank. It’s actually cute. A gunner was on top of it. A 20 mm caliber gun jutted out of it. It was not the heavyweight type that we see in battle scenes or during military parades.

I posted it in my blog and regular visitors familiar with military weapons system said it’s actually a “support assault armored vehicle” One weapons expert said it’s for crowd control.

Month: August 2007