Ellen – Page 371 – ellen tordesillas

Faulty US poll machines made from Manila factory

Published by Ellen on August 15, 2007

Our officials are not just elected by cheating. We manufacture cheating machines for export!

Another incident that reinforces Philippine reputation as cheating capital. With a cheat for a president, what do we expect?

From ABS-CBN Online:

Defective voting machines used in a US congressional election in the state of Florida have been traced to a factory in the Philippines, an American news anchor has exposed in a 13-minute Web news clip.

In his HDNet report, Dan Rather was able to trace the touchscreen voting machines produced by Ivotronic Touchscreen to a Manila factory of Teletech Corp.

4,500 troops moving versus 150 Abus

Published by Ellen on August 14, 2007

by Victor Reyes

Around 4,500 government troops are poised to contain about 150 Abu Sayyaf bandits and rogue Moro National Liberation Front forces in one area in Sulu to prevent the military offensives from spilling over, the Armed Forces said yesterday.

Another battalion is set to arrive in Sulu this week.

“Our troops in the area, particularly those under Task Force Comet, continue to run after the group…We do believe that they are in the general vicinity of the area,” Armed Forces public information office chief Lt. Col. Bartolome Bacarro told a press briefing yesterday.

Kiko’s clarification

Published by Ellen on August 14, 2007

Senator Francis Pangilinan sent me a message clarifying some issues I raised in my column last Friday titled “Who’s afraid of Adel Tamano?”In that column, I discussed Pangilinan’s objection to the plan of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, chairman of the Blue Ribbon Committee, to get Adel Tamano as general counsel to set the direction and pace of the investigations the committee would undertake.

It has been reported that Pangilinan resented the statements of Adel, who was spokesperson of the Genuine Opposition, on his ambivalence about joining GO. I said that Pangilinan should not blame Adel about the public perception that he is an opportunist because people have not forgotten his “Noted, Noted” act during the presidential canvass of the 2004 elections.

Trillanes: Govt execs led Marines to death trap

Published by Ellen on August 14, 2007

Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV on Tuesday accused high ranking government officials of having a hand in the ambush that killed 14 members of the Philippine Marines on July 10 in Al-Barkah, Basilan, ABS-CBN News reported.

In his proposed Senate Resolution No. 72, Trillanes revealed he received information on the involvement of several high ranking officials of the government.

“Whereas, there have been serious insider information reaching this representation that ranking officials of the government had a direct hand in feeding our own military to the enemies of the state that led to the tragic death of the fourteen members of the marine corps,” Trillanes said.

Trillanes, Paglingkurin

Published by Ellen on August 13, 2007

A group, “Trillanes, Paglingkurin Movement” has been formed to mobilize the 11 million who voted for Antonio Trillanes IV for senator and the Filipino people…

Showbiz at pulitika

Published by Ellen on August 13, 2007

Magkakabit talaga ang showbiz at pulitika sa maraming paraan.

Noong isang linggo nasa balita na pinagsabihan ni Senator Francis Pangilinan si Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano na huwag ituloy ang kanyang balak na kunin ang abogadong si Adel Tamano, spokesman ng Genuine Opposition noong kampanya, bilang general counsel ng Blue Ribbon Committee.

May isang naiinis kay Pangilinan na sumulat sa aking blog. Sabi niya, takot lang ni Pangilinan na awayin si Alan Cayetano. Kasi daw, kung mainis si Alan kay Kiko, susumbung siya sa kanyang kapatid na si Lino, na boyfriend ni KC Concepcion. Sasabihin ni Lino ang reklamo ng kapatid kay KC. Iiyakan naman ni KC ang kanyang mommy. Ay, kung batukan ni Sharon si Kiko, papapalag pa ba ‘yan? Hindi naman yan nanalo kung hindi siya asawa ni Shawie.

Amnesty for all, even Estrada in the works–Speaker

Published by Ellen on August 13, 2007

Update: Estrada open to JDV’s amnesty plan

This story is in today’s issue of the Inquirer. Please review my article “Amnesty me”. What JDV does not say is that it includes also Gloria Arroyo and company.

By Michael Lim Ubac
Inquirer

An “all-encompassing” amnesty for all “enemies” of the state, including deposed former president Joseph Estrada and military rebel-turned-senator Antonio Trillanes IV, is in the works.

Speaker Jose de Venecia, Jr. told the Philippine Daily Inquirer on Sunday that a bill to this effect would be filed “soon” in the House of Representatives “so that we can unify the nation.”

War widows

Published by Ellen on August 12, 2007

I met with two of the widows of the 14 Marines who died last July 10 in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan last week. They are here following up the financial benefits from the government due them as dependents of the slain soldiers.

They are also here to claim the generous financial help (P500,000 each) offered by former President Estrada from his Saludo sa Kawal Pilipino Foundation.

By this time, the tears have dried up. Mary Ann Bautista, 44, and Jeanny Callueng, 36, have accepted the reality of life without their husbands. It was not so during the first moments when they learned that their husbands, Master Sergeant Noel Bautista,39, and Sergeant Rey Callueng,33, were killed in an encounter with elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front last July 10.

Mary Ann said after-battle-report on the tragedy reveals that Master Sgt Bautista was killed in the morning in the first hours of the firefight. Mary Ann said it might have it happened before 9 a.m.. because she got a text message from him a few minutes after 8 a.m) saying that they were in Tipo-Tipo. “Nagpapalit ng gulong” (Changing tires.)

Stop using soldiers as cannon fodder! Uphold the peace in Mindanao!

Published by Ellen on August 12, 2007

Tirad Pass Brigade
August 12, 2007

The members of the Tirad Pass Brigade, the officers and rank and file soldiers of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Philippine National Police extend their condolences to the families and friends of the scores of foot soldiers and young officers who have been killed in action in Mindanao the past several weeks.

We also express our sympathy with the tens of thousands of people who are being displaced by the widespread military operations in Basilan and Sulu.

As a movement upholding the democratic aspirations and desires of the common soldier, the TPB denounces the Arroyo administration and the AFP top brass for deceiving our men, using them as cannon fodder in carrying out a reckless war in Basilan and Sulu, ordering attacks against those who are not our real enemies and with whom we have been trying to work out peace. The attacks have also caused undue hardships among tens of thousands of innocent people in the area.

A senseless war

Published by Ellen on August 12, 2007

Gloria Arroyo thinks talking tough is the way to win the war.Can you make sense out of these official pronouncements? Two more battalions beef up…

Author: Ellen