The wealth of a nation is its people.
It goes without saying that a healthy population is a prerequisite for a country to progress.Healthy citizens live longer and are more productive.
Making life worth living.
Author: Ellen
To underscore the purported urgent nature of the DAP projects, Aquino shared a text message he got: “On this note, allow me to share a text message I received in the last week. It reads: “The politicians are making fiesta regarding DAP; but to our simple non-legalistic mind, it is like a motorist who parked in a ‘no parking zone’ because he had to rush to save the life of an accident victim, which has more value. I’m praying hard that these people will see the good of the people rather than their own ambition.”
“To this I replied: I think the situation now is similar to what you mentioned, and it might be even worse. I am after all being arrested for parking in an area that up to now hasn’t yet been declared a no-parking zone. Is this reasonable?”
President Aquino’s belligerent stand against the Supreme Court’s decision declaring his pet initiative, the Disbursement Acceleration Program, unconstitutional was not at all surprising considering his defense of Budget Secretary Florencio Abad, Jr. last Friday.
Reading and listening to his speech was not only appalling. It was disturbing.
It showed the lethal combination of ignorance and arrogance.
The issue is his usurpation of Congress’ power of the purse which is a violation of the Constitution and he talked about parking zones!
Today is exactly two weeks after the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision declared as unconstitutional Aquino and his Budget Secretary Florencio “Butch” Abad pet project.
Malacañang sources said Aquino was stunned by the voting (13-0. Not even his appointees especially Chief Justice Lourdes Sereno sided with him!) he threw tantrums. He wants to wage war against the Supreme Court justices.
Wonder no more why House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr. wants an investigation on the Judiciary Development Fund being administered by the Supreme Court.
Last Friday Aquino gave the public a preview of what he is going to say today. During the cabinet meeting on the 2015 budget, Aquino announced that he was rejecting the resignation of Abad. “I have decided not to accept his resignation. To accept his resignation is to assign to him a wrong and I cannot accept the notion that doing right by our people is wrong.”
Yesterday Abad, who was silent the past two weeks issued a statement taking responsibility for the illegal DAP which was the reason, he said, he tendered his resignation. But there was no apology or remorse for making a mockery of the budget process with the juggling of P374 billion.
Sa cabinet meeting noong Biyernes, inanunsyo ni Aquino na hindi niya tatanggapin ang resignation na inihain ni Budget Secretary Butch Abad kahit sinimplang sila ng malakas (13-0, unanimous, walang nag-disagree) ng Supreme Court sa hindi naayon sa Constitution na Disbursement Acceleration Fund o DAP.
The picture we are referring to is that of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas hoisting a sack of NFA rice residue during an inspection of a rice warehouse in Muntinlupa.
Some say that picture, which has gone viral, is photoshopped. We had the photo analyzed by professional photographers and they said it’s genuine, not digitally tampered with.
They explained that the reason Roxas hoisting of the sack looked effortless was because the content as indicated in the sack was not regular rice but “broken rice residue” or darak used for animal feed.
Lawyer Edward Serapio, former presidential counsel during the Estrada administration, once told me when he was under detention in Camp Crame in connection with Estrada’s plunder case way back in 2001, that he was so grateful for the wife of then Philippine National Police head Leandro Mendoza serving him coffee when he surrendered early in the morning at the White House, the PNP chief’s residence.
Yesterday, Sen. Juan Ponce- Enrile thanked the PNP for treating him kindly, allowing him to stay at the PNP General Hospital in Camp Crame upon his surrender last Friday and allowing him to have his check up at the Asian Eye Institute in Makati the next day.
At this time when the popular sentiment is to throw stones at all those accused in the plunder of people’s money (Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, Bong Revilla et al), any act kindness to those who are down is the true essence of humanity.
It is not about the guilt of the accused. It is humaneness.
While we should be vigilant that justice is obtained in the pork barrel scam, we should also be conscious of the danger that in pursuing justice, we become hardened and lose our sense of humanity. That would be a tragedy.
Colmenares said among the among their complaints was PAGCOR‘s non-payment of P5.14B tax.
Worse, he said, PAGCOR paid for the income tax of big time casinos like Travellers International Hotel Groups, Inc., MCE Leisure (Philippines) Corporation, Bloomberry Resorts and Hotels Inc. and Tiger Resort Leisure and Entertainment, Inc.
This is against its mandate “to help the poor and the needy,” he said.
Main Decision
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287.pdfSeparate Opinions:
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_carpio.pdf
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_brion.pdf
Concurring and Dissenting opinion
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_delcastillo.pdf
Separate Concurring Opinion
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287
_bernabe.pdf
Concurring Opinion
http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/pdf/web/viewer.html?file=/jurisprudence/2014/july2014/209287_leonen.pdf
The progressive groups –Anakbayan and Kilusang Mayo Uno- have hinted on impeachment in their statements hailing the High Court’s decision on DAP.
Anakbayan’s Vencer Crisostomo said, “Aquino and his pork gang should resign now in shame. Calls for him to be removed from office via impeachment or via a people’s uprising is growing and is increasingly justified. Aquino and his pork gang should be ousted.”
KMU’s Elmer Labog said, “The SC ruling could only further fuel calls for the Pork Barrel King’s resignation, if not ouster from office.”
“There’s a sucker born every minute” exhibition promoter David Hannum once said.
I’m included in that perpetually increasing list of suckers.
Past midnight last Wednesday,June 25, 1:27 a.m. I got this text message from +639752279723:
GlobeAlert: You’re the one lucky selected postpaid plan that has given 40% discount on your billing. To avail your 40%discount just forward your 3-digits pin code to 29752279723. You will receive the 3 digits pin code on next message.