Category: Senate

What Duterte’s henchmen have come up with against Trillanes

Published by Ellen on October 21, 2019

Then senator Antonio Trillanes IV, flanked by Se. Franklin Drilon and Sen. Risa Hontiveros, when Pres. Duterte tried to nullify the amnesty granted him by President Benigno Aquino III.

If all that President Duterte’s henchmen can come up with against former senator Antonio Trillanes IV is Guillermina Barrido, that means they have scraped the bottom of the barrel and found nothing.

The preliminary hearing resumes Oct. 22 and it is interesting to see what fiction and invention Duterte and his minions have again produced.

Duterte’s con artists tried fake bank accounts and it was Duterte that they conned. Trillanes was able to debunk them by getting a certification from the banks mentioned in the documents.

Duterte tried dragging in Trillanes sick mother in the Napoles helmet scam but records in the Sandiganbayan of the case never mentioned her name.

Trillanes has joined the academe after his stint in the Senate. It’s a quieter life compared to the years after he and a group your military officers decided to make a stand against corruption in the government of Gloria M. Arroyo in what is known as the Oakwood mutiny on July 27, 2003.

Duterte blinked

Published by Ellen on September 9, 2018

Pres. Duterte upon arrival from Jordan says Solicitor General Calida was source of info on Sen. Trillanes alleged missing amnesty papers.

Three days after Pres. Duterte attempted to nullify the amnesty granted to Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV by his predecessor Pres. Benigno Aquino III, the institutions that he expected to execute his order and support him blindly did not deliver forcing him to backtrack.

Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, in his media briefing in Amman, Jordan last Friday before the presidential party returned to Manila after official visits to Israel and Jordan, announced that the President has decided to abide with the rule of law.

Roque said Pres. Duterte had convened a cabinet meeting while he was in Jordan about his order to arrest Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV as contained in his Proclamation 572 : “Kahapon po, binigyan ko ng kumpirmasyon na nagkaroon po ng pagpupulong si Presidente sa lahat po ng Gabinete na sumama sa biyaheng ito. Pinag-usapan po nila kung ano ang magiging posisyon ng administrasyon tungkol po dito sa pag-revoke ng amnesty kay Senator Trillanes. At matapos po ang mahabang talakayan, nagdesisyon ang Presidente that he will abide with the rule of law; aantayin po niya ang desisyon ng hukuman, ng Regional Trial Court kung sila ay mag-i-issue ng warrant of arrest. So uulitin ko po, desisyon ng Presidente is he will allow the judicial process to proceed, and he will await the issuance of the appropriate warrant of arrest if there is indeed one to be issued ‘no before Senator Trillanes is arrested and apprehended.”

Duterte’s amnesty revocation betrays desperation

Published by Ellen on September 4, 2018

Sen. Antonio Trillanes delivering his privilege speech on the revocation of his amnesty.

If Pres. Duterte thought that Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV would cower in fear and hide when he ordered the revocation of the amnesty granted to him and other officials who took a stand against the presidency of Gloria Arroyo on July 27, 2003 at then Oakwood Hotel (now Ascott) at the Makati Commercial Center and on November 29, 2007 at The Peninsula Manila hotel in Makati.

No, the 47-year old senator, who was imprisoned for more than seven years (he won his senatorial seat in 2007 while he was in detention) called Duterte a coward.

“Mr. Duterte, duwag ka. Inantay mo pang makaalis ka bago mo nilabas itong proclamation mo. (Mr. Duterte, you are a coward. You waited until you have left before your released this proclamation.)

SEA lawyers groups call on Senate not to pass Villanueva bill on fake news

Published by Ellen on November 22, 2017

Southeast Asian lawyers tackle Freedom of Expression and Fake News. Photo from Ade Wahyudin Facebook.

The concern about Fake news has created another concern: in the urgent desire to solve the problem of fake news, we might end up with a cure that is worse than the disease.

Fake News has been blamed for political upsets like the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union and the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States.

In the Philippines, the Duterte government maintains an aggressive presence in social media through its Duterte Diehard Supporters led by a communications undersecretary.

Collins Dictionary, which has chosen Fake News as the word for the year 2017, defines Fake News as “as false news stories, often of a sensational nature, created to be widely shared online for the purpose of generating ad revenue via web traffic or discrediting a public figure, political movement, company, etc.”

Last Friday, the Advocates for Freedom of Expression Coalition- Southeast Asia (AFEC-SEA), Center Law and American Bar Association- Rule of Law Initiative gathered lawyers, journalists and online activists from Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines ,Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam to discuss the situation as regards the rise of Fake News with the objective of forging a Southeast-Asian Response.

Lozada’s conviction stresses urgency of whistleblowers law

Published by Ellen on August 28, 2016

Jun Lozada in a Palm Sunday mass. File photo

At this time of his life, it’s his faith in God that keeps Rodolfo “Jun” Lozada Jr. going.

The government has failed him. The country’s justice system turned against him. Many “friends” have abandoned him after they have used him for their agenda.

After his conviction to six to ten years in prison by the Sandiganbayan last week in the case involving the lease of idle lands when he was president of the Philippine Foreign Corporation, a teary-eyed Lozada said the decision was difficult to take but he is holding on to faith in God: “I once said before, eight years ago, one of the lessons I learned is that the opposite of fear is courage. In reality, the opposite of fear is faith. So I’m holding on to faith in God.”

Sister Mary John Mananzan, one of those who have consistently helped Lozada and his family all throughout Jun’s eight- year ordeal deal, said the case would not have materialized if he did not testify in the aborted corruption-tainted $329.5 million national broadband project with the Chinese firm, ZTE Corp.

“I’m sure of it. All the cases against him came out after he became witness. If it was really his crime, why wasn’t he charged when he was with PFC?” she asked.

Thank you, Sen. Joker Arroyo

Published by Ellen on October 13, 2015

I owe Joker Arroyo big time.

As a legislator, Joker Arroyo had millions of pesos at his disposal under the Priority Development Assistance Fund. Some of his colleagues disposed of their PDAF into their pockets with gusto.

Arroyo earned the reputation as “Scrooge” because of his low office expenditure. He maintained a very small staff.

I had been a recipient, however, of the generosity of the Congress’ “Scrooge.”

Poe to Aquino: Be a leader, tell the truth

Published by Ellen on March 17, 2015

Sen. Grace Poe reveals findings of Senate committee that investigated Mamasapano tragedy.

Reading President Aquino’s speech before the 2015 graduates of the Philippine Military Academy last Sunday, I got the impression that he is isolated from the real world outside Malacañang.

For how does one who has to suffer daily the monstrous Metro Manila traffic and the inefficiency of the MRT accept his painting of the country as a paradise and taking credit for this “accomplishment”: “At hindi naman sa pagbubuhat ng bangko, pero ngayon pa lang, masasabi nating higit na maganda ang kalagayan ng bansa kumpara sa ating dinatnan. Nilinis natin ang burukrasya, tinugis ang mga tiwali, pinasigla ang ekonomiya, at nagbukas tayo ng mga bagong pinto ng oportunidad para sa ating mga kababayan. (Not to be self-indulgent, but at this stage, we can truly say that our country’s situation is much better than we found it. We cleaned up the bureaucracy, pursued the corrupt, revitalized the economy, and opened new doors of opportunity for our countrymen.)”

Gutter talk in the Senate is good

Published by Ellen on January 24, 2013

JPE. Thanks to Yahoo for this photo by Voltaire DomingoNPPA Images

Of course, what has been going on in the Senate the past weeks is disgusting.

But it is good that it is happening.

Alan Peter Cayetano standing up to Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile

If the controversy over the discriminatory distribution of Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile of the Senate Christmas loot – P1.6 million for the 18 senators and P250,000 for the four whom JPE does not like namely Senators Miriam Santiago, Antonio Trillanes IV, Pia Cayetano and Alan Cayetano- the public would not have known how they are skewered by the people they are spending billions on supposedly to serve them.

If Enrile didn’t become petty and arrogant and gave all the 22 senators, even including himself, the same amount, we would not have known that they are wallowing in excess funds while millions of Filipinos survive in a hand-to-mouth existence.

Hindi happy ang mamamayan sa ginawa ni Enrile

Published by Ellen on January 13, 2013

Note: Enrile’s statement at the end column

May mga sitwasyun na kailangan mo ang mga katulad ni Sen. Miriam Santiago na magsasabi ng gusto mo sabihin ngunit hindi mo masasabi.

Mabuti naman at umalma si Santiago tungkol sa pamumudmud ni Senate President Juan Ponce-Enrile ng P1.6 milyon sa 18 na senador maliban sa apat na hindi niya kursunada.

Ang apat na senador hindi niya kursunada ay sina Santiago, Antonio Trillanes IV, Allan Cayetano, Pia Cayetano. P250,000 lang ang binigay niya sa apat.

Ang pera ay savings daw ng Senado. Ipinasok ni Enrile ang P1.6 milyon bilang dagdag sa “Maintenance and Other Operating Expenses (MOOE)” ng mga senador.

The sad, dramatic, if redeeming, life of Juan Ponce Enrile

Published by Ellen on October 6, 2012

By Pablo A. Tariman, VERA Files

The 753-page of “Juan Ponce Enrile: A Memoir” has many things going for it.
For one, the simple yet striking cover layout doesn’t call attention to itself and for another, it is well-edited (by Nelson Navarro) which makes for smooth, easy reading. It is, by turn, a no-nonsense book about someone’s life as he lived it and how he survived it.

Divided into two parts ( “With God and Guts” and “Making A difference”), the memoir has a unique voice you can’t mistake for a politician’s. The narrative flows with ease as the subject recalls the poverty-stricken barrio of his birth and ending his joining the government in the first part.
The first part is easily the most engrossing and the most poignant. The author – now well-known and famous — recalls the abject poverty of his past with startling details.

Born February 14, 1924, Juan Ponce Enrile (JPE) admits he was a love child baptized in the Aglipayan Church as Juanito Furagganan. His father, Alfonso Ponce Enrile, was born from parents from Baliwag, Bulacan. He notes that his grandfather, Damaso Ponce, was first cousin to Mariano Ponce of La Soledaridad, the propaganda arm of the Philippine Revolution of 1896.