ellen tordesillas – Page 319 – Making life worth living.

Dire warnings

Published by Ellen on April 1, 2008

Senate majority leader Francis Pangilinan said if the Supreme Court’s ruling on Romulo Neri’s taking refuge under the cloak of executive privilege to hide the involvement of Gloria Arroyo in a scandalously overpriced telecommunications deal, becomes final and executory, “the Blue Ribbon committee will henceforth be powerless to conduct its inquiries on alleged wrongdoing involving high ranking government officials. All the executive secretary has to do is send a similar letter he sent in the Neri case by giving a general reason for invoking the privilege, then we in the Senate can no longer ask questions on the issue.”

Namamayagpag ang masama

Published by Ellen on March 31, 2008

Isang matalinong ginoo sa Europa na nangangalang Edmund Burke ang nagsabi na “All that is needed for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Sa Tagalog, “Ang kailangan lang ng demonyo na manalo ay ang mga taong mabuti na magsawalang kibo.”

Namamayagpag ngayon si Gloria Arroyo dahil marami sa mga taong akala natin mabuti at nagsasawalangkibo.

What if you win the lotto jackpot?

Published by Ellen on March 31, 2008

Update: The lotto jackpot has been won by someone from Luzon. Not me nor any of those interviewed here. But it was worth dreaming, even for a brief moment.

As I was writing this piece, the P228 million jackpot prize for 6/49 SuperLotto, the biggest in Philippine lotto history, was still up for grabs.

I asked friends what they would do with the money if they won. Their answers revealed their secret dreams. It’s fun and touching.

Palace sets new bar to attending probes

Published by Ellen on March 30, 2008

Invokes SC on lack of Congress rules

by Jocelyn Montemayor

Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita yesterday said Cabinet members would invoke the Supreme Court ruling requiring the publication of rules of procedures before appearing in any of the congressional inquiries particularly in the Senate.

Ermita, in a press briefing at the Aplaya Resort in Calatagan in Batangas, said the Supreme Court, voting 10-5, last Friday ruled that Section 21 of Article VI of the Constitution requires the publication of the ground rules or rules of procedures that would be observed in the conduct of inquiries.

Panagutan ng nambastos ng eleksyon

Published by Ellen on March 29, 2008

Sa isang demokrasya, mahalaga ang eleksyon bilang paraan para mamili ang taumbayan ng mga opisyal na gusto nilang mamuno sa kanila.

Sa paraan ng eleksyon, naisapagkatuparan ang sinasabi ni Abraham Lincoln, presidente ng Estados Unidos na ang demokrasya ay gobierno ng mga tao, na pinapalakad ng mga tao, para sa mga tao.

Vera Files on line

Published by Ellen on March 29, 2008

I’d like to invite you to visit and link with Verafiles.org. Vera Files puts out in-depth articles on current issues. Vera is Latin for “true”.…

Sharp increase in rice prices spark anxieties across Asia

Published by Ellen on March 27, 2008

From GMA News Online:

by Associated Press

Philippine activists warn about possible riots. Aid agencies across Asia worry how they will feed the hungry. Governments dig deeper every day to fund subsidies.

A sharp rise in the price of rice is hitting consumer pocketbooks and raising fears of public turmoil in the many parts of Asia where rice is a staple.

No executive privilege to hide crime

Published by Ellen on March 27, 2008

This part of Associate Justice Antonio Carpio’s dissenting opinion is the whole point of the issue whether Romulo Neri’s invocation of executive privilege upholds or hampers the search for truth and rule of law:

“Executive privilege must be exercised by the President in pursuance of official powers and functions. Executive privilege cannot be invoked to hide a crime because the President is neither empowered nor tasked to conceal a crime. On the contrary, the President has the constitutional duty to enforce criminal laws and cause the prosecution of crimes.

Sira na ang Korte Suprema

Published by Ellen on March 26, 2008

Tuwing may isyu ang sagot ni Gloria Arroyo at ng kanyang mga alagad ay “dalhin sa husgado.”

“Bring it to court” ang kanyang mantra.

UNCLOS’ regime of islands

Published by Ellen on March 25, 2008

In the beginning, the bills delineating the country’s archipelagic baselines, filed in the House of Representatives by Cebu Rep. Antonio Cuenco and in the Senate by detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV were the same.

Both bills included the Scarborough Shoal in the vicinity of Zambales as part of the baseline and the Kalayaan Island Group in the Spratlys as “regime of islands.” While Cuenco’s bill has evolved into something else and has passed second reading, Trillanes’ bill has remained unacted on.

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