Questioning of soldiers in absence of lawyer hit
by Victor Reyes
THE military attempted yesterday to get statements from 14 detained Army personnel without the presence of a counsel, a lawyer representing the soldiers said.
“In any custodial investigation, they should be assisted by a lawyer,” said Vicente Verdadero, who has volunteered to be the counsel of the 40 soldiers.
Ngayong araw ng mga kaluluwa, maganda gunitain ang mga magagandang leksyon na atin natutunan sa ating mga yumaong mahal sa buhay.
Mahalaga ang mga alaala lalo na sa ngayong panahon na nagkakahiwa-hiwalay tayo sa ating mga pamilya at hindi na natin magagawa ang ating mga kinaugalian na pumunta sa puntod tuwing All Souls Day at All Saints Day.
Ang aking nanay at tiyo ay sa probinsiya nakalibing kaya ipagdasal ko na lamang sila. Ang aking ina ay namayapa noong 2003 habang ako ay inihahanda para sa operasyon sa aking ovarian cancer. Sa payo ng aking doctor, hinintay ng aking mga kapatid ang ilang araw, hanggang lumakas-lakas ako ng kaunti bago nila sinasabi sa akin ang pagpanaw ng aking ina.
There are a number of things that I don’t like about the politics of former President Fidel Ramos, foremost of which was his coming to the rescue of the beleaguered Gloria Arroyo in June 2006 following the expose of the “Hello Garci” tapes that showed she actively manipulated the result of the 2004 elections in her favor.
But you have to credit him for his sharp political instincts. That’s why his warning last week that “Arroyo’s days are numbered” is both intriguing and disturbing.
Ramos gave his grim assessment of Arroyo’s presidency as he expressed his disgust over the absolute pardon given to former President Estrada who was convicted last September of plunder, a crime punishable with life imprisonment.
Check out www.petitiononline.com/snap08.
You may sign in after reading the following manifesto for the immediate resignation of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noli de Castro and for the holding of special “snap” elections within 60 days
WHEREAS, because of the numerous unresolved scandals involving the present administration, including but not limited to the �Hello Garci� Election controversy, the ZTE , North Rail Project, Diosdado Macapagal Highway scandals, the Joc-joc Bolante Fertilizer scam, Jose Pidal caper, hundreds of unresolved extra-judicial killings and the latest Malacañang Bribery Incident, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has completely lost her moral authority to govern this country;
Ito ang sinabi ni dating Pangulong Fidel Ramos sa kanyang pag-analisa kung bakit binigyan ni Gloria Arroyo ng pardon si dating Pangulong Estrada.
Sinabi ni Ramos na napakahina na ni Arroyo kaya gagawin niya ang kung ano lang para lang siya hindi matumba.
Yan din ang sinabi ni Sen. Richard Gordon. Sabi niya, “Pinili niya (GMA) ang mag-survive rather than be right, rather than be just. It’s not even a question of mercy. It’s a question of survival sa kanya. It is a transactional leadership at its purest form.”
by Victor Reyes
Military officers detained for last year’s supposed power grab attempt yesterday called Armed Forces chief Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr. a “coward” for what they said was his refusal to admit he was responsible for the dishonorable discharge of 26 enlisted personnel linked to the plot.
They said Esperon ordered the “illegal discharge” of the 26 soldiers “who had been illegally incarcerated without charges.”
“The worst thing is that Mr. Esperon did not have the balls to admit that it was he, in fact, who ordered the discharge of our patriotic enlisted personnel. Instead, he passed the responsibility to the commanding general of the Philippine Army,” the officers said in a statement distributed to media at the resumption of court martial proceedings in Camp Capinpin in Tanay, Rizal where they are detained.
Above photos show the 26 soldiers at the Transient Quarters waiting for their ride out of the Philippine Army they had once served with dedication and loyalty.
Amid hastily packed boxes and plastic pails containing their meager belongings, 26 enlisted personnel of the elite Scout Rangers waiting for their ride home at the at the Transient Quarters of the Philippine Army in Fort Bonifacio,couldn’t help but blurt out their disgust at the shabby treatment they got from the institution they served so well.
From ABS-CBN online:
Detained Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV said Thursday he is willing to present three witnesses to two of his colleagues who doubted his claims that the government was behind the Makati mall blast that killed 11 people and injured scores of others.
Trillanes urged Senate Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan and Sen. Gregorio “Gringo” Honasan to meet him so that he can present these witnesses to them.
He earlier said these witnesses could prove that National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and Armed Forces Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon Jr. masterminded last Friday’s deadly blast at Glorietta 2 mall in Makati City. He even said the witnesses were people connected to Gonzales.
From Inquirer Online:
by By Lira Dalangin-Fernandez
Convicted president Joseph Estrada is a free man.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo granted pardon to the 70-year-old deposed leader following a recommendation by the Department of Justice (DoJ), Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said in a press conference on national television.
Inquire Online:
by Erwin Oliva
President Gloria Macapagal- Arroyo had allegedly asked former socioeconomic planning secretary Romulo Neri why he did not accept the P200-million bribe offer for a favorable endorsement of the national broadband network project, the son of Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr. disclosed to the Senate.
Jose De Venecia III, who testified anew on Wednesday at the resumption of the Senate investigation on the NBN project, said this was what Neri had revealed to him.