ellen tordesillas – Page 86 – Making life worth living.

Aquino still in deep slumber despite wake up call

Published by Ellen on October 17, 2013

Mahar Mangahas commented on this column in my FB wall:

“Ellen, the SWS report about the 2013Q2 rating of the ADMINISTRATION was NOT a recycled piece; it was simply the final release from the 2013Q2 SWS survey. It is different from the SWS report on the 2013Q2 rating of the PERSONAL PERFORMANCE OF PNoy, which was released much earlier. Our report last week on the 2013Q3 personal rating of Pnoy was the first of a series from the third quarter survey; more will follow in due course, including the rating of the Administration (not the person) again. http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20130923.htm

“Ellen, here is the earlier SWS report about the 2nd quarter rating of PNoy, that you claimed was “recycled.” SWS does not do recycling; publicity is not our occupation.
http://www.sws.org.ph/pr20130729.htm”

Now we know why the three-month old survey of the Social Weather Station showing a high public satisfaction for the Aquino administration was recycled last Sept. 19.

At the height of the pork barrel/Janet Napoles scandal and the bungling of the Zamboanga conflict involving the Nur Misuari’s Moro National Liberation Front, the SWS survey conducted June 28-30 and was reported about in July was released again and was carried by major media outlets.

What to do during an earthquake

Published by Ellen on October 15, 2013

Before and after earthquake photos of centuries-old Loboc church in Bohol. Yahoo photo.

Let’s pray for those who were affected by the earthquake that shook the Visayas and Mindanao yesterday.

Renato Solidum, the head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology said more aftershocks could happen in the coming weeks.

I’m reprinting here guidelines from the “Disaster Preparedness and First Aid” handbook prepared by the Senate Committee on Climate Change chaired by Sen. Loren Legarda. The guidelines were provided by the Phivolcs.

Azerbaijan oil fuels Nobel Peace prize; Filipino part of winning group

Published by Ellen on October 13, 2013

OPCW Director-Gneral Ahmet Uzumcu in a presscon oct 9 in The Hague on their winning the Nobel Prize.

A Filipino is a member of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons which won the highly prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for this year.

His name is Franz Ontal, head of the inspector training of the United Nations-backed chemical weapons international watchdog, which oversaw the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons.

Ontal is from Negros Occidental. An article in the Philippine Daily Inquirer said studied in La Salle Bacolod where he completed his undergraduate course in biology. He immigrated to the United States in the 1980s and worked in New York where he held jobs related to medical services. In 2005, he joined the OPWC in The Hague. Netherlands first as a medic for the chemical weapons inspector and disposal teams. He now holds the position of head of inspector training.

Human rights violations by CHR officials

Published by Ellen on October 9, 2013

The human rights protector is the human rights violator.

This is deplorable. Officials of an agency tasked to protect the Filipino citizens’ human rights are being accused of human rights violations.

VERA Files’ Jonathan De Santos reported last week that two former employees of the Commission on Human Rights filed a complaint with the Ombudsman against Commissioners Cecilia Rachel “Coco” Quisumbing and Norberto Dela Cruz for violating the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Quisumbing is also accused of bribery.

Estrada’s ‘dud’explodes

Published by Ellen on October 3, 2013

Aquino's dare: 'Impeach me' — Aquino’s dare: ‘Impeach me’

Aquino haters can try impeaching him for going with his Budget Secretary’s concoction of the Disbursement Acceleration Program but as Sen. Miriam Santiago correctly predicts, it will not prosper.

Not because it was legal as Abad and his spokesmen aver but simply because he controls both chambers of Congress. And for the very reason that he makes everybody happy with the releases that he finds himself now in hot waters.

The DAP was “discovered” by the public after a few days of twisting by Malacacañang and its allies on the P50 million releases to each senator (it turned out others got more like Senators Franklin Drilon, P100 million, Chiz Escudero P99 million, and Juan Ponce Enrile, P92 million) after the impeachment of Supreme Court Renato Corona in May 2012 that Estrada revealed in his speech, “Untold story of PDAF”

DAP- pork in another form

Published by Ellen on October 1, 2013

Malacañang must be feeling beleaguered.

Press Secretary Edwin Lacierda went all the way from Malacañang to ABS-CBN to appear personally in Anthony Taberna and Gerry Baja’s radio program “Dos por Dos” to insist that DAP (Disbursement Acceleration Pogram) is not violative of the Constitution according to the opinion of former Senator Joker Arroyo.

Arroyo said it’s the first time that he heard such an animal called DAP.

Former National Treasurer Leonor Briones questioned the legality of this DAP, which was created in October 2011, two months before the start of the impeachment against Corona. “Is there an executive order? Is there a provision in the Constitution which legitimizes its creation?”

Megan Young’s victory: a much welcome break

Published by Ellen on September 29, 2013

Megan Young’s winning the Miss World title is welcome break from all the depressing news that we have been getting the past months.

We so wanted something pleasant after months of pork barrel stories exposing the insatiable greed of Napoles and our public officials. The Zamboanga stories, despite the government’s declaration of ‘Mission Accomplished” are heartbreaking and emotionally draining.

Megan Young provided a lovely respite. And we thank her for that.

We deserve a break.

That’s what those who watched ABS-CBN Philharmonic Orchestra’s concert of the music from Disney movies like The Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Mary Poppins, Tarzan, Little Mermaid, Mulan, Alladin and others at the Cultural Center of the Philippines last Saturday felt .

For two hours, we forgot about pork barrel and Zamboanga and traveled to as far away as South Africa and China under the baton of the ebullient Gerard Salonga with actress and TV personality Nikki Gil as our journey guide.
We just wished the screen was bigger for the excerpts from Disney’s animated films.

Yamsuan sold Rockwell condo to Napoles

Published by Ellen on September 28, 2013

By VERA Files

Two whistleblowers in the pork barrel scam said Thursday that a former Malacañang consultant sold his Rockwell condo unit to Janet L. Napoles, allegedly the brains of the pork barrel scam that has dragged the names of a number of lawmakers and their staff.

Marina Sula and Benhur Luy said they saw Yamsuan twice in Napoles office in Discovery Suites. “Nagpunta kasi siya sa office sa Discovery, mayroon siyang in-offer na condo sa Rockwell na nakapangalan sa misis niya na binili ni Ms. Janet Napoles,” Sula told the Senate Blue Ribbon committee investigating the anomalous use of the Priority Development Assistance Fund.

But the sale of the three-bedroom unit was not completed because of incomplete documentary requirements, the two said.

VERA Files earlier reported that Yamsuan, a consultant in the office of Executive Secretary Paquito “Jojo” Ochoa, was fired last Aug. 12 when President Aquino learned of his links with Napoles after his name was mentioned in the interview by Inquirer editors and columnists with the controversial pork barrel operator, the transcript of which was run by the newspaper verbatim.

Quarrel among thieves

Published by Ellen on September 26, 2013

Sama-sama na tayo lahat. Thanks to Inquirer for photo.

The speech of Sen. Jinggoy Estrada may not be as explosive as expected but the public is benefitting from it because we are getting a bigger and more realistic picture of how rotten the system is, and how “tuwid na daan” is being drawn with crooked lines.

Estrada is one of three senators (the two others are Senators Ramon “Bong” Revilla and Juan Ponce-Enrile) charged with plunder in connection with the anomalous use of their PDAF as allegedly operated by Janet Lim Napoles.

Estrada, in his 90 minute speech, never denied his involvement with Napoles’ scam. His complaint was, why only the three of us?

It is distressing because what we are seeing is a quarrel among thieves. But we console ourselves with the wise words of old folks that “When cattle rustlers quarrel, the farmer gets back his cow.”

The impropriety of police escorts for AiAi

Published by Ellen on September 24, 2013

Ai Ai at Kung Fu Diva presscon. Photo by Czeasar Dance NPPA Images from Yahoo.

Clarifying that her security escorts are not from the Presidential Security Group, comedian AiAi de las Alas revealed they are from the Philippine National Police.

Seeing nothing improper about the practice, she bragged, “Ako ang nagpapasweldo doon. Hindi ako nagnanakaw sa bayan. Part iyon ng proteksiyon sa sarili ko. (I’m the one paying them. I don’t steal money from the people. This is part of my protection.)”
She denied that President Aquino meddled in her case as alleged by the lawyer of her former husband Jed Salang. “Problema ko ito at bakit ko sila isasali? (This is my problem so why would I involve them)” she said.

Someone should tell AiAi that having a policemen as her security escorts my not be illegal but it is highly improper considering that the alarming peace and order problem in the country is attributed to the PNP being undermanned and the rise of petty crimes in Metro Manila is due to lack of police visibility.

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