Waters under the bridge
Posted on June 30, 2008 - Filed Under Politics, Governance, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
As early as June 26th, helicopters from the USS Ronald Reagan began delivering relief supplies to Iloilo and other areas hardest hit by Typhoon Frank . . . even before the aircraft carrier reached Philippine waters.
Bad idea, according to Sen. Pong Biazon who pointed out that a U.S. warship was not the proper response to […]
Great Scott! McClellan is no longer Pinocchio
Posted on May 30, 2008 - Filed Under Politics, Governance | Leave a Comment
White House press secretaries can only be as candid as their prime sources of information that go into their regular press briefings. Unfortunately for Scott McClellan, George W. Bush and the US president’s senior advisers expected him take on the added burden of being the chief propagandist of a sub-surface agenda pertaining to the Middle […]
Read More..>>Jail time for Nani? Perez the thought.
Posted on May 24, 2008 - Filed Under Politics, Governance | Leave a Comment
The alleged crime was committed just two days after Gloria M. Arroyo became president in the wake of Joseph Estrada’s ouster. However, for a special reason that has become an open secret, it has taken the Ombudsman all these years to charge Hernando ‘Nani’ Perez . . . Pres. Arroyos’s very first Justice secretary . […]
Read More..>>Watch this guy Rolex
Posted on May 18, 2008 - Filed Under Politics, Governance | Leave a Comment
In the ZTE-NBN telenovela that’s poised to be launched its third season pretty soon, not too many may recall that it was Rolex Suplico . . . a former three-term congressman and currently the vice-gov of Iloilo . . . who went a step further than either Joey de Venecia or Jun Lozada: He took […]
Read More..>>Highway robbery
Posted on April 13, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
My brother Rey, who’s a New Jersey-based town planner and architect, forwarded an email with magnificent photos of the almost completed Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx).
The email’s original sender hints at possible kickbacks of 10% in the freeway’s construction which is obviously way under the 25% to 40% ‘going rate’ . . . an open secret going […]
Adding salt to injury
Posted on April 8, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
Step aside, Joc-joc Bolante. It looks like the fertilizer scam that you allegedly orchestrated has now been overshadowed.
As reported by Malaya . . .
“COCONUT farmers yesterday echoed the call of the Federation of Free Farmers for an investigation on a P2 billion salt fertilization project and corn seed program of the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) […]
Days of swine and ruses
Posted on April 5, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
Hogging the headlines in the past few days is another scandal that has something to do with sort of ‘rerouting’ around P2.2B in Quedan and Rural Credit Corp. (Quedancor) funds. There are allegations that most of this government lending agency’s 2004 budget to assist farmers in boosting swine production went instead to Pres. Arroyo’s presidential […]
Read More..>>No lies shortage
Posted on March 29, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
UP professor Felipe Medalla is a rarity among former public officials. He rarely issues press statements but when he does, he makes excellent sense. As quoted by Malaya yesterday in reference to a looming rice crisis, the former Economic Planning secretary said,
“The collective wisdom of the market should decide importation. The more the government interferes […]
Let them eat cassava cake?
Posted on March 21, 2008 - Filed Under History, Governance | Leave a Comment
In the days leading up to the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette, the Queen Consort of Louis XVI, was supposed to have said, “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche!” (Let them eat cake!) after she was informed that the French masa (pan intended) had no more bread to eat.
Some historians are unsure if Marie Antoinette actually uttered […]
Unlike father, unlike son
Posted on March 15, 2008 - Filed Under Governance, Pinoys Extraordinaire | Leave a Comment
Manila’s Mayor Alfredo Lim has a well-deserved reputation for fairness in enforcing laws . . . albeit sometimes unconventionally.
The mayor had an unusual opportunity to prove this once again yesterday when he was informed of his son’s arrest by
What do you call female attack dogs?
Posted on March 13, 2008 - Filed Under Politics, Governance | Leave a Comment
ABS-CBN News reports that a women’s group has filed charges of illegal procurement and nepotism against Senate star witness and former PhilForest boss Rodolfo Lozada Jr.
Babae Para sa Kaunlaran (BABAE KA) has accused Lozada of entering into several irregular transactions including
No noose is good news
Posted on March 5, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
Antipolo Bishop Francis de Leon is one clergyman who does not mince words.
In a commentary over Radio Veritas yesterday, Bishop de Leon said, “Binigyan sila ng lubid (clearly referring to Malacañang and its limited options in relation to CBCP’s stand on Executive Order 464).
“Itong lubid na ito ay yung oportunidad na magbago. So, pwede […]
Ill-starred general
Posted on March 5, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
In all probability, the 2-star general must have thought that he could get away with his own version of ‘S.O.P.’: Extort money in amounts ranging from P25,000 to P30,000 that would guarantee
Read More..>>Sneer, and yet so far
Posted on February 24, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
It’s becoming quite clear that Pres. Arroyo is not inclined to step down any time soon . . . and appears steadfast in her determination to serve out her term until 2010.
In a radio interview Saturday, she effectively sneered at her detractors by announcing unequivocably that “Nothing can make me
Neri has no cojones
Posted on February 12, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
Jun Lozada, the star witness for the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee probe on the NBN-ZTE kickbacks scandal has gone one step further by writing the following piece . . . being circulated by the Black and White Movement . . . that provides quite a few clues why saying “Magpakalalaki ka!” to Romulo Neri could […]
Read More..>>An unlikely hero to like
Posted on February 12, 2008 - Filed Under Headliners, Governance | Leave a Comment
He resigned last week as president of state-owned Philippine Forest Corp. (Philforest) . . . no doubt to pre-empt being muzzled by the Palace . . . but ever since Rodolfo Noel ‘Jun’ Lozada Jr. decided to come out in the open to speak out with an insider’s perspective on the NBN/ZTE scandal he has […]
Read More..>>Losing in winning
Posted on February 6, 2008 - Filed Under Governance | Leave a Comment
Joe de Venecia had definitely overstayed when he racked a record of being the only five-term Speaker of the House but the manner in which he was yanked out this week could have repercussions that Pres.Arroyo and her clan may have underestimated.
While the oust-JdV ringleaders . . . including Pres. Arroyo’s two solon sons […]
PNP’s blast theory bombs
Posted on January 24, 2008 - Filed Under Headliners, Governance | Leave a Comment
Despite preliminary findings by government forensics investigators that mentioned the presence of traces of RDX at the Glorietta 2 shopping mall blast site, the Philippine National Police has issued a final report that lays the blame squarely on
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