Latest Update On the Maguindanao Massacre

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under: ,
46 bodies have been dug so far. This despicable act was pre-meditated...planned and executed by no less than the 'political monster' created by GMA herself. It must be recalled that the Ampatuans delivered the crucial votes for GMA in the 2004 elections, and a 12-0 victory for GMA's senatorial bets in 2007. Maguindanao was also were the first dry run for computerized elections was help during the ARMM elections where Zaldy Ampatuan won hands down. Expect the worst for the coming 2010 elections.








For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV
 



Secretary Jesus Dureza with the Ampatuans immediately after the massacre
"Concocting a whitewash?"




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30 Killed In Poll Related Violence - Expect The Worst For the 2010 Philippine Elections!

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under: ,
Map of Maguindanao showing the location of BuluanImage via Wikipedia
6 months away from the 2010 elections and barely 4 days after the start of the filing of the Certificates of Candidacies, and already 30 people died in the most violent 2010 poll related incident in the Philippines. Buluan vice mayor Ismael "Toto" Mangudadatu who is running for governor of Maguindanao told ANC that his wife, Jenalyn, his sister, and some relatives together with some 15 media men who went to cover the event were on their way to file a certificate of candidacy on his behalf when a group of about 100 armed men abducted them.

Responding Armed Forces of the Philippines personnel, the 601st Infrantry Brigade, recovered 13 female and 8 male bodies were found around 4:30 p.m. Monday. In a phone interview with ABS-CBN News, Buluan Mayor Ibrahim "Jong" Mangudadatu confirmed that at least 30 bodies have been recovered as of Monday evening. Madaser "Toy" Mangudadato, a member of regional legislative assembly of ARMM, told ANC that they sent their female relatives to file the certificate of candidacy for "Toto" in the hope that their political rivals would not harm them. Earlier, it was reported that the Ampatuans warned that if Toto will personally file his candidacy, he will be hurt.

The Ampatuans are known allies of the administration, and the audacity with which the crime was committed in broad daylight only goes to show to what extent these politicians are willing to go to remain in power.

Here are the news accounts from the two major television networks networks. Unfortunately the news accounts are in the local language and no annotations are available.






For the latest Philippine news stories and videos, visit GMANews.TV


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Noynoy Aquino @ "GMA's Isang Tanong, Isang Sagot"

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under: ,
Together with the other presidentiables, Noynoy Aquino went under the spotlight in GMA'S "Eleksyon 2010 Isang Tanong, Isang Sagot", a GMA public affairs program that let the viewers know more about their candidates. My apologies to non -Filipino readers, the following video is in the local dialect and there are no translations nor annotations available.





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Take A Load Of This! - A Potshot on Philippine Politics Today

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under:



If you were entertained by the popular Korean "Nobela",  Boys Over Flowers, you'll surely find it hilariously entertaining watching the unfolding daily drama known as the Philippine Presidential Elections 2010.
Words of Warning: The performances of the above actors and actress in the forthcoming presidential campaigns can be deceptively convincing enough to divert your attention away from the unfinished tasks of EDSA Revolution of 1986!
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The Open Letter To FVR From Lila Ramos Shahani

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under: , , , , ,
Yup! You guessed it right. Lila Ramos Shahani is the niece of former president Fidel V. Ramos. I came across her new blog Notes From An Insomniac - forays into things elliptical by Lila R. Shahani (through Noynoy Aquino's website). Lila is currently working on her doctorate at Oxford and doing consultancies for the UN on the side. Little known to the Filipinos, she must have grown up and schooled abroad, Lila's blog shows that her heart and soul is more pinoy than many of us. Lila has chosen to be outspoken as she boldly pronounced her stand on Philippine politics - to no less than  former president Fidel V. Ramos who is her uncle, a staunch supporter of GMA, and a political kingmaker.

Her first ever entry on her new blog is an open letter to her uncle FVR. I am posting her letter here in its entirety because I believe every Filipino must read it...I believe this is how every Filipino must think about the forthcoming presidential elections too. Her letter to her infamous uncle shows her genuine concern for the Filipinos.


14 October 2009




Dear Uncle Ed,



I was very relieved to hear that you were all safe and sound in the wake of Ondoy and Pepeng. But how devastating that our people had to go through two such onslaughts (particularly in Pangasinan, Ilocos and Manila -- all of which remain very close to our hearts) one after the other! I hope and pray that the flooding eventually subsides and people are rehabilitated safely. And if Napocor and the San Roque people are in fact partially responsible for the terrible flooding in Pangasinan, I sincerely hope that they are made to face their day in court.


I thought I would write you because I’m concerned about some things that have been happening at home. I am not sure who you will endorse for president but I know that it will most likely tip the balance again, much in the way that your endorsements have done in the past. I have never felt the need to write you before, although I have always carefully observed your decisions through the years.


And I certainly had questions -- questions about human rights during the martial law years, military logging under the Marcos administration, the signing of IPP contracts after the power crisis (and the high cost of electricity for consumers), the San Roque dam, PEA/Amari, the Fort Bonifacio conversion/privatization program, the VFA, the Centennial celebration, the endorsement of Joe de V and the continued support of GMA until the bitter end. I was relieved to learn that you had been cleared of any wrongdoing in the PEA/Amari case, but always wondered whether your decision to endorse Joe de V (which was after all a party decision as well) was inextricably linked to it.


Why am I bringing all this up now? Only to say that, as your niece, I have had many questions about your decisions through the years, but none that ever made me feel the need to engage with you at length. To begin with, ours was not a particularly discursive relationship. More importantly, I always felt the need to give you the benefit of the doubt, and trusted that you had the best interests of the Filipino people at heart.


And there was certainly ample evidence that you had done tremendous things in your lifetime. Not only were you a hero of EDSA 1: you had had a brilliant military career and were arguably one of the best presidents the country has ever had. Winning by only a small margin, you turned what might have been a costly liability into the success of pluralism. With liberalization and deregulation during your term, FDI increased and the economy as a whole remained strong, even throughout the Asian financial crisis. In fact, privatization, revenue generation through a VAT on luxury goods and services, working with the communist and Muslim insurgency, and focusing on OFW rights (particularly in the case of Flor Contemplacion) -- were all hallmarks of your administration, and certainly the kind of decisions my Fletcher professors would have applauded. Indeed, the suggestions of corruption were minimal, seen in the context of all your positive contributions and in comparison with preceding and succeeding presidents. Without a doubt.


But I finally had to break my silence after having watched the Ondoy aftermath with horror, realizing that our government was as much to blame for the colossal loss of life and habitation in the country as was climate change. As an engineer, you know that the flooding was also due to poor civil engineering, urban planning and zoning; lack of waste management; lack of education and corruption.


The thought of your supporting Gibo (or even a Villar/Escudero tandem, for that matter, in the event that Gibo has become too unpopular since Ondoy) was finally enough to make me put pen to paper. Without a doubt, Gibo is “incomparably competent,” but then so were Joe de V and GMA, Uncle Ed -- and look what happened. I understand that you supported GMA because you wanted macroeconomic stability in the country above all, particularly in the apparent absence of any viable alternatives.


But I think the sweep of history speaks for itself: competent candidates with strong party affiliations are not necessarily going to be good leaders, nor will they necessarily be what the people want. Because they lack a certain basic honesty, and I suspect the people sense that. If Gibo were sincere, why would he stay with Lakas-CMD, particularly now that the merger with Kampi has been honored by the Supreme Court? Surely the ruling party has been discredited at this point, in view of everything GMA has done? There really is no need to enumerate anymore: I think, by now, we’re all pretty familiar with what those things are.


Even Obama was reluctant to have an audience with her, and overseas Filipinos continue to refuse to send money to the Ondoy victims through their embassies and consulates, so deep indeed is their distrust of the government! Moreover, his performance in the post-Ondoy relief effort has hardly been stellar, as you must have already noted. Gibo is also undoubtedly backed by Danding (despite the alleged rift), which suggests that the two things that very much impede progress in our country -- monopolies and oligarchy itself -- will ultimately remain unchanged. This is ostensibly the reason why many young people remain wary of Chiz/Loren or Villar/Escudero. As for Manny V, his meteoric rise to power is nothing short of impressive, to be sure, but his proclivity for engaging in back-room deals has certainly not gone unnoticed. In short, what we see in these candidates appears to be more of the same -- a position, I might add, we can no longer afford, and certainly not at this critical moment in our nation’s history.


Of course Erap’s decision to run will split up the opposition even further, which certainly strengthens the ruling party’s hand. But perhaps my biggest fear about Gibo (apart from the very real possibility that, in subtle ways, the ruling party might cheat) has to do with the fact that charter change appears to be imminent, in which case, if GMA runs for Congress in the meantime, it is not entirely inconceivable that she could become our next Prime Minister. To be sure, you would be granted the same type of soft power you’ve been granted during GMA’s administration, but is it really worth it in the end, Uncle Ed? Do you really want to go down in history as the guy who saved GMA after “Hello, Garci” and who continued to hand the country down to its unscrupulous elite from one administration to another? Isn’t the respect of the young -- and of history itself -- the most important thing, at the end of the day? In my humble opinion, the best way to refurbish the fading Eddie brand now is to do the right thing and heed the will of the people.


Noynoy, of course, is less than perfect: we all know that. His record is remarkable only in its lack of remarkable achievements, and he certainly isn’t a particularly brilliant thinker or charismatic speaker. But he has never been tainted by any suggestions of corruption and does not appear to have the propensity to throw his weight around. He is apparently thoughtful, respectful and humble, and we can only hope that his lineage will encourage him to sacrifice for the country the way his extraordinary parents did. Because of this inimitable heritage, he is now the one candidate with the potential to unite the opposition against the ruling party. For his part, Mar is no slouch, moreover, and the Liberal Party appears to have some progressive elements.


The point is: the people are clearly tired, not just of the “bickering,” as you say, but of the trapos themselves, and are willing to bet on someone who falls very far outside the standard mold (Noynoy is, if you will, a reluctant Cojuangco, something many respect and appreciate). At any rate, I sincerely hope you will consider my thoughts -- the thoughts of a young Filipina who loves her country immeasurably -- when you make your decision.


But none of this changes my love and respect for you, Uncle Ed. I’m just sorely disappointed and hope that, for once in my life, you might actually recognize that I'm old enough to make my own assessments. Nor does this mean that I’m not a “team player.” Because my definition of teamwork is not that you command the team and everyone is thereby obligated to obey you. Instead, team members should be able to have different view points, while still working together for the greater good of the collective whole. In fact, democratic exchange within the team can often enhance the quality of its collective decisions on the whole.


I sincerely hope that you place the country over any other considerations and choose the candidate who is really best for the country, and not in terms of who might further consolidate the tremendous power you already wield.


I hope you won’t be offended by what I have written (and hope you understand if I decide to include some of these ideas in my new blog) but, at 42, I think I’m finally entitled to my own opinion, Uncle Ed. You are after all the only father figure I have ever had (although you may not know it) and I’m writing you the way I would have written my own father, had I just been given a chance.


Please take care of yourself.


Love always,


Lil


Let us just hope the uncle will listen his niece because her thoughts are also the thoughts of millions of suffering Filipinos today.

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My Apologies To My Entrecard Droppers!

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under:


My sincerest apologies to all my Entrecard droppers.....I have not been able to reciprocate your drops for the last 8 days.....my internet connection went poooped for the last 8 days.  Apparently, my phone lines were accidentally?!? cut off by another phone/ISP provider!  Worst, it took 8 days for my own service provider to resolve the issue...after almost a dozen frantic calls from me...after I finally lost my temper and hollered like hell at the service agent on the other line.

I'm back to my dropaholic form with a promise not to miss a single day again!

Mea Culpa!
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Failure Of Philippine Elections In 2010 Is More Than Likely - Read This!

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under:


Remember Manuel Zelaya?....The former Honduran president who was ousted in June, 2009 through a military coup? Through an undoubtedly well-planned military operation executed in one single day, Zelaya was arrested and deported at gunpoint. He was supposed to complete his presidential term later this year but he was calling for a referendum to change the constitution so he can remain in power beyond the one term limit imposed by their constitution.

Apart from the similarities in their intentions to hang on to power beyond their constitutionally mandated term limits (of ousted Hondurian president Manuel Zelaya and incumbent Philippine president Gloria Arroyo), I am not inclined to discuss the Honduran incident any further than mentioning the common morbid intention of both leaders.

However, what struck me cold was an incident reported in the Honduran press after the ouster of Zelaya!

Computerized Election Results With No Election
july 10 | kdawson


Posted on Wednesday, July 22, 2009 12:23:58 AM by Pessimist

"In Honduras, according to breaking Catalan newspaper reports (translations available, USA Today mention), authorities have seized 45 computers containing certified election results for a constitutional election that never happened. The election had been scheduled for June 28, but on that day the president, Manuel Zelaya, was ousted. The 'certified' and detailed electronic records of the non-existent election show Zelaya's side having won overwhelmingly."

Guess who supplied Honduras the computerized counting machines!.... The same consortium who will be supplying the machines for the Philippine's 2010 elections!... The same consortium that has supplied the same machines and kept Zelaya's friend and mentor Hugo Chavez of Venezuela in power!


With this revelation, you should not now wonder why practically everyone in Arroyo's cabinet have signified their intentions to run for public office in the coming 2010 elections! You should not wonder now why a practically unknown figure in Philippine politics, with no party affiliations at all to begin with, and only boasts of being Arroyo's Defense Secretary for a short while would run for the highest position in the country. You should not now wonder why Arroyo and her henchmen have the nerve and the gall to call for a charter change like Manuel Zelaya....why they have the nerve to go on wanton spending binges abroad while the rest of the country is mired in poverty!

You should no longer wonder...because Arroyo and her henchmen have the 2010 stage set to their advantage! They know they only need to wait for the 2010 elections and the results will be in their favor!

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Winners Of The IzeaFest Prize Pack

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under: ,
Pondering

Today MarketLeverageTV becomes the MarketLeverage TV Network with multiple shows. And during the debut episode of WrapUp the winners of BenSpark's Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack Contest will be chosen.

This contest sprang forth from the mind of Drew Bennett - AKA BenSpark (@BenSpark) after writing his list of 10 Essential items to bring with you to IZEAFest. While writing that post Drew was thinking about all the conferences that he's attended over the years and the things that were essential to a blogger at each event. His dream was to be able to provide those items as prizes to a lucky blogger who will be attending IZEAFest 2009. That along with his 10 Reasons to Attend IZEAFest 2009 gave him inspiration to ask for help in making his dream of giving a great prize pack to some lucky bloggers a reality.


So Drew went out and asked multiple sponsors for help. He is an IZEA Insider for the "I'm Not A Famous Blogger" Crew and as such was provided with tickets to IZEAFest. So prize number one was taken care of. You can't have an Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack without a ticket to IZEAFest. From there Drew recruited the generous help of Dina Riccobono (@MLDina) and MarketLeverage (@MarketLeverage) who provided Drew with an Asus Eee PC 1000HA and a Flip Mino HD that is Co-Branded BenSpark.com and MarketLeverage!

Early on when Drew started his search for prizes he made a request from ZINK Imaging who gave him two Polaroid Pogos and 200 sheets of ZINK Paper. He uses one of them to create unique Business cards. When Drew meets you he asks you to take a photo with him using his Xshot. He then prints out an instant photo with his Pogo on ZINK paper and sticks it to the back of his business card. Drew is donating one of his Polaroid PoGos to the winner. He also secured An Xshot for each winner because there are two runner up winners who not only get IZEAFest Tickets (A fantastic and valuable prize in its own right) but they will each get a smaller prize pack.

Drew's friend Michael at Xshot hooked him up with a business contact in the Flipbac Innovations Company and they kicked in some Flipbac (@flipbac) angled viewfinder and LCD screen protectors for digital cameras as prizes. Each Runner up gets one of those and Drew has a few extra to give away at IZEAFest.

To keep people going all weekend long Drew was able to get a case of BluFrog Wildly Healthy Energy Drink donated by Martha Decker (@MarDeck). He is also including energy drink packets from EBOOST (@EBOOST). Drew will have close to 100 packets to give away at IZEAFest 2009, come find him for one. Runner up winners also get an EBOOST prize pack.

Continuing to fill out his Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack Drew sought out help from one of his "I'm Not A Famous Blogger" crew members, Jennifer Leet (@jentifa. Jennifer is the queen of contests and she connected with one of her sponsors BriteView (@BriteView to get a Cinema Cube to add to the Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack.

Still not quite sure that he had the Ultimate Prize Pack for an IZEAFest attendee Drew sought out something innovative and cool that would reflect the fun open spirit of learning and networking of IZEAFest. He found the perfect prize in the Poken. Drew asked a question on Twitter about whether the Poken was worth the money and the call was answered by @PokenGirl. PokenGirl explained that the Poken is a device that one can use to connect with other people physically by slapping a "High 4" with that other person's Poken. What that does is exchange a digital business card that contains your online social media profiles. Since IZEAFest is all about learning, having fun and making connections with other people a Poken is a great prize that will be going to each of the winners. They even get to choose which of the cute little Pokens they want.

With the Prize Pack Assembled Drew only needed to find some willing judges and he did at Affiliate Summit East. First he recruited Famous Blogger Murray Newlands (@MurrayNewlands), then "I'm Not A Famous Blogger" crew member Tim Jones (@Timothy_Jones) or rather The Real Tim Jones. He also recruited Eric Schechter @ericschechter of ClickBooth and last but not least he recruited Kim Ann Curtin (@KimAnnCurtin, Life Coach to the Affiliates.

The Judges had a difficult task ahead of them. There were four bloggers who went that extra mile to try for the Ultimate IZEAFest Prize Pack. Those folks along with the many others who entered the random drawing are waiting on the edge of their seats until WrapUp airs on the MarketLeverage TV Network Monday Morning 10:30am EST.

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Need Help In Looking For The Best Web Hosting Service? Try Web Hosting Geeks!

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under:
Looking for the best web hosting service provider  is not an easy task.  It can be hopelessly difficult and truly confusing -  what with hundreds of sites making a claim to be the best service provider in this category. (It's just like looking for a needle in a haystack!) A Google search for the 'best web hosting services' will yield 42,100,000 results while a Yahoo search came up with 269,000,000 sites.  What may add up to your confusion is the fact that these major search engine results include sites that rate different web hosting service providers and those that post tips for bloggers - and there are as just as many rating sites as there are website hosting providers (with their numbers constantly increasing everyday).

The first thing you need to do is to first determine your specific website needs prior to choosing your hosting service provider since this will help you tailor fit your choice provider according to your requirements. Once you have determined what you want out of your website, you now need to compare services and benefits offered by the different listed providers. This is where rating sites become handy.

One web hosting rating site that will surely help you in your search for a hosting service provider that meets your needs to the tee is Web Hosting Geeks -Web Hosting Reviews, Rating and Awards since 2004!
This site constantly rates hosting service providers and features the biggest searchable web hosting directory. Web Hosting Geeks provides complete information on all web hosting providers, their web hosting plans, promotional and discount coupons, and includes unedited user comments by real customers in each review. Valuable information about each service provider can be found on this site such as general information about the site, pricing information, easy-install CMS features, availability of marketing bonus credits, domain and email features, site management tools, optimal database administration, scripting language support, eCommerce systems used, security features, and site building tools.


Web Hosting Geeks also provides users with valuable how-to articles to help web site owners gain additional knowledge in building and improving their sites. You can browse through the many useful articles  in the Web Hosting Geek's blog.



So, if you are looking for the best web hosting service provider, don't just grab the first attractive ad that comes your way. Analyze and compare each one using Web Hosting Geeks

Visit this site now!





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THE LONGEST SERVING, AND THE MOST CORRUPTION-RIDDEN ADMINISTRATION - NEXT ONLY TO MARCOS

Author: bigdaddyrichard Posted under: , , , ,


Gloria Macapagal Arroyo assumed the presidency of the Philippines after the church-led massive
Cropped photo of president Gloria Macapagal Ar...Image via Wikipedia
demonstrations forced the then incumbent president Joseph Estrada to vacate the presidential palace in the year 2000. Arroyo, being the vice-president then, assumed the presidency. It must be recalled that Estrada won the presidency overwhelmingly two years earlier due in part to his popularity as an actor but mostly for being forever sympathetic to the masses. Estrada won despite the unrelenting all out campaigns launched by various religious sectors and other business personalities against him citing his immoral , philandering ways(Estrada has several wives and mistresses) and belittling his ability to assume the highest position in the land. Estrada’s detractors never really stopped even after he won the elections by the biggest ever margin in Philippine election history. They succeeded in finally ousting him in 2000 throwing away the will of the silent majority who voted him into power into the trash bins of history.

I can still vividly recall the televised statement made by then Chief Supreme Court Justice Hilario Davide, when interviewed while on his way to administer the oath of office to Arroyo. In that interview, he declared that he is on his way to administer the oath of office on Arroyo as temporary president (since Estrada never really resigned his presidency). But alas, the ’temporary’ became permanent as turn-coat politicians started pledging their loyalties to Arroyo one after the other, and as various branches of the military gave their all out support to the new president. Davide even ruled later on that Arroyo’s governance is legitimate eating up his own words and providing a legal basis to Arroyo’s administration. Arroyo and her henchmen (the same bunch of infidel politicians and military advisers who turned their backs on Marcos, the same bunch who tried to grab power from Cory during her transitional term after martial law) established their foothold on the government.

Arroyo and her henchmen, wizened by experiences from the dictator Marcos’ ouster, and taking cue from former president Ramos’ expert handling of public relations to cover up government anomalies, did what Estrada failed to do! She courted, pampered, and spoiled the military, sealing their loyalty to her government forever. She also strengthened her own previously unpopular and unknown political party by adopting into her political fold the fallen political lackeys of the former dictator Marcos and other political turn coats, putting her two sons and brother in law into the mainstream political scene as congressmen, and solidifying alliances with former president Ramos’ political party.

Circumventing a legal loophole in the constitutional provision for a 6-year single presidential term limit adopted during Corazon Aquino’s presidency, she managed to run for the presidential election in 2004. She would have lost to an equally popular Estrada ally but with the help of an election commissioner (Garci) whom she herself placed into position days before the election, as well as with the help of the military, Arroyo successfully overturned the results of the elections in her favor in the last few days of the counting.
Arroyo has already served 8 years as Philippine president. Her assumption to office in 2000 was mired in controversy. Her electoral victory in 2004 was fraught with fraud! She has resolved to finish her term till 2010. Never the less, her political allies are now silently crafting a bill to amend the constitution designed to keep her and themselves in power! If she succeeds to stay in power till 2010, and especially if her political allies succeed in pushing the bill to make the charter changes, then Arroyo will be the longest serving president after Marcos!

And, much like Marcos, Arroyo’s presidency is mired by a long list of controversies, allegations of graft and corruption, political persecution of the opposition, and assassination of radio and print media practitioners critical of her government.

Among the many controversial issues and charges of Graft and Corruption which have hit the headlines throughout the Arroyo presidency include:
(From Bulatlat.com)

The Jancom Controversy ($360 million garbage incineration project despite the law banning incinerationplants in the country)

The IMPSA PROJECT ($470 million project to rehabilitate the Kalayaan, Caliraya, and Botocan hydropower plants) The approval was signed by then Justice Secretary Hernando Perez. Apparently, the DoJ approval was used by IMPSA to pressure the National Power Corporation (NPC) to make payments. IMPSA received more than $50 million although it had invested only $9 million, and in addition tens of millions of dollars more in fees not provided for in the contract.

The President Diosdado Macapagal Avenue (For this project, the PEA secured a P1 billion loan from the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS). PEA director Sulficio Tagud, Jr., however, later disclosed that the project had been overpriced by P533 million. A document in the possession of the government employees' group Confederation for the Unity, Recognition and Advancement of Government Employees (Courage) reveals that the loan was approved by Avelino Cruz, then presidential legal counsel.)

Mismanaged Funds By PAGCOR - Pagcor, which had a negative cash flow of P170 million in 2002, reported a negative cash flow of P850 million from January to April 2003.
The net profit of Pagcor, which goes to the President's Social Fund, reached P1.1 billion last 2002. Surprisingly from January to April, 2003 its profit came to only P170 million. At its present rate, the 2003 PSF would amount to only P510 million or less than half of the 2002 total.

A Pagcor manager, interviewed by a national daily in September, gave among other things three sources of Pagcor's financial difficulties: "onerous" contracts, "profligate spending," and "massive, mindless" donations.
Mismanaged FundsBy GSIS - GSIS president’s Garcia's cash advances amounting to P3.4 million (U.S.$ 61,818.18), the establishment of district offices worth Php4 million (U.S.$ 72,727.27) each, and the appointment of outside legal counsel for the cost of Php200,000 (U.S.$ 3,636.36) a month were among the cases cited here.
Aside from these, Garcia has also been denounced allegedly for using GSIS money to purchase the painting Parisian Life by Juan Luna. The painting is currently on a national tour sponsored by the GSIS.
Garcia is also said to earn P540,000 a month. Aside from hiring outside legal counsel at P200,000 a month, he is also said to have appointed some 130 vice-presidents who earn P70,000 a month.
The GSIS president-general manager is also accused of contributing at least P100 million to the campaign funds of Macapagal-Arroyo. Late October, the President said she would retain Garcia in his GSIS posts despite appeals for his removal by GSIS rank-and-file employees all over the country.

Mismanaged Funds By The Judiciary - The judiciary, on the other hand, has always been exposed as a bulwark of corruption. The allegations assumed a face last July 8, when the Commission on Audit (CoA) revealed that some P300 million of the Judiciary Development Fund (JDF) for 2001 remained unaccounted for.
Court employees, including judges, have questioned the decrease in their cost-of-living allowances, and courts are known to be suffering from an acute lack of facilities. The SC led by Chief Justice Hilario Davide, on the other hand, is reported to have been spending for the construction of summer rest houses for its justices in Baguio City and for the purchase of luxury cars.

Peace bonds - Described as Poverty Eradication and Alleviation Certificates issued by the government, the Peace bonds were conceptualized by the Caucus of Development NGOs (Code-NGO) supposedly to raise funds for the anti-poverty activities of its member organizations.
Code-NGO gained access to the corridors of power, through its links with Macapagal-Arroyo, after the People Power 2 uprising. Two of its leaders were appointed to the Cabinet: Corazon Soliman was appointed secretary of social welfare and development, while Teresita Quintos-Deles was appointed to head the National Anti-Poverty Commission.
Code-NGO is alleged to have used its political connections to make a profit of Php1.4 billion in a series of transactions in Peace bonds worth Php35 billion pesos.

Jose Pidal - By far the most explosive corruption case to erupt under the present administration is the Jose
Pidal issue. Jose Pidal is allegedly no other than President’s Arroyo’s husband.
As alleged, there are Php36 million in the Jose Pidal accounts, Php48.4 million in the account of the Macapagal-Arroyos' Lualhati Foundation, Php19.3 million in the account of Victoria "Vicky" Toh (the first gentleman's secretary and allegedly also his mistress), Php7.5 million in the account of Thomas Toh (brother of Vicky), and Php21.1 million in the account of Kelvin Tan (Vicky Toh's brother-in-law).
Although Macapagal-Arroyo had received Php321 million for her candidacy in 1998, she reported only Php50.2 million to the Commission on Elections.
In his affidavit, Eugenio Mahusay - Lacson's would-be "star witness" in the Jose Pidal expose - named, among the donors to the Jose Pidal accounts, Pagcor chair Efraim Genuino; Transportation and Communication Secretary Pantaleon Alvarez; lawyer Ching Vargas of the finance division, Office of the President; and Kishore Hemlani, a rice trader in charge of the rice importation of the National Food Authority. Mahusay also said that the biggest amounts deposited into these accounts came from Genuino.

Military corruption - The subject of military corruption has always been talked about in the Philippines, but an armed protest action by some 300 young officers and enlisted men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) brought it out in the open last July 27.
In the Oakwood mutiny, the rebel soldiers alleged that then Defense Secretary Angelo Reyes was involved in the sale of arms and ammunition to guerrilla and bandit groups. This was a charge corroborated by two officers of the Philippine Marines, Captains Danilo Luna and Ury Pesigan, in a separate venue.
Reyes was forced to resign from his position a few weeks later following a wave of public outrage. The Macapagal-Arroyo government, however, has resurrected him in another capacity - as anti-kidnapping czar.
Wong's expose created restiveness within the Marines. Reyes offered Wong the assignment of chief of the Northern Command. Realizing he was being demoted, Wong resigned from his post. Asked to comment on the matter, Macapagal-Arroyo said Reyes had done "the right thing."

A former Philippine Army Comptroller and his whole family is being investigated for smuggling millions of dollars to the U.S. A Philippine police officer attending a seminar in Russia together with other police officials, was also caught carrying a large amount of cash.

The $330 Million ZTE Broadband deal bribery scandal to grant the project to ZTE.
 
The Php728Million Fertilizer Fund Scandal perpetrated by Jocjoc Bolante prior to the 2004 presidential elections, the then Undersecretary for Agriculture and close friend of the first gentleman.


The October 11 Cash Dole Outs Ranging from Php200,000 to Php500,000 – Totaling between Php100 million to Php 200 million, cash was handed out in brown bags to 190 pro-administration congressmen and 50 governors to pre-empt another impeachment charge against the president.

The Legacy Case and The Blatant Bribery Scandal Involving A SEC Commissioner

The World Bank Report of Corruption in World Bank Funded Government Projects which mentions the participation of the first gentleman in the awarding of projects to ‘favored’ contractors in exchange for a bribe.

There is a seemingly endless list of corruption and scandals running throughout the more than 8 years of Arroyo administration so much so that the Millennium Challenge Corporation , the entity running the Millennium Challenge Program, a grants program by the U.S. government that provides funding to the poorest countries of the world, declared in their December 11 meeting that it will not be signing any compact proposal until such a time as the corruption level in the country has gone down to an acceptable level.
This, I doubt whether it will happen in Arroyo’s term. This administration has brought us back to the Martial Law era of widespread corruption. Arroyo and her henchmen have totally succeeded in reversing the democratic gains culled from the struggles of Benigno Aquino Jr. and the countless militants who died fighting for freedom at Mendiola and other picket lines. She has totally thrown into the waste bin of history the political gains born from the non-violent EDSA revolution that ousted a dictator. She has turned herself into a power-hungry political tyrant even her own late father (former Philippine President Diosdado Macapagal) will condemn if he were alive today.

This administration has gone to great lengths in violating our rights, undermining our institutions and promoting a climate of impunity just to stay in power. The Arroyo administration will go tobrazen lengths to silence the whistleblowers who try to expose corruption.

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