The US Deputy Secretary of State Negroponte to RP: Focus on solving extrajudicial slays

The US Deputy Secretary of State said Tuesday he believes that the Philippines could halt the spate of extrajudicial killings in the country as he urged authorities to focus on the cases of politically related murders.

"We of course know about these reports although the facts are not entirely clear as to the extent to which these killings might be occurring. What we want to do is encourage the authorities, the appropriate authorities, to look into these matters and give them the attention that they deserve," John Negroponte said in an interview with Maria Ressa, ABS-CBN news and current affairs chief.

Lives Destroyed: Attacks on Civilians in the Philippines

Philippines: Extremist Groups Target Civilians
More Than 1,700 Killed and Injured in Bombings and Kidnappings

(New York, July 30, 2007) – Violent Islamist groups in the Philippines have killed or injured more than 1,700 people in bombings and other attacks since 2000, Human Rights Watch said in a new report and photo essay released today. The attacks, mostly in Mindanao, Basilan, Jolo, and other southern islands, have also included kidnappings, executions, and shootings.

The 28-page report,“Lives Destroyed: Attacks on Civilians in the Philippines,” contains personal accounts and photographs of bombing sites and of victims of attacks and their relatives. It describes how attacks have killed children, parents, husbands, and wives, and caused terrible suffering among wounded survivors and relatives. The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) and the Rajah Solaiman Movement (RSM), based in the southern Philippines, are implicated in or have claimed responsibility for many of the attacks.

“Extremist armed groups have spread terror among civilians in the Philippines,” said John Sifton, senior researcher on terrorism and counterterrorism at Human Rights Watch. “They have bombed buses carrying workers, food markets where people were shopping, airports where relatives were waiting for loved ones, and ferry boats carrying families.”

The casualties since 2000 amount to more than the number of people killed and injured in bombing attacks during the same period in neighboring Indonesia (including the 2002 Bali bombings), and considerably more than the number of those killed and injured in bombings in Morocco, Spain, Turkey, or the United Kingdom. The scale of the violence, however, has not received widespread attention outside the region.

Human Rights Watch faulted the Philippines government for not prosecuting those responsible for attacks. Although numerous suspects in bombing attacks have been arrested since 2000, Human Rights Watch said that very few have been successfully brought to trial, and prosecutions in some cases have been delayed for more than four years. The rest of the story.

US cuts military aid to AFP amid rights charges

It’s a big slap against tyrant Gloria Arroyo and her abusive military leadership. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is responsible for the cut back. It means less 'kurakot' for the military top brass. The US condemned the extra-judicial killings and the poor treatment of political opponents and journalists by a few in the Philippine security forces.

US cuts military aid to AFP amid rights charges

By RODNEY J. JALECO

ABS-CBN North America News Bureau

WASHINGTON D.C. The United States has cut by nearly two-thirds the assistance intended for the Philippine military and police forces next year following allegations they were involved in extra-judicial killings.

A State Department report showed the extent of reduction -- Foreign Military Financing (FMF) was reduced from nearly $30 million to only $11 million by fiscal 2008 which starts this September. It also slashed the International Military Exchange Training (IMET) program in the Philippines from $2.9 million to $1.5 million over the same period.

These funds directly benefit the 160,000-man Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP). The FMF is used to pay for the procurement of military equipment from the U.S., including Excess Defense Articles or surplus from the U.S. military stockpile -- everything from patrol boats to spare parts and ammunition. IMET, on the other hand, pays for the cost of sending and training AFP officers in the U.S.

The U.S. will also reduce its International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement (INCLE) program to the Philippine National Police, from almost $2 million to just $1.1 million.

The aid cut is an offshoot of shifting American priorities and recent policy changes that centralized decision making on how to divide the $26 billion allocated to foreign assistance next year.

US State Secretary Condoleeza Rice overhauled the way foreign assistance was distributed to more than 120 countries around the world.

The bulk of the foreign aid budget of $23 billion will go to just a "handful" of countries, leaving about a hundred countries to vie for the remaining $3 billion.

Rice has set five key criteria to prioritize US allocation of foreign aid. Recipient countries are evaluated on the basis of their contributions to building peace and security; governing justly and democratically; and reducing widespread poverty, among others.

The Philippine situation is aggravated in part by persistent charges of human rights abuses allegedly committed by members of the police and military. A panel led by church leaders and human rights activists told a Senate panel last March that over 800 people, including 25 churchmen and scores of journalists have fallen victim to extra-judicial killings in the six years President Arroyo has been in power.

They charged many of these were perpetrated by members of the security forces. Most of these murders have remained unsolved, and only a few have actually been prosecuted.

Four months after that damning report in the U.S. Senate the Arroyo administration is faced with another incident – the abduction of farm technologist Jonas Burgos, son of the late media icon Jose "Joe" Burgos Jr. Witnesses identified the vehicle used in the abduction and subsequent investigation traced it back to the impounding lot of an army battalion headquarters in Bulacan.

The Washington Post reported that Secretary Rice had personally approved the country-by-country budget figures.

In a rare move, the US Senate appropriations committee had inserted specific language in the foreign aid bill that forbids U.S. military assistance to be used against civilians. It directed Secretary Rice to monitor the use of this aid to ensure it is not "misused by units of the security forces against civilians who are members of political opposition parties and human rights groups".

The Philippines got considerably less than most neighbors in the East Asia and Pacific region. Indonesia, for instance will receive $32 million for economic and investment support, compared to $22.9 million for the Philippines; and $60 million vs $26 million for conflict mitigation and programs that promote democratic and economic institutions.

The Philippines on the whole, will get a smaller piece of the U.S. foreign aid pie next year. The allocation for the Child Survival and Health Fund was reduced from $24.6 million this year to $17.5 million in 2008 and Development Assistance from $24.2 million to $22.9 million during the same period. However, the Philippines will enjoy a slightly higher benefit from the Economic Support Fund, or from $24.7 million today to $26 million next year.

But a Philippine Embassy official downplayed the possible link between the country’s deteriorating human rights image to reduced U.S. aid.

He explained that lower military aid can be attributed to the fact that the U.S. has already delivered 90% of the military equipment promised by President Bush when he classified the Philippines as a "major non-NATO ally". These included patrol boats, helicopters, rifles and so-called "force multipliers" like night-vision equipment and satellite radios.

The U.S., he insists, provides military assistance in other forms, more often indirectly, by sharing their technology and intelligence gathering capabilities in fighting Islamic extremists in Mindanao.

Even in the face of this argument, the huge decline in US military aid to the Philippines is glaring. Only five years ago, the Philippines ranked 4th among countries receiving the FMF and 2nd in IMET beneficiaries. In 2003 alone, the AFP received $115 million in military assistance from the U.S.

The True State of the Nation

Photo: Arkibong Bayan

Gloria’s First World in 20 years pure fantasy

By Chito Lozada Business Editor

Daily Tribune 07/24/2007

The most striking part of President Arroyo’s policy speech in the State of the Nation Address yesterday was her target of putting the Philippines in the ranks of First World nations in 20 years, which an economist described as an obvious publicity spin.

University of the Philippines (UP) economics Prof. Benjamin Diokno, who was Budget secretary during the term of deposed President Joseph Estrada, said the economy is far from going the path of an industrialized nation.

“Forget the First World status in 20 years. For the next three years, she’ll be lucky if she can make up for her neglect of educa-tion, health and infrastructure,” Diokno said.

He noted that for every P1-tax that the Arroyo administration has collected,

93 centavos went to debt service.

He noted that based on a recent UP research, the historical growth of the Philippine economy from the Nineties to the present, averages only slightly more than four percent even if only non-crisis years are included.

Diokno said except for 2004, the Arroyo administration has consistently failed to meet its own gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate targets, which is used as basis in tracking economic growth.

“The gap between the promise and actual performance has been widening and it would be much wider if no further reforms are adopted. Given how weak the government is, however, further reforms are highly unlikely,” Diokno asserted.

He noted that the economy has not performed well enough to improve the lives of the poor.

According to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Asian Development Outlook 2007, which was released last March 27, the Philippine economy has been growing only moderately which was not enough to address the country’s worsening problems of unemployment, underemployment, and poverty, Diokno said.

The economy is being hobbled by fiscal mismanagement in government which resulted in the collection of higher taxes, thus reducing the disposable income of Filipinos.

“Every Filipino is now paying more taxes, effectively reducing the money in his pocket, and as a result, reducing his overall welfare,” Diokno said.

He said wrong priorities had made the plight of Filipinos worse. The Arroyo administration is spending less for education, basic health care and public infrastructure, and more for debt service, he said.

The fiscal mismanagement was reflected in the Arroyo administration’s failure to get congressional support for its budget plans.

“It operated on a reenacted budget for three of the six years it has been in power. The national budget is an important tool of public policy, it is supposed to provide the flesh and blood to the skeletal medium-term plan or vision of any government,” according to Diokno.

By agreeing to run the government without an approved budget, the critical role of the budget is lost, he added.

Mrs. Arroyo incurred the highest budget deficits, measured in terms of national government deficit, public sector borrowing requirements and consolidated public sector deficit, in recent Philippine history, Diokno said.

Her priorities were misplaced. The President neglected education, health and public infrastructure, thereby propelling the Philippine economy on a lower growth trajectory. Debt servicing became the government’s top priority, he said.

The Arroyo administration incurred the highest budget deficits — which peaked in 2002— in recent Philippine history. In 2002, the budget yawned to a P214 billion deficit, the biggest ever for a Philippine administration.

“After creating such a monumental fiscal mess, Mrs. Arroyo now wants credit for cleaning it up,” according to Diokno.

To cover the fiscal disaster, Mrs. Arroyo has to rely heavily on borrowings.

“When Mrs. Arroyo assumed power in 2001, the national government’s outstanding debt was P1.9 trillion; it now stands at P3.9 trillion, which means the national government’s debt rose by P2 trillion during Arroyo’s watch.

Interest payments as percent of GDP peaked at 5.5 percent in 2005, up from 3.6 percent in 1999 4.2 percent in 2000, Diokno added.

The result is the current debt servicing level quadrupling since Mrs. Arroyo took power in 2001.

The P854.4 billion spent to service the national government’s debt, covering interest and principal, in 2006 is almost equal to what it collected in taxes of P860 billion during the year.

Put differently, for every 100 pesos collected in taxes, P99.35 went to debt servicing, he said.

Government spending per student was P5,830 per student during the administration of former President Joseph Estrada compared to P5,467 during the present administration.

The combined per capita health spending, adjusted for inflation, in 2000 prices, was the highest during the term of Estrada; it dropped during Mrs. Arroyo’s watch. It was P201 during the term of Estrada against P184 for each Filipino in the Arroyo administration.

Poor priorities helped push the economy to uncompetitiveness in the world stage.

According to the World Economic Forum, the Philippines’ ranking in global competitiveness, has been falling, from a ranking of 48 in 2000 to 71 in 2006.

By contrast, the country’s neighbors in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) garnered the following rankings in 2006: Singapore 5, Malaysia 26, Thailand 35, and Indonesia 50.

Poor governance and the dismal state of public infrastructure have deterred foreign direct investment, Diokno said.

The country’s investment rate is “extraordinarily low at about 15 percent,” as pointed out by the Joachim Von Amsberg, World Bank’s country representative, at the Philippine Development Forum held in Cebu last March 8 to 9.

The domestic investment rate of the Philippines has dropped from 19 percent in 2001 to a record low of 14.8 percent in 2006 while those of its neighbors have continued to rank from 20 percent to 40 percent based on ADB’s Asian Development Outlook 2007.

During the last six years, the economy has not performed well enough to make a difference in the lives of most Filipinos, especially the poor, Diokno said.

Not enough jobs were created, inflation remained high, and consequently the 2006 misery index is higher than the 2000 level.

Fitch says Philippine fiscal performance disappointing
RP stocks fall, dragged by Fitch statement on deficit

Kidnapped Italian priest released in Philippines

Photo:Mindanews

Bossi released in Lanao Norte town without ransom
One-and-a-half months after his abduction, Italian priest Giancarlo Bossi was released Thursday night and has been brought to a police camp in Zamboanga, radio reports said.

Radio dzBB reported before dawn Friday that a Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) "renegade" faction released Bossi at 9 p.m. Thursday following "negotiations" led by a former mayor.

Bossi: Abductors introduced selves as 'Abu Sayyaf'

Arroyo Likely To Impose New Taxes To Avert Fiscal Crisis

Sta. Ana coordinates Action for Economic Reforms. This article was published in the Opinion Section, Yellow Pad Column of BusinessWorld, July 2, 2007 edition, page S1/4.

How do you solve a problem like the BIR?

Remember the Beatles’s song titled Taxman? Even though we, like the Beatles, hate taxes and the tax collector, it is to our interest to make the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) efficient.

For the ordinary people, the BIR’s enhanced revenue collection can translate into more and better provision of public goods. Over the years, under Mrs. Arroyo’s administration, per capita spending or real spending for basic services—education, health, infrastructure, and others—has declined.

The budget for basic education has been below 1.5 percent of GDP since 2001. Health spending has been below 0.5 percent of GDP. Infrastructure spending since 2003 has been below one percent of GDP (0.73 percent in 2006, according to the Department of Budget and Management). As a ratio of GDP, infrastructure spending in poor Laos is bigger. All these expenditure figures are way below the international benchmarks. All these expenditure figures are way below the international benchmarks.

The fiscal deficit has significantly narrowed. In fact, the budget has a primary surplus. But it exacted a high price, for government, aside from increasing taxes, cut productive spending.

The passage of new taxes should result in a better fiscal picture without sacrificing government spending. Both the increase in the rate of the value-added tax and the adjusted excise tax on sin products have contributed to the fiscal turnaround. Taxes have increased, but collection is below the avowed goals or targets.

‘Employment’ Up, but Little Gainful Work

Activists protest as terror law takes effect

Photo from Arkibong Bayan
www.arkibongbayan.org

Palace document shows gov’t plan to neutralize Left


Supreme Court-led summit attempts to stop killings

Tipo-Tipo Debacle: Mortars were duds, warnings ignored

Muslim insurgents beheaded 10 Philippine Marines


Senator Antonio Trillanes IV wants a deeper probe on Philippine Marines’ debacle in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan Island. Some 81 mm mortars were duds (palso-boguk-palpak). Favored suppliers may have delivered fake, old stock, low quality and sub-standard ammunition. In 2003 Oakwood incident, Magdalo soldiers complained about anomalous AFP procurement dealings. Corruption in the AFP is deeply embedded. The lost of lives in Tipo-Tipo debacle could be prevented. Low quality ammunitions and other military hardware can be partly blamed for the debacle. It’s not right to send troops in the battlefield with unreliable guns and ammunitions. Heads must roll (chopped) for the Tipo-Tipo fiasco.

According to Luwaran website, MILF forces captured six M-60 machineguns, eight M-203 grenade launchers, ten M-16 rifles, one 60 mm mortar, several night vision goggles and destroyed two 6×6 military vehicles.
How about failure of intelligence?

AFP explains malfunctioning arms
Corruption troubles Philippine Military
Eyewitness account: Seven hours of hell in Tipo-Tipo, Basilan

Electric Jeepneys

Makati City, Philippines — Over four years ago we dreamed of revolutionising some of the most iconic public transportation vehicles in Asia by powering them with renewable energy. Now our dream is real as we watched the first two electric jeepneys take off on one of the busiest streets of Metro Manila in the Philippines.
Cultural icon of the Philippines, the flamboyantly designed jeepney was initially constructed from leftover American World War 2 troop vehicles. While providing one of the cheapest means of commuting, the diesel-guzzlers are notorious air polluters, posing a health risk for drivers and commuters.

A 16 passenger jeepney uses nearly the same amount of fuel as a 54 passenger air-conditioned bus. With major urban roads clogged by empty jeepneys cruising for fares, there is a government threat to remove the jeepneys from the streets of major cities.

Isafp MIG-15 officers in Burgos kidnap named

ISAFP chief Brig. Gen. Delfin Bangit is still in denial stage. He is confident that his men and the agency were not involved with Jonas Burgos’s disappearance. Who is telling the truth?

Isafp MIG-15 officers in Burgos kidnap named

By Benjamin B. Pulta

Daily Tribune 07/10/2007

Despite denials from the chief of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines Brig. Gen. Delfin Bangit, as well the AFP chief of staff, Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Jr., that no one from the Isafp and even in the AFP is into abducting citizens, the Department of Justice (DoJ) yesterday identified military intelligence officers and agents in the initial list of suspects in the abduction of activist Jonas Joseph Burgos.

An informant disclosed to the DoJ’s chief of the Task Force on Media Harassment the identities of the Isafp officers involved in the disappearance of Burgos,

In a letter, Senior State Prosecutor Emmanuel Velasco, task force head, yesterday ordered National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) Director Nestor Mantaring to investigate the persons who are enlisted personnel belonging to the intelligence office of the Armed Forces.

The task force had been part of a multi-department effort initiated by the executive after the United States Congress required Palace action on the country’s appalling human rights records before releasing $2 million in military aid on top of $30 million already released by the US to the Philippine military recently.

Among those sought summoned by the DoJ are T/Sgt. Jason Roxas, Philippine Army; Cpl. Maria Joana Francisco, Philippine Air Force, and reportedly assigned

with the MIG-15 of Isafp; M/Sgt. Aron Arroyo, PAF, also assigned with the MIG 15 of Isafp; and one that goes by an alias of T.L., who also belongs to MIG 15/Isafp; 1st Lt. Jaime Mendaro, PA, assigned with the 56th Infantry Batallion; and Lt. Col. Noel Clement also of the 56th lB and presently assigned at the Escort and Security Batallion (PA) in Fort Bonifacio.

Just last week, Isafp chief General Bangit claimed before the media that there is no Isafp agent that is involved in criminal activities. He has been proved wrong with the identification by an informant of at least six persons all belonging to the Isafp, yet yesterday, he still insisted that his men are not involved in the abduction and disappearance of Burgos. He said Isafp will also be conducting its probe.

Isafp agents have also been found in the past to have engaged in more criminal activities, such wiretapping telephone calls between President Arroyo and then poll commissioner Virgilio Garci Garcillano on the 2004 poll fraud operations, to ensure her fraudulent victory through a 1 million vote lead, via the usual vote-shaving, vote-padding means.

AFP chief General Esperon also denies that his officers and men are involved in any of the abductions, disappearances and summary executions of those whom the Palace and the military brand as “enemies of the state.”

The military brass continue to claim that it is the leftists and the armed communists who are into abductions, disappearances and extra-judicial executions of these activists.

A United Nations Special Rapporteur who was tasked to conduct a fact-finding mission, found this to be a false claim, as he said military elements were involved in these political murders.

He also said that the government and its military, are in almost total denial.

Justice chief relieves Velasco from Burgos case

Philippine Senate: Mongrel majority

Mongrel Senate? The crossbreed of male donkey and female horse equals mule. The offspring mule is almost sterile. It makes sense in the quest for senate presidency. Does it mean the Villar-led Senate is sterile? Major committees like the Blue ribbon and Finance at the hands of administration senators’ counter checks and balances. The Filipino electorate wants an opposition senate to check the abuses of the Arroyo regime. Greedy Villar is disregarding the voice of the people after his unholy alliance with inbreed bastards. Baog na senado, anyone?

A bogus president must be called bogus president; liars must be called liars and manipulators must be called manipulators irrespective of the guise under which they are acting and the political camouflage under which they are hiding. The camouflage of Judasan bloc Villar-Cayetano Escudero had been exposed. They once again fooled GO-UNO supporters.


Mongrel majority
By Ellen Tordesillas

Excerpts: Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano takes pains in explaining to friends and supporters that his support for Sen. Manny Villar for Senate president does not mean that he has abandoned his being a responsible opposition to the Arroyo administration.

"My core values (on truth and justice) remain solid," he said.

I believe Alan and I do not regret having voted for him. But I feel sad.

Caught in the power play for the Senate presidency between Villar and his other political mentor, Sen. Panfilo Lacson, Alan chose the former.

That’s easy to understand. Villar is president of the Nacionalista Party where Cayetano belongs. I imagine that as a party mate, the wealthy Villar must have helped the young senatorial candidate. But I imagine also that Cayetano was helped by many others who admired the way he stood his ground in the demolition operation of Mike Arroyo and expected him to continue that role in the Senate.

The contest for the Senate presidency is all about ambition and greed. It has nothing to do with what’s good for the Filipino people.


Understanding treachery in the Senate power play

LANAO DEL SUR SPECIAL POLLS: “A deliberate systematic and institutional failure”

Written by By Froilan Gallardo and Charina Sanz Zarate/MindaNews
Saturday, 07 July 2007 11 33 58

1st of four parts

MARAWI CITY (MindaNews/06 July) -- Frustrated over the way elections are conducted in Lanao del Sur, provincial board candidate Aga-Khan Mangondato Sharief bared a plan that would spare the province from future electoral fraud: “privatize the Philippine Government including the Commission on Elections.”

“Make a public bidding and whoever wins the franchise gets to operate the Comelec. The government will earn; the franchisee could be a professional and credible firm. Why, it may even lead to professionalizing this whole election business,” says Sharief, who also goes by the name “Bin Ladin” for his uncanny resemblance with the Al Qaeda chief.

“We have lost faith in these election officials,” said Sharief whose “desperate measures” also included filing a case against Comelec officials before the Shariah court of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, for alleged “massive vote padding” to “not counting the votes” cast in their favor, and even to the failure of election personnel to show up in many towns during the May 14 polls.

2nd of a series

Catholic bishops slams conduct of midterm elections

CBCP slams conduct of midterm elections

By EDU PUNAY
The Philippine Star

The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed dismay on Friday over the conduct of the May 14 midterm elections, saying the challenge of credible, honest, meaningful and peaceful polls remains.

CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo lamented that “vote-buying and other anomalies have already become systematic and even cultural.”

He said election watchdogs, including the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said the problem no longer lies in the voters but the voting system itself and the irresponsibility of some election officials.

“If you listened to reports, you would have realized that there was very little difference between this last election and the past elections,” Lagdameo said.

PPCRV chairman Henrietta de Villa told the bishops that last May’s elections merely repeated the unresolved poll fraud issues in the 2004 race between President Arroyo and the late Fernando Poe Jr.

Lagdameo said the CBCP would call for solid measures to restore the credibility of the electoral process. He said issues related to the last elections would be at the top of the CBCP agenda in their upcoming meeting.

He said they would come up with a full assessment of the conduct of the May 14 midterm elections at the conclusion of the assembly on Monday.

“This is one of the topics to be discussed. We will get reports from poll watchdog groups like PPCRV, Namfrel (National Citizen’s Movement for Free Elections), and Lente (Legal Network for Truthful Elections),” he added.

De Villa went on to liken Maguindanao provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol to former election commissioner Virgilio Garcillano.

“Attorney Lintang Bedol – with his repeated defiance of summons from the National Board of Canvassers and en banc resolutions of Commission on Elections, unexplained loss of election accountable forms in his custody and the ‘kid gloves’ treatment he is being given by his superiors – seems to be a repeat of the ‘Hello Garci’ controversy,” she stressed.

Garcillano is believed to be the “Garci” in the controversial “Hello, Garci” wiretap tapes.

In the tapes, a female caller who sounds like President Arroyo discusses the May 2004 presidential election with a man she addresses as “Garci.”

Mrs. Arroyo defeated Poe in that election.

In June 2005, Mrs. Arroyo admitted talking to an “election official,” although she has not identified the official up to now.

She claimed it was a “lapse in judgment” on her part, and in a nationwide televised address said she was sorry.

The House of Representatives investigated the “Hello, Garci” scandal. Garcillano evaded investigation for six months. When he finally surfaced in December 2005, he admitted talking to Mrs. Arroyo only once during the election period and vote count in 2004.

The “Garci” tapes were made the basis of impeachment complaint against Mrs. Arroyo, which was twice dismissed on a technicality.

“How can the Filipino people feel good about our elections when the gross mistakes of the past continuously rear their heads in our electoral exercise, which can only mean that no genuine effort is being made to regain the public trust?” De Villa asked.

De Villa, former ambassador to the Vatican, admitted they were appalled by the delayed resolution of issues surrounding the elections in Maguindanao.

“For the sake of our almost 440,000 volunteers of PPCRV who risked their lives and limb to restore credibility to our elections, we call on the Comelec whom we tried with all our might to help come up with clean, honest, accurate, meaningful and peaceful elections to please stop this running travesty of the electoral process,” she appealed.

Lagdameo added the CBCP is also expected to discuss other pertinent issues, including extrajudicial killings of activists and journalists as well as the implementation of the new Anti-Terror Law.

Lagdameo, however, believed the unresolved issues of poll fraud and corruption against Mrs. Arroyo can no longer be raised in their meeting although they were consistently discussed in the last two plenary assemblies: “I don’t think that should be part of the agenda anymore,” he said.

In earlier pastoral statements, the bishops called on the Filipinos to continuously search the truth behind allegations against Mrs. Arroyo stemming from her questionable victory in the 2004 polls.


Opposition: Votes for 18 Senate bets prove fraud in
Maguindanao

COMELEC is a disgrace to Filipino nation

'COMELEC failed to resolve poll fraud'

The Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV) criticized Thursday the Commission on Elections' alleged inability to exert effort to restore public trust.

“How can the Filipino people feel good about our elections when the gross mistakes of the past continuously rear their ugly heads in our electoral exercise which can only mean that no genuine effort is being made to regain the public trust?” PPCRV chairwoman Henrietta de Villa said.

The PPCRV, a national parish-based, non-partisan citizens' movement, described the last election as a classic picture of chaos where many Filipinos failed to freely and properly exercise their right to suffrage.

De Villa said the PPCRV is losing patience over the poll body’s canvassing delays and failure to resolve the credibility issue of the last elections.

She said allegations of cheating were due to COMELEC’s failure to address serious and legitimate concerns on the issue of fraud in Mindanao particularly the controversial Maguindanao certificates of canvass which delayed the national canvassing process.

“Election forms that have been missing since the purported canvassing (municipal and provincial) that no poll watcher was allowed to witness suddenly have begun to appear without sufficient believable explanation as to their disappearance then, and reappearance now,” de Villa said.

Reports said Maguindanao province delivered a 12-0 sweep for the administration’s Team Unity candidates.

She said the poll body’s “kid-glove” treatment of Maguindanao poll chief Lintang Bedol is a repeat of the “Hello, Garci” controversy, referring to the alleged anomaly involving former COMELEC commissioner Virgilio Garcillano during the 2004 presidential election.

PPCRV criticized Bedol for his repeated defiance of summons from the National Board of Canvassers and the COMELEC en banc resolutions, with the unexplained loss of poll documents supposedly in his custody.

“In an age of global media, scenes and images of Mr. Bedol relaxingly skirting accusations of electoral fraud before the Commission en banc, appearing almost invincible with a gun tucked under his waist in a major daily constitute a flagrant mockery of the electoral values we hope our citizens, especially our young ones will practice and uphold,” said de Villa.

The group also urged the COMELEC to solve the Maguindanao controversy and other election issues.

“For the sake of the 439,693 volunteers of the PPCRV who risked lives and limbs to restore credibility to our elections, we call on the COMELEC to please put a stop to this running travesty of the electoral process,” de Villa said.

The COMELEC has yet to proclaim the 12th senator since canvassing has not been completed despite its assurance that winning national bets will be proclaimed within two weeks after the polls. Also, party-list groups who won a seat at the House of Representatives have yet to be proclaimed.

President Estrada: Pardon or Amnesty No Deal

It’s not a surprise why Mrs. Gloria Arroyo is interfering with anti-graft court’s business. She has prostituted government institutions, the Roman Catholic Church and religious sect through bribery, horse trading and patronage for the sake of political survival. Malacanang mafia’s dirty hands are all over the place. The political trial of the century is a dismal flop.

The anti-graft court, Sandiganbayan Special Division was exclusively created to try and convict ousted President Joseph Estrada. The plunder case is weak for guilty verdict and goes after a lesser crime. The anti-graft court will convict Erap for falsification of Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Networth (SALN) in a face-saving act by the government. Mistrial is another longshot alternative. The principle of equal justice under law is elusive in the Philippines’ justice system.


Manila Times Friday, July 06, 2007

Estrada won’t accept pardon

By Efren L. Danao, Senior Reporter

Former President Joseph Estrada will not accept a pardon by President Arroyo or apply for amnesty if he is convicted by the Sandiganbayan for plunder, his son Sen. Jinggoy Estrada said Thursday.

In a press conference at the Manila Hotel, Senator Estrada and other opposition leaders were incensed at what they perceived to be the imminent conviction of the former President “in accordance with the wishes of Mrs. Arroyo.”

“Clemency or amnesty is not acceptable to us. There will be no deals with the Arroyo administration,” he said.

Presidential Legal Adviser Sergio Apostol had been quoted as saying that the administration might be willing to grant Estrada clemency if he is found guilty.

Jinggoy, who is co-accused in the case as accessory, said they would reject any offer of clemency.

“When we were still detained at Veterans Memorial Hospital, Mike Defensor talked about clemency. We did not accept it,” he said.

He added that amnesty is granted only to those who were enemies of the state who would apply for it.

“We are not enemies of the state,” Jinggoy said.

He declared that they would exhaust all legal remedies available, including an appeal for reconsideration, if the verdict is guilty. At the same time, he hinted of possible violence if such a verdict were handed down.

“The people will not accept any conviction of Erap,” Jinggoy said.

He charged that a guilty finding would result only if there is Malacañang interference.

Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay challenged President Arroyo to deny an ABS-CBN report that she had wanted the antigraft court to convict Estrada. The report claimed that Cardinal Vidal had personally heard this from her, and that Vidal later informed Estrada about this.

The Manila Times tried to contact Vidal but he was reportedly on retreat either in Tagaytay City or at the Pope Pius IX Center in Manila and could not be reached.

Rep. Rufus Rodriguez of Cagayan de Oro said the full-page ads in several newspapers, including The Times, were meant to condition the minds of the people about Estrada’s eventual conviction.

The ads had the headline: “Erap: Guilty or not guilty, kailangan bang may gulo?” Its body included the lines “The Court has spoken. Our duty is to uphold the rule of law. This is the way of democracy. Due process has been observed. Justice has been served. Let the rule of law prevail.”

Rodriguez, Estrada’s personal lawyer, said the sentence “The Court has spoken” indicated that the group that had taken out the ad, Mahal Kita Pilipinas, had advance knowledge of the Sandiganbayan’s verdict. He said he would file on Friday contempt charges against Mahal Kita Pilipinas before the Sandiganbayan for the advertisement.

“We would also write letters to the newspapers to give us details about the advertisements,” he added.

Rodriguez read Estrada’s statement expressing alarm and sadness over the recent developments that had “compromised the integrity of the Sandiganbayan, not through its own fault but because of the unquenchable thirst for vengeance and retribution of the current regime.”

“I can only hope that despite intense pressures from the executive branch, the honorable justices of the Sandiganbayan—President Justice Teresita de Castro and Associate Justices Francisco Villaruz and Diosdado Peralta—will continue to uphold their sacred oath to render justice without consideration for the personal sentiment of those in power,” the statement continued.

Estrada reiterated his claim of innocence of all charges leveled against him.

A civic organization, meanwhile, urged President Arroyo to junk all plans to grant executive clemency to Estrada.

Tanglaw ng Bayan spokesman Bayani Santos Jr. said the Palace announcement that the President is open to pardoning the former President sends a wrong signal and portrays a travesty of the justice system.

The group also warned that airing the planned pardon “this early could create impressions that a deal has been struck between the Palace and the Estrada group.”

Santos appealed to the President “to let justice take its normal course.”

Military spy unit ISAFP behind Jonas Burgos abduction

‘Military behind Burgos abduction’ -- intelligence agent

By Thea Alberto
INQUIRER.net
Last updated 10:32pm (Mla time) 07/05/2007

MANILA, Philippines -- A unit of the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) was behind the abduction and continued disappearance of activist Jonas Burgos, a military intelligence agent familiar with the operation has disclosed to INQUIRER.net.

The source, who spoke on condition he not be named for his own safety, indicated that the operation to abduct Burgos appeared to have been in the works as early as October last year.

“October pa lang nababanggit na ‘yung ‘Burgos.’ Basta ang pinag-uusapan, ang sinasabi nila nakakahon na, [As early as October they [member of the unit] were already mentioning Burgos. All I can say is they were saying they had him cornered,” the source said.

However, the agent said the unit, one of the military intelligence groups (MIG) belonging to the ISAFP, appeared to have difficulty getting Burgos, a son of the late press freedom icon Jose “Joe” Burgos Jr.

“Mukhang nahirapan silang hulihin dahil ilang buwan pa ang dumaan bago nila nakuha [They apparently had a hard time capturing him because it took several months before they finally got him,” said the source.

Burgos, an agriculturist who worked as a consultant for the leftist Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP or Peasant Movement of the Philippines), was forcibly taken from a restaurant at the Ever Gotesco mall in Quezon City on April 28.

Suspicion immediately fell on the military after the license plate on the vehicle used by the abductors was traced to an impounded vehicle kept at the Bulacan headquarters of the Army’s 56th Infantry Battalion.

The refusal of Armed Forces chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. to release the report on how the license plate disappeared from the camp to the Burgos family prompted Jonas’ mother, Edita, last week to openly accuse the military of abducting her son.

Lately, Army chief Lieutenant General Romeo Tolentino has hinted that a rival faction of the mainstream communist rebel movement may have been responsible for Burgos’ abduction.

Another source, also an officer in the security forces who also requested anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the matter, backed the claims of the military intelligence agent, saying all the evidence gathered in the Burgos case so far points to the military.

“In all likelihood, the involvement of the Armed Forces is relatively high,” the second source said.

He cited the artist’s sketches of two suspects in Burgos’ abduction based on descriptions provided by employees of the restaurant from where he was snatched.

The second source said he could positively identify the man and woman portrayed in the sketches as ISAFP agents.

He also confirmed that the vehicles used in the Burgos abduction -- a Revo and a Vios, both Toyota models -- were both known to be used by the MIG.

“Nung nakita ko nga yung artist sketch sa pulis, nakilala ko na talaga na sila ‘yun. Kahit pati yung sasakayan na ginamit nila alam kong yun ang ginagamit nila kapag may operasyon [When I saw the artist’s sketches with the police, I became certain it was them [ISAFP]. Even the vehicles they used I know for a fact are the same they use when they have operations],” said the source.

However, he said noting the license plates of the vehicles would not be of much use since military intelligence “are privileged” to change plate numbers for their operations.

Police describe the male suspect as around 30 to 35, 5’7” in height, dark and of medium build. The woman was described as between 22 to 27, fair-skinned and around 5’3” tall.

The military intelligence agent also confirmed the identities of the suspects, but would only give their code names, “Bajam,” and “Donna.”

He said the commander of the MIG the two belonged two is known as “Master” or “Tango Lima,” personally led the operation to snatch Burgos.

Why Jonas?

The military intelligence agent said Burgos was a likely target of the unit that snatched him because he was believed to be a member of an “education committee” of the Communist Party of the Philippines and was involved in recruiting members for the rebel movement.

The Burgos family has denied that Jonas was connected to the communist underground.

The second source, however, said that a soldier who had been arrested earlier this year for leaking information to the Left had identified Burgos as one of his contacts. This soldier, said the source, is undergoing court martial.

Dead or alive?

The military intelligence agent admitted that he had no personal knowledge of Burgos’ fate.

However, he said, based on his own operational experience, he is certain the activist has been killed.

“I am 110 percent sure he is dead,” the agent said. “In operations, a week is already too long [to keep someone alive]…he’s been missing for two months now.”

INQUIRER.net is trying to reach the Burgos family for comments but they cannot be reached as of posting time.


Editha Burgos says sketches point to military agents

Trillanes: In protection of personal dignity and honor

Thursday, 08 28, 2003
Daily Tribune

In protection of personal dignity and honor

Dear Editor:

This is to address the issues raised in the media against us during the last two weeks as part of the government's intensified "demolition job" against my person, which did not even spare my family. This is very unfortunate. They are apparently doing this in the hope that if my rep~t@tion is tarnished, the message we want to convey will also be stained as well. They have failed miserably. They are able, however, to temporarily distract the people from absorbing the true causes we have espoused when we went to Oakwood last July 27. To protect my personal dignity and the honor of my family and my loved ones, I am forced to defend myself through this letter.

The government, using the entire machinery and resources of the state, came up with the following accusations: (1) That I own eight luxurious vehicles; (2) That I had a P1-million investment at Glasgow; (3) That I am an incorporator of FYI Research and Consulting Group Inc.; and (4) That ammunition and explosives were supposedly found in my "house" in Talipapa Village in Novaliches, Quezon City.

According to government reports, I own a 2001 model Mitsubishi Pajero with license plate RIZ-222, a 1996 Nissan Terrano, a 1995 Kawasaki motorbike and five second-hand Japan-surplus Delicas. In truth, however, I only own the second-hand 1996 Nissan Terrano and it is not a luxury vehicle as compared to the Expeditions, Land Cruisers, Lexuses and Jaguars that many government and Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) officials own. I have never ever owned a Pajero or Kawasaki motorbike. In fact, I have never driven and I do not know how to ride a motorbike, not even once in my life. My license restriction can easily prove this fact.

As for the Pajero with license plate RIZ-222, the true owner thereof, a certain Darlito Roca, operations officer of Lydia's Lechon, has surfaced to claim and acknowledge his ownership thereof. This only goes to prove that this government will go to the extent of fabricating and manufacturing even crude evidence just to smear my name.

With regard to the five Delicas, the actual and beneficial owner thereof is my mother, a businesswoman who bought the same from the proceeds of a P2-million loan she obtained from a bank sometime in October 2000. Delicas are not luxury vehicles. In fact, they can be bought in lots for as low as P100,000 to P150,000 each. The intention was to operate a van rental service using these vehicles. These old vehicles, however, proved too costly to maintain. Hence, my mother opted to sell and dispose some of them.

The very idea that I would buy five vehicles of the same model and make for my personal use is quite absurd and illogical. The government obviously has very little respect for the intelligence of our people to concoct such a flimsy and dubious story. Again, these are not luxury vehicles and most definitely they are not mine! My mother's van rental business still operates to this day. It is duly registered with the Department of Trade and Industry under her name and is properly stamped and licensed by the Caloocan City Hall.

Regarding my alleged P1-million investment in Glasgow: It is true that my name is included among the list of the thousands victimized by Glasgow's sudden closure. The money, however, does not belong to me but to my mother. The said funds came from the same P2-million bank loan obtained in October 2000; she invested the same with Glasgow so the interest could cover the amortization and/or maintenance of the Delicas. Contrary to the information released by National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), my mother never had the chance to cash in on the investment since it closed down before the post-dated checks they issued matured. These uncashed checks are still with us.

The government makes an issue out of the fact that my name appears as an incorporator of FYI Research and Consulting Group Inc., with a very minimal investment of P12,500.00.

The truth is that the company was formed by my best friend, Rolando Averilla, an instructor at the Asian Institute of Management. He invited me to join the company as a consultant and asked me to design the research format/template of the company. I readily accepted because I was then on schooling or study leave from my job at the AFP. I also took it as an opportunity to learn and further my knowledge in the said field and as part of my academic training while on school. I was also then contemplating on the possibility of shifting to another profession.

Is this a crime? No! As I have indicated above, even though I was still in the active service with the AFP, there is no conflict of interest between my job at the AFP, where I was on schooling or on study leave and my being a part-time consultant at FYI. The fact is, I was even twice recognized as a university scholar (or president's lister) and once as a college scholar (or dean's lister) while studying in University of the Philippines, showing that I was never remiss in my duties as an officer in the AFP on schooling/study leave.

Lastly and most recently, the government through the Philippine National Police (PNP) purportedly discovered a cache of ammunition and explosives together with parts of light anti-tank weapons and two "Magdalo" armbands in a "house" which I allegedly own. This claim is most pathetic.

I do not own and I have never owned a house or even a lot anywhere in Quezon City. As mentioned, I live with my family in the government-provided quarters of my wife at the Philippine Military Academy (PMA) in Baguio City.

Moreover, the claim that two brand new looking Magdalo armbands were found together with the cache (which were purportedly hidden in a dump or ditch) like calling cards conveniently left behind to ensure that the ownership of the items can be so easily established is too incredible and too stup~d to elicit belief. Is the government so d^mb to believe that the people would fall for such a tall tale?

Finally, I have received information that the government has been desperately trying to convince NGOs like E-JUST and VACC to take on the case of a certain Anastasia Santarin to portray me to the public that I am a heartless "land-grabber" in order to try to give credence to its arms cache claim and further demonize me before the public. This is very characteristic and very typical of this administration which has shown no qualms in resorting to fabricated evidence to pin down and discredit its adversaries. Suffice it to say that I do not own and I have never claimed ownership over the subject property.

In closing, I would like to say I honestly believe that I have served our country well. I am also certain that most definitely, I have never been corrupt in my entire AFP career. I can look my accusers straight in the eye and say I have never stolen a single centavo from the government.

Moreover, I would like to state for the record that nobody paid us to go to Oakwood. We are not mercenaries. Our lives have no price tags.

As for my lifestyle in general, I would like to point out some very important points the demolition specialists and spin doctors of this administration obviously ignored and/or conveniently overlooked:

First, I do not even have my own house! My family (i.e., my wife and two children) is staying at my wife's government-provided officers' quarters located inside the PMA Compound. She pays the rent through her quarter's allowance at P1,000 a month (as including water and electricity). My two children are enrolled at a simple pre-school also located inside the PMA with a tuition of P400.00 each child per month. Together, my wife and I earn around P50,000 a month and this is more than enough for us.

Second, I have a very simple, almost boring lifestyle: I do not play golf nor do I have expensive hobbies. I do not smoke and neither do I drink liquor. My time with my wife and my kids are often spent playing in parks or public promenades, watching movies or dining out in fastfood chains. This is my lifestyle and simple as it is, I am proud of it!

God has been very good to me by blessing me with a happy family and promising career and I am ever thankful for it. Then again, he also opened my eyes to the corrupt system that is pulling our country down and our people to poverty. What must I do? I could have chosen the easy path of developing apathy toward reform. I could have simply given in and join the system, enjoying the fruits of corruption. Or I could have chosen the easier path of just resigning from the service and leave the problems to be solved by the next generation.

I did none of these. Instead, I chose the most difficult path of standing up for what I believed was right, moral and just. In the process, I also risked losing everything I had: my family, my career — even my very own life and those of my friends and our men!

We are not messiahs and we never pretended to be messiahs. We are only messengers and we can only hope the people have heard our message — that the Arroyo administration has betrayed the people's trust and the corruption in the AFP continues unabated and is principally responsible for the never-ending wars in our country!

Now, we are languishing in jail awaiting our court trial for cases where we can be sentenced to death. This is not enough, however, for this vindictive administration. It has to unleash its attack dogs in the Cabinet, in the Senate and Congress as well as in the media on us to trample upon something that we have so closely guarded and protected ever since we graduated from PMA — our HONOR.

They jeered and vilified us and now they threaten to drag us and our families, friends and loved ones down with us for reasons only they will ever know. May God have mercy on them!

Lt. S/G Antonio Trillanes IV
Philippine Navy