Corazon Aquino is in the news, served up three ways: she appeals on behalf of Jonas Burgos (see Ellen Tordesillas for details on his shocking abduction); the Palace has instructed that her son be defeated at all costs; and her phone, it seems, has been tapped.
The President reiterates her confidence in the AFP chief of staff; the President’s husband decides to drop the many libel cases he’s filed.
My column for today is Political idealism. In the end, I’ve decided to vote for the entire slate of Ang Kapatiran and to vote for Kiko Pangilinan; my column explains why.
The Inquirer editorial and the Philippine Star editorial on election-related killings; the PDI editorial points out that this year, there’s a new trend:
But even if the number of cases and the number of casualties don’t reach the same levels as in previous elections, there is one difference that should worry both the police and the politicians. This time around, it is not just the foot soldiers that are in the line of fire, the killers are raising their sights and targeting the candidates themselves.
The dominant majority, and minority parties are Lakas-CMD and the Liberal Party, respectively, Comelec says.
In the blogosphere, my entry in Inquirer Current is a response to co-blogger John Nery’s counterpoint to some of my original points on what this election’s about. John and I also discuss a party-list that is miffed over being identified as being affiliated with the Palace. Still in a party-list frame of mind, Billy Esposo gives way in his column to Mong Palatino, party-list candidate (and, of course, blogger at Mongster’s Nest). A related news story is another party-list in trouble because of a YouTube video showing one of its nominees promising voters “dividends” from the pork barrel if they vote for that party.
On a more traditional vein, Alex Magno hails what he expects to be the coming triumph of party politics (which is why I’m not too keen on political parties, period).
blurry brain presents the points he wanted to raise on my show concerning labor and employment.
The Lonely Vampire Chronicles on why bloggers have to be vigilant when it comes to proposals to require registration with the government.
Pac Daddy on the PNCC’s dimwit SLEX construction strategy.
Technorati Tags: Blogging, elections, explainer on anc, military, philippines, politics, president, Senate
what is most alarming is that the abduction of jonas burgos took place in a MALL, a crowded place, ideally safe and secured.
according to desaparecidos in an interview we conducted for our last documentary in college, they’d rather see their family member’s dead body than never saw a sign at all.
what depresses me most? it had been in existence since martial law, and even now. goes to show that nothing much has changed and we call our nation a democratic one.
Perfect timing for kuya mike. today is world press freedom day.
services.inquirer.net/express/07/05/03/html_output/xmlhtml/20070503-63773-xml.html
Sino po ilalaglag nyo sa GO? Just curious.
…
pidal has withdrawn the libel suits today, but that doesn’t mean end of story na yan.
if i recall correctly, pangalawang pasok na yung libel case kay ellen. pidal filed, then withdrew, the libel suit against ellen in the past, pero ibinalik ulit recently.
now, iwi-withdraw na naman? paano na kung napikon ulit si big mike, ire-refile ulit?
=======
mlq3
even if pangilinan wanted to join the admin, he couldn’t. unlike joker and recto, he has his “noted” controversy.
besides, usapan was LP drilon wing will join with the opposition as long as hindi nila papalitan si kiko with a 12th candidate. except for rez cortez, hindi binibira ng GO si kiko sa Noted controversy niya. but if kiko followed in joker’s footsteps and joined TU, the gloves are off.
(but maybe kiko will join TU AFTER he wins in the elections? possible yan.)
====
heh. buti na lang hindi kumpleto ang slate (meaning, 12 senate candidates) ng “Ang Kapatiran”. 😉
GMA got one over W. She has now more executive power than W. in her own war on terror bill.
But don’t you fret. W. is on the rebound and wants no judicial oversight on spying on Americans.
I have always believed that the present culture on impunity in the Philippines was probably wittingly or unwittingly started by the paranoia of both Big Mike and GMA of being unseated by another people power movement. I believe in their zeal to preempt their perceived enemies they may have opened a Pandora’s box vs. journalists and the left.
The warm bodies for mass mobilizations was always provided for by the left. Her attention to detail gave us Garci. The military has been given a green light and that has provided space for political warlords to rise up with the government primarily occupied by the so called de-stabilizers. Hence the local elections have become bloody.
The bad cop/good cop routine of Gonzales and Saludo is so clearly palpable.
The money floodgates have been opened to guarantee almost complete victory in the House. Congressional results will be decided first and the Senate vote will take it’s usual turtle-time to be completed. The final four spots will be up for grabs in the counting.
May 2, 2007
Editorial NY Times
Spying on Americans
For more than five years, President Bush authorized government spying on phone calls and e-mail to and from the United States without warrants. He rejected offers from Congress to update the electronic eavesdropping law, and stonewalled every attempt to investigate his spying program.
Suddenly, Mr. Bush is in a hurry. He has submitted a bill that would enact enormous, and enormously dangerous, changes to the 1978 law on eavesdropping. It would undermine the fundamental constitutional principle  over which there can be no negotiation or compromise  that the government must seek an individual warrant before spying on an American or someone living here legally.
To heighten the false urgency, the Bush administration will present this issue, as it has before, as a choice between catching terrorists before they act or blinding the intelligence agencies. But the administration has never offered evidence that the 1978 law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, hampered intelligence gathering after the 9/11 attacks. Mr. Bush simply said the law did not apply to him.
The director of national intelligence, Michael McConnell, said yesterday that the evidence of what is wrong with FISA was too secret to share with all Americans. That’s an all-too-familiar dodge. Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California, who is familiar with the president’s spying program, has said that it could have been conducted legally. She even offered some sensible changes for FISA, but the administration and the Republican majority in the last Congress buried her bill.
Mr. Bush’s motivations for submitting this bill now seem obvious. The courts have rejected his claim that 9/11 gave him virtually unchecked powers, and he faces a Democratic majority in Congress that is willing to exercise its oversight responsibilities. That, presumably, is why his bill grants immunity to telecommunications companies that cooperated in five years of illegal eavesdropping. It also strips the power to hear claims against the spying program from all courts except the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which meets in secret.
According to the administration, the bill contains “long overdue†FISA modifications to account for changes in technology. The only example it offered was that an e-mail sent from one foreign country to another that happened to go through a computer in the United States might otherwise be missed. But Senator Feinstein had already included this fix in the bill Mr. Bush rejected.
Moreover, FISA has been updated dozens of times in the last 29 years. In 2000, Lt. Gen. Michael Hayden, who ran the National Security Agency then, said it “does not require amendment to accommodate new communications technologies.†And since 9/11, FISA has had six major amendments.
The measure would not update FISA; it would gut it. It would allow the government to collect vast amounts of data at will from American citizens’ e-mail and phone calls. The Center for National Security Studies said it might even be read to permit video surveillance without a warrant.
This is a dishonest measure, dishonestly presented, and Congress should reject it. Before making any new laws, Congress has to get to the truth about Mr. Bush’s spying program. (When asked at a Senate hearing yesterday if Mr. Bush still claims to have the power to ignore FISA when he thinks it is necessary, Mr. McConnell refused to answer.)
With clear answers  rather than fearmongering and stonewalling  there can finally be a real debate about amending FISA. It’s not clear whether that can happen under this president. Mr. Bush long ago lost all credibility in the area where this law lies: at the fulcrum of the balance between national security and civil liberties.
maybe that’s what set our political parties apart, its not based on ideologies but whether who controls power.
mlq3:
that’s a possible outcome. sa political situation natin post-1986, the only “tried and tested” way to get a significant number of seats in the House is for the presidential candidate of the minority or opposition party to win the presidency.
Ramos did it in 1992 when he won the presidency. LDP won the majority of the House seats (with the hastily organized LAKAS party a distant second), but Ramos was able lure away a significant chunk of the LDP partymembers to his LAKAS a few months after the House convened.
Same thing happened when Erap won in 1998. In spite of LAKAS winning the most House seats that year, nangyari rin sa kanila yung nangyari sa LDP noong 1992. many LAKAS members defected to Erap’s party LAMMP after the 1998 elections, giving erap a sizable majority in the House.
if FPJ became president, malamang marami sa mga kakampi ni Arroyo sa House at Senate ang lilipat sa panig ni FPJ-Angara.
john nery:
no, there won’t be any boycott. those who defend the admin (but claim they are not pro-Arroyo) and claim they will boycott the elections will troop to the polling booths on election day and vote mostly for the admin candidates.
i do recall winnie monsod claiming in her 2004 PDI column na she was voting for bro. eddie villanueva raw, and she gave this long convoluted reason why (obviously, she doesn’t want to be associated with arroyo publicly)
kunwari pa si maam winnie.
G.O., ace our poll victory.
G.O., ACE R POLL ViCTri…
A – quino, Noynoy
C – ayetano, Alan
E – scudero
R – oco
P – oll
O – smeña
L – acson
L – egarda
Vi – llar
C – oseteng
Tri – llanes
[you may choose not to fill in the gap (12th slot) or fill the gap with anyone outside TU’s slate.]
sorry…
P – imentel
this early, they are already offering reasons for possible defeat of Noynoy and Cayetano. bleh.
the wiretapping may not be politically-motivated. Baka gusto lang makakuha ng scoop for Kris Aquino’s delivery. Oh well.Why choose the Aquinos only?
My guess still stands.
The eavesdropping on Cory’s Phone may not be the only one going all over the country, just the one discovered. So my own guess is it snooping for whatever info that can be useful for the enemy (or just maybe a friend who just wanted some gossip?).
And for Mickey Libel case; as far as I know a Libel case is still under the Criminal Code in the Philippines, so following the procedure of criminal cases it is not a victim a of crime who file or withdraw a case, but the Public Prosecutors or is Mike Arroyo filing civil cases of libel against the defendants as a plaintiff or is he a complainant in a criminal case?
The phone tap will be pinned on Lolit Solis or Cristy Fermin or James Yap’s stalker, the female receptionist who used to work Vicki Bello’s fat and boobs shop.
tinanggal na ba ng COMELEC yung pangalan ni juju cayetano sa certified list of candidates? o hanggang ngayon pinag-iisipan pa rin ng mga associates ni garci?
john,
hindi pa. kasi ang pinag aabalahan ni abalos na caddy ni mike arroyo ay ang mga illeagal posters.
MLQ3,
I am so glad to know that you’ve finally relented and realized the folly of going straight for GO. You just cant bring Osmena and Coseteng back to the Senate, they are certified Erap lapdogs. My guess is that, the third guy you’ll drop in the GO slate would have to be Koko Pimentel. That dumb ‘hotshot’ lawyer, who earlier proclaimed that his main advantage in the polls is his surname, also thinks that his campaign slogan is witty: “Koko Pimentel, Topnotcher sa Bar”. Well, im dropping him if only to please the anti-dynasty throng, para excused na si Allan Peter.
I dont know about Kiko Pangilinan’s so-called integrity, to me he is still Mr. Sharon Cuneta. What has he really done but take notes?
The Kapatiran slate will be on top of my list, they will take the top 3 slots followed by Allan Peter and the rest of GO candidates not mentioned above.
The last slot, im still thinking it over because I really feel Joker will still come to his senses come crunch time and impeach his campaign fund manager, Gloria Arroyo, to put the joke on her. He’s The Joker after all.
kung lumabas ang “hello garci tapes” around late 2006 instead of 2005, malamang joker will join the anti-GMA slate sa senado instead of TU. but he’s had a lot of time to think about this, a lot of time has passed since Gloriagate, and Joker has calculated na he’s better off with the administration.
one other thing, i do recall na joker in 2000 (before juetengate) was planning to run under Erap’s LAMP party as a guest candidate for the senate (kahit na madalas niyang birahin si Erap). weird no, kuya m.?
Si Gonzales na “noted” din, maintindihan ko na panindigan yung pakikipag-“duet” niya kay Kiko. Pero si Kiko, habang nakita niyang mali ang pakikipag-usap ni Gloria ke Garci ngunit sa sobrang pride at self-righteousness (o dili kaya e pinangangatawanan lang niya niya ng matagal na niyang paninindigan na di dapat maging presidente angmga di aral na tulad ni FPJ), di niya makita ang kamalian sa pagkanta niya ng “noted” kahit na walang laman yung mga ballot boxes at may anomalies sa mga COCs at nakumpirma na nga ito ni Garci.
Si Joker ay mas malaking joke kesa kay JocJoc. Kung kelan pa tumanda, saka naging pilosopo. Nagdadahilan pang ayaw niyang sumama sa mga ayaw kumondena sa military adventurists pero benepisyaryo naman siya nito nung 2001 matapos bumaliktad and militar at diniscourage ni Cory at Sin yung mga tao na palakasin pa ang kanilang hanay at huwag hayaan agawin ng mga militar ang kanilang sinimulan. Sila sir general tuloy ang naghahariharian at kaliwa’t kanan ang patayan. Di na lang sabihin na wala siyang perang pangampanya; at matanda na siya, at tulad ng mararaming matatanda sa atin na progressive, nationalist o patriotic kuno e, nangunguna pa ring nagsusulong ng kanilang kausa dahil feeling nila indispensable sila at napabayaang mag-train ng hahalili sa kanila. Sabagay, sa mga nawala na sa bansang ito, isa yung honesty, sinundan nung truth, at unti-unti yung mga journalist at leftist. Kahit nga sa pagsulat sa mga ganito, magdadalawang isip ka dahil baka ikaw ang sumunod kahit nagpapasingaw ka lang naman ng mabahong hangin.
Yung mga iba sa GO, mga trapo naman yung karamihan dun kaya mas gusto mo na lang ang isang batang nagbitbit ng baril at nakakulong bilang senador; pero mas maige naman sila kesa sa mga tagaTU na di marunong tumu’tol (ka diyan – wala kaming kadugong tulad mo!). Kapag ang nakaupo ay laban na sa tao, kahit sinong kontra dito mas maige pa sa TUTA, o sa bishop of the people kuno o sa pastor of our faith daw, kahit na trapo.
Pero meron namang Kapatiran (hayaan mo na yung KBL), di ba sila karapatdapat dahil di sila mananalo? Kaya di sila mananalo dahil di natin sila iboboto; at di natin sila iboboto hindi dahil hindi sila mananalo kundi mas gusto nating iboto yung iba na sure na panalo para panalo din tayo sa pagkapanalo ng ating ibinotong kandidato. Yun lang yun, suma tutal, dahil kung gusto nating iboto ang matuwid, walang ibang dahilan kundi gusto natin sa matuwid, hindi na mananalo sila o matatalo.
hi MLQ3,
im just wondering why you wouldn’t vote for sen. angara? any particular reason? im from baler. thanks and more power to you!
Joker needs the money, alam nyang hindi maglalabas ng pera si Erap para sa kanya, and it’s mission impossible for him to run as independent. So this is really naked opportunism, but who’s not an opportunist here?
Di nyo ba napansin nung suportahan ni Joker si Satur sa Supreme Court? He acted as though it was a reflex action.
This may be fantasy and you can call me the bigger fool but in my wildest dreams, I could see Joker ditching the Team Unity tag as soon as he gets elected and along the way, he will shake the cobwebs, rediscover his old genius and plot the legal strategy to take Gloria Arroyo down.
We can all dream, cant we?
Manolo,
“And the Left says Amen to Joker! Who gets the last laugh? The joke’s on the Left, on Joker (to end his life as a human deodorant) — and on us, because what is the use of one Joker shrieking, when in the end he decides to ride to victory on the coattails of an administration that believes politics is merely — and only — “a numbers’ gameâ€Â?”
What is the assurance of those who funded Joker’s candidacy that Joker will be beholden to them to the extent of compromising what Joker would feel needed to be done when such arises?
If there is a joke somewhere in the article above; it will be on those who think that they can extract Joker’s compliance based on supporting financially his candidacy when things dictate that Joker not be compliant.
Those kind of people will feel what Napoleon felt when his own General Bernadotte marched against him. Maybe Napoleon should have noticed when Bernadotte didn’t support him in his Coup d etat to become Emperor of France.
Tagasulung,
The SC already said its piece on 2001. Some parts of your 2nd paragraph are hard to get.
What do you mean by ” … nung 2001 matapos bumaliktad and militar at diniscourage ni Cory at Sin yung mga tao na palakasin pa ang kanilang hanay at huwag hayaan agawin ng mga militar ang kanilang sinimulan.”?
Tungkol naman sa ” … pero mas maige naman sila kesa sa mga tagaTU na di marunong tumu’tol”. Marunong tumutol si Joker kung pakiramdam nya ay kailangan tutulan.
vic, in the Philippines, there is such a thing as a “private” crime and libel is one of them. In those kinds of crimes, I think the courts and the prosecutors usually defer to the wishes of the victim as to whether or not the case goes forward.
justice league, that’s why i can only laugh at the anti-GMA group’s pipe dream that the people they will vote for will advance their obssession of ousting her. Knowing these candidates are mostly ruthless balimbings (loyal only to themselves and their dynasties), using oust-Gloria avowals as lithmus test for supporting their election is both dumb and ludicrous. That goes even for blabber-mouth Cayetano who, by his own words, was a former supporter of GMA, along with his sister who got elected through the sponsorship of GMA. To me, they have the credibility of a snake oil salesman.
Bencard,
Well I do understand your point.
Some have already stated what their criteria are for dis/favoring this and that candidate. I definitely don’t share some of the criteria already espoused.
Though by no means is any criteria for candidates exempt from being scrutinized for its “quality”, I guess we are all still free to adopt whatever criteria we choose no matter the “quality” of that criteria itself.
Cheers.
You’re entitled to your own opinion.
Joker made his choice. We all heard his statments defending Arroyo and attacking her critics/opposition.
And if he’s elected, I don’t think Joker will disappoint the Arroyos (Mike and Gloria) on the issues where it matters the most. Their survival.
JM,
You’re very much entitled to your opinion and thoughts too but that segment of mine that you quoted is a question.
So Joker’s redemption would depend on an act of personal betrayal. I can live with that, but like John Marzan, i would not underestimate the Arroyo couple’s demonstrated capability of turning heroes into heels.
Cvj,
Joker ran for the Senate with PGMA’s ticket in 2001. But that didn’t stop Joker from opposing PGMA when he felt too.
Why should PGMA expect Joker to put up less of a fight this time around should a fight be needed?
If PGMA “should not” expect such; what will be there to betray?
yeah. but we know what you mean.
JM,
Ok.
But the question remains unanswered.
I was not talking about Arturo Tolentino(or Teddy Boy Locsin)-style half-measures, rather about actions that would go all the way and lead to his redemption. A scenario similar to what tagabukid described:
Short of that, Joker will go down in history as GMA’s tool.
Cvj,
PGMA has been claimed to have stolen the Presidency not once but twice along with other allegations and has been in office for more than 6 years.
Sen. Arroyo should he win will have 3 more years to satisfy “your” requirement.
But how will the likes of Sen. Loi Estrada who will be finishing 6 years in the Senate go down in history?
jake, sorry ngayon lang ako nakasagot. see my column for today. i’m simply not voting for any administration candidate. in the case of tito ed, he knows it’s nothing personal.
it’s ok MLQ3. by the way, who is this Quezon who is married to the daughter of Sonia Rocco? i head this from a colleague…
More power to you!
jake, one of my first cousins is married to a daughter of roco.