Di dapat pangambahan ang pagpiyansa ni GMA

Walang dapat pangambahan ang taumbayan sa pagpiyansa ng dating Pangulo na si Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, lalo pa sa ipinapakita ng administrasyon ni Pangulong Noynoy Aquino na mabigyan ng hustisya ang mga tiwali sa gobyerno.

Kailangang respetuhin ang ang pasiya ng Korte. Ang mahalaga ay may hold departure order ang Sandiganbayan laban sa akusado at hindi ito makakaalis nang basta-basta. Ang mahalaga ay haharap ang akusado sa mga paratang laban sa kanya.”

Nahaharap sa maraming kaso ang dating pangulo, kabilang na dito ang graft and corruption, taumbayan na mismo ang tututol sakaling magpumilit si GMA na makaalis ng bansa.

Iba na ang panahon ngayon. Taumbayan na mismo ang masigasig na nakaabang at nagmamasid laban sa katiwalian at pagpataw ng hustisya. Natuto na tayo sa nakaraan.

Si CGMA ang sumira sa sarili niyang "puri"

Earlier today, we saw former president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in a television interview with news anchor Arnold Clavio. Sinasabi niya na puro "paninirang-puri" ang ginagawa ng administrasyong Aquino.

We need to ask: hindi ba siya naman ang sumira sa sarili niyang pangalan at "puri"? Siya ang sumira sa sarili niya dala ng "Hello, Garci", ng fertilizer fund scam, ng NBN-ZTE deal, ng Maguindanao Massacre, at ng marami pang iba... Maraming naging sanhi ng paninira ng kanyang pangalan na ang dating pangulo mismo ang may kagagawan.

President Aquino ran under a campaign of cleaning up corruption. The Arroyo administration had a long history of corruption cases and scandals, and we cannot just turn a blind eye to all of this. This administration is just doing its job and fulfilling a campaign promise. What would we have this administration do--simply let things go because she is a former president? No--true justice is about uncovering the truth and holding people accountable for their actions regardless of their positions in office or society.

At habang ang dating Pangulo ay inililipat ngayon mula St. Luke's papuntang VMMC, ang hiling lang natin sa mga opisyal ng pamahalaan ay: puwede nating bigyan si GMA ng "courtesy" gawa ng kanyang dating puwesto bilang pangulo, but let's please not go out of our way to give her special treatment.

Make sure Arroyos come back to face charges

We remind the Supreme Court and the Department of Justice that it is the government's obligation to ensure that the Arroyos return to the country to face the charges already filed against them.

For the sake of the credibility and image of the Supreme Court, I hope that with their decision, the safeguards they have put in place will be sufficient to ensure that the Arroyos return because if they do not, then the Supreme Court must be prepared to take the flak from a public disgusted with abuse and corruption in government.

If they flee, it would be a slap on the face of the Blue Ribbon Committee which recommended the filing of graft charges against the former First Gentleman.

Also, the report on the PCSO investigation by the (Blue Ribbon) Committee is being finalized. The efforts of the committee would be for naught should they flee. Also it was recommended by the 13th Congress that GMA be held accountable in the mismanagement of the fertilizer fund during her term, as well as her involvement in the ZTE-NBN scandal.

The Senate itself has an interest in ensuring that the Arroyo couple does not flee, considering the time and effort we put into the investigation and, more importantly, the findings of wrongdoing that require accountability on their part. The senate has been criticized in the past as conducting investigations that lead to nowhere. If the Arroyos flee and refuse to return we would again have another set of investigations that would be for naught. The ZTE-NBN controversy, the fertilizer scam, the PNP choppers controversy all cry out for closure, all investigated by the Senate, all needing accountability on the part of the Arroyos.

It is in the interest of the Senate as an institution to view the matter of the right to travel of the Arroyos in a broader sense. We sifted through the evidence. We sat through hundreds of hours of testimonies. We secured documentary evidence as proof of wrongdoing. We were even brought to court on the issue of executive privilege precisely because we were interested in the truth. Given all these, we ought to do more than just accept the argument that the Arroyos are free to leave the country and that we cannot do anything about it. The same goes for the Supreme Court. The people deserve the truth and it may again evade us as if we allow the Arroyos to leave the country despite the fact that legal proceedings have already been instituted against them.

My statement on DOJ's decision Re: GMA

We support the decision of Secretary Leila De Lima. Both Mike and Gloria Arroyo are facing a string of criminal cases now being investigated by the Ombudsman. Clearly, the temptation for them to flee and evade criminal prosecution cannot simply be ignored.

Should the Arroyos leave the country, never to return, it would be a big blow to the anti-corruption efforts of this administration. The decision is consistent with the anti-corruption campaign of this government. They have other legal remedies that they may avail of should they disagree with this decision, but this decision has to be made to send a signal to our people that this administration is serious in its anti-corruption efforts.

Travel would be a non-issue if former President were more truthful about state of health

Former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo brought upon herself her current predicament and should not blame the Department of Justice for not allowing her to travel.

She should have been forthright about her health status from the very beginning. She can hardly blame DOJ Secretary Leila De Lima on the decision not to allow her to travel as there are discrepancies in her camp’s statements on her medical needs, there are those questionable itineraries, and differing numbers of her entourage. DOH Secretary Enrique Ona’s assessment of GMA is that she is fine. What is the real score?

The former President is hardly known for being transparent and that any doubts cast upon her has basis considering her history. If she has been untruthful to us in the past about major issues affecting our country, from governance to the state of our coffers, what’s to stop her from being less than truthful about her own health?

If the DOJ requires a lot more from her camp as assurance that she will not flee the country from prosecution, then GMA’s camp will have to bear with the orders of the Justice Secretary.

No one is asking them to beg. Going through the legal process is not begging. It appears they have been used to taking legal shortcut that they now consider going through these proceedings as an act begging. Until it is set aside, it is the rule. They should respect our rules, and acting as the process is beneath them by likening it to begging is a display of arrogance. If they do not agree with the position taken by the DOJ, they are free to bring the case to court.


Image Source: My Pinoy TV

Unmask the masterminds behind the P7.5B bogus farm-market roads

We ask our committee to investigate the enormous amount released from the Department of Agriculture during 2010’s election period supposedly to be used in constructing farm to market roads. The amount of P7.5B was released, however, without a work program.

If found true that no farm-to-market road was constructed when this amount was released from January to June 2010, then those responsible for this anomaly must be held accountable and must explain themselves to those who toil their farms relentlessly yet remain below the poverty line.

We will file a resolution calling for an investigation into the anomaly, especially considering COA reports that funds to be used in constructing farm-to-market roads in Maguindanao were mostly spent for gas purchases from service stations owned by former President Arroyo’s known allies the Ampatuans.

This is plunder. Our people were deprived of the opportunity to improve their lives with the help of these much-needed roads. Tapos na ang panahon ng garapal na pagnanakaw. Panahon na para makamtan ng ating mga kababayan, partikular ang mga magsasaka, ang matagal na nilang hinihingi na hustisya. Kailangan nating matunton kung saan napunta ang napakalaking pondong ito at pagbayarin ang mga kasabwat sa anomalyang ito.

No one is above the law

We support the decision of the Philippine National Police Criminal Investigation and Detection Group to file criminal charges against Mike Arroyo et al in connection with the sale of second hand choppers to the PNP.

The evidence unearthed in the Senate hearings are damning. Both testimonial and documentary evidence lead to the doorsteps of Mike Arroyo as the true owner of the choppers. Mr. Arroyo et al should prepare well for his defense. The filing of charges should serve as a stern warning to all who dare to disregard the rule of law. No one is above the law, not even the husband of a former President.

And when the time comes, neither is a former President.

Leave no stones unturned in the 2004 elections investigation

In the interest of the truth and of justice, I welcome the latest developments wherein new witnesses are now surfacing to tell us what they know about the 2004 elections. I too am interested in the whole truth because it will be a chance for those involved in cheating to be unmasked.

Our role in the canvassing committee in 2004 mandated us to decide on the basis of the evidence available, the rules and the law. All the evidence now surfacing seven years later was not available then. In 2004 we did not know about ‘hello garci’, but when we learned about the taped conversations in 2005, out of principle, we did not hesitate to condemn the acts of PGMA then and called for her immediate resignation. In keeping with this principled position, we refused a slot in the admin ticket in 2007 and opted to run as an independent.

We encourage the DOJ and the COMELEC to dig deep and leave no stones unturned in the investigation as the public deserve no less than the whole truth. Walang sinuman ang dapat santuhin dito. In a democratic process, it is through an election that the citizens are given a voice in governance. To make a mockery of this process is to make a mockery of democracy. The public deserve no less than the whole truth.

Yes, "nobody home" in Malacanang passing off pay-offs and diverting funds

Yes, GMA is right that nobody is home. Nobody is home in Malacanang passing hundreds of thousands of cash to pay off political allies in exchange for votes--or calling COMELEC commissioners on the cellphone for election fraud. Nobody is home receiving calls from cabinet secretaries who report about P200M bribe offers for government contracts, or instructing undersecretaries to divert funds meant for fertilizers to election campaign funds.

Malacanang has been exorcised of all these with GMA stepping down and as such we are truly grateful that nobody's home who's willing and capable of doing all that.

My statement on the Supreme Court's ruling on the impeachment case vs Ombudsman

We welcome the Supreme Court’s ruling on the impeachment case against the Ombudsman. There was this growing perception that the Supreme Court was taking the cudgels for former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo whose administration has cases that have been gathering dust in the Ombudsman. We also welcome the decision as we believe that impeachment is a matter that falls exclusively within the jurisdiction of Congress, and that the Supreme Court should never have intervened in the first place. That the SC realized its mistake is a welcome development.

The failure of the Ombudsman to act swiftly on corruption cases have emboldened many to continue with their corrupt ways. The last thing we want is a Supreme Court that is perceived to be a stumbling block in the efforts to address pervasive corruption in government.

Thankfully, the Supreme Court also avoided the embarrassing situation of it being ignored by a co-equal branch if it insisted on interfering in a process that is exclusive to the House of Representatives as stated in the Constitution.

Desisyon sa Truth Commission, si GMA lang ang masaya

We lament the Supreme Court’s declaration of the Aquino administration’s Truth Commission as unconstitutional.

We fear the ruling may unwittingly create the public perception that the former president cannot be investigated and cannot be held liable for her actions, and may further harm the image and reputation of the Supreme Court.

Malungkot isipin na ganito ang naging desisyon. Di man ito sinasadya ng Korte Suprema, ang mensahe ng desisyon na ito na ipinapamalas sa taumbayan ay yung mga pang-aabuso at katiwalian sa ilalim ng gobyernong Arroyo ay di dapat ma-imbestigahan. Ang epekto nito sa isipan ng publiko ay pinapawalang-sala si Ginang Arroyo sa mga eskandalo at pagiging sangkot nito sa katiwalian at pang-aabuso sa gobyerno. Makakasama ito sa imahe ng korte. Nawa’y magbago pa ang pasya ng ating mahistrado sa pamamagitan ng isang motion for reconsideration. Tiyak ang pinakamasaya sa nasabing desisyon ay walang iba kundi si GMA.

We hope that by way of a motion for reconsideration on this adverse ruling, the Supreme Court will reconsider its position and “allow the President to fulfill his campaign promises.”

With all due respect, the Supreme Court should be a partner and not a stumbling block in the Aquino administration’s anti-corruption efforts.

Maagang pamasko ito kay GMA. Pero ika nga e, di naman araw-araw ay pasko. Naniniwala ako na sa bandang huli, mananagot din si GMA sa mga kasalanan niya sa bayan.

My thoughts on SC's decision that the Truth Commission is unconstitutional: This is a sad day for our judiciary

We are deeply saddened by the decision. Considering the numerous corruption scandals that hounded the previous regime, the ruling may unwittingly create the public perception that the former president cannot be investigated and cannot be held accountable for her actions. I am afraid that this ruling may further harm the image and reputation of the Supreme Court.

President Aquino ran on the campaign promise of addressing corruption and poverty. We hope that by way of a motion for reconsideration on this adverse ruling, the Supreme court will reconsider its position and allow the President to fulfill his campaign promises. With all due respect, the
supreme court should be a partner and not a stumbling block in the Aquino administration's anti corruption efforts.