Win & Chiz

Gets ko naman the grumbling over Sen Chiz Escudero as Presiding Officer of the Impeachment Court — the “forthwith” history and all — pero grabe naman ang panlalait kay Senate President Win Gatchalian for giving way to one who is more equipped to deal with the legal acrobatics expected from the VP’s defense panel, not to speak of the contentious Cayetano sibs.

Kesyo pangit daw ang optics of the SP sitting up there with the PO doing nothing. I beg to differ. It’s reassuring to have Win up there on that rostrum, watching and listening from a vantage point that gives him a commanding view of the entire assembly, allowing him to observe body language and subtle interactions and whole-room dynamics that the Presiding Officer would be too occupied to note.

At Erap’s impeachment I remember SP Nene Pimentel seated beside CJ Hilario Davide, an arrangement signifying Pimentel’s continued Senate leadership, while Davide focused strictly on running the judicial proceedings.

Worked for us then, works for us now.

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Gatchalian to focus on legislative work as Escudero presides over trial https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

INC & Marcoleta, birds of a feather

The DDS ask, bakit inuuna ng Ombudsman ang kasong plunder, or is it indirect bribery, vs Sen Rodante Marcoleta.  Bakit daw hindi inuuna si Rep Martin Romualdez atbp. na matagal nang napangalanan na sangkot sa plunder of flood-control funds?

Malinaw naman kung bakit. Unlike Romualdez atbp. na mula’t sapol ay itinatanggi ang mga paratang — innocent until proven guilty kumbaga, so kailangan pang maghalungkat ng ebidensiya ang Ombudsman — si Marcoleta ay umamin na, nakapagkuwento na, bistado na, na tumanggap ng Php75 million na campaign donations na hindi niya inireport sa kanyang SOCE o SALN, as required by law. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/

At bakit daw hindi niya ini-report? Kasi mapipilitan siyang pangalanan ang kanyang very generous  donors who insisted that their names be kept secret.

MARCOLETA: They had one request: ‘Please do not disclose our identities.’ So if I put a figure in the contributions, I would have been forced to name names. Why? Because there’s a corresponding Deed of Acceptance of Donation. What happens then? This is a contribution.

They said, ‘No, we’re giving you a contribution, but that is your debt of gratitude to us. Treat it as debt.’ They called it debt, debt with no need for repayment, debt of gratitude. https://www.philstar.com/

A debt of gratitude. Utang na loob. Utang na hindi kailangang bayaran, not in cash anyway, but certainly, in the form of some favor in some future, like maybe a vote to acquit the VP?  It’s like having a senator in your pocket. It’s like an investment that’s expected to pay off big time, or why donate at all? At kay Marcoleta ang tanong ay, bakit siya pumayag? Hindi niya alam na labag iyon sa batas? Well, handa naman daw siyang makulong. Good for him.

As for Iglesia ni Cristo‘s pa-Edsa drama, here’s a public Facebook post of Bernard Ong who reminds of “selective justice”, INC style.

SELECTIVE JUSTICE

Noong libo-libo pinatay ni Marcos Sr at bilyon-bilyon ang ninakaw. Kakampi kayo.

Noong may jueteng protection racket si Erap. Kakampi kayo.

Noong ninakaw ni Gloria ang eleksyon at pinagkakitaan ang ZTE. Kakampi kayo.

Noong libo-libo pinatay ni Duterte sa drug war at bilyon-bilyon ninakaw sa Pharmally at “Build Build Build” (kasama flood control projects!). Kakampi kayo.

Noong nag sanib-pwersa ang mga trapo sa Unithieves. Kakampi kayo.

Noong kinupit ni Mary Grace Piattos ang budget ng DepEd. Kakampi kayo.

Nasaan kayo sa deka-dekadang korapsyon at pang-aabuso ng mga mandarambong? Ayun, todo-suporta sa pamamagitan ng rally at bloc-voting.

Lagi kayo pabor sa injustice. Never dumepensa sa Justice.

Ngayong dawit si Marcoleta sa plunder – at inamin niya ang pagbulsa ng P75m na palihim. Iiyak kayo ng selective justice.

Oo selective nga kami. Hindi kami kulto. Hindi uto-uto. Pinipili namin yung tama at nararapat. Hindi si Sara o Marcoleta yun. https://www.facebook.com/bernard.ong

INC rally Jun30

10:21 p.m. Balita ng GMA News. The Armed Forces of the Philippines has placed all its units in the National Capital Region under “red alert” amid the ongoing rally at the EDSA-White Plains area.

“This standard measure keeps AFP personnel and assets prepared to support civil authorities, when requested, in accordance with the Constitution, existing laws, and established procedures.” The AFP said that it was coordinating with the PNP and other agencies “to promote public safety, security, and the uninterrupted delivery of essential services.”

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1:30 p.m. Balita ng One News, hanggang Thursday itong INC rallies, may parating nang portalets. Hmm. can the DDS be far behind?

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12:30 p.m. Still wrapping my head around this latest INC show obviously to keep Marcoleta in the Senate and to stop the Impeachment. Akala nila ganyang kadali ang naganap noong 1986? But it was never just about people gathering in huge numbers. Or playing “Handog ng Pilipino sa Mundo” in Tiktok videos.

How Ninoy made LABAN

He says that “no family holds a monopoly” on Ninoy Aquino‘s name because no one holds a monopoly on heroism”, even, that he has every right to identify with Ninoy’s “struggle for truth” and to use the Laban sign to win people over to his kulto. May I just say, the senator has yet to earn the right to claim Ninoy as his inspiration, given, as Manila Times columnist Chin Wong reminds, his long history of “shameless political maneuvering and defense of the fascist administration of Rodrigo Duterte, whose policies resulted in the death of thousands in his bloody war on drugs, and who used government agencies to shut down media critics.” Ninoy set the bar very high, too high even for an ambassador of Jesus Christ. But all is not lost, the senator can still make habol.

L is for loser
By Chin Wong

… But all is not lost. With some well-placed and well-timed actions, Cayetano could still come across as a courageous defender of the truth. Here are a few practical suggestions:

1. Go to prison for seven years. When President Ferdinand Marcos Sr. declared martial law on Sept. 21, 1972, Ninoy Aquino was the first person arrested. He was brought to Fort Bonifacio and later held in solitary confinement in Laur, Nueva Ecija. Some time for self-reflection may do Cayetano some good.

2. Go on hunger strike. To protest the injustice of being tried by a military tribunal rather than a civilian court, Aquino went on a punishing 40-day hunger strike, surviving on nothing but water and salt, dropping from 180 to 120 pounds. He ended it only when his family and church leaders begged him to stay alive. Similarly, Cayetano could be induced to stop his hunger strike — after his sister, also a senator, asks him “Kumusta ka na? (How are you doing?)” while dabbing at nonexistent tears.

3. Be sentenced to death by firing squad. The military tribunal eventually sentenced Aquino to death by firing squad on trumped-up charges of murder, subversion and illegal possession of firearms. The international outcry was so massive, Marcos had to suspend the execution. Of course, we cannot guarantee there will be a similar outcry for Cayetano.

4. Run for office from prison. From his prison cell, Aquino ran for a seat in the interim parliament under the newly formed Laban party. The night before the election, Manila residents staged a “noise barrage” — honking horns and banging pots to show their support — and give voice to the strong anti-Marcos sentiment. Maybe Cayetano can try this over Facebook Live. After all, he supported online voting for senators so that his fugitive colleague Sen. Ronald de la Rosa, wanted for crimes against humanity, could still join Senate sessions while on the run from the law.

5. Go into exile. In 1980, Aquino suffered severe chest pains in prison. Reluctant to let his chief rival die in a military camp, Marcos permitted Aquino to travel to the United States for a coronary bypass. He spent three years in Newton, Massachusetts, as a fellow at Harvard University and MIT, and traveled across the US giving lectures, rallying the Filipino diaspora and warning international leaders about the critical economic and social state of the Philippines. Cayetano would surely win some brownie points here with a three-year absence.

The last action may be a bit too drastic. In 1983, against the warnings of friends, family and even members of the Marcos administration who told him his life was in imminent danger, Aquino returned to the Philippines and was shot in the back of the head on the tarmac, right after being escorted by soldiers off China Airlines Flight 811 at the Manila International Airport.

Cayetano might want to give martyrdom a hard pass. On the bright side, he could win some more PR points by simply staying away.  https://www.manilatimes.net/