Category: robredo

the marcos curse #ByeByeMarcos

as if the omicron surge and the duterte government’s care-less response weren’t bad enough, we have to deal with a marcos jr. running for president…

one who brings back awful memories of martial law, the conjugal dictatorship, the greatest robbery of a government, the murder of ninoy aquino…

one who faces disqualification cases filed by civil society groups on grounds of income tax evasion and moral turpitude that the COMELEC is taking its sweet time deciding.

not surprisingly there’s talk of “insider” info that the COMELEC, whose seven commissioners are duterte appointees, is “not inclined to disqualify the client of legendary solicitor general Estelito Mendoza of the elder Marcos.”

raissa robles is right.  “The Marcoses never really left home” (Inquirer 2014).

In 1998, by Imee Marcos’ own reckoning, “we waited 12 years to be on the right side of the fence.” Right side meant a political alliance with then victorious President-elect Joseph Estrada, velvet seats in Congress for Imee and her mother, and a governorship for Bongbong.

An ecstatic Imee spilled the family’s secret to success: “Many professionals were appointed by my father. So you have this immense bedrock of Marcos appointees who keep moving up.”

Like secret stay-behind units, this vast army of professionals scattered in all sectors of society have defended the Marcoses and helped erase the dark legacy of their regime. 

it’s like ferdinand marcos laid a cruel curse on the nation that the children are happily carrying on in his name, in his memory, with the eager support of a “bedrock” of grateful and beholden loyalists, bureaucrats and professionals from all sectors, who held the fort while they were away, and who have since moved up to real positions of power.

maybe this explains why the court of appeals dropped the jail sentence in marcos jr’s appeal of the RTC decision vis a vis his failure to file income tax returns for four years?

and maybe why COMELEC’s 2nd division ruled against canceling his COC despite the NO to question #22 because the respondent daw “cannot be said to have deliberately attempted to mislead, misinform, or hide a fact which would otherwise render him ineligible” ?!?

really ?!?  as in, he didn’t mean to lie?  is that like saying it was an honest mistake?

but is there anything honest about marcos jr. who has lied again and again about historical facts vis a vis martial law and his parents’ plundering ways, human rights violations and EDSA ’86?

and isn’t the fact that he took 4 years to follow the court of appeal’s order to pay up an indication of moral turpitude — a demonstration of arrogance, as though he were above the law?  isn’t that of a piece with the supreme court’s 2016 definition of moral turpitude in G.R. No. 219603?

Moral turpitude is defined as everything which is done contrary to justice, modesty, or good morals; an act of baseness, vileness or depravity in the private and social duties which a man owes his fellowmen, or to society in general. Although not every criminal act involves moral turpitude, the Court is guided by one of the general rules that crimes mala in se involve moral turpitude while crimes mala prohibita do not.  G.R. No. 219603

mala in se are acts wrongful in itself.  mala prohibita are acts that are not inherently evil or wrong.

i submit that tax evasion and lying about having been convicted are inherently wrong — no ifs or buts, no benefit of any doubt — and the liar and tax evader marcos jr. should be disqualified.

here’s praying the COMELEC en banc — or failing there, the supreme court — sees the light and disqualifies marcos jr. once and for all time.

otherwise these institutions would be complicit in perpetuating, keeping alive, the marcos curse on nation, and history and posterity will judge them harshly for betrayal of public trust.

Decision time on Marcos electoral protest

Tony La Viña

With the impending release by the Supreme Court sitting as Presidential Electoral Tribunal of its ruling on vice presidential candidate Bongbong Marcos’ electoral protest against Vice President Leni Robredo for the 2016 national elections, the nation waits anxiously for the PET to do its constitutional duty.

Much has happened and been said since Marcos lodged the electoral protest three years ago. Vice President Robredo and political allies have been subject to relentless attacks to discredit the opposition, including the filing of sedition charges against them. On the other hand, the Robredo camp is said to be prematurely claiming victory even as the PET has yet to announce any action on the Caguioa report. As early as July, Robredo’s camp was asking for an early resolution of the election protest on the ground that “the result of the revision, recount and reappreciation of the ballots clearly confirm the victory of protestee Robredo.”

At this point of the protest, it is fitting to recall the resolution of the PET on August 27, 2017 which paved the way for the recount.

Read on…

duterte is ready to step down

“I would suggest to the military, if you want a junta, or if you want yourselves to be in the junta, I say line up here, I’ll put you in your proper place.”

DU30 also said he was ready to be replaced by a “more competent” leader. “If you think there is somebody more competent, then by all means, put him in place. Or a group of persons who you think could bring prosperity to this nation.”

Finally, DU30 said he is opposed to a constitutional succession in case he vacates his office, and reiterated that he does not believe in the competence of Vice President Leni Robredo. “Were it not for the fact that I do not believe in the competence of the Vice President, I’m ready to go anytime,” he said.

hindi naman ito nakakagulat.  recall how reluctant he was to run for president in 2016.  i think he was finally convinced to run only because certain federalists promised that if as candidate and as president he pushed aggressively for federalism and CHANGE,  that it would be a piece of cake, a done deal by midterm elections, and he could step down and make way for a transitory head of state.

it is clear by now, early into his third year, that it ain’t gonna happen anytime soon, not federalism, much less a transition led by a politician of his choice.  it is clear that the leaders of the federalist pack miscalculated badly — akala nila duterte only had to run the country the way he ran davao city, and okay na.  NOT at all.  the drug war on the poor is atrocious and heartbreaking, the corruption grows unabated, and a con-ass is nowhere in sight.  clearly his orders are being defied at every level, even China Hasn’t Delivered on its $24 Billion Philippines Promise, sabi ng bloomberg, and digong must be feeling mighty frustrated, if not incompetent and useless.  running a country, after all, particularly this thirdworld basketcase of a country, is an extremely complicated matter, especially for one who ran on a promise of  CHANGE.

hindi rin nakakagulat na ibig ni digong na i-dictate kung sino ang papalit sa kanya.

The chief executive reiterated his doubts about Robredo’s competence to lead the country should he step down.

“I think deep in my heart, if you follow the succession and Robredo takes over, she can’t handle it. That’s my honest opinion. I wish it were someone in the likes of Escudero or Bongbong Marcos,” Duterte said.

i think maybe he was also promised that bongbong would win the vp election, but he lost, as did chiz.  and why chiz (is that you, danding cojuangco)?  of course bongbong’s contesting leni’s win, and it would be safe to suppose that digong is counting on the supremes’ PET ruling in favor of bongbong so he can take over as VP.  so why did digong even mention chiz?  or a military junta?  could it be that he is hedging his bets, in case bongbong proves to be unacceptable to the people because #NeverAgain a marcos as president?

talk is rife that the president’s health is failing and he would step down in a heartbeat if he were sure that he would not be charged with crimes and sent to jail.  but in aug 2016 he had no such fear.  read Duterte says his old age can help him avoid jail.

Old age may be a disadvantage to some but for President Rodrigo Duterte, it is a means to avoid imprisonment.

The tough-talking Duterte said that under the law, prisoners who are 70 years old or above should be released.

More than 400 people have [had] been killed in the government’s anti-drug operations, alarming human rights advocates who believe that the law enforcement operations may be used to justify extralegal killings.

“I don’t care about human rights. I said I have a problem to solve. I must first solve the problems of the country. I am already 71 years old and according to the Revised Penal Code, you have to be released once you reach 70,” the president said.

so what has changed?  sal panelo, digong’s chief legal counsel, says the president is shaking the tree … and talk of wanting to step down is “a foreshadow of radical things to come.”  i suppose this is why buhay na naman ang revgov peeps, urging digong to declare a revolutionary government that would ram a federal constitution and another marcos down our throats?  #godforbid  #taketothestreets

‘piso para kay leni’ nixed by supremes

suspicious daw the timing of the supreme court decision denying the petition of vp leni robredo’s supporters that they be allowed to pay some 6 to 7M of the 15M total in electoral protest fees owed the presidential electoral tribunal (PET).  read rina jimenez-david sa inquirer:

At this point in time almost all “eyeballs” are on the dispute between Commission on Elections Chair Andy Bautista and his estranged wife Patricia. In the heated exchange of accusations and counterclaims, including imputations of hidden wealth, an extramarital affair and the existence of a “third eye,” the name of Bongbong Marcos has cropped up, mainly because Ms Bautista’s lawyer is a good friend of the defeated vice-presidential candidate. Is the marital spat just a conflict between husband and wife? Or are Robredo, the Comelec and the conduct of the 2016 elections the ultimate targets? The timing is suspicious indeed.

i have family and friends who voted for leni, and who are indeed passionate about that win, and they wanted to send money, pero paano ba, tanong sa akin.  kaninong bank account puwede magpadeposito, kilala mo ba ang mga iyan?  so katrina asked a friend in the vp’s camp, and he referred us to the facebook page kung saan nakapost ang essential info. 

but as it turns out, the law is quite clear about it, a public official may not cannot accept goodies of any kind:

Presidential Decree No. 46 prohibits public officials from receiving gifts or any other valuable thing on any occasion when the gift is given because of an official’s position, regardless of whether or not the gift is given for past favors, or if the giver is expecting to receive a favor or better treatment in the future.

The same prohibition against receiving gifts can also be found in Republic Act No. 6713, which specifies that prohibited gifts include those with a value that “is neither nominal nor insignificant.”

and yet and yet bongbong marcos was allowed to accept donations, in fact admitted that friends helped him raise 36M of the 60M total.  napaka-unfair.  bongbong is not a public official, kasi nga natalo siya ni leni, so he lodges a protest and forces leni to engage, tapos siya lang ang puwedeng humingi ng donations?  but should PET rule in bongbong’s favor, what is to prevent those generous donors from exacting favors from the new veep?  such interesting names, presumably donating in the millions, presumably with vested interests in a marcos vice presidency.  next stop, malacañang?  

in contrast, leni’s donors are anonymous citizens, across classes, who won’t be asking the vp any favors except precisely to fight this good fight.  and in fairness, my sib and friends weren’t naive.  alam nila na baka hindi pumayag ang PET, in which case okey lang sa kanila, let the money then go to the veep’s  anti-poverty program, was the attitude.

i’m not sure what they’re thinking now, now that the incredible tish bautista has raised serious questions about the credibility of the 2016 elections.  i’d be thinking, what if leni loses, bongbong as vp will get to use the money?  umm, baka dapat iderecho na ang milyones sa home for the aged or somewhere like that.  but wait, may motion for reconsideration pa daw.  baka naman matauhan pa ang supremes.

if not, LP spokesman barry gutierrez says the robredo camp will be raising the money instead.  the liberal party to the rescue?  bakit ngayon lang.