Category: why

why juday

tanong ng marami, why not claudine, or kris, or ruffa, or sharon? tanong ko, did meralco’s first holdings ask judy ann first because they think she’s the most credible of them all? or maybe she just has the widest fan-base of them all, so wide she got jamby elected to the senate?

jp fenix calls her “the darling of the masses” who was supposed to sweeten the unsavory message that systems losses in our electric bill are real,justified, and legal.

Judy endorses the “systems loss” advocacy with analogy of how some ice melts away on your trip from the store to your home. She adds that systems losses charged to consumers are never higher than what’s prescribed by law.

True enough – but it totally misses the point of what we all find distasteful about this issue. Sure, the kilometers of cables and wires that bridge the generation of power to the consumer at home may result in attrition of the electricity that runs through them. We can accept that, just as we can accept the ice melting on the way home analogy.

What gets our goat is the system loss due to Meralco’s inefficiency… no, ineptitude… no, incompetence… no, plain katamaran, the cost of which is charged to us, the consumers.”

so really the culprit (among others, of course) is meralco, not judy ann, so why fault her for doing the meralco commercial? she got paid for it. trabaho lang. say ni bong austero, juday has the right to peddle opinion:

I read somewhere that Santos did get paid for that infomercial.Four million pesos, if my reckoning serves me right. I don’t see how anyone can take that against her-she is a celebrity who makes money that way. Last I looked, there is no law in this country against making a living. What I can’t take is the wanton disrespect for Santos’ right to make and peddle an opinion because, “she is just an actress.” It’s all part of this dangerous stereotype that casts actresses as simpletons who simply parrot whatever their benefactors ask them to do. Is it too much to assume that Santos has her own mind and her own advocacies?

I understand that someone as popular as Santos has a moral obligation to her followers. I also concede that actresses like her with a massive fan base have the responsibility to take into account some notion of “the common good” in her actions and statements.  But-and this I insist on-no one in this country, absolutely no one, has the right to dictate his or her own notion of what is right or wrong on another person.

At the end of the day, we all have to account for our own actions. If Judy Ann Santos made a grievous mistake by taking the cudgels for Meralco, then that is something that she has to account for personally. But I don’t think she should be castigated for participating in a national debate simply because she is an actress and has been paid to do so. That’s her right and privilege. Excluding her from the debate because she is presumably “inferior” is just another form of bigotry.”

oo nga, judy ann has her own mind and no doubt she has some notion of “the common good” which is perhaps why she was seen, or so i heard, at the wake of ka bel.

but i don’t know that she’s in any position to truly promote the common good, not as long as she’s pushing consumerism big time, doing tv commercials that peddle all sorts of products – laundry detergent, feminine wash, shampoo, ginisa mix, vinegar, clothes, beer, cough medicine, flawless skin, diet pills, pawnshop, sardines, evaporated milk, texting services, perfume, eyewear, watches – raising needs that most of her fan base have no way of gratifying, which is really quite unkind if not downright cruel.

and then, again, who knows, maybe the meralco ad signals a new stage in the evolution of judy ann santos. maybe she’s into political advocacy now. maybe she has political ambitions a la ate vi? hmm, then she should take a sabbatical, do some homework. politics is complicated stuff.

scary

suddenly, after more than a decade on the shelf, the Freedom of Information Act is up for debate and approval in the house of representatives.

i remember catching senator drilon and representative locsin on an anc sometime last year and they were talking about how FOIA bills have been pending in both houses for the longest time, thanks to majorities who donot want the public to know about the appropriation of funds, i.e., how our taxes are spent, i suppose, for bayad-utang and, let’s not forget, the pork barrel.

so what has changed? bakit biglang eager na eager si speaker nograles na ma-aprub na ang FOIA? can it be really because it is an anti-corruption measure that will “promote transparency and confidence in government?”

or is it because, in the wake of the public outcry against the latest supreme court decision upholding executive privilege even on matters like the corrupt nbn deal, nograles and gma’s other minions in the lower house want to enact an FOIA that will uphold the supreme court ruling? gloria gloria hallelujah?

scary.

jun lozada: why neri did not tell all

got this via fwd email from a friend. released by enteng romano of the black & white movement, who says it was written by jun lozada sometime in october.

What is Neri afraid to say and Why?

Many speculations have been made as to what Neri knows about the ZTE-NBN most particularly the direct involvement of Pres. Gloria Arroyo in this abominable affair. After his damaging “Sec. May 200 ka dito” demolition of Abalos, the discredited former Comelec Chairman, many were left disappointed when Neri suddenly clamped up when the Senators started asking him about the nature of his conversation with Arroyo, no amount of coaxing, cajoling and threats was enough to break his Code of Omerta. The question on many people’s mind was, What was Neri trying to protect when he repeatedly invoked “Executive Priviledge” during that gruelling 12 hour Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on live television?

We have known the Truth all along as one of the few people that Neri confided his predicament during those fateful days of April 2006, and how he wanted to resign his post of NEDA Director General and Secretary for Socio-Economic Planning over this incident where he lost all his moral respect for Pres. Gloria Arroyo.

We are doing this document to give the public an understanding of this predicament.

What is Neri afraid to tell the public? He is afraid to tell the public that after he reported the Abalos P200 million peso bribe offer, Arroyo casually told him to ignore it and work for its recommendation for approval anyway. That when he protested that it is too controversial and may attract the wrong kind of attention from media, Arroyo retorted back “Pakulo lang ni Joey yan and his father”. When he tried to reason that it may not be accommodated in the Chinese ODA package because it has been filled up with a list of projects already, Arroyo again ordered him to remove the low cost housing project and some water project to accommodate the ZTE-NBN deal in the ODA loan. That when he attempted to reason that it may not be approved in time for the Boao Forum which was only two days to go from that fateful April day, Arroyo with raised voice told him to include the ZTE-NBN project in the agenda of the following day’s meeting of a combined NEDA Board and Cabinet Committee, who as expected promptly approved the project paving the way for the contract signing between ZTE and DOTC in China the next day. Neri is afraid to tell the public that this conversation took place between him and Arroyo because it might spark another impeachment complaint against Arroyo.

Why is Neri afraid to tell the public about this conversation with Arroyo? He is afraid that another impeachment will simply result to more expenses of public funds similar to the Hyatt 10 impeachment crisis, because as DBM Secretary who replaced Boncodin, he was entrusted with the large scale DBM payola operation of Arroyo to Congressmen, Senators and Governors not quite similar to the crude Panlilio incident that the public is witnessing now. He is afraid with a more partisan Andaya at the helm of DBM, more public funds will be spent to buy the silence and favour of these greedy legislators and local executives.

He is afraid that with Arroyo’s firm control of public funds she can buy all the necessary support from most sectors of society to keep her in power.

He is afraid that even if the opposition knows about this conversation with Arroyo, he is afraid that the opposition will not pursue a serious impeachment proceedings against Arroyo, because it is not to their political interest that Noli de Castro becomes President in case Arroyo is impeached and becomes a more formidable political opponent in 2010. This insincere and unpatriotic goal of the opposition is already being manifested by the malicious speed that the Erap pardon is being cooked by Ronnie Puno together with the Erap camp to hastily put a united front of “Birds of the same corrupt feather” coalition against the emerging JDV led political opposition.

He is afraid that even if the Church knows the truth about Arroyo’s direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal, the Church will still not call for her resignation due to the closeness of Arroyo’s trusted lady liason to the Cardinal of Manila who was very effective during the “Hello Garci” crisis. That Arroyo’s Religious Affairs Operators have the Bishops firmly in their “donation” graces, as again manifested by the quick rebuttal of the Mindanao Bishops’ of the call of their fellow bishops in Luzon who where calling for the resignation of Arroyo just after Arroyo gave them a visit in Mindanao.

He is afraid that even if the military knows the truth about Arroyo’s direct involvement in the fraudulent ZTE-NBN deal, the AFP brass is much to indebted to Arroyo for their position and the perks that goes with their position, that they have demonstrated this twisted loyalty with their willingness to detain, remove from the service and even shoot their own men for voicing out their legitimate concerns regarding the corruption and moral authority of their Commander in Chief. It is a sad spectacle to see the respected warriors of the Marines & Special Forces rot in jail with their ideals, while their men are dying even without receiving the measly P150 per day combat pay that was promised to them by Arroyo due to lack of funds & generals gets a gift bag similar to those given to the governors and congressmen just for having dinner with Arroyo the day after that infamous breakfast & lunch meeting where bribe money flowed scandalously free.

He is afraid that even if the Media knows the truth about Arroyo’s direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN scam, Media will simply wither in the torrents of cash and favors similar to how the Hyatt 10, Hello Garci crisis were killed in the media headlines and Radio& TV coverages. Although he believes in the integrity of a handful of Journalist, he believes that a handful of these mavericks cannot withstand the hordes of paid lackeys of Malacanang. Especially that the Arroyo crisis team is now being handled by the best mercenary money can buy, from Ramos Sulo Operation, Erap’s DILG and now Arroyo’s troubleshooter, Ronnie Puno. Ably supported by the Media and PR money from PAGCOR being handled by Cerge Remonte to buy positive airtime, headlines and editorials.

He is afraid that even if the Business Sector knows about the truth of Arroyo’s direct involvement to defraud the coffers of the taxes they are paying, the businessmen will be reluctant to rock the boat of the current economic uptrend, especially with the very close personal and business relationship of the so called leaders of the big business like Ricky Razon of ICTSI, Donald Dee of PCCI and Francis Chua of the Filipino-Chinese Federation to Arroyo herself. He is afraid that the hard earned remittances of Filipino OFWs that is keeping the economy booming and that can keep the economy afloat even under any administration is being wasted under this unholy alliance of Arroyo and her favoured businessmen.

He is afraid that even if the Civil Society knows the truth about Arroyo’s direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal, that the Civil Society is now tired of mass actions after witnessing two failed EDSA revolutions, that Civil Society is now afflicted with a “Rally Fatigue” and cannot muster enough public outrage to denounce Arroyo’s “corruption with impunity”. He is afraid that the middle class is now indifferent to the corruption that goes around them, not realising that the middle class are the ones mainly carrying the burden of the loan payments for these corrupt deals. He is afraid that the middle class are more interested to become an OFW & to leave this country leaving their family and children behind, and may not care anymore about the crimes being committed against their country by its own President.

He is afraid that even if the Masa, the students, the workers knows the truth about Arroyo’s direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal to steal precious resources from public funds, that they are now too poor and impoverished to be able to afford the time to join mass actions against the abuses of the Arroyo administration, that these former vanguards of mass actions in the country are now completely dependent on financial resources of professional organizers and have turned themselves into a “Rally for hire” groups rather than a true and genuine political gathering shouting for reforms.

He is afraid that the public may not know the extent of corruption in this country and may wrongly believe that they can cure corruption by simply replacing Arroyo with another person. He is afraid that the public may overlook the systemic and institutionalized nature of the source of corruption in this country, he is afraid that the people will again opt for a regime change without concern or a plan to correct the root causes of corruption in the country. He is afraid that people may not realize that it is not bringing Arroyo down that is difficult, it is establishing a new order that is the difficult task.

This is the predicament of Neri which I want people to realize especially to those who are asking Neri to tell the truth.

iskul bukol

leah navarro and manolo quezon of the black and white movement ask the same question: if, as general avelino razon alleges, the armed force that fetched jun lozada from the airport were only out to protect him in response to his request for protection, why then did these armed men disappear the moment jun lozada’s thursday presscon was over? meaning, i suppose, that it wasn’t as if lozada no longer needed protection.

the confusion i suspect stems from the fact that before lozada left for hongkong, he HAD been asking palace functionaries for protection. he wanted the palace to wield its magic wand and make the senate’s warrant of arrest go away. at that point, he did not want to testify because testifying meant he would be under oath, he would have to tell the truth, expose the bukol, talk of moderating greed.

but the palace functionaries could find no legal remedy for lozada’s plight. gma can’t claim executive privilege as with neri because she and lozada never talked. FG is not covered by executive privilege. which meant there was no way of avoiding the senate inquiry. well, except by leaving the country. it worked for jocjoc bolante and the fertilizer scam, it might work for jun lozada and the nbn-zte mess.

fortunately for us all, lozada did not want to fly too far away, and in a few days he wanted to come home (what a rare bird), and the palace didn’t try to stop him. what did mike defensor say? : umuwi ka na nga, at pag-usapan natin kung anong sasabihin mo. or something to that effect. the catch was, lozada was not the same person who left who absolutely did not want to testify. the lozada who came home, i daresay, was leaning more and more towards doing the right thing, the honourable thing, no more lying, no more hiding, death threats or no death threats.

perhaps the palace did not know this; they assumed that lozada would still want protection. except that parang no one was in charge, there was no strategy beyond the pick-up at the airport. worse, lozada only wanted to go home, be with his wife and family. so he was willing to sign any document, yes he asked for protection, no he won’t implicate the first gentleman, anything, to get home, or to la salle greenhills, as safe a place as any, where priests and nuns waited with his family.

lozada says it was only after he had been reunited with his wife and kids, and the nuns and priests had prayed over him, and he had talked it over with his family, that he decided to take the plunge, do the right thing, the honourable thing. only then did he agree to face the press. why his “protectors” stayed around, well, i suppose the palace wanted to know what was going on, the more quickly to come up with a spin or two. but when the presscon was over, there was no reason to stay. lozada no longer wanted protection from the senate, he was on the way to senate.