By Rey O. Arcilla
THE question most asked by people these days is who should be our next president.
As far as I am concerned, s/he should be someone who is incorruptible, someone not beholden to anyone, much less a foreign power… someone who would pursue in earnest an independent foreign policy as mandated by the Constitution.
Needless to say, he should be someone who would appoint a like-minded foreign secretary.
If one were to look at the countries in our region alone, one will readily see that Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore have already left us eating their dust. Pretty soon, Vietnam and Myanmar could be doing that to us too. One thing that is common among these countries is that not one of them has allowed their erstwhile colonial masters to dictate to them.
Thailand, on the other hand, was virtually an American military base during the ten-year Vietnam war. However, immediately after that war ended in l975, the Thais told the US in no uncertain terms to “Please go. We don’t want you here anymore.” The US went and left
behind seven (7) huge land and naval bases, with the infrastructure needed to operate them. Look where Thailand is now.
(When the US left Clark and Subic in 1991, they took away everything that was not attached to the ground, except those buried by Mt. Pinatubo. I remember the late President Cory Aquino asking the Americans to leave behind at least one of the three dry docks in Subic.
They denied her request. Oh, I nearly forgot, they did leave behind their toxic wastes that they refuse to clean up, up to this day!)
And now, EDCA?!
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I do not blame the US for what she has done and still does to us. I put the
blame squarely on the weak shoulders of our leaders, past and present.
And their lack of nationalism!
Nationalism… now that’s a word that’s anathema to past colonial masters, but especially to the US. She used the communism bogey, particularly during the Cold War, to tag a nationalist as a communist, leftist, or anti-American. Our media have also been partly responsible for propagating this canard through the use of the word “militant” when referring to pro-Filipino persons or groups of persons.
As I often say, if being a pro-Filipino is equated with being a communist, leftist or anti-American, so be it. But those who do so should have their heads examined.
But, of course, one has to acknowledge that the ills in this country are not attributable to the lack of nationalism of our leaders alone.
We are now in a seemingly bottomless pit where, according to Alex Lacson, author of the book “12 Little Things Every Filipino Can Do To Help Our Country” only a few families control our politics, government and country, coupled with their lack of sincere, competent and
dedicated leadership.
Lacson said in a recent commentary:
“If our next president will not consider the political dynasties and the pork barrel system as a big part of our problems, the situation in our country will get even worse. The dynasties will consolidate their political fiefdoms. The pork barrel system will continue to feed the dynasties. Public funds intended for the poor in rural areas will continue to be hijacked by corrupt politicians under the pork barrel system. Our GDP may continue to grow, but the growth will continue to be non-inclusive.
“Their insatiable greed for wealth and power cause our people to suffer. They are destroying our society. We must find a solution to our present-day social cancer. We must find a way to heal our nation.
“Support the People’s Initiative for the Abolition of the Pork Barrel System. This will do away with the carcass that feeds political vultures.”
Note that Lacson referred to “our next president”. That could only mean he has given up on President Noynoy Aquino to end political dynasties (being a dynast himself) and eliminate pork barrel. And rightly so. Witness the 2015 national budget his stooges in the Lower House
have approved and the supplemental budget subsequently sent to Congress for approval.
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For a country that prides itself as the world’s champion of human rights, the US sure has a lot to be ashamed of, given the recent revelations about the inhumane treatment of detainees by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
Following the 11 September 2001 terrorist attack in New York, the use of torture on detainees by the CIA, through “enhanced interrogation techniques”, was revealed in a US Senate Intelligence Committee report to be made public soon.
The “enhanced interrogation techniques” include waterboarding, sleep deprivation, rectal feeding, exposure to cold temperatures, mock executions and threats that detainees’ relatives would be sexually abused or killed.
The recent killing of two Black Americans by white police officers who went scot-free have also placed in doubt the US credentials as a protector of human rights.
This is the same US Government that year in and year out issues through its State Department critical reports about the alleged human rights violations of countries around the world.
Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?
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There he goes again – making promises.
After super typhoon Yolanda hit Eastern Visayas last year, yet-to-be-confirmed (by the Commission on Appointments) energy secretary Jericho Petilla promised to restore power in all the affected areas before Christmas.
It didn’t happen.
This time, in the wake of typhoon Ruby, Petilla again gave assurance that power will be restored in the three provinces most affected, Samar, Leyte and Biliran before Christmas.
“Definitely there will be power before Christmas because we don’t want you to have a dark Christmas,” he said.
Let’s watch what happens.
Incidentally, this is the same Petilla who lied about the projected shortfall in the supply of power next year before the lower House of Congress. His own subordinates did him in.
And this is the same politician who, according to a news report, Senator Miriam Santiago wants to run for senator. I wonder what prompted her to say that.
Come to think of it… could it be that a Senate bid is the reason Petilla is so hot on getting emergency powers for Noynoy to address an expected power shortage? We all know what happened when Congress granted similar powers to a former president. The consumers are still paying for the mistake.
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Thanks to Senate energy committee chairman Serge Osmeña, the joint resolution passed by Malacañang’s stooges in the lower House giving Noynoy emergency powers to meet next year’s anticipated energy shortage has yet to be approved by the Senate.
Osmeña said the passage of the joint resolution need not be rushed as emergency powers are not needed to make the Interruptible Load Program (ILP) effective in dealing with the supposed power shortage.
Several big companies and industrial power users with generator sets have already committed to participate in the ILP without any incentive other than a guarantee that the government will reimburse them for the cost of running the generators at certain hours anytime the power supply is low, thus freeing up some for households.
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First it was Senator Grace Poe who said it. Then DILG secretary Mar Roxas. Then Senate President Franklin Drilon. Nothing doing.
But after his loyal friend and patron Noynoy had spoken, PNP Chief Alan Purisima readily accepted the suspension order from the Office of the Ombudsman.
Noynoy who reportedly admitted to feeling uneasy when asked questions about Purisima said the latter has the right to defend himself from charges of corruption.
Suspension doesn’t mean he loses that right, does it?
Of course, if Purisima, whom Noynoy once described as “hindi maluho at matakaw”, has any delicadeza at all, he would simply resign. He has already lost whatever credibility he may still have.
Same thing with Noynoy’s inept cabinet members like Abad, Abaya, Alcala, Del Rosario, Deles, Lacierda, Ochoa, Paje, Petilla, Roxas and Soliman. They should all resign or be fired by Noynoy. The minute he does that, he will be surprised how his popularity rating shoots up! He’d like that, wouldn’t he?
By the same token, Drilon who has been charged for alleged corrupt practices before the Ombudsman, should also seriously consider stepping down… if he has any delicadeza.
Vice President Jejomar Binay? I don’t think charges have been filed against him in the Ombudsman. He can, of course, resign from the vice presidency.
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Reminders (for Noynoy):
1) Filing of charges against officials of the National Food Authority (NFA) during Arroyo’s illegitimate regime. Noynoy himself said on several occasions that there is documentary evidence to prove the venalities in the past in that agency. That was more than four and a half years ago.
2) Investigation of reported anomalies in the GSIS during the watch of Winston Garcia and order his successor, Robert “Pretty Boy” Vergara, to file the proper charges, if warranted, against the former.
Noynoy should also order Vergara to report to him on COA’s findings that:
(a) He received the obscenely excessive compensation of P16.36 million in 2012 making him the highest paid government servant then. The latest COA report also has Vergara as the highest paid for 2013 with P12.09 million; and
(b) That over a year ago, at least P4.13 billion in contributions and loan payments made by 12 government offices, maybe more by now, to the GSIS had not been credited to the offices as of Dec. 31, 2011.
COA also said at the time that the amount of unrecorded remittances could go much higher because only 36 agencies have at that time responded out of the 186 that were sent confirmation requests by government auditors. Of the 36, 27 confirmed “discrepancies” in their premium and loan payments ledgers when compared with those of the GSIS.
There are three questions being raised when remittances, or parts thereof, of government agencies are not recorded by the GSIS on time: a) Where are these huge sums “parked” in the meantime?; b) Do they earn interest?; and c) To where (whom?) does the interest, if any, go?
Pray tell, Mr. Vergara, what is the present status of these funds, including those that may have been remitted since and not yet recorded by the GSIS? How long do you think you can “dedma” these questions?
I believe it is time for COA to follow up on what Vergara has done on the above findings so that affected GSIS members would know the status of their contributions!
In this connection, I would like to address this question to Mesdames Grace Pulido Tan and Heidi Mendoza of COA: “Is Vergara one of the sacred cows in Noynoy’s coterie whom you are afraid to investigate?”
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Today is the 228th day of the eighth year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.
The trial of the primary suspect in the enforced disappearance of Jonas, Maj. Harry Baliaga, Jr. has finally begun about three months ago, after seven and a half years.
I dread to think how many more years it will take before Jonas’ disappearance is finally resolved.
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From an internet friend:
Q: What is the definition of diplomacy?
A: The ability to tell a person to go to hell in such a way that he looks forward to the trip.
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Email: roacrosshairs@outlook.com
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