When the guilty is ‘not guilty’

PerryScope
By Perry Diaz

Makati City Mayor Junjun Binay

First introduced into Philippine jurisprudence in 1959, the “doctrine of condonation” has become the elected officials’ “escape hatch” from potential administrative liability committed during a previous term. In other words, it’s a “not guilty” verdict sans judicial process, absolving the elected official from past administrative misconduct for as long as he gets re-elected to another term. The only exception to this doctrine is that it doesn’t apply to criminal cases.

Makati City Hall Parking Building

This is the gist of Makati City Mayor Jejomar “Junjun” Binay Jr.’s contention before the Supreme Court that since he’s been reelected mayor in 2013, he is immune from administrative liability in connection with the alleged overpricing in the construction of the Makati City Hall parking building, which was built during his first term. By invoking the “doctrine of condonation,” Binay claims that by virtue of his reelection, he’s forgiven for whatever administrative liability he might have had committed during his previous term.

And this is where his case goes into a grayish area. Did he commit a crime when he made – inadvertently or advertently — an administrative error? Or was a crime – e.g., dishonesty, graft, plunder – committed in approving the overpriced cost of building the parking building?

Unconscionable overpricing

Last year, a group of Makati City citizens brought graft and plunder charges against Vice President Jejomar “Jojo” Binay, his son Junjun, and 23 others over alleged “unconscionable overpricing” in the construction of the 11-story parking building that was supposedly built for P1.56 billion. In their complaint filed before the Ombudsman, lawyer Renato Bondal and Nicolas Enciso VI, members of the group known as the “Save Makati Movement,” claimed that it was “the most expensive parking building in the entire country, if not the entire world.”

In their complaint, the group said that the project was “proposed and approved” in 2007 with an initial budget of P400 million during the administration of then Mayor Jojo Binay. The complainants claimed that based on the construction cost estimate by the National Statistics Office (NSO), the project should have cost only P245.6 million. They said that the city should only have paid P7,691 per square meter, but the project cost was marked up to P48,859 per square meter when it was completed in 2013, or an overprice of a whopping P1.255 billion! Accusing the elder Binay and his son of “despicable mismanagement and gross abuse of public funds,” Bondal and Enciso sought the preventive suspension of the Binays to keep them from influencing the investigation by the Ombudsman.

Preventive suspension

On March 12, 2015, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales issued a preventive suspension against Junjun Binay and 20 other Makati City Hall officials for six months pending the preliminary investigation into the alleged overpricing in the construction of the Makati City Parking Building. But in an act of defiance, Binay said he would not vacate his office even if the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) serves him the order. “Hindi kami aalis dito. Ang stand nga namin ay there is no reason for the suspension order,” Binay told reporters, which makes one wonder: Is this how the Binays would rule when the elder Binay were elected President? Hmm…

On March 17, Junjun submitted a petition for certiorari to the Court of Appeals (CA) asking for the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the implementation of Binay’s suspension. The CA issued the TRO and also directed the Ombudsman to file her comment on Binay’s plea to cite her in contempt for defying the TRO.

The Ombudsman then filed a petition for certiorari to the Supreme Court (SC) to stop the implementation of the CA’s TRO. Morales argued that the Office of the Ombudsman is an independent constitutional body, which must be protected from the “unconstitutional interference” of the CA Sixth Division.

The CA Sixth Division retaliated by issuing a writ of preliminary injunction on the Ombudsman’s preventive suspension. Then the government’s Solicitor General, Florin Hilbay, came to the Ombudsman’s rescue. “Does the Court of Appeals have statutory authority from Congress to issue a writ of preliminary injunction on [orders] of the Ombudsman? No, because we cannot find any statutory authority with such express provision,” Hilbay said during the oral argument before the High Court.

Believe it or not

Trillanes: “Scam in Makati bigger than pork theft.”

While all the players of this “zarzuela” are dancing to their own tunes, Sen. Sonny Trillanes introduced Senate Resolution 1265 calling for a probe on “justice for sale” involving CA justices. Trillanes claimed that a prominent lawyer had arranged for Junjun Binay a P50-million bribe to two of the three CA Sixth Division justices for the issuance of a TRO and, eventually, a writ of preliminary injunction against the Ombudsman’s suspension order.

Trillanes claimed that the two justices initially received P20 million each for issuing the TRO. But when the Ombudsman, the DILG, and the Department of Justice ignored the TRO, another P5 million was given to each of the two justices for the issuance of a writ of temporary injunction. “This was purportedly the reason why the concerned CA division issued the writ of preliminary injunction with undue and inordinate haste, long before its TRO is supposed to elapse,” Trillanes said.

Institutionalized corruption

Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno and Junjun Binay (inset).

It was about this time that the lawyers pleading Junjun’s case before the Supreme Court invoked the “doctrine of condonation.” In short, they begged the High Court to forget all the charges of overpricing; to forget all the accusations of corruption; and to forget all allegations of bribery. Yes, just for being reelected to another term, Junjun Binay would be forgiven and deemed “not guilty” of all administrative wrongdoings while he was in office.

This led Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno to scold Binay’s lawyer, Sandra Marie Coronel, for repeatedly insisting that the “doctrine of condonation” – which was adopted from American jurisprudence — is ground for removal of Binay’s administrative liability over the alleged overpricing of the parking building.

Three legal luminaries – retired Associate Justice Vicente Mendoza, San Beda College of Law Dean Ranhilio Aquino, and former U.P. Law Dean Pacifico Agabin – all agreed that the Philippine legal system does not have to be stuck with the 56-year-old doctrine. According to Mendoza, the ruling on condonation doctrine can be abandoned, retained or modified. It’s up to the High Court to make that decision and it doesn’t require any legislative action.

Mendoza explained that it can be retained “with respect to minor administrative lapses of public officials like light misconduct where his re-election means condonation as in the 1959 Pascual case.” “But where the administrative offense is serious like dishonesty and was not publicly well known, the ruling [condonation] should not apply. I think this is how the [Binay] hearing should proceed,” he said.

If the Supreme Court upholds the “condonation doctrine,” Sereno said that it could wipe out all statutes that provide preventive suspension. She warned about the magnitude of upholding the “condonation doctrine” of the 690,502 local elective posts in the country. And when that situation arises, it would make a mockery of justice… and the Constitution. It would make the Office of the Ombudsman and the graft court, Sandiganbayan, inutile and unable to prosecute those who are guilty of administrative wrongdoings. Yes, that would be when the guilty is “not guilty.” It’s called institutionalized corruption.

(PerryDiaz@gmail.com)

A diagnosis in search of a patient

by YEN MAKABENTA

Today, this column will embark on another publishing experiment. We will tee off from a diagnosis of a personality disorder that I received from a source. You the reader will play the role of doctor or psychologist. And I will be just an observer.

About a century ago, in 1921, Luigi Pirandello, the Italian dramatist and novelist who was awarded the 1934 Nobel Prize for literature, unveiled a new play titled Six Characters in Search of an Author, which critics regard as a forerunner of the Theater of the Absurd.

The play is a parody of theatrical conventions at the time. It depicts a theatrical troupe that plans to rehearse a play. As the title suggests, the characters offer a play-in-the-making. Their attempt to generate a play, based on a sketch that a writer had made before abandoning the project, is judged unsatisfactory. Without a literary text, the theater rejects them. That is their tragedy.

Letter from Anonymous
I thought of Pirandello’s play while pondering what to do with another epistle sent me by Reader Anonymous. As readers will remember, I allowed him to occupy this space almost two weeks ago (“Aquino all branding and no substance,” Times, 16 April 2015), which drew a lot of comment.

His new letter concerns an intriguing subject: “narcissistic personality disorder.” More suggestive than explicit, he hints at its possible relevance to politics and leadership in the country today.

Taking a leaf from Pirandello, I highlight his epistle here as “a diagnosis in search of a patient.”

I thought it would be an interesting exercise, if I engage readers in picking a public personality or patient who fits the psychological profile.

The patient could be anyone from anywhere. He can be a figure in national politics and government today. He can be one of our country’s billionaires, or a boss in the organization you work for. The patient could even be in your own home or family. You the reader must decide.

Leaders and personality disorder
Anonymous got his ideas from the work of the Israeli author Sam Vankin, who wrote Leaders and Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

Not surprisingly, Vankin himself has been diagnosed as a narcissist. The disorder is recognized in psychology and psychiatry today.

The excerpt from Vankin’s book quoted by Anonymous reads:

“The lack of empathy, the aloofness, the disdain, the sense of entitlement, the constricted sense of humor, the unequal treatment and the paranoia – all render the narcissist a social misfit. Give him power and he becomes a dangerous liability as he feeds his insatiable need for self-aggrandizement and wholesale admiration, in order to compensate for his inner insecurities and failings.

No narcissistic leader has ever put his country first, but they do put the country at risk, of chaos, disunity, and dysfunction. A web which the vindictive narcissist is happy to weave, and a game he sadistically enjoys….

The narcissist is perceived to be asocial at best and, often, antisocial. This, perhaps, is the strongest presenting symptom. One feels ill at ease in the presence of a narcissist for no apparent reason, but probably because he fails to secure the sympathy of others, a sympathy he is never ready, willing, or able to reciprocate. Lack of empathy colors his world and dictates his actions.

The narcissist often lives an isolated life, safe in his cocoon, with few friends or interests. The public image of the narcissistic leader is nearly always diametrically opposed to his secret world (whether that be inhabited by demons, drinking, damsels, or even darker pursuits)…

The malignant narcissist invents and then projects a false, fictitious, self for the world to fear, or to admire. He maintains a tenuous grasp on reality to start with and this is further exacerbated by the trappings of power.

The narcissist’s grandiose self-delusions and fantasies of omnipotence and omniscience are supported by real life authority and the narcissist’s predilection to surround himself with obsequious sycophants.

The narcissist’s personality is so precariously balanced that he cannot tolerate even a hint of criticism and disagreement. Most narcissists are paranoid and suffer from ideas of reference (the delusion that they are being mocked or discussed when they are not). Thus, narcissists often regard themselves as “victims of persecution”…

The narcissistic leader is monstrously hypocritical, talking of sacrificing his life and denying himself so that he can help his people, but such noble sentiments have little bearing in reality and are purely part of the image building….

In short: narcissistic leadership is about theater, not about life. To enjoy the spectacle (and be subsumed by it), the leader demands the suspension of judgment, depersonalization, and de-realization.

Narcissistic leadership often positions itself as a rebellion against the “old ways” – against the hegemonic culture, the upper classes, the established religions, the superpowers, the corrupt order, but it is all a facade…

The narcissistic leader prefers the sparkle and glamour of well-orchestrated illusions to the tedium and method of real accomplishments. His reign is all smoke and mirrors, devoid of substance, consisting of mere appearances and mass delusions. Spin, propaganda, and diversions are all key tools to maintain the illusion.

In the aftermath of his regime – the narcissistic leader having died, been deposed, or voted out of office – it all unravels. The tireless and constant prestidigitation ceases and the entire edifice crumbles. The image of courage, strength, sacrifice etc is stripped away to reveal the truth, and a weak and despised individual.

What looked like an economic miracle turns out to have been a fraud-laced bubble….

His mask really falls when the narcissist has become convinced that the very people he purported to speak for, his constituency, his grassroots fans, the prime sources of his narcissistic supply – have turned against him…

The “small people”, the “rank and file”, the “loyal soldiers” of the narcissist – his flock, his nation, his employees – they pay the price.

The disillusionment and disenchantment of followers is agonizing…Feelings of shame and guilt engulf the erstwhile followers of the narcissistic leader.

This is his sole legacy: a massive post-traumatic stress disorder.

The script has been performed many times. It always ends as a tragedy with the leading characters often becoming comedic in their flight from reality, and in their desperation to create a fantasy legacy in the final act.”

Like fitting cinderella’s slipper
Now, our little exercise transforms like Cinderella’s tale into a search for a foot that will fit the slipper. We now search for a character or patient who fits the diagnosis.

Anonymous says it’s “no surprise that, in a country famed for its narcissism, narcissistic politicians abound, and that beauty queens become natural ‘publicity bedfellows,’ or that there is an incestuous relationship between politics and entertainment. All that matters is an audience and adulation, usually accompanied by a Peter Pan syndrome. (Chiz Escudero is a prime example).”

Who could be Cinderella in our little exercise? Who possesses the quirks and tics that fit Vankin’s psychological profile?

I report, you decide, dear reader.

yenmakabenta@yahoo.com

Chris Kyle: American Hero

“Chris Kyle became the armed services number #1 sniper of all time. Not something he was happy about, other than the fact that in so doing, he saved a lot of American lives.

Three years ago, his wife Taya asked him to leave the SEAL teams because he had a huge bounty on his head by Al Qaeda.  He did and wrote the book “The American Sniper.” 100% of the proceeds from the book went to two of the SEAL families who had lost their sons in Iraq.

That was the kind of guy Chris was. He formed a company in Dallas to train military, police and I think firemen, how to protect themselves in difficult situations. He also formed a foundation to work with military people suffering from PTSD. Chris was a giver not a taker. He, along with a friend and neighbor, Chad Littlefield, were murdered trying to help a young man that had served six months in Iraq and claimed to have PTSD.

Now I need to tell you about all of the blessings. Southwest Airlines flew in any SEAL and their family from any airport to the funeral… free of charge. The employees donated buddy passes and one lady worked for four days without much of a break to see that it happened. Volunteers were at both airports in Dallas to drive them to the hotel.

The Marriott Hotel reduced their rates to $45 a night and cleared the hotel for only SEALs and family. The Midlothian, TX Police Department paid the $45 a night for each room. I would guess there were about 200 people staying at the hotel, 100 of them were SEALs. Two large buses were chartered (an unknown donor paid the bill) to transport people to the different events and they also had a few rental cars (donated). The police and secret service were on duty 24 hours during the stay at our hotel. At the Kyle house, the Texas DPS parked a large motor home in front to block the view from reporters. It remained there the entire five days for the SEALs to meet in and so they could use the restroom there instead of the bathroom in the house.

Taya, their two small children and both sets of parents were staying in the home. Only a hand full of SEALs went into the home as they had different duties and meetings were held sometimes on a hourly basis. It was a huge coordination of many different events and security. Derek was assigned to be a Pall Bearer, to escort Chris’ body when it was transferred from the Midlothian Funeral Home to the Arlington Funeral Home, and to be with Taya. A tough job. Taya seldom came out of her bedroom. The house was full with people from the church and other family members that would come each day to help. I spent one morning in a bedroom with Chris’ mom and the next morning with Chad Littlefield’s parents (the other man murdered with Chris). A tough job.

George W Bush and his wife Laura, met and talked to everyone on the Seal Team one on one. They went behind closed doors with Taya for quite a while.  They had prayer with us all. You can tell when people were sincere and caring Nolan Ryan sent his cooking team, a huge grill and lots of steaks, chicken and hamburgers. They set up in the front yard and fed people all day long including the 200 SEALs and their families. The next day a local BBQ restaurant set up a buffet in front of the house and fed all once again. Food was plentiful and all were taken care of. The family’s church kept those inside the house well fed.

Jerry Jones, the man everyone loves to hate, was a rock star. He made sure that we all were taken care of. His wife and he were just making sure everyone was taken care of….Class… He donated the use of Cowboy Stadium for the services because so many wanted to attend. The charter buses transported us to the stadium on Monday at 10:30 am. Every car, bus, motorcycle was searched with bomb dogs and police. I am not sure if kooks were making threats trying to make a name for themselves or if so many SEALs in one place was a security risk, I don’t know. We willingly obliged. No purses went into the stadium!

We were taken to The Legends room high up and a large buffet was available. That was for about 300 people. We were growing.

A Medal of Honor recipient was there, lots of secret service and police and Sarah Palin and her husband. She looked nice, this was a very formal military service. The service started at 1:00 pm and when we were escorted onto the field I was shocked. We heard that about 10,000 people had come to attend also. They were seated in the stadium seats behind us. It was a beautiful and emotional service. The Bagpipe and drum corps were wonderful and the Texas A&M men’s choir stood through the entire service and sang right at the end. We were all in tears.

The next day was the 200-mile procession from Midlothian, TX to Austin for burial. It was a cold, drizzly, windy day, but the people were out. We had dozens of police motorcycles riders, freedom riders, five chartered buses and lots of cars. You had to have a pass to be in the procession and still it was huge. Two helicopters circled the procession with snipers sitting out the side door for protection. It was the longest funeral procession ever in the state of Texas. People were everywhere. The entire route was shut down ahead of us, the people were lined up on the side of the road the entire way. Firemen were down on one knee, police officers were holding their hats over their hearts, children waving flags, veterans saluting as we went by.

Every bridge had fire trucks with large flags displayed from their tall ladders, people all along the entire 200 miles were standing in the cold weather. It was so heartwarming. Taya rode in the hearse with Chris’ body so Derek rode the route with us. I was so grateful to have that time with him.

The service was at Texas National Cemetery. Very few are buried there and you have to apply to get in. It is like people from the Civil War, Medal of Honor winners, a few from the Alamo and all the historical people of Texas. It was a nice service and the Freedom Riders surrounded the outside of the entire cemetery to keep the crazy church people from Kansas that protest at military funerals away from us. Each SEAL put his Trident (metal SEAL badge) on the top of Chris’ casket, one at a time. A lot hit it in with one blow. Derek was the only one to take four taps to put his in and it was almost like he was caressing it as he did it. Another tearful moment.

After the service Governor Rick Perry and his wife, Anita, invited us to the governor’s mansion. She stood at the door, greeted each of us individually, and gave each of the SEAs a coin of Texas. She was a sincere, compassionate, and gracious hostess. We were able to tour the ground floor and then went into the garden for beverages and BBQ. So many of the Seal team guys said that after they get out they are moving to Texas. They remarked that they had never felt so much love and hospitality. The charter buses then took the guys to the airport to catch their returning flights. Derek just now called and after a 20 hours flight he is back in his spot, in a dangerous land on the other side of the world, protecting America.

We just wanted to share with you, the events of a quite emotional, but blessed week.”

[Punch-line]: *To this day, no one in the White House has ever acknowledged Chris Kyle; his service, his death, his duty, his generosity, his caring, his life. However, the President can call a sports person and congratulate him on his bravery for announcing to the world that he is gay. He can say on national television that someone, a man who has committed a crime and was shot by police in the line of duty, would have made him a good son*

The SEALS have asked that you please, keep this moving if you think Chris Kyle would have made a good son.

Author: A SEAL comrade

PNoy’s silence debunks “tuwid na daan”

by ATTY. DODO DULAY

The resignation of Bureau of Customs (BOC) commissioner John “Sunny” Sevilla last week had many thinking Filipinos shaking their heads in disbelief, not only because of the shocking exposé of the ex-BOC chief but more so because of PNoy’s silence about Sevilla’s revelations of politicking and influence peddling emanating from the highest corridors of power.

During the press conference announcing his resignation, Sevilla said he did not want the agency to be used as a “milking cow” for the fund raising activities of political camps for the coming elections. He also said earlier that he wanted to ensure that the bureau conducted its dealings fairly and that he won’t allow it to be used in extortion activities.

Sevilla also cited the growing pressure from certain people – particularly in the appointment of personnel to key positions – as the main reason for his resignation. He said he felt and sensed that the ugly face of politics was creeping back into the system. While he did everything to insulate the BOC from politicking, Sevilla says “it’s becoming very difficult and it might be impossible to hold on to the reforms in the coming months.”

Apparently, the last straw for Sevilla was the impending appointment by Malacañang of BOC Intellectual Property Rights Division acting chief Teddy Sandy Raval as the new head of the Enforcement and Security Service (ESS) or more commonly known as the Customs police. As chief of the ESS, Raval would control 400 or so Customs policemen manning the “lucrative” gates of the ports.

The former BOC chief says he tried to resist Raval’s appointment for as long as he could. “I learned fairly recently that the appointment is going to come through. I said, look there is something that is not right about this and I think it is something that’s important enough to the future of Customs and to me personally to take a stand against,” Sevilla said.

Sevilla named “Secretary (Cesar) Purisima, (Finance) Undersecretary (Carlo) Carag, Deputy Executive Secretary (Teofilo) Pilando (Jr.) and Executive Secretary (Jojo) Ochoa” as the Palace officials behind Raval’s endorsement.

The Ivy-league educated BOC chief also revealed that during his term, he received calls and text messages from politicians and other government officials who asked favors – like hiring people they endorsed, promoting employees and releasing smuggled shipments – all of which he says he rejected. Sevilla refused to divulge the names of those who called him or sent him text messages, only saying that it was “people in government.”

Sevilla’s revelations are alarming to say the least.

For one, it seems to confirm the rumors that powerful groups within the Aquino administration are moving to position certain “operators” in the BOC ahead the 2016 national elections. It appears Sevilla stood in the way of this group’s scheme to turn the tax-collecting agency into a gold mine for campaign funding. They needed someone willing to play ball.

Is this the reason why Alberto “Bert” Lina – a known supporter of the ruling Liberal Party (LP) and a close friend of Department of Finance (DOF) Secretary Cesar Purisima since their Hyatt 10 days – was appointed as the new Customs chief?

That top Palace officials are interfering in the promotions and assignment process in an agency reputed as one of the most corrupt, is proof that PNoy’s rhetoric about pursuing professionalism and meritocracy in the bureaucracy is a sham.

But it is Malacañang’s response (or lack of it) that not a few folks find infuriating.

A few hours after Sevilla’s press conference, Malacañang released to the media a copy of the letter signed by Executive Secretary Paquito Ochoa Jr. accepting Sevilla’s resignation. At the same time, the Palace also released a copy of Lina’s appointment letter as the new BOC commissioner.

Other than praising Sevilla for his anti-corruption initiatives in the agency, all Malacañang could say about Sevilla’s revelation was that “corruption still persists in the BOC because the agency’s problem is ‘institutional’ and many of the agency’s processes are still susceptible to personal influence.”

Presidential Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. said Sevilla’s revelations about the corruption and bribery in the BOC only showed that the agency needs to undergo “systemic reforms.” “What is needed here is the institutional strengthening of the Bureau of Customs,” Coloma explained.

And in contrast to the PNP and other critical agencies whose top post still remains vacant, Sevilla’s replacement was appointed with suspicious haste. It seems Malacañang wants to sweep this scandal under the rug and move on as quickly as possible.

Sevilla also disclosed that he personally met with President Benigno Aquino 3rd to hand over his resignation. We’re sure Sevilla bared these irregularities to PNoy.

That PNoy accepted Sevilla’s resignation without hesitation while turning a blind eye to the shenanigans of his Palace cadre goes to show that under the Aquino administration, politics (and political fundraising) trumps good governance.

This is what “Tuwid na Daan” really means after all.

Weather Engineering, For Real!

By Erick San Juan

“Rains and winds, and whatsoever occurs by local impulse alone, can be caused by demons. It is a dogma of faith that the demons can produce winds, storms, and rains of fire from heaven.” (Summa, St. Thomas Aquinas 1225-1274)

In the very early years when there was still war waging between science and religion especially in the field of meteorology, heavenly phenomena were explained in different theories, one came from St. Thomas Aquinas. On second thought, he could be right if we are going to base it on what is happening with today’s weather and climate situation.

Weather conditions in different parts of the globe are amazing and happening in extreme conditions, may it be hot or cold or winter and summer. Conditions that they said happened for the first time. Strong weather disturbances and even earthquakes are being felt at their strongest. Many believed that these things occur due to climate change and global warming.

Beliefs that being fed through mainstream media and via the internet. Being backed up by organizations and groups like the one created at the United Nations where annual meetings seemed to be always missing the crucial element of such huge change on weather and/or climate conditions.

The element is the use of HAARP (High-Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) by evil geniuses tampering with Mother Nature and thereby creating chaos and havoc around the world killing thousands. This could be the work of demons as the case may be as theorized by St. Thomas Aquinas.

“I am fascinated by the fact that George Orwell’s predictions in the 1949 novel “Nineteen Eighty Four” include a somewhat different picture. He said “Teams of experts are indefatigably at work. Some are concerned simply with planning the logistics of future wars; others explore even remoter possibilities such as focusing the sun’s rays through lenses suspended thousands of kilometers away in space, or producing artificial earthquakes and tidal waves [i.e., tsunamis] by tapping the heat at the earth’s centre.” (From Theupliftingcrane’s Blog)

The internet is full of information on what is HAARP all about, the pros and cons, from various sectors. One such news that came out in the middle of last year was the supposed plans of closing down the HAARP facility in Alaska.

“As we found out last month, all the bogus stories about HAARP closing down were more fake than a politician kissing a baby during election season.”

“When I found the 25 million dollar budget from the US Navy for the Fiscal Year of 2015 — that sealed the deal on whether or not the facility is still in operation.

Today (February 26 2015), I decided to do a search on plasma experiments authorized for FY2015 and FY2016 by the United States Government.

While searching for budgets, I stumbled upon this NEW February 2015 release from the American Geophysical Union regarding new experiments done at HAARP.

Yes, new experiment results from HAARP, submitted January 2015. This means that all the stories about H.A.A.R.P. being closed down in 2014 were false.

Now move forward to 2015, we have the budget for this year from the US Navy, and we have experiment results coming in from 2014 into 2015 – proving the facility did NOT shut down in 2013, and did not shut down in 2014.

Big media outlets made false reports last year saying HAARP was closed — big names such as livescience, RT, and even NBC news jumping on the false information bandwagon.

After reading these nonsense stories about shutdown, I must point out how the disinformation started.”

“(Literally this was a made up story in 2013 — at first saying that HAARP was being closed due to ‘dirty diesel generators’. This disinformation was debunked in 2013 by myself. This happened again in 2014 saying HAARP was being dismantled for parts – both false reports from a HAARP denier website called the ARRL).

Obviously the ARRL is full of the old stuff, and the people who repeated the false shutdown story now must correct themselves.” (Source: Michael Janitch, Geophysical Union, February 26, 2015)

A deliberate floater of some sort creating a fake report could be a pretext to another scenario, making people believe in the process that the HAARP facility was already dismantled.

In May 2014, it was reported at rt.com that – The Air Force is said to be getting ready to wave their last good-bye to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP), the Anchorage Daily News reports. Unlike last year’s rumors about the project’s demise, this time it appears to be for real.

“We’re moving on to other ways (http://rt.com/news/dressed-lasers-weather-rain-548/) of managing the ionosphere, which the HAARP was really designed to do,” David Walker has recently told the House’s Appropriations Subcommittee as leaked on YouTube. Walker is an Air Force official tasked with overseeing much of the branch’s science and technology research efforts.

After 21 years of experiments, the controversial HAARP project is no longer “an area that we have any need for in the future,” he said.

It seems that the demonic minds of some geniuses have mastered the art of weather engineering and can do such manipulation with expertise and leaving no trace.

Like what happened recently in Belarus – An “apocalyptical” storm swept through several regions in Belarus, including the capital. But it was in the city of Soligorsk where clouds as black as ink obscured the sun light, while strong winds ushered in a sand storm.

Soligorsk residents, about 120 kilometers from the capital Minsk, were both scared and excited by the weather phenomenon that hit Belarus on Monday. At around 17:00 local time, darkness descended on the city with over 100,000 residents opting to stay indoors.

The epic storm was created by a cold front on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border that later reached the Carpathian Mountains in an event that is quite rare for this time of the year. Meteorologists called the natural phenomenon a “haboob,” which means an intense red dust storm in Arabic.

Such weather phenomenon like what happened in Belarus can be associated to the capabilities that only HAARP can do.

There are really weird things happening everywhere. In the Philippines, despite intense draught, a super typhoon almost hit us during the lenten season. Last week, a blazing sinkhole in Northwest China terrified the locals. My friend from Singapore told me that we really have to be wary of freak weather. She said that the phenomena is not natural.

Beware of new technologies for war!

The Hunger and Thirst for Justice

By Fr. Shay Cullen
PREDA Foundation

Peter Scully

There is a true and very important saying that we all need to listen and learn from: “There is no peace when there is no justice”. The truth of this is seen and felt by thousands of people around the world and people never forget the injustices that they have suffered. Hurt and pain are the realities that we humans carry with us throughout our lives. Much of it happens in families and in school and children are scared for life. They suffer much more when they are victims of sexual or physical abuse and torture.

Rejection, exclusion, abuse and hurt feelings of childhood shape and mould the characters of every person; some cope with it and survive and live with it. Others are crippled emotionally and psychologically and many suffer depression and some even take their own lives. Other children are even murdered on live videos to please international pedophiles. Are we going to allow this?

Abused children carry the memories into late adult life because as children, they are unable to challenge and confront their abusers and demand justice. The culture of ignoring the individual personality and rights of children is part of this injustice. The children can grow up with a grudge, a desire for justice, anger at being denied it and turn to revenge-seeking and even violence. When whole communities are degraded, oppressed and exploited, they become angry and seek redress through demonstrations, riots, and protest. This leads to inevitable confrontation and violence. Others seek justice in the courts but their complaints are frequently dismissed.

The individual child can become an angry, violent person when abused and denied justice. Perhaps that’s why thousands of young people are flooding to Syria to become fighters and join the ISIS. Perhaps they see it as a way to take bloody revenge on the world they have come to hate.

Prior to the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, there were few laws to fully protect the rights of children or treat them as individual people in the own right. The high status given to a child in the Gospel values was generally ignored for 2000 years. Since the approval of the Convention, all member states had to draft their laws based on the Convention document.

But are those laws really and wholeheartedly implemented and beneficial to children? In the Philippines, experience shows that mostly they are not. Police, prosecutors, and judges are more favourable to the abusers than to the children. More accused child abusers and rapists are allowed to go free than are convicted.

The reasons are many: corruption, bribery, favouritism, and no belief in the law; the incompetence of police, prosecutors, and judges add to the failure. For all this, there are good, honest, hardworking judges for the most part that take pride in doing justice. The good judges restore people’s trust and respect in the judicial process but they are all too few.

Children cannot and should not be made to wait years for justice. Justice based on clear evidence is essential for healing. Children get witness fatigue and despair of getting justice, and there are many postponements, manipulations and cheating to contend with.

Lawyers working for the accused get paid per hearing plus a retainer fee. It’s in their interest to prolong the case, earn more money and hope to win by wearing down the will of the victim so she will give up and the rapist can get away with the crimes.

Then, some impotent child protection laws are allegedly ignored. The telecommunication companies are allegedly not complying with the Anti-child Pornography Law of 2009. They have made no statement of compliance with the law. This law, RA 9775, explicitly orders the Internet Service Providers (ISPs) to install software to block the transmission of child porn images and cyber-sex where children are forced to do sexual acts live on camera sent through the internet to paying customers in other cities or countries. Criminal pedophiles pay to watch the children being abused and raped. Some order they be tortured and killed.

The National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) officials are apparently looking the other way. Perhaps even looking at child pornography, why else don’t they implement the law? The shareholders of the biggest telecommunication company, PLDT, can be found on the internet; most of the top 100 are Filipinos and US nationals. They are allegedly likewise in violation of the law.

Victims of child pornography should file charges against the telecommunication companies and individual stockholders who violate the law. If it is being obeyed, the victims and their families would not be suffering.

Now we see the likely result of this connivance and colluding between big business and government officials. Horrific crimes against children have been done and continue daily over the internet. The filters have not been deployed or installed as the law says. The Internet Watch Foundation can prove that. Child and adult pornography is available to children daily on their pads and cell phones.

The dirty work of Australian Peter Scully and his local helpers was possible because of uncontrolled internet access. They made videos of a screaming 18 month old child being tortured and murdered. You need to be of strong heart if you watch this.

<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rir03PwsrU4>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rir03PwsrU4

The horrific videos were sold in the USA and EU countries. Is this a civilized country? Is Christianity dead? Is the Philippines a morally failed state? Why can this happen openly and uncontrolled? The answer is insatiable greed and the lust for money, pleasure and power. The authorities have vital questions to answer and all of us must challenge politicians and corporations everywhere and act to end such crimes and do justice for the children.

(shaycullen@gmail.com)

‘Wangwang’ alive and well

by ERNESTO F. HERRERA

WHO said rampant corruption and other forms of anomalies are no longer the norm in the Aquino administration? Who said the “padrino” system and the “wangwang” mentality were banished by President Noynoy Aquino?

All these are alive and well as the recent resignation of reformist Customs Commissioner John Sevilla and other incidents would show.

The President himself said wangwang is a culture; it goes beyond the use of sirens, blinkers and special plates. It’s really about this VIP syndrome—the privileges, perks and pelf that politicians and government officials think they are entitled to.

Under his watch, Aquino vowed that the same rules will apply to both government officials and the people whom they are supposed to serve. No more special treatment and no more special favors.

And yet he and his subalterns themselves seem bent on perpetrating the wangwang culture.

In the Bureau of Customs (BOC), Sevilla was already introducing and implementing bold and radical reforms that would put an end to corrupt practices and the padrino system among officials and employees of the BOC.

If Sevilla is to be believed—and I for one believe him as he is very credible and Malacañang people say so themselves—then the President’s own people got in the way of Sevilla’s earnest efforts to get rid of the padrino system in the Customs bureau in favor of making appointments and promotions based purely on merit.

Influential individuals or groups belonging to the President’s inner circle were serving as patrons in backing appointments or promotions in the BOC to the detriment of the merit system that Sevilla was in the process of implementing.

How can Sevilla be effective in eradicating corruption in the bureau if the President and his people would get in the way? Indeed, no BOC Commissioner could be successful if the President and the entire force of his office would not be fully supportive. The same goes for any department or office in government.

The President promised that political “padrinos” would be a thing of the past under his administration. This promise has fallen way, way short of fulfillment. Soliciting political recommendations under the Aquino administration is de rigueur and has been the practice in many areas of the bureaucracy. Political decisions such as appointments in government have not been based on merit under his term. On the contrary, he has been appointing close friends, shooting buddies, classmates, former bodyguards to sensitive posts.

What really gets my goat though is how he seems to make light of everything when it concerns the people close to him. The President or his subalterns would always say there’s much ado about nothing, that there are more important issues facing the country that we should be concerned with. They are quick to sweep issues under the rug.

They pooh-poohed credible allegations against former Philippine National Police chief Alan Purisima, former Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr., former Land Transportation Office chief Virginia Torres, former Department of Interior and Local Government Undersecretary Rico Puno and others. It really gives the impression that President Aquino is kunsintidor.

Again, what happened to the major reforms he promised to push in his administration? Did he not say that he would cleanse agencies known for being ‘corruption hotspots’? Why then would he not support and even get in the way of people like Sevilla, who has been doing comprehensive reforms in his agency?

To begin with it is already so difficult to effect radical reforms in the BOC, where by the President’s own admission over P200-billion worth of government money is lost due to corruption within the bureaucracy. You can just imagine how much more difficult it is if the President’s own trusted people get in the way of his administration’s “Tuwid na daan” campaign.

Other examples
This government department head’s security convoy is notorious along the Skyway for bullying other southbound motorists off their lanes as they see fit. Yes wangwang is so back when the supposedly ‘just’ people in government are the ones doing it.

This assistant director of a government motorpool office recently gifted her daughter who just got married with a P12-million house in a subdivision and a franchise of a well-known convenience store, lavish gifts she definitely could not afford with her salary. Ironically, her corruption was reigned in during the allegedly corrupt administration of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo while it’s on full blast and wanton display in today’s Tuwid na Daan of P-Noy.

I have heard from businessmen friends of how government officials and regulators have solicited money from them to fund their raffles, team building and other events and parties. This too should not be part of Tuwid na Daan and yet it’s not a thing of the past. The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (Republic Act 6713) prohibits officials and employees from soliciting money or gifts of any kind.