Time for talk is over

ON DISTANT SHORE
By Val G. Abelgas

Apparently stung by his declining satisfaction and popularity ratings, President Benigno S. Aquino III has recently assumed a fighting mood. Whether that will redound to the country’s benefit would depend on how serious he was and how long he would stay the course.

In a speech before students at the national conference of the Student Catholic Action on April 11, Aquino said he was at “war” with Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez, while insinuating that she was blocking his efforts to curb corruption and punish corrupt officials.

Aquino was obviously bringing his case against Gutierrez to the people, preempting the scheduled impeachment trial of the Ombudsman in the Senate, where the outcome remains uncertain.

Days later, tax evasion charges were filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue against party list Rep. Mikey Arroyo and his wife Angela for the couple’s alleged failure to pay taxes on undeclared incomes earned between 2003 and 2009 at the height of the term of Mikey’s mother, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.

The tax evasion case against Mikey, coupled with the impeachment moves against Gutierrez and an earlier corruption case against Lakas stalwart, former Congressman and Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) head Prospero Pichay, prompted Lakas president Sen. Bong Revilla to call on party members to “go on the offensive” and launch frontal attacks on the integrity of the Aquino administration. Revilla made the directive allegedly on instruction from Gloria Arroyo, who had met the Lakas officials earlier.

So far, Aquino has not backed down.

In another speech before graduating students of the University of the Philippines, Aquino carried the “war” a notch higher by reiterating his fight against the Ombudsman and calling Arroyo and her allies “paranoid” for thinking the Aquino administration was going after them.

In the same speech, Aquino turned his combative mood against the Catholic Church, which has intensified its campaign against the Reproductive Health Bill that is now pending in Congress. He said he would have the responsible parenthood bill passed despite threats from some groups to have him excommunicated.

“My conviction is firm to have the responsible parenthood bill passed, Aquino said. “I am aware that there are sectors opposed to this, but I have an obligation as a leader to dialog with all sectors and to calmly explain our position to them, even if some have been calling for my excommunication.”

By reiterating his commitment to put the brakes on the Philippines’ rapid population growth, it is hoped that the presidential vacillation on the issue has finally ended, and that Malacanang would finally put its seal in support of the bill that is an important component of any poverty alleviation program.

The recent aggressive stance by Aquino was obviously triggered by the concern over sliding ratings in an effort to picture him as a serious leader bent on pushing his reform agenda. He is nearing his first year in office and he has yet to show his determination to curb corruption and poverty. What started as a bomb with his fiery inaugural speech has apparently fizzled out amid allegations of insensitivity in buying a Porsche sports car in the midst of poverty, and the government’s lack of direction and political will.

Aquino and his advisers are hoping that the renewed drive against corruption and poverty would earn him “pogi” points with the people and pull up his ratings again. We have no quarrel with that as long as he backs his statements with concrete actions, and as long as he does not slide back to his seemingly lackadaisical behavior.

The next few weeks will put to serious test Aquino’s determination to pursue his war against corruption, a war he said was synonymous to the war against the Ombudsman and against certain officials of the previous administration; and his war against poverty, a war that would be headed to defeat unless rapid population growth is stopped.

After nearly 10 months since he talked tough, Aquino is talking tough again. The time for talk is over; let’s see the walk.

(valabelgas@aol.com)

Pacquiao: Multi-millionaire boxer who wouldn’t quit

By Alex P. Vidal

Amid call for his retirement, Manny Pacquiao (52-3-2, 38 KOs), at 32 and a multi-millionaire, continues to bedazzle the boxing world with his impressive winning streak and unrestrained collection of world crowns in different weight divisions.

With his vast wealth and reputation, Pacquiao, a father of three and a sports celebrity, could enjoy the so-called “fruits of his labor” by retiring comfortably and preserving his legacy as the greatest and most popular prizefighter in his generation.

But he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

As long as Bob Arum wants him to fight, it doesn’t matter whether he is 18 or 64 years old. It doesn’t matter whether the opponent is Jack The Ripper or Hercules. Beholden to the Top Rank, Pacquiao is.

Their “marriage of convenience” is a source of envy and speculations in the world of sports and entertainment in glittering Las Vegas.

For Arum, dear is boxing but dearer is Manny Pacquiao whom he calls “the greatest fighter ever”.

TANDEM

Even his mother, Dionisia, a laundry woman-turn-actress, couldn’t stop the son-promoter tandem from further engaging in brutal but sanctioned dogfights against multi-national foes Pacquiao met only for the first time in his life.

“Dili na ko! Dili na gyud ko! Tama na! (I can’t bear it anymore! That’s enough),” Dionisia, who once “fainted” at ringside while watching her son either pummeling an opponent or was the one being bamboozled from pillar to post, would always bewail.

Pacquiao’s temerity to flirt with disaster and ignore a motherly concern is elaborate.

“My job is to train and fight whoever my promoter picks to fight against me,” the five feet and six inches southpaw has repeatedly declared.

Seventy nine-year-old Arum is the top guy in the Las Vegas-based Top Rank, which charted the Filipino’s fistic career into amazing heights ever since he left the Oriental Pacific region after losing his WBC 112-lb jewels on a shock 3rd round TKO loss to an unheralded Medgoen 3-K Battery in Pakpanag Metropolitan Stadium, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand on Sept. 19, 1999, to invade the Land of Opportunity.

MARKET VALUE

After grabbing the fighter’s management rights from the Golden Boy in a legal tug-of-war, Arum now holds the imprimatur for both of Pacquiao’s title defenses and non-title engagements in the United States.

Because of his marketing value and confidence in Arum, the scuttlebutt is that Pacquiao is willing to face even a wrestler armed with a revolver in a no-holds barred rumble.

And when it rains, it pours.

After fighting the aging but still dangerous Sugar Shane Mosley (46-6-1, 39 KOs) on May 7 in Las Vegas, Arum, et al (the wily old man’s associates that include TV behemoth HBO of the “pay-per-view” fame) will continue to negotiate and pit the battle-scarred Filipino congressman cum fighter against potentially destructive opponents that include Floyd Mayweather Jr. and possibly Juan Manuel Marquez and Andre Berto.

With his propensity to break records and establish mind-boggling precedents, Pacquiao could end up fighting a middleweight ribcracker and risk his life and limbs.

BARNEY ROSS

Pacquiao’s situation reminds us of Barney Ross, a former world lightweight champion who was known in the 1930’s as “the fighter who wouldn’t quit”.

As a world champion in 1932, Ross (72-4-3, 22 KOs) won fight after fight. “The money rolled in and Ross spent it as fast it came,” recalled historian Ken Lane in “Champions All”.

Then in 1934, Ross decided to fight welterweight terror Jimmy McLarnin (Filipino flyweight champion Pancho Villa’s conqueror).

McLarnin (54-11-3, 21 KOs) weighed 20 pounds more than Ross, but Ross beat him anyway. He became the first professional fighter to hold two championship titles at the same time.

Still unbeaten in 1938, Ross challenged the younger Henry Armstrong (149- 21-10, 101 KOs), who was faster and stronger. By the 10th round, Ross was losing. The referee and Ross’ manager wanted to stop the fight. But Ross refused. He wanted to lose like a champion. It was the worst beating he had ever taken.

It was after his humiliation from Armstrong when he decided to quit as prizefighter and go into business.

Pacquiao could avert experiencing a worst beating in his life by hanging up his gloves – win or lose against Mosley—and focus on his job as lawmaker or engage into business like Ross.

Whether Bob Arum and the boxer’s bloodthirsty fans like it or don’t, preserving Pacquiao’s main faculties and enjoying the millions of dollars he earned in the ring with his family is the call of Pacquiao alone.

After all, something brilliant could come out from his brains as lawmaker if they were not permanently damaged.

Supreme Court urged: Probe CA bribery in Ampatuan case

By Ina Reformina
ABS-CBN News

MANILA, Philippines – Relatives of victims of the Maguindanao massacre filed today a petition before the Supreme Court asking the court to investigate bribery allegations and alleged irregularity in the 11th division of the appellate court, which first handled the petitions for review of Zaldy, Andal and Akmad Ampatuan.

The Ampatuan petition questions the finding of probable cause against them in connection with the brutal killings. The case has been transferred to a special division of 5.

In the petition filed by the kin of Maguindanao massacre victims, petitioners raised a media interview (Philippine Daily Inquirer, dated March 25, 2011) with Atty. Howard Calleja, lawyer for Zaldy Ampatuan, where he was allegedly emphatic and positive about his client being granted bail soon.

“What makes him so sure about the good fortune about to befall on his client Zaldy Ampatuan, courtesy of the special division created by the appellate court? Why such confidence?” the petition read.

Petitioners asked the court to investigate this interview with Calleja.

The petition also cited another article (also of PDI, written by Ramon Tulfo dated Feb. 14, 2011) where the writer reportedly heard that “P200 million changed hands at the Court of Appeals to exclude Governor Zaldy Ampatuan of the ARMM in the Maguindanao massacre case.”

An investigation of the writer’s knowledge about the supposed bribery is included in the prayer of petitioners.

This February 2011 article led petitioners to investigate, and they allegedly discovered that CA Associate Justices Danton Bueser and Marlyn Gonzales-Sison – regular members of the 11th Division – have chosen to remain in the panel hearing the case of Zaldy Ampatuan but recused themselves from the case of his father, Andal Sr.

“Thus it was disturbing and unnerving for herein petitioners that the honorable justices Bueser and Gonzales-Sison would opt out of the clan patriarch’s petition but still take part in the proceeding on Datu Zaldy’s petition,” the petition read.

Petitioners maintained their inquiry is anchored on the fact that the arguments and evidence presented against the father are the very same presented against the son. Thus, a motion for the two justices’ inhibition was filed at the CA.

Another article written by Jomar Canlas and published in the Manila Times was cited in the petition where the possibility of Ampatuan being granted bail was also raised. Petitioners are baffled why the article made mention of Bueser and Gonzales-Sison purportedly voting in favor of granting Zaldy Ampatuan bail.

This supposed new leak is again, subject of the prayer of petitioners, which they also asked to be investigated by the high court.

Petitioners include:

-Ramonita Salaysay, widow of Napoleon Salaysay of Clearview Gazette (Cotabato City)
-Editha Tiamzon, widow of Daniel Tiamzon of UNTV-Gensan
-Juliet Evardo, mother of Julito Evardo of UNTV-Gensan
-Ma. Cipriana Gatchalian, widow of Santos Gatchalian, Jr of Metro Gazette(davao city)
-Myrna Reblando, widow of Alejandro Reblando of Manila Bulletin-Gensan
-Zenaida Duhay, wife of Jhoy Duhay of Goldstar Daily (CDO)
-Stephanie Lechonsita — daughter of Eduardo and Cecille Lechonsito who were mere passers-by also killed in the incident

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/04/19/11/supreme-court-urged-probe-ca-bribery-ampatuan-case

A hot cold case

CITIZEN Y

By Yoly Villanueva-Ong 

The Philippine Star

Ensign Philip Pestano would have turned 39 this year. For the past 16 years, his parents have cried out for justice. The Philippine Navy’s official version is that 23-year-old Philip, the deck officer and cargo master of BRP Bacolod City, committed suicide with a single bullet to his head. They presented evidence, including a suicide note and the confirmation from forensic pathologists that Pestano died by his own hand. NBI and the WPD agreed with the findings.

The family however, tells a different story. They maintain that despite his commander’s plea, Philip was determined to expose the illegal cargo that their logistics ship transported. Pepe, Philip’s father testified that there were illegally cut bakawan (mangrove) logs, shabu and military weapons for sale to the Abu Sayyaf. At first, Philip was ordered to go on shore leave. His father begged him to resign, but the brave Ensign supposedly said, “Kawawa ang bayan”. He returned for duty and met his fate.

Senators Marcelo Fernan and Orly Mercado led a Senate inquiry in 1997. The Navy-tale began unraveling. The suicide note was found to be a forgery. There were two unexplained contusions near the fatal head wound. The position of the gun on the floor, the negative result of the paraffin test on the victim’s hand, the singeing, blood flow and absence of spatter and tissue contradicted the official statement that Philip shot himself in his stateroom. The Senate concluded it was homicide, not suicide.

The sudden disappearance of three key witnesses added more fuel to the speculation. PO3 Fidel Tagaytay, the Radio operator on duty; Ens. Alvin Parone, a crewmember; and Coastguard PO2 Zosimo Villanueva all vanished. Furthermore, Vice Admiral Pio Carranza allegedly asked Pepe to sign an affidavit of waiver or lose the P200M ship repair contract that he had previously won. When he refused, the ships under-repair were reportedly sunk, destroying him financially.

There were other doubts. Why did BRP Bacolod City take a two-hour “dogleg” route, instead of the normal 45-minute trip to the Roxas Boulevard Headquarters from Cavite? To keen CSI-watchers, the Forensic Experiment Report submitted by Dean Artemio Panganiban shot more holes in the Navy testimony. He observed that the two contusions on the right temple had similar dimensions to the muzzle of a .45 Semi-automatic pistol but ruled out the fatal shot as its cause, since the tendency is for the head to move away from the impact. Hence the bruises could not be self-inflicted. Another laceration at the pinna of his left ear was also a puzzler, since he fell on a soft mattress. In the re-enactment, the blood patterns did not fit with the position of the victim on the bed.

A baffling mystery that has languished in the cold files, it has neither clarity nor closure to this day. The PMA Maalab Class ’93 and Ateneo High School Class ’89 formed the Philip Pestano Foundation guided by Father James Reuter. An online prayer brigade is ongoing.

The retired Commanding Officer of BRP Bacolod City, Captain Ricardo Ordonez also launched his own e-mail campaign and prayer support from his Parish and BCBP (Brotherhood of Christian Businessmen and Professionals). He answers the column of Fr. Reuter through a letter with attachments from the 1995 NBI Report. He laments the continued persecution and includes character references. “For some years now, many have tried to malign my name, destroy my reputation or cast doubts on me because of the distortions done or taken up by some people about this case to further their own ends.”

One affidavit lists the “unofficial” cargo they transported. The point was that although they bend some rules, this was not extreme, and considered routine:

“I did granted the request for 20 drums of fuel given to Governor Matba knowing that it will be used for the government bulldozer I transported from Languyan to Marang-Marang Tawi-Tawi for the construction of feeder roads… I did bought two sacks of rice and pig for my own family consumption and I did bought 300 pieces of bakawan for my personal use. I also loaded as directed and as a jibed mission, flitches of lumbers intended for the Flag Officer In Command.”

The Inspector General’s Report in March 1997 cited: 1) The dogleg route that caused delay; 2) the questionable unloading of the death weapon’s magazine by Ens. Colico even before the inquiry from the authorities; 3) the torn pages from the gangway logbook, hiding the identities of those who got on and off the ship; 4) the stomach hemorrhage sustained, possibly caused by contact with a hard object or fist; 5) Since there are no eyewitnesses, the circumstantial evidence would tend to rule out the theory of suicide.

Yet on May 2, 2000 the Ombudsman’s report declared: The conduct of further investigation in order to find out the identity of the perpetrator . . . will only be a waste of time considering that the physical evidence has been tampered with not to mention the lapse of time . . . we find no cogent reason to disturb the above findings . . . will only prove futile…useless offering false hopes to those expecting blood gushing from stones…unnecessary clogging of dockets.

This whodunit is the 5th charge in the articles of impeachment against Merceditas Gutierrez. Along with the fertilizer scam, PNP Euro-Generals, the Mega-Pacific and NBN-ZTE contracts, this was one more major case that the sitting Ombudsman sat on. Because of the delay in resolution and subsequent dismissal the UN Human Rights Committee declared that the Philippine Government violated its obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

As desensitized as we may be from living through our fair share of massacres, extra-judicial killings and unsolved heinous crimes, this hot cold case is particularly disturbing if not heartrending. The unanswered questions surrounding the official verdict, demonstrates how deeply impunity has permeated our society. As long as there is no final resolution, our nation might as well have a gun to its head.

* * *

E-mail: citizeny@gmail.com.

On ‘Willing Willie’

BY DUCKY PAREDES

MALAYA

‘If we must write rules for children in show biz, it would be best if the networks do these themselves.’

WILLING Willie” is, to me, representative of all that is wrong with television. But, having said that, I am not so sure that the beating that Willie Revillame is getting from all corners, probably deserved as it is, will change things for the better. In fact, a lot of dubious characters are coming out of the woodwork that indicate that there is more to this than disciplining a rogue performer.

Do I even hear calls to shut down Channel 5? That would really be too bad because Channel 5 seems to me to be trying to be a great TV station or at least better that the station where most of the anti-Willie missiles seem to be coming from.

The more troubling example involves one Dr. Ma. Lourdes “Honey” Carandang, a self-proclaimed expert on child psychology issues, who has denounced Revillame over the Jan-Jan issue although she has yet to meet the boy to make an informed assessment on him. (I wonder is she actually ever watched the program. I confess to not ever watching it.)

Who is Dr. Honey Carandang? Definitely, she has a business relationship with ABS-CBN as a regular lecturer in ABS-CBN’s team-building activities. She is also the aunt (or mother?) of former ABS-CBN executive and anchor and now Secretary Ricky Carandang.

Dr. Carandang wrote Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) chair Grace Poe Llamanzares not only to condemn the purported exploitation of Jan-Jan. That’s fair enough; but why did she recommend the suspension of both Revillame and his program “Willing Willie?”

Carandang also urged MTRCB to pressure the sponsors of “Willing Willie” to pull out from the show. Is she doing all these out of concern (as a child psychologist) for the boy? Or, is she acting under instructions from some network executive?

Honey’s letter was made the basis by the MTRCB for whatever it will do on the Jan-Jan case. The Commission on Human Rights, on the other hand, has made Carandang a resource person in conducting its own hearings on the Jan-Jan issue.

The Department of Social Works and Development (DSWD) has also tapped Carandang to conduct a clinical assessment on Jan-Jan.

How can anyone throw the first stone, as it were, and still serve as an objective resource person for CHR and render an impartial assessment on Jan-Jan for the DSWD? Doesn’t her unsolicited letter to the MTRCB tell us that she had already made up her mind on the issue? Per her letter to the MTRCB, didn’t she already prejudge the issue?

In fact, how can Carandang be trusted on this matter when she is known to have ties with ABS-CBN? Let’s face it – ABS-CBN and Revillame have been at each other’s throats for a whole year now. She is the last person who should be consulted by the MTRCB, DSWD or CHR.

The MTRCB, DSWD and CHR should step back a little to see if they are not being taken for a ride by a group with an axe to grind and lots of lost advertising revenues to recover. But if ever a probe will really be pursued, it should be done industry-wide to be able to come up with clearer guidelines on child performers.

Remember that ABS-CBN, TV5, Willie Revillame, and his production company, WilProductions are in the thick of a bitter legal dispute pending with the courts because of Revillame’s transfer from ABS-CBN to TV5. In the contract dispute, counter-suit, and infringement case, ABS-CBN sought to stop the show Willing Willie but failed countless times, even in the Court of Appeals.

Atty. Leonard de Vera, Revillame’s lawyer, says: “Dr. Carandang had made a finding that child abuse was committed in Willing Willie even without examining Jan Jan. This amounts to malpractice as a doctor’s opinion should always be supported by a clinical examination.”

Dr. Carandang is a retired professor, clinical child psychologist, and the founder and president of MLAC Institute for Children and Families. She should know better than to pretend at being impartial when her ties to the main enemy of Willie and Channel 5 are so well known,

But, she has already succeeded. Her letter triggered the probe of three governmental agencies in this case.

The DSWD Secretary Corazon “Dinky” Soliman, in her statement dated 29 March 2011 said “(DSWD) condemns the emotional abuse and humiliation bestowed on a six-year-old child contestant, during the March 12, 2011 episode of the Willing Willie show aired on TV 5″.

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) followed suit and declared, “The Commission on Human Rights strongly condemns the Willing Willie episode aired on March 12, 2011 wherein a 6-year old boy named Jan-Jan Suan performed a ‘macho-dancing routine.’ This is an exploitation of the child’s innocence and demeans his inherent dignity for entertainment’s sake.”

The MTRCB likewise designated a three-member panel with close connections with ABS-CBN: Leah Navarro, who had openly condemned Revillame in her Twitter account, is a cousin of ABS-CBN owner Gabby Lopez. Atty. Eric Mallonga is the chief legal counsel of Bantay Bata 163 – an ABS-CBN organization. Atty. Eugenio Villareal is counsel for various ABS-CBN’s talents and is married to an executive of ABS-CBN.

All three, however, opted out. Bully for them.

If we must write rules for children in show biz, it would be best if the networks do these themselves rather than waiting for some government agency to do it for them. What our network executives have to show is that they have some sense of what is right and wrong and that they care for things other than the money their networks make.

Then, at some point in the distant future, we may actually begin getting some quality programs. Hope springs eternal.

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