vonjobi: wow, congratulations! kelan ang trip? i hope i'll be around when you come. had a good time with diosa last...
Keith Bacongco: Knowing Nograles and his Big Boss...garapalan na lang talaga.
Vinia Datinguinoo Mukherjee: Congratulations, PCIJ! Mabuhay kayo!
Lead Philippines: But without credible mass media there, what is left to protect the people..?
vonjobi: it's juned sOniDo.

Latest Message 3 months, 4 weeks ago

hopeless_race : Lets not just focus sa mga malversation of funds, sa mga overpricing..ating pagtuunan ng atensyon ang diskarte ng mga politiko na umuutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno."Small time" ang ibang pamamaraan ng pangungurakot kumpara sa pag-utang sa gobyerno ng bilyon na tunay ngang masasabing "pinaka big-time" at wala pang sabit.
hopeless_race : Mukhang tikom ang bibig ng lahat pagdating sa diskarte ng mga politiko sa pagutang ng mga bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno na tinatakbuhan. Itong pamamaraan na ito ang tunay na kumakain ng malaking porsyento ng ating national budget batay na din sa sinasabi ng world bank.
hopeless_race : Pakisilip naman po ang mga utang ni Villar sa BSP, ang mga utang nila RAMON JACINTO, RONNIE ZAMORA, JOE DE VENECIA at madami pang ibang mga pulitiko. Iilan lamang yan sa mga nababanggit sa balita na may mga malalaking utang sa gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Nagmimistulang "small time" lamang ang malversation of funds kumpara sa laki ng kinakamal ng mga umuutang sa gobyerno. At ito ay malinaw na natatakbuhan dahil hindi nga naman pwede makulong ang may-ari ng kumpanya sa pagkaka-utang lamang. Tunay na mga tuso at magagaling sa batas itong mga politiko natin. Masasabi ko na malamang lahat ng mga politiko ganito ang diskarte...wala pang kulong.
hopeless_race : PCIJ pkitingnan naman po ang mga gaya ni Villar na my malaking utang sa Gobyerno pero tinatakbuhan. Magtatayo ng kumpanya at uutang ng bilyon bilyon sa gobyerno ng walang balak bayaran. Tunay ngang walang nakukulong sa utang...ito ang prinsipyo ginagamit ng mga politiko ntin kaya nakakapagtaka kung san napupunta ang daang bilyong pera ng gobyerno.
hopeless_race : Sana itreat naman po ng media ang hacienda luisita at mendiola massacre na parang MAGUINADANAO MASSACRE. Ipublicized ang mga katotohanan at ipakita sa tao ang karumaldumal na pinaggagawa sa mga farmers dun. Untouchable po ba sila cory at danding at hindi magawang batikusin ng media about these two massacres?
hopeless_race : Kapag napaguusapan ang mendiola at hacienda luisita massacre ay parang walang nangyari at parang hindi big deal. Anu po ba ang pinagkaiba ng dalawang nabanggit na massacre sa maguindanao massacre?
hopeless_race : Its sad that we pinoys are blind to the fact of what had happened in mendiola and hacienda luisita. Ang tanong..bakit ang media ay hindi manlang matackle ang ganitong usapin? Takot ba sila kay cory at danding?
hopeless_race : Wilkins" brand, for P1.4 billion.-1999 Sugarland Multi-Food Corp. for P2.9 billion 2001- Purefoods Corp P7 billion P60 billion Coca-Cola ... See More 2002- Cosmos Bottling Corp. from RFM Corp. for P14.1 billion October 2008- GSIS' shares in Meralco worth PHP30 Billion. December 2008- country's biggest oil refiner, Petron Corporation. international company shopping spree: Australian boutique brewer J. Boag and Son for A$96 million in 2000. $97 million for Thai Amarit Brewery Ltd $35.5 mi
hopeless_race : Gud am..glad to be back.
jr_lad : rip mr. alecks pabico. you'll be greatly missed!
sevens21 : Dati input mo lng name at SSS ID makukuha mo agad STATIC INFO...
sevens21 : tawag ka sa HOTLINE nila walang ANSWER grrr we need pa namn ng static info SSS Gising!!!
sevens21 : Gawa naman po kayo ng article about SSS. Pangit ng site nila dali ma blocked ng account
guest_899 : we must check the background of each potential candidates to avoid having another big mistake like GMA
guest_899 : congratulations to PCIJ, more power and God Bless !
jazzymuver : how did Arroyo swallow that kind of things!! how come that she just spend the money our countrymen for her own sake!!
guest_3664 : i would be glad if u can include the investigation of the manner public officials announce infra projects as per COA regulation. It is frustrating to see their faces on the tarpaulin instead of the prescribed information like name of project, date of implementation,amount of contract, source/s of fund, among other things. This is very rampant here in Marikina. Thanks and more power on your noble endeavors. We need people like you to have make our country great again.
jhanz_08 : im making research on R.A 9136...with rgards to the privatization of NPC..could someone out there can let me understand more bout this matter?why was monopoly dismantled?email me..jhanycem@yahoo.com...thanks much
erika marie : P.S.:) my paper is due next week and i do hope someone could provide me these reports coming from reliable resources thank you ulit.
erika marie : P.S.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study regarding political killings in the philippines. could someone out there please send me human rights reports under Aquino and Ramos administration. you could send it at my email: erikamariet@yahoo.com your response would surely be very much appreciated. thank you everyone. god bless.
guest_4275 : i am currently doing a study for my paper regarding political killings in the philippines. i noted that there are no human rights reports during the Aquino and Ramos administration. could someone out there please send me reports regarding these matter? i do hope these reports came from reliable resources you could send it in my email; erikamariet@yahoo.comyour response would surely be appreciated. thanks everyone. god bless.
jayson bourne : gusto ko po maging member ng PCIJ, panu po ba? may application po ba? sana mapadalhan nyo ako ng info sa email ko... www.jboxpenshoppe@yahoo.com
jayson bourne : cory is OK, but kris & Noynoy sensationalize masyado...
guest_9891 : LABAN pa rin!
meow : boycotts worked during marcos years. how about doing it now against the businesses of the con-ass congressmen?
meow : aside from 168, what other establishments can we boycott that belong to the arroyos and their cronies?
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When Arroyo allies fail to get their ‘lies’ straight

Posted by: Jaileen F. Jimeno | November 9, 2007 at 5:07 pm
Filed under: Governance, In the News

GOVERNMENT critics and observers are becoming angrier over the continued refusal of Malacañang to reveal the whole truth about the cash bonanza given to lawmakers last October 11. House Deputy Speaker Amelita Villarosa’s claim that the money came from the funds of the Kabalikat ng Mamamayang Pilipino (Kampi) has only succeeded in raising more questions and allegations, this time delivered with more vitriol than in the past.

Villarosa claims that the cash dole-out was “a party initiative without the knowledge of the President.” Villarosa tried to spare the President of blame, but in the next second, laid it at her doorstep.

According to Villarosa, two persons very close to the President knew about the “cash gifts” — Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno, Kampi’s national chairman, and Rep. Luis Villafuerte, the party’s president.

Puno, however, contradicts Villarosa. Before Villarosa spoke, Puno had initially denied that money had changed hands. After she spoke almost a month later, Puno said he “was kept in the dark” about the cash handouts. Interior assistant secretary Brian Yamsuan says the DILG chief believed that the money came from the office of Speaker Jose de Venecia.

Villarosa’s admission came only after she was named by Manila Rep. Bienvenido Abante as the one who handed him the money.

The conflicting claims of the President’s allies are all too obvious to escape the notice of civil society leaders.

“They must really think we’re all morons,” says Vicente Romano III of the Black and White Movement.

Noting the uncoordinated and conflicting stories about the cash gifts, Romano said: “My own advice is for them to first agree on which lies they would like us to believe as true, before speaking up.”

Romano says he was both amused and appalled at Villarosa’s “gall in peddling such incredulous lies.” He notes that in a radio interview, Villarosa failed to answer basic questions like how the recipients were chosen, and who authorized the cash gifts. “They forgot to tell her that it takes professionals like (presidential spokesman Ignacio) Bunye and Puno to lie with a straight face and without mumbling words.”

“(This is) again part of the striptease with a moving storyline. But it is more damaging because Kampi is the party of the president, it was done in Malacañang, the Kampi chair does not know, even non-Kampi members were given cash,” says political management expert Malou Tiquia, founder of the lobbying and political campaign firm, Publicus. “The question is may funds ba ang Kampi? (Does Kampi have funds?) We are not stupid,” says Tiquia.

Tiquia refutes Villarosa’s claim that political party funds are not subject to audit. She notes that like any organization should, Kampi has a constitution and by-laws, and that funds disbursements must be covered by board resolutions.

“She (Villarosa) is lying, and lying amateurishly, at that,” says Mon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform (IPER). “What we are facing is a damage-control scheme to insulate a micro-manager (remember Garci) from a potentially disastrous scandal,” he says.

“Is the leadership of Kampi really out of sync that they can’t get their stories straight? Or are they using the age-old strategy of ‘if you can’t beat them, confuse them?’” asks Nacionalista Party member, former Cavite Rep. Gilbert Remulla.

The inchoate efforts by political deputies to distance Arroyo from the scandal — and the President’s seemingly studied reticence on the issue for a month now, as she had kept her peace on the “Hello, Garci” scandal — make matters more farcical.

In Casiple’s mind, Mrs. Arroyo’s cryptic statement that she was unaware of the cash gifts is simply “incredible” in light of where the dole-outs were given, and her status and clout as chief executive and “the boss” of her party deputies who handed out the money. The President’s silence and lack of indignation, he says, also go against against statements that she knew nothing of the cash gifts.

“She (Villarosa) said the president didn’t know about it. Yet Arroyo is a known micro-manager. Is it possible that she didn’t know that the party she founded was handing out money in Malacañang premises?” asks Vince Lazatin, executive director of Transparency and Accountability Network (TAN). He adds that as Villarosa claimed, Arroyo was eventually told of the cash handouts. “Why didn’t (Arroyo) end the controversy right then and there and own up to it? Why all the charades about ordering an investigation?” he adds.

It does not help that Villarosa is known to many as a close ally of Arroyo, and is a regular part of the presidential entourage during her state visits.

From a PR point of view, Tiquia surmises no one is managing the fallout from the scandal. No one has come up with a script that defines the roles of all those who are at play, and who would be given roles in the days to come.

And if the Villarosa admission is already part of a prepared script, then Malacañang must have a very bad writer and director, since it failed to include all members of the “cast” in the briefing of their roles. For even within the Arroyo-founded party, huge cracks are beginning to show. Kampi regional chairman Rep. Jose Solis of Sorsogon called for Villarosa’s ouster and debunked the Deputy Speaker’s statement that the party has funds to assist its members. He reveals that Kampi members even dig into their own pockets and contribute as much as P5,000 whenever they hold meetings. Presidential legal counsel Sergio Apostol wants Villarosa investigated and charged for giving out the cash gifts.

As the script undergoes revision by the week, lawmakers add their voice to the crowd that wants to see the story’s conclusion. Senate Majority Floor Leader Francis Pangilinan asked the Senate to investigate the cash gifts. Going even further, he asked the Commission on Elections, Department of Finance, Presidential Anti-Graft Commission, and the Ombudsman to do the same. The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee is also set to investigate the matter.

The explanations by Malacañang’s supporters about the cash gifts are generating jokes that make the rounds via text messaging and emails.

Government employees visiting the Palace are warned against coming out of Malacañang holding shopping bags.

“The text-in reactions said it all,” Romano says. “To Villarosa, one texter said, ‘More practice!’ and to Puno, another texter said, ‘Fire your scriptwriter.’ But the real clincher was Apostol’s reaction. He was visibly irked at the contradicting statements coming out of the Palace and its allies. His advice: ‘Just shut up!’”

Lazatin’s joke perhaps mirrors the exasperation of many: “Villarosa’s admission that it was Kampi who gave out the cash was quite coincidental, because we were about to have a presscon to publicly claim that we were the ones who did it!” he jokes.

This entry was posted on Friday, November 9th, 2007 and is filed under Governance, In the News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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[...] involving the bribery-tainted national broadband network (NBN) deal and the distribution of “cash gifts” to congressmen and provincial governors in Malacañang — have been summarily trashed [...]