If Gutierrez can’t do what she is supposed to do with what she’s got, maybe she should resign and let somebody else try to do the impossible. You don’t know the level of corruption here? Maybe you should come back here so that you can see for yourself. I suppose it isn’t one of the reasons why you left.

You see, corruption isn’t really that hard to spot here. You can see traffic enforcers and policemen extorting from drivers in broad daylight. Fixers ply their trade freely. In all government offices, ghost deliveries and kickbacks are a staple fare. Are these things happening from where you are?

bloomberg is an excellent executive. he will make a good president.

the immigration bill appears to be dead for now. the status quo remains and the whole country will just muddle through the multiplying problems. i wish they could come up with solutions that in themselves would not be a problem.

BTW, I m rooting for Mike Bloomberg for President…

And I was following the defeat of the immigration Bill in CNN while on vacation in remote yet blissful island of New York, Bush just look so pathetic! I think the sight is worst than being lameduck.

Your articles and sections in the Charter would have been noteworthy.

Nevertheless, there are some instances that “imply” that the DISABILTY that you wrote above need not be medical in nature.

By your own account, you stated that CJ Davide came to EDSA to swear in PGMA after he was informed of Ex-Pres. Estrada’s permanent DISABILITY.

On the other hand, ex-Pres. Estrada executed a letter on that same day which states:

“By virtue of the provisions of Section 11, Article VII of the Constitution, I am hereby transmitting this declaration that I am unable to exercise the powers and duties of my office. By operation of law and the Constitution, the Vice-President shall be the Acting President”

So based on his own letter, the CJ would have come to EDSA anyway (depending on how long EDSA 2 would have lasted based on Estrada’s scenario).

Though the SC didn’t give much worth to this letter as they later found him to have resigned, Estrada would reiterate the issue when he was sued by 2 French nationals in the High Court of Nantes in France.

As his answer to the suit, he wrote:

“Due to a criminal conspiracy between high-ranking military officers of the Armed Forces of the
Philippines, politicians, big business and the clergy, I was compelled to inform Congress of my
temporary DISABILITY to perform my function as president,” (do take note that the CJ wasn’t mentioned)

So both sides clearly understood that the disability need not be medical in nature. They just differed in the duration of it.

Setting aside Estrada’s claim of the criminal nature of the conspiracy in his letter to Nantes France; what is implied in the letter is that when the supposed conspiracy came into full force; to his mind and/or his lawyers’, he was effectively DISABLED.

But then all of these could be debunked if you could provide your concerned provisions of the Charter.

corrupt people do their nefarious deeds in the dark. they usually don’t announce it to the public. before you can assess gutierrez’ performance in catching them, find out first if she has sufficient logistics, including personnel, to conduct large-scale, nationwide investigations given the “level of corruption in the government” as you said. btw, how is the “level” of corruption determined – by the number of suspicions, accusations, indictments, prosecutions, or convictions?

I can’t remember who said it, but I remember someone saying that behind enormous wealth lies a crime.

The taho vendor might not be alone. The fact that he is not alone does not detract from the fact that poverty is systemic in the Philippines. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer. While economists say that he “invisible hand” is fair, in theory at least, it is also cruel. It is the government’s duty to level the inequitous playing field. Is the government doing a good job at that?

Her duty is not only to prosecute those who are caught. She must also catch them, that’s why she empowered to investigate. While she is no God to stop and prevent corruption, the law imposes such duty on her.

the taho vendor is just one example that self-improvement through one’s own effort, is doable.

gutierrez cannot stop people from committing corruption. she is no god. she can only prosecute those who are caught.

The perceived economic strength of the country will only be an economic gain when it trickles down to the people. The country is not composed of the rich alone.

You have to admit that poverty remains systemic in our country and no amount of sugarcoating the various economic indicators can obfuscate such fact. Our people have long ago rejected the concept of Smith’s “invisible hand” and laissez faire economics. The rich are not fools who will willingly part with their money. In fact, I sometimes wonder whether some rich people donate really because of the goodness in their hearts or because the donation is tax-deductible.

I once nearly came to banging an executive’s head to a wooden table because he said, “let’s stop all this non-sense about asking the government to do its job, we can do more by focusing on gawad kalinga and its charity work.” Gawad Kalinga people, I must admit, have their hearts on the right place but I sometimes fear that all the successes of their initiative have gone to their head. Imagine, some of their members already think that Gawad Kalinga can supplant the government in the delivery of basic services.

All of those things are beneficial, yes. But for how long? Are we not mistaking first aid for the cure?

The taho vendor you cite is just like a false positive in a pregnancy test, an exception. Exceptions do not negate the rule.

With the level of corruption in the government, you think Tanodbayan Gutierrez is doing a good job? C’mon, man. Open your eyes.

if the strength of the economy benefits the ayalas, the sys, the cojuancos, what do you think would they do with their excess money? they can only live in one mansion, drive one rolls royce, sail one yacht, fly one private jet, at a time. the rest of their windfall would go to more investments, more business expansions, more employees, more tax-deductible contributions, more noblesse obligee expenditures to make themselves feel good and not greedy. aren’t all these economically beneficial to the country as a whole? these may all sound idealistic but they are more grounded on practicality on the part of said individuals.

as to people who say they are poor, not because of lack of self-esteem, confidence, industry, and resourcefulness, but because of lack of job opportunity, i cite again the taho vendor who rose to affluence solely upon self-reliance and industry, not on dole outs and opportunities created for him by others. as the trite saying goes, you can bring the horse to the water but you can’t make him drink.

as to merceditas gutierez, yes i think she was hired to prosecute people accused of corruption but only within her territorial jurisdiction – certainly not the ends of the earth. btw, i personally think she is doing a respectable job. nevertheless, i don’t think her hiring is a recent move by GMA to “cover the bases”.

Pardon me, but I have always been distrustful of economic indicators. I don’t think they equate to automatic economic accomplishments. For one, we don’t know whether that 6.9% economic growth pertains to the majority of the Filipino people or only to the Ayalas, the Sys, the Conjuangcos and other monopolistic families.

When I speak of revisionism, I made a very bold (if not stupid) prediction that we will have solid economic gains years after GMA’s term. And when I mean solid, I mean such time that the government does not need to claim that people who say they are poor need more lessons on industry and contentment rather than job opportunities.

Just because you asked for one, do you agree that the appointment of Merceditas Gutierrez as Ombudsman was run after the corrupt to the ends of the earth?