On Lozada: The perils of being a snitch
The way of the warrior says I have no desires; I make seizing the opportunity my desire.
The way of the warrior says I have no principles; I make adaptability my principle.
This is how I follow the way of the warrior: seize the opportunity and the power.
-Tokugawa Ieyasu, first Shogun
From time to time, partly to document my trying to understand Eastern attitudes towards governance in contrast to my own heavily-Western orientation, I like to quote extracts from the Analects of Confucius, most recently in entry The Mandate of Heaven. Recently I read this article on Tokugawa Neo-Confucianism and then this one on Intellectual currents in Tokugawa Japan. This is of more than antiquarian interest because Bushido was seriously examined by Filipinos prior to World War II (during and after which, of course, Bushido became tainted by its being used to justify Japanese atrocities) in the effort to instill a stronger sense of citizenship (in terms of both freedoms and responsibilities) in a country preparing for independence.
Bushido was held up by by various Filipino leaders before and during the war as something to emulate. You still find echoes of this in proposals by people like Jose Abueva to have a Bill of Rights and Obligations (which hews to the provisions of the 1943 Constitution of the Puppet Republic) instead of a Bill of Rights.
It’s a stretch to suggest that Japanese Neo-Confucianism or Confucianism itself is precisely the kind of thinking expressed by Romulo Neri, Jr. and his one-time acolyte and factotum, Jun Lozada.There are elements of these philosophies, however, in their public and private (then publicly-reported) view concerning governance and reforms.
But it brings me to this weekend’s entry. From my computer’s handy-dandy built-in dictionary:
snitch |sni ch | informal
verb
1 [ trans. ] steal.
2 [ intrans. ] inform on someone : she wouldn’t tell who snitched on me.
noun
an informer.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: of unknown origin.
Jun Lozada, as I write this, is in Dagupan. The prelude to his visit was this: Lozada streamers torn down before his Pangasinan trip.
There’s scuttlebutt going around that the Palace has imposed a deadline for neutralizing Jun Lozada: the deadline is June, by which time students go back to school. The studentry, of course, prior to Lozada’s emerging as whistleblower, was safely thought of to be unengaged in the current political crisis.
Which leads to the question: Is Jun Lozada self-destructing, or is he being destroyed? if Jun Lozada is self-destructing, either he is not self-destructing quickly enough, or he isn’t really self-destructing at all -he’s just being worn down by the immense resources of the state.
In previous Masses held for him, it seems that the Palace has taken to distributing anti-Lozada Komiks; there is even talk that people are being organized to fill up the churches and then walk out on cue, both to disrupt the proceedings when Lozada begins his talk, and to promote the idea to the media that he is losing support.
Jun Lozada is at it again: writing, that is.
Read the latest products of Lozada’s pen for yourself.
He’s written two pieces, one primarily addressed to members of the clergy, the other, to the public-at-large.
In Telling the Truth.doc ver1.1[1].pdf , he goes into “The Diamond Principle,” in detail, but then again, this is something he has been talking about for some time.
In My reflections on my 2nd month of Calvary[1].pdf , he addresses the public, reiterating the circumstances surrounding his abduction and how nothing has really happened since then, except that the administration factotums originally in hot water have had time to sort out their stories.
Both pieces are surely a response to Lozada recently getting into hot water with some clerics and to media. And surely, a way for him to fight back.
First impressions count. But there are continuing impressions, too, and they add up. Jun Lozada makes some people teary-eyed and other people want to scream, still others want to vomit. It goes every which way: some public figure is sure to get someone foaming at the mouth, somewhere
.The Warrior Lawyer is upfront about his antipathy (based on personal interaction with Lozada) and makes more sense overall:
I never hid my dislike for Jun Lozada, based on his character and what I know of him as an operator when he was still with the DENR. This was a guy who’d arrogantly call for supposedly official meetings outside his office, in bars and restaurants, dine and drink his fill while behaving like a lout, then stick you with the bill. He has no sense of personal loyalty and has been politely described as a “man on the make†(and on the take, as he has admitted). As a whistle-blower, and civil-society “heroâ€Â, his whining self-righteousness is extremely irritating. He so obviously enjoys the limelight and his public statements during his recent “road tour†are characteristically pompous and overblown.
But I tried to separate the message from the messenger and gave him credit for speaking up, however reluctantly, on the ZTE broadband corruption scandal.
Now events have conspired to push him on a long slide to irrelevancy. First, the Supreme Court decision in Neri vs. Senate Committee has effectively stymied the Senate proceedings, his most effective platform. Worse, it has deprived the Senate of access to vital witnesses who would corroborate the allegations of Lozada and company, most notably Romulo Neri, as well as other Cabinet members and functionaries. Without a stage and most of the major players, this show can’t go on.
Then Cory Aquino, arguably the most popular opposition draw, and Lozada’s supposed patron and mentor on the path to rectitude, was stricken ill with cancer. No more Tita Cory to cuddle Jun and bring in the crowds.
Finally, there’s Lozada’s own big mouth. He could use some of the advise on self-examination and reflection he so blithely foists on others. His wiseass and bombastic manner has turned off a lot of people, even from among his initially steadfast supporters.
Similar views are in Jingoistic Lamentations.
In my column, The aesthetics of redemption, I stated my personal views about Lozada; in particular, that we should consider the effect of nearly being liquidated can have on someone: at the very least, it explains why someone already temperamentally inclined to be full of himself (as most fixers tend to be), would then become a zealot. Near-death experiences do that to people. So there is no objective reason why Lozada should be writing manifestos that may do him as much harm as good, but what he’s gone through certainly goes a long way to explain his compulsion to crank out manifestos.
While Clarissa Ocampo did state at the time that she feared for her life, she didn’t undergo an abduction and was given witness protection; allegations have been made that she received board appointment from the President but I can’t find any record of this (nor is any government largesse reported in Witnesses reap ‘rewards’ for role in Erap trial).
I also tried to point out that much of the skepticism that greets Lozada has to do with nothing more than questions of taste: in particular, he rubs upper class sensibilities raw and tends to irritate a subset of the middle class. It is the reason some Filipinos believe no funeral is complete without hysterics while others believe good taste demands that one should maintain a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity.
So it’s all a question of taste: the aesthetic element of politics. Just as I’ve argued that there are many who support the President because she upholds the primacy of outward appearances being more important than virtue itself, there are those who, finding Lozada to be grating on their nerves, will then lash out at him.
Typical of the visceral loathing some people who are purely observers (not having encountered him during his fixer days) have for Lozada, is the incoherent, but scathing, contempt of an Antonio Montalvan II for Jun Lozada. I had to ask someone what on earth Montalvan was trying to say: “he’s suggesting a stop to all the school hopping etc. what i like is that he’s implying (well, it’s explicit to me at least) that lozada’s still a crook by definition and must be charged – not really the figure to lead a ‘truth’ crusade of sorts.”
Fair enough.In janEe’s bLog, there’s email from someone present at the controversial Cebu forum Lozada attended, and who wrote,
The Senate investigation only confines itself to factual matters. As a political body, its primordial concern is to fulfill its constitutional mandate of conducting inquiry in aid of legislation. It does not delve into what is in the heart of a witness testifying before it. It cannot be concern about matters of the spirit; personal discernment and insights; and personal conversion and renewal.
These, I believe, is the higher pursuit of Jun Lozada’s journey, both in the physical and spiritual sense.
Despite his being not welcome here in Cebu, he braved the spurn knowing that the TRUTH will shield him against any forms off rebuke and rejections.
Jun was simply not rejected, he was harassed and slurred.
I, and many others, who attended the forum yesterday, had witnessed how Jun Lozada was humiliated & insulted by a man named Po, who claimed to be there in order to be “enlightened†on the issue.
See also, the open letter written by a priest in Cebu, Fr. Jesus Dumaual, as republished in Happy Faith:
You ask why? It is because you have answered (partly) a question they must have been asking all these years: Where have all our graduates gone, the product of Catholic Education, the minds and consciences that we have molded according to the values of the Gospels? Thousands, perhaps even a million of you have joined government service. What have become of you? Have you all become “team playersâ€Â, swallowed by the system which is now considered the most corrupt in Asia? You are luckier, and I saw your great elation that late in the day, two priests were found (I was one of them) who were willing to say Mass for you. But the poor Sisters, so far, after all these years, have only found one: you. (You see, while we priests may have our Parishes, Sisters have only their Catholic Schools.) Of course, they want to hear your story, to know whatever happened to all the nurturing, the sacrifices they have made for all of you, including the scolding if you just forget to say your prayer, etc. But that can wait. All they want to show you is how grateful and appreciative they are you have returned. The rest will be history.
Which, combined with the letter from the lady in Cebu, gives a pretty good justification as to why Lozada should be making the rounds: to submit himself to the scrutiny of his countrymen.The best advice was given matter-of-factly by JC’s Anatomy. Answer the criticisms. Going back to his recent visit to Cebu, you can’t get fiercer than Fighting Tofu who expressed loathing for Lozada. I myself delved into the whole controversy in The interdiction of a witness, but much of it seemed to me a case of conservative shock on the part of those unused to questioning prelates, and more attuned to the old obediences. A marvelous demonstration of this is that the expression of disgust with Lozada currently making the rounds was a captive protest: watch “Gloria” (Dancing Inmates – Protest Dance). Ordering prison inmates to engage in an obviously far-from-spontaneous dance number… well, the irony is as rich as it gets.
Still: for every person still firmly convinced of his good intentions, like on to a new beginning who ran into him during a graduation ceremony in La Salle Greenhills; nut there are those, like the priest Per Agrum ad Sacrum, hostile to him:
But what then explains the anger? What explains all the zeal and passion and the fury? I would assume they want something else, on account of the fact that they have found common cause with interesting individuals who really have little interest, and thus, can boast of little love lost for the finer nuances of moral theological thinking ( no matter how much they quote and endlessly misquote the Lord’s words, “the truth will set you free.”). I assume they want more than just the moral truth they ought already to know. I assume they want heads to roll. What else explains the “non sequitur” slogans and name-calling directed against the devil woman and her cohorts?
I would also assume that it is not really so much moral truth they want, as “teachings” that would ride along with what they want. How else explain their vociferous rantings against the bishops, who they claim “are not in touch with reality,” or who “are playing deaf, dumb, and blind” to all the shenanigans being perpetrated by this administration? After the Bishops talked about the moral truth of a “culture of corruption” that is found in all levels of society, after the Bishops took to task the President and called for the dismantling of all obstacles to truth, these self-proclaimed “guardians of morality” now declare the Bishops as hopelessly blind, deaf, and dumb, for their taste? How about venting your ire against some media outfits who have already decided what is true for them? Didn’t the Bishops also call the mass media to task? Didn’t the Bishops also call the so-called oppositionist politicians to set aside their ill concealed ambitions and personal agenda? Weren’t we all cautioned against subverting this and many other issues to our own sinister agenda?
There is something seriously amiss in this highly engaging telenovela. Abetted and supported by the so-called “media moment,” a whistle blower who was part of the system of corruption just a few months ago, has suddenly been catapulted to near-divine status, called a “hero” for modesty’s sake (thank you!). Mobbed and adulated everywhere by the supposed guardians of truth and objectivity, the very people on whom millions of young people depend on for their education, the self-proclaimed “crusader for truth” now inflames the passions of the young, idealistic, and easily manipulable students, who are being doled out daily lessons on how to be a “responsible, “law-abiding,” and “democratic” citizen without really trying hard to respect rule of law. In a clear example of collusion pushed to the extreme, with no parallels in recent history, the guardians and teachers of moral truth, legislators, educators, mass media purveyors, and executives in and out of government, have suddenly decided to become accuser, judge, and executioner all rolled into one.
And there are concerned parents like Couch Potato Corner, who says Lozada is a menace and should be evicted by the school.
Lozada compared his own abduction to the abduction and murder of Dacer, and there’s a reason the comparison resonated with the public.
By all accounts, Dacer was an asshole; by comparison, in comparing himself to Dacer, Lozada was admitting he was an asshole, too; but no one has ever said Dacer deserved to be rubbed out.
Dacer knew something, and had to die. Lozada knew something, and had to die.
But Lozada lived to tell his tale.
And so, he has to be destroyed.
Because the longer he sticks around and remains a pest, the more time people have to let the lesson of the last few years finally sink in. She’s as bad, and even worse, than the previous guy who got kicked out.
The tides seem to have turned. Looks indeed the SC saved her this time.
Flaws and all, Jun Lozada is a genuine Filipino hero. I hope he hangs in there as the coming period will require persistence.
whatever his detractors say about him, I think Lozada has already done his job in exposing the ARroyos.
And Lozada is not the problem, it’s this administration and it’s defenders who are.
As I have said, Lozada will be “archived” when his much hyped role in the scandal fizzles out.
MLQ3
Gloria and her spin doctors clearly understand the Filipino psyche..The Jun Lozada episode is over.. let’s move on the next chapter of our lives..the looming rice crisis.
As in any Pinoy telenovela,Pinoys hate too many replays of the Jun Lozada episode.
Why is Gloria able to commit a litany of scandls???
Because we are a people with short memories.That’s what Gloria and her gang keep on exploiting.
Yes, our country’s political system sucks. But our culture sucks as well. And one of the ways it sucks the most is in its failure to teach people reasoning, cause-and-effect… and history.
Jun Lozada is analogous to a reluctant bride, not really a “willing†whistle blower, but by circumstances and development of event was thrust into the limelight..How he played his part as compared to Ocampo, who was never in Government Service and also was never alleged in any wrongdoing herself remains to be seen in the future…I tend to believe in his testimonies, otherwise the Palace would have not done an all-out effort to discredit the Man if they can disprove his testimonies with counter evidence and clean records of their own.
I agree with Cat, Lozada is losing his luster. Napapagod na ang tao sa pakikinig sa kanya.
Is it because of the notorious Filipinos’ short memory?
Is it because Jun Lozada is not telling the truth?
Whatever the answers to these two questions are, don’t matter much to many.
Personally though, I still would like to know what really was Gloria’s role in the ZTE/NBN anomaly, the DA fertilizer scam, the swine scam, the Hello Garci and others.
the arroyo defenders and the cbcp say they cannot trust or support jun lozada because he is also corrupt and not clean.
but the same group had no problems in the past embracing a self confessed murderer and crook like Chavit Singson back in 2000-2001 and consider him a hero or a Filipino of the Year.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-79224783.html
we must have a wall with the litany of Gloria scandals and call it” WE MUST NOT FORGET!”
hmmm… that sounds something lacson’s accused of doing to his enemies. lol.
after abducting lozada and stonewalling the investigations, you still willing to give this admin the benefit of the doubt?
i’ve made one online at
arroyocorruption dot pbwiki dot com
I think the Jun Lozada expose is NOT the tipping point.
I feel it in my (weary) bones that Gloria’s revival of CHA CHA later this year will be the TIPPING POINT.
She will do it in a hurry while lameduck Bush is still in power.
The people will not tolerate another CHA-CHA.
i think it was john nery who was one of the first from the media to complain that lozada was “getting a free pass” on his indiscretions and attack his credibility as a whistleblower.
http://www.newsstand.blogs.com/newsstand/2008/03/column-how-jun.html
Nery also used the term “man on the make” re lozada, just like Warrior Lawyer.
i think nery was offended when lozada started criticizing the CBCP for carrying water for the Arroyos. Ingrate raw siya dahil hindi ba prino-protektahan naman siya ng mga madre?
what lozada doesn’t realize is that the they will protect lozada from Arroyo, but not if it means the overthrow of this regime.
Jon, neat list. What’s the ‘swine scam’ that you mentioned above (at 9:18pm)?
CVJ:the swine scam was the QUEDANCOR scandal.
Lawyer Harry Roque Jr noted that the Quedan Rural Credit and Guarantee Corp. (Quedancor) was attached to the Office of the President when a multibillion-peso swine scam took place in 2004.
hello garci was the worst point for arroyo. that’s why we had CPR, Garci dissappearing, EO 464, barricades at the malacanang, PO 1017, media intimidation on the playing of those tapes.
nene pimentel was right when he said in 2005 that pursuing impeachment was a trap, because it was a lost cause. it wont remove arroyo (just like impeachment never would have convicted and removed erap) unless you have a backup plan that may involve violence and military intervention.
http://www.politicaljunkie.blogspot.com/2006/02/news-flash-military-coup-topples.html
My sense of things is that an attempt for parliamentary will most likely fail, but the attempt won’t “tip” so GMA gets forced to leave.
“cha cha” is intellectual of interest only to a few. These things do not become tipping points — unless the masses get agitated, the police over-react, and mayhem ensues.
Rice… different story.
Lozada should join the Couples for Christ.
What i meant was…
what lozada doesn’t realize is that while they (CBCP) will protect lozada from this administration’s goons, it does not mean in any way, shape or form that they will also support Lozada’s case vs. the Arroyos. Even/especially if lozada is telling the damaging truth.
she won’t revive it anymore. it was only used as a distraction to hello garci. it has already served it’s purpose.
Thanks Jon! This is what i got from google…
http://www.newsflash.org/2004/02/hl/hl107311.htm
…which i’m pasting here for ‘archive’ purposes.
It really simple, Jun Lozada, is not delivering results! If lozada is a hero, he is now a forgotten hero.
Equalizer, UPn, i have no idea on what the ‘tipping point’ will be but since tipping points are few and far between, i hope that if and when it comes, people will make the most out of it as an opportunity for genuine change.
“My sense of things is that an attempt for parliamentary will most likely fail, but the attempt won’t “tip†so GMA gets forced to leave.”UP nS
UP N Student:Elementary Dr Watson.Gloria and Ronnie Puno will NOT allow the Cha cha to fail!
There crude attempts to get it down our throats will in effect trigger the people’s anger.
You need to think the unthinkable.That’s why Ronnie P. is political chameleon par excellance!
“she won’t revive it anymore. it was only used as a distraction to hello garci. it has already served it’s purpose.”John Marzan
John :your “Putin “scenario in your blog is also a strong possibility (to rule by pulling the strings of her successor)
Tokugawa had to naturally stress loyalty to rule over his new fiefdom since he had to bank on the betrayal of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s men to win in Sekigahara.
Surely he wouldn’t want his tactics to be used against him.
Oooooopps.
It was the betrayal of Ishida Mitsunari’s men.
The gloria gang is insatiable in wealth AND power.They will not allow their dream to end in 2010.No way.
The Equalizer: Yes-way. In 2010, the GMA presidency will end, by the rules of the 1987 Constitution.
Rice… different story. – UP n
Sure will, the angriest will exploit the hungriest.
Yes-way up student
What does it mean?
“We don’t heed history, we will repeat it.”
–conrado de quiros/pdi
lozada is a classic example of a contrived “hero” of the desperate “oust-gloria” crowd clutching on the wind. it seems that any scoundrel who says anything that can remotely put the integrity of the president into question, whether in the senate or in the media, is lionized as God’s gift to humanity.
lozada has “exposed” nothing that the public did not already know and which was “helpful” to the opposition’s cause. his testimony, for the most part, was that somebody said something and that he didn’t know of any “smoking gun”, of his own knowledge.
i don’t know lozada from adam but warrior lawyer’s personal impressions about the guy confirm my own assessments. i see a con artist who has been presented with an opportunity for a 15-minute fame but stupidly thought it would last forever. he grabbed it with all the gusto he could muster, basking in the light of sitting beside the former president cory aquino in church, while surrounded by la salle nuns and priests and assorted political “has beens”, as mass is being said in his “honor” dubbed “mass for truth”.
the big question is: why should the administration be automatically blamed for everything that tends to unmask lozada for what he is? isn’t it possible that there are decent individuals who are genuinely turned off and annoyed by the guy’s antics and his admirers’ gushing attempts to promote him to the undiscerning sectors of society?
it looks like lozada’s 15-minute of glory is up. his forum of necessity, the church, has wised-up to his handlers’ opportunism. now he can be an insignificant footnote of history on discussions about how a nation shoots itself on the foot, and suffer self-inflicted injuries.
istambay: agree! we are a people with 32 bit memory.
32-bit memory = 4,294,967,296 addressable memory registers, i hope you’re right.
CVJ: with memory lapses on the really important issues.all stuffed with trivia.
I, too, have to admit.
Lozada and the ZTE have been forgotten. Lozada has nothing more to offer.
GMA survives! Very lucky bitch indeed.
@bencard
I have two words for you: Bertie Ahern.
Look up the reasons why he quit.
Mr. Lozada’s handlers didn’t get it right. Even if we say with a 32-bit memory, this may be all virtual.
The Filipinos’ psyche includes short “real” memory, “baka parang DOS-era pa.” And even shorter attention span. If in this short span, you don’t achieve the tipping point, boiling point, break point ,or whatever point you may call it, then the agitation returns to equilibrum.
With the relative under-development in this country, the people are not . Politically aware but not informed. Think about it. They say the internet is the great Equalizer, but where do most Filipinos spend their time online.
Ordinary people are much more concerned with low politics, i.e., economic needs: the next meal, the tuition fee that must be paid, etc.
Many cannot hear what Mr. Lozada is saying because they are listening to their grumbling stomachs.
“How WE Survived ALL of OUR Scandals..from A to ZTE” (speakers:Gloria and Jose Pidal)
What’s the secret for their longevity?
I see that it’s talk like Benign0 day in this thread.
Why you guys keep saying Filipinos have SHORT TERM memory when in fact, they remember full well how it is back then in the Spanish era. They know they should be afraid of the authorities. They know they can do nothing. Ask the church.
@BrianB
The jueteng lords and drug dealers today will become the elite tomorrow.
Think about it.
The fact that the ZTE scandal is fading away is not Jun Lozada’s fault, rather it is the result of a system that is used and misused by those who have the ability to do so (call them what you like). Any lawyer will tell youo that witnesses are rarely saints — just like us they have their weaknesses and their faults. Capone was convicted for tax evasion on the testimony of his book keeper, who was complicit in hiding his wealth.
No, the responsibility for the fading of Lozada’s testimony and the scandal is the with the system that we have. Mr. Lozada is material insofar only as to the things he knows, not who he is. The problem is that we have a system of accountability that is not interested in finding out.
I see that it’s talk like Benign0 day in this thread. – cvj
I maybe one of those you are referring to. No, I’m just debating with my alter ego.
It has nothing to do with principles. Just a mind exercise.
Face it Lozada’s usefulness in dethroning the Queen has passed. If there is something that can unseat Gloria,this is the rice crisis.If you believe that heaven has pulled out her mandate,this could be it.
Jun Lozada has caught the star complex. If Lozada would like to save the nation,then he should do a Ninoy Aquino.
It is a shudder to think that Ortigas Avenue in front of La Salle Greenhills could be renamed as the Jun Lozada Avenue, complete with probinsiyanong instik statue!
Blackshama, why do you shudder?
Whatever and however one describes Jun Lozada, the fact that really stands out is that the government has gone overdrive to stop his campaign for truth, accountability and reform.
Sure, he will and might vanish after some time but what is important is the fact that Jun has reinvograted the middle class. Surely, the middle class is not so dumb to have risen up in anger if his testimony could not be validated over and over again. However the detractors of Jun say about his testimony being hearsay, the fact is the administration senators have tried over and over again to discredit Jun but failed.
If Jun is such a liar like Mawanay or Mahusay, why does this government treat him with such fear that he must disappear before June, as Manolo described it.
No matter what your arguments against Jun are, they really are garbage because your greatest sympathizer, the Arroyo government believes in Jun’s testimony and is moving heaven and earth to silence this man and to prevent the middle class from galvanizing further. That alone should give you pause from your sycophantic essays or one-liners.
Cat,
I went through your predictions and I find them all conclusions of facts, baseless and rather vacuous.
You know for a fact that Jun’s tears were crocodile tears? How so? It takes one to know one?
You pride yourself with predictions but there really is nothing substantive with your comments. Another cat, Kitty Go, is a better feline than you are. And her essays and sound bytes are a lot better and more incisive.
Since you claim that Jun is not a credible witness, I will assume you watched him in all the Senate hearings. Pray tell, which part was he not credible?
No conclusions of facts please!
Bencard,
I am interested to know if you observed Jun Lozada in all his hearings before the Senate. Since you claim to be a lawyer and I am not one, I would like to be informed with your perceptions of Mr. Lozada.
Please tell us what part of his testimony is untrue.
That alone should give you pause from your sycophantic essays or one-liners. – crisanto
This is Manolo’s blog, my friend. We are all guest commentators here. If mlq3 oks our posts, why should we give pause?
We all have opinions.
Equalizer,
The government does not share your optimism. It continues to rain on Jun’s parade. I will tell you one thing. I work in the higher echelons of government and I have seen these people conspire to bring Jun down. I am not as brave as Jun from coming out but let me tell you that the government does not treat the Jun Lozada episode as finished. It hopes to end Jun at a certain point. Hastening the demise of this episode is the principal action plan right now against Jun Lozada.
What you guys dont realize is that you may think people are tired and sick of hearing Jun Lozada. That might be valid here in Metro Manila but in the provinces, the people are hungry to hear what he has to say and that is the reason the black propaganda campaign of which I am personally aware of is in full swing.
Trust me, I was there when Mike Defensor was instructed to tell Jun to cooperate. Otherwise, media will be unleashed to destroy his credibility. It has been 3 months now, his shelf life should have been over a month ago but he continues to hold sway. And thats why our president is gravely concerned that this episode should be terminated now.
Nash,
Dont think Jun Lozada is out of the ring yet. The government is aware of what he knows and the extent of his knowledge in government corruption. It hates Romy Neri for bringing Jun to the meetings but they have to pander to Neri so he will not testify against the president.
Diego,
You are taking me too literally. I suggest a deeper research on the meaning of giving one pause.
I hear you.
You may be an insider high up, but don’t just come in and expect people to believe what you say hook, line, and sinker.
Prep us with some context please…
As Mastercard would have it: ‘knowledge is power, but wisdom is priceless.”
Crisanto: Surely you are not asking for conclusion of lies, are you?
crisanto, please read again my post. i didn’t say he said anything untrue. all i said was that he testified to things that were mostly already known (except his alleged “kidnapping” – who rescued him anyway?). he also testified on what he heard from others – things he admittedly had no personal knowledge. what i was saying is that he has no real value as a witness. he might be a passing tool for anti-gma propaganda but that’s about it. only people desperate for mud to sling out would have any use for him.
btw, crisanto. what “credibility” is there for the administration to destroy, and for what purpose? lozada does’nt have the goods and he admitted it. why is there a need to discredit or eliminate him? i think the way the game is usually played over there is to rub out the “friendly” but expendable witness by his promoters and then blame the crime to the party against whom the witness was procured to testify. sometimes the trick works, i understand.
The way Lozada is receiving a heavy dose of counter-propaganda, intimidation and threats only suggests that the govt fears him, and is afraid of the eventual consequences of his politicizing the masses. I won’t be surprised if one of these days he finally “disappears” for good, like Dacer and most of those guys who know too much. Then blame it on the NPA or leftists or terrorists. Big Mike is using his attorney polpol as part of the demolition squad, while this old fart Gonzales is using whatever govt resources he can marshall to pin down Lozada, instead of tracking the bigtime bribers and grafters. See, this is what power and money can buy. Tsk tsk tsk!
crisanto:
“The government does not share your optimism. It continues to rain on Jun’s parade. I will tell you one thing. I work in the higher echelons of government and I have seen these people conspire to bring Jun down. I am not as brave as Jun from coming out but let me tell you that the government does not treat the Jun Lozada episode as finished.”
The recent interfaith rally/prayer of Lozada in Pangasinan tells all about this experience: missing pro-Lozada streamers, bomb threat, anti-Lozada flyers demolishing his credibility. These counter-propaganda efforts must have cost much more money and time than the Lozada campaign.
bencard,
I wish what you speak of is true but the sad thing is the government finds jun’s testimony credible. He may not link directly the president to the scam but Neri has told him what Neri knew and even if assuming they are hearsay but for others, what they call part of his testimony, Neri himself has never negated Jun Lozada. That is what really irks the administration. I wish it was as true as to how you described the game. Unfortunately, Jun’s testimony is very credible to the government.
And I would hasten to add that Fr. Intengan was the one who prepared the ZTE Primer that was presented by Cerge Remonde to Cardinal Vidal and his priests in Cebu. I have seen the primer prepared by Fr. Archie Intengan and they are meant to destroy the credibility of Jun Lozada. For the uninformed, Fr. Intengan is the priest adviser of the president by way of Norberto Gonzales.
There is clearly the attempt, Bencard, of the administration to destroy Lozada. And regardless of whether you believe Jun to be not credible, the government does not think so. It will not stop until the Jun Lozada episode is dead and buried. In an oblique way, our comments here, even if unfavorable to Jun, continues to put him in the limelight. This is the irony and vicious cycle of putting him to rest
Diego,
I am not as brave as Jun Lozada. If I provide context, my identity will be revealed. Suffice it to say that I do not expect you to believe me at all, I only post here what I have seen and heard.
“Jun Lozada has caught the star complex. If Lozada would like to save the nation,then he should do a Ninoy Aquino.”
You mean Lozada should provoke some more so gloria do a marcos on lozada, then the wife of lozada do a Cory?
that’s what i call history repeating itself twice over!
hawaiian guy,
all those attempts that you described are part of the master plan to destroy Jun. The mistress was dug up and even before the second hearing of Jun’s testimony, the NBI was tasked to locate the mistress. They did in fact find the mistress and it was leaked to the press.
The government will use all its vast resources to destroy Jun Lozada. It cannot afford the masses to unite behind someone that can rally the different social classes.
crisanto, i really thought the lozada affair is passe’ in this blog until manolo revived it with this thread. it kind of reminds me of abs-cbn’s not-too-subtle ruse of playing and re-playing (ad nauseam) the korina-carandang “special” called “harapan” featuring the undershirt-clad, snickering, head-shaking wisp of a man during holy week. no wonder most pinoy ofw’s are anti-gma. this network’s tfc is a virtual propaganda machine for gma’s enemies, yet they could ply their trade without a bit of protest from the administration. i won’t be surprised if this unfair reporting practices would eventually be curbed somehow.
Jon Mariano,
Your premise is wrong. Jun Lozada is telling the truth and the government is hell bent on destroying his credibility. If Jun was not telling the truth, his lies can easily be debunked by the truth and he would be tripping all over himself. So far, the government has found nothing in his testimony to destroy his credibility. thats why they are using ancillary evidences to destroy him.
To show you the extent of their desperation, they will ask one administration senator to play the wiretapped conversation just to cast Jun and Joey in a bad light if another senate hearing is called. The senator knows that playing the conversation is illegal but the tapes have been sufficiently spliced to show how scheming Jun and Joey are.
Bencard,
Ever since Gabby Lopez designated Maria Ressa as head of News, ABS has become professional as Maria wanted it to have the same professional standards as CNN.
Whether we like it or not, the government can no longer do the usual thing of calling the owner of the TV station, threaten him a bit for him to back off. Gabby Lopez can only suggest but the decision lies with the triumvirate, Maria Ressa, Chari Villa and Luchi Cruz Valdez.
The government still has some sway over GMA 7 owing to the fact that one of its owners is Gilberto Duavit of Rizal. But as to how long, I dont know.
Manolo’s raising up the issue of Jun is understandable. He is part of civil society. It would be interesting for you to know that Manolo used to be the president’s speechwriter until he decided to resign when the president reneged on her December 30 promise not to run again.
I don’t care about your opinion. at the end of the day, my prediction stands.
and it is coming true for lozada.
@crisanto
“..dont think Jun Lozada is out of the ring yet. The government is aware of what he knows and the extent of his knowledge in government corruption..”
I hope so.
Aussie take on Brian Gorrell’s story. The last sentence is funny:
http://www.smh.com.au/news/people/aussie-blog-has-philippine-gucci-gang-all-in-a-lather/2008/04/04/1207249452813.html?page=fullpage#contentSwap2
BrianB:
they’re loving this over there in Oz too, aren’t they?
More here, Tonio:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=eBGIQ7ZuuiU
crisanto, just a minor correction.
i was part of the president’s speech writing pool even prior to her becoming president, then early on during her presidency she asked me to work directly for her developing policy for the presidential museum and then as p.a.; her decision not to run made it clear whatever policies were being developed would have to be in place by her retirement in 2004.
when it became clear she would run for office i faced the dilemma of continuing to work directly under her (and yes, deeply disappointed she decided to run), when most of what i’d set out to do under the mandate she gave me was about to be finished or wouldn’t require my direct supervision, or leaving her service. my dilemma was solved when the inquirer pirated me from today, on condition that i relinquish my job in the o.p. this was a face-saving solution all around. i did support the president when she ran, informally continuing to be in the loop at a certain level, and i even proposed her inaugural in cebu (but for a different reason than later proposed by her senior political allies: i felt it was a timely move to show she was serious about federalism; i disagreed with those who endorsed the idea to “thank” the cebuanos).
i did speak out over the conduct of the canvassing of votes in congress, pointing out this was not going to help matters. everything seemed to be going ok, though, until hello, garci. the handling of that crisis, as i explained at length, left me no choice but to join the critics of the president.
Cat,
I hope so.
In the market for hearts and minds unfortunately the means of communication is determined more by economic realities than anything else.
Access to the means of trasnmitting and diseminating information is limited to those in charge of the means.
Guttenberg’s invention and Martin Luthers translation of the bible into German helped push the protestant reformation in parts of Europe.
Unfortunately for Lozada and his handlers they forget that in this marekt for hearts and minds the state has deep pockets.
Present Hillary and Bill Clinton who I personally believe is running for a co-presidency and since they have made millions though Bill’s charisma have hired PR company Burson Marsteller and their cheif strategist is Mark Penn the CEO of the same.
The Lozada handlers and himself should realize that the odds are stacked against them and learn how to use guerilla tactics in this market. They have to learn how to use the market for hearts and minds. Blogging and the internet are limited in a poor and developing country. Leah navarro is a hot babe who has already graduated to babehood and while she looks good on TV she has almost nothing to communicate. She talks for herself and does not realize that the time given to her is valuable to communicate.
Case in point: All private media outlets in the country are solely dependent on private and public advertising.
Sonny Belmonte and his family know that their paper will not survive without playing ball with the trananstionals and the domestic powwerhouses – namely Lucio Tan, PLDT, Globe and Danding (SMC) and the government itself.
The main players in this game or the intemediaries or traders if you like are the advertising and/or PR companies.
They exert tremendous influence on commentators and columnists. Even ANC is constrained by this. The only independent minded person I listen to on ANC is Che Che Lazaro. With all due respect to MLQ3 I know you can afford to be your own person. However you will get there soon enough. You are a grat writer and maybe someday you will be good in broadcasting. All newspapers are also constrained by this. The front page of every paper is bought and sold on a daily basis.
Example is the recent interview of Ricky Carandang with Pangilinan. Manny Pangilinan is an investment banker who is handling the private equity group (First Pacific) belonging to the family of Liem Sioe Leong, former primary crony of the late Dictator Suharto.
It was due to his being a pinoy and understanding the ways of doing business in the Philippines that helped Salim get control and possession of PLDT. Off course the advances in cellullar technology did the rest with tax free susbsidies from the unsuspecting pinoy public. I believe in open communications there really should be open markets and the oligopolies of PLDT and Globe should be broken up. Never mind if they go bust because technologies have bypassed land lines and gateways.
The same with air travel. Since we do not build planes why restrict airlines. Remove this idea of a national carrier. However in our own country let government become a partner with any pinoy owned airline. The capitalization requirement requires state support as it is but the foreign competition should keep it sharp. Think Cathay Pacific. Practically owned by the state run by mangement professionals and faces competition and is one of the best. The same with Singapore Airlines.
But that is all in the name of trade and financial liberalization that everyone is talking about. One of the first thing Pangilinan did as a banker is simply break down the divison of labor of the company and outsource most if not all the operations of the company. That way you do not have to pay the full benefits to employees and contractuals never make it to regular status. You increase profits for your stockholders. Nothing wrong there.
Then you question him if he wants to know the truth about what the President is doing ?
A lot of people still confuse business with economics and think that business can do it better and government should be abolished.
Just look at the rice markets today. Financial capitalism is having its way in the real economies of the world and is creating havoc with equlibrium as the debased dollar is forcing funds into the commodity markets as equity and bond marekts slide downward. Check out Jim Rogers commodity fund index. The infomration one can learn from these is invaluable.
Thye have info on acres planted with wwheat, soy, corn and rice tables going back years and expected harvests.
The largest markets in financial capitalism are the currency markets followed by the commodity markets.
Shorting the epso was an easy bet since supply side inflation was coming down the pipeline to a country that has a very tiny edge in BOP surplus. OIL, fuel bills and now food bills (all imports) are rising will eat up into dollar reserves and the peso will weaken.
Governments are reeling and even players in the real economy are wondering what the hell is going on?
Everytime time you see or hear about people lining up to buy rice you increase expectations of shortages. That is what most real Central Bankers fear the most.
Inflationary expectations. Once ingrained they become self fullfiling. Speculators love it. Buy buy buy when you see blood on the street. Methaporically you see fear of rising prices.
Bear Stearns had a credit rating of above investment grade. Their CEO was on TV boasting about a book value of $80B. By Thursday their short term credit lines were cut. By Friday they could not meet payments.
By Monday their share was worth $ 2. and they were no more. What happened? Simple – fear took hold.
Markets are run and the most effective means of economic activities because they process information. In the case of the rice situtation in the Philippines, it is the traders who possess the information. The government through the DA, NFA, NSO, NEDA do not know what the real story is on the ground. So they come up with fancy PR gimmicks.
Naturally the traders bless their greedy hearts knwoing the score take advantage of the edge in information (arbitrage)to make a killing. But that is what happens in the financial markets. If you make an assumpotion that prices will rise you take positions as fast as you can to corner the market to make a killing.
That is what asset inflation, commodity price inflation is all about. That is also called bubble bubble bubble.
The financial markets are the thermometer of the real economy.
Look at Rey “the magican” Tetangco. With a capital or equity strucre of Php 10 billion he has leveraged postion of assets worth $37 billion in official reserves. The largest currency trader in the coutry is the BSP. It operates like a hedge fund to stabilize exchange rates to target inflation.
But he is totally unaware about the real economy of the country. When our dependence on imports is affected by higher prices abroad he maintains it is beyond his control as headline inflation is supply side based.
The men who have the information rule markets.
Governments frequently have to catch up.
Even Greenspan, Bernanke and Paulson now realize it today.
The Philippines still cannot count votes in an election so how can you expect the government to catch up.
Jun Lozada is telling the truth?? What truth?? He has not presented any iota of evidence to back up his testimony. Do you think we will just believe a person like him, who himself has no credibility? Stop dreaming…People are not that stupid to believe what this person is spewing. I see him as a tainted weasel who is there to grab attention for his own self serving needs. He is such a loser and wont be suprised if his claim to fame fades to an abrupt end..he will turn around and change his story.
Tama si hvrds, we need guerrila tactics to fight GMA’s regime.
The vast apparatus of the legal framework of the society has been coopted. In terms of power and resources, the lucky bee and her posse is also llmado.
Time to be jedis fighting the evil empire. Our best weapons? Our hearts and our minds of course. Morally and intellectually, this regime is way too bankrupt. Ampaw ba.
Why do people insist that Lozada is a hero? And then equally hate him because he is “tainted”? He is not a hero and he is not a saint nor does he claim to be either.
But is he telling the truth and fighting the good fight?
Yes and yes.
We need to ask ourselves the same thing. And ask others too.
I need to include the swine scam in the list … for posterity sake.
I will be waiting for each item’s conclusion.
Politically is there a political party opposed to Big Mike and GMA? None. There are political personalities who are opposed to her.
What is their philosophy?
What is good for Erap is good for the Philippines.
The same with Villar, Roxas, Lacson, Gordon, Legarda and the rest. Are they any different from Big Mike and GMA Nope?
What are their thoughts on governance and the role it plays in economics. Are they for strong fiscal policies or weak fiscal policies. Strong fiscal policies mean moving towards almost command economies.
Command economies being the fiscal policy wherein the state takes all the surplus. That to states that take only a small portion of the surplus. Take your pick from hard state to soft state to no state and everything in between.
What do they think of the fact that in the U.S. banks are supposed to report to fiscal authorites unusual movements in monies to coporations in cash that led to the resignation of a powerful governor involved in prostitution. Imagine all the crooks that would fall if cash payments over a certain amount were all reported to the fiscal authorities in the Philippines?
That is the heart of the social contract. Transparency in markets.
When you see the faces and demanor of the men who picked up Lozada from th airport you can already tell that these men are simply mercenaries.
They do not care about rationales they are simply following orders.
I am sure those soldiers when they were told to pick up Ninoy did not know thet he was to be killed under their watch. The real triggerman could have killed Ninoy and Galman while everyone ducked for cover.
No one will every know. That man if he exists is surely dead.
Being an entitlement society that believes that leaders are chosen and directed by God is a throwback to an uncivilized tribal society that worshipped the sun.
Lozada is the epitome of the entitlement society and culture that prevails in Philippine society.
Look at the leaders of this country who are all mostly receipients of entitlements from their private school schooling all the way to their positions in business and government.
He could help by pointing that out. I cannot help but smile when a foreign clent said that he was surprised that a realty company was offering second homes or vacation homes together with a tenant family to tend your farms attached with the second home.
Selling the Phillipines to foreigners should include the line – Enjoy the Colonial lifestyle. Come live in the Philippines.
The Philippines is a democracy ruled by the top with their brand of merry go round and is not a democracy that is broad based.
The rationale of a democracy based on individual rights and privileges but with responsibility and accountability is the result of human struggles and came to the fore only in the 19th and 20th centuries in some parts of the world. It took more than half a millenium from the Bills of Rights in Runnymede to the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights.
Even the U.S. today is struggling to maintain those principles from diminishing.
He may not have submitted documentary evidence to back up his testimony (if such documentary evidence exists), but it is quite possible he is telling the truth about the overpricing of the NBN project as well as its conversion from BOT to China loan-financed. And each person has to decide for him- or herself whether he is credible or not. He may not be a Clarissa Ocampo in manner, but to me he is credible.
Equalizer,
yes way is the opposite of no way.
I wrote an aticle back in 2002 on how to promote the Manila life to foreigners by highlighting REAL “strengths” of da Pinoy lifestyle.
“The Expat’s Guide to Surviving a Manila Tour of Duty”
Check it out
http://www.geocities.com/benign0/3-00_Makati/expattips.html
-
How can you believe someone who is a self confessed sinner with no integrity? and no proof? I dont understand that. What will we become as a society if we start to accept that as truth?
Magdiwang, of course, a sinner can tell the truth. Chavit was a sinner, but his story was credible and we believed him despite him not submitting any documentary proof.
Mike, I was not moved by Chavits allegations. I dont think he has the credibility just like Lozada. They are one and the same, opportunistic free loaders who will side to anybody as they see fit to save their own hides.
The present crop of presidential wannabees either themselves benefitted from clientelism and/or are also capable of grand corruption.
Could we even hope that a meritocracy emerge from a system captured by a few.
Does somebody like father among have a chance?
Hvrds,
I just want to point out that the kind of bank reporting that you want seems to be covered under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.
After it was amended; a transaction in cash or other equivalent monetary instrument involving a total amount in excess of Five hundred thousand pesos (P500,000.00) within one (1) banking day is already covered. (previously it was a single, series, or combination of transactions involving a total amount in excess of Four million Philippine pesos (Php4,000,000.00) or an equivalent amount in foreign currency based on the prevailing exchange rate within five (5) consecutive banking days)
Well, many people considered Chavit credible because he was in Erap’s circle and would be privy to what was going on.
Normally, the word of Jun Lozada would only be a starting point for investigation. But now, if you get too close to hard evidence, your way is quickly barred by “executive privilege” and the refusal of NEDA to release official documents, or the outright “loss” of such documents. What bullsh*t.
Can someone remind me if Chavit was given immunity for being a witness?
I wonder how that crook is still walking around scot-free.
lozada is a classic example of a contrived “villain†of the fanatic “love-gloria†crowd clutching on the wind. it seems that any whistleblower who says anything that can really put the integrity of the president into question, whether in the senate or in the media, is villified as Evil’s gift to the opposition.
lozada has “exposed†something that the public did not yet know and which was “incidental†to the opposition’s cause. his testimony, for the most part, was that there was a conspiracy to kidnap him, after reading to him his right, that is ” You have the right to remain silent(FOREVER).
i don’t know lozada from adam but some blogger’s personal impressions about the guy confirm my own assessments. i see a cabal member who has been presented with an opportunity for a chance to redeem himself but naively thought it would be a walk in the park. he grabbed it with all the gusto he could muster, basking in the light of sitting beside the former president cory aquino in church, while surrounded by la salle nuns and priests and assorted political figures, as mass is being said in his “honor†dubbed “mass for truthâ€Â.
the big question is: why is the administration hell bent in destroying lozada’s credibility? also it’s possible that there are individuals who are turned off and annoyed by the guy’s honesty and his friends’ attempts to help him back to the fold of the society?
it looks like lozada’s 15-minute of glory is up. his forum of necessity, the church, has succumbed to the lure of PAGCOR donations. now he can be an insignificant footnote of history on discussions about how a nation shoots itself on the foot, and suffer self-inflicted injuries,if we, the people will let it happen.
How can you believe someone who is a self confessed sinner with no integrity? and no proof? I dont understand that. What will we become as a society if we start to accept that as truth?—
how? we should try to answer these questions then. why is malacanang stone walling? why has neri never directly refuted any of lozada’s allegations? why did neri claim executive privilege? how many times since then lozada has changed his allegations? how many times has malacanang and its minions changed their own versions?
inconsistencies can help one tell apart a liar from a person who is telling the truth. simple lang yan unless nagbubulag-ulagan at bingi-ingihan lang talaga!
proof? ninakaw daw ang contract after signing! eh kung maninikawala na naman ba? siguro tinago! gma smiling for cameras during the signing of contracts despite prior knowledge of the anomalies and despite husband’s grave health condition. and as per neri neda can only recommend and it’s the president who has the final say on the approval.
ang mali lang talaga sa senado eh puro gusto magbida. still hoping gma will leave the malacanang post 2010. lahat gusto maging presidente. at tayo naman ay umaasa din. umaasa sa wala!
Why not HVRDS run for president.
pasensya na sa mga punctuation marks ko,napapansin ko din na madaming sablay.
If we go back to what happened, Mr. Jun Lozada was initilly a participant in the cover up. That’s why he went to Hongkong to let things cool down after Neri’s testimony in the Senate.
Upon his return, some police characters ‘kidnapped’ him. The authorities gave contradicting stories. He feared for his life and decided to spill all.
What’s not clear is as early as December he was in contact with Senators Lacson and Madrigal. Was he agonishing then to turn witness.
It’s good to know how these senators will try to help and protect Mr. Lozada now that the interest on him is waning. “I was used.”
magdiwag, here is an example of a man convicted on testimonies of another man just as “criminal” as he was and also was his partner in Crime..Before he testified against his boss he already Plead Guilty himself to the Charges of Frauds..yet the Jury believed his testimonies..
Friday, July 13, 2007
International media mogul Conrad Black has been found guilty by the US District Court for the Northern District of Illinois in Chicago, Illinois on three charges of mail fraud and one of obstruction of justice.
However, the jury did clear him of the rest of the charges. Black faces a maximum of 35 years in prison and a US$1 million fine at his sentencing, which is scheduled for November.
…
We think the verdict vindicates the serious public interest in making sure that when insiders in a corporation deal with money entrusted to them by the shareholders
…
â€â€U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald
He was found not guilty of nine other charges including racketeering, misuse of corporate perks and tax evasion. The 13 charges were based on allegations that Black defrauded investors in his company, Chicago-based Hollinger International (now known as Sun-Times Media Group). He was accused of stealing around US$60 million from the company.
David Radler, who was the second-highest ranking officer at Hollinger at the time of the crimes, testified against Black, after admitting fraud himself. Radler testified before the court and jury, that Conrad Black had concocted a scheme where executives of Hollinger could pocket payments when selling small local newspapers that Hollinger owned, in exchange for non-compete agreements.
Lozada is a perfect example of the requirement for “admissible evidence”. Many folks who post in this blogthread believe Lozada’s truthiness, many others do not.
A problem with the sentence ” I heard about it ” is that if not a soul follows up on what has been heard, “IT” that was heard gets discarded because “IT”‘s truthiness does not get verified. It will be nice to know what resources Senators Madrigal and Lacson will make available to substantiate the testimony of Lozada.
mlq3, would you ever allow your articles to be lifted almost en toto and then used and altered to express the contrary view? this dirk pitt is really getting on my nerves and it isn’t funny at all. i think i’m the only one who is being victimized like this in this blog. i know this pitt entity is secure in anonymity but not from you who has proprietary control of this blog. i know that in spite of heated divergence of views here, you are able to maintain reasonable amount of civility and decorum. this particular practice of this commenter is, i think, outside the bounds of elementary civility. could you and would you do something about this?
Vic: On the David Radler testimony against Conrad Black…… all that can really be said is that David Radler’s testimony HELPED convict Conrad Black. The prosecution provided a whole lot more evidence and supporting documents against Conrad Black.
upn, but do you think the prosecution would have convicted Black without Raddler?..The RCMP had been on his tail for a while and can’t press charges because they were not able to get Raddler to co-operate and have nothing on Him and Black just Thumbed his nose on our so-called “always get their Man Police Force” but Fitzgerald already had quite a very impressive records on his hand before Conrad Black and he could become a U.S. Senator anytime if he wants to…
Upn, what I was meaning to say was that Fitzgerald, instead of zeroing on Black like the RCMP did, he concentrated first on getting evidence against Raddler to Get to the BIG one, that he was able to Plea Bargain with Raddler for Reduce Sentence and used him to Convict Black…That is the Genius of Fitzgerald..
It would again look silly for the Senate if after seeing that public interest in the Lozada spectacle had dimished, would drop ZTE/NBN and look for another scandal to investigate, in aid-of-legislation.
This aspect of Philippine governance is one that many observers find dysfunctional, borrowing from Mr. Jun Lozada. It seems that there are no closure on many issues in our country. We don’t forgive, but we forget.
“We’ve been had!” – the Filipino people
UP n,
Lozada is credible only on the following – (1) the overprice of the project, and (2) his abduction
I hate to say this, but I don’t believe we will get it right in this lifetime.
A retelling of an old joke:
During Genesis, there were already much lobbyists from the future inhabitants:
When God was making Africa, the potential settlers there complained: “Why are you making our place so wild?” God replied: “Dont worry I’ll make you strong.”
When God was drawing up the Middle East, the future settlers complained: ‘Why are you making our place so dry and arid?” Yahweh responded: “Don’t worry I’ll give you oil.”
When God was creating the Philippines, everybody complained: “Why are you making that land so nice and beautiful?” The Almighty said: “Don’t worry, I’ll put the Filipinos there.”
Filipinos R’us.
XaX: Ang sabi sa akin noong mga tiyahin kong taga California…. makatapos sa mga hilaw — Caucasians — at mga sunog — Africans — Pinoy ang best-of-the-best
dahil tamang tama lang. Kaya nga lang, maraming medyo maliit. At ang Pinoy mabilis tumaba kapag umiiwas magbanat ng buto maski mag-aliw sa sarili. 
“A problem with the sentence †I heard about it †is that if not a soul follows up on what has been heard, “IT†that was heard gets discarded because “ITâ€Â’s truthiness does not get verified.” – UP n
This, I think, is one of the problems Lozada faced, that Chavit didn’t: someone with better credentials to back his statements up. Remember, Chavit was the catalyst, but it was Clarissa Ocampo who was the essential ingredient to the whole impeachment of Erap.
Then, there is the… sheer murkiness of the whole situation. Aside from the usual reasons of apathy, some people HAVE wisened up to such powerplays among the elite. People may dislike Gloria, but the thinking, “pare-pareho din naman sila” and “People Power Fatigue” just might be more true than, say, the rabidly anti-Gloria would claim.
There are some, like me, who are… kept back by our own personal experiences with those who seek Gloria’s ouster to side with the anti-Gloria crowd. I have always held people by their actions. As a Communications major myself, I know how easy it is to say something. But if your actions go against your words, something is wrong there. There is disconnect. I cannot join the anti-Gloria crowd knowing that (at least) a good portion of the politicians wanting her out lied, cheated and oppressed just to get a (supposed) liar, cheat and oppressor out.
I forgot who said it up there that not everything negative getting thrown at Jun Lozada can be traced from the Palace. You have to allow for the reality that not everyone likes the guy, if not believing in him. What’s the proof? Because if a substantial number of people do, there would be hundreds of thousands, if not millions, shouting for Gloria to get the hell out of the Palace.
And the PR professionals here – and maybe the lawyers too? – might have had an experience where being defensive isn’t a reliable gauge for guilt. Flight is, from what I heard in legal circles. But someone might go on and look defensive in his/her actions because the public that dictates policy can have a nasty habit of believing even something that’s plain hearsay.
It’s like the Salem Witch Hunts eh: the weird person over there (i.e. has a bad level of credibility) gets accused for being a witch. Eh bad rep siya, whether for an imagined slight (the so-called “evil eye”) or simply because something in him or her rubs you the wrong way. Would you believe he/she is NOT a witch? Lalo na if he/she acts in a way that somehow reinforces your prejudices?
The Tylenol response to deaths over its product is always taught to Comm students as an example of good PR handling. Yet so many companies and agencies still take the “defensive” and “denial” route, even if it would have been better not to do so. Why? Because of the way people react to negative press. It’s easier to believe someone’s evil, after all.
Our courts might run on an “Innocent until proven otherwise” mode, but society is an unconsious adherent to Napoleonic Law, it seems.
@ Dirk Pitt’s “post”
Akala ko ako lang nakahalata na parang pache-pache ng various posts yung post niya, haha.
Particularly on the ZTE deal,mas priority pa ang motion for reconsideration sa SC. Aside from the deadline for filing one sa tingin nila hanggang di pa final ang decision, indefinitely postponed muna.
Now on Lozada, di ba tuloy ang where ever you go, I go nila ni Atty Pamelo? recently I heeard Pamelo claiming that and he will not stop, until their version of truth is the real truth is finally realized(or something like that).
Now on Investigations, sorry for name dropping
naalala ko madalas sabihin ni Rego na wala namang kaso naipanalo ang blue ribbon commitee and justice antonin scalia saying wala namang batas na nalegislate from any blue ribbon committee investigation.
They may be right or a bit exaggerated,but it is still not a reason to remove the function of oversight of the congress, as Madonna pointed out.
Now on moving to other topics to investigate,like the spratleys. Matagal na nating kailangan ang baseline law,matagal na itong pending kala lang ng public bagong topic ito because of how it was presented to them.
On other matters like the swine thing,as I have said too many can of worms. di nga naresolve ang fertilizer scam,,jueteng,pidal etc.Yung mga whistleblower nga nagtatayo na ng sariling organization nila eh.
Kung madaming iinvestagahan ,dahil madami talagang kailangang iimbestigahan, and it cannot be blamed just on grandstanding or in aid of presidential election.
KG,
‘oversight’ is a lot different from ‘inquiries in aid of legislation’
the ‘oversight’ function of Congress is on the implementation of laws, to check how the executive branch is faring in the implementation. there are many ‘oversight’ committees in Congress, and all of them are joint oversight commitees – equal representation from the House and the Senate
Congress has the ‘power of the purse’ so it can grill the executive branch on everything that concerns the national budget
but Congress cannot exercise ‘general oversight’ over the executive, as that would be encroaching on the separation of powers
and no, its not an exaggeration to expect a new law to come out of the nonstop ‘inquiries’ in aid of legislation
im still waiting for the new law that came out of the Jose Pidal hearings
Over exposure kasi si Jun Lozada, kaya madaling nagsawa ang mga tao. Kung naghinay hinay lamang siya ng pag aapear sa tv, for instance, mas masasabik ang mga tao sa kanyang sasabihin. At saka watak watak naman ang mga against kay Gloria. Sila sila nagsisiraan. Katulad ng magappear sina Erap at Cory sa stage, naging issue pa. They made a mountain out of molehill, when the mountain to conquer should be Gloria. Next time, be synchronized and seize the moment.
scalia, i think woodrow wilson might have disagreed with you, re: general oversight. you may find this piece interesting:
http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index.cfm?topic_id=1412&fuseaction=topics.documents&doc_id=4319&group_id=4312
You will like the footnote on Woodrow Wilson’s “Congressional government”:
Wilson’s piece has been linked to often enough by me, but this extract, from here:
http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=798
is particularly apt:
@ Dirk Pitt’s “postâ€Â
Akala ko ako lang nakahalata na parang pache-pache ng various posts yung post niya, haha… Rob’ Ramos
he’s the stalker of bencard. making fun of the guy by replacing some words from his previous post.
and the strange thing is, nobody even cared to speak against it and some even defended him. it’s because he’s anti-gloria.
it just shows that people are capable of tolerating a wrong act as long as you’re useful to them. apply it in our present situation where we are protesting wrongdoings. we say we want truth, accountability and justice. i think we need to be consistent with our convictions.
“I just want to point out that the kind of bank reporting that you want seems to be covered under the Anti-Money Laundering Act.”
Not quite. All deposits in any bank in the U.S. are subject to rules. First you have to have a social security number. If you are an alien or even an alien legal entity (corporation) you are required to get a non-resident social security number. No Jose Pidal or Jose Velardes allowed. There is no exceptions. Cash transactions are highly regulated. The IRS, Federal Reserve and all law enforcement authorities are allowed to access bank records even during the investigative process provided the inquiry is covered by a judges subpoena for probable cause.
It is for that reason that private banking in the U.S. is not a major business.
Please note that the orders for physical U.S. currency is actually a main export of the Federal Reserve as there is a larger demand for greenbacks abroad than in the U.S.
The AMLC is a bad joke. The use of dummies here is prevalent. The reason why smuggling is such a problem is proof positive that the banking system is full of holes when it comes to monitoring payments. Casinos, the stock markets are a very easy vehicle for cleaning money.
Under WTO rules the transactional value of importsd and exports are now being used. If one does not know what the word D/A, D/P means or a standby letter of credit then it would useless to dwell on this issues.
Case in point; PAGCOR aanounced investors to a Las Vegas style entertainment complex. One of them is a British Virgin Island entity. The others will probably be layered corporations. Try looking for any company that is publicly listed in England or the U.S. and you will probably not find any.
Look at Macau. The Sands a publicly listed compnay in the U.S. is in the process of investing $2-3 bilion dollars.
Compare it to the bunch here and you will find opague companies coming in.
Probably this is the golden parachute that the Pagcor heads had fashioned for themselves.
The land is public land. How much rent will the state get. Who will be the Filipino partners as there are restrictions on ownership in retail establishments. Will Pagcor and the PEA (land owner) be the majority partner and the minority partner will manage no problem.
Initially this will be a construction project and the buidling of casinos, hotels and amusement parks. It was announced that almost 40,000 square meters (4 hectares)will be devoted to the casino out of the total 90 hectares.
In all this can anyone tell me if the funds that will come in thorugh equity and mostly loans will be sourced from formal or informal sources (dirty or not so dirty money)?
The entire economy of Switzerland is based on private banking for the world. Short for money laundering.
You expect that office in the BSP to monitor currency movemnts in and out of the Phillippines.
Anyone who wants to move money out of the country provided you earned it in businesses not involved in drugs or prostitution you can sit with any banker in the Philippines who will asist you in how to send it out. Any amount you want. Fees are very competitive as apart from drugs being transhipped thorugh the Philippines the Philippines is also a small laundry.
Regarding Bencard’s complaint, this may be relevant…
http://www.joserizal.ph/no01.html
…in a way, Dark Pitt is just continuing in the tradition of M.H. del Pilar.
In polirtics or in economics it is paramount and critical that transparency is the order of the day. When the light is shown the rat’s are forced to scurry away.
Mark Penn was rowing upstream in two bancas. In politics he should have known that everything is timing. Huli siya.
By Anne E. Kornblut
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 6, 2008; Page A09
“EUGENE, Ore., April 5 — The Colombian government fired the public relations firm run by Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s chief strategist on Saturday after he tried to distance himself from a meeting he held with the country’s ambassador to the United States.”
“Mark Penn has walked a tricky tightrope throughout the presidential campaign, serving both as chief executive of Burson-Marsteller and as a top Clinton aide. The two roles collided last week when Penn met with Colombian officials to discuss a pending trade agreement that Colombia desires and the New York Democrat opposes.”
“After the meeting was made public, Penn, already a controversial figure inside the Clinton campaign, came under attack from labor unions, with some officials calling for the candidate to fire him. Both Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) have said they are against the Colombia Free Trade Agreement.”
“and the strange thing is, nobody even cared to speak against it and some even defended him. it’s because he’s anti-gloria.
it just shows that people are capable of tolerating a wrong act as long as you’re useful to them. apply it in our present situation where we are protesting wrongdoings. we say we want truth, accountability and justice. i think we need to be consistent with our convictions.”
grd,
Why don’t you discuss instead the sole merits of Bencard’s lament against Dirk Pitt? And not resort to a cheap shot as jumping into an outright conclusion against the anti-Gloria as “tolerating a wrong as long you’re useful to them”. If I read Bencard right, he is addressing his concerns directly to Manolo.
You know we are all for logical and ethical merits here. For one, does it merit the attention of Manolo as our esteemed host, who, for all our differences of opinion is collectively acknowledged as fair-minded.
I think our host is silent on the matter because he’s exercising his “blogger’s” executive privilege. If that is unjust, you could perhaps elevate it to the Supreme Court, no?
Ah, justice. How lofty it sounds. When it is all about gravity — of things just holding their ground as they should. Otherwise, one is going against the law of physics (sabi nga ni DJB).
he’s the stalker of bencard. making fun of the guy by replacing some words from his previous post.
and the strange thing is, nobody even cared to speak against it and some even defended him. it’s because he’s anti-gloria.
it just shows that people are capable of tolerating a wrong act as long as you’re useful to them. apply it in our present situation where we are protesting wrongdoings. we say we want truth, accountability and justice. i think we need to be consistent with our convictions.—
aren’t we getting childish and can’t defend ourselves here? i assume we are all grown up and deal with it. and are you accusing manolo of taking sides here and tolerating dirk pitts because he is anti glo? that’s cheap!
Anthony Scalia,
duly noted and thanks.
by the way, sa pidal investigation nga pala yung right to privacy vs national interest.
sa mga nangyayari, national interest only prevails if it is still interesting to the public.
as to the laws that resulted to the unfinished pidal investigation ;di ko alam kung napalakas ba nito yung anti money laundering law, o naging interesting ulit yung jueteng ;na still has alot to do with money laundering.
I think HVRDS answered this that our banks can’t be like the banks in the US where the money trail of of a sexcapading governor forced him to resign.
Anthony, laws can be there ,but who ‘s there to monitor its enforcement,when the regulators and the enforcers cannot.
re: on you advocacy of unicameralism;
If unicameralism would lessen the investigations and instead just focus on legislastion, I think it will be like a legislation mill;unless it has its own functioning equalizer,I know you would not like to hear check and balance kaya equalizer na lang.
just an opinion,thanks again.
while it is crucial to have transparency in the financial arena. the mechanism is not fool proof. what is important is the fiduciary responsibility of the government in reigning excesses. look what is happening in the US right now. greed took precedence despite full transparency. they loaned money to people who cant afford to pay, banks and investment firms leveraged 70 to 1, hedge funds making a killing shorting equities. all of these leading to the demise of the dollar, turmoil in the world financial markets and retail investors left holding the bag.
for crying out loud, financial transactions in our country are so archaic in that moving money in and out are so cumbersome where it restricts the efficient flow of capital. They follow the anti money laundering law by heart but totally miss the spirit of the law.
we really need some good leaders in this country. someone with no hidden agenda. the opposition leaders have their own agenda to
Re: Questioners of Dirk Pitt.
Di lang naman kami nakikialam, I have been doing that before,it usually backfires.
a few weeks ago a guy with the same first name as mine (Karl)even questioned the style of moderation of mlq3.He’s also been defending the neo nazi advocate at Inakala pa nga ni Devilsadvoc8 na ako yon,kahit na di ko gusto yung cussing (FU)ni Devils non di ako nakialam,baka mainit lang ang ulo nya nun.
Tapos, I too received many admonitions like when I called HVRDS by what I presume his name was ,based on seeing his other comments somewhere else,na nagpupublish ng e-mail addresses.And in Ricky’s blog a few years back,madaming di nagandahan sa biro ko ke Carl Inting and many people admonished me. To say that we condone people just because he or she is anti gloria ay di naman yata tama,if what Dirk did was parody bencard,siguro kaya na ni Bencard yan,nasabi na nya ke MLQ3, lets just hope Dirk got the message.
about the subprime crisis
we also did that during the Masagana 99 days.
the idea then was a collateral free,low interest and its creditor monitored. I don’t know how the creditors monitored it pero it failed because many people defaulted. I have friends who are in the microfinance bandwagon, naiiyak na sila dahil ayaw magbayad ng mga pinautang nila.
Ngayon allowing land as collateral (as a solution to the rice problem) ,to be cynic about this;this is the best way to let more people to lose their lands,if the farmers can’t find ways to be more productive.
i believe i’ve addressed bencard’s concerns about what constitutes fair use or not of his posts before.
just as i’ve addressed the minimal rules on commenting here before. essentially, no rules, unless you make death threats against private individuals.
the commenter bencard objects to is obviously getting under bencard’s skin, which is unfortunate for bencard and possibly, a source of delight to the commenter in question.
whether the commenter’s delight is shared by anyone else is about as pointless to explore as whether anyone else is delighted by bencard’s commentaries.
in the end, i’ve appealed to everyone to bear into account the sad reality that there are many readers who don’t want to comment because regular commenters can be so passionate it frightens the newbies.
we should be all for encouraging new voices to emerge and it makes sense to consider tempering our own voices.
but i’m not about to play nanny to anyone here.
People like grd and Rob Ramos give Gloria Arroyo the benefit of the doubt in the big things but become self-righteous towards those who dare to oppose her. I guess that how they avoid having to defend her, and it’s been an effective tactic so far in part because we oblige them.
Returning to Mr. Jun Lozada: if the Senate investigations on the ZTE/NBN are indeed archived, the star witness could have the following options:
1. Stay in the country (undergound or under the protection of the Senate) and wait things out till 2010
2. Be a visible member of the Hyatt 10 to avoid being “kidnapped”.
3. Continue the masses for truth until the bishops get it right.
4. Be a popular blogger like Mr. Gorrel until the powers that be are toppled.
5. Flee with a “patriotic fund” courtesy of Senators Lacson and Madrigal.
As for his former friend Romy Neri, it will be good to know how he behaves between now and 2010. Neri could very well decide to spill: “ZTE/NBN is the mother of all scams.” After PEA-Amari.
Dulo lang nang Iceberg yon ZTE/NBN scandal..marami pa yan at mas Malaki…Iceberg: nakalubog ang malaking bahagi..
“I’m damn well sure that these guys, I have learned, can take it as much as they can dish out.-nash of Bencard
nash, my sympathy is with Bencard, but it seems you goffed this time, hehehe.
off topic: Latest news-USA forces near to attacking Iran by air attack and other means!
1. if lozada was neri’s point-man, being the designated ‘greed moderator’, was neri in the ring, too? but why was he offered a bribe?
2. if it’s china who designates contractors, why would zte need to bribe filipino brokers? why not their own government?
bert, thanks for your support but i never “dish” out plagiarized comments. nash is correct, i can take what i dish out, but not what is stolen from me.
mlq3, nobody is asking you to be a “nanny” for anyone but you have an implied invitation to everyone here to visit your blog. at least, you have a moral duty that “guests” are not abused by other invitees. i think your attitude is typical of the “oust gloria” gang and one of the chief reasons why you never succeed in your obsessive quest for ‘revenge’. i thought as a professional journalist, you would know what malicious plagiarism is when you see one.
cvj, any idiot can see the difference between what del pilar did (change the title’s spelling) and what this s.o.b did to my post. you are overreaching, as usual, just to say something.
but i’m not about to play nanny to anyone here.—-
this little pig went to the market…this little pig went to the mall and this litle pig got lost and cried all the way…hu, hu, hu, i can’t find my way home.
btw, your remark that many would-be commenters are “frightened” because of the “passionate” discussions here is truly unfortunate. people with sensible things to say and are ready to defend them need not be afraid. only those who rely solely on “passion”, not reason, can expect to be exposed for idiocy or, as benigno would put it, “vacuousness”. it’s a battle of ideas here, not insults, ad hominems, eloquence, or personalities. i think all of us here, including you, are judged more on what they say, and not so much on how they say it.
bencard, i agree it’s unfortunate. it’s what a hear. but it’s beyond your or my control.
bencard, you are free to read malice into what that commenter is doing and chances are others will too. but plagiarism? or is it satire? you and i disagree on satirical writing, too.
what i am bound to do is enforce my rules. i’ve stated what they are. you know i have done my part to vouch for the integrity of commenters like you and others. i do not vouch for that other commenter. we can and should leave it at that.
just as you should leave it at that and not drag in my political views -or yours, in determining this question.
2. if it’s china who designates contractors, why would zte need to bribe filipino brokers? why not their own government?
Ang gobyerno nang China ay diktador..puede nila gawin ang gusto nila at itago sa madla dahil controlado rin nila ang “media” kaya ang tanong mo, hindi puede masagot, liban nang kasalukuyan officials nang ZTE or Chinese Government, yon kung magsabi sila nang Tuto-o..
mlq, i think it’s uncalled for on my part to drag your political views. now i’m becoming passionate. i apologize.
i still think satire is meant to impart the author’s OWN expression through humor, not to infringe upon somebody else’s work product. then again, that’s just one of our major differences. when all is said and done, you are still the host here and we are all just voluntary drop-ins responsible for our own conduct/misconduct.
bencard, that’s why i respect you. we may differ deeply on many matters but you are a gentleman of the old school.
our opposing views on satirical writing may have as much to do with my being a professional writer -and so, i have a vested interest in supporting a style i try to use from time to time- as it does with your background being in the writing of legal briefs which leave no room for ambiguity, what we share is a love for, and respect, for words and ideas.
as with all debates, there’s a larger audience judging both of us. i appreciate your kind efforts but there’s no “just.” i value your presence here just as i value the presence of those who take the time to comment or simply read.
Side-topic: ENGLISH SKILLS IN INDIA
India has a reputation as a nation of fluent English speakers, but by many estimates, only 5 percent of the population merits that description. Now, a five-year-long economic boom has triggered a rush to bring the reality into line with the lore. Once the preserve of big-city elites, English is spreading to the hinterlands.
Bhopal, a provincial city of more than 1.5 million, is now thick with storefront schools that promise English proficiency.
In the classroom at Uma’s English Academy, Srivastava (the subject of the news clip) sits alongside MBA and engineering students, computer salesmen and credit card executives. Some are locals, some are rural folk fresh in from the villages.
They learn prepositions and sentence formation and baffling rules about when to say “a little” rather than “little,” “beside” rather than “besides,” and “from” rather than “of.”
“In this classroom, nobody person is laughing on my English. I not afraid of mistakes, everybody is weak in English here,” Srivastava said, smiling and struggling to speak exclusively in the still-strange tongue.
Helping to drive this trend is the sense that financial success isn’t enough; the perception lingers that social status comes only with true comfort in English.
Hvrds,
In your previous post; you mentioned
“What do they think of the fact that in the U.S. banks are supposed to report to fiscal authorites unusual movements in monies to coporations in cash that led to the resignation of a powerful governor involved in prostitution. Imagine all the crooks that would fall if cash payments over a certain amount were all reported to the fiscal authorities in the Philippines?”
Like I implied, I only wanted to point that there was a law that probably addressed your concern there. A main reason in why I just wanted to point it out is that I didn’t want to get bogged down discussing its success (or lack of it) in implementation.
But in a discussion on a matter of “there ought to be a law”; in this instance is that there probably already is.
The idea in your previous post just even centered on “cash” while the AMLC as a law covers more than cash.
Now regarding your last paragraph on your post on April 6 1:10PM; if you bothered to read the AMLA, you’ll probably know that more than just the “business” involving drugs or prostitution are covered.
That banker that you are referring to probably would assist in sending out that money but he/she is mandated under pain of penalty to report such a transaction (whether such transaction was succesful or not) if it involves the minimum amount required to be reported or even to report it if it even just appears as a “suspicious” transaction. (Which is essentially the idea that your quoted part imparts. BTW, this is the law that catapulted heroine Acsa Ramirez to prominence)
As to the other issues that you brought up; I am not at this time interested in finding out if I agree with you or not.
But regarding your assertion on ” … All deposits in any bank in the U.S. are subject to rules. First you have to have a social security number…”; well definitely it appears that the U.S. indeed is more strict than here.
As a child, I had a kid’s account in a bank. They definitely didn’t need my social security number as I had none at the time and I certainly don’t think my case was an exception as I hardly think other kids with children’s accounts have a social security number. If U.S. banks require children to have a social security number for cash transactions in banks or to have a bank account; then very well.
Correction-
The idea in your previous post just even centered on “cash†while the AMLA as a law covers more than cash.
(Instead of AMLC)
mlq3, thanks for the clarification and for your indulgence.
i apologize to you and everyone here who were genuinely offended by my faulty inference. it was indeed a cheap shot.
@bert
“nash, my sympathy is with Bencard, but it seems you goffed this time, hehehe.”
sorry, i’m lost.
i hope you are not implying that i’m bencard’s stalker called dark pitt?
in any case, i’m not exactly anonymous on this blog comments box.
cheers,
mang_kiko, talaga bang mas madaling paniwalaan na nag-bribe ang zte, kahit hindi nila kailangang mag-bribe? at kung totoong nag advance na sila, seguro may mga ulong nang gumugulong ngayon?
mindanaoan, depende, kong ang ZTE nag deal sa manga Bansa na di ugali ang kickbacks para makakuha nang kontrata di na nila kailangan mag Bribe, pero sa Atin Bansa, iyan ang tinatawag na Step number 1 kaya mayro-on sila “implied” approval sa kanilang Gobyerno na gagawin and dapat gawin para sa Interest nang inang Bayan…
Halimbawa sa manga Loans na na Extend sa Pilipinas: ang Bribes ay Patong ito sa total loans at pati manga opisyales nang ZTE at sa Mata-as na Gobyerno kasama na rin sa patong, kaya sa panig nang China “win-win” sila, dahil sa Kanila pa rin ang Materiales, pati manga Experts na Trabahadors at ang Principal ay Babalik pa kasama ang kaunting Interest…
Bencard, don’t worry too much. it’s easy to see who’s worth reading and who’s not.
mang_kiko, ibig mo sabihin pati mga opisyal ng zte at ng office na taga release ng loans may cut din? di ba estrikto ang gobyerno nila pag corruption? at saka, 130M ang commission ni abalos, magkano na lang sa kanila?
mindanaoan: ang kay abalos iyon ang hinihingi, ang final settlement di lang natin alam, pero di ba ang original contract di ba sa una di umabot sa 150 million dolyares, bat yong final contract lumampas sa 300?? Ang hinahabol lang manga corruptors sa China ay yong Local, at naexpose para ipakita sa madla na “no-nonsense” daw ang communist government, pero pag sa business international, di ba lately, lahat na kalokohan sa exports, mula sa tainted drugs heparin, pintura na may lead contents at pirated at imitations ay halos ini-export nang China, pa-ano nakalabas ito kong hindi kasabawat ang gobyerno?/
KG,
“…laws can be there ,but who ’s there to monitor its enforcement,when the regulators and the enforcers cannot”
thats the role of the joint oversight committees, to see if the law/s is/are properly implemented
we didnt see that in the NBN ZTE circus (in the first place, its just one chamber investigating)
“If unicameralism would lessen the investigations and instead just focus on legislastion, I think it will be like a legislation mill;unless it has its own functioning equalizer,I know you would not like to hear check and balance kaya equalizer na lang”
let me modify my stance on unicameralism – if neither chamber is elected nationally, then its okay.
it turns out that the US model is acceptable – the lower house (435 members) is elected by district, and each state, regardless of population, sends two representatives to the senate (100 members)
our 24 member senate just breeds arrogance and concentrates too much power in so few people
mang_kiko, $262 million nong una to cover 30%. pag expand to 100% coverage naging $329.4 million. yon nga ang sinasabi ko, sa scenario na pinapakita, may maging local movement ng bribe money from zte para kay abalos at sa mga taga import-export bank. hindi ba sila mahuli doon?
mlq3,
thanks for the woodrow wilson comment
woodrow wilson the political scientist could also be referring to the present Philippine Senate (a prophecy!) when he said
” “special, irksome, ungracious investigations†from time to time, “in its spasmodic efforts to dispel or confirm suspicions of malfeasance or of wanton corruption.†”
and
” Such investigations can “violently disturb†but not often “fathom the waters of the sea in which the bigger fish of the civil service swim and feed.†”
Anthony,
Salamat ulit!!!
bencard,
I agree that you are a gentleman, I respect your thoughts ;
that is why I don’t give much weight to the so called internet brigade and paid hack innuendos, accusations or estimations.
although alaskador din ako paminsan minsan,(and did someother things as mentioned), you are correct that we should do a sort of self regulation and I also agree that we should have a passion thermometer,that is why I am trying my best not to be a rebel without a clue.
BTW,
GRD since ako yung nagvoiceout,please allow me to say Ok lang yun,maganda naman ang naging resulta eh.
KG,
“that is why I don’t give much weight to the so called internet brigade and paid hack innuendos, accusations or estimations”
nice to hear that. its a good thing kokonti lang yung mga comments na internet brigade and paid hack innuendos etc, pero kahit kokonti lang, nakakaspoil din!
napakagandang blog nga ito eh! millions of light years better than the mob blog at ellentordesillasdotcom.
kaya nga kung meron mang magcomment sa akin na ang style eh pang ellentordesillasdotcom eh i wont hesitate to reply na ‘mahiya naman kay manolo’
mindanaoan,
the bribes and why they got bigger and bigger have been dissected by thads bentulan, the business world columnist. see the ppt he put together:
http://www.archive.org/details/ThadsBentulanDerivationofthe_329Million
mlq3, thanks for the link
anthony, there is no need to pit this blog vs. any other. i happen to admire ellen tordesillas, as a person and a journalist, she and i are closer in our political views than you and i, and her commenters and readers reflect public opinion better than this blog.
say what?? what a strong statement you have there Mr Quezon. i strongly disagree with you.
ellens blog does not in anyway reflect the pulse of the populace. to the contrary it is the view of the minority. people there preach to the choir, if you happen to disagree with them they will pounce on you to smithereens and ellen will banish you. they are into conspiracy theories and by the end of the day they actually believe their perception on things.
your blog is much better as it tolerate a more diverse of opinions. posters here are also more rationale in their assumptions. please do not in anyway compare your blog to ellen, its not even comparable and far from it.
mlq3,
no im not pitting a blog against another blog, im just stating a factual difference
besides, my observation is limited on the blog, not on the blog owner
i may have to differ from your view that ellen’s blog reflects public opinion more. your blog does that best (reflect the public pulse more)
ellen’s blog is more a ‘reflection of the noisiest minority of the anti-gloria school.’
ellen’s 1 million hits come from just 30 people, one of whom accounts for 500,000 of the hits
Thads Bentulan’s presentation placed the project cost at $129M. but this is about what joey de venecia said was the value of the original zte proposal which will cover 30% of the country. yet the total in his payoff structure is $329M, the amount of the contract covering 100% of the country. it seems, the figures are off.
magdiwang, de gustibus…
mindanaoan, review the ppt. again. the expansion of coerage is also noted together with the other ballooning costs.
hehehe mlq3….qui scribit bis legit
hehehe. anthony can’t believe the surveys that says gloria has negative popularity and approval ratings so downgrading so much ellentordesillas’ blog and bloggers.
magdiwang is worse, he has the same mindset as anthony’s regards gloria surveys ratings and ellen’s but also want manolo not to believe what manolo believed. heheh.
They certainly do, mlq3. They certainly do.
mlq3, the $129M tech cost stated in the pay-off structure is already for nbn-5, for which the contract amount is $329M and 100% coverage. this is inconsistent with joey dv3′s $130M cost for the zte proposal with 30% coverage.
PM Harper said that He would not be attending the Opening Ceremonies of the Bejing Olympic, but will send a High Level Govt. Delegation for the Event. But further development of Events may further warrant more meaningful Protests from the Country and others, which will not compromise basic democratic principles just for fear of China’s Economic clout..China needs other countries as others need her and if she wants to showcase her coming of age, better behave accordingly…
I agree with Manolo (and Benign0), the blog of Ellen more genuinely reflects the majority’s sentiments although it sometimes tends towards groupthink. This blog is more diverse, but more elitists (as well as refugees from Ellen’s blog) hang out here. There is enough room in the blogosphere to accommodate both.
Here is an EllenT blog-entry that always shakes me up. US$500-a-month after-income is a big amount. One has to be well-paid AND scrimp on enjoying life in California or Melbourne to send $500-a-month after-income to Pinas.
I think, so the people in Pinas has to have incentive to work, then the proper way is to do fifty-fifty at best, i.e. the OFW matches what the family earns in the Philippines. Unless, of course, the OFW is a dentist earning dentist-money or a doctor earning doctor-money.
—————
chi Says:
April 4th, 2008 at 4:34 am
That’s also the complaint of my relatives in San Diego. Exacto $200 they used to send parents in Pinas. Tapos ngayon, pulubi raw sila with $200 lang. $500 na rin ang padala nila ngayon sa Pinas. Patay-patayan sa trabaho ang mga OFWs at mga Pinoy na meron sustentado. And Gloria has the gall to say that very soon working abroad will be a choice and no longer a necessity.
Kakaawa ang mga poors, they have to eat binlid. It’s better if they plant camote na lang to substitute minsan sa lugaw binlid.
Imagine, 3 years daw ang rice shortage because Gloria, the tongessmen and Senatongs did not do their jobs. JdV said that “It is more lucrative to import rice than to produce it. There is no compulsion to make the country self-sufficient in rice.†Susmaryosep!
Where did the P145-billion appropriated for a 10-year APMA program? This is in addition to the P44 billion operating budget of the Department of Agriculture. NAMADYIK!
Bert,
hehehe. napakasablay na obserbasyon. ang pinaguusapan eh kung ang mob blog ni ellen ay kuha ang pulso ng nakararami, hindi ang reliability ng mga survey kay gloria. hehehe
(wait, not unless yung mga 30 or so regulars sa ellen blog eh palaging part ng 1,200 respondents sa mga perception surveys kay gloria)
nakupo, yang mga ganyang komento ang nakakahiyang isulat dito sa blog ni manolo!
hehehe. isa pang sablay na obserbasyon. wala naman sa pinaguusapan ang mga survey kay gloria isisingit ba naman. hehehe
pang ellen talaga ang mga komentong ganyan
mahiya ka naman kay manolo
cvj,
im surprised you didn’t get the drift of benignO’s comment:
” They certainly do, mlq3. They certainly do.
“
ganito iyon, anthony. hindi pa ako nakadalaw kahit minsan kay ellen, pero, base sa usap-usapan dito mukhang anti-gloria rin ang mga kasama niya roon. siempre, lahat namang blogsites at labas ng mga blogsites karamihan ay anti-gloria. kaya ganoon, alam naman natin kung bakit kaya ganoon, kasi nga hindi naman tanga ang mga Pinoy, alam nila kung ano ang mga nangyayari sa paligid-ligid nila. at sa paligid ni gloria. iyan ang pinatunayan ng mga surveys.
“..her commenters and readers reflect public opinion better than this blog.”-manolo
totoo ang sinabi ni manolo! kasi, sa alin mang umpukan, ke mga elitista ‘o masa man, siguradong majority palagi ang mga anti-gloria, at iyan ang reflection na tinatawag nating public opinion.
ngayon sasabihin ninyong mali iyang sinabi ni manolo? kaya ninyo sinabing mali kasi akala ninyo mali ang mga surveys.
maliwanag ano?
teka, teka, baka naman mali nga kami, baka naman love na love nga ng mga taongbayan si gloria, kung ganoon hindi nga reflection of public opinion ang mga commenters ni ellen.
kailangan ma-survey ulit!
KG,
thanks man, appreciate your comments.
I agree with some of the observations here that Ellen’s blog is more in tune with the public pulse regarding the govt, particularly in relation to the continuing and escalating crisis precipitated by corruption, lying, coverup, etc.
I have yet to see a dedicated blog in the likes of mlq3′s that defends Gloria, except the govt’s blog and perhaps two or three others who espouse a ridiculously lost cause or infensible position.
Back to Lozada, I think most Filipinos believe him as generally credible, esp. on his take about the NBN-ZTE corrupt deal, and his abduction. I do.
should be …. indefensible position.
claiming tordesillias’ blog is “in tune” with philippine public opinion is consistent with the mindset of some here that no one supports “gloria”, or that everyone “hates” her.
in my early days in this blog, someone actually regarded me as non-existent and not to be counted because he could not believe anyone would see anything good about gma’s presidency. when they speak of “public” they mean all 90 million people of the philippines rather than just the 20 thousand or so anti-gloria rallyist at edsa.
upn, it was me who posted that years ago $200 would be enough and now $500 is barely enough…consider this..gas is 45 pesos a liter…my brother and his wife medications 10 thou, household expense and food let say 10 thous..their pensions 10 thous..go figure…luckily my siblings are all in medical fields, nurses, med tech and doctor that we are able to support them and their children but it is very hard, very, very hard for average wage earners…
Hope the sarcastic irony that laces my last comment (“they certainly do, mlq3…”) was not missed (as Pinoys seem to have underdeveloped faculties for grasping irony).
Tordesillas’s disciples not only seemingly represent public opinion, they also represent the typical Pinoy approach to thinking — that typical asal-aso mentality of propagating a barking frenzy even without knowing what ORIGINALLY caused the first bark.
I described this trait way back in 2005 here:
http://www.getrealphilippines.com/agr-disagr/18-4-calls.html
What is laughable now is how everyone was made to believe that this whole Gloria circus was the most important issue in the land. TODAY, rice shortages and looming FOOD RIOTS dominate the news.
Kung baga, at the end of the day, a fundamentally pathetic basic need where the Pinoy Nation fails — food security — is what turns out to be the REAL pressing issue.
The Philippines is the only major southeast Asian country that stands to be the BIGGEST LOSER in this crisis.
Queues for cheap government rice, food hording, starving people.
It is those and not Gloria scandals, Pinoy-style “people power”, and Pinoy boxing champs that will be making headline news globally.
-
benign0, your penchant of deploring a contrived trait and smearing it on filipinos in general, would be comfortably at home in ellentordisilla’s blog.
Hawaiianguy, i think the closest to a pro-Arroyo blog would have been Sassy Lawyer (and Benign0′s website) but it is in the more contrived ‘anti-anti’ formulation. However, Sassy Lawyer seems to have deleted all her political entries. I sense that there is also more support for Arroyo among the elitists but they hide in their respective yahoogroups, facebook and other semi-private forums for understandable reasons.
to whom it may concern:
oh come on people! you just say that ellen’s mob blog reflects the public’s pulse all because ellen’s mob blog reflects yours!
nakakita lang kayo ng katulad na prejudice, este opinyon, pulso na kaagad ng publiko!
ano ba kayo? ellen’s mob blog is worth nothing more than being anti gloria. a glorified ranting board
but anything to make the country forward? wala!
kung ipagpipilitan nyong pulso ng publiko ang ellen’s mob blog, eh talagang the country is in deep shit. dahil hanggang pagsipa lang kay gloria ang nakikita
anthony, relax.
Sorry, i forgot. Among the pro-Arroyo blogs, you also have Carlos Celdran’s otherwise excellent blog.
Kawang cvj.
For him, it is still all about being pro- or anti-Arroyo.
-
Bert,
ganito yan Bert
“hindi pa ako nakadalaw kahit minsan kay ellen, pero, base sa usap-usapan dito mukhang anti-gloria rin ang mga kasama niya roon.”
may tawag dyan, kaso the word eludes me at the moment
“siempre, lahat namang blogsites at labas ng mga blogsites karamihan ay anti-gloria.”
same as above. that word eludes me still
“kaya ganoon, alam naman natin kung bakit kaya ganoon, kasi nga hindi naman tanga ang mga Pinoy, alam nila kung ano ang mga nangyayari sa paligid-ligid nila.”
talagang hindi tanga ang pinoy! kaya nga di matuloy-tuloy ang people power, dahil di na tanga ang pinoy!
“at sa paligid ni gloria. iyan ang pinatunayan ng mga surveys.”
****yawn**** kakainggit sina Miranda at Mahar. kliyente nila both sides. kakainggit talaga!
“totoo ang sinabi ni manolo! kasi, sa alin mang umpukan, ke mga elitista ‘o masa man, siguradong majority palagi ang mga anti-gloria, at iyan ang reflection na tinatawag nating public opinion”
my goodness! that word still eludes me….
“ngayon sasabihin ninyong mali iyang sinabi ni manolo? kaya ninyo sinabing mali kasi akala ninyo mali ang mga surveys.”
nakupo! isa pang napakasablay na komento!
you are blinded already by your anti gloria rants. alam mo ba ang sinabi ko? ito –
itong blog ni manolo ang tutoong pulso ng bayan kaysa ellen’s mob blog! iyan ang sinasabi ko! ano ka ba! halatang di binabasa mabuti ang mga komento!
“maliwanag ano?”
susmaryosep! umasa pang maliwanag! right, as clear as mud.
“teka, teka, baka naman mali nga kami, baka naman love na love nga ng mga taongbayan si gloria, kung ganoon hindi nga reflection of public opinion ang mga commenters ni ellen.
kailangan ma-survey ulit!”
wow! kwarta na naman kina mahar at felipe! kakainggit talaga! tapos the results will be gobbled as gospel truth by very naive people who want to read just what they want to read and by very naive media people who are more concerned with filling out front pages than validating the results!
what a way to print money!!!!! way to go Mahar and Felipe!
kakainggit kayo talaga!
cvj,
****deep breath****
okay, thanks
you want to see pro GMA forums, go to skyscrapercity.com political threads. hehehe, if you are too much of a anti GMA you will get banned.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=586
Daming pwedeng pagka-kitaan sa Pinas!
Polling and surveying seems to be an all-year pot of gold.
Pag panahon ng eleksyon, patok ang printing business.
Kapag Fiesta “revolution” at “rally” ang usapan naman, patok ang bus service (pang-hakot, ba).
Rice hording naman ang uso ngayon. Maybe it’s also a good time to start leasing out warehouses and garage space.
Of course, guns would be in demand as well. Malapit na ma-uso ulit ang Chinese kidnapping.
And da best business of all in these times of “crises”: Migration consulting (make sure you charge by the hour).
Sa isang bansa na puno ng walang hiya, one just need remember a simple truth:
Di nakakakain ang hiya.
benignO, there you go again with your sweeping generalization. I think your statement is foul because there are more people who are decent (than those walang hiya) and playing it fair in this country undeterred by this chaotic state that’s being pictured now. just because all you see and read in the papers and different blogs are about controversies and anomalies, the whole country is a picture of negativity. there are more positive things happening and most of these are not printed on papers.
if ellen’s blog reflects the sentiment of the majority, then the country has long exploded already. gloria and her family should be dead by now courtesy of the lynch mob. and the country is either now in a state of a civil war or being ran by a military junta led by trillanes, et al (based on ellen’s obsession with military adventurism and how commenters there glorify the military rebels and their lust for gloria’s blood).
“benignO, there you go again with your sweeping generalization. I think your statement is foul because there are more people who are decent (than those walang hiya) and playing it fair in this country undeterred by this chaotic state that’s being pictured now. just because all you see and read in the papers and different blogs are about controversies and anomalies, the whole country is a picture of negativity. there are more positive things happening and most of these are not printed on papers.”
That’s why I have high regard for grd’s opinions in this blogsite!
Bert,
thanks. hats off to you too. as passionate as you are with your opinions here where it may differ from mine, you showed your impartiality by respecting my views while others would readily suspect my motive. we maybe advocating different means of effecting changes but I believe we aim for the same end result just like the others here as far as the country is concerned.
Is this accepted by the Tordesillas-blog group?
————-
An sent by Dr. Arsenio Martin of Fort Arthur , Texas ..
THE DIFFERENCE
The difference between the poor countries and the rich ones is not the age of the country:
This can be shown by countries like India & Egypt , that are more than 2000 years old, but are poor.
On the other hand, Canada , Australia & New Zealand , that 150 years ago were inexpressive, today are developed countries, and are rich.
The difference between poor & rich countries does not reside in the available natural resources.
Japan has a limited territory, 80% mountainous, inadequate for agriculture & cattle raising, but it is the second world economy. The country is like an
immense floating factory, importing raw materials from the whole world and exporting manufactured products.
Another example is Switzerland , which does not plant cocoa but has the best chocolate in the world. In its little territory they raise animals and plant the soil during 4 months per year. Not enough, they produce dairy products of the best quality! It is a small country that transmits an image of security, order & labor, which made it the world’s strongest, safest place.
Executives from rich countries who communicate with their counterparts in poor countries show that there is no significant intellectual difference.
Race or skin color are also not important: immigrants labeled lazy in their countries of origin are the productive power in rich European countries.
What is the difference then? The difference is the attitude of the people, framed along the years by the education & the culture & flawed tradition.
On analyzing the behavior of the people in rich & developed countries, we find that the great majority follow the following principles in their lives:
1. Ethics, as a basic principle.
2. Integrity.
3. Responsibility.
4. Respect to the laws & rules.
5. Respect to the rights of other citizens.
6. Work loving.
7. Strive for savings & investment.
8. Will of super action.
9. Punctuality.
10. and of course…Discipline
In poor countries, only a minority follow these basic principles in their daily life.
The Philippines is not poor because we lack natural resources or because nature was cruel to us. In fact, we are supposedly rich in natural resources.
We are poor because we lack the correct attitude. We lack the will to comply with and teach these functional principles of rich & developed societies.
__________________
UPn, I don’t think people in that blog are very accomodating of material that requires a bit of thinking to digest.
-
UP n,
there’s only one way to find out: post it there
@ cvj’s comment: “People like grd and Rob Ramos give Gloria Arroyo the benefit of the doubt in the big things but become self-righteous towards those who dare to oppose her. I guess that how they avoid having to defend her, and it’s been an effective tactic so far in part because we oblige them.”
Mmm. Teka, explain lang sandali ako kung bakit ganito views ko:
I have this concept of the “Information Elite.” Its based on my college education as a communications major, my growing up in an advertising family, and about 8 years or so of political communications work.
From MY – my, ha, MY – experience, a lot of what goes on in today’s world can be traced to access to information. In conversations on politics and other issues with my friends or kids I train, I always ask them where they got their information, because what you know can color how you act and react to the situation you find yourself in.
“Information Elite” are people with access to… more sources of information outside of the “usual channels”, i.e. mass media. From my observations of Jose Public, most of their opinions are based on a mish-mash of personal experiences, word-of-mouth, and news from mass media. The Info Elite are that, too, but they also have access to the sources of information themselves (as compared to Mass Media-fed information, which is either second- or third-hand information).
In my case, I am (was?) part of that “Information Elite.” Working for a political party whose leaders were (once?) as deep into the corridors of power as anything gave you access to information that the public isn’t privy to, or that the Media itself is not aware of, chooses to gloss over, or omits outright.
And then, since your work and associations involve you with the business of governance itself, you can’t avoid having firsthand experience and knowledge of the things Jose Public ordinarily just reads, hears or watches.
This necessarily changes your viewpoint of an issue. For example: Gloria cheated in 2004. Two responses, based on my experiences and information, would be the following:
1. So what? They all did (or attempted to, anyway; wala daw funds si FPJ to do so, or match the level or operations of the Palace).
2. Oh? If so, di ba complicit tayo diyan kasi, the LP – under Drilon, no less – insisted that we were “Senior Partner” in the 2004 campaign and not “Junior” to Lakas? It was even we Liberals who defended Gloria on the Tribunal – remember Kiko’s “Noted” thingy? – and even before she did the “I’m Sorry” bit, it was already the talk in LP HQ (then also under Drilon’s control) that she “might” do a “Clinton.” So if cheating happened, parang weird naman kung walang idea yung isa sa “Senior Partners” na something was happening, di ba?
I’m not EXACTLY defending Gloria. I just have something about means being used to justify ends. If a communist was the one doing it, ok lang siguro kasi, sabi nga sa LFS website dati, “everything for the revolution.” In fact, through all of this, mas me respeto pa tuloy ako sa mga ND, kasi at least sila alam mo where they’re coming from.
But when you use standards of morality to justify removing a supposedly immoral leader – that for the longest time your own leaders coddled, anyway – then you’d better have the high ground to do so. I’m no saint either, but I don’t believe in calling on people to subscribe to values one isn’t prepared to practice.
Like I said before, in my book, you do NOT remove a (supposed) liar, cheat and oppressor with people YOU KNOW lied, cheated and oppressed. Notice the conditionals: “supposed”, and “know.”
To me, the former accusation is still largely speculative because my own leaders, back when they were supportive of Gloria, protected her like wolfhounds against all her “predators.” But when they came out against her, they did it not only with surprising swiftness – one week before, Drilon was even feteing Gloria in Iloilo – but under something the KGB would have called a maskirovka. We were set up, we were deceived, and when we challenged their actions based on the Party rules, we were oppressed.
So, cvj, hindi naman po sa giving the Little Girl “the benefit of the doubt on the big things” and being “self-righteous” when faced with criticisms. The former I’ve explained already, and I have to say that I feel a little miffed at being accused of doing the latter.
Self righteous? Me? Kelan? Indignant siguro, kasi ang feeling ko yung kumalaban sakin yung naging self-righteous. Kung ako man eh naging self-righteous sa response ko sa criticism, my apologies, pero I can’t recall doing that.
I prefer debates where we argue on the merits of the data presented, not ad hominem. Minsan kasi, pansin ko lang ha, when someone goes against the anti-gloria line, ang unang banat against them is that they’re blind, apathetic or paid hacks from the Palace. Ang sakin that cheapens the discussion eh.
Makikita naman kung paid hack, di ba? Or kung bulag o walang paki? But even then, a simple issue-centered rebuttal will show if the person is any of the above or actually is coming from somewhere.
Kaya nga hanga ko ke Manolo when he debated with me on libel eh, kasi it was on the issue. It was wonderful to engage in something like that and he actually managed to change my views on the situation. At the very least, MLQ3 made me seriously consider modifying my stand on the issue.
cvj, this is a democracy last time I looked. Probably dysfunctional in many ways, but functional still, IMHO. And in a democracy, there will be people with opinions contrary to the supposed majority view.
You have to respect people based on the merits of that view, at least initially. Continued discourse naman will show whether who your talking to is genuine or is a different kind of animal eh, and not immediately cast aspersions on what they say.
It’s hard, pero we have to try, di ba? I’m actually ashamed about how rabid I’ve been with my views, but interactions in this blog and my debate with Manolo have hammered into me why I’m a card-carrying Liberal in the first place.
Otherwise, lipat na lang tayo lahat either sa ellentordisillas, or sa rabidly pro-pandak na blogs and forums.
Pag ganun, eh di civil war na lang tayo. Kasi wala nang room for civilized discourse sa ganun eh.
rob’s comment reminds me of a running debate i have with the lp group rob is so critical of, but with whom i’m quite friendly. in a sense it’s along lines parallel to rob’s criticism of the current party leadership. my objections to the way the leadership issue has been handled is that it smacks of the admin’s legalistic but unjust strategy: the lp leadership keeps bringing things to court and having the courts resolve the leadership issue, when at the heart of the debate is how should a party’s leadership be determined? the lawyers can argue over the fine print of the party constitution but a political party is about more than the fine print -it’s about the party’s composition, the card-carrying members and the local leaders.
i’ve long advocated that the only way to resolve a party dispute is to have a showdown, not by lawyers, but the party leaders in an open convention. bring all the lp members -not just leaders- into a venue and throw the question of leadership to the floor. if one side wins, good; if one loses, too bad. if you lose according to foul circumstances, then by all means bolt the party and set up a new one. but trust the members to hear both sides and then vote: the results after all may vindicate one side or the other or surprisingly offer a way for the party to reunite.
Rob, i wonder how you can reconcile your belief in democracy with your ‘so what’ attitude when it comes to Goria’s cheating. As to your being part of the ‘information elite’, who appointed you and by what criteria? BTW, are you from Ateneo?
Reply To CVJ.
I was in a Gated Community(Activist Group) before, during my college days. I always used to look, listen and investigate on one side only. I don’t have the time to get the points of other and i never will. That’s why I understand your stand. But for me, if i become realistic (not idealistic) during my college days, Siguro ay mas may kabuluhan ang pagiging Activista ko noon.
So, CVJ with your last reply with Rob, it shows one thing. You are living in a gated community. Aren’t you?
PCESM, i never lived in a gated community.
PCESM
Because everything is Black and White in CVJ’s eyes. Para sa kanya, walang shades of gray.
It doesn’t take someone to live in a gated community to live in an ivory tower.
Rob
I so agree with you. Napagod din ako sa kaka debate sa mga anti-GMA na yan. Basta opposed sa views nila, tanga na yung nag oppose. I dread the day THEY will be the ones who runs the country It’s those self righteous do gooders that usually brings down the country.
UP n Student
Agree with the article you posted. I have been saying that all along. Marami lang dito na nag oopose kasi anti GMA sila. As if kicking out the lady will cure the ills of the country
Guys
remember, the ones who have access to the blogs are the ones who can afford to either buy and computer or go to an internet cafe..both of which are expensive. So guess what…it’s just different factions of the elites trying to get at each others’ throats….meanwhile, the poor goes poorer in our country. Kawawang madlang people
Silent Waters, the problem with thinking in ‘shades of grey’ is that the goalpost always moves where what was formerly ‘black’ now becomes ‘grey’. That’s how you get a self-professed democrat like Rob saying ‘so what’ to something basic like cheating in elections. He has become so immersed in the political system that he can no longer be bothered to tell right from wrong. PCESM, for his part, mistakes that for ‘realism’ but, as i told you before, it is nothing but ‘expediency’. Genuine realism takes into account the effect of such actions, not only to short-term measures, but also to our institutions and the fabric of our society.
CVJ
I hope so, but still…but the way you thought and your accent are similar to people who are living in gated community, as i was before. Realism, facism, socialism, Militarism, facism… all words end with “ism” identifies you that you are from a Gated community.
Anyway, if you are really not from a gated community… can you tell us the Top 20 Good things that GMA have done to our country (locally and internationally acclaimed). And tell us about Top 20 bad things that Lozada have done. Di ba hindi ka one sided and you are investigating both side, so dapat alam mo yan.
Try to check this.
http://jingoisticlamentations.blogspot.com/2008/03/when-i-first-saw-lozada-on-tv-he-was.html
PCESM, let me put it this way, i voted for Arroyo in 1992 as Senator and in 1998 as Vice-President. I went to EDSA Dos not really to support her but to protest against Erap, but i also didn’t mind when she eventually ascended to the Presidency. I then voted for her in 2004 conveniently ignoring her promise not to run. I was convinced at that time that she was in the best position to shepherd the nation from 2004 to 2010, to give us a breather with which to consolidate the gains of the EDSAs.
When Hello Garci came out, i was deeply disturbed and, for a while, was in denial about the gravity of her crime. I was waiting for someone to give me a good reason to continue supporting her. One of the reasons i surfed Manolo’s blog is that i was aware that he was somehow associated with her Admin. I thought he could come up with a plausible excuse. When he called on her to resign, i realized that my support for Arroyo has become untenable.
So you need not lecture me on the need to investigate both sides because i came from the other side and the reason why i’m now where i am is precisely because i did some investigating.
As for Lozada, the worst that i can say of him is that he’s a typical nerd who bounces between cockiness and panic, but that does not detract from his genuine heroism.
PCESM,
I commend you for your bravery in asking that here.
If you dare, try asking that at ellentordesillasdotcom!
best wishes !
cvj,
may i know, if possible, how extensive was your ‘investigating’?
did you find out that gloria’s cheating was on the winning margin, not on the outcome? and fpj’s side was equally guilty of cheating?
genuine heroism? neri has done more damage to gloria than Lozada!
Lozada became popular only because of the abduction.
“J-Lo” is only competent to testify on the overprice and his abduction. all the rest is hearsay.
Anthony, rather than repeat myself, i recommend you back read the following to see how i arrived at my position over the past two to three years:
Anne de Brux makes her case against the ‘Subjectives’:
http://www.quezon.ph/770/post-mortems/
Discussion with an Arroyo supporter (Joey Legarda aka Joselu) on the issues surrounding Arroyo’s legitimacy and Charter Change. His casual dismissal did not satisfy me:
http://www.quezon.ph/799/the-lakas-tea-party/
A debate on Garci tapes among commenters (i was not a participant) in this blog. Again, Joey Legarda’s (aka Joselu’s) responses were not satisfactory:
http://www.quezon.ph/807/corys-nyet/
Discussion with Geo where i described how Monsod, Randy David and Manolo guided me:
http://www.quezon.ph/848/the-spitfires-list/
Further discussion with Rego on Monsod’s position:
http://www.quezon.ph/861/austeros-eloquence/
There have been other discussions (inside and outside Manolo’s blog) but the above are top of mind.
cvj, i find it hard to believe that you “supported” gma since 1992 and until the “garci tape”. since you presented past blog entries on how you “arrived” at your present position, can you also present a few of your past writings on your support of arroyo up to the “garci” controversy?
CVJ
You see… It is hard for you identify those Best of GMA and Bad of Lozada. Isa nga lang ang answer mo, malayo pa sa tanong. Parang pinapakita mo na hindi ka lamang nasa gated community kundi nasa bartolina ka pa.Actually, if you are vigilant or even opposition with open mind, you can easily say those things.
I am not lecturing you, I’m just telling and asking you some things that will help me to Identify you, if you are “Puppet”, “Plotter” or simply a “vigilant”. So, I know much dosage of sertraline should i prescribe to you.
It is mute and academic if you supported or voted for GMA. Just like those dirty old politicians and Leftist Activist who were first came to EDSA 2 and encouraged GMA to join the flocks and take the position of ERAP, just to advance their ideological, political, personal and family interest. Pero, noong sinigil si GMA (Dapat sila ang nag magbayad dahil sila ang nag tulak kay GMA) at nang hindi sila binigyan ng bayad… dyan nag umpisa ang Hyatt 10, Impeachment, Jun Lozada at marami pang destabilization plot. Sana ay hindi karin katulad sa kanila.
Lozada’s heroism? Try to send Lozada back here in Cebu. What he did to “Mr.PO” and to our beloved and well respected Cardinal Vidal and Rep. Gullas (who came from the linage of Cebuano heroes. Baka hindi lang insultu ang matangap niya… Baka kailan ng times 20 (20X) na dami ng bodyguard na nagkaladkad kay “MR.PO” dahil hindi niya(lozada) masagot yung simpleng tanong. Pasalamat siya at hinimok ng Cardinal ang mga Cebuano na maging calma at patawarin na lang.
Cheating… medyo noong una pumutok medyo kunti naniniwala ako. Pero, noong dinawait ang Cebu dahil may cheating daw. Mukhang may ibang kulay na yung bintang nila. Kasi I remember, before election si Lacson at GMA talaga ang kilala doon, si FPJ ay bilang artista at hindi leader. FYI, sa mga Cebuano iba ang leader at iba ang artista. kung noong nag campaigned siya(FPJ) sa Cebu at malakas ang pag hanga at pag tili sa kanya, iyon ay dahil artista siya, ganya talaga ang mga cebuano pag dating sa artista. Pero, logical lang, bakit puro mga topnotcher at mga galing sa well respected family and veteran political clan ang mga leader sa Cebu? Kasi yan ang Culture ng mga cebuano kung bakit kahit noong panahon ng Kastila ay hindi nila nadanas ang mga naka-sulat sa “Noli Me Tangeri”. Last nga pala sa Cebu cheating, yung mga testigo sa cheating dalawa doon ay kaibigan ko… hehehe, nagbigla at napilitan lang sila kaya pumayag sila mag kunwaring may involvement sila sa dayaan. At kung, talagang may malaking cheating bakit palagi nandito sa Gloria? Bakit nag karoon kaagad dito ng malakanyang? Bakit tuwing may destabilization sa manila dito sa Cebu ay Normal ang negosyo?
Back to Lozada, “He is not working for the TRUTH, but uses “TRUTH” to advance the agenda of some groups/terrorist”, “He uses trashed ZTE deal to make things worst and sabotage our economy as mandated by the group who support his tour of duty”.
Abduction… ang hina naman nila Atienza, Gen. Razon at iba ba. Simply lang, kung abduction yan… bakit nakilala sila ni Jun (detalyado pa..hehehe), bakit si Jun nakagamit pa ng libreng makagamit ng cellphone? Bakit ang abduction ay gagawin ng mga kilalang personalities? Bakit kung abductor leader ka ay mag papakilala kang ako si Atienza at papakawalaan kita? Bakit sa airport pa? Actually, yan ang mali ng mga nagpapalabas ng may alleged lozada adduction case.
Question nga pala. Paano ko ma qu-quote yung part ng isang reply dito? kataulad ng kay Anthony scalia?
Ayaw ko kay ellen.. hindi ko siya kilala. Atlis dito, may tiwala ako kay MLQ3.
…at safe and information ko dito. Anyway, binabasa ko yung issue ng ZTE doon. Hehehe. Naawala lang ako sa kanila kasi, Saradong sarado ang mind nila. Parang sa Bisaya “Patakataka ug Sulti” (Describing things without thinking and even knew the real cause), pero naintindihan ko sila. Atlis si CVJ, medyo pinipilit niyang i-ugnay sa realidad at tunay na information.
PCESM, <blockquote> your comment here </blockquote>
Bencard (at 4:06am), i only started commenting in blogs late in 2005, but as i said, i voted for GMA in all the elections she ran for. Hello Garci was the turning point.
AY PCESM….talagang ganun. Basta tugon sa agenda nila, pikit mata na lang sila sa mga inconsistencies. Yun ang problema ko sa mga anti-GMA.
Matagal na natin laging naririnig yang mga tili na iyan…nuon, anybody but Marcos, then anybody but Erap, ngayon anybody but GMA….eh sus, hinahanap ko pa nga si Anybody, di ko makita.
Imagine niyo po, dalawang taon na lang, puwede nang hanapan ng kapalit. Ang problema, sino ang ipapalit, eh lahat ng mga nakahilera diyan, pagsususpetsahan din nila. Isa-isahin mo, di ba lahat, mga elitista din? May mga interest din? May mga asawa’t anak na di dapat maghanap buhay kasi magiging presidente ang kanilang tatay/nanay/kuya/ate/lolo/lola/apo…(take your pick).
So, siguro dapat, ilagay na lang natin, si Lenin, o di kaya si Obama, o di kaya si Hillary kaya? Ay, di pala puede, si Dalai Lama na lang.
I don’t live in a make believe world, only the communists believe we can have utopia in this world…
“So, siguro dapat, ilagay na lang natin, si Lenin, o di kaya si Obama, o di kaya si Hillary kaya? Ay, di pala puede, si Dalai Lama na lang.”
nahiya ka pa,’GMA FOREVER’ lang naman ang iyong gusto. Aminin!
Bert
Di ako GMA forever….ang hirap sa inyo…di ako naniniwala sa proseso ninyo. Puro emotion kasi…kaya walang nangyayari sa Pilipinas….di pa rin ninyo sinasagot ang tanong….bakit di niyo i-address ang inconsistency…kayo ang bulag di kami
cvj
Thanks sa info. “Blackquote”
That’s why I am thinking about EDSA Revolution Culture. I am very sorry for those who respect EDSA Revolution.
EDSA Revolution Culture – is a culture of Power Grabbing Destabilization and coup d’etat. A culture that sacrifices the well being of the citizen; the economy; and the integrity of the country as strong and cooperative nation (as it was before the first EDSA Revolution) just for a little “Truth” and “Freedom” that soon will never be appreciated. It is also the Era that started the division of our country and poverty start to boom. With EDSA Culture…some Idealistic and bright Politician and Personalities become crazy or stupid by playing the negative side of “Police-Terrorist-Vigilante Phenomenon”.
Where, the Police (Politician) decided to spend more of his time and effort just to catch the Vigilante rather than Terrorist. (we all know that vigilante is only active when terrorist is around and it not a threat to the life of Police but rather they do protect the police).
Killing the Culture of EDSA Revolution – this would be one of the great solution to end the saga. This would atlis help prevent Political Beasts and monsters from exploiting people again, just for their own interest. Just like what Lozada’s Gangs doing now. “Makikita mo nan diyan parin yung streamline ng EDSA Revolution… Exploiting people and sowing the seed of hatred by using “TRUTH” at nag aarte na ina-api sila. At yung kanta nila na “Ibon lang may layang lumipad”… hehehe, hepocritong hipocrito at out of theme ang dating… Bakit wala bang silang kalayaan? Tinang-galan ba sila ng laya? Ano yang ginawagawa nila? di ba freedom yan? At over exploited or abused na ang karapatan na binigay sa kanila ng constitution. Dalawa lang yan either “Bogo” sila o “Tina-traydor at nililinlang nila ang taong bayan sa tunay na adhikain nila.”
“As if kicking out the lady will cure the ills of the country”
“Imagine niyo po, dalawang taon na lang, puwede nang hanapan ng kapalit. Ang problema, sino ang ipapalit, eh lahat ng mga nakahilera diyan, pagsususpetsahan din nila. Isa-isahin mo, di ba lahat, mga elitista din? May mga interest din? May mga asawa’t anak na di dapat maghanap buhay kasi magiging presidente ang kanilang tatay/nanay/kuya/ate/lolo/lola/apo…(take your pick).”
“Bert
Di ako GMA forever….ang hirap sa inyo…di ako naniniwala sa proseso ninyo. Puro emotion kasi…kaya walang nangyayari sa Pilipinas….di pa rin ninyo sinasagot ang tanong….bakit di niyo i-address ang inconsistency…kayo ang bulag di kami”
Silent Waters, kung hindi kayo GMA FOREVER, ano kayo? Hindi naman kayo ‘talsik now’, hindi naman kayo ‘wait for 2010′, eh, ano kayo?
Kasi, kung ‘wait for 2010′ kayo, at ngayon pa lang ipinipilit ninyo na lahat namang papalit ay bulok, ay sus, parang sinabi ninyo na ganito: ‘Wait na lang tayo sa 2010 election kasi bulok din ang papalit kay gloria pagkatapos ng election’. Ang mga kandidato ninyo naman ay sina Dalai Lama, B. Obama, etc., wala naman ang mga iyon dito. So, kung ganun, wala palang sense ang mga sinasabi ninyo. Kaya akala ko GMA FOREVER ka.
Kung pabor ka naman sa CHA-CHA, di lalong GMA FOREVER ka. Bilib nga ako sa paliwanag ni anthony tungkol sa Chacha, pero, alam mo Silent Waters, kapag pinapasok mo ang isang kamay ng mga alipores ni gloria tungkol sa chachang ito, mamatay na sila, siguradong ipapasok nila ang boung katawan ni gloria…at GLORIA FOREVER na tayo. Tuwa ninyo! Kami…huhuhuhu, hikbi.
Kanta na lang kami: Ang bayan kong iniibig………
Silent Waters, PCESM
kung si gloria ay cancer, yung school of thought na kinabibilangan nina Bert at iba pang die-hard fans ng people power ay……..
chemotherapy
Anthony, thanks for the analogy. I can’t say i disagree. Ang ‘Wait for 2010′ naman ay…
faith healing
cvj,
“Anthony, thanks for the analogy. I can’t say i disagree”
welcome, salamat
“Ang ‘Wait for 2010′ naman ay…
faith healing”
??????????????
‘faith’ requires an object
in case you didnt notice, choosing chemotherapy means having faith in chemotheraphy
using your ‘faith healing’ analogy, where is ‘faith’ placed upon? in ‘faith’ also? having ‘faith’ in ‘faith’?
kung ganun eh ‘wishful thinking’ na yun!
Anthony, your words, not mine.
“kung ganun eh ‘wishful thinking’ na yun!–anthony
“Anthony, your words, not mine.-cvj
Hehehehe.
cvj,
oops, kung my words pala, eh di mali pala ako sa ‘wishful thinking’, at bitin pa rin yung use of ‘faith healing’ mo.
ikaw lang ang nakakaintindi. di ko na gets. sorry. pero its your call if you want to leave it at that.
parang si Bert – as clear as mud. hehehehehehe
at least I was clear, you even acknowledged it! kaso nga lang i can’t say the same with what you said!
sorry
Bert,
no offense meant
it’s alright, anthony, no offense taken. our point is clear enough, you are muddling it so it’s your fault, not mine. no offense meant, anthony.
Bert,
salamat
hanggang sa susunod na talakayan
****yawn**** (alas dose na pala)
goodnight anthony!
Bert
Ako ay para sa pagsunod ng proseso. Ang problema sa inyo mga puti at itim, yun ang nasa utak ninyo, puti at itim. Ako, ang dapat gawin, tignan ang ebidensiya sa tamang paraan. HIndi yung kung anu-anong anunsiyo ang maririnig mo sa diyaryo o pahayag ng tao.
Pabor ako sa Cha-cha pag dating sa mga probisyong pang ekonomiya. Ang problema, kayo na mga praning, iniisip niyo agad na patatagalin na ang pag-upo sa puwesto ng presidente.
Eh kung ganun, ano ang ginagawa ninyo? Kung ayaw niyo mangyari iyun, di ba dapat magbantay kayo?
Yan ang problema, kayo iyung mga taong tipong, tanggalin natin ang problema, pagkatapos, we go our merry ways. Di kayo willing ipaglaban ang inyong paniwala ng husto. Asus.
how do this issue affect the entire nati0n?.
|.XOn Lozada: The perils of being a snitch
The way of the warrior says I have no desires; I make seizing the opportunity my desire.
The way of the warrior says I have no principles; I make adaptability my principle.
(H)how I follow the way of the warrior: seize the opportunity and the power.
-Tokugawa Ieyasu, first Shogun
From time to time, partly to document my trying to understand Eastern attitudes towards governance in contrast to my own heavily-Western orientation, I like to quote extracts from the Analects of Confucius, most recently in entry The Mandate of Heaven. Recently I read this article on Tokugawa Neo-Confucianism and then this one on Intellectual currents in Tokugawa Japan. This is of more than antiquarian interest because Bushido was seriously examined by Filipinos prior to World War II (during and after which, of course, Bushido became tainted by its being used to justify Japanese atrocities) in the effort to instill a stronger sense of citizenship (in terms of both freedoms and responsibilities) in a country preparing for independence.
Bushido was held up by by various Filipino leaders before and during the war as something to emulate. You still find echoes of this in proposals by people like Jose Abueva to have a Bill of Rights and Obligations (which hews to the provisions of the 1943 Constitution of the Puppet Republic) instead of a Bill of Rights.
It’s a stretch to suggest that Japanese Neo-Confucianism or Confucianism itself is precisely the kind of thinking expressed by Romulo Neri, Jr. and his one-time acolyte and factotum, Jun Lozada.There are elements of these philosophies, however, in their public and private (then publicly-reported) view concerning governance and reforms.
But it brings me to this weekend’s entry. From my computer’s handy-dandy built-in dictionary:
snitch |sni ch | informal
verb
1 [ trans. ] steal.
2 [ intrans. ] inform on someone : she wouldn’t tell who snitched on me.
noun
an informer.
ORIGIN late 17th cent.: of unknown origin.
Jun Lozada, as I write this, is in Dagupan. The prelude to his visit was this: Lozada streamers torn down before his Pangasinan trip.
There’s scuttlebutt going around that the Palace has imposed a deadline for neutralizing Jun Lozada: the deadline is June, by which time students go back to school. The studentry, of course, prior to Lozada’s emerging as whistleblower, was safely thought of to be unengaged in the current political crisis.
Which leads to the question: Is Jun Lozada self-destructing, or is he being destroyed? if Jun Lozada is self-destructing, either he is not self-destructing quickly enough, or he isn’t really self-destructing at all -he’s just being worn down by the immense resources of the state.
In previous Masses held for him, it seems that the Palace has taken to distributing anti-Lozada Komiks; there is even talk that people are being organized to fill up the churches and then walk out on cue, both to disrupt the proceedings when Lozada begins his talk, and to promote the idea to the media that he is losing support.
Jun Lozada is at it again: writing, that is.
Read the latest products of Lozada’s pen for yourself.
He’s written two pieces, one primarily addressed to members of the clergy, the other, to the public-at-large.
In Telling the Truth.doc ver1.1[1].pdf , he goes into “The Diamond Principle,†in detail, but then again, this is something he has been talking about for some time.
In My reflections on my 2nd month of Calvary[1].pdf , he addresses the public, reiterating the circumstances surrounding his abduction and how nothing has really happened since then, except that the administration factotums originally in hot water have had time to sort out their stories.
Both pieces are surely a response to Lozada recently getting into hot water with some clerics and to media. And surely, a way for him to fight back.
First impressions count. But there are continuing impressions, too, and they add up. Jun Lozada makes some people teary-eyed and other people want to scream, still others want to vomit. It goes every which way: some public figure is sure to get someone foaming at the mouth, somewhere
.The Warrior Lawyer is upfront about his antipathy (based on personal interaction with Lozada) and makes more sense overall:
I never hid my dislike for Jun Lozada, based on his character and what I know of him as an operator when he was still with the DENR. This was a guy who’d arrogantly call for supposedly official meetings outside his office, in bars and restaurants, dine and drink his fill while behaving like a lout, then stick you with the bill. He has no sense of personal loyalty and has been politely described as a “man on the make†(and on the take, as he has admitted). As a whistle-blower, and civil-society “heroâ€Â, his whining self-righteousness is extremely irritating. He so obviously enjoys the limelight and his public statements during his recent “road tour†are characteristically pompous and overblown.
But I tried to separate the message from the messenger and gave him credit for speaking up, however reluctantly, on the ZTE broadband corruption scandal.
Now events have conspired to push him on a long slide to irrelevancy. First, the Supreme Court decision in Neri vs. Senate Committee has effectively stymied the Senate proceedings, his most effective platform. Worse, it has deprived the Senate of access to vital witnesses who would corroborate the allegations of Lozada and company, most notably Romulo Neri, as well as other Cabinet members and functionaries. Without a stage and most of the major players, this show can’t go on.
Then Cory Aquino, arguably the most popular opposition draw, and Lozada’s supposed patron and mentor on the path to rectitude, was stricken ill with cancer. No more Tita Cory to cuddle Jun and bring in the crowds.
Finally, there’s Lozada’s own big mouth. He could use some of the advise on self-examination and reflection he so blithely foists on others. His wiseass and bombastic manner has turned off a lot of people, even from among his initially steadfast supporters.
Similar views are in Jingoistic Lamentations.
In my column, The aesthetics of redemption, I stated my personal views about Lozada; in particular, that we should consider the effect of nearly being liquidated can have on someone: at the very least, it explains why someone already temperamentally inclined to be full of himself (as most fixers tend to be), would then become a zealot. Near-death experiences do that to people. So there is no objective reason why Lozada should be writing manifestos that may do him as much harm as good, but what he’s gone through certainly goes a long way to explain his compulsion to crank out manifestos.
While Clarissa Ocampo did state at the time that she feared for her life, she didn’t undergo an abduction and was given witness protection; allegations have been made that she received board appointment from the President but I can’t find any record of this (nor is any government largesse reported in Witnesses reap ‘rewards’ for role in Erap trial).
I also tried to point out that much of the skepticism that greets Lozada has to do with nothing more than questions of taste: in particular, he rubs upper class sensibilities raw and tends to irritate a subset of the middle class. It is the reason some Filipinos believe no funeral is complete without hysterics while others believe good taste demands that one should maintain a stiff upper lip in the face of adversity.
So it’s all a question of taste: the aesthetic element of politics. Just as I’ve argued that there are many who support the President because she upholds the primacy of outward appearances being more important than virtue itself, there are those who, finding Lozada to be grating on their nerves, will then lash out at him.
Typical of the visceral loathing some people who are purely observers (not having encountered him during his fixer days) have for Lozada, is the incoherent, but scathing, contempt of an Antonio Montalvan II for Jun Lozada. I had to ask someone what on earth Montalvan was trying to say: “he’s suggesting a stop to all the school hopping etc. what i like is that he’s implying (well, it’s explicit to me at least) that lozada’s still a crook by definition and must be charged – not really the figure to lead a ‘truth’ crusade of sorts.â€Â
Fair enough.In janEe’s bLog, there’s email from someone present at the controversial Cebu forum Lozada attended, and who wrote,
The Senate investigation only confines itself to factual matters. As a political body, its primordial concern is to fulfill its constitutional mandate of conducting inquiry in aid of legislation. It does not delve into what is in the heart of a witness testifying before it. It cannot be concern about matters of the spirit; personal discernment and insights; and personal conversion and renewal.
These, I believe, is the higher pursuit of Jun Lozada’s journey, both in the physical and spiritual sense.
Despite his being not welcome here in Cebu, he braved the spurn knowing that the TRUTH will shield him against any forms off rebuke and rejections.
Jun was simply not rejected, he was harassed and slurred.
I, and many others, who attended the forum yesterday, had witnessed how Jun Lozada was humiliated & insulted by a man named Po, who claimed to be there in order to be “enlightened†on the issue.
Seex also, the open letter written by a priest in Cebu, Fr. Jesus Dumaual, as republished in Happy Faith:
You ask why? It is because you have answered (partly) a question they must have been asking all these years: Where have all our graduates gone, the product of Catholic Education, the minds and consciences that we have molded according to the values of the Gospels? Thousands, perhaps even a million of you have joined government service. What have become of you? Have you all become “team playersâ€Â, swallowed by the system which is now considered the most corrupt in Asia? You are luckier, and I saw your great elation that late in the day, two priests were found (I was one of them) who were willing to say Mass for you. But the poor Sisters, so far, after all these years, have only found one: you. (You see, while we priests may have our Parishes, Sisters have only their Catholic Schools.) Of course, they want to hear your story, to know whatever happened to all the nurturing, the sacrifices they have made for all of you, including the scolding if you just forget to say your prayer, etc. But that can wait. All they want to show you is how grateful and appreciative they are you have returned. The rest will be history.
Which, combined with the letter from the lady in Cebu, gives a pretty good justification as to why Lozada should be making the rounds: to submit himself to the scrutiny of his countrymen.The best advice was given matter-of-factly by JC’s Anatomy. Answer the criticisms. Going back to his recent visit to Cebu, you can’t get fiercer than Fighting Tofu who expressed loathing for Lozada. I myself delved into the whole controversy in The interdiction of a witness, but much of it seemed to me a case of conservative shock on the part of those unused to questioning prelates, and more attuned to the old obediences. A marvelous demonstration of this is that the expression of disgust with Lozada currently making the rounds was a captive protest: watch “Gloria†(Dancing Inmates – Protest Dance). Ordering prison inmates to engage in an obviously far-from-spontaneous dance number… well, the irony is as rich as it gets.
Still: for every person still firmly convinced of his good intentions, like on to a new beginning who ran into him during a graduation ceremony in La Salle Greenhills; nut there are those, like the priest Per Agrum ad Sacrum, hostile to him:
But what then explains the anger? What explains all the zeal and passion and the fury? I would assume they want something else, on account of the fact that they have found common cause with interesting individuals who really have little interest, and thus, can boast of little love lost for the finer nuances of moral theological thinking ( no matter how much they quote and endlessly misquote the Lord’s words, “the truth will set you free.â€Â). I assume they want more than just the moral truth they ought already to know. I assume they want heads to roll. What else explains the “non sequitur†slogans and name-calling directed against the devil woman and her cohorts?
I would also assume that it is not really so much moral truth they want, as “teachings†that would ride along with what they want. How else explain their vociferous rantings against the bishops, who they claim “are not in touch with reality,†or who “are playing deaf, dumb, and blind†to all the shenanigans being perpetrated by this administration? After the Bishops talked about the moral truth of a “culture of corruption†that is found in all levels of society, after the Bishops took to task the President and called for the dismantling of all obstacles to truth, these self-proclaimed “guardians of morality†now declare the Bishops as hopelessly blind, deaf, and dumb, for their taste? How about venting your ire against some media outfits who have already decided what is true for them? Didn’t the Bishops also call the mass media to task? Didn’t the Bishops also call the so-called oppositionist politicians to set aside their ill concealed ambitions and personal agenda? Weren’t we all cautioned against subverting this and many other issues to our own sinister agenda?
There is something seriously amiss in this highly engaging telenovela. Abetted and supported by the so-called “media moment,†a whistle blower who was part of the system of corruption just a few months ago, has suddenly been catapulted to near-divine status, called a “hero†for modesty’s sake (thank you!). Mobbed and adulated everywhere by the supposed guardians of truth and objectivity, the very people on whom millions of young people depend on for their education, the self-proclaimed “crusader for truth†now inflames the passions of the young, idealistic, and easily manipulable students, who are being doled out daily lessons on how to be a “responsible, “law-abiding,†and “democratic†citizen without really trying hard to respect rule of law. In a clear example of collusion pushed to the extreme, with no parallels in recent history, the guardians and teachers of moral truth, legislators, educators, mass media purveyors, and executives in and out of government, have suddenly decided to become accuser, judge, and executioner all rolled into one.
And there are concerned parents like Couch Potato Corner, who says Lozada is a menace and should be evicted by the school.
Lozada compared his own abduction to the abduction and murder of Dacer, and there’s a reason the comparison resonated with the public.
By all accounts, Dacer was an asshole; by comparison, in comparing himself to Dacer, Lozada was admitting he was an asshole, too; but no one has ever said Dacer deserved to be rubbed out.
Dacer knew something, and had to die. Lozada knew something, and had to die.
But Lozada lived to tell his tale.
And so, he has to be destroyed.
Because the longer he sticks around and remains a pest, the more time people have to let the lesson of the last few years finally sink in. She’s as bad, and even worse, than the previous guy who got kicked out.
Blogging, ideas, media, philippines, politics, society
(E)entry was posted on Friday, April 4th, 2008 at 7:28 pm and is filed under Daily Dose.
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