June 2007 Archives

CHECK out this video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Joel Guinto. For more videos, visit iVDO.

CAN the government tolerate this kind of treatment they are receiving from [Maguindanao provincial election supervisor Lintang Bedol] Bedol? Is he more untouchable than Garci [former Commission on Elections Commissioner Virgilio Garcillano]? Why was he in the Comelec in the first place? Bedol is the kind of person who can mingle with the Muslim rebels anytime he wants because he will always be welcomed by them. Remember Garci's attire when he gave himself up to the government? Bedol's antics qualifies him to be a terrorist. A political terrorist who can do anything he wants as long as he is tolerated and well protected by the "padrinos." -- Andy Paliguiran, Los Angeles, California (via e-mail)

DETAINED senator-elect Antonio Trillanes IV was mobbed by media and supporters on his way to his proclamation as the 11th senator. Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Erwin Oliva on June 15 at the Commission on Elections office in Intramuros. For more videos, visit iVDO.

IT is a blatant display of stomping the constitutional guarantee of the freedom of choice and expression, if not displaying ignorance about it. They use the enlisted men as guinea pigs to please their master, although the majority would surely avail of the doctrine of secrecy. It is a calculated bullying exercise after exhaling the fumes of embarrassment and dismay that Mr. Trillanes got his way to the Senate which was a message so loud and clear of the Filipino voters' support for Trillanes' advocacy against the Arroyo regime. -- Napoleon de la Torre, Auckland, New Zealand (via e-mail)

HERE'S a video clip of Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol being mobbed by media after his closed-door hearing with the Commission on Elections, courtesy of our new iVDO service. Video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Erwin Oliva. For more video clips, visit iVDO, which is a partnership between INQUIRER.net and the world's leading portal, Yahoo! Got a video you've made that you'd like to share with a global audience? E-mail it to inquirerdotnetvideos@yahoo.com.ph and include a brief description of 100 words or less. All submissions will be subject to editorial discretion. Videos should run for no more than 10 minutes and be less than 100MB. They must be in WMV, ASF, QT, MOD, MOV, MPG, 3GP, 3GP2 or AVI format, and have audio.

HERE'S a video clip from iVDO (INQUIRER.net VDO), the new online video service that INQUIRER.net has launched in partnership with Yahoo! Got a video you've made that you'd like to share with a global audience? E-mail it to inquirerdotnetvideos@yahoo.com.ph and include a brief description of 100 words or less. All submissions will be subject to editorial discretion. Videos should run for no more than 10 minutes and be less than 100MB. They must be in WMV, ASF, QT, MOD, MOV, MPG, 3GP, 3GP2 or AVI format, and have audio.

I PRAISE Chairman [Banjamin] Abalos and the rest of the Comelec [Commission on Elections] for doing a good job last May election/ If massive cheating occured, then why are a majority of the GO candidates marching their way to the Senate? Why did Mike Defensor, the most loyal Cabinet member of this administration, not make it to the Final 12? Why did Lilia Pineda, a known close friend of the President, fail to sit in the Capitol of Pampanga? Let us give where credit is due. We are all tired of loudmouths and baseless accusations that never cease to pull the country down. By the way, I like the way Chairman Abalos pronounced "senator" in proclaiming the newly elected lawmakers.

TRILLANES would not even win as barangay chairman before Oakwood. Yes, the Philippine electorate rewarded Lt. Senior Grade Antonio Trillanes IV for causing untold suffering to the people by bringing down the economy and wreaking havoc on the business community in co-masterminding the infamous Oakwood mutiny. He used this popularity to shortcut his way to the political arena. Why can't he do a Lacson and a Biazon who took the long road and got out of service and ran for public office on the merits of their accomplishments? Is he too ambitious and could not wait for his turn? Let's see if he will turn out to be like the gentlemen I mentioned or will he be like Gringo who was rewarded again after warming his seat in a forgettable stint in the Senate. -- Buddy Jose, Las Vegas, Nevada (via e-mail)

HERE'S Amando Doronila's take on the results of the May polls. Excerpt from his column piece "Acting as if nothing happened":

MANILA, Philippines -- The first thing the opposition did after it appeared certain that the Genuine Opposition (GO) candidates had won 8-2-2 in the Senate election was to talk with deposed president Joseph Estrada, at his detention home in Tanay, Rizal, about the division of spoils. Up for grabs are the Senate presidency and chairmanship of key committees. From newspaper reports, there was nothing to indicate that the victors, in the flush of triumph, thought of overhauling the national policy agenda beyond just carving up the booty. The celebration with Estrada was symbolic and symptomatic of the opposition's view of the mandate it received from the people on May 14. When the opposition leaders met at Estrada's rest house, they offered the GO capture of the Senate as a trophy to Estrada and as an acknowledgment of Estrada's view that the election was a referendum on the illegitimacy of his overthrow by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in January 2001 and a vindication of his innocence of plunder charges. The opposition cannot be more wrong than crediting Estrada for the GO victory in the Senate election. Some of them may like to think the GO team was handpicked by Estrada. But this was not exactly the case: most of the GO candidates were not identified as dyed-in-the-wool Estrada partisans, and presented themselves as independent-minded persons. The only thread shared by members of the team was that all were anti-Arroyo. The May election was anything but a rerun of the Estrada-Arroyo political vendetta. That feud was not the central election issue. The voters decided on a number of issues that have emerged to define the character of the Arroyo administration since 2001. The nation has traveled a long distance for the past six years. Consequently, Estrada cannot claim credit for influencing the 8-2-2 Senate election result. Much less is he in a position to call the shots in the allocation of power in the next Senate.

[PANFILO] LACSON wants to head the Senate blue-ribbon committee. "I want to advance my advocacy of accountability among public officials. If only for it, I want to chair the blue-ribbon committee. But I won't beg for it nor exchange my vote to get that committee," he said, referring to his vote for Senate president. Since majority of the Senate is now GO [Genuine Opposition] and they are serious about their anti-corruption drive and putting corrupt public officials in jail, will they prosecute Erap? Or will they go only for administration candidates and their allies?

I TOTALLY agree with National Artist Napoleon Abueva: Manny Pangilinan for president in 2010. He is honest. Incorruptible. If he can run the Philippines like his businesses, we can expect huge success. He's deeply religious and spiritual. Like Grace Padaca and Father Ed Panlilio, he's single and bears the sign of the cross in his person. Being a bachelor, the country need not worry about an FG [First Gentleman] like Mike Arroyo or an FL [First Lady] like Imelda, or a Kamag-anak, Inc. like the Cojuangcos or Erap's mistresses. MVP can devote all his time and energy to the country. Let's start now. Mobilize for MVP in 2010. -- Enrique Angeles, Buena Park, California (via e-mail)

I WAS reading the letters to the editor, when the article "Forget impeachment bid" by Ms Emma Requilme (Inquirer, 06/01/07) caught my attention. At last! Someone has decided to forget impeachment. I'm so tired of hearing people talking about the impeachment of the president. They only look at the negative sides of the administration. But I think, they didn't take the time to glance at the positive side. I agree with the point of Ms. Requilme that we should forget about impeachment and pay attention to our hungry fellow citizens. Having an impeachment trial would be such a waste of time. There are people waiting to be fed. So, the question would be: Which is important? The impeachment or our hungry fellow citizens? I always hear activists cry out loud "Oust Gloria!" But if you asked them the question above, surely they will choose the good of our fellow citizens. Then, if that's what they want, the good of our people, we must wait for our president's move. So let us forget impeachment and think of the future of our people and our country. -- Jay-R Lumbo, Marikina City (via e-mail)

I LIKE best the last paragraph of your editorial especially the second sentence: "the need for vigilance continues..." I always make it a point to read your editorial everyday when I come to work and that line hit me hardest. You inspire your readers. I pray people like you will continue to be like you... doing their work with the highest integrity. Thank you. -- Archimedes Pormicelle, Caloocan (via e-mail)