FORMER president Joseph Estrada has refused to name a candidate for the 2010 presidential elections, but he’s all praises for Senate President Manuel Villar in this video taken by INQUIRER.net reporter Veronica Uy.
Pretty ironic if he does end up endorsing Villar, if you remember the dramatic role Villar played in the impeachment of Estrada in the House of Representatives when Villar was the Speaker 
At any rate, Erap is saying that his candidate for 2010 should be “pro-poor” and “anti-corruption,” according to this Breaking News article.
Here’s an excerpt:
Estrada issued the statement in response to reporters’ questions on what his criteria was in choosing the standard bearer of the opposition.
But at the same time, Estrada refused to name his candidate, saying that all presidential aspirants of the opposition would go through a process of selection that would include a series of three surveys to determine winnability.
Earlier in the day in Dinalupihan, Estrada was reported as having hinted that he was going to endorse the candidacy of Senate President Manuel Villar, who was said to be eyeing the presidency.
January 29th, 2008 at 3:31 am
Tama na ang pag-i-’IDOLO’ ng mga pilipino. Piliin at kilitasin mabuti ang mga kandidato bago iboto. Iboto lang ang me kakayahang mamuno at me plataporma para sa kabutihang pagbabago ng ating bansa. BOW!
January 28th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
gusto ko si laarni enriquez and first lady kapag nanalo ulit sa erap. si jinggoy dapat vice president para showbiz na showbiz ang dating natin… forget plunder, hindi yun alam ni sardinas este salinas..
January 28th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
gloria is working real hard to prove her worth.. ERAP is worse. let’s not fool our fellow kababayans.. i agree with mike V!
January 28th, 2008 at 2:15 am
When Arroyo said that the extension of Esperon has nothing to do with the restiveness in the military, she was, as usual, lying.
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So what if she’s lying to her teeth. She’s the best on lying so what else is new to this FAKE PRESIDENT OF CEBU. I was surprise she only promote him for 3 month. After all he is one of her loyal cronies who do anything for her. Even killing all those who speak against her bogus regime. I’m pretty sure there is another job waiting for him after 3 month for him to continue protecting her stolen administration.
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Gloria Arroyo’s justification for the extension of the service of her favorite AFP Chief Hermogenes Esperon won’t pass even with those with brains filled with gunpowder.
According to Malacañang’s press release, Arroyo extended Esperon’s term for three months (up to May 9) to “sustain the government’s ongoing campaign to finally end rebel insurgency in the country.”
“Because there is a momentum in the campaign against the NPA (New People’s Army) and they are expecting a snowball in the next several months,” Arroyo said.
Oh well, if she makes a mockery of the Constitution, what’s surprising with her insulting people with such stupid justification? The biggest insult, of course is on Lt. Gen. Alexander Yano, the announced successor of Esperon. That means he is not trusted to do what Esperon has to do which is to “sustain the government’s ongoing campaign to finally end rebel insurgency in the country.”
Esperon’s extension of services simply confirms Arroyo’s dependence on him for her continued hold on power in the same way that he made himself valuable to her in the “Hello Garci” operations in the 2004 election.
Arroyo has to extend Esperon because she is not sure if Yano would be willing to debase the law, blatantly if need be, to destroy military officials who dare question her illegitimate presidency.
Esperon had convinced Arroyo that the destabilization threats against her are being orchestrated by the detained officers in Camp Capinpin. Never mind that so far, he has only come up with five enlisted Scout Rangers with three rusty firearms. Two of the arrested soldiers have been released after the preliminary investigation conducted by the Department of Justice found the charge of illegal possession of firearms baseless.
The court martial hearings against Maj. Gen. Renato Miranda, Brig. Gen. Danilo Lim and 26 other officers have not moved forward since November 9, 2007 when the court tried to shortcut the process by taking their oath despite the fact that one young officer, Lt. Homer Estolas, had not availed of his right to peremptory challenge.
Under the rules of the court martial, the members of the court are to organize themselves starting with taking their oath “after the proceedings as to challenges are concluded.” The court headed by Maj. Gen. Jogy Fojas failed to call Estolas despite the young officer’s raising his hand calling their attention in an earlier hearing.
Since then, the court had tried proceeding with the arraignment to the vehement opposition of the defense.
February 2008 is crucial for the court trial of the 28 officers charged for mutiny and conduct becoming of an officer and a gentleman in connection with the alleged plan to withdraw support from Arroyo in February 2006 following the exposé of military involvement in the cheating in the 2004 elections in favor of Arroyo. If the officers are not arraigned by next month (two years after the alleged offense is committed), the charge of “conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman” would prescribe. Only the charge of mutiny would be left.
However, in the pre-trial investigation report (PTIR) of the incident, it was recommended that the charge of mutiny be dismissed for lack of factual and legal basis. This was overturned by a pre-trial advice, an equivalent of a charge sheet in a civil court, which is being questioned by lawyers because it has not been signed by Esperon.
The prosecution panel has tried to make up for its lack of competence by attempting to change the rules of the court like asking the court to allow only one lawyer for the accused (some accused have more than one lawyer) to speak and that if the motion of the lawyer of one accused officer is being taken up, lawyers of other accused would not be allowed to speak.
Fortunately, both unthinkable motions were denied because as the defense argued, the charge is conspiracy to commit mutiny and the court decision on one affects all the accused.
The latest tack of the prosecution is now to arraign by batches which has been approved by the court. Major Emilio Felicen, court spokesman, announced last week that only eight officers would be arraigned tomorrow in Camp Aguinaldo. He cited the accused “being unruly” as the reason for the unusual setup. He did not say what those “unruly” acts were,
Defense lawyers said they will not agree to an arraignment by batches insisting that all the accused have a right to be present in all the hearings. The manual on courts martial states that “the presence of the accused throughout the proceedings in open court is essential.”
Essential means “necessary, indispensable, fundamental, vital and cardinal.”
The latest development is that the officers, 26 of them detained in Camp Capinpin (General Lim is detained in Camp Crame together with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV and Magdalo officers involved in the Nov. 29 incident Capt. Dante Langkit is being held at the ISG compound in Fort Bonifacio) have been informed that they will be transferred to the ISAFP (Intelligence Service) compound in Camp Aguinaldo.
When Arroyo said that the extension of Esperon has nothing to do with the restiveness in the military, she was, as usual, lying.
Email address: ellentordesillas@gmail.com
January 28th, 2008 at 1:40 am
Rid Comelec of crooks, senators dare Melo
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As I said before Gloria Arroyo, Going to appoint somebody she can trust. Trust with all their cheating operation just like what happen on the last election. So, What else is new to these corrupt bogus regime of Gloria Arroyo. Tuloy ang ligaya ng mga kawatan.
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By Angie M. Rosales
01/28/2008
Incoming Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chairman Jose Melo is under close scrutiny of senators who yesterday already issued their first challenge for him to weed out alleged scoundrels in the electoral body and bring back dignity to the institution.
Senate leaders, in a twin call, put him to task even as he is yet to formally assume the position, pinning hopes on him on having an impartial conduct of national elections in 2010.
Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. said the integrity and credibility of Comelec cannot be fully restored unless these notoriously undesirable and discredited election officials are removed and punished.
“Ironically, these scoundrels in the Comelec, instead of being booted out and charged with criminal offenses, were promoted to higher positions, courtesy of the previous Comelec leadership,†he said.
He added the choice of the retired Supreme Court justice is already a fait accompli.
“Let us give him a chance to discharge his constitutional duties and to implement electoral reforms,†the Senate minority leader stressed.
“We are pinning our hopes on the new Comelec
chairman to restore the integrity and trust in the institution and to have the courage and the decisiveness to clean up the mess it is in,†Majority Leader Francis Pangilinan said.
“We hope he will have the guts and the political will to usher in genuine reforms by ridding the Comelec of its corrupt officials and personnel and my advice is that he begins with finding and prosecuting (Comelec supervisor) Lintang Bedol. If he succeeds in doing this alone he would have already succeeded in improving the image of the Comelec a thousandfold. It is no nonsense public service and results that people want to see from their leaders,†he added.
Both Pimentel and Pangilinan noted the numerous controversies that had been attached to the Comelec in the past, including the botched Mega Pacific deal, the “Hello Garci†controversy and the resignation of former Comelec Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. after being linked to alleged bribery on the national broadband deal with China’s ZTE Corp.
Pimentel said the newly appointed Comelec chairman has a lot of cleaning up to do, starting with the weeding out and prosecution of field election supervisors and other officials involved in fraudulent practices, especially during the 2004 and 2007 elections.
He added it is lamentable that President Arroyo has turned a deaf ear to the long-standing proposal of the opposition for at least one of its nominees to be named to the Comelec.
Pimentel stressed an important task that could serve as an acid test to Melo’s capability and independence is the dismantling of the syndicate composed of Comelec officials and professional fraud experts responsible for the “dagdag-bawas†(vote shaving, vote padding) operations that tainted the results of the 2004 presidential and 2007 senatorial elections.
He said piles of evidence of the nefarious activities of this fraud syndicate have surfaced in the ongoing recount of the votes cast in 44 towns in Maguindanao and other Mindanao provinces in connection with the electoral protest of Genuine Opposition senatorial candidate Aquilino “Koko†Pimentel III against administration Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri before the Senate Electoral Tribunal.
According to Pimentel, many ballot boxes when opened were empty, some yielded fake ballots, with handwriting by one or two persons only while other election documents, like election returns and certificates of votes, were missing.
“We wish him well and we hope he will succeed in restoring the sorely needed faith and trust in the Comelec as an institution whose image and reputation has been tarnished by scandal and controversy. His task is daunting but is certainly is not insurmountable provided he is able to marshal critical support from various sectors to rebuild the image of the institution… The challenge is to bring the Comelec back to shape in time for 2010 and beyond. It’s a gargantuan task requiring leadership 36 hours a day. He will need all the help he can get,†Pangilinan said.
Mrs. Arroyo last Saturday announced the appointment of Melo as the Comelec chief.
Before his appointment, Melo served 23 years in the judiciary and later as associate justice of the Supreme Court from which he retired in 2002.
Melo also served as chairman of the Melo Commission that investigated the extra-judicial killings of militant activists and journalists.
Malacañang, for its part, said Melo will not be indebted to President Arroyo and will set aside partisan politics.
Presidential Management Staff (PMS) chief Cerge Remonde stressed that his dedication will not be to the Chief Executive but to public service.
“Justice Melo has a proven track record of competence, probity and integrity. He will bring to the Comelec a wealth of experience… The fact that he is already in twilight of his years means he is already beyond partisan politics. His dedication will be to public service,†Remonde said in a text message.
Deputy presidential spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said “the unblemished and untarnished reputation of Justice Melo is the main reason for his appointment as Comelec chairman and his investigation on the extra-judicial killings has positively resulted in the decrease of extra-judicial killing by 83 percent.â€
The Palace official said Melo’s appointment was supported by various sectors.
“We believe Justice Melo shall adhere to the highest principle of justice, equality, fair play and honesty in the performance of his duties as Comelec chairman as he did when he served our country and people as member of the Supreme Court,†Fajardo said.
Abalos welcomed the appointment of Melo, saying he deserves the position. Sherwin C. Olaes and Tesa Gaila-Medina