Magdalo statement on the recent events: Gloria o Pagbabago

 

 

With the recent events happening at Manila Peninsula hotel in Makati where Sen. Antonio Trillanes and Gen. Danilo Lim holed up, the Magdalo has issued statement on their website;

 

Magdalo statement:

            Today, we address all and decent Filipinos, to announce that NOW is the time to end the sufferings and miseries inflicted upon us by the illegitimate Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Government and start a new life and a new Philippines.

 

            The die is cast.

 

            Pursuant to our constitutional mandate as "protector of the people and the State," and by this act, the patriotic officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police, supported by the masses of our people and the various political forces, give substance to the constitutional provision which says, "The Philippines is a democratic and republican state.  Sovereignty resides in the people, and all government authority emanates from them."  Thus, we take the fateful step of removing Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo from the Presidency and undertake the formation of a new government.

 

            Mrs Arroyo had occupied the Presidency under a questionable mandate, publicly disputed by the vast majority of Filipinos.  She stole the Presidency from President Joseph Ejercito Estrada through unconstitutional and deceitful means, and later, manipulated the results of the 2004 elections to perpetuate herself in power.

 

            We have individually and collectively tried all means to resolve this legitimacy issue through the normal electoral, judicial and congressional processes.  But Mrs Arroyo used naked power through the issuance of EO 464 and other executive proclamations, and the sheer weight of numbers to paralyze the impeachment process—procured at the people's great expense – to frustrate us at every turn.

 

            After all these had failed, our people tried to air their grievances in peaceful street assemblies.  They thought they were exercising a combination of constitutional rights, which no official or agency of government may legally abridge.  But they were stopped and dispersed violently with water cannons from firemen and truncheons from the police.

 

            The abuses of her government continue.  The deliberate refusal or failure of the dubious leaders to investigate and prosecute the people responsible for the scandalous "Hello Garci" electoral cheating, the Jocjoc Bolante multi million peso fertilizer scam, the IMPSA bribery scandal, the "Jose Pidal" and the jueteng scandals involving billions of public funds, the Northrail Project scandal, the Venable contract scandal, the NBN scandal, wholesale bribery of congressmen and governors in Malacanang, as well as the unabated and resolved extrajudicial killings of citizens, particularly journalists and members of the judiciary, and the use of military and police officers for some unlawful missions, among others, are clear proof her failure of good and decent governance.  There are numerous illegal and immoral activities and transactions conducted by this government with impunity that betray the citizens and the State of their pristine right to exist as a people with decency, dignity and integrity.

 

            With all the avenues closed by the use of naked force, no other means remain but for the officers and men of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police to exercise their constitutional mandate take the side of the sovereign Filipino people against the illegitimate 'president'.

 

            We beg your indulgence and apologize for any temporary disruptions attendant to fighting this righteous cause.  We are confident that the will of the sovereign people will prevail.  The end of the corrupt and vicious government and its bogus leaders is long overdue.

 

            We support the political and economic reforms that will be initiated by the new government, regardless of the personal cost it  may impose upon each one of us.

 

            We, therefore, call on all our people and all the governments around the world to give the constitutional rescue initiated by our patriotic brothers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the Philippine National Police a chance to work.

 

            To the task of organizing a new government, and pursuing a program of total and no-nonsense reform we commit our full support.

 

            We shall do whatever we can do to prevent any backsliding to the corruption and abuse of power of the immediate past, and advance the cause of truth, freedom, justice, peace and progress for all Filipinos.

 

            God bless the Filipino people, Mabuhay ang Pilipinas!

 

 

And the call for people to converge in Makati

 

THE PEOPLE ARE CALLED UPON TO CONVERGE IN MAKATI TRIANGLE, AYALA AND MAKATI AVENUE NOW TO BRING FORTH A NEW GOVERNMENT!

RISE UP AND BE COUNTED

 

     We presently find in existence a dangerous concept where the armed forces now owe their primary allegiance and loyalty to those who temporarily exercise the authority of the executive branch of the government rather than to the country and the Constitution they have worn to protect.

 

    That is a concept we defy and struggle to eradicate.

 

     If you believe you are a man of will and courage with unselfish motives and brave enough to fight against such tyranny, RISE UP AND BE COUNTED!

 

Para sa Bayan

 

(PSB)

 

 

Related links:

http://www.sundalo.bravehost.com/

http://magdaloparasapagbabago.blogspot.com/

 

Walden Bello heads Manila's anti-debt group

ONE of the fiercest critics of international financial institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, and of the current model of economic globalization has been elected as the new president of the Freedom from Debt Coalition during its 10th National Congress held over the weekend in Quezon City.

 

Intellectual activist Prof. Walden Bello, who teaches sociology and public administration at the University of the Philippines, will be replacing development activist and feminist leader Ana Maria R. Nemenzo, who served six years as its president.

 

"I believe FDC faces an exciting period in the next three years under Walden's leadership. He brings a clear vision and principled commitment to an urgent task ahead—the need to craft an alternative national economic platform that challenges neo-liberal globalization," Nemenzo said.

 

In his acceptance speech, Bello stressed that the country's foreign debt today is at its highest level in history.

 

"We have paid our debts many times over, yet owing to the tyranny of global finance, we will never be able to leave the treadmill of debt repayment if we stick to unfair rules that mainly serve the interests of creditors," he said.

 

As of August 2007, the national government's foreign debt stood at P1.7 trillion (US$1=PhP46.85). This represents 44 per cent of the total P3.87-trillion national government debt.

 

He lamented that for the Arroyo government, debt servicing must proceed according to the terms of the creditors because, "in their view, that is the only way to continue to access international capital markets."

 

"But this is the bankrupt logic that has led to debt being piled on debt.  We have not really escaped the infernal logic of contracting new debt to pay off old debt.  Meantime, our total debt mounts dangerously and brings us closer to the edge of bankruptcy," warned Bello.

 

Bello explained that the relationship between debtors and creditors has been altered by several events during the last few years, and this has implications for the Philippines. 

 

He cited the determination of Former Argentinean President Nestor Kirchner who showed the world that his government can take on a country's creditors and come out on top. 

 

"As a result of Kirchner's successful campaign to drastically reduce debt repayments, Argentina has been growing at 10 per cent of GDP for each of the last four years, the result partly of the fact that money that would otherwise leave the country for debt servicing has been channeled into investment in the domestic economy," he said.

 

The former executive director of Focus on the Global South also explained how the IMF, which used to be the enforcer of the creditors, has become a severely weakened institution today as a result of the bad policies it imposed on Asian countries during the 1997 financial crisis and on Argentina in 2002. 

 

"Some of its biggest borrowers have walked away from it, and since the Fund's budget stemmed in great part from repayments from these borrowers, the IMF is today facing both a crisis of credibility and a budgetary crisis. It is in real trouble," stressed Bello, also the former chair of the board of Greenpeace Southeast Asia.

 

Unfortunately, Bello said these developments have not registered with the Philippine government. 

 

"[The government's] policies toward its creditors continue to be the old policy of being a 'model debtor' that was initiated by President Corazon Aquino in the 1980's. The conditions for a successful break with the old and the crafting of a new bold policy of unilaterally writing down the Philippine debt are better today than they have ever been," he said.

 

Bello stressed that in the coming three years, FDC must lead in getting our country towards the path of financial independence, and in the crafting of an alternative financial path that would truly serve the interests of the country.

 

Bello, who has authored 14 books, wrote Development Debacle: the World Bank in the Philippines (1982) which exposed the support given by IMF and World Bank through loans and grants to former dictator Ferdinand Marcos to remain in power during the Martial Law period. The story goes that 3,000 pages of confidential documents were "smuggled" or secretly taken out of the Bank and were used as the material for the book. The book became an underground bestseller, not only in the Philippines, but also in the development community worldwide.

 

In 2003, Walden Bello was given the Right Livelihood Award, also known as the Alternative Nobel Prize, "for outstanding efforts in educating civil society about the effects of corporate globalization, and how alternatives to it can be implemented."

 

The Belgian newspaper Le Soir has called Prof. Bello "the most respected anti-globalization thinker in Asia," while Canadian author Naomi Klein has called him the "world's leading no-nonsense revolutionary."

Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo bags major Famas awards

 

Kasal movie trailer

 

"Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo,"  bags top honors during the 55th Filipino Academy of Movie Arts and Sciences (Famas) awards show held last Sunday.

 

Winners are:

 

Best Actress - Judy Ann Santos

Best Picture - Kasal, Kasali, Kasalo

Best Director - Jose Javier Reyes

Best Theme Song - Hawak Kamay by Yeng Constantino

Best Supporting Actress - Gina Pareno

Best Actor - Cesar Montano for the film Ligalig

Best Supporting Actor - Allen Dizon for the film Twilight Dancers

Tala Santos - Best Child Actress "Inang Yaya"

Christian Luis Singson - Best Child Actor "Barang"

Posthumous Award - Ramon Zamora

Jose Perez Memorial Awards - Ernie Pecho, showbiz reporter

Fernando Poe, Jr award - Rudy Fernandez

Lifetime Achievement awards - director Celso Ad Castillo and Gloria Sevilla

Grand Award - German Moreno

Vito Cajili -Best Editing Award "KKK,"

Jessie Lucas - Best Musical Score "KKK,"

 

Honestly though, I was short of guessing  who will win among the list of  nominees . Robert Arevalo and Maricel Soriano or Gina Pareño could have won the Lead actor, actress respectively. As to Joey Reyes as Best Director, ho-hum , not because Kasal was a box office means...

 

 

 

WE REJECT A MORALLY BANKRUPT GOVERNMENT!

Statement of Archbishop Lagdameo rejecting a morally bankrupt Arroyo administration

 

WE REJECT A MORALLY BANKRUPT GOVERNMENT!

 

We are gathered in the midst of crisis to unite and help overcome the grave challenges the nation faces.

 

When Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took office as President in January 2001, she proclaimed that she would usher in good governance, that she would show honest leadership by example, and ensure transparency in public transactions for public welfare.

 

We are now in the seventh year of that presidency – and that presidency has instead reaped pain and ruin for our nation and people.

 

We are pained by the extrajudicial killings; by the forced disappearances which have heightened despite the fact that this pattern of abuse was brought to the attention of the President early on, long before the outcry of concerned international officials and organizations condemned them before the world.

 

We are pained when billions of pesos are shamelessly diverted to serve personal political interests – such as the abrasive diversion in the fertilizer scam of public funds meant for farmers to ensure victory in the tainted presidential elections of 2004.

 

We are pained when demonstrators are bludgeoned by police and military men misled and emboldened by an erroneous "calibrated preemptive response" policy, a distorted policy already declared illegal by the Supreme Court but still enforced in the Parliament of the Streets.

 

Worse, our values have been degraded, our collective integrity blighted by the wanton examples of bribery, graft and corruption. Parents cannot adequately answer the questions of their own children – about the ZTE, how much bribes are involved, why? They cannot answer how come Congressmen and Governors receive so much money. Who are guilty? Why do they go unpunished? What kind of justice do we have?

 

Neither can they answer adequately what kind of future lies ahead for their children. For they themselves see no real future. There exists no vision, no real production, no genuine development – only self serving assertions of a "strong republic" -- whose doctors want to become nurses in order to go abroad, whose teachers are diminishing, whose farmers' and workers' future continues to slide dismally.

 

We cannot allow the pain and ruin of the Filipino. We cannot have a nation without a soul, governance without morality. We must unite! We must struggle for Truth! For Justice! For Meaningful and Fundamental Change!

 

 

 

SIGNATORIES:

 

 

 

Archbishop Angel N. Lagdameo D.D.
Diocese of Jaro

 

Archbishop Oscar Cruz D.D.
Diocese of Lingayen-Dagupan

 

Teofisto T. Gungona Jr.

 

Fr. Jose Dizon
Solidarity Philippines

 

Sharon Joy Ruiz Duremdez
National Council of Churches of the Philippines (NCCP)

 

Father Rudy Abao, MSC (Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus)

 

Mo. Mary John Mananzan. OSB (Benedictine Sisters)

 

Sr. Maureen Catabian, RGS
Chair, W-JPIC Committee of the SIsters of the Good Shepherd

 

Bro. Edmundo Fernandez, FSC (De La Salle Brothers)

 

Sr. Teresa Mueda, DC (Daughters of Charity)

 

Ma. Luz Mijares, OSA (Order of St. Augustine)

 

Fr. Jesus Maliit, SSS (Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament)

 

Sr. Elen Belardo, RGS

 

Pastor Rey Geloagan
United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP)

 

Mayor Jojo Binay
United Opposition (UNO)

 

Betina Legarda
Concerned Citizens Group

 

Teresita Quintos Deles
Black and White Movement

 

Dr. Carol P. Araullo
BAYAN

 

Ver Eustaquio
United Movement for Democracy and Justice

 

Paco Alcuaz
Kubol Pag-asa

 

Manjette Manalo
Laban ng Masa

 

RC Constantino

 

Boy Morales

 

Linggoy ALcuaz

 

Oscar Orbos

No to moratorium on cheaper meds bill, physicians told

AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros said that a moratorium on the cheaper medicines bill would meet stiff opposition in Congress since any delay in the enactment and implementation of the bill would do more harm on public health.

“The Philippine College of Physicians, which is calling for the moratorium, is asking for the impossible. Rather than delay the process, what we need now is for both chambers of Congress to expedite the approval of the bill,” Rep. Hontiveros said.
The solon also questioned the intention of the PCP. “They want a moratorium because the bill allegedly compromises drug safety and encourages ‘practice-of-medicine-at-drugstore-counters’. They want the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD) to be strengthened first, and they’re asking for immunity from suits should the law fail to work,” Rep. Hontiveros said. “But all of these beg the question.”

She said the position of PCP is premised on the claim that branded drugs are superior and should be used. “This belief is not an unadulterated notion based on facts and certainly not evidence-based. They should clarify their stance lest they be accused of being motivated by the perks provided pharmaceutical companies to market their products,” Rep. Hontiveros said.

“The PCP position strangely echoes the position of multinational pharmaceutical companies. It is quite known that pharmaceutical companies shower physicians with free travels abroad, cuts from the sale of products, and sponsorship of excursions. This unethical practice has done harm to the public by killing the Generics law and by promoting unaffordable and inaccessible drugs,” Rep. Hontiveros stressed. “Who is doing the harm, then?”

She said that patients either resort to dangerous practices because they can’t afford to buy medicines. “They either self-medicate, using cheaper but inappropriate medicines or fake drugs, or they don’t use medication at all,” she said.

The solon added that the strengthening of BFAD could take place simultaneously. “This is precisely the reason why I made the motion to suspend interest payments for onerous debts. We want to use the funds to strengthen our healthcare system, and in particular increase the capacity of DOH to provide greater access to cheaper medicines,” she added.

Miss Earth Jessica Trisko is Rus-Fil-Can

 

I dont know what to say whether the newly crowned Miss Earth is a Russian or Filipino or just simply Canadian ;-)

What I do know is that this woman has all the makings of a tough woman whose brain ( She's working on her PhD) and beauty plus the cultural mess up of 3 different cultures can disarm any man with who goes near her.

 

Jessica Trisko whose stunning beauty endured the longest ever known to mankind gruelling pageant month. Let's hear what's her green platform is:

 

"I believe that ozone depletion and global warming are the most serious threats to our environment today. While global warming is an extremely difficult problem to solve, we must all learn how to reduce our carbon footprint. I would create an educational program to teach individuals that every-day decisions have serious consequences for our environment. Environmental education teaches us to respect the environment and gives us the skills to make the decisions that are right for Mother Earth. It is our responsibility to educate ourselves and each other on how we can save our environment."

 

Well said,  but you forgot "World Peace." ;-)

 

Flawed impeachment process to strengthen GMA’s impunity

While agreeing to the allegations against President GMA contained in supplementary complaint filed by UNO spokesperson Adel Tamano yesterday, AKBAYAN Rep. Risa Hontiveros announced that she would not re-endorse the Abalos impeachment complaint in order to revise the original one.

“We agree that President GMA is responsible over the bribery scandal in the ZTE deal and the pay-off controversy in Malacañang involving legislators. She should be held accountable for that and we challenge her to speak out to answer these allegations,” Rep. Hontiveros said.
“However, flaws in the impeachment process is stacked up against those who wish to use the impeachment process as the venue to go after President GMA. Impeachment should lead to accountability. But as we have seen in previous impeachment attempts against GMA, the process has been distorted to strengthen the President. We don’t want a biased process that would only deepen her impunity,” Rep. Hontiveros said.

She added that AKBAYAN supports the move of the Minority to question the rules of impeachment before the Supreme Court. “The rules have to be revisited to restore the integrity of the process. The one-year bar is meant to make the process credible, and not a hindrance to accountability and justice,” Rep. Hontiveros stressed, adding that AKBAYAN believes that no initiation of the process has taken place once the Justice Committee junks an impeachment complaint due to insufficiency in substance or form.

“We want a level and fair playing field. True, the process is political. But this doesn’t mean that it should not be governed by the rule of law or by reason. What we have seen in the last two impeachment attempts against GMA is a bastardization of a process that should be urgently corrected,” Rep. Hontiveros said.

“Even if Speaker De Venecia and President GMA were able to kiss and make up, the allegations of bribery should not be buried and forgotten. It is in this spirit that AKBAYAN has filed a case against former COMELEC Chair Benjamin Abalos before the Ombudsman. We hope that the Speaker of the House of Representatives would rise above his partisan interest and lead Congress in using its oversight powers to hold a corrupt President accountable,” Rep. Hontiveros said.