"Everything you want is out there waiting for you to ask. Everything you want also wants you. But you have to take action to get it."
--Jules Renar
By Alex P. Vidal
TO whom will the Ilonggos listen and believe?
The question whether the proposed 14-kilometer Panay-Guimaras-Negros bridge project will push through has become a case of "too many cooks will spoil the broth."
Since 2016 when President Duterte assumed office, there has been multitudes of pronouncements that the construction of the multi-billion project, supposedly included under the administration's "Build, Build, Build" program, would start in 2017.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), the National Economic Development Authority (Neda), and the Department of Budget are the three key government agencies involved in the project.
The project will never be materialized without the triumvirate's blessings and coordination.
-o0o-
The problem is there has been no particular agency tasked primarily to give the public updates on what is going on.
There were cases when DPWH said one thing, and the Neda said another thing.
No coordination; everyone is his own boss and authority when it comes to giving the public a bird's eye view about the project.
The identity crisis has exacerbated the delays since nobody is explaining what; no one is accountable when it comes to total disclosure of the project's status.
Everyone has turned into a guessing game; everyone has become skeptical and confused.
From 2017 until the third quarter of 2019, all the three agencies, particularly the DPWH and Neda, could report, so far, was that the project "is still undergoing a feasibility study" financed by the Chinese Government.
Since nothing has happened in as far as initial start of public works are concerned, so many politicians and organizations have joined the fray in calling for its construction soon.
-o0o-
Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, wooing the votes of Guimarasnons in the recent polls, promised to "push" for the bridge construction "soon."
Iloilo Governor Arthur "Toto" Defensor Jr. wished the bridge project was included in President Duterte's most recent State of the Nation Address (Sona), which never happened.
Senator Franklin Drilon told fellow Ilonggos during the turnover of the newly-restored University of the Philippines (UPV) main building at the UPV Iloilo City campus last month that "it's high time" the bridge was constructed.
The senator from Molo said he has talked with DPWH Secretary Mark Villar to commence the construction soon.
Drilon declared: “There is a feasibility study funded by China, one year of feasibility study which started this January and supposed to be completed by the end of the year. We do not know what exactly the status is but we do hope that this feasibility study is finished on time so that the construction can commence.”
-o0o-
Most recently, the Provincial Board Members League (PBML) in Western Visayas, headed by Domingo Oso, has called for the construction of the bridge, estimated to cost P14 billion, that would connect the islands of Panay, Guimaras and Negros Occidental.
More politicians and organizations in Panay and Negros are expected to release their own versions of "requesting the DPWH..." soon even as 2022, the year of the supposed completion of all the projects under the "Build, Build, Build" program, is near.
If these "requests" and "expectations" from politicians and organizations continue to pour desperately, this means the project doesn't have any specific or concrete calendar yet to commence.
If the government is hell-bent to start the construction of the project, there's no need for the likes of Drilon to remind the agencies concerned; there's no need for organizations like the PBML to "push" for the bridge's construction.
-o0o-
Last month, Anna Mae Yu Lamentillo, chairperson of the DPWH's "Build, Build' Build" Committee, said the Panay-Guimaras-Negros Bridge project's feasibility study "is expected to be completed within this year."
The first phase of the proposed project is the Panay-Guimaras Bridge, which will reportedly start in Leganes, Iloilo and will end in Buenavista, Guimaras while the second phase is the Guimaras-Negros Island Bridge, which will reportedly start in San Lorenzo, Guimaras and will end in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental.
The Provincial Development Council (PDC) of Negros Occidental endorsed the conduct of the feasibility study for the project to the Provincial Board and the Regional Development Council (RDC-6) in June this year.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
Showing posts with label #Iloilo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Iloilo. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 10, 2019
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Let's unite to defeat the virus
"Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other's eyes for an instant?"
-Henry David Thoreau
By Alex P. Vidal
ANYTHING that destroys and kills should alarm us and impel us to be united to stop it.
Whether it's a poisonous food and drink, virus, act of terrorism, bad weather, war, animal attack, epidemic, it must be given major emphasis, importance, priority, and full attention.
The bottom line is to halt its destruction, minimize the death toll, and altogether save and preserve the human life.
In the arena of death and mayhem these past weeks, dengue fever has been the "star of the show."
Luckily, we've seen how the government, media, non-government organizations (NGOs), civic organizations, individual Good Samaritans, military, Philippine National Police (PNP) have combined their talents and resources to fight dengue fever, which has reached red alert level in Western Visayas, particularly in the city and province of Iloilo.
-o0o-
In times like this, we can't afford to entrust everything to the Department of Health (DoH) and relegate ourselves in the role of kibitzers.
Dengue is not the only problem that bedevils the undermanned DoH.
Although it won't scream for help, DoH definitely needs both moral, financial, personnel, and logistical support from concerned agencies and private groups in the battle against dengue.
If help will continue to come from a myriad of sources outside the DoH, there is no reason why we can't help trounce the dreaded virus that have killed many Ilonggo kids and adults.
The signs that many Ilonggo leaders, organizations, and private individuals are determined to help avert a terrible dengue outbreak have been felt this past week when businessman Johnny Que and the Philippine National Red Cross donated folding beds for Iloilo hospitals inundated by dengue patients.
-Henry David Thoreau
By Alex P. Vidal
ANYTHING that destroys and kills should alarm us and impel us to be united to stop it.
Whether it's a poisonous food and drink, virus, act of terrorism, bad weather, war, animal attack, epidemic, it must be given major emphasis, importance, priority, and full attention.
The bottom line is to halt its destruction, minimize the death toll, and altogether save and preserve the human life.
In the arena of death and mayhem these past weeks, dengue fever has been the "star of the show."
Luckily, we've seen how the government, media, non-government organizations (NGOs), civic organizations, individual Good Samaritans, military, Philippine National Police (PNP) have combined their talents and resources to fight dengue fever, which has reached red alert level in Western Visayas, particularly in the city and province of Iloilo.
-o0o-
In times like this, we can't afford to entrust everything to the Department of Health (DoH) and relegate ourselves in the role of kibitzers.
Dengue is not the only problem that bedevils the undermanned DoH.
Although it won't scream for help, DoH definitely needs both moral, financial, personnel, and logistical support from concerned agencies and private groups in the battle against dengue.
If help will continue to come from a myriad of sources outside the DoH, there is no reason why we can't help trounce the dreaded virus that have killed many Ilonggo kids and adults.
The signs that many Ilonggo leaders, organizations, and private individuals are determined to help avert a terrible dengue outbreak have been felt this past week when businessman Johnny Que and the Philippine National Red Cross donated folding beds for Iloilo hospitals inundated by dengue patients.
-o0o-
We are saddened that another media colleague, Eduardo Dizon of the Cotabato-based Brigada News, became the latest murder victim in the country ruled by an iron-fisted president who once threatened to kill "all corrupt journalists."
Under the Duterte administration, Dizon was the 13th casualty from the Fourth Estate.
We have no idea about the issues Dizon had tackled before he was shot to death by two motorcycle gunmen while travelling in a car on his way home in Makilala town on July 11.
Initial reports said his murder was job-related as he received threats during his radio program prior to the ambush.
Journalists in the Philippines are like sitting ducks.
Every now and then we hear reports of radioman or newspaperman being murdered in cold blood.
And we seldom hear that the cases are being pursued seriously by authorities; or, if the culprits have identified, they are brought behind bars and convicted,
-o0o-
We hate to again mention that the culture of impunity in the Philippines must have emboldened enemies of press freedom to silence Dizon, who was partly a politician.
The danger that crusading journalists face in the Philippines can be compared to the danger combatants in actual armed combat are facing in the battlefield: no one knows who will fall next.
Authorities must exert strong efforts to arrest Dizon killers soon so that the international community will not accuse the government of "abetting" the murder and connect it to the drastic campaign against illegal drugs now that the Philippines is under scrutiny and being monitored by the United Nations for its horrible record in human rights. (The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
Under the Duterte administration, Dizon was the 13th casualty from the Fourth Estate.
We have no idea about the issues Dizon had tackled before he was shot to death by two motorcycle gunmen while travelling in a car on his way home in Makilala town on July 11.
Initial reports said his murder was job-related as he received threats during his radio program prior to the ambush.
Journalists in the Philippines are like sitting ducks.
Every now and then we hear reports of radioman or newspaperman being murdered in cold blood.
And we seldom hear that the cases are being pursued seriously by authorities; or, if the culprits have identified, they are brought behind bars and convicted,
-o0o-
We hate to again mention that the culture of impunity in the Philippines must have emboldened enemies of press freedom to silence Dizon, who was partly a politician.
The danger that crusading journalists face in the Philippines can be compared to the danger combatants in actual armed combat are facing in the battlefield: no one knows who will fall next.
Authorities must exert strong efforts to arrest Dizon killers soon so that the international community will not accuse the government of "abetting" the murder and connect it to the drastic campaign against illegal drugs now that the Philippines is under scrutiny and being monitored by the United Nations for its horrible record in human rights. (The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
Monday, July 8, 2019
Insatiable and a spoiled brat
"Man is insatiable for power; he is infantile in his desires and, always discontented with what he has, loves only what he has not. People complain of the despotism of princes; they ought to complain of the despotism of man."
--Joseph de Maistre
By Alex P. Vidal
ARE the ongoing woes being experienced by at least 12 government hospitals in Iloilo a result of the late reaction to seriously address the dengue cases?
Was the May midterm elections the culprit?
If the elections weren't held two months ago, health and local government officials probably would have given full attention to the deadly virus and ample preparations would have been sufficiently made earlier.
The reported spill over of dengue patients in these hospitals that resulted in shortages of beds means the government was caught unprepared when dengue was wreaking havoc.
As early as in September 2018, the Bacolod City Health Office already reported seven deaths mostly children aged 3 to 11; one was 23 years old.
-o0o-
Also in February 2019, the Department of Health in Central Visayas reported that 28 have died of complications arising from the dengue fever virus since January 1, 2019.
The regional epidemiology and surveillance unit of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) reported that from January 1 to February 16, 2019, they have recorded 3,681 dengue cases, which represents a 233 percent increase when compared to the 1,105 cases recorded over the same period in 2018.
Meanwhile, all the 12 Iloilo government district hospitals are facing a crisis after 1,984 dengue-related patients have been admitted as of July 9, 2019.
The number swelled only about three days after Gov. Arthur "Toto" Defensor Jr. signed an executive order on July 5, 2019 declaring a dengue outbreak.
-o0o-
The last time I interviewed Alan Peter Cayetano was in June 2015 at the Philippine Consulate in New York City.
He was then a senator and trying to coax would-be presidential candidate Rodrigo R. Duterte to be the former Davao City mayor's runningmate.
He got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong."
Cayetano wanted to become vice president but was badly clobbered by now Vice President Leni Robredo and second placer Bongbong Marcos.
The son of the late Sen. Rene Cayetano had also wanted to become a senate president but fellow senator Koko Pimentel dashed his dreams to pieces.
But when he wished to become the foreign affairs secretary, this time Alan Peter Cayetano got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong."
-o0o-
When Alan Peter Cayetano left the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)-with a not-so-impressive performance--he ran and won as representative in Taguig-Pateros in the recent elections.
Now an elected congressman, insatiable Alan Peter Cayetano wanted to become the House speaker.
After so much jostling and cajoling, the spoiled brat of Philippine politics again got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong"--albeit a term-sharing deal with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
Alan Peter Cayetano is perhaps the only Filipino politician who thinks a public office is a Ferris wheel or a tour bus.
He is both insatiable and a spoiled brat under the Duterte administration; and this made so many people suspect that he is not really sincere in public service and only wanted to establish a record in government service for himself.
We won't be surprised if, after they have mangled the constitution and change the system of government on the behest of President Duterte, Alan Peter Cayetano will next aim to become a prime minister.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
--Joseph de Maistre
By Alex P. Vidal
ARE the ongoing woes being experienced by at least 12 government hospitals in Iloilo a result of the late reaction to seriously address the dengue cases?
Was the May midterm elections the culprit?
If the elections weren't held two months ago, health and local government officials probably would have given full attention to the deadly virus and ample preparations would have been sufficiently made earlier.
The reported spill over of dengue patients in these hospitals that resulted in shortages of beds means the government was caught unprepared when dengue was wreaking havoc.
As early as in September 2018, the Bacolod City Health Office already reported seven deaths mostly children aged 3 to 11; one was 23 years old.
-o0o-
Also in February 2019, the Department of Health in Central Visayas reported that 28 have died of complications arising from the dengue fever virus since January 1, 2019.
The regional epidemiology and surveillance unit of the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) reported that from January 1 to February 16, 2019, they have recorded 3,681 dengue cases, which represents a 233 percent increase when compared to the 1,105 cases recorded over the same period in 2018.
Meanwhile, all the 12 Iloilo government district hospitals are facing a crisis after 1,984 dengue-related patients have been admitted as of July 9, 2019.
The number swelled only about three days after Gov. Arthur "Toto" Defensor Jr. signed an executive order on July 5, 2019 declaring a dengue outbreak.
-o0o-
The last time I interviewed Alan Peter Cayetano was in June 2015 at the Philippine Consulate in New York City.
He was then a senator and trying to coax would-be presidential candidate Rodrigo R. Duterte to be the former Davao City mayor's runningmate.
He got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong."
Cayetano wanted to become vice president but was badly clobbered by now Vice President Leni Robredo and second placer Bongbong Marcos.
The son of the late Sen. Rene Cayetano had also wanted to become a senate president but fellow senator Koko Pimentel dashed his dreams to pieces.
But when he wished to become the foreign affairs secretary, this time Alan Peter Cayetano got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong."
-o0o-
When Alan Peter Cayetano left the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)-with a not-so-impressive performance--he ran and won as representative in Taguig-Pateros in the recent elections.
Now an elected congressman, insatiable Alan Peter Cayetano wanted to become the House speaker.
After so much jostling and cajoling, the spoiled brat of Philippine politics again got what he wanted from "Tatay Digong"--albeit a term-sharing deal with Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Velasco.
Alan Peter Cayetano is perhaps the only Filipino politician who thinks a public office is a Ferris wheel or a tour bus.
He is both insatiable and a spoiled brat under the Duterte administration; and this made so many people suspect that he is not really sincere in public service and only wanted to establish a record in government service for himself.
We won't be surprised if, after they have mangled the constitution and change the system of government on the behest of President Duterte, Alan Peter Cayetano will next aim to become a prime minister.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)
Thursday, February 21, 2019
Is Mr. Leung still alive?
"The war on drugs is wrong, both tactically and morally. It assumes that people are too stupid, too reckless, and too irresponsible to decide whether and under what conditions to consume drugs. The war on drugs is morally bankrupt."
-- Larry Elder
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- When I nominated his name in the Iloilo Olympics Society (IOS) board during the lunching of the "Spirit of Olympism" at the Sarabia Manor Hotel in Iloilo City in the Philippines in 1991, Sin Leung Kim, a Filipino-Chinese businessman, did not decline. He smiled, in fact; a gesture that did not sit well with the late former Leganes, Iloilo mayor Josil Jaen, who immediately opposed the nomination. Jaen didn't hide his displeasure toward Leung, whom the mayor had suspected to be involved in illegal drugs, among other reasons. "Indi lang na siya iya 'Lex a. Sugiran ta lang ka next time kon ngaa (Don't include him here, Lex. I will tell you the reason why later)," said Jaen, who died of pneumonia on February 3, 2017.
-o0o-
Another reason why Leung was not elected--or was not accepted--aside from Jaen's opposition, was because the late former Iloilo board member Vicente "Bugoy" Molejona, then administrator of the Iloilo Sports Complex (ISC), "didn't know him from Adam."
Molejona, a protege of the late former Iloilo Vice Governor Ramon Duremdes, "unsung hero" behind Iloilo Province's hosting of the 1991 Palarong Pambansa, was among the precursors of the IOS, along with the late Iloilo 4th district Rep. Narciso Monfort, Eng. Ramon Hechanova, Jaen, among other Ilonggo sports leaders during the administration of Gov. Sim Grino. Leung, a sports patron who claimed he was close to then President Fidel V. Ramos, was in the event after being "invited" by Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) commissioner Celso Dayrit, an FVR appointee. "Those politicians (referring to the Ilonggos) don't know me, but President FVR and (First Lady) Mrs. Ming Ramos know me personally," Leung boasted.
-o0o-
Leung's associates included then controversial former Philippine Track and Field Association (Patafa) president Go Teng Kok, who was also reportedly linked in illegal drugs.
Jaen didn't anymore tell this writer the other "main" reasons why they disliked Leung since Leung was already "outside the kulambo" after IOS's formal organization. Leung was disappointed but didn't show his emotion during the gathering. He gamely rose from his seat and left. But he continued to communicate with this writer especially when he and fellow sports patrons from a Filipino-Chinese group donated sports equipment and cash to Filipino athletes departing for training abroad or to compete in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. "When I help (the athletes) I don't advertise it like what the politicians are doing," said Leung, who asked me to write about his generosity to the poor athletes "for record purposes." Leung did show to me several photos where he was together with FVR and other prominent political figures in the Philippines.
-o0o-
Leung also confirmed he knew prominent Bacolod businessman Ricard "Cano" Tan, known then as "Bacolod's football godfather."
Tan, a very outspoken and active sports and political personality, became a Bacolod City councilor. On December 14, 2018 at around 5 p.m., Tan and his wife, Nita, survived an ambush staged by unknown assailants in Brgy. Alangilan in Bacolod City while on board their Nissan Patrol SUV. They did not suffer bullet injuries, according to Senior Inspector John Christopher Masangkay, Police Station 5 chief, but Tan had slight injuries caused by broken glass. President Rodrigo R. Duterte had tagged Tan as a "drug lord". Tan, a generous sports patron like Leung, has not responded to Duterte's accusation and has not spoken to the media since the ambush. Amid the furor on big time sports patrons allegedly involved in illegal drugs, Leung suddenly crossed my mind. Where is Leung now? Can or did he survive under the hard-hitting Duterte administration? Is he still alive? Was our friend, the late Mayor Jaen, right?
|
Wednesday, November 21, 2018
Turf war? Tell it to the marines
“Why do we kill people who are killing people to show that killing people is wrong?” -- ANONYMOUS
By Alex P. Vidal
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- I personally don’t buy the theory being put forward by Iloilo City Police Office (ICPO) investigators in the Philippines that the murder of retired cop Ronaldo “Apple” Alag, 57, could be the result of a “turf war” among drug syndicates.
At least this is one of the angles the police are reportedly trying to crack.
Only two big groups engaged in illegal drugs were known to have widely operated in Iloilo City since the early 90’s until recently: the Odicta Drug Group and the Prevendido Drug Group.
All other satellite or smaller groups were either linked to the above-mentioned groups or “colorum” teams with no abundant wherewithal.
Both the leaders of the Odicta Drug Group and Prevendido Drug Group have been “neutralized” with the killing of Melvin “Boyet” Odicta Sr. on August 29, 2016 in Caticlan, Aklan and of Richard “Buang” Prevendido on September 1, 2017 in Balabago, Jaro District, Iloilo City.
-o0o-
Buang’s sister, Remia Prevendido-Gregori, the village chief of Barangay Bakhaw in Mandurriao District, Iloilo City, was also killed on June 24, 2018 at the family-owned resort in Barangay Igcadlum in San Joaquin town.
Because both groups were making a lot of money and some of their couriers and associates were known to each other, the Odicta and Prevendido Drug Groups weren’t at war against each other.
They could not.
They should not.
Engaging in a Mafia-like “elimination process” to corner or polish off the cookies would defeat their purpose; they weren’t that sophisticated and glamorous to act as Godfather bioflick copycats.
The Odicta Drug Group was “too big” to wage a bloody rivalry against the “smaller” Prevendido Drug Group, which was “too inferior” to mount a trouble against the former.
The groups were believed to have operated not only in Iloilo City, but in the entire Western Visayas that included the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Negros, making the angle of territorial disputes seems implausible.
-o0o-
The Regional Police Office 6 (RPO-6) has admitted there are remnants of these groups or even “new players” trying to revive the syndicates’ old glory, but because of the aggressive campaign being waged by the RPO-6 and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), their tentacles couldn’t easily mushroom.
The police’s swashbuckling operations supervised by tough RPO-6 director, Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, these past months have trounced them before they could blast off and spread their legs.
It was believed that with the fall of Odicta and Prevendido, even their much-vaunted war chest and armed machinery (killing apparatuses) have been subdued if not crippled.
Thus it’s inconceivable that any “active” drug group can have the guts and capability to violently exterminate the likes of Apple Alag and Odicta’s lawyer Edeljulio “Judel” Romero using professional killers “with military precision” and in broad daylight.
Turf war?
Or another case of extra-judicial killing (EJK)?
At least this is one of the angles the police are reportedly trying to crack.
Only two big groups engaged in illegal drugs were known to have widely operated in Iloilo City since the early 90’s until recently: the Odicta Drug Group and the Prevendido Drug Group.
All other satellite or smaller groups were either linked to the above-mentioned groups or “colorum” teams with no abundant wherewithal.
Both the leaders of the Odicta Drug Group and Prevendido Drug Group have been “neutralized” with the killing of Melvin “Boyet” Odicta Sr. on August 29, 2016 in Caticlan, Aklan and of Richard “Buang” Prevendido on September 1, 2017 in Balabago, Jaro District, Iloilo City.
-o0o-
Buang’s sister, Remia Prevendido-Gregori, the village chief of Barangay Bakhaw in Mandurriao District, Iloilo City, was also killed on June 24, 2018 at the family-owned resort in Barangay Igcadlum in San Joaquin town.
Because both groups were making a lot of money and some of their couriers and associates were known to each other, the Odicta and Prevendido Drug Groups weren’t at war against each other.
They could not.
They should not.
Engaging in a Mafia-like “elimination process” to corner or polish off the cookies would defeat their purpose; they weren’t that sophisticated and glamorous to act as Godfather bioflick copycats.
The Odicta Drug Group was “too big” to wage a bloody rivalry against the “smaller” Prevendido Drug Group, which was “too inferior” to mount a trouble against the former.
The groups were believed to have operated not only in Iloilo City, but in the entire Western Visayas that included the provinces of Iloilo, Guimaras, Aklan, Capiz, Antique, and Negros, making the angle of territorial disputes seems implausible.
-o0o-
The Regional Police Office 6 (RPO-6) has admitted there are remnants of these groups or even “new players” trying to revive the syndicates’ old glory, but because of the aggressive campaign being waged by the RPO-6 and the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA), their tentacles couldn’t easily mushroom.
The police’s swashbuckling operations supervised by tough RPO-6 director, Chief Supt. John Bulalacao, these past months have trounced them before they could blast off and spread their legs.
It was believed that with the fall of Odicta and Prevendido, even their much-vaunted war chest and armed machinery (killing apparatuses) have been subdued if not crippled.
Thus it’s inconceivable that any “active” drug group can have the guts and capability to violently exterminate the likes of Apple Alag and Odicta’s lawyer Edeljulio “Judel” Romero using professional killers “with military precision” and in broad daylight.
Turf war?
Or another case of extra-judicial killing (EJK)?
Monday, June 25, 2018
Quo vadis, Iloilo politicians?
“Everything is changing. People are taking their comedians seriously and the politicians as a joke.”
--Will Rogers
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If self-confessed womanizer Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez is ousted as House speaker before the 2019 congressional elections, many Ilonggo politicians who have entrusted to him their political future will be in real big trouble.
There are strong whispers spreading around that majority of the Philippine congressmen/women want either Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, 40, or Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, 71, to replace the loud-mouthed Alvarez, one of the big bosses of the ruling PDP-Laban.
Things aren’t anymore normal in the House leadership ever since Alvarez engaged Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in an ugly word war early this year, the grapevine says.
Many Ilonggo politicians who kowtow to Alvarez thought the 60-year-old Davao del Norte representative was untouchable and unshakable being one of the closest allies of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
For some of them, Alvarez is the modern Marcus Aurelius, a stoic and leading icon of Pax Romana.
-o0o-
Like vermin, some of these Ilonggo politicians turned their backs from their former benefactors and political parties and embraced Alvarez like a king of Persia.
They formed a beeline and praised Alvarez to high heavens, looked up to him like a demigod and sought his blessings for anointment of their local bets for the May 14, 2019 elections.
They had no idea that Alvarez was also facing a king-sized insurrection right in his own turf.
Unknown to most of them, the playboy House boss was already a ticking bomb and could explode anytime; his invincibility will soon come to a screeching halt if he can’t dodge the deadly wallops of the Cassiuses and Brutuses in the Philippine House of Representatives.
If Alvarez capitulates, quo vadis, Iloilo politicians?
-o0o-
While having my usual mid-afternoon smoothie (a thick, cold beverage made from pureed raw fruit and sometimes vegetables blended with ice cream or frozen yogurt) session inside a Colombian resto on corner 82nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens Sunday, a group of revelers wearing yellow shirts and caps exploded in the intersection.
Suddenly flag-waving fans riding in cars honking loudly joined the festivity that started past three o’clock in the afternoon and ended at around past seven o’clock in the evening.
They were Colombians living in New York City celebrating Colombia’s triple hammer blow that dumped out Poland in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
Colombia’s sensational win kept its hopes alive of barging in the Last 16.
Some of those in the crowd proudly chanting and cheering were a mixture of old, young, men and women soccer fans pouring out their joy and happiness like they won the Olympic Games.
Others brought along their dogs strapped with the Colombian national flag.
New York City cops passing the intersection just watched as they continued to patrol the predominantly Latino community.
I wished we Filipinos could also celebrate like them.
--Will Rogers
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If self-confessed womanizer Pantaleon “Bebot” Alvarez is ousted as House speaker before the 2019 congressional elections, many Ilonggo politicians who have entrusted to him their political future will be in real big trouble.
There are strong whispers spreading around that majority of the Philippine congressmen/women want either Marinduque Rep. Lord Allan Jay Velasco, 40, or Pampanga Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, 71, to replace the loud-mouthed Alvarez, one of the big bosses of the ruling PDP-Laban.
Things aren’t anymore normal in the House leadership ever since Alvarez engaged Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte in an ugly word war early this year, the grapevine says.
Many Ilonggo politicians who kowtow to Alvarez thought the 60-year-old Davao del Norte representative was untouchable and unshakable being one of the closest allies of President Rodrigo R. Duterte.
For some of them, Alvarez is the modern Marcus Aurelius, a stoic and leading icon of Pax Romana.
-o0o-
Like vermin, some of these Ilonggo politicians turned their backs from their former benefactors and political parties and embraced Alvarez like a king of Persia.
They formed a beeline and praised Alvarez to high heavens, looked up to him like a demigod and sought his blessings for anointment of their local bets for the May 14, 2019 elections.
They had no idea that Alvarez was also facing a king-sized insurrection right in his own turf.
Unknown to most of them, the playboy House boss was already a ticking bomb and could explode anytime; his invincibility will soon come to a screeching halt if he can’t dodge the deadly wallops of the Cassiuses and Brutuses in the Philippine House of Representatives.
If Alvarez capitulates, quo vadis, Iloilo politicians?
-o0o-
While having my usual mid-afternoon smoothie (a thick, cold beverage made from pureed raw fruit and sometimes vegetables blended with ice cream or frozen yogurt) session inside a Colombian resto on corner 82nd Street and Roosevelt Avenue in Queens Sunday, a group of revelers wearing yellow shirts and caps exploded in the intersection.
Suddenly flag-waving fans riding in cars honking loudly joined the festivity that started past three o’clock in the afternoon and ended at around past seven o’clock in the evening.
They were Colombians living in New York City celebrating Colombia’s triple hammer blow that dumped out Poland in the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia.
Colombia’s sensational win kept its hopes alive of barging in the Last 16.
Some of those in the crowd proudly chanting and cheering were a mixture of old, young, men and women soccer fans pouring out their joy and happiness like they won the Olympic Games.
Others brought along their dogs strapped with the Colombian national flag.
New York City cops passing the intersection just watched as they continued to patrol the predominantly Latino community.
I wished we Filipinos could also celebrate like them.
Monday, April 16, 2018
Emily Lopez, first victim of gossip, fake news
“There is a fundamental difference between men and women - women need romance, men need intrigue.”
--Sherry Argov
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- The decision of former Guimaras Gov. Emily Relucio-Lopez to stay away from the kitchen when the heat became unbearable in 2006 was a brilliant move.
Her “premature” retirement from politics, as well, was mourned by her admirers, including some members of Iloilo media, but was hailed by friends who wanted to shield her from “dirty world of politics.”
Relucio-Lopez was supposed to get an ambassadorial post to Italy under the Arroyo administration, but merchants of intrigues and gossipers made sure she would be sideswiped from selection process.
As soon as her name surfaced as among those being considered by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the post, green-eyed monsters started to circulate ugly stories about her relationship with husband, former Iloilo second district Rep. Albertito Lopez.
Her detractors tried to flood the mass media with fake news (it’s good social media wasn’t so influential at that time) that Chona Mejia, Rep. Lopez’s estranged wife, was sharpening her knife and was poised to appear in the Commission on Appointments (CA) to “spell the beans” and oppose the former governor’s appointment.
It was actually Sen. Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III who was painting the town red portraying Relucio-Lopez to be “unworthy” of the ambassadorial position.
--Sherry Argov
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- The decision of former Guimaras Gov. Emily Relucio-Lopez to stay away from the kitchen when the heat became unbearable in 2006 was a brilliant move.
Her “premature” retirement from politics, as well, was mourned by her admirers, including some members of Iloilo media, but was hailed by friends who wanted to shield her from “dirty world of politics.”
Relucio-Lopez was supposed to get an ambassadorial post to Italy under the Arroyo administration, but merchants of intrigues and gossipers made sure she would be sideswiped from selection process.
As soon as her name surfaced as among those being considered by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for the post, green-eyed monsters started to circulate ugly stories about her relationship with husband, former Iloilo second district Rep. Albertito Lopez.
Her detractors tried to flood the mass media with fake news (it’s good social media wasn’t so influential at that time) that Chona Mejia, Rep. Lopez’s estranged wife, was sharpening her knife and was poised to appear in the Commission on Appointments (CA) to “spell the beans” and oppose the former governor’s appointment.
It was actually Sen. Sergio “Serge” Osmeña III who was painting the town red portraying Relucio-Lopez to be “unworthy” of the ambassadorial position.
-o0o-
Osmeña had ax to grind against Relucio-Lopez because his wife, Betina, was Chona Mejia’s daughter with Rep. Lopez.
According to Osmeña, the marriage between Chona and Rep. Lopez has never been annulled and there was no divorce in the Philippines.
When reached by reporters for comment, Chona Mejia reportedly denied she was planning a CA ambush against Relucio-Lopez.
She admitted though she tried to campaign against Relucio-Lopez when the latter ran for office in Guimaras in the 90’s.
Chona Mejia, too, appeared to have let bygones be bygones and wasn’t interested anymore to dip her fingers into the murky waters of politics.
True or not, Osmeña’s saber rattling was dismissed by Relucio-Lopez’s sympathizers as an “intriga” (intrigue) and a “tsismis” (gossip).
It was also belittled as an “estoppel” since Relucio-Lopez had also previously served as congresswoman in Guimaras aside from governor in the island province; her relationship with Rep. Lopez was never used with extreme necessity by her political enemies to stymie her stint as public servant.
It was tsismis or gossip that toppled Relucio-Lopez from the ambassadorial post to Italy.
-o0o-
We remember Gov. Relucio-Lopez’s predicament amid the decision of Facebook to lower the boom on fake news websites in the Philippines that contain false information.
The lady governor would have been a victim of cyber or internet bullying if social media was active during her time.
An outstanding public servant, Relucio-Lopez was a big loss in Philippine politics.
The idea of building a bridge between Guimaras and Iloilo had been conceptualized during her term as governor.
She refused to seek reelection for congresswoman at the time when Guimaras was starting to attract foreign investors and when “delicious” Guimaras mango became an international sensation.
Osmeña had ax to grind against Relucio-Lopez because his wife, Betina, was Chona Mejia’s daughter with Rep. Lopez.
According to Osmeña, the marriage between Chona and Rep. Lopez has never been annulled and there was no divorce in the Philippines.
When reached by reporters for comment, Chona Mejia reportedly denied she was planning a CA ambush against Relucio-Lopez.
She admitted though she tried to campaign against Relucio-Lopez when the latter ran for office in Guimaras in the 90’s.
Chona Mejia, too, appeared to have let bygones be bygones and wasn’t interested anymore to dip her fingers into the murky waters of politics.
True or not, Osmeña’s saber rattling was dismissed by Relucio-Lopez’s sympathizers as an “intriga” (intrigue) and a “tsismis” (gossip).
It was also belittled as an “estoppel” since Relucio-Lopez had also previously served as congresswoman in Guimaras aside from governor in the island province; her relationship with Rep. Lopez was never used with extreme necessity by her political enemies to stymie her stint as public servant.
It was tsismis or gossip that toppled Relucio-Lopez from the ambassadorial post to Italy.
-o0o-
We remember Gov. Relucio-Lopez’s predicament amid the decision of Facebook to lower the boom on fake news websites in the Philippines that contain false information.
The lady governor would have been a victim of cyber or internet bullying if social media was active during her time.
An outstanding public servant, Relucio-Lopez was a big loss in Philippine politics.
The idea of building a bridge between Guimaras and Iloilo had been conceptualized during her term as governor.
She refused to seek reelection for congresswoman at the time when Guimaras was starting to attract foreign investors and when “delicious” Guimaras mango became an international sensation.
Thursday, April 12, 2018
Iloilo always survives
“We can live without religion and meditation, but we cannot survive without human affection.”
--Dalai Lama
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- In every economic and political upheaval in the Philippines, Ilonggos always survived since time immemorial.
When political situation turns wild and woolly and deteriorates in Metro Manila, the Ilonggos are unfazed; capitol and city hall officials offer their shoulders for one another to lean on.
This has happened during the turbulent moments of administrations before and after the EDSA revolution.
When natural calamity hit the country, Ilonggos are ready lock, stock, and barrel for any emergency assistance in terms of manpower, goods, and food supply.
Ilonggos are deeply religious and they attribute every thing that provides them relief and comfort to the Divine Providence.
Also, unlike other elected officials in the Philippines who justify immorality -- and even paraded their inamoratas in public -- Iloilo city and province have been blessed with mostly “morally upright” leaders.
We remember 18 years ago in a speech during the “Kruzada Kontra Sa Druga” at the Iloilo Amphitheater on September 14, 1999, Gov. Art Defensor warned the Ilonggos that a country, a territory, a city or province, can only deteriorate if it is already in the threshold of moral shambles.
Defensor was talking about the period of the Principate, which was the age of moral decay in the Roman Civilization.
-o0o-
Divorce among upper classes was so common as to be scarcely a matter of remark.
According to the records, there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome during the reign of Trajan, and, judging from the testimony of some of the most famous writers, homosexuality was exceedingly common and even fashionable.
While political corruption had been subjected to more stringent control, crimes of violence appear to have increased.
This was the period when shabu and other illegal drugs weren’t yet common.
Moral indictment became serious which can be brought against the age.
It was the further growth of the passion for cruelty; the great games and spectacle became bloodier and more disgusting than ever before.
-o0o-
The Romans could no longer obtain a sufficient thrill from mere exhibitions of athletic prowess; even pugilists were required to have their hands wrapped with tongs of leather loaded with iron or lead.
The most popular amusement of all was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum or in the other amphitheaters capable of accommodating thousands of spectators.
Most of the gladiators were condemned criminals or slaves, but some were volunteers even from the respectable classes.
The Princeps Commondus, the worthless son of Marcus Aurelius, entered the arena several times for the sake of the plaudits of the mob.
--Dalai Lama
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- In every economic and political upheaval in the Philippines, Ilonggos always survived since time immemorial.
When political situation turns wild and woolly and deteriorates in Metro Manila, the Ilonggos are unfazed; capitol and city hall officials offer their shoulders for one another to lean on.
This has happened during the turbulent moments of administrations before and after the EDSA revolution.
When natural calamity hit the country, Ilonggos are ready lock, stock, and barrel for any emergency assistance in terms of manpower, goods, and food supply.
Ilonggos are deeply religious and they attribute every thing that provides them relief and comfort to the Divine Providence.
Also, unlike other elected officials in the Philippines who justify immorality -- and even paraded their inamoratas in public -- Iloilo city and province have been blessed with mostly “morally upright” leaders.
We remember 18 years ago in a speech during the “Kruzada Kontra Sa Druga” at the Iloilo Amphitheater on September 14, 1999, Gov. Art Defensor warned the Ilonggos that a country, a territory, a city or province, can only deteriorate if it is already in the threshold of moral shambles.
Defensor was talking about the period of the Principate, which was the age of moral decay in the Roman Civilization.
-o0o-
Divorce among upper classes was so common as to be scarcely a matter of remark.
According to the records, there were 32,000 prostitutes in Rome during the reign of Trajan, and, judging from the testimony of some of the most famous writers, homosexuality was exceedingly common and even fashionable.
While political corruption had been subjected to more stringent control, crimes of violence appear to have increased.
This was the period when shabu and other illegal drugs weren’t yet common.
Moral indictment became serious which can be brought against the age.
It was the further growth of the passion for cruelty; the great games and spectacle became bloodier and more disgusting than ever before.
-o0o-
The Romans could no longer obtain a sufficient thrill from mere exhibitions of athletic prowess; even pugilists were required to have their hands wrapped with tongs of leather loaded with iron or lead.
The most popular amusement of all was watching the gladiatorial combats in the Colosseum or in the other amphitheaters capable of accommodating thousands of spectators.
Most of the gladiators were condemned criminals or slaves, but some were volunteers even from the respectable classes.
The Princeps Commondus, the worthless son of Marcus Aurelius, entered the arena several times for the sake of the plaudits of the mob.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
No knee-jerk reaction on Defensor’s transfer to PDP-Laban
“In politics, nothing happens by accident. If it happens, you can bet it was planned that way.”
--Franklin D. Roosevelt
By Alex P. Vidal
NEWARK, New Jersey -- When big names in Philippine local politics jump from one political party to another, it is normally greeted with derision and mockery from the deserters’ hitherto party mates and rivals.
They are tagged as “opportunists” and dismissed as “balimbings” (fruit with scientific name Averrhoa carambola) or turncoats.
Such was the misfortune that befell politicians in Iloilo City led by Rep. Jerry Trenas and Mayor Jose Espinosa III, who abandoned the Liberal Party (LP) for the administration’s Partido Demokratiko Pilipino-Lakas ng Bayan (PDP-Laban) last year.
Political rivals took turns in lambasting “ingrate” Trenas , Espinosa and some of their ilk in the city council.
Their political enemies also utilized the social media to ridicule their move to leave LP and embrace President Rodrigo Duterte’s political party.
It’s always an earthshaking event for their detractors; the kind of opportunity to skin them alive in public their detractors would never allow to slip away. Politics 101.
-o0o-
Not in Iloilo province.
When Governor Arthur “Art” Defensor Sr. disclosed last year that he, his son, Iloilo third district Rep. Arthur “Toto” Defensor Jr. , and 4,000 other local officials from their district will take their oath as the newest members of the PDP-Laban on January 18, 2018, nobody from the governor’s political rivals--or potential political enemies--raised a whimper.
Team Defensor’s scheduled “mass oath taking” would be administered by House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez at the Pototan Astrodome in Pototan town, 30 kilometers north from Iloilo City.
No admonition even from Iloilo fourth district Rep. Ferjenel “Dr. Ferj” G. Biron, Rep. Defensor’s rumored rival for governor in 2019.
Rep. Biron, who admits he has big respect and admiration for Gov. Defensor despite his loss in the 2013 gubernatorial race, probably didn’t want to sully the Defensors’ significant date with political history.
It would be awkward for the lawmaker from Barotac Nuevo to criticize the Defensors’ transfer from LP to PDP-Laban if he was eyeing LP’s official nomination for the top capitol post.
-o0o-
Some provincial board members and municipal mayors who have remained loyal to LP also didn’t find it necessary to rebuke the Defensors’ decision to transfer even for the sake of “check and balance” and, to some extent, publicity.
They probably got Gov. Defensor’s message loud and clear: he needed the President’s blessings for Toto Defensor’s candidacy in 2019.
From the very beginning, the governor never hid his cards and was even excited to immediately lay them on the table without beating around the bush: he wanted the congressman son to be the administration’s standard-bearer in 2019.
Defensor would have been chided both by allies and detractors as hypocrite if he did not admit his decision to walk away from LP to PDP-Laban had something to do with political survival.
Tuesday, January 16, 2018
I didn’t execute a CHR affidavit on Capitol raid
“I object to violence because when it appears to do good, the good is only temporary; the evil it does is permanent.”
--Mahatma Gandhi
By Alex P. Vidal
NEWARK, New Jersey -- I did not regret it until now when I “ignored” the request of the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) in the Philippines for me to execute an affidavit to narrate what I saw when fully armed assault cops raided the Iloilo Provincial Capitol to forcibly remove then Governor Niel D. Tupas Sr. and two other members of the provincial board on January 17, 2007.
I knew it would be useless to join the fray because the Philippine National Police (PNP) would anyway exonerate those involved; the PNP bigwigs were not stupid to pin down their underlings.
It was enough and necessary that I decided to instead chronicle the event in my newspaper articles weeks after the violence.
The cases against the cops have been dismissed; my articles will remain intact on-line and in printed newspaper files for future generation.
When historians remember that ugly episode, they will be horrified to know that despite “overwhelming” pieces of evidence, the case has been whitewashed.
Being in the right place at the right time, I knew I hit a jackpot as a community journalist nevertheless.
-o0o-
Then PNP chief Director General Oscar Calderon tasked Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG) chief Director Edgardo Doromal to investigate the allegation of “overkill”.
As expected, Doromal cleared the Iloilo Regional Mobile Group (RMG) team despite video footage aired on national television showing the mostly rookie cops pointing guns at civilians and some reporters inside the Iloilo capitol.
Doromal’s report claimed it was Tupas’ supporters led by his son, then Iloilo Provincial Board Member and future Rep. Niel “Jun-Jun” Tupas Jr., who initiated the scuffle.
The Civil Disturbance Management (CDM) group only reacted accordingly to the situation, insisted the PNP report.
What I saw, which was also witnessed by other reporters and capitol workers caught in the melee was the opposite: the 65 assault cops smashed the glass doors in the back, forcibly entered the capitol like they were looking for Osama bin Laden.
Inside the 2,248 square feet, six-storey with 37 offices capitol , they didn’t know where to proceed; they pointed their guns at terrified civilians and reporters on their way up to the next floors where they engaged Junjun Tupas and his sister, Tweety Balleza, in a loud scuffle.
-o0o-
Then Provincial Administrator Manuel Mejorada was in the front line outside the capitol negotiating with the leaders of other PNP teams to calm down and not to enter the capitol.
Visayan Tribune publisher Johnny Dignadice, then 72 years old, and I were among those nearly mistaken as Bin Laden’s cohorts.
We saw long firearms being aimed right before our eyes.
Family members, some lawyers, and staff members stayed with Gov. Tupas and his wife Myrna in the governor’s office.
The tumult simmered down when Junjun Tupas waved and presented the fax copy of a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals.
The raiders failed to evict Tupas and Board Members Domingo Oso and Cecilia Capadosa.
The raiding cops were cleared even if Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno, who ordered Tupas’ dismissal, admitted "there were very disturbing footage of the clearing operations."
Among those who constantly communicated with the Tupas family and monitored the ruckus in Manila were future President Noynoy Aquino, and Senators Mar Roxas and Chiz Escudero.
These national political figures condemned the raid.
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Lopez's Iloilo property under dispute?
"Property is surely a right of mankind as real as liberty."
--John Adams
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If there is smoke, there is fire.
Alberto "Tito" Relucio-Lopez III or "Tito Lopez," scion of the Lopez clan in Iloilo City, Philippines, bemoaned in a Facebook post on January 7, 2018 that he was "against" any attempt to sell a prime property that belongs to his late uncle, Fernando "Nonoy Junji" Javellana-Lopez, Jr.
"Don't touch something that's not yours," was the strong diatribe Tito Lopez, eldest son of former Iloilo second district Rep. Albertito Lopez and former Guimaras Governor Emily Relucio-Lopez, wanted to send to an unnamed person or persons. "I grew up there."
The post, accompanied by several photos of what looked like a house painted in white with several persons believed to be hired to clean its exterior area, generated many reactions from Tito Lopez's Facebook friends.
Zedrick Delgado Señeres, one of Western Visayas' well-read society columnists, commented that the house was probably only being renovated and decorated for a forthcoming occasion and could not be up for sale.
Tito Lopez's controversial post disappeared after several hours.
-o0o-
Tito Lopez, who now resides in Makati City, could be referring to a spacious residential house located on the right side of the compound's main structure, "White House" (not the Nelly's Garden in Jaro), from the main gate on Gen. Luna Street, La Paz, Iloilo City.
White House, one of Iloilo's famous landmarks and adjacent to the ABS-CBN Iloilo station, is owned by Tito Lopez's parents.
That house on the right side was owned by the late Junji Lopez Jr., third in six siblings of the late former Philippine Vice President Fernando "Toto Nanding" Hofileña Lopez Sr. (April 13, 1904 -- May 26, 1993).
It's a stone throw away from the controversial "Pink House" owned by Junji's brother, Emmanuele "Nikki" Lopez, which was burned on October 25, 2015.
On the "Pink House's" right is another Iloilo landmark, the "Boat House," owned by the late ABS-CBN Corporation founder Eugenio H. Lopez Sr.
When Junji Lopez, who died in 2005, was alive, he told a group of selected media friends, including this writer, that he wanted to give the house to his favorite niece, Alana Lopez-Montelibano, and his favorite nephew, Tito Lopez, when he's gone.
The house's current ownership couldn't be ascertained.
It wasn't clear if Alana Lopez-Montelibano, now a prominent socialite in the Philippines, was aware of the purported attempt to sell, or just renovate, the house that became the source of Tito Lopez's abrupt Facebook rant.
--John Adams
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If there is smoke, there is fire.
Alberto "Tito" Relucio-Lopez III or "Tito Lopez," scion of the Lopez clan in Iloilo City, Philippines, bemoaned in a Facebook post on January 7, 2018 that he was "against" any attempt to sell a prime property that belongs to his late uncle, Fernando "Nonoy Junji" Javellana-Lopez, Jr.
"Don't touch something that's not yours," was the strong diatribe Tito Lopez, eldest son of former Iloilo second district Rep. Albertito Lopez and former Guimaras Governor Emily Relucio-Lopez, wanted to send to an unnamed person or persons. "I grew up there."
The post, accompanied by several photos of what looked like a house painted in white with several persons believed to be hired to clean its exterior area, generated many reactions from Tito Lopez's Facebook friends.
Zedrick Delgado Señeres, one of Western Visayas' well-read society columnists, commented that the house was probably only being renovated and decorated for a forthcoming occasion and could not be up for sale.
Tito Lopez's controversial post disappeared after several hours.
-o0o-
Tito Lopez, who now resides in Makati City, could be referring to a spacious residential house located on the right side of the compound's main structure, "White House" (not the Nelly's Garden in Jaro), from the main gate on Gen. Luna Street, La Paz, Iloilo City.
White House, one of Iloilo's famous landmarks and adjacent to the ABS-CBN Iloilo station, is owned by Tito Lopez's parents.
That house on the right side was owned by the late Junji Lopez Jr., third in six siblings of the late former Philippine Vice President Fernando "Toto Nanding" Hofileña Lopez Sr. (April 13, 1904 -- May 26, 1993).
It's a stone throw away from the controversial "Pink House" owned by Junji's brother, Emmanuele "Nikki" Lopez, which was burned on October 25, 2015.
On the "Pink House's" right is another Iloilo landmark, the "Boat House," owned by the late ABS-CBN Corporation founder Eugenio H. Lopez Sr.
When Junji Lopez, who died in 2005, was alive, he told a group of selected media friends, including this writer, that he wanted to give the house to his favorite niece, Alana Lopez-Montelibano, and his favorite nephew, Tito Lopez, when he's gone.
The house's current ownership couldn't be ascertained.
It wasn't clear if Alana Lopez-Montelibano, now a prominent socialite in the Philippines, was aware of the purported attempt to sell, or just renovate, the house that became the source of Tito Lopez's abrupt Facebook rant.
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
MIWD directors: Damn if you do, damn if you don't
"Somewhere in the world there is an epigram for every dilemma."
--Hendrik Willem Van Loon
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- We can't blame the members of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) board if they continued to ignore the order of Iloilo City Mayor Jose "Joe III" Espinosa III to vacate their posts.
They are in a "damn-if-you-do, damn-if-you-don't" situation.
If they vacate, they can be charged with abandonment. After all, they assumed their posts through a proper process and procedure.
And they are all qualified for the job.
If they continue to stay, the city mayor will invoke strong legal arguments to justify their removal. They will be forcefully hounded by a city hall demand to resign.
They will be caught between the devil and the deep blue see, so to speak.
Mayor Joe III insisted that the appointments of Dr. Juanito Acanto, Atty. Josephine Caram, Dr. Jessica Salas, Dr. Teodoro Robles, and businessman Ramon Cua-Locsin by Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. are "void ab initio" based on the SC decision.
Mayor Joe III invoked as the basis for his order a recent Supreme Court (SC) en banc ruling on a case in Cebu City, which, if applied in Iloilo City, will give the city mayor the power to appoint the MIWD directors.
The city mayor has issued a Cautionary/Cease and Desist Order against the MIWD directors. He wants to appoint the new directors.
The MIWD directors, however, have defied Mayor Joe III even as their lawyers led by MIWD legal counsel Roy Villa have asked the city mayor to go to court.
Mayor Joe III can't appoint the new MIWD directors because there are no vacant seats, the lawyers have argued.
If he goes to court and begin the legal debate in the proper forum, Mayor Joe III, a lawyer, will have the upper hand if he believes he is right.
If he won't and will continue his saber-rattling only in the media, he can't physically remove the MIWD directors who are also invoking their own legal standpoint and rights to justify their stay.
-o0o-
Grandstanding Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zuburi has decried the "horrendous" airfare ticket prices in a recent Senate hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), but did not name which airline and how much were the ticket prices involved.
His sweeping accusation could hurt the airline industry unless he will provide details of his allegation.
It's easy to read between the lines.
Some people suspect that Zubiri only wanted to disclose that some Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) resource persons had approached him to solicit for their airfares.
In other words, he wanted to embarrass those resource persons in a subtle manner.
--Hendrik Willem Van Loon
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- We can't blame the members of the Metro Iloilo Water District (MIWD) board if they continued to ignore the order of Iloilo City Mayor Jose "Joe III" Espinosa III to vacate their posts.
They are in a "damn-if-you-do, damn-if-you-don't" situation.
If they vacate, they can be charged with abandonment. After all, they assumed their posts through a proper process and procedure.
And they are all qualified for the job.
If they continue to stay, the city mayor will invoke strong legal arguments to justify their removal. They will be forcefully hounded by a city hall demand to resign.
They will be caught between the devil and the deep blue see, so to speak.
Mayor Joe III insisted that the appointments of Dr. Juanito Acanto, Atty. Josephine Caram, Dr. Jessica Salas, Dr. Teodoro Robles, and businessman Ramon Cua-Locsin by Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Sr. are "void ab initio" based on the SC decision.
Mayor Joe III invoked as the basis for his order a recent Supreme Court (SC) en banc ruling on a case in Cebu City, which, if applied in Iloilo City, will give the city mayor the power to appoint the MIWD directors.
The city mayor has issued a Cautionary/Cease and Desist Order against the MIWD directors. He wants to appoint the new directors.
The MIWD directors, however, have defied Mayor Joe III even as their lawyers led by MIWD legal counsel Roy Villa have asked the city mayor to go to court.
Mayor Joe III can't appoint the new MIWD directors because there are no vacant seats, the lawyers have argued.
If he goes to court and begin the legal debate in the proper forum, Mayor Joe III, a lawyer, will have the upper hand if he believes he is right.
If he won't and will continue his saber-rattling only in the media, he can't physically remove the MIWD directors who are also invoking their own legal standpoint and rights to justify their stay.
-o0o-
Grandstanding Senator Juan Miguel "Migz" Zuburi has decried the "horrendous" airfare ticket prices in a recent Senate hearing on the proposed Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL), but did not name which airline and how much were the ticket prices involved.
His sweeping accusation could hurt the airline industry unless he will provide details of his allegation.
It's easy to read between the lines.
Some people suspect that Zubiri only wanted to disclose that some Bangsamoro Transition Commission (BTC) resource persons had approached him to solicit for their airfares.
In other words, he wanted to embarrass those resource persons in a subtle manner.
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
When infidelity rocks the boat
"It is necessary to the happiness of man that he be mentally faithful to himself. Infidelity does not consist in believing, or in disbelieving, it consists in professing to believe what he does not believe."
--Thomas Paine
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- A woman politician in Iloilo in the Philippines once threatened to sue her philandering husband, also a prominent politician, after she discovered he emptied one of their joint bank accounts to support his younger inamorata.
She even "shamed" the husband in a speech attended by prominent national officials in a convention hosted by her municipality.
Luckily, the husband was not around; but the rather corrosive speech, thunderously delivered in a blind item to intentionally whack him, was understood by almost everyone present, including their politician children who were also present.
The court battle did not materialize when cooler heads warned the woman politician of the legal tiff's possible ugly consequences to their careers as politicians.
The male politician "survived" the wife's foiled vendetta but their children have refused to support the male politician's bid for a political comeback.
The inamorata, who lives in a town near Iloilo City and who used to stay in a budget city hotel to avoid the wife's wrath, now owns a house--and a "fat" bank account, sources said.
-o0o-
What happened to the estranged Bautista couple in Manila has also happened--and is happening--to other couples.
The only difference is the estranged husband holds a very sensitive government position, thus the estranged wife's allegations become an earthshaking event.
If she can prove in a competent court that her estranged husband is corrupt and concealing ill-gotten wealth, by all means the husband has to relinquish his post and face charges.
If she can't produce a paper trail or at least a morsel of evidence to back her allegations, people will think that the estranged husband's claim of extortion is true.
It will boil down to battle of evidence.
All other side issues related to the un-couple's spat will become immaterial in as far as public interest is concerned.
-o0o-
Another prominent husband was in danger of falling in public disgrace after his extra-marital affair with a vice mayor was unearthed in one town in the fourth district of Iloilo; but his wife, also a politician, stood by her man instead of washing his dirty linens in public.
As a result of her "act of martyrdom", people in their town gifted her with an overwhelming win in a mayoral contest. She went on to win a seat in the provincial level and completed her term with flying colors.
Her philandering husband never won back the top position in their municipality. She accepted him back in their marital domain and let bygones be bygones for the sake of the husband's illegitimate child.
--Thomas Paine
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- A woman politician in Iloilo in the Philippines once threatened to sue her philandering husband, also a prominent politician, after she discovered he emptied one of their joint bank accounts to support his younger inamorata.
She even "shamed" the husband in a speech attended by prominent national officials in a convention hosted by her municipality.
Luckily, the husband was not around; but the rather corrosive speech, thunderously delivered in a blind item to intentionally whack him, was understood by almost everyone present, including their politician children who were also present.
The court battle did not materialize when cooler heads warned the woman politician of the legal tiff's possible ugly consequences to their careers as politicians.
The male politician "survived" the wife's foiled vendetta but their children have refused to support the male politician's bid for a political comeback.
The inamorata, who lives in a town near Iloilo City and who used to stay in a budget city hotel to avoid the wife's wrath, now owns a house--and a "fat" bank account, sources said.
-o0o-
What happened to the estranged Bautista couple in Manila has also happened--and is happening--to other couples.
The only difference is the estranged husband holds a very sensitive government position, thus the estranged wife's allegations become an earthshaking event.
If she can prove in a competent court that her estranged husband is corrupt and concealing ill-gotten wealth, by all means the husband has to relinquish his post and face charges.
If she can't produce a paper trail or at least a morsel of evidence to back her allegations, people will think that the estranged husband's claim of extortion is true.
It will boil down to battle of evidence.
All other side issues related to the un-couple's spat will become immaterial in as far as public interest is concerned.
-o0o-
Another prominent husband was in danger of falling in public disgrace after his extra-marital affair with a vice mayor was unearthed in one town in the fourth district of Iloilo; but his wife, also a politician, stood by her man instead of washing his dirty linens in public.
As a result of her "act of martyrdom", people in their town gifted her with an overwhelming win in a mayoral contest. She went on to win a seat in the provincial level and completed her term with flying colors.
Her philandering husband never won back the top position in their municipality. She accepted him back in their marital domain and let bygones be bygones for the sake of the husband's illegitimate child.
Monday, March 13, 2017
Duterte appoints new Iloilo, Negros judges
"I love judges, and I love courts. They are my ideals, that typify on earth what we shall meet hereafter in heaven under a just God."
--William Howard Taft
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If I were House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez, I would refrain from further humiliating detained Senator Leila De Lima.
In his most recent media conference, the former cabinet official of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo lambasted De Lima calling her as the "No. 1 drug lord in the Philippines."
True or not, in our culture we don't kick somebody who is already down.
Especially a woman.
We never heard the same level of vitriol and angry words from past speakers like Nicanor Yñiguez, Ramon Mitra Jr., Jose De Venecia, Arnulfo Fuentebella, and Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
.-o0o-
President Duterte has appointed the following judges for the islands of Panay and Negros:
-Daniel Antonio Gerardo S. Amular (RTC Branch 35, Iloilo City);
-Oscar Leo S. Billena (RTC Branch 70 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Jose E. Mauricio E. Gomez (RTC Branch 71 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Nelita Jesusa Arboleda-Bacaling (RTC Branch 72 Guimbal, Iloilo);
-Gemalyn Faunillo-Tarol (RTC Branch 76, Janiuay, Iloilo);
-Ernesto L. Abijay, Jr. (RTC Branch 10 San Jose, Antique);
-Josefina Fulo-Muego (RTC Branch 13 Culasi, Antique);
-Phoebe A. Gargantiel-Balbin (RTC Branch 45 Bacolod City, Negros Occidental);
-Edwin B. Gomez (RTC Branch 77 Sipalay City, Negros Occidental);
-Gwendolyn I. Jimenea-Tiu (RTC Branch 60 Cadiz City, Negros Occidental);
-Reginald M. Fuentebella (RTC Branch 73 Sagay City, Negros Occidental);
-Mila D. Yap-Camiso (RTC Branch 74 La Carlota City, Negros Occidental);
-Gertrude Belgica Jiro (MTC Dumangas, Iloilo);
-Kathryn Rose A. Hitalia-Baliatan (MTC Miag-ao, Iloilo);
-Meliza Joan Berano Robite (MTCC Branch 2 Iloilo City);
-Larnie Fleur B. Palma-Kim (MTCC Branch 6, Iloilo City);
-Mark Anthony D.R. Polonan (MTCC Branch 8, Iloilo City);
-Rysty Ann C. Espinosa-Borja (MTCC Branch 9, Iloilo City);
-Joan Marie B. Bargas-Betita (3rd MCTC Malinao-Lezo-Numancia, Aklan);
-Maria Fe Macabales-Taal (3rd MCTC Patnongon-Bugasong-Valderrama, Antique);
-Joevy Paclibar Velnzuela (5th MCTC Sigma-Sapian-Jamindan, Capiz);
-Kathleen Gigante Delantar (MTCC Branch 2 Roxas City, Capiz);
-Jeeli Panaguiton Espinosa (2nd MCTC Buenavista-San Lorenzo, Guimaras);
-Bienvenido B. Llanes Jr. (MTC Pontevedra, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Meno C. Ruiz (MTCC Escalante City, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Manuel A. Lopez (MTCC Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental); and
-Maria Concepcion Elumba Rivera (MTCC, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental).
-o0o-
WE can't blame Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog, Iloilo if his presence has been sorely missed in important gatherings like the League of Municipalities.
Ever since President Duterte mentioned Centena's name as among those allegedly included in narco-politics, the dashing former chair of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) during the Marcos years has reportedly refused to join in various social and political events in Iloilo.
"He has become security conscious," noticed a former broadcaster from Cabatuan, Iloilo, who is familiar with Centena's activities during the halcyon years.
"The mayor stays in his safe house most of the time and his whereabouts can't be ascertained even by some of his municipal staff in regular days and during weekend."
WEIGHT
He became reclusive and lost weight, the former broadcaster added.
Centena have reportedly cancelled all his out-of-town commitments and refused interviews with reporters who come to Calinog.
Duterte has threatened to kill those involved in trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs, including some local government executives.
More than 7,000 have been killed nationwide since the Duterte administration launched the "Oplan Tokhang" against known drug pushers and users.
Centena has repeatedly denied links to any drug lord, but admitted slain Iloilo City-based drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr. once visited his house where he maintains a mini-zoo.
--William Howard Taft
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- If I were House Speaker Pantaleon "Bebot" Alvarez, I would refrain from further humiliating detained Senator Leila De Lima.
In his most recent media conference, the former cabinet official of then President and now Pampanga Rep. Gloria Arroyo lambasted De Lima calling her as the "No. 1 drug lord in the Philippines."
True or not, in our culture we don't kick somebody who is already down.
Especially a woman.
We never heard the same level of vitriol and angry words from past speakers like Nicanor Yñiguez, Ramon Mitra Jr., Jose De Venecia, Arnulfo Fuentebella, and Feliciano Belmonte Jr.
.-o0o-
President Duterte has appointed the following judges for the islands of Panay and Negros:
-Daniel Antonio Gerardo S. Amular (RTC Branch 35, Iloilo City);
-Oscar Leo S. Billena (RTC Branch 70 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Jose E. Mauricio E. Gomez (RTC Branch 71 Barotac Viejo, Iloilo);
-Nelita Jesusa Arboleda-Bacaling (RTC Branch 72 Guimbal, Iloilo);
-Gemalyn Faunillo-Tarol (RTC Branch 76, Janiuay, Iloilo);
-Ernesto L. Abijay, Jr. (RTC Branch 10 San Jose, Antique);
-Josefina Fulo-Muego (RTC Branch 13 Culasi, Antique);
-Phoebe A. Gargantiel-Balbin (RTC Branch 45 Bacolod City, Negros Occidental);
-Edwin B. Gomez (RTC Branch 77 Sipalay City, Negros Occidental);
-Gwendolyn I. Jimenea-Tiu (RTC Branch 60 Cadiz City, Negros Occidental);
-Reginald M. Fuentebella (RTC Branch 73 Sagay City, Negros Occidental);
-Mila D. Yap-Camiso (RTC Branch 74 La Carlota City, Negros Occidental);
-Gertrude Belgica Jiro (MTC Dumangas, Iloilo);
-Kathryn Rose A. Hitalia-Baliatan (MTC Miag-ao, Iloilo);
-Meliza Joan Berano Robite (MTCC Branch 2 Iloilo City);
-Larnie Fleur B. Palma-Kim (MTCC Branch 6, Iloilo City);
-Mark Anthony D.R. Polonan (MTCC Branch 8, Iloilo City);
-Rysty Ann C. Espinosa-Borja (MTCC Branch 9, Iloilo City);
-Joan Marie B. Bargas-Betita (3rd MCTC Malinao-Lezo-Numancia, Aklan);
-Maria Fe Macabales-Taal (3rd MCTC Patnongon-Bugasong-Valderrama, Antique);
-Joevy Paclibar Velnzuela (5th MCTC Sigma-Sapian-Jamindan, Capiz);
-Kathleen Gigante Delantar (MTCC Branch 2 Roxas City, Capiz);
-Jeeli Panaguiton Espinosa (2nd MCTC Buenavista-San Lorenzo, Guimaras);
-Bienvenido B. Llanes Jr. (MTC Pontevedra, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Meno C. Ruiz (MTCC Escalante City, Negros Occidental);
-Jose Manuel A. Lopez (MTCC Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental); and
-Maria Concepcion Elumba Rivera (MTCC, La Carlota City, Negros Occidental).
-o0o-
WE can't blame Mayor Alex Centena of Calinog, Iloilo if his presence has been sorely missed in important gatherings like the League of Municipalities.
Ever since President Duterte mentioned Centena's name as among those allegedly included in narco-politics, the dashing former chair of the Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) during the Marcos years has reportedly refused to join in various social and political events in Iloilo.
"He has become security conscious," noticed a former broadcaster from Cabatuan, Iloilo, who is familiar with Centena's activities during the halcyon years.
"The mayor stays in his safe house most of the time and his whereabouts can't be ascertained even by some of his municipal staff in regular days and during weekend."
WEIGHT
He became reclusive and lost weight, the former broadcaster added.
Centena have reportedly cancelled all his out-of-town commitments and refused interviews with reporters who come to Calinog.
Duterte has threatened to kill those involved in trafficking and manufacturing of illegal drugs, including some local government executives.
More than 7,000 have been killed nationwide since the Duterte administration launched the "Oplan Tokhang" against known drug pushers and users.
Centena has repeatedly denied links to any drug lord, but admitted slain Iloilo City-based drug lord Melvin "Boyet" Odicta Sr. once visited his house where he maintains a mini-zoo.
Monday, March 6, 2017
After inheriting House post, Judy Syjuco faces jail term
"We inherit nothing truly, but what our actions make us worthy of."
--George Chapman
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Was it a case of "ako ang bahala, ikaw ang kawawa?" (I'll be in charge, you face the consequences).
If she did not "inherit" the congressional post from her husband, former Iloilo second district Rep. Judy Syjuco would have been enjoying her life as a private citizen today.
Syjuco is a wealthy woman. She looks more of a socialite than a public servant.
She was supportive of her politician husband, but was never a politician herself in her entire life until she became a congresswoman in 2004.
In fact, she did not need to run for any public office to steal and enrich herself. She could donate her salary for three years and her net worth wouldn't suffer a dent.
Her income as a politician would be peanuts vis-a-vis her family's income from their business empire.
RICHEST
In fact, Rep. Judy Syjuco was among the richest solons during her time.
Her trouble started when husband, Augusto a.k.a. "Boboy", did not want the position to be grabbed by their political rivals, thus he convinced Judy to succeed him.
It was Augusto's obsession for political power that drove Judy to enter the dirty world of politics, which was probably far from her dream when she married Augusto, a successful industrialist before he became a Constitutional Convention delegate in 1971.
Now Judy is in trouble and there is a chance she would end up in jail if she can't wiggle out from a graft case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
EVIDENCE
The Sandiganbayan has ruled that the evidence submitted by the Office of the Ombudsman is enough to proceed to trial for the alleged payment of P5.9 million to West Island Beverages Distributor (West Island) for the purchase of 1,582 units of Nokia 1100 cell phones using Syjuco’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel.
Payment was made despite the non-delivery of the cell phones to the intended beneficiaries–the municipal tele-centers in Western Visayas, according to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Since West Island is not an accredited supplier, it should have been disqualified from the bidding, added the Office of the Ombudsman.
"What cell phones? I never saw cell phones nor any single centavo,” Syjuco said in a statement after the Sandiganbayan Third Division denied her motion to dismiss the graft and malversation cases filed against her and 10 other individuals including former officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
--George Chapman
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Was it a case of "ako ang bahala, ikaw ang kawawa?" (I'll be in charge, you face the consequences).
If she did not "inherit" the congressional post from her husband, former Iloilo second district Rep. Judy Syjuco would have been enjoying her life as a private citizen today.
Syjuco is a wealthy woman. She looks more of a socialite than a public servant.
She was supportive of her politician husband, but was never a politician herself in her entire life until she became a congresswoman in 2004.
In fact, she did not need to run for any public office to steal and enrich herself. She could donate her salary for three years and her net worth wouldn't suffer a dent.
Her income as a politician would be peanuts vis-a-vis her family's income from their business empire.
RICHEST
In fact, Rep. Judy Syjuco was among the richest solons during her time.
Her trouble started when husband, Augusto a.k.a. "Boboy", did not want the position to be grabbed by their political rivals, thus he convinced Judy to succeed him.
It was Augusto's obsession for political power that drove Judy to enter the dirty world of politics, which was probably far from her dream when she married Augusto, a successful industrialist before he became a Constitutional Convention delegate in 1971.
Now Judy is in trouble and there is a chance she would end up in jail if she can't wiggle out from a graft case filed by the Office of the Ombudsman.
EVIDENCE
The Sandiganbayan has ruled that the evidence submitted by the Office of the Ombudsman is enough to proceed to trial for the alleged payment of P5.9 million to West Island Beverages Distributor (West Island) for the purchase of 1,582 units of Nokia 1100 cell phones using Syjuco’s Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel.
Payment was made despite the non-delivery of the cell phones to the intended beneficiaries–the municipal tele-centers in Western Visayas, according to the Office of the Ombudsman.
Since West Island is not an accredited supplier, it should have been disqualified from the bidding, added the Office of the Ombudsman.
"What cell phones? I never saw cell phones nor any single centavo,” Syjuco said in a statement after the Sandiganbayan Third Division denied her motion to dismiss the graft and malversation cases filed against her and 10 other individuals including former officials of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC).
Thursday, February 9, 2017
Duterte might clear some but not all Iloilo 'narco-mayors'
"Wise men speak because they have something to say; Fools because they have to say something."
-- Plato
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Some Filipino-Americans here said Pinoy illegal immigrants in the United States should stop worrying "because the Trump administration will never touch them with a ten-foot pole unless they commit a crime and violate federal laws."
There are so many important things to be prioritized in the White House, according to them.
President Trump's executive order banning entry of Muslims from seven countries for 90 days was part of his campaign promise that he needed to implement or his supporters would rib him, they added.
The controversial executive order has been temporarily suspended after being torpedoed by a state judge.
"Only those with criminal records will be the first to go," Merlinda, wife of a federal official, told me in a birthday party in Manhattan recently.
"Filipinos are not criminals. They have contributed a lot in the labor and economy of the United State. They are not targets of the threat of mass deportation."
-o0o-
Misinformation, not miscommunication, will be the king-sized obstacle of the four Iloilo "narco-mayors" in their quest to clear themselves and convince President Rodrigo Duterte that they're not the illegal drug trade's Real McCoys.
Miscommunication can be remedied because of mass media's active involvement in the issue.
Misinformation will further exacerbate the mayors' woes because of false hopes and false alarm like the recent report that the mayors' names have already been removed from the "Dutertelist."
To "confirm" that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been tasked to exonerate the mayors is both miscommunication and misinformation.
President Duterte merely asked the DILG to investigate the allegations against the 160 local government executives on the "Dutertelist."
AUTHORIZE
He never authorized the DILG to decide who should be declared innocent and who should remain in the shame list.
The accusation that the 160 local government executives were involved in illegal drug trade came from the president's mouth based on tips provided by his intelligence network and field investigators.
The president regularly airs his diatribes against wrongdoers in police and government--including his cussing- through the media.
If President Duterte will decide to clear anyone, he will even apologize if necessary.
The grapevine said the president might remove the names of some but not all.
-- Plato
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Some Filipino-Americans here said Pinoy illegal immigrants in the United States should stop worrying "because the Trump administration will never touch them with a ten-foot pole unless they commit a crime and violate federal laws."
There are so many important things to be prioritized in the White House, according to them.
President Trump's executive order banning entry of Muslims from seven countries for 90 days was part of his campaign promise that he needed to implement or his supporters would rib him, they added.
The controversial executive order has been temporarily suspended after being torpedoed by a state judge.
"Only those with criminal records will be the first to go," Merlinda, wife of a federal official, told me in a birthday party in Manhattan recently.
"Filipinos are not criminals. They have contributed a lot in the labor and economy of the United State. They are not targets of the threat of mass deportation."
-o0o-
Misinformation, not miscommunication, will be the king-sized obstacle of the four Iloilo "narco-mayors" in their quest to clear themselves and convince President Rodrigo Duterte that they're not the illegal drug trade's Real McCoys.
Miscommunication can be remedied because of mass media's active involvement in the issue.
Misinformation will further exacerbate the mayors' woes because of false hopes and false alarm like the recent report that the mayors' names have already been removed from the "Dutertelist."
To "confirm" that the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) has been tasked to exonerate the mayors is both miscommunication and misinformation.
President Duterte merely asked the DILG to investigate the allegations against the 160 local government executives on the "Dutertelist."
AUTHORIZE
He never authorized the DILG to decide who should be declared innocent and who should remain in the shame list.
The accusation that the 160 local government executives were involved in illegal drug trade came from the president's mouth based on tips provided by his intelligence network and field investigators.
The president regularly airs his diatribes against wrongdoers in police and government--including his cussing- through the media.
If President Duterte will decide to clear anyone, he will even apologize if necessary.
The grapevine said the president might remove the names of some but not all.
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