Drilon neglects some
loyal Iloilo subalterns
"Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike." J. K. ROWLING
By Alex P. Vidal
We were not surprised to learn that the man who hauled Senate President Frank Drilon to the Ombudsman for alleged misuse of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or "pork barrel" allocation in the "improvement/completion of the E. Trenas Boulevard Along Iloilo River" or Iloilo Espalanade was on less than his own former consultant, Manuel "Boy M" Mejorada.
It did not also surprise us that nobody from among his political acolytes in Iloilo came forward to belie the graft charges and defend Drilon to death in public forum (Drilon's co-respondents in the Department of Public Works and Highways or DPWH denied there was anomaly in the project).
As a former campaign manager of the Liberal Party (LP), some partymates in Western Visayas credited Drilon for their victories in the most recent elections, but they are mum over the issue (except for Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog, who was understandably upset that the imbroglio's epicenter is in the much-ballyhooed Iloilo Esplanade).
As veteran journalist and former Iloilo Press Club president Teddy Sumaray once said, "he who eats alone, fights alone."
NOT ALONE
In the criminal and administrative cases filed by Mejorada last September 10, Drilon won't be fighting alone. Mejorada also filed cases for alleged violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Republic Act No. 9184 or Government Procurement Reform Act, against DPWH-6 Regional Director Edilberto Tayo, Assistant Regional Director Lea Delfanado, Marilou Zamora, Jose Al Fruto, Marilyn Celiz, Luzviminda Narciso, and Danelo Penoy. Their names were included in the DPWH procurement and implementation of the multi million-peso contract.
In terms of pelf and privileges he had garnered as a prominent national figure since becoming cabinet official under Pres. Cory Aquino in 1986, Drilon has been "eating alone" figuratively. Aside from the multi-million infrastructure projects (including the mammoth Hall of Justice buildings in various cities) he has poured in the region, little can be said about the number of Ilonggos he had helped appoint in key national positions.
BACOLODNONS
Far cry from the number of Bacolodnons former Congressman and now Bacolod City Mayor Monico Punetevella had helped for prestigious appointments in the national and regional offices when Puentevella was one of President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's favorite nino bonitos.
When former Iloilo Gov. Niel D. Tupas Sr., Drilon's No. 1 ally in Western Visayas aside from Secretary Mar Roxas, was terrorized in a violent but foiled attempt to oust Tupas from capitol by Pres. Arroyo's interior and local government Secretary Ronaldo Puno on January 17, 2007, Drilon was nowhere to be found. It was then Senator and now President Noynoy Aquino and Senator Chiz Escudero who were in constant communication with members of the Tupas family before, during, and after the capitol siege (police raided the capitol to unseat Tupas but were stopped by a Temporary Retraining Order from the Court of Appeals) to give them moral support.
SAVE
Drilon also failed to save the ass of City Chief Prosecutor Efrain Baldago, his most loyal factotum in the region, when Baldago, who had a cold war with then Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr., was sacked during the time of Mrs. Arroyo.
Now that he was back in power together with Pres. Nonoy, the most he could give to reward a local talent was help former City Councilor Benjie Gengos become commissioner of the fading Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCCG). Drilon may be instrumental, in one way or the other, in the appointment of several Ilonggos in the judiciary but the jurists made it as municipal or regional trial court judges based on their own merits and qualifications as assessed by the Judicial Bar Council (JBC), not because Drilon wanted them to be there.
If Drilon did not mention it, many Ilonggos were not privy to the reported failure of the Senate President to help appoint Mejorada, who was Iloilo provincial administrator under Gov. Tupas, as regional director of the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA).
HIRE
Ilonggos also had no inkling Drilon hired Mejorada to maintain his Twitter account, among other tasks, for a monthly salary of P30,000 from September 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011. That shows that Mejorada was more than just a consultant to Drilon; no one would entrust a personal account in social media to just any Tom, Dick, and Harry. If Mejorada knows the password of Drilon's Facebook account, that is no longer news.
If Drilon was saying the truth that his relationship with his former Twitter account handler-turned-tormentor Mejorada went sour after the foiled TESDA appointment, either Mejorada filed the Ombudsman complaints as a reversed quid pro quo or "neglectful" Drilon was really a crook; and it took someone "who knows where the bodies are buried" to spill the beans, a sidekick who was left with the crumbs while the rest of the Liberal Party boys are happy and gay in the Republic of Pork Barrel.
If Todorov can outpoint Floyd,
Pacquiao can win by KO
"Boxing is what pays my bills." FLOYD MAYWEATHER JR.
By Alex P. Vidal
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez reminded me of Serafim Todorov, the lanky Bulgarian featherweight terror who beat Floyd "Money" Mayweather Jr. in the semi-finals of the 1986 Atlanta Olympic Games.
Todorov, who lost the gold medal to Thailand's Somluck Kamsing, 5-8, did not allow Mayweather to intimidate him after Mayweather earned the reputation as the first American boxer to beat a Cuban, Lorenzo Aragon, 12-11, in 20 years in a thrilling quarterfinals bout.
Coming off a rousing 14-6 triumph over Germany's Falk Huste in another quarterfinal duel, Todorov, a World Cup champion, was underdog when he collided against Mayweather, who had earlier eliminated Bakhtiyar Tileganov of Kazakhstan, RSCI 2; and Artur Gevorgyan of Armenia, 16–3.
Had Mayweather rolled past Todorov, experts believed he would have easily defeated Kamsing for the gold.
Fans could not accept Mayweather's bronze medal in the Atlanta Olympics and described the loss to Todorov as "bum" decision.
FAVORITE
"Everybody knows Floyd Mayweather is the gold-medal favorite at 57 kilograms," Mayweather said after the loss to Todorov. "In America, it's known as 125 pounds. You know and I know I wasn't getting hit. They say he's the world champion. Now you all know who the real world champion is."
Claiming the judges were intimidated by Bulgaria's Emil Jetchev, who was head of the boxing officials, into favoring Todorov, the U.S. team filed a protest. Three of Jetchev's countrymen were in gold medal bouts. Bill Waeckerle, one of the four U.S judges working the games for the International Amateur Boxing Federation (AIBA), resigned as Olympic Games and federation judge after Mayweather lost the decision, which was loudly booed by the crowd at the Alexander Memorial Coliseum. "I refuse to be part of an organisation that continues to conduct its officiating in this manner," Waeckerle wrote in his letter of resignation to AIBA president Anwar Chowdhry.
Alvarez (41-1-1, 30 KOs) fought like Todorov; he tore at Mayweather (45-0, 26 KOs) and cut the ring to land effectively. Alvarez, however, was fighting for 12 rounds for WBC/WBA super welterweight belts, not for Olympic gold, which is only for five rounds. He fought Mayweather in professional boxing, not in amateur. His style could not match Mayweather's ring savvy. He was a sucker to all of Mayweather's right and left combinations, and there was no way he could beat the arrogant ex-convict under the Marquess of Queensberry Rules.
In the second round for instance, Mayweather squeezed in a right to the body. Backing away, he left Canelo to punch at air after hitting Mayweather with a jab to the face. There was exchange of jabs and Canelo landed a good right to the body. Mayweather responded with a good left to the face, and jabbed to the body and backed up. Canelo missed a hard left and Mayweather rushed to the body.
DIFFICULT
It's very difficult to beat Mayweather in professional boxing. Even Manny Pacquiao can't withstand his rapid punches and slick-moving style. Pacquiao, however, can demolish Mayweather with a solid punch if he makes a mistake of engaging the Filipino bomber in a slugfest. But Mayweather won't do that -- in the event he will face Pacquiao next.
Mayweather hasn't forgotten the fundamentals that brought him glory as an amateur fighter. Compiling an amateur record of 84–6 and winning the national Golden Gloves championships in 1993 (at 106 lb), 1994 (at 114 lb) and 1996 (at 125 lb), Mayweather was nicknamed "Pretty Boy" by his amateur teammates because he had relatively few scars, a result of the defensive techniques that his father and uncle, Roger Mayweather (also a former world champion) had taught him.
If he knows that his opponent packs wallops in both fists like Pacquiao, Mayweather knows how to dance away from trouble and eke out a points victory. He is not a risk taker. He fights to win -- on points. Pacquiao, on the other hand, always tried his best to score a stoppage win; he didn't want to take fans for a ride. He wants to satisfy and entertain them with a knockout victory, a risky move that has cost him a brutal KO loss to Juan Manuel Marquez.
Breakfast with Frank Chavez
"What we have done for ourselves alone dies with us; what we have done for others and the world remains and is immortal." ALBERT PIKE
By Alex P. Vidal
Sometime during the 2007 legislative and local elections, former Solicitor General Frank Chavez invited me to a breakfast at Hotel Del Rio in Iloilo City where he explained why he did not run anymore for the senate after a heartbreaking setback in the 2004 senatorial elections.
"As long as (former First Lady) Imelda Marcos is alive, I can never win in the national elections," he volunteered.
Atty. Chavez said Mrs. Marcos hated him so much that she was willing to purchase a round trip ticket for Chavez's journey to hell. He accused the wife of the late former President Ferdinand Marcos of orchestrating a move to sabotage his candidacy by "sponsoring" a "nuisance" candidate by the name of Melchor Chavez.
Although they have different first names, Atty. Chavez said the other Chavez created confusion in the ballot and "swallowed" his votes during the actual canvassing.
COMMENT
Mrs. Marcos has refused to comment on Atty. Chavez's accusation but the other Chavez, who ran as independent, swore he was a serious aspirant for the Philippine senate. Melchor Chavez, who ran and lost again in the 2007 senatorial contest under KBL party of Marcos and garnered 843,702 votes nationwide, even dared Atty. Chavez to a debate which the latter rejected.
As one of the founders of the Brotherhood of Nationalistic, Involved and Free Attorneys to Combat Injustice and Oppression (BONIFACIO), Atty. Chavez fought the Marcos dictatorship, thus he became closer to the Aquino family who lost Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino during the final years of the hated regime.
He left a lucrative law practice as founding partner of the Chavez Laureta & Associates law office after being appointed as solicitor general in 1987, a year after Mrs. Corazon Aquino was swept into power via EDSA Revolution.
CONVERSE
It was not hard to converse with Atty. Chavez because we spoke the same dialect. He was born in Brgy. Bateria, Sagay, Negros Occidental and was fluent in Hiligaynon.
Before he left the Office of Solicitor General in 1992, I first met Atty. Chavez at the office of the late Ilonggo human rights lawyer, Atty. J.T. Barrera, who was already rooting for Atty. Chavez to run for the senate.
He was fire-spewing and always reminded people "not to forget" the dark episode of our history during the Martial Law which he witnessed as a young lawyer.
When President Marcos declared Martial Law in 1971, Chavez has just finished his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the Philippines as cum laude. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar the following year.
STOP
In the middle of our conversation, Atty. Chavez stopped talking upon seeing Justice Secretary Raul M. Gonzalez who passed by the hotel's dining area.
His remarks were not good to the ears of Gonzalez's supporters who were in the hearing distance. He disliked Gonzalez as a cabinet official under President and now Congresswoman Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, but held the former justice secretary in high esteem as a colleague in the law profession.
According to reports written after he died of stroke at age 66 last Wednesday night, Atty. Chavez was the youngest bar examiner at age 38 when he served as examiner in remedial law during the 1985 Bar examinations. He was named one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the country for his achievements in his chosen field of law and human rights in 1986.
He was cremated.
Drilon's graft case: A lovers' quarrel
"Corruption has its own motivations, and one has to thoroughly study that phenomenon and eliminate the foundations that allow corruption to exist." EDUARD SHEVARDNADZE
By Alex P. Vidal
The way he answered questions from reporters who interviewed him in Manila recently, it's obvious that Senate President Frank Drilon was hurt if not irritated by the first-ever criminal and administrative cases filed against him as a public servant before the Office of the Ombudsman.
It's probably double the hurt because the suit was filed by his former Twitter handler Manuel "Boy M" Mejorada, a former provincial administrator under Gov. Niel D. Tupas Sr.
The cases stemmed from the implementation of the P13.5-million manual irrigation system of the Iloilo Esplanade in Iloilo City, which Mejorada described as "anomalous."
Classified as "Improvement/completion of the E. Trenas Boulevard Along Iloilo River (from Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue to Carpenters Bridge)," the project was implemented through the Department of Public Works and Highways Regional Office(DPWH-6) and the fund was sourced from Drilon's Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or "pork barrel."
Also indicted together with Drilon for alleged violation of Republic Act No. 3019 or Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act and Republic Act No. 9184 or Government Procurement Reform Act, were his alleged "conspirators" DPWH-6 Regional Director Edilberto Tayo, Assistant Regional Director Lea Delfanado, Marilou Zamora, Jose Al Fruto, Marilyn Celiz, Luzviminda Narciso, and Danelo Penoy, whose names appeared in the procurement and implementation of the multimillion-peso contract.
AMISS
Claiming there was something amiss with the project, Mejorada accused Drilon, et al of committing dishonesty, grave misconduct, falsification of public documents, and malversation of public funds.
Drilon and some of the respondents have already denied Mejorada's charges claiming the project's documents were in order and procedures were followed properly. Drilon maintained he never committed any irregularity in all the projects he poured in Iloilo since he joined the cabinet after the EDSA Revolution in 1986 under President Cory Aquino.
One comment that caught the attention of many Ilonggos was when Drilon, who dismissed the complaints as "no basis", disclosed that Mejorada was his former consultant who received from him P30,000 from September 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011.
Another startling revelation was Drilon's admission that he once tasked Mejorada to handle his Twitter account, and that he discovered some "unauthorized" posting using the Twitter account to hit Iloilo City Mayor Jed Patrick Mabilog.
APPOINTMENT
Mejorada lambasted Mabilog after the mayor nixed his appointment as city administrator, according to the Senate President.
"I also was not able to help him in his desire to be regional director of Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA). From that time on, the relationship soured," Drilon was quoted by Tara Yap in a Daily Guardian report as saying.
Drilon was trying to insinuate that his former consultant was only sour-graping thus he hauled the third highest official of the country in the Ombudsman. His admission of a past liaison with Mejorada has conjured an image of two lovers who went on a kiss-and-tell binge after their relationship nosedived.
Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, however, is expected to decide on the merits of the complaints--if there is a prima facie evidence or at least patterns of irregularities, among other forms of investigation--not whether the accused and the accuser are former lovers, Facebook friends, buddies in social media, or business partners.
FUNDS
The Ombudsman will establish whether public funds were spent judiciously on certain projects and purposes, or went to the pockets of dishonest government officials, employees and their collaborators.
Drilon can always claim that the charges were meant to embarrass him or just a form of retaliatory attack for reneging on a promise to help install Mejorada in a certain government position, but it can't be denied that he was shaken a bit and his myth of political invincibility has been wobbled by the Ombudsman case.
Whether he will be exonerated or jailed (the latter is a far-fetched probability since, so far, no "big fish" has found his way behind bars in this country), Drilon will not anymore bow out from public service spotless and immaculate. Without the graft suit, he would have joined the bunch of other national figures who retired from government service without a stain of even a morsel of suspicion of having pocketed public funds.
Engaging Mejorada, now a private citizen, in a lovers' quarrel-type of verbal shootout in media, will serve Drilon more harm than good. In street fighting, Goliath has no match to David. Mejorada has everything to gain and nothing to lose in his protracted war against the biggest man in the Philippine Senate.
Paul Ledesma's 'return'
as WV's anti-drugs czar
“A drug is not bad. A drug is a chemical compound. The problem comes in when people who take drugs treat them like a license to behave like an asshole.” FRANK ZAPPA
By Alex P. Vidal
There are people not happy with reports that former Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA-6) Regional Director Paul Ledesma will soon regain his post.
Some of them are drug traffickers and their protectors who fear that Ledesma will again disrupt their illegal trade; drug dealers whose activities reportedly "went smoothly and uninterrupted" during Ledesma's absence.
Ledesma's resurrection will definitely send shivers down the spine even of the "untouchables" who have managed to elude police dragnets in the past because of their connections with police hoodlums who tipped them off during raids and serving of warrants of arrest.
As an Ilonggo, Ledesma is familiar with the operations of local drug dealers; he knows the terrain and how to deal with recalcitrant characters in the trade. Unlike his predecessors who come from other regions, and were virtually total strangers in Western Visayas, Ledesma needs no tour guide to locate the lairs of drug dealers all over Panay Island and Guimaras. He both has the resources and authority to flush drug traffickers out from their cocoon if he wants to flex his muscles and implement the full force of the law.
RELIEF
In more than two years that Ledesma was PDEA-6 chief until his relief on June 12, 2011, I have heard so many nasty stories thrown at him especially when he engaged a female teacher-journalist in a heated spat over a parking space in a Diversion Road night spot two years ago; but I also heard a lot of positive feedback in as far as his being the region's anti-drugs czar was concerned.
There was also a three-series Youtube video that pictured him as villain and abusive person in authority, and some critics questioning his credentials and qualifications to head the powerful office. But they were nothing compared to the black propaganda launched against him by drug dealers angered by his guts and performance. Ledesma was unfazed and dispensed his job without fear and favor. Despite the furor that attended some of the blistering raids his agency had conducted on hideouts of drug traffickers and the high profile arrest of some notorious personalities, no one has accused Ledesma of irregularity or corruption.
POSITION
He actually doesn't need a government position to eat three square meals a day since he comes from a prominent and wealthy family. Any attempt to bribe Ledesma will surely end up frustrated if the culprit will learn about his background.
A gun enthusiast and active member of gun clubs in Western Visayas, Ledesma was first recruited in the anti-illegal drugs agency by his godfather, retired police general and then PDEA chief Dionesio Santiago, in 2009.
Despite attempts in the past to discredit Ledesma (some even called him names), he always hogged headlines because he always was present in almost all the major raids conducted by his agency, something his predecessors -- Yogi Filemon Ruiz, Edgar, Layese, and Atty. Ronnie Delicana -- have failed to duplicate. Even in number of arrest and raids, the accomplishments of the trio might pale in comparison to Ledesma's.
WORTH
No less than PDEA Assistant Secretary Rene Orbe had noticed Ledesma's worth in the agency when he declared on June 14, 2011 during the office's change of command ceremony at Camp Martin Delgado in Iloilo City : "Ledesma has carved his mark in Region 6 well. His accomplishments are noteworthy."
I'm not writing this article to praise Ledesma here. The man doesn't know me from Adam. I'm just stating the facts objectively, and I know how to give credit where credit is due, in the same manner that I know how to criticize constructively if any public official, including Ledesma, commits malfeasance or acts detrimental to public interest.
A fistfight that led
to lawyer's murder
"Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured." MARK TWAIN
By Alex P. Vidal
The recent murder of a promising lawyer in Hamtic, Antique has once again proven that tempers could led to tragic altercation and violent death.
In anger management, we had been warned that in the heat of the moment, it's easy to say something we will later regret. That we should take a few moments to collect our thoughts before saying anything -- and allow others involved in the situation to do the same.
Had cooler heads intervened or had the protagonists not resorted to violence after a verbal spat, Atty. John Mark Espera, would still be alive today.
Based on initial police investigation, the killing of Espera, 39, started in an argument with suspect Virgilio Suarez in Brgy. Pu-ao, Hamtic, Antique last August 31 that led to a fistfight.
Reports said Espera was with one Romeo Gasalao and were about to board their car at around 11:30 in the morning when they met Suarez near the suspect's house. After a heated exchange of words, they engaged in a brawl where the lawyer fell in the canal.
BROTHERS
At this juncture, Suarez's two brothers -- PO3 Jose Suarez and Provincial Guard Rico Suarez-- arrived and joined the fray. Ruby Remedios, also a lawyer and wife of the victim, claimed in a recent press conference it was the cop Suarez who first shot Espera with a 12-gauge shotgun in the stomach while the provincial guard brother disarmed Gasalao.
As Espera grimaced and struggled, another Suarez brother, Raymund, shot Espera with a .22 caliber, the wife added. She said Virgilio finished off Espera with an M-16 riffle in the head.
The wife, holding the press conference beside the victim's coffin, wanted to correct initial reports that it was her husband and Gasalao who provoked the altercation that led to the grisly murder.
CUSTODY
As of this writing, only the cop Suarez was in police custody while the other brothers remained at large.
"The killing is a chilling reminder how cheap life is, even that of a lawyer, nowadays and, worse, perpetrated as it is by a police officer who is duty-sworn to protect lives and properties. Whatever the ultimate reason and motive to be uncovered for this senseless cold-blooded murder, there are indications that this may be an attack on him by virtue of the exercise of his profession. In any case, this is unacceptable in any civilized society," read the statement issued by National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) Secretary General Edre U. Olalia.
Espera was a supporter of Mayor Julius Pacificador while the suspects are reportedly allied with the Javiers. Investigators did not rule out politics behind the murder.
FORGIVENESS
Another step to avert violence is forgiveness which is considered a powerful tool. If we allow anger and other negative feelings to crowd our positive feelings, we might find ourselves swallowed up by our own bitterness or sense of injustice.
But if we can forgive someone who angered us, we might both learn from the situation. It's unrealistic to expect everyone to behave exactly as we want at all times.
When our temper flares, we are supposed to put relaxation skills to work; to practice deep-breathing exercises, imagine a relaxing scene, or repeat a calming word or phrase, such as, "Take it easy." We might also listen to music, write in a journal or do a few yoga poses -- whatever it takes to encourage relaxation.
The mouth is made for communication, and nothing is more articulate than a kiss.
-- JAROD KINTZ :
When we kiss, we demonstrate what the soul wants to convey to another human being. Although no words were uttered when the kiss was made, message sent!
-- ALEX P. VIDAL
.jpg)
