Esperon:Military to Set up More Checkpoints

Posted May 02, 2007 06:04:00(Mla Time)

DAVAO CITY — Armed Forces Chief of Staff Gen. Hermogenes Esperon Tuesday said the military would set up more checkpoints nationwide to augment security measures in connection with the May 14 elections.

Esperon made the announcement during a visit here, a day after President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo called out the military to help police prevent election-related violence.

“We will be having more checkpoints to prevent armed groups” from engaging in violence, Esperon told reporters at the headquarters of the 10th Infantry Division in Camp Panacan here.

He said special attention would be given to “problematic areas” like Sulu province.

But he added that while the military was increasing its presence, the Philippine National Police remained the lead security agency for the polls.

He said Army vehicles stationed at checkpoints in the countryside would be clearly marked.

“We appeal for cooperation from the public,” Esperon said.

The police have tightened their watch over at least six areas in Central Mindanao earlier identified as areas of concern.

Central Mindanao includes the provinces of North and South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat and Sarangani.

Chief Supt. Felizardo Serapio, chief of Police Regional Office 12, told reporters he would double the number of policemen assigned to Midsayap and Pikit towns in North Cotabato, Palimbang in Sultan Kudarat, Maitum in Sarangani, and Polomolok and T’boli in South Cotabato.

On Monday, Police Regional Office 12 distributed 11 patrol vehicles to various police stations and 100 9-mm pistols to new recruits.

Serapio said these would enhance police mobility and fire power in the region, especially during the elections. Dennis Santos, Aquiles Zonio, Eldie Aguirre and Jeffrey Tupas, Inquirer Mindanao

Impeachment is Dead

Posted May 02, 2007 04:18:00(Mla Time)

Cynthia Balana
MANILA, Philippines — Any threat of another impeachment attempt against President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is already dead with the Genuine Opposition leaders admitting that they might not win enough seats in the House of Representatives in the May election, the administration’s Team Unity said Tuesday.

Ilocos Sur Gov. Luis “Chavit” Singson, a TU senatorial candidate, said GO failed to field candidates in most congressional districts that he said were dominated by administration candidates.

The lack of GO presence in many congressional districts only proved its “scrawny grassroots machinery.”

He said this was yet “another proof of GO’s inability to deliver enough votes to propel its senatorial candidates to the winning circle come Election Day.”

GO spokesperson Adel Tamano admitted in a press conference the other day that the opposition coalition could probably win at most 40 congressional seats on May 14.

Singson said that Tamano and Horacio Morales, one of the GO’s campaign strategists, themselves acknowledged that another impeachment try was as good as dead in the next Congress.

“This is a telling mark of GO’s dismal failure to muster support at the grassroots not only for its local bets but for its senatorial candidates as well,” Singson said.

Tamano said that of the 140 congressional candidates fielded by the opposition, only a third were likely to win.

There are 220 congressional and up to 55 party-list seats in contention.

Singson said it was presumptuous for GO to predict that 40 of its congressional candidates were “sure winners,” when the leading, and often the only, candidates contesting local posts belong to one of the six parties under the ruling coalition.

These six pro-administration parties are the Lakas-Christian Muslim Democrats (Lakas-CMD), Kabalikat ng Malayang Pilipino (Kampi), Nationalist People’s Coalition (NPC), Laban ng Demokratikong Pilipino (LDP), Partido Demokratiko Sosyalista ng Pilipinas (PDSP), and the Liberal Party (LP) headed by Manila Mayor Joselito Atienza.

Tourism Secretary Joseph Ace Durano, Team Unity spokesperson, said Filipinos still believed in the electoral system and were committed to the pursuit of a clean and orderly balloting because so many are willing to join a multisectoral campaign to ensure that the May elections are clean.

“I find comfort in this multisectoral vigilance and because of this I am very confident that this election will be a very clean, fair and honest, because after all why protect something that we believe is already corrupted?” he said.

Meanwhile, TU campaign leaders said the team would mount a four-day swing through Mindanao starting Wednesday to cap a 10-day nationwide campaign blitzkrieg covering at least nine provinces.

The 10-day campaign schedule is part of the team’s final push to ensure its victory, said Vicente Sotto III, a TU senatorial candidate.

TU will woo voters in Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Misamis Oriental and Lanao del Norte, provinces in which the TU ticket is expected to score big in the senatorial derby.

With the backing of both Muslim and Christian political leaders in Mindanao, a TU sweep in the May electoral contest would no longer be surprising, Sotto said.

This week’s Mindanao swing comes just five days after TU barnstormed Southern Luzon, with voters in Cavite, Laguna and Batangas showing their support for a 12 to 0 victory for the administration team.

In between the Southern Tagalog outings, TU managed to squeeze into its tight campaign schedule a one-day stop in Zambales, with TU senatorial bet Gov. Vic Magsaysay leading the group.

Last Friday, the team was in Cebu City, the second time the TU visited the city in this election campaign.

“The intensity by which TU has been conducting its campaign, and the unexampled energy being shown by its candidates, will surely carry us to our target of sweeping the polls. It is proving to be an effective tool to offset the early survey leads and popularity of the opposition,” Sotto said.

“We will not rest, not until the campaign period is over. The support we’ve seen from the people is just overwhelming, and using that alone as basis, we are confident of our landslide victory,” he added.

Inquirer

Militants Hold Separate Rallies

Posted May 02, 2007 02:36:00(Mla Time)

Edson C. Tandoc Jr. Allison Lopez Inquirer Bureaus
MANILA, Philippines — The Labor Day rallies Tuesday were as diffused as the rainbow colors of the different groups that staged separate protests in Manila and around the country.

Personal and ideological differences and trade union “intramurals” have kept the country’s labor movement from becoming a strong voice since democracy was restored in 1986, Partido ng Manggagawa party-list Rep. Renato Magtubo said.

Holding three separate demonstrations in the capital, about 5,000 militants representing leftist groups pressed their demands for higher wages and other benefits but were turned back by riot troops in their attempt to march to the Chino Roces (formerly Mendiola) Bridge near Malacañang.

In one of the rallies, banners trumpeting labor issues were outnumbered by colorful streamers of party-list groups appealing for votes in the May 14 elections.

Campaign volunteers handed out pocket calendars and stickers of senatorial wannabes, all but turning the rally into one big campaign sortie.

It was just a coincidence, Anakpawis party-list Rep. Rafael Mariano said.

“We join Labor Day celebrations every year. It just so happened that this is an election period,” he told the Philippine Daily Inquirer, parent company of INQUIRER.net.

The demonstrations were generally peaceful, except for an incident in which some protesters allegedly beat up a suspected military intelligence agent at the Liwasang Bonifacio, Commission on Human Rights official Carmelita Rosete told the Inquirer.

Symbolic bridge

In the first rally of the day, about 1,000 members of the party-list group Akbayan marched toward Malacañang but were blocked by police on Nicanor Reyes Street.

Led by Akbayan Representatives Etta Rosales and Risa Hontiveros, the group asked to be allowed to move on but were spurned. But they were permitted to hold a program consisting of speeches and songs.

“At least dito, amoy na yung Mendiola Bridge (we can smell Mendiola Bridge),” Hontiveros said.

“The bridge of Mendiola is very symbolic,” added Rosales.

Different orientations

Hours later, Anakpawis and party-list groups Bayan Muna, Gabriela, Suara Bangsamoro, Kabataan and others held their own protests at the Liwasang Bonifacio.

“They were never together with us every Labor Day. They always held a separate rally. We respect them for that,” Rosales said.

“We have different political orientations. We have our respective political platforms,” Mariano said.

Party-list group Sanlakas held its own rally at Plaza Miranda, announcing early on that it would march to Mendiola, only to cancel the march later.

Bayan Muna party-list Rep. Satur Ocampo, who was recently released by the Supreme Court after being detained on murder charges he claimed were fabricated by the military, pressed for the release of detained fellow leftist leader and Anakpawis party-list Rep. Crispin Beltran.

Bail for Ka Bel

The Anakpawis leader has been under hospital arrest for months on rebellion charges.

Ocampo said the government should honor the statements of key officials that they would not oppose Beltran’s bail application.

Beltran’s camp had asked the court to allow him a few hours of freedom so he could attend the rally but the plea was denied, organizers said.

The 3,000 demonstrators gathered at Liwasan included a 15-year-old boy named Raymond, who held up a streamer attached to a bamboo pole and said he would be paid P150 for his work.

Rain fell briefly in the afternoon as the protesters prepared to march to Mendiola, easing the day’s scorching summer heat.

In the Visayas

Some of the Labor Day celebrations in the Visayas also turmed into political rallies.

About 4,000 gathered in separate venues in Bacolod City, as party-list groups, such as Bayan Muna, Kabataan, Gabriela, Suara Bangsamoro, Anakpawis and Partido ng Manggagawa sought the support of the labor sector.

In Tacloban City, 500 members of different militant groups staged a march, while about 2,000 workers from government and private companies gathered inside the air-conditioned Tacloban City Convention Center.

In Iloilo City, around 3,000 protesters joined Labor Day protest rallies. Some 2,000 gathered at the provincial capitol and 1,000 at the Jaro district plaza.

Many of the protesters at the provincial capitol carried placards with pictures of missing activists Nilo Arado and Ma. Luisa Posa-Dominado.

In Kalibo, Aklan, around 500 protesters led by Bayan Muna mounted a caravan from the towns of Ibajay, Tangalan and Numancia before holding a rally at Pastrana Park.

Around 1,000 protesters led by Anakpawis and Gabriela joined a similar rally at the Roxas City Bandstand in Capiz.

In Cebu City, around 3,000 workers belonging to the Associated Labor Unions-TUCP took to the streets Tuesday to call for a wage increase.

Southern Luzon

In Legazpi City, various groups that staged a rally at the Pinaglabanan Monument said the calamities that had struck the region made life even harder for every Bicolano.

In Sorsogon City, tense moments marked a multisectoral rally after its leaders confronted suspected military intelligence agents who were taking pictures of participants.

At the Crossing in Calamba City, around 2,000 farmers, workers and representatives of the urban poor gathered at 3 p.m. to press for the release of Beltran and demand a P125 across-the-board wage increase.

Multisectoral groups also staged rallies in the cities of Tanauan and Lipa in Batangas, San Pablo in Laguna and Rosario, Cavite.

In Pampanga, more than 1,200 workers from three major economic zones in Central Luzon marched and held a program in the City of San Fernando until 11 a.m.

At the rally organized by the Manggagawa para sa Kalayaan ng Bayan, workers spoke of low wages and the failure of many employers to pay the P230 daily minimum wage in the region.

Also in San Fernando City, more than 400 workers belonging to the Workers Alliance in Central Luzon spent Labor Day campaigning for the party-list group Anakpawis through a province-wide motorcade.

In Subic, Zambales, the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas reported that 30 of its members were stopped by Army soldiers from leaving town to join protest rallies.

In Baguio City, Anakpawis launched a campaign rally by endorsing senatorial candidates who promised to pursue a wage bill should they be elected.

Fernando Bagyan, Anakpawis coordinator in the city, said they wanted the May 14 elections to be the ratification of what he referred to as “a new wage consciousness,” by campaigning strongly for the Genuine Opposition’s Manuel Villar, Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano and Aquilino Pimentel III.

Inquirer 

Bets Kin Turns Against Him

Posted May 02, 2007 00:26:00(Mla Time)

Carla Gomez
BACOLOD CITY—Relatives of a mayoral candidate in Pulupandan, Negros Occidental have thrown their support behind his opponent.

The mother and brother of Pulupandan mayoral candidate Magdaleno Peña on Saturday expressed their support for Samson Mondia, a candidate for mayor running against Peña.

Peña’s mother Lina, brother Bonifacio and former live-in partner Plinky Recto showed up on Saturday as several town residents gathered in front of the Pulupandan police station. The crowd booed as police brought in for questioning Peña’s men following the firing of shots at the house of a town councilor who was among those subject to eviction.

The three also said they are behind those whom Peña wanted to evict from their homes.

Another relative, Gretchen Cojuangco, wife of business tycoon Eduardo Cojuangco, joined them later. Her arrival was cheered by the crowd outside the police station.

Cojuangco said she was in Pulupandan because her first cousin, Lina Peña, asked her to join them.

But Peña remained unfazed by the stand taken by his family.

“My beautiful mom, girlfriend, tita, all (are) under the hot sun. I never thought I would merit so much attention. I am flattered,” Peña said in reaction to the presence of his relatives.

Lina said her son, Magdaleno, is not a good person because he has even turned against her, his own mother.

“I am his mother and I know what kind of person he is,” she said, adding that she was also standing by Recto. Lina said she believed what Recto has said against her son.

Recto has charged Magdaleno with physical abuse, but he has denied the allegation.

Recto said she was in Pulupandan “to support Tita Lina and the people she is supporting in the town.”

“I hope the people vote for the right mayor of Pulupandan. A lot has happened to the mother and lola of my child and to me. Is it right to choose a mayor who hurts people and gets land that is not his?” she asked.

She said she has also been deprived of her right as a mother from seeing her child.

Since September she has not been able to see her son who is in the custody of Magdaleno, she said.

Inquirer.net 

The Elderly Vote

Posted May 02, 2007 03:32:00(Mla Time)

Honesto General
MANILA, Philippines — In the current political campaign, party strategists have targeted such voting blocs as the youth, the women and labor. Incredibly, they have omitted the senior citizen or, as I prefer to call them, the elderly (at least 60 years of age).

Not too long ago, the non-life insurance industry expanded its market by offering policies especially designed for the elderly. It used to be, if you were over 60, you could no longer buy an accident or medical insurance policy. Today, that threshold has been pushed forward. There are now policies you can buy even if you are 70, and the policies are in force up to age 85.

In the First World, politicians would not dare ignore the elderly. How can politicians in the US ignore the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) with a membership of over 30 million spread from coast to coast and beyond?

In the Philippines, political strategists have taken the elderly for granted. They do not seem to see the tremendous clout of the elderly. If properly harnessed, the elderly vote can make or unmake any candidate.

Fifteen percent of the population is elderly. That is about 12 million souls, or over 25 percent of registered voters. And, when we consider the influence of the grandparents on the voting preferences of the immediate and extended family, the command vote of the elderly is considerable.

For example, I will advise (this has the force of a command) my personal voting bloc, which includes five grandchildren and my office staff, whom to vote for on May 14. My family does not always do what I want, but during elections, they toe my line, if only to keep the old codger quiet. My bloc will whisper, “Let’s do what the old man says. ‘Pagbigyan na natin.’ [Let’s just given to him.’]”

If my wife were alive today, she would have a stronger say on how the family should vote. This “lola” [grandmother] vote stems from the fact that the Filipino family is more matriarchal than patriarchal in character.

Without going into an extensive survey, and judging only from the crowd I move around with, winning the elderly vote is not easy. Living on a pension, and in a house long fully paid for, the elderly is financially independent. As a result, his vote is not for sale.

Already set in his ways, the elderly is fiercely independent in his political views. You cannot teach an old dog new tricks. So, having been ignored, how should the elderly vote?

From the senatorial lineup, the first choice should be Joker Arroyo. At 81, he knows the problems of the elderly.

If you are voting in Parañaque City, you should vote for Ed Zialcita, the author of the Expanded Senior Citizens Law, which did away with the degrading begging bowl called the Senior Citizens Card.

In Makati City, Jojo Binay has had a long-standing program for the elderly (free movie tickets, and birthday cakes).

Sonny Belmonte in Quezon City is an elderly himself and takes good care of the senior citizens in his bailiwick.

In Manila, I recommend Senator Alfredo Lim. Just looking at him, how can an elderly not vote for him?

In the provinces, the elderly should vote for the candidates who have at least shown respect for their elders.

Finally, in making the choice in the party-list system, the elderly, for the sake of the future of the grandchildren, SHOULD NOT VOTE, repeat SHOULD NOT VOTE, for ANY of the following communist parties: Bayan Muna, Anak Pawis, Akbayan, Gabriela, Partido ng Manggagawa and Migrante.

Arise, fellow elderlies! Let us show the politicians that they cannot ignore us and get away with it!

Inquirer

Comelec Fixers Still at Work, says Watchdog group

Posted May 02, 2007 07:41:00(Mla Time)

Christian V. Esguerra
MANILA, Philippines — Despite an impeding investigation by the Commission on Elections, a group of “big-time fixers” continues to peddle party-list accreditation and nominations for the May elections, according to a watchdog group.

“They’re lying low but they’re still negotiating silently,” said Ameurfino Cinco, head of the Bantay RA 7941.

One case involves a group of farmers seeking representation in the next Congress.

Cinco, whose group monitors the implementation of the Party List System Law, said he has been in touch with the party-list organization since January and has been receiving information about the transaction.

As of last month, he said the standing offer was P1 million to have the group accredited, which fixers claiming to be affiliated with the Malacañang Office of External Affairs would arrange.

The group has so far paid at least P10,000 for the fixers’ “day-to-day expenses.”

But the transaction was aborted after the fixers’ racket was exposed in the media, he said.

With the Comelec announcing that it would conduct an investigation into the alleged racket, Cinco said the fixers have dangled before the group another offer for accreditation in the 2010 party-list election.

“It’s really absurd. And what’s funny is that the group is following everything the fixers are saying. They’re really naive,” he said.

He said the fixers claim to be getting their orders “from upstairs.”

Cinco earlier blew the whistle on two fixers who allegedly had connections in the OEA and the Comelec. He said he had met with them twice on the pretext that he was negotiating for the accreditation of a party-list group.

Inquirer

‘People power’ for priest bet emerges

InquirerFirst posted 01:48:25 (Mla time) April 05, 2007
Tonette Orejas
Central Luzon Desk
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—A Catholic priest running for governor in Pampanga said his campaign to rid the province of “jueteng” and corruption has spurred a “people power in the making” as voters get involved by campaigning for him within their families and villages.

“The public indifference against elections or traditional politicians, I think, is somehow being overcome. Among Kapampangans there’s people power in the making. I see that in the spirit of volunteerism they are putting into our crusade,” said Fr. Eddie Panlilio in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Panlilio said he last saw a genuine form of people power when unarmed Kapampangans blocked the boundary of Pampanga and Tarlac to stop the advance of military troops loyal to the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos. He said Kapampangans also came in droves to add to the human barricades formed by civilians during the 1986 Edsa Revolution.

Maria Heycel Lapid, who oversees the campaign headquarters of Panlilio, said a “minimum of 500 people,” either Catholics or non-Catholics, have been coming since Monday to get posters and flyers that they said they would distribute in their communities.

“Some are walk-ins who ask how they could help Father Ed,” Lapid said.

On Sunday, Panlilio reported receiving nearly P1 million in cash donations. Food, sound system, campaign paraphernalia and legal services were also offered to him for free.

Deep sentiments

Asked if voters might only be fascinated by the idea of seeing a priest run for governor, Panlilio said: “I think their decision to choose me or their involvement in the campaign is far more than that. They really want good leaders to emerge.”

“I have presented myself as an alternative moral choice, as a good option. I come as a priest extending my ministry in public office so we could all put in place a good government working for the best interest of the people, especially the poor,” he said.
Panlilio, the first priest in Pampanga to run for public office, said in his case, it was not enough to have many campaigners among the voters.

Panlilio said he has asked his supporters to take their vigilance to voting precincts and ensure that their votes would be counted.

In a statement on Wednesday, reelectionist Gov. Mark Lapid, co-chair of the provincial Lakas-CMD, said he was campaigning “without the use of goons, guns and gold.”

“No matter how hard the fight, we will not go down to the level of cheating, intimidating voters or buying votes,” said Lapid, who had been charged with graft in connection with declining income from quarry taxes.

Superstitious

The governor has added a touch of superstition in his campaign. Two big plastic horses adorn the front of the truck he uses during motorcades. His father, Sen. Manuel “Lito” Lapid, was known to keep figurines of horses as lucky charms.

Governor Lapid’s campaign manager, Fidel Arcenas, said he would not know if Panlilio’s campaign has affected support for Lapid.

“I really would not know by now. We’re starting a survey by Tuesday, which would be finished by April 15. By then I would know how Mark and his rivals are faring,” Arcenas said.

On Tuesday, however, followers of another gubernatorial candidate, Board Member Lilia Pineda, booed Lapid and his entourage as his motorcade’s sound system blared while it passed a campaign rally of Pineda in San Simon town.

Pineda and Arcenas confirmed the incident.

Pineda, however, denied she prompted her followers to humiliate Lapid.

The reverend is not the Church

Inquirer
Last updated 02:20am (Mla time) 05/02/2007
Achilles Cortez is entitled to his opinion (“Priest’s joining politics very questionable,” Inquirer, 4/21/07), though it is quite obvious that he does not know anything about the current situation in Pampanga province, about Fr. Ed Panlilio and his political rivals. It is also obvious that Cortez is not in Pampanga and neither is he a Kapampangan.

Almost every Kapampangan is familiar with the work of “Among Ed” among the victims of the Mt. Pinatubo eruption. Most Kapampangans know, without an iota of doubt, who the country’s biggest “jueteng” illegal numbers game lord is and who benefited most from the quarrying industry in our province.

And obviously, Cortez does not understand the Church-State separation principle. We are no longer under Spanish colonial rule, which allowed priests to hold political and administrative powers. It seems Cortez has forgotten that a priest is not the Catholic Church, while he still believes in the myth that there is a Catholic bloc that dictates election results and government policies.

Cortez has forgotten that in the last presidential election, a pastor named Eddie Villanueva ran for president and got the nod of the Commission on Elections and nobody questioned his running for the presidency. Why? Because he is not Catholic?

Father Panlilio is not running to represent the Catholic Church. Neither is he taking orders from it. In running for public office, he is only making use of his right as a citizen under our Constitution. And he is running for office with a platform anchored on good governance and with a mission to end government corruption which we often complain about.

VICENTE WAJE (via e-mail)

Priest’s joining politics very questionable

First posted 02:54:32 (Mla time) April 21, 2007

Inquirer
THIS is in reaction to the news article, “People power for priest bet emerges” by Tonette Orejas. (Inquirer, 04/05/07)

I think the priest referred to has gone wild. What’s he thinking? And why isn’t the Catholic Church in the Philippines doing something to restrain him? This shows again how Filipinos wrongly interpret and handle their responsibilities and opportunities.

What happened to the constitutional injunction on Church and State separation?

Priests complain too much and talk too much that sometimes people just don’t want to listen to and believe in them anymore. Priests go for so much media attention, even speaking for the Catholic Church without authority, to the point of often causing it public embarrassment.

It is very frustrating for me because I am both a Catholic and a Filipino living in a different country. People over here sometimes ask me if it’s really like that back home and I have to just tell them that things do change, without elaborating.

If priests keep true to their vows and motives, they shouldn’t even be making public comments on politics in the first place. They should instead focus on teaching the values that the Church considers important for people to have in order to effectively respond to life’s everyday crises.

Fr. Ed Panlilio must be very smart because he knows that the majority of Filipinos use their heart rather than their mind in decision-making–an attribute which is, of course, a very classic mark of a politician. He is using the Catholic Church to win votes while enjoying the media attention he is getting. In short, he is a con-artist.

There are plenty of other “right” ways in which priests can help improve the lives of our countrymen. Unfortunately, joining politics is not and will never be one of those ways. By joining politics, priests violate their priestly vow.

A priest’s joining politics is a legal issue in itself and is very questionable

Executive Order 608 a shield vs oppositionist Senate

Inquirer
Last updated 02:20am (Mla time) 05/02/2007
Obviously in an attempt to secure her control of the institutions of power, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo recently signed Executive Order 608, complementing her earlier gag order — Memorandum Circular 108. EO 608 establishes a “national security clearance system” dealing on the release of sensitive documents for public consumption. It is clear that EO 608 is meant to deny her critics any inside information which may prove damaging to her regime.

Indeed, this only shows how insecure the Arroyo administration is. Ms Arroyo knows only too well that the coming elections are tipped in her opponents’ favor. With her popularity rating at -4 percent (according to the latest survey by the poll group SWS), she knows only too well that just being identified with her can spell defeat for any of her candidates for the Senate. She thus sees another hostile Senate prying open her closet for skeletons, after these elections.

EO 608 is part of the Arroyo regime’s strategy to cripple public investigations into government irregularities. It once again brings to the fore the regime’s allergy to transparency and accountability. It may be recalled that Malacañang issued last year EO 464, which effectively barred ranking government officials from appearing in congressional investigations without Ms Arroyo’s authority. EO 464 was later declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.

The refusal of Malacañang to be investigated by Congress is not merely an act of arrogance, it is a deliberate effort to hide the present administration’s corrupt acts and dealings from the public. It sends a strong message that from now on the Palace will be doing things under cover — and to hell with public scrutiny. It should thus be taken as a manifestation of more frightening things to come.

It is putting up the shields against an expected opposition Senate, although it will not stop the pro-Arroyo forces from manipulating the results of these elections in her and her allies’ favor. It would be foolhardy to not expect that these elections will be marred by yet another round of unscrupulous cheating.

WILSON FORTALEZA, national president, Sanlakas Party List

Inquirer.net