1st Update: Minority Congressman considers Our Intervention Second Complaint

Latest update on the MOA-AD Intervention.

Congressman Matias Defensor, chairman of the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments says that the recent filing of the MOA-AD Intervention should be considered as not an intervention, but rather as a new and separate complaint.

Defensor thinks that since there’s no precedence in the house rules on filing an intervention, it would be best for the Committee to start the hearing on the impeachment on November 18-21 by which time, the House panel would probably review the case, consider it in proper form and substance and pass it to the House for second reading. The impeachment complaint will probably be killed on the floor.

Sources in the House says, Congressmen will kill the impeachment within one or two weeks.

Surprisingly, minority Congressmen Teddy Casino and Satur Ocampo thinks that way too.

Casino and Ocampo are endorsers of the original complaint filed by ZTE whistle blower Joey de Venecia III. They support what De Venecia filed but because of their party position “so as not to antagonize solidarity ties with the Bangsamoro People”, they elect to keep their silence on the MOA-AD filing. Meaning, they will probably not support the intervention since they are supportive of the MOA.

What Casino and Ocampo failed to appreciate is this–the intervenors of this MOA-AD is not questioning the legality or illegality of the MOA-AD. In fact, many of the intervenors are in agreement with the party stand of Bayan Muna and all other revolutionary groups–that the MOA-AD is the way to go for our Bangsamoro brothers in Mindanao.

What the intervention seeks to punish is the way government of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo mishandled the situation. Government did not go to the negotiating table with clean hands. Arroyo and her minions went there precisely to bungle it. The peace panel of the GRP knew that they can’t promise the moon and the stars to the MILF, yet, they precisely did it to jeopardize peace negotiations. Arroyo’s actions as Chief Executive is treasonous; hence, impeachable.

Casino and Ocampo should have considered that now is the right time to reconsolidate anti-Arroyo forces and unite for the ouster of Arroyo prior to 2010.

For now, intervenors are thinking of going to campuses, universities and schools to give lectures and talks on why the group decided to file this intervention.

The flights of First Golfer

We heard this news that a certain wealthy golfer, who recently had an angio, reportedly suffered an epiphany. His eldest son egged him to “share the wealth which he amassed thru deals” before he dies. The Golfer has three lovely kids, one of them recently got married and the other two are successful in their fields.

Yet, the kids want their share of the Golfer’s so-called “multi-million loot” (sources say it’s within the vicinity of 1-1.2 billion pesos. BILLION, not MILLION, my dear). And you know why the kids want to apportion the Golfer’s wealth right now?

Because the Golfer has a new paramour. Yes, another paramour.

Reportedly, this lady served as a former stewardess of a very popular airline. Wagging tongues say, she used to be the woman of another controversial figure who reinvented the word “scam” into “fertilizer”.Since they’re buddies, the other man shared his woman to the other. Talk about being in the same club together.

Anyway, the former stewardess, the golfer’s sex buddy, is having the time of her life, splurging on people’s money. Or, to be precise, golfer’s money. And what golfer don’t know is this–his ladylove gives a matinee idol a steady supply of dough, courtesy of golfer. After stewardess attends to golfer’s “flights”, she goes to matinee idol’s flat and gets it from the hunk.

But, there’s actually a problem right now…

Golfer is being asked by his former paramour, a Filipina-Chinese “businesswoman” for allowance. Golfer and this Chinay have two kids. Golfer used to love Chinay but since Chinay is not anymore “young” and as “fresh” as his present flight attendant (who has the reputation of giving someone a head), his interest suddenly waned.He left Chinay holding an empty JP account.

Chinay threatened to expose golfer’s indiscretions. Scared, golfer is now looking for “sponsors”. He also asked a friend to give Chinay whatever she wants. Chinay and her brothers now have unlimited exit and entry to the country’s ports. Talk about influence. Golfer is not even a government official.

By the way, Golfer lost his “billions” due to the foolishness of his younger brother. His brother went abroad, stashed his monies there under the name of his brother’s wife. When his brother’s wife fled the country, she carted with him golfer’s money entrusted to his brother. She then used the money to get an annulment. Many people say, golfer’s brother’s wife is not to be blamed. Golfer’s brother is a certified cocaine junkie and gambler. Golfer’s brother also is a closet homo, who enjoys punching his poor, lovely wife until the wife admits that he’s more beautiful than her.

For this, golfer and his brother lost 1.1 billion pesos. The wife now is living in utter luxury somewhere in the Swiss alps, far, far away from the closet homo and his golfer brother.

Where’s the Imp?

She went to the United Nations, ostensibly to attend the United Nation’s Human Rights forum. But, is that the REAL reason why she’s there? Some wagging tongues say, she wanted to rub noses with US president-elect Barack Obama. Is she that desperate?

I don’t know about you but I have a feeling that she’s there for other reasons. Not Obama. Not Human Rights. Gloria’s not interested in those two things.

Is she talking with her investment bankers? Coffee shop talk alleged that the First Couple reportedly lost 90 million dollars worth of investments from Lehman Brothers. The First Couple, they say, are nearly bankrupt. Is that true?

The Imp went back and nothing was announced about her “successful trip”. What’s the result of all that trip? Did we learn something from the United Nations? I have’nt heard of anything substantial except those blurbs from Palace spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo. For all my life, I never, ever heard this woman telling us something substantial. All poise and no brain? You tell me. I’m just an observer? I think she has substance which other people, unfortunately, has’nt even noticed.

We Dare our Congressmen–Speak Up!

November ___, 2008

Hon. _________

Representative, ____ District, ________

House of Representatives

Quezon City Dear

Rep. ________:

Today, together with ____ other intervenors, I have
filed an intervention to add the Memorandum of Agreement concerning the
proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity to the impeachment charges being
considered by the House. Our intervention is based on the following
premises:

1. That the House of Representatives, in deliberating
upon the charges against the President of the Philippines, should
strive to put together as strongand comprehensive a case as possible,
in order to properly and thoroughly address all the issues that demand
accountability from the chief executive.

2. That the citizenry is obligated to do its part to help fortify the case against the President of the Philippines.

We are of the opinion, and submit for your consideration and endorsement, that:

1. The President of the Philippines must be held
accountable for violating her oath of office in authorizing and
supporting an agreement that has been proven to be contrary to the
Constitution. Any President is duty-bound to operate within the
parameters established by the Constitution, and when a President
deliberately disregards our Constitution’s provisions, there must be an
accounting made to the citizenry.

2. The President must therefore be held accountable for
what the Supreme Court has ruled to be an agreement that violated our
Constitution.

3. That furthermore, the President must be held
accountable for setting back the peace process; and for placing
ordinary citizens, Muslim and Christian alike, in Mindanao, in peril
because of the recklessness and faithlessness, with which she conducted
the negotiations for the agreement. She has done grevious harm to the
prosperity and tranquility of Mindanao and the entire country and her
doing so is a violation of public trust and her Constitutional
responsibilities.

She betrayed the public, and all the parties that
participated in the peace process in good faith and with a historic
resolution of ancient grievances in mind. We believe that we have made
a strong case for including the BJE-MOA among the charges against the
President.

We believe that this is a matter of such seriousness as
to require the House of Representatives providing the President with an
opportunity to explain herself to you, our representatives, and through
you, to an alarmed and outraged public.

We further believe that the President will find it
impossible to satisfactorily explain herself and that as a consequence,
the House will find it necessary to include our intervention among the
impeachment charges.

May I respectfully invite you, then, to endorse our
intervention, so that ample opportunity may be provided for the
President of the Philippines to air her side, and for the public to be
informed, through you, once and for all, about the circumstances
surrounding the agreement.

I am confident that you will respond to the overwhelming
clamor of the citizenry, throughout the country but particularly in
Mindanao, for public policy to be conducted in good faith, without
recklessness and imprudence, and with the true interests of the nation
at heart and not just partisan political convenience for the
administration.

May I also invite you, on behalf of myself and my
colleagues, Jarius Bondoc and William Esposo of the Philippine Star,
Ellen Tordesillas of Malaya, and Manuel Buencamino of The Business
Mirror, to state, for the record, your response to these two questions:

1. How do you intend to vote on the impeachment
complaint already filed before the House? Will you be present at the
committee level and plenary voting on these charges?

2. Are you in favor of including the BJE-MOA among the impeachment charges, and why or why not.

We trust you will give your answer to us by Wednesday so we can publish them.

And we further trust that you will find our intervention meritorious and worthy of your endorsement.

Respectfully yours,

Manuel L. Quezon III

Why we want Gloria Impeached?

Unang-una sa lahat, ang mga naniniwala na ang impeachment ay isang “numbers game,” ay may mentalidad ng isang tuta na sunud-sunuran at hindi ginagamit ang pag-iisip bilang isang tao.

Ang Kongreso ay may dalawang bahagi – ang Kamara de Representates, at ng Senado.

Kapag ang isang Presidente ay may hinaharap na sakdal tungkol sa kanyang mga gawain bilang punong ehekutibo, ang Kamara ay ang tumatanggap ng mga akusasyon laban sa Pangulo, at gumagampan ng pag-aaral ng ebidensya upang makilatis kung ito ay masusustansya at kung ito ay dapat ipursigi at litisin sa Senado.

Bilang mga pangkaraniwang mamamayan, bilang mga blogger, beterano, sibilyan, Kristiyano, at Muslim, kami ay naniniwala na obligasyon namin na patibayin ng husto ang mga paratang laban sa Pangulo ng Pilipinas.

Sa aming pananaw ay dapat bigyan atensiyon ng Kamara ang isyu ng BJE-MOA sa pagitan ng Pangulo at ng MILF, ukol sa Mindanao. Ang usapang ito ay nabuo na may pahintulot ng Pangulo; ang sinasaad nito ay idineklara ng Korte Suprema na labag sa Saligang Batas. Kung hindi pumasok sa usapin ang Korte Suprema, marahil ay nagkapirmahan na sana sa Kuala Lumpur, sapagkat bukod sa inaprobahan ang kasunduang ito ng Pangulo, ay ipinahintulutan pa niya ang kanyang mga kinatawan na mangumbida ng mga representante ng iba’t ibang bansa sa Kuala Lumpur.

Tinutulan ang BJE-MOA na ito ng maraming residente ng Mindanao – lalong-lalo na ang mga Kristiyano at ang kanilang mga opisyales; ang iba naman, tulad ng ating mga Kapatid na Muslim, ay umasa na may kongkretong usapan sila ng Pangulo ngunit sila ay basta na lamang tinalikuran. Maaaring wala talaga siyang intensyon na ipatupad ang kanilang usapan, at sinadya niyang itago ang kasunduang ito sa mamamayan upang masabi niya na hindi naman nya ito maitutuloy sa dahilang hindi pa hinog ang panahon.

May panindigan o pananaw man o wala ang ordinaryong mamamayan sa usapang ito, ang naidulot lamang nito ay perwisyo at sakuna: sa buhay, ari-arian, kapayapaan at ekonomiya hindi lang ng Mindanao, kundi ng buong Pilipinas.

Ang ibig sabihin nito ay ginawang laruan ng Pangulong Arroyo ang buong Mindanao dahil lamang sa paghahanap ng malulusutan upang isulong ang pag-amyenda sa Saligang Batas o ang Cha-Cha.

Ang ibig sabihin nito ay inilagay sa peligro ng Pangulong Arroyo ang lahat ng naninirahan sa Mindanao dahil lamang sa kanyang mga ambisyon.

Kung kaya’t dahil sa mga ikinilos at ginawa niya; sa paglabag niya sa Saligang Batas; sa pagtalikod nya sa kanyang sinumpaang obligasyon na protektahan at depensahan ang Saligang Batas; sa paglihim niya sa mamamayang Pilipino ng mga patungkol sa mga probisyon na nais niyang isulong sa kasunduan; sa malinaw na panloloko niya sa mga kapatid nating Muslim; sa maraming nasawi or nabawian ng buhay na sibilyan at militar; at dahil sa kaguluhang idinulot nya sa Mindanao; ay pinaninindigan namin na dapat maisama sa impeachment complaint ang usapin na ito.

Ayun kay Atty. Neri Colmenares, kailangan lang namin ma-isumite ang interbensyon na ito, upang maaksyunan ng Kamara. Hindi na daw kailangan i-endorse ito ng sinumang diputado o kinatawan. Kami ay naniniwala kay Atty. Colmenares at sa mga kinatawan ng oposisyon sa Kamara.

Ngunit nananawagan pa din kami na kung maaari, sa darating na Lunes, ika-17 ng Nobyembre, ay i-endorse pa rin ng mga kinatawan ng oposisyon ang aming inihahain na dokumento na siyang pinagaralan namin at nilagdaan bilang pagpapatunay na ito ay ang aming panindigan. Kung kaya’t umaasa kami na sana ito rin ang maging panindigan ng mga kongresista sa oposisyon at ng mga kinatawan na miyembro ng mayoriya, na tumutol sa kasunduang BJE-MOA.

Sa paraan na ito, ay mawawakasan na ang bangayan sa ating lipunan, mabibgyan ng pagkakataon ang Pangulo na sagutin ang mga paratang sa kanya, at makakasiguro ang Kongreso at ang taong-bayan na hindi nagtatago ang Pangulo sa likod ng kanyang mga patakbuhin.

Ang impeachment ay hindi nasasakluban ng executive privilege. Walang executive privilege ang impeachment. Kung tatalakayin ng tapat at ng walang kinikilingan ang mga paratang na nasasaloob sa impeachment complaint, kung pakikinggan ng wasto ang mga testigo, at kung pag-aaralang mabuti ang mga ebidensyang inihain ng mga complainant sa Kamara, ay makasisiguro tayo na magwawakas rin ang alitan ng administrasyon at oposisyon at ang pagkakahati ng ating mamamayan.

Nananawagan po kami sa sambayanang Pilipino na sana ay suportahan ang aming interbensyon.

Nais po naming magpasalamat sa lahat ng mga tumulong sa amin, sila Joey de Venecia, ang mga bloggers na lumagada, ang mga kapatid naming Muslim na siya ring lumagda, ang mga taga iba’t ibang hanay ng oposisyon na tumulong upang maging masustansya at matibay ang interbensyon na ito.

Pagkatapos naming isumite itong intervention na ito ay padadalhan namin ang bawat miyembro ng oposisyon ng kopya ng dokumento.

Kami ay nananampalataya na sa Lunes ay i-endorse na rin nila, kahit hindi kinakailangan, bilang pagpapatunay na buo ang loob at sentimyento nila na panagutin ang Pangulong Arroyo sa kanyang paglabag sa ating Saligang Batas at sa mga katiwalian niyang ginawa at patuloy na ginagawa.

Maraming Salamat po. Mabuhay po Kayo.

Why I want to Oust the Imp?

Oust the Imp is our attempt to raise the bar of discussion on the web and enlighten as many people as possible about the state of our country. For more than eight years, we, especially the students, have given Mrs. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo every opportunity to prove us wrong.

When people shouted in the streets to oust her in 2002, I did’nt come. I felt then that it’s too early to judge Mrs. Arroyo.

When Gloria went to Baguio and spoke about the virtues of Rizal among us, we believed her. She promised that she’ll just serve the remainder of deposed president Erap’s term and that’s it. I never really thought that Gloria would eventually change tack a year later.

2004 saw Gloria winning the election against popular movie idol FPJ. Charges of electoral fraud were hurled against her. Me and my friends never joined those rallies. I thought then that in this country, everybody thinks he won the elections but he’s just cheated. We’re all sore losers.

Yet, when Gloria and her husband and their friends started entering into those billion peso deals, like the Northrail project, I suddenly realized that hey, wait a minute! They’re stealing my money big-time. The allowance that my parents give me and those that I spend for food and paying all those VAT, they’re stealing it.

I suddenly found myself obsessed with what’s going on. Why are they entering into those stupid deals which foreigners benefit and Filipinos suffer? I read in the newspapers how Joc-Joc Bolante stole more than 3 billion pesos of supposed GMA funds for the farmers and I told myself, hey, this man stole what’s supposed to be the fertilizer of my father.

Then, Joey de Venecia III came and exposed the ZTE deal. Imagine, a COMELEC Commissioner trying to dupe us of more than 8 billion pesos! That’s a huge sum of money which could have been used to feed more than 4 million hungry and poor families in Metro Manila for 3 years straight!

To make matters worst, a man named Jun Lozada also appeared and showed us why Gloria and her gang fears for the continuation of the Senate probe on the ZTE–the First Couple is obviously involved.

And the ZTE was not just the sellout that Gloria and her gang made.

Gloria tried to fool us into believing that she wants peace in Mindanao. She tried to sign a Memorandum of Agreement giving a large portion of Mindanao to an armed group which claims that they owe those lands there. And I later learned that our ancestral house in Zamboanga is included in the BJE Territory. My forefathers bought that lot fair and square and here’s the very president of my country, selling national patrimony out to those who allegedly claim those lands as theirs!

That’s why, today, me and my friends are joining this movement against Gloria. For many years, we have kept our silence. But, this government is bungling its job and they’re doing it at the expense of people like me.

With the impending recession next year, how can we trust our lives and our future to a bumbling idiot of a president? How can we actually trust these people in government who continues to lie, cheat and steal. They’re not ashamed to steal my hard-earned money and the money of their parents.

It’s time to act. Time to end this evil regime. And time to tell all these cheaters, thieves, hoodlums and liars in government that there are still people out there who want them punished for their high crimes against the People.

Time to Oust the Imp.