Loren primed for the vice-presidency

MANILA, Philippines - Nationalist People's Coalition vice-presidential candidate Loren Legarda believes she can win the May 10 election.

The candidate, who is accused of being a political butterfly, is now being castigated for partnering with Nacionalista Party standard-bearer Manny Villar despite voting for Villar's removal as Senate president due to the C-5 controversy.

Legarda says her partnership with Villar is a function of their similarities. She says Villar came "from the slums of Tondo. I come from the floods of Malabon.”

A Ten Outstanding Young Men and Women (TOYM) awardee, Legarda studied in the exclusive Assumption College from primary to high school. As a former news anchor, Legarda is known by insiders for demanding touch-ups of her face, neck and under her eyes in video post-production. She also once required a hand model in a political ad.

All these, however, are unimportant to her. What is important, she says, in what is perhaps one of Storyline’s coldest and most rigid interviews, is that the public sees her as a candidate that is sincere and genuine.

Comelec is ‘stupid,’ says Boy Abunda

MANILA – Television host Boy Abunda has branded the Commission on Elections (Comelec) as “stupid” after the latter turned down the accreditation of “Ang Ladlad” due to "moral grounds."

"Ang Ladlad" is an organization of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT).

Reports said Comelec rejected “Ang Ladlad” for party-list accreditation on the grounds that it advocates "sexual immorality" and "immoral doctrines."

Abunda did not take this statement sitting down. Abunda lambasted the poll body for reportedly calling the group a “source of immorality.”

He said in his show "SNN: Showbiz News Ngayon:" "'Yong sinabi ng Comelec na ‘Ang Ladlad’ is parang the source of immorality, sabi ni Mayor [Rodrigo] Duterte (of Davao City) ngayong araw (Tuesday) sa mga front page, it is bigotry of the highest order. Para sa akin, 'yan ay isang katangahan."

"Para sa akin, isang malinaw talaga na walang pang-unawa na tama [ang Comelec]. And you are a government agency, 'yon lamang," Abunda added.

Abunda’s co-host and close friend Kris Aquino also defended her gay friend.

“You are mean. And the gay people naman are taxpayers. So, what's the problem?" Aquino said.

On November 11, the Comelec said although the party presented proper documents and evidence for their accreditation, its petition was "dismissable on moral grounds."

Page 5 of its ruling states that “Ang Ladlad's” definition of the LGBT as a marginalized sector "makes it crystal clear that the petitioner tolerates immorality which offends religious beliefs."

The document quotes passages from both the Bible and the Koran that describe homosexuality as "unseemly" or "transgressive."

The Comelec also went on to state that accrediting “Ang Ladlad” would pose risks for Filipino youths.

"Ang Ladlad" also applied for party-list accreditation in 2007, but was denied due to the lack of regional membership in the Philippines.

In a previous phone interview with abs-cbnNEWS.com/Newsbreak, “Ang Ladlad,” through its head Danton Remoto, said the group would contest the Comelec ruling before the Supreme Court.

Remoto, who taught literature at the Jesuit-run Ateneo de Manila University for over 20 years, criticized the Comelec's allegation that older homosexuals are threats to the youth.

He also took issue against the Comelec ruling's frequent citation of Internet-sourced reports, saying that a legal document should at least use primary sourcing. Remoto said this spoke of "intellectual bankruptcy" among Comelec officials.

Remoto said the Comelec ruling is offensive to the LGBT community and an insult to their human rights.

Journalists condemn Maguindanao massacre

MANILA – Philippine and foreign media organizations on Tuesday condemned the massacre of at least 47 people, including journalists, in last Monday’s incident in Maguindanao.

Rowena Paraan, coordinator of the Media Safety Office of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) challenged the government to take immediate action.

“We challenge PNP (Philippine National Police) and Malacañang na huwag protektahan kung sino yung gumawa nito kahit gaano kalapit sa inyo. Kasi kung proprotektahan ninyo ang pumatay sa mga mamamahayag na ito, parang kayo na rin yung nag pull ng trigger,” Paraan said.

Paraan confirmed that 12 journalists were killed in Maguindanao and some of them were members of the NUJP.

Death toll to climb

However, she clarified that the list provided to them by their local chapters is not yet the final figure. They believe the number of journalists killed in the incident could still climb as authorities continue to recover more bodies.

“We think na yung 12 hindi pa yun ang buong bilang kasi based sa info na nakuha namin, there were actually 30 media practitioners who were invited to join the coverage,” said Paraan.

She added that they have tapped the help of local journalists to find out who actually went to cover the supposed filing of the certificate of candidacy of Buluan Vice Mayor Esmael Mangudadatu.

About a hundred armed men stopped the convoy of Mangudadatu’s wife while on their way to file the vice mayor’s COC on Monday afternoon. Aside form the group of journalists, Mangudadatu’s wife, several of his relatives, and supporters were also killed in the incident.

Police and military recovered some of the bodies in Sitio Masalay, Barangay Salman in Ampatuan town.

Highest number of journalists killed

“Ito ang isang incident with the highest number of journalists killed. A single incident kung saan we have at least 12 members of media slain. Wala kaming maalalang ibang kaso kahit sa kasaysayan ng Pilipinas na mas dadami pa sa bilang na ito na mga mamamahayag na pinatay,” Paraan said.

According to Paraan, most of the victims came from General Santos, Koronadal and Sultan Kudarat.

“Mayrong mga miyembro ang NUJP doon sa mga nasa listahan so medyo napakahirap para sa amin. Yung ibang hindi namin myembro some of them were actually participants sa mga trainings that we conducted in those provinces,” she said.

Data from the NUJP shows that 104 journalists have been killed since 1986. Of the total, 67 were killed under the Arroyo administration.

“Wala pang nahuhuli. Kung may nahuli man at naparusahan, puro gunmen. Not a single mastermind has been arrested and prosecuted,” Nonoy Espina, NUJP’s vice chairperson said.

“Its been so much a tradition that people expect that when media are there, nothing bad can happen because nothing bad usually happens in the glare of cameras. But yesterday was totally raw abuse of power,” he added.

For Malou Mangahas of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), the group of journalists who went to Maguindanao was there to cover a legitimate story.

“And they were not taking sides. There was nothing, no evidence of them taking sides,” Mangahas said.

She lamented not seeing the local government of Maguindanao “feeling as concerned about what happened”.

In solidarity

The Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas (KBP) also expressed outrage and condemned the massacre.

According to KBP President Herman Basbaño, the carnage is another blow to the already battered image of Philippine media. Basbaño said the perpetrators in the incident showed disregard for law and order.

He likewise called on the national government and all law enforcement authorities to thoroughly probe and put the culprits behind bars.

The Philippine Press Institute (PPI) echoed the sentiments of other media groups and joined the call to urge the government to arrest the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

"The perpetrators should be arrested, prosecuted, and, after trial, punished. We must put a stop to the culture of impunity in the killing of journalists and make the country safe again for media people," PPI chairman-president Isagani Yambot said in a press statement.

The PPI also urged President Arroyo to disarm all political warlords, dismantle private armies, and intensify the drive against loose firearms, of which there are more than 110,000 in Mindanao alone.

In another statement, the Samahang Plaridel condoled with the victims and deplored what it described as “the most gruesome incidence of political violence involving rival clans in Mindanao.”

“No less than a swift and decisive action from Malacañang can prevent further escalation of violence that already snuffed the lives of local mediamen who were simply doing their jobs when caught in the crossfire,” the group said.

It added that “such politically-motivated heinous crimes demand a critical response not just to serve justice to the victims' families but more importantly, to put a stop to the culture of violence in Mindanao during election season”.

For members of the Malacañang Press Corps (MPC), the massacre worsens the prevailing climate of impunity in the county.

“We, officers and members of the Malacañang Press Corps seek justice for our colleagues, who were massacred in the line of duty in Maguindanao. The incident is terrible and sickening,” the group said.

A reminder

Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR), in a statement, said the killings “are likely to trigger a cycle of reprisals and counter-reprisals that will raise even higher the levels of violence in Maguindanao, quite possibly in the rest of Mindanao, and even the entire Philippines itself. Violence has a way of begetting further violence, as Philippine experience demonstrates.”

It condemned the Maguindanao massacre as “not only an attack on a local politician, on his supporters, and on journalists. It was also an attack on what’s left of Philippine democracy, in which free and peaceful elections have never been as urgent an imperative as today.”

“Only the quickest and most decisive response in terms of arresting and bringing the perpetrators to court can prevent the November 23 killings from turning into one more incident to inspire the killers—of journalists, political activists, local officials, priests, lawyers and judges—who roam this country with impunity to keep on killing.,” said CMFR in the statement.

CMFR likewise rejected Malacañang’s declaration of a state of emergency in the province as well as in neighboring Sultan Kudarat and Cotabato City.

“The local military and police are widely known to be partial to certain groups, and are likely to harden that partisanship as elections in May 2010 nears. Indeed policemen are said to have been part of the group of 100 that waylaid the convoy the slain journalists were accompanying. A state of emergency will provide a convenient cover for military and police partisanship, among other reasons because it will provide them a legal basis for preventing the media from covering the impact on the citizenry of the political rivalries, based on clan disputes, that haunt Maguindanao and other areas of Mindanao as well as the overall conduct of the elections there,” said CMFR.

CMFR asserted the crucial task of media “to provide the citizenry the information it needs so it can make such decisions as to who to vote for as well as others related to its well-being and safety.”

“We reiterate, however, that no story is worth the life of a single journalist. Journalists must take the greatest care to assure their own safety, and to evaluate the risks involved before covering any event of public relevance anywhere. Journalists must thus take care to steer clear of partisanships likely to transform them into casualties of the clash between political parties and feuding clans, and to affirm through their work and actions their sole loyalty to the professional and ethical imperatives of fairness and truth telling,” said CMFR.

Meanwhile, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urged the international community to intervene to demand a full probe to bring to justice those responsible for the crime.

“This is an event which shocks journalists around the world to the core. We need a strong and urgent response from the Philippine government and the international community,” said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary.

Loren hints at dropping 2010 political ambitions

Amid the spate of declarations from prospective presidential and vice-presidential candidates in the past weeks, Senator Loren Legarda on Monday dropped hints of foregoing whatever political plans she has in 2010 and instead, focus on her humanitarian works.

"Mas mabuti pa siguro ang hindi kakandidato. Mas magandang wag nang tumakbo at kung ano ang gagastusin sa pagtakbo ay gamitin na lang sa humaniratian help, siguro ganun. Wag na lang tumakbo," Legarda told reporters Monday.

(I think it’s better not to run anymore and instead use your campaign funds to finance humanitarian works.)

Legarda issued her statement as the country reels from the effects of tropical storm "Ondoy," which struck Luzon over the weekend.

In dropping hints that she may abandon her political plans for next year's polls, Legarda believes that politics and campaigning get in the way of governance.

"Kasi pag kampanya anim na buwan yan na-immobilized ka, lahat ng iyong resources ay nasa posters at television ads at pangangamay ng tao. Nakakain ba nila yun? Hindi. Kaya pinag-iisip isipan ko rin," Legarda said.

She added: "Really it’s dawning upon me because ano ba naman yung power, ano ba naman yung posisyon? Ang gusto mo talaga ay maglingkod e, kung yun talaga ang pakay mo. I don’t need to be famous anymore because I’m already famous. I don’t need to prove anything anymore. I’m thinking about it because really what I want to do is humanitarian help."

The senator said it bothers her to spend millions of money for advertisement and at the same time seeing people who badly need help.

"In such a poor country that is disaster stricken it’s so unconscionable to be spending so much on campaign and politics. It bothers me," Legarda said.

She also said that she is seeing the realities of life as against the dirty maneueverings in politics.

Legarda is one of two senators belonging to the Nationalist People's Coalition (NPC) who have been reported to be eyeing the presidency in the 2010 elections. The other is Francis Escudero.

In 2004, Legarda sought the vice presidency but lost to former ABS-CBN colleague Noli de Castro. In the 2007 polls, she won as senator, and will serve until 2013.

SC junks graft case vs. Joey Marquez

MANILA, Philippines -- The Supreme Court (SC) junked the graft case filed against former Parañaque City mayor and actor Joey Marquez in connection with the city government's acquisition of almost 6,000 pieces of walis tingting (broomstick) in 1996 without public bidding.

In its decision, penned by Justice Antonio Eduardo Nachura, the High Court also acquitted Ofelia Caunan, then officer-in-charge of the general services offices of Parañaque, for lack of sufficient evidence.

The verdict reversed the Sandiganbayan’s Aug. 30, 2007 decision and Mar. 10, 2008 resolution, which found the two former city officials guilty of the Anti-graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

"The gross and manifest disadvantage to the government was not sufficiently shown because the conclusion of overpricing was erroneous since it was not adequately proven," the SC decision said, noting that the Sandiganbayan merely relied on the findings of the Commission on Audit (COA) regarding the alleged overpricing.

Though the COA finding was based on the special audit team's report, it did not include a signed price quotation from the broomstick suppliers of Parañaque City.

The SC maintained that "the absence of a public bidding may mean that the government was not able to secure the lowest bargain in its favor and may open the door to graft and corruption. However, this does not satisfy the third element of the offense charged, because the law requires that the disadvantage must be manifest and gross."

In January 1996, Parañaque officials entered into a contract with businessman Antonio Razo of ZARO Trading for the purchase of 5,998 broomsticks at P25 each, totaling to P149,950, sans a public bidding.

COA later discovered that a broomstick only costs P11 each, overpricing the acquisition by P83,972

Business groups slam constituent assembly

MANILA, Philippines - As the country braces for a rally today against the planned convening of a constituent assembly by the House of Representatives, business groups have joined the chorus of protests against the lawmakers.

“We are appalled at the indecency and blatant disregard of the Filipino people’s will displayed by the House of Representatives in its adoption of House Resolution No. 1109 that allows itself to convene as a constituent assembly to amend the Constitution, without the necessary participation of the Senate,” the business groups said in a joint statement yesterday.

The Action for Economic Reforms (AER), Financial Executives Institute of the Philippines (FINEX), Foundation for Economic Freedom (FEF), Makati Business Club (MBC) and the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP) prepared the statement.

“The question all Filipinos should ask is: For whose interest was this action taken? Certainly not the Filipino people’s, as there is no widespread clamor to amend the Constitution, especially now that we are less than a year away from a presidential election,” the statement read.

“The resolution contains no issue of profound impact on the people’s welfare,” it said.

“By this action of pro-administration congresspersons, any remaining doubts about the determination of the Arroyo administration and its allies in the House to manipulate our democratic processes and institutions to prolong their hold on power have been erased,” the business groups said.

“Malacañang insists elections will be held as scheduled in 2010. But unless its avowals are backed by President Arroyo’s clear and unequivocal rejection of her congressional allies’ maneuverings and an explicit commitment that presidential elections will be held next year, Malacañang’s declarations amount to nothing but more subterfuge and double talk,” they pointed out.

“If and when the House is challenged for the legality of its actions, we call on the Supreme Court to strike down as unconstitutional the results of a constituent assembly that will not have included the Senate in its deliberations,” the statement read.

“The election we look forward to in 2010 is an election for a new President and Congress that will restore the people’s confidence in the government,” it added.

“We call on the Filipino people to vigorously fight and reject this diabolical effort to destroy our democracy!”

All systems go

It’s all systems go for the huge protest rally today in Makati City, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said.

Rally organizers expect to mobilize more than 20,000 people belonging to various sectors including civil society groups.

“We are expecting the attendance of more than 20,000 individuals coming from different civil society, political and opposition groups in Metro Manila. The people coming from the provinces will no longer attempt to come to Manila because they are being blocked by policemen in the past rallies against this government,” an organizer who declined to be named said.

For his part, Binay said today’s protest action may be a “tipping point for another people power revolution.”

“We hope that this will lead to another people power revolution. This might be the tipping point,” Binay said.

Binay met yesterday with Makati City Police head Senior Superintendent Cedric Train and with rally leaders at his office.

“You see that Col. (Senior Superintendent) Train is here. They assured us that the police will not be within the perimeter of the rally site during the entire duration of the rally. Traffic will be managed by the civilian traffic enforcers of Makati,” Binay said.

“This is not a rally of politicians. This is a rally of all sectors. This is an indignation rally against con-ass,” he said.

“We urge other local officials to issue permits to other groups who intend to hold their protests against con-ass in their localities. Rain or rain, we will be there,” Binay said, adding that even the deadly Influenza A(H1N1) virus would not prevent them from going to the streets in protest.

“We will discipline our own ranks,” Binay said.

Train said 100 city policemen will keep a safe distance from the protesters to minimize tension.

The rally’s main venue is the Ayala Ave.-Paseo de Roxas area in Makati.

Teachers’ groups said they would join today’s protest actions.

“By declaring its intention to push through with constitutional amendments without the participation of the Senate, it reveals how desperate Malacañang’s ruling coalition is to prolong its stay in power. Once again, Mrs. Arroyo and her allies are betraying their utter disregard for democratic principles,” Antonio Tinio, national chairman of the Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT), said.

“We are joining the rally against the condemnable and inconsiderate action of these ‘honorable’ House members. What the teachers need is salary upgrading, not con-ass,” Benjo Basas, president of the Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC), said.

In Bacolod City, a protest rally was staged yesterday by the Negrense United Against Con-Ass, Social Action Center of the Diocese of Bacolod, and civil groups and militant organizations.

Bishop Vicente Navarra, in a statement, called HR 1109 “deceptive, a betrayal of people’s trust, illegal, shameful and immoral.”

On the lookout for saboteurs

Philippine National Police spokesman Chief Superintendent Leonardo Espina said they would be on the look out for saboteurs and troublemakers.

“We anticipate that the activity will be peaceful and orderly if only the organizers and participants will stick to the plan and strictly abide by what has been agreed upon,” Espina said at a press briefing.

“As a preemptive measure, we have deployed several control points in the provinces north and south of Metro Manila to check the movement of these persons,” he said.

National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) director Chief Superintendent Roberto Rosales said 5,000 police personnel would be deployed for Civil Disturbance Management operations.

Espina said the protesters plan to assemble at 3 p.m. at six different locations in Makati City and march to the Ayala-Paseo area.

“Thus, we will not allow mass actions beyond the authorized public assembly venue,” he stressed.

The military’s National Capital Region Command (NRCOM), meanwhile, is on red alert today but Armed Forces chief Gen. Victor Ibrado stressed that the security preparations have nothing to do with reports of new destabilization plots.

“Our CDMs will only be on standby inside Fort Bonifacio and at Camp Aguinaldo,” Ibrado said.

The military also said it would not allow its men to join today’s protest activities.

“The AFP is mandated to protect the people and the State. The fulfillment of this mandate requires the military to uphold the Constitution and our laws and support the nation’s duly constituted authorities,” AFP spokesman Lt. Col. Romeo Brawner Jr. said.

“A scenario of any member of the military engaging, directly or indirectly, in any partisan political activity except to vote is unacceptable,” he stressed.

No campaigning, please

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines president and Jaro, Iloilo Archbishop Angel Lagdameo appealed to presidential aspirants who will join today’s rally to refrain from using the event to campaign.

“I challenge them not to use the rally for vested interests or for campaigning, especially now that the election period is near,” Lagdameo said in Filipino in an interview with Church-run Radyo Veritas. He said the presidential wannabes may just have to mingle with the crowd to show their solidarity and not make any speeches.

“Silent presence will speak loud enough,” Lagdameo said.

Meanwhile, military chaplain Bishop Leopoldo Tumulak said there’s nothing wrong with soldiers and policemen joining the rally but that they should be ready to face the consequence of their decision.

“If a soldier joins because of his right as a citizen, I am certain he will take responsibility for his decision and actions. Whatever happens, he won’t blame it on others,” Tumulak said.

Former President Joseph Estrada, meanwhile, denounced the passage of HR 1109 saying it was clearly ordered by Malacañang.

“Administration congressmen are only dancing to the tune of Malacanang’s orders. Anything is possible under this administration. We cannot just believe their statements anymore,” Estrada said.