“Anyone who thinks that a post whether national, LGU or barrangay can best be served only by his blood relations has got to be as nuts as the Ampatuan who thought he could get away with killing so many and burying all traces.”
by Ducky Paredes
The early lifting of Martial Law in Maguindanao, just barely over a week after it was proclaimed can only mean that it was never really necessarily to go that route. A suspension of the write of habeas corpus and the calling out of the military (that the Supreme Court has already ruled as something that Gloria can do at any time that she should so please) would have been sufficient.
Clearly, there was also never any rebellion even as Gloria’s Justice Secretary swore to high heaven’s in that joint session that there was one . A rebellion without any rebels would be hard to prove in any court or even before the bar of public opinion. It may well be a good thing that there was actually never any rebellion since the State will not now be using that argument and charging Gloria’s Ampatuan cronies with the crime of rebellion which is so much easier to escape from than the more simple crime of murder or even just homicide.
Of course, if her Justice Secretary will still insist on filing charges of rebellion, that would now be a clear giver-away that Gloria does not want the Ampatuans to spend any time longer than a few weeks in jail. Very few (and nobody of importance) has ever been found guilty by our courts of the crime of rebellion. And when one escapes the rebellion charge, whatever he did in pursuit of that rebellion, (murder, pillage, rape. Plunder) are thrown out of court, too.
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F0r our country to get back on track, we must move on – away from political dynasties. There is no difference in the mindset of political dynasts and those that killed 57 persons in the Ampatuan’s fiefdom.
Anyone who thinks that a post whether national, LGU or barangay can best be served only by his blood relations has got to be as nuts as the Ampatuan who thought he could get away with killing so many and burying all traces (bodies and even vehicles) in a huge pre-dug pit for just that purpose.
When I see a former reformer listing his unelectable daughter to take over his Senate seat, I have to wonder whether he was ever the person that he presented himself to be; same with a congressman whom I admired until he has named his wife (with neither inclination, talent nor interest in public service) as his candidate for the post!
Why should anyone want to put a square peg in a round hole except if that is the road to riches?
Perhaps the best thing to do is to change the Constitution by doing away with term limits. That way, we will all naturally tire of traditional politicians and rid ourselves of them in due time. By limiting their terms, the new faces that are presented seem to offer change when what we will be getting is the same incompetence and corruption that we have been dealt in the guise of public service.
At least, if the same person sits for four or more terms, his electorate will eventually tire of him, if he is not giving them the real public service that others cab deliver.
There is a nasty, unfounded rumor circulating and, in fact, used as a story in Newsbreak (which is usually very reliable) that Andal Ampatuan, Sr. got his break when then President Cory Aquino made him OIC of Maganoy in Maguindanao at the time that Nene Pimentel, then Secretary of the Interior and Local Government, dismissed all of the sitting LGU mayors.
The story is that Datu Andal was them vice mayor and he was promoted by Cory and Nene to the post of Mayor. Thus, according to the apocryphal tale, they inadvertently started him on his way to founding his murderous dynasty.
That is a pure canard, a total lie. Here is the truth:
“Datu Andal Sr. was the henchman of Marcos in Maganoy in 1986.. He also was de facto mayor… acting since he was the vice mayor and already appointed as OIC.
“Cory removed him from Office!!! I was a witness to that!
“The Chief of Police, another Ampatuan yet non political and decent by the name of Datu Mod Ampatuan was appointed by Cory as OIC! I was the one who recommended for Datu Modi. He is an Ampatuan so he could maintain order and rule of law being the modest and clean chief of police in the place.
“But in the first election post Cory, Datu Andal, Sr was back in power… since he was and still is the undisputed power in Maganoy.
“I was the parish priest of Maganoy at the time and NAMFREL chair of the Province.” — Fr. Eliseo “Jun” Mercado writing in Ellen Tordesillas’ Blog (www.ellentordesilas.com)
I hope that clears up this matter. Cory may have made a few bad choices but picking Andal. Sr. for promotion was certainly not one of them!
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We have a letter: “The reason I e-mailed you is to express my dismay regarding the failure of our 12 cyclists from competing in this year’s SEA Games. We all know the reason by now and it is really saddening from my part. It is just because of a lack of license from the world governing body UCI
“If not for the 2 warring factions of PhilCycling we could have averted that disaster from happening. Worse of it all, the only remaining licensed cyclist, Maritess Bitbit, is also barred form joining the competitions for unknown reasons.
“If they have delicadeza both of them {I`m talking about Harbour Centre owner Mikee Romero and Tagaytay Mayor Abraham ‘”Bambol” Tolentino} should resign immediately from their respective posts for the sake of Philippine cycling. If they really want to push cycling into greater heights they themselves should start the ball rolling and stop their nonsense bickering. Sir Mikee and Mayor Bambol, Christmas na po please reconcile naman for the athletes. Kawawa naman po sila.” – Dennis Rossi
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No, Dennis, it is not the athletes who are kawawa, it is the country and us – its citizens! The reason – the only one – why we will never excel in Olympic sports is because politicians have taken over the various sports federations and the Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) and the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).
Under the politicos, we can never improve since they choose the competitors not because of what they can do for the country but because of their loyalty to the feudal lords of Philippine sports.
Kawawa ang bayan. Everything has been destroyed by politicos – even Sports!
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Another reader corrects a recent column: “Did the late Arsenio Lacson lose an election for Mayor of Manila? I remembered that he died while he was Manila’s mayor.” — Bert Magat
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You are absolutely right, Mr. Magat!
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hvp 12,13.09)
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