This blog used to be a haven for forex traders and online investors. It will now contain my political views and opinions about the current state of affairs in my country the Philippines from here on. Please feel free to comment on my posts.
For those who failed to join Noynoy at Araneta last thursday, February 25, 2010, I am posting this video for you to watch and enjoy! Note the big difference between the Araneta Center crowd and the crowd at Villar's free concert at the Mall of Asia held on the same day! (If you prefer to watch the video at YouTube, here's the link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azDi8-HIMA8.)
What's The Big Difference?
A lot!
The Villar camp boasts that the crowd turn out at their concert was a record breaking 120,000! While this may be true, they were there for different reasons other than to show support for candidate Villar!
The crowd at MOA were there enticed by cheap gimmickry concocted by the manipulative Villar Camp!
They were there to watch for free the most popular, and highly paid rock bands in the country who incidentally rarely appear for free in public performances...the free concert offered people a rare chance to see their favorite rock bands for free! Held in the largest mall in Asia, the free concert also attracted a large number of the holiday promenaders and mall shoppers, - naturally! There were also those who went there lured by empty promises of give aways, gifts, and scholarships that they announced would be handed out during the concert! - A promise made by the concert host and known Villar endorser Willie Revillame during his popular noontime show Wowowee(And, if I may add, - in flagrant violation of the Fair Election Act!). Unknown to the concert-goers, the scholarships handed out that night were (according to Villar's own spokesman and top lapdog Gilbert Remulla) scholarships which were awarded long before the campaign period began. The awarding done at the concert was merely ceremonial, according to him!
What a cheap trick indeed, playing on the sorry plight of his own countrymen just for the opportunity to shake the hands of unsuspecting voters and feed their hopes with empty promises!
The crowd at Araneta on the same day may be less in numbers, but they did fill the coliseum to the rafters, while others who could not be accommodated inside the venue held a simultaneous gathering outside and turned the whole Araneta Center yellow! More important than the numbers, everyone who was there came to show their unwavering support for Noynoy Aquino and Mar Roxas tandem as well as for the rest of the Liberal Party's senatorial slate! Everyone who was there is a die-hard fanatic for real change in the country! Everyone who was there came to pledge their undivided loyalty to Noynoy's Yellow Army! Everyone who was there came with a promise to multiply a hundred fold their votes for the Liberal Party's standard bearer!
The latest survey released by Pulse Asia to the media not only smacks of malicious intent to bend public sentiment towards a favored candidate, - it also proved what everybody else has long suspected....that they too have been bought by Villar!
The survey results on trust ratings of presidential and vice presidential candidates released by Pulse Asia just recently, shows Villar having a higher trust rating of 70% than Aquino's 64%. As usual, the news wires immediately gobbled up the survey and prominently headlined the results. Coming as it is after the stormy sessions on the senate floor surrounding the C-5 issue, the proud candidate Villar did not waste time to immediately declare that the survey results only goes to show that people don't believe he is guilty of the charges being leveled against him by fellow senators.
What a guile, preposterous monster! .... Having the nerve to exonerate himself from the C5 controversy on the basis of an apparently paid survey!
First of all, the survey was conducted from January 22 to 26, 2010. It must be pointed out here that Senator Enrile made public the report of the SenateCommittee of the Whole on the C5 issue only on January 25, 2006. His revelation of Villar's attempt to bribe him to kill the report of the Senate Committee of the Whole came on January 27, 2010. Both of which were highly publicized in both print, television and radio. In short, the effect of these two major developments that directly impacts the C5 issue were evidently not considered in this particular survey. The ensuing public sentiment after those two major developments mentioned were all important and should have been the basis of the latest survey on trust ratings - if one is to gauge the real sentiment of the people.
With malicious intent however, Villar's camp and Pulse Asia released the survey results only this week, almost 30 days after it was conducted!... Obviously to create a different image of the people's perception about the C5 issue, - and make it appear that people think Villar is innocent of the charges being hurled against him!
What is most concerning is the fact that Pulse Asia, and most probably even SWS, allow themselves to be used by scheming, manipulative politicians like Villar for a price! With billions to spend for his do or die run for presidency, Villar must have given them offers they can't refuse!
There are also many other interesting points that their surveys are trying to embed on the voters' minds! For one, it was consistent in projecting that in all surveys, Mar Roxas is consistently gaining against his opponents while Aquino is declining! To me, this is a clear attempt to drive a wedge between Aquino and Roxas in the hope that an ensuing rift will derail their campaign efforts!
Another point they are so keen to debunk with their so-called surveys, is the prevailing perception that Cory's magic might rub off to Noynoy and help him win!
Who else would want to know how the people's affection for Noynoy's mother will affect the May elections but Villar? Who else could commission a survey just and alter the results to show that Cory lovers are not automatic Noynoy voters? What a cheap shot indeed!...Old tricks of 'trapos' if I may add!
With Bong Bong Marcos in his senatorial line up, he now professes that he is open to a hero's burial for the late dictator! But ahhh, not after they came out with another survey the results of which showed that the former dictator Marcos is significantly listed second to Cory among the country's past leaders who are respected and revered to this day! (Unbelievable!)
Villar and his henchmen are playing it dirty! His most famous celebrity endorser Willie Revillame, in flagrant violation of the Fair Elections act, used his popular noontime show to hoodwink viewers into coming to a free rock concert at the Mall of Asia grounds - which turned out to be a Villar Campaign sortie! Of course, they now say no campaign speeches were made and none of the candidates went up the stage, but the whole Nacionalista ticket was there for everyone in attendance to see! Prominently displayed also was a huge attractive sign which says "Rockatropa Concert by Villar". Again, they have an excuse for that saying that the concert was organized by his daughter Camille Villar and his two sons. The free concert was apparently to steal the limelight away from the People Power Celebrations in EDSA and block Noynoy's camp from capitalizing on this momentous event!
They are probably laughing their hearts out by now because of the big crowd turn-out they were able to gather. In fact, Revillame, again in his noon time show the day after, even boasted that according to Mall Of Asia authorities, this is the biggest crowd ever to gather in that venue. (Of course it must be, stupid ass! It is not only a free concert, they also had a pletoria of the most expensive and most popular bands in the country!) ... not to mention the fact that Revillame even mentioned there will be gifts to be given out during the concert! ...(Let us not forget that his Wowowee show attracts crowds of people who out of desperation to change their sorry plight, line up for the said show hoping to win or gain prizes and giveaways regularly handed out by Willie to his lucky contestants!) Cheap shot, indeed!
Villar's entire campaign has been froth with lies, deceptions, and manipulation. When you go and cast your votes come election time, do not forget how this man had gone to all extent to twist, manipulate, and influence our decisions in whatever deceptive means he can! Let us not forget that he is so desperate to become president so he can cover up and escape prosecution for the many misdeeds he has commited!
The Commission on Elections (Comelec) was created by a 1940 amendment to the 1935 Constitution of the Philippines. Before the creation of the Comelec, supervision over the conduct of elections was vested by law in the Secretary of Interior.
In view, however, of the close official ties between the President and the Secretary of Interior, there was always the danger of a partisan Secretary of the Interior exploiting his powers and influence to ensure the victory of his party at the polls. As a consequence, the Constitution was amended in 1940 to create an independent Commission on Elections." (- From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Please take note that from its inception, the COMELEC was supposed to be a constitutional body totally independent of, and not subservient to the dictates of the sitting president. It was meant to be the uncompromising watchdog under whose supervision all the electoral processes in the country are to be conducted.
Unfortunately, this is not the scenario we see today. Sadly, what we have is not the ideal set up envisioned by the crafters of our 1940 which created the COMELEC as an independent constitutional body whose members can not be removed from office except by impeachment, with fixed salaries that can not be increased nor decreased as a safeguard to make sure that the body will remain independent!
Instead, what we see today is a highly partisan COMELEC which had been systematically reduced into a helpless, toothless agency totally subservient to the whims and caprices of the incumbent! Instead, what we see today is the fact that widespread cheating has been institutionalized into every electoral process by the very agency constitutionally mandated to protect us from such!
Under the 1940 amendment which birthed the COMELEC, there will be three commissioners to be appointed by the president with each one having a fixed tenure of nine years. Through another amendment made in 1973, the number of commissioners to nine but cut short the tenure of each to three years. This would have been an ideal set-up to prevent the COMELEC from having all commissioners appointed by a single president.
However, having been in office long enough (or should I say too long), Marcos had the rare opportunity to have all commissioners of the commission appointed by him. This must have emboldened him to bow down to the public's clamor for snap presidential elections. To quell the public's restiveness and brewing public disgust arising from Ninoy Aquino's assassination at the tarmac of the Manila International Airport, Marcos called for the snap elections thinking he could win having a partisan COMELEC behind him!
Had it not been for the valiant refusal of some patriotic COMELEC encoders to input the fabricated results favoring Marcos, the dictator would have been in power a bit longer...and who knows, we might have ended up having his widow Imelda as our president up to today!
Under the glare of both local and international media spotlights, the COMELEC encoders walked out of the convention center where the national canvassing was being held - exposing the massive attempt by Marcos to alter the election results through the COMELEC for the world to see!
Like Marcos, Arroyo had been in power long enough to have a COMELEC where all its commissioners are her appointees beholden to her out of fear and favor.
Much more, she succeeded where Marcos failed - which is to win the presidency by manipulating the election results with the help of the COMELEC!
If you will recall, one of her controversial appointments to the COMELEC was that of the now infamous Virgilio Garcillano just before she run for president in 2004! Arroyo had just served the unexpired term of President Estrada then after Estrada was unceremoniously removed from office by widespread mass actions instigated by church leaders and civil society organizations critical of Estrada's presidency from the start.
Garcillano was a master fraud operator who used his knowledge of election laws and procedures, his long field experience, and his extensive network of contacts to rig the vote in favor of President Arroyo, Senator Robert Barbers, and a few other local politicians. "He was the plotter for electoral fraud, the overall supervisor and commander in chief," says a Comelec official who asked not to be named. "He was working for GMA." Except for a six year gap from 1986 to 1993, Garcillano had been with the agency from 1961 as a young lawyer in his mid-20's, then rising up from the ranks to become the COMELEC director for Northern Mindanao (Region 10) until he retired in 2002. He was plucked from retirement and suspiciously appointed commissioner on February 11, 2004 just as the presidential campaign was kicking off! The rest is now history for which we had to suffer the consequences of our indifference and passivity for all of the next six years of Arroyo's governance.
Today, nothing has changed even after the wide spread public condemnations of the "Garci Tape" controversy. In fact, the COMELEC has brazenly undertaken steps to further institutionalized cheating in the country!
Take note of the following developments!
On the Poll Automation Project.
Despite the Supreme Court's ruling on the matter, the awarding of the Poll Computerization Project to the controversial Smartmatic remains highly spurious!
(For your information, Smartmatic is the company which pulled out its operations in the US to avoid an ongoing congressional inquiry which started as an offshoot of questioned poll results in one of the US states where Smartmatic held a concession.)
During the bidding process for the PCOS machines, most bidders have voiced out their common observation that COMELEC was clearly favoring Smartmatic right from the start.
It must be remembered that Smartmatic was already disqualified from the bidding process for failing to submit documents to prove that they own or have in fact ownership (in part or whole) of an ISO certified manufacturing facility for the PCOS machines they are offering ( in compliance with our General Procurements Bill)!
The COMELEC suspiciously reconsidered the disqualification after Smartmatic submitted unverified documents claiming they own 10% of Jarltech, Taiwan, an ISO certified manufacturing firm but which have never even manufactured a single PCOS machine for Smartmatic or for anyone else in the world. Without verifying the veracity of the submitted documents, the agency reconsidered the disqualification!
As it turned out later, Smartmatic had the PCOS machines manufactured by Qisda of China (whose papers and ISO certifications were never presented to COMELEC during the bidding process) instead of by Jarltech - in total disregard of the General Procurement Bill. Clearly, the documents submitted by Smartmatic during the bidding process was not to prove they have manufacturing capabilities but merely to comply with the required documentations! On top of that, the General Procurement Bill prohibits the subcontracting of the PCOS machines but they were able to go away with it!
For matters involving not only a huge amount of public funds but one involving national security and sovereignity, the bidding, manufacturing and final delivery of counting machines should not have been left to chance at all! In this case, the whole matter was left totally in the hands of a questionable company which has already figured in controversial elections both in Venezuela where it came from and the US! Curiously, the Supreme Court, ruling against a concerned citizen's group which filed a petition to stop the computerization project gave its final verdict for COMELEC to go ahead with the poll computerization with Smartmatic... this, despite the blatant violations of the General Procurement Bill!
(If I may add, the appointment of Melo as COMELEC's chief commissioner, a former SC justice, must have paved the way for this decision, and perhaps even an essential part of a grander scheme to perpetuate Arroyo's sway on the government!)
No doubt, there is no more stopping the computerized elections for 2010! But I'd like to point out one of the concerns about the poll computerization which the PCIJ has even brought out. And this is the fact that the source code, the program that tallies all the votes cast is contained in memory chips to be held by election officers in each precinct. Despite PCIJ's recommendation to have the source code embedded in the machine itself to lessen the risk of having it hacked, substituted or even tampered with, COMELEC paid no heed.
With 80,000 PCOS machines, there will be 80,000 memory chips in the hands of election officers nation wide...if you are not multiplying the risks of the chips being tampered with, or being replaced, or even the getting lost or misplaced, I don't know how you will describe this. The recent publicity done by the agency showing them depositing the source code does not allay our fears that the 2010 elections will again be rigged... this time in a more inconspicuous way using Smartmatic technology contained in a memory chip held by COMELEC and Smartmatic officials...who'd only need to insert the chips in every machine for a few seconds to rob the country of its real mandate!
Ahh, but there is the paper audit...so they say! Now, how come they refuse to accredit NAMFREL as a citizen's arm favoring to have only the lesser experienced PPRCV instead as the accredited poll watchdog? Will it harm any if they accredit both? Is it because NAMFREL, in the event that any cheating is uncovered may be able to stir a more widespread public condemnation of the act than PPRCV whom they can tame into submission using their allied Catholic bishops?
Another thing, with the polls now computerized, the winner can be proclaimed immediately. Any election protest will only be blocked by the Electoral Tribunal , majority of whose members belong to Arroyo's party...making a repeat of the 2004 electoral fraud. To file a case with COMELEC would be useless. To seek redress from the Supreme Court, all of the justices are Arroyo appointees too except for Puno who is scheduled to retire anytime soon.
On the matter of the disqualification case against Acosta as filed by LP standard bearer Noynoy Aquino!
The COMELEC was quick to dismiss the case. As it turned out, Acosta who filed his candidacy for the presidency as the KBL standard bearer has not, even up to this day, printed a single campaign material, much less appear in person even to his running mate (who incidentally has voiced his plan to dumped Acosta with the media). Clearly, Acosta's filing for candidacy was to merely to prevent Aquino's name from appearing first on the ballot list among the presidential candidates. It is now too late to declare Acosta as a nuisance candidate since the ballots are already being printed with Acosta's name in it, however, COMELEC must bear down hard on this guy for making a mockery of our electoral process! Unfortunately, they are not lifting a finger at all...making me think that Acosta's filing of candidacy may be part of Arroyo's Grand Scheme to perpetuate herself in power and escape escape prosecution for all wrongs she had done to the nation after she steps down from the presidency!
At this point, let me say that I am just worried of the gathering storm similar to that which hit Marcos after the 1986 Snap Elections! I am also appalled by the indifference of many among us to the prospects of a looming national disaster poised to bear down hard on us...I am bewildered by the refusal of many to lift a finger or raise a voice against the many injustices blatantly committed all around us by those in power.... I am totally dismayed at how many can keep their eyes closed to the real issues confronting us, electing instead to be swayed by the empty promises and sugar-coated excuses of the moneyed and the powerful.
Media and advertising experts are still scratching their heads in bewilderment after reports showed presidential candidate Manny Villar spent 543 million on his political ads from October 20 to December 20, 2009 alone. They simply couldn't believe that anyone would be so foolish as to spend a rich man's fortune just to catch up with his front running rival in political surveys where he happened to be lagging behind by a mere 20 plus points...and, with the official campaign period still a good 3 months away!
Asked why he had to spend so much, Villar gave the lame excuse that it was necessary to "level the playing field", pointing out that he is not a son of a popular former president, nor does he have a brother or a sister who is a popular actor or actress, - an apparent jab at front running Noynoy Aquino...son of the well-loved and much respected former president Corazon Aquino, and brother to an equally popular and sometimes controversial TV host and actress Kris Aquino Yap!
Villar's unreasonable statement is not only a lame excuse but a blatant lie - and an affront to our inteligience!
For God's sake, the man became Speaker of the House courtesy of then President Estrada! Thereafter, he got elected to the senate under Arroyo's slate - after notoriously and treacherously turning his back on his former patron by melodramatically endorsing the impeachment complaint against Estrada and closing the session immediately without submitting the same to a vote (It was this controversial incident that catapulted him to instant fame and stardom! A feat he even brags about today in his campaign jingle sang by innocent children - "siya lang ang may kakayahang gumawa ng sariling pangalan").
With the blessings of Arroyo, his new patron after Estrada's ouster, he became the Senate President - but not after being one of the top spenders on political ads during that particular election campaign. So I wonder what he exactly meant by "leveling the playing field?...my ass! He was more popular than Noynoy before Noynoy announced his candidacy! In fact, he was way ahead in several surveys against other 'presidential aspirants' before Noynoy became a contender!
We do not deny the truth that the death of Cory Aquino once again rekindled the spirit of EDSA 1 (- the burning patriotism which has been swept under the rugs of forgotten history by 9 years of plundering by the Arroyo Administration). There is no denying that Cory's demise catapulted Noynoy to a position of prominence equaling that, and even surpassing Villar! However, with still several months to go before the official campaign period starts, a sane mind will argue that the surveys favoring Noynoy would not have ordinarily worried any of the presidential contenders who are all, by the way, experienced and accomplished political players themselves. Well, it didn't worry most of the presidentiables - except Villar! Evidently, Villar was solely affected by Noynoy's sudden surge in popularity.
While the rest of the presidential contenders knew there was still a long way to go before campaign period starts; while the rest of the presidential aspirants knew they have sufficient time to overhaul Noynoy's front-running advantage; while the rest knew they can still improve their own standings in future surveys without spending a fortune, Villar, apparently, had other things in his mind! And so, 543 million he spent without batting an eyelash!
Was the money well spent? If we take it from the recent surveys, they show Villar eating up on Noynoy's lead with some of the surveys showing the two on a statistical tie! Golly, with that kind of money, it should have placed Villar prominently on the lead! But it didn't! What it did is make the expert political pundits wonder in amazement, up to this time, why Villar had to go on a political spending binge at a scandalously high price! As to his statement saying that he had no choice but to go on this ludicrous political spending, that, I believe is perfectly true! But, as to the reasons he gave why he had to...ahh ahh, he is lying again!
Let me give you my tale of the why's behind Villar's foolish political spending spree!
If you remember, Lito Banayo, in his write-up entitled "Her Man", revealed that sometime in May last year, Manny Villar and his wife were to rendevouz with Arroyo and her husband somewhere in the Mediterranean - after one of Arroyo's fancy trips abroad. Lito discovered and exposed the planned meeting which Senator Madrigal, who was then critical of Villar's impropriety in his conduct surrounding the C5 Road Extension Project, picked up and exposed to the media. Accordingly, the planned meeting did not materialize. Did a future meeting happen after that? We wouldn't know.
However, persistent text messages and coffee shop talks are today, circulating around saying that the First Gentleman met with Villar at Mike Defensor's house on January 7 this year. (As expected, Villar's camp was quick to deny this as a cheap political gimmick by Noynoy's camp!) But did a meeting actually take place? Possibly! Right now, my own source is making verifications and will soon be publishing an expose on the same!
Now, this is not my tale! My tale connects a different angle to the whole scenario surrounding the supposed meeting between Villar and the First Gentleman. My tale is looking at it with the computerized elections and Smartmatic in the background.
If you remember, after Arroyo's Copenhagen trip, she went straight to Hongkong purportedly to rendezvouz with her family for a much needed break at Hongkong Disneyland. As it turned out, our local media only spotted her children and grandchildren at HK Disneyland. Arroyo and the First Gentleman was nowhere to be found.
Now, hear this! This was at the same time when even Comelec Chairman Melo was already voicing out his own concerns and apprehensions about Smartmatic's delay in delivering the counting machines! And so, instead of going straight back to Manila after Copenhagen, Arroyo flew straight to Hongkong where her whole family was!
Now, how come the media failed to see Arroyo in Hongkong? You got it right, sugar! Arroyo was not in Hongkong but across the border in Mainland China meeting with the Smartmatic people and inspecting the Qisda production line herself to make sure there won't be further delays in the delivery of the counting machines! And why would she be personally interested on this matter - simply because the 2010 elections will be rigged using the Smartmatic machines as they originally planned! With computerized elections, results can be had in days and a proclamation of the winners may immediately follow. Protests against election results will take a longer time to file since it will require making time consuming paper audits, and may end up as long winded case in the courts of law since a proclamation can immediately be made in a computerized election process! (We've seen this happen in the 2004 elections between Arroyo and Fernando Poe.).
There is just one problem though that they needed to solve before they can implement this dubious plan!
On the presidential arena, Noynoy has had a consistent and commanding lead over his rivals in all of the most recent surveys! To manipulate the election results with such a scenario will make the act too obvious and may possibly court a popular uprising! The survey must therefore reflect a much closer fight between Noynoy and Arroyo's favored candidate so that any manipulation of the results will not be so obvious. Incidentally, Villar happens to be closer to Noynoy than Gibo who is languishing in the bottom of all survey results.
Obviously, Arroyo had to play it safe by paddling in two streams...with Gibo ( her formally annointed bet) in one hand (hoping that her allies in her political party, the Lakas Kampi will be able to help him close the gap with Noynoy when the real campaign period starts; ... and with Villar who was closest to Noynoy in the survey results and who had all the money to do all the dirty tricks in the world including manipulating survey results. Either way, she will have a winner who can protect her from future prosecutions and even help her become the Speaker of the house and ultimately, the Prime Minister if they finally succeed changing the constitution.
Now, look at the timing of all of Villar's ad spending and the supposed meeting with the First Gentleman, you can not just pass it off as a coincidence. It was for a purpose, and that is to give Villar an ultimatum to do what he can to narrow the gap between him and Noynoy in the survey results!
This is my tale. Be prepared! They are out to steal 2010 again like they did in 2004.
True to the form of a wily, scheming, and accomplished 'Trapo' (traditional politician), Manny Villar went to the senate floor yesterday, delivered a privilege speech in defense of himself claiming the C5 Ethics issue is merely a cheap political gimmick concocted by his detractors to discredit him. The one hour long tirade against his detractors were full of the same lies and excuses he has fed the media in several occasions in the past relative to the issue. After the speech, the unexpected happened! He suddenly walked out never to be seen again, denying the senators the chance to interpelate him....and preventing the nation to know the real truth!
The unsuspecting senators who had waited a long time to confront him never realized from the onset that they were just going to be used and abused by the scheming Villar to deliver what is to me now, more of a campaign speech than anything else! He never intended to answer the questions surrounding the controversial issue. He wanted to deliver a speech meant to turn him into a martyr and project an image of the persecuted! (Paawa effect) Little did everyone realize that this was the wily game plan of this accomplished political actor who could lie through his teeth to his country men in front of television cameras.
To me, he is a coward who wants to hide the truth on the C5 Scam from the public. Ordinarily, an innocently accused will bravely face his tormentors and disprove all charges against him - Specially so, if the accused is gunning for the highest position of trust in the land; specially so, in an election where transparency in governance has become a focal point of all campaign issues coming as it is after 9 years of corrupt governance by the Arroyo administration!
But, nahh! The already feeling-high-and-mighty Villar, after having bought his way into a position of prominence - from speaker of the house, to being the senate president, and now as a seemingly formidable presidential contender (representing a political party which he has also literally bought) - will not have any of this! He will not go through the pains of proving his claimed innocence in an acceptable and credible arena of public trust! He will not utter a statement under oath! Despite having 10 lap dogs in the senate who at anytime can freeze or even stop the proceedings should he be treated unfairly in the floor, he still refused to be interpelated, and instead, immediately walked out of the senate building after delivering his piece...even refusing to be interviewed by media on the way to his car! ... as if telling everyone, he is innocent and that what he had just declared in his speech is gospel truth...swallow it hook, line, and sinker!
Ahh, the arrogance in him! It may be because he continues to bask in the 'glory' of being called the "Brown Taipan" of Asia... or maybe because of the billions he has accumulated through the years taking advantage of the unsuspecting poor as in the case of the unsuspecting farmers of Norzagaray, Bulacan...or maybe because he has bought and now has a stable of prominent politicians all over the country (including left leaning ones) all ready to be his lap dogs on any issue at his beck and call!
I was as dumbfounded as Senator Enrile and the other non-Villar senators, when he walked out after his speech! I felt an inexplicable hurt inside of me! I felt raw anger! Deep inside, I was hoping he'd clear himself up in this particular issue... because, although I am a Noynoy supporter, I am also a practical minded person, and I accept the possibility that with his billions, he might just be able to succeed in buying his way to Malacanang. So, secretly, I was hoping he'd finally clear himself from all charges of unethical conduct and allegations of enriching himself further while in public office - that way, in case he wins, it will not be another crook in the palace...so I thought! But, nahh, the already feeling-high-and-mighty Villar left in a huff after delivering his piece...leaving us all on our own - to sift through his well-orchestrated, highly funded propaganda campaign maze he has managed to build all around him - just to seek the truth on the C5 issue!
So, I am not going to waste a second to expose the lies and half truths, the spins and the rubs of his excuses! Allow me then to point out the flaws and the lies in his delivered speech.
In his speech, Villar said: "For the record, Mr. President, the C5 Road Project is not just my own personal project though it is one I am proud to be associated with – all of these controversies notwithstanding. This is a project of the government implemented through the Department of Public Works and Highways."
On the later part of his discourse he said: ..."I did not direct, or influence, the DPWH to have the C5 Project pass through my properties. The fact is that the conceptualization, alignment, planning and execution of the said project were all done by the DPWH. "
The Incontrovertible Truth:
The Project Feasibility Study of the DPWH for CX-5 states: “The conceptualization of and the initial release of funds for the CX-5 Project was initiated by Sen. Manuel Villar whose same efforts also paved the way for the funding of the Las Piñas-Parañaque Link Road [LPPLP]” Source: documents submitted by DPWH, lawyer Yolanda Doblon of the LBRMO, testimony of both Doblon and Adriano, cited in SR 780
My rejoinder (and Villar's spin):
In the above statements, Villar was deliberately confusing the senators and the public on the issue. He opens up by saying the C5 project is not his own personal project...(which is true by the way..it was a DPWH project started in 1986). What he intentionally avoided clarifying was that his unethical conduct was not for the C5 Road Project....nor for the original C5 Road Extension Project (MCTEP) which was to connect SLEX with the Coastal Road, - but for two other road projects for which he has initiated the conceptualization and the initial funding of -These are the DPWH C-5 Extension project (CX-5), which together with the Las Piñas-Parañaque Link Project (LPPLP), also links SLEX with the Coastal Road.
Confusing? You bet! Intentional? I believe so!
For one, there was already the MCTEP where road right of way payments have already been made, so why undertake the two new linked road projects which is much longer and at a much much higher cost (6.98 billion for the two vs. 2.68 billion for MCTEP) yet serves the same purpose of linking the C5 Road with the coastal road, and at the time when the country is reeling from a global financial crisis?
Here's the rub: Throughout his entire speech ( and in all his past media presentations), Villar made it sound that the two road projects CX-5 and LPPLP is part and parcel of the original C5 Extension Project. The truth is only MCTEP is part of the original two part C5 Road Extension Project. CX-5 and LPPLP came much later through representations made by Villar with DPWH.
You may want to ask - why will he hide the two linked road projects under the shadow of MCTEP? Why deny that he initiated CX-5 and LPPLP? Why confuse us with double talk on the two road projects making it sound as if they are one and the same project as the original C5 Road Extension Project at one point in time in his presentation, and then explaining that they are separate projects requiring separate funding at another time?
The answer is Simple! Villar Wanted To Avoid being charged with conflict of interest!
Villar had to make it appear that the two new road projects (CX-5 and LPPLP), which passes through more subdivisions owned by his companies (23 to be exact) are part of the original C5 extension project (MCTEP) since his company , Adelfa Properties, Inc., had already secured a 1999 DOJ opinion clearing Villar of any conflict of interest relative to properties that will be run over by MCTEP! (Convenient excuse? Blatant manipulation I call it!) Try to read through his speech yourself and you'd understand what I mean.
In case you still have failed to discern the Villar Yarn at this point, here's how he is trying to exonerate himself from the charges of conflict of interest!
In his speech, Villar said: "The truth of the matter is that one of my companies even sought the opinion of the Department of Justice precisely to determine whether or not the validity of the proposed transaction will be affected by the fact that I am its principal stockholder and whether the proposed acquisition will be violating any law or regulation, particularly the Constitution.
For God's sake, Villar was referring to a 1999 DOJ opinion involving the original MCTEP, a project Villar has nothing to do with. Ergo, since Villar was not a party to MCTEP Project, the DOJ Opinion, purposely sought by Adelfa Properties, Inc. cleared Villar of any possible conflict of interest! However, this opinion can not and must not be used to clear him of possible impropriety involving the two new road projects which he personally initiated (CX5 and LPPLP). This is the height of manipulation! Not only are they (CX-5 and LPPLP), as Villar even admits it, distinct from MCTEP, the two road projects also passes through more of Villar's properties (23 to be exact) immediately raising their market value overnight providing Villar's companies with windfall profits!
Amazingly, bright as he is, Villar erred in interpreting the DOJ Opinion when in the same speech he said
"And, significantly, on November 9, 1999, the DOJ, through Justice Serafin R. Cuevas, rendered an opinion holding that the acquisition by the Government of private property for right-of-way purposes does not fall within the Constitutional prohibition against Members of Congress having direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the government."
Was this an error or an intentional remark to further mislead the public? The DOJ opinion was clear and precise limiting the opinion to the Toll Regulatory Board's acquisition of Adelfa properties as a consequence of the implementation of the MCTEP for which the opinion was specifically sought. It is totally wrong and clearly unconstitutional for Justice Cuevas to say, as Villar stated it "that the acquisition by the Government of private property for right-of-way purposes does not fall within the Constitutional prohibition against Members of Congress having direct or indirect financial interest in any contract with the government."
This is notwhat Secretary Cuevas said.The opinion reads in part this way,
“In the instant case, there is no showing that the principal stockholder of the Adelfa Properties Inc. (API) took advantage of his position as a member of the House of Representatives to enable API to enter into a contract with the TRB involving the API’s property. The transaction arose as a necessary consequence of the government’s decision to implement the MCTEP and for which it became necessary for the TRB to acquire properties for right-of-way purposes. The API property happens to be one of those that the TRB had identified as necessary for the implementation of the MCTEP."
Clearly, the opinion was specific for the particular inquiry sought - which is whether Villar, being a congressman then and the principal stockholder of Adelfa Properties, Inc. will be violating Section 14, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution (prohibiting " a member of congress, inter-alia, having financial interest, direct or indirect, "In any contract with, or in any franchise or special privilege granted by the government or any subdivision, agency, or instrumentality thereof"). And since the DOJ established that the proposed sale of API properties to the TRB was not sought by API of which Villar was the principal stockholder, and since the acquisition is the consequence of the government decision to implement the MCTEP project , the DOJ Opinion declared "this Department does not foresee in situations such as this, that a principal stockholder of a private corporation who happens to be a member of the House of Representatives would be cited as having violated Section 14, Article VI of the 1987 Constitution..."s DOJ Opinion to justify Villar's involvement with the CX-5 and the LPPLP Road Projects.
Clearly, the DOJ Opinion cited by Villar was specific for the instant involving the TRB and Villar and his API relative to the MCTEP project. It will be outright manipulation and a blatant lie to now use thi
It will be totally negligent and irresponsible for us to allow the C5 Issue to be swept under the rugs. It will be totally stupid for us to elect such a scheming, manipulative 'trapo' to the highest position in the land! It will be a big joke to all Filipinos if the C5 issue is not resolved with finality soon!
It is no wonder now why Villar avoided making these same pronouncements under oath! His statements will never stand the scrutiny of the bright minds in the senate. Unfortunately for the Filipino people, he was smart enough to avoid being censured by the senate with the help of his lap dogs who boycotted the senate session preventing a quorum!
In parting, I want to say that I can not in my mind think of having another lying, scheming, plundering president! Nine years of Arroyo is enough! So, today I am starting my own chicken wa...I mean Villar Watch!
I will not and can not hide the fact that I am an out and out Noynoy Aquino follower, and I am sure many of you (especially Villar supporters) will quickly dismiss this post as a 'Noynoy Propaganda'. But hear me first! I am writing this not to gain favors for my choice candidate. I am writing this to ferret out the truth about the C5 issue which every Filipino has the right to know, and which is being blocked from coming out. I am writing this because I am sick and tired of being bombarded with lies and diversionary issues peddled through the Philippine media by Villar's well funded public relations bureau . I am writing this to dare Villar and his supporters to address the C5 issue point by point in the proper forum -or else face the wrath of disgruntled voters come election time!
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_ves2q7HTjyR1XcxKsoEFryu_kp51W7AcqeGc5O0eBInHefZniVTgghH7i2Z7lU16W02h-2kvsTmt7MJIkEOHFvN46LfM3oEzjadYngwRWP8T0_oBkV67wZfl3oUKI9rBOlqo6yKhEpSD4n2vC0nilk=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s42lrCHRYqxGvi3mfqBjqfqTi2yPT4Y1RQmDuH4-G4B5U5gLuJvXBUvaXZNnNxIiOuKQnqwzIhbB3kHN6ATUSp74dBNr03dIeMb20-91MSQjNXYfr9uxiRfLWkZwChUL4t4ueihBF6HdJTcmEKHALW=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tJwtsxpX2XdSYWguYd3ozgdNmgH2H-Fs13WzF4zFoKg7uiBeI2hWKLuSriG-6-2Py4U4f67DBNlVL_HAvXzUHce2rbl5SukKCZ7SrFsYRPqp57Snv0eHnYbXZRLeHorG9n8cB6OOXEUwY-pmGYEmA=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tHv65iyJQM8IO9NmRPQAUZ-xo9PdT-2oQWe4WyZbcHOdBV85ENqq9VAMPh4ZVIoxcylYjBfWYmgWXhkHQM3ZEeJFf78Wb3LZ6pukIQtuHwHgKcKTOBmT4w-LA8kHuNJiMWZbectIBdk13bXGcBmaaC=s0-d)
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_s1FeyorcPP5sZVCKkyr3cLZKzOqsTwc20SPpOSiDt3-3I9N2Aa4lDSfAwDaz8J9xqOHhmIi62VOBw6Ry2yfsjdzRtACPSVuPe8YwevI_vTKMJA-XzReMMw7Jg2Xf3pojIVXQeIruwj3VQ3OzLBc3I=s0-d)