GMA's Game of Musical Chairs in the AFP (tags)
PESANTE NEWS based in Los Angeles learned today through news sources in Manila that some questions are circulating at the AFP. Will there be a new face at the helm of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) by March or will President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo stick it out with current military chief Gen. Victor Ibrado? Ibrado is due to retire on March 10, the day before the election appointments ban takes effect. The president is barred from making new appointments two months before the elections and until the end of her term.
NDF-Mindanao Hits AFP's "Four Aces" (tags)
Pesante News today learned that the National Democratic Front of the Philippines in Southern Mindanao hits the reactionary Philippine Army's stresses for 2010 calling them mere euphemism for a more vicious campaign against the Filipino people and the revolutionary movement. The fascist Philippine Army's recently pronounced four ACEs -- Army's Concern for the Environment, Army's Concern for Engineering, Army's Combat Excellence and Advocacy for Credible Elections -- is only a preliminary propaganda purveyed by its chief, the notorious Lt. Gen. Delfin Bangit. Bangit, the most favored among Ms. Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo's bootlicking generals, is groomed to replace current AFP chief of staff Gen. Victor Ibrado. Bangit from PMA Class 1978is now posturing himself to strengthen his bid for the AFP's highest position and dispel well-founded views that he will be playing a crucial role in perpetuating Mrs. Arroyo in power. His first attempt is to deodorize his unit's notorious record of human rights violations and electoral fraud. Despite Bangit's putting-his-best-foot-forward move, the Filipino people smell the stink of the Philippine Army's four ACEs. Its ballyhooed Advocacy for Credible Elections is nothing but a machination by the reactionary AFP to push its devious game plan of ensuring Mrs. Arroyo's victory in the upcoming GRP elections and continue her hold on power.
PHILIPPINES: Estrada's pardon honor among thieves (tags)
AKBAYAN (Citizens' Action Party) condemned the granting of executive clemency for former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA), saying that it reflects not national unity but honor among thieves.
CBCP slams conduct of midterm elections (tags)
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) expressed dismay yesterday over the conduct of the May 14 midterm elections, saying the challenge of credible, honest, meaningful and peaceful polls remains. CBCP president Archbishop Angel Lagdameo lamented that “vote-buying and other anomalies have already become systematic and even cultural.” He said election watchdogs, including the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (PPCRV), said the problem no longer lies in the voters but the voting system itself and the irresponsibility of some election officials.
Mammoth electoral fraud in Philippines elections: Padding and shaving (tags)
Nearly three weeks after election day, there are still no definitive results for the Philippine elections to the Senate and House of Representatives. Counting is still continuing and in a number of provinces it has not even begun. This has nothing to do with inefficiency and everything to do with ballot-rigging. The Philippines is one of the most corrupt ‘democracies’ in the world. During the 2004 presidential election, the victory of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was widely attributed to large-scale fraud. A tape was massively circulated of a conversation between the President and Virgilio Garcillano, head of Comelec, the national election commission. Arroyo was heard addressing him familiarly, ‘Hello Garci’, and the election chief proudly assured her that he would guarantee her a million-vote majority.
Sa kabila ng todo-todong pandaraya manipulasyon at pandarahas ng Malacañang a mga instrumento nito, di nagawang burahin an boto ng mamamayan laban sa rehimeng Arroyo Nakapagkamit ng makabuluhang tagumpay ang mg progresibong partido at oposisyon sa halalan s Senado, sa party-list, sa ilang pamahalaang lokal at distritong kongresyunal. Malaking sampal sa rehimeng US-Arroyo ang pangunguna ng mga oposisyunista at mga progresibong grupong party-list sa inisyal na resulta ng mga bilangan. Kahit sa mga balwarte umano ng mga alipures ni Arroyo tulad ng Cebu, Iloilo, Negros Occidental at Eastern Samar ay bigo silang tiyakin ang solidong boto para sa lahat ng kandidato ng Malacañang. Nangunguna sa halalan sa Senado ang nakararaming kandidato ng Genuine Opposition. Kabilang sa 12 na may pinakamataas na boto si dating Ltsg. Antonio Trillanes IV, isa sa mga lider ng pag-aalsa sa Oakwood noong 2003 at isa rin sa mga pinakamariing tumutuligsa kay Gloria Arroyo. Ito'y sa kabila ng kanyang pagkakakulong ngayon sa Camp Bonifacio, kakulangan ng pera at makinaryang pangampanya.
New GMA's Appointments: Ebdane to DND, Nachura to SC (tags)
Malacañang formally announced yesterday the appointment of former public works chief Hermogenes Ebdane Jr. as the new defense secretary, ignoring recommendations for a civilian to head the sensitive post. Ebdane, 58, replaces Avelino Cruz, who quit unexpectedly in November, fueling speculation of a rift in President Arroyo’s Cabinet over moves to change the Constitution. Also at Malacañang yesterday, Chief Justice Reynato Puno announced Mrs. Arroyo’s appointment of Solicitor General Antonio Eduardo Nachura as Supreme Court associate justice. Ebdane was reportedly the one who brought out of the country former elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano at the height of the vote rigging controversy involving Mrs. Arroyo. Ebdane denied the accusations
People's Court’ will try Garcillano for Cheating in Philippine Polls (tags)
News sources reported today that Filipino revolutionaries want former Comission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano tried under a "revolutionary court’’ for his alleged role in the reported massive cheating during the 2004 presidential elections.
Esperon says no quarter for NPA (tags)
Lt. Gen. Hermogenes Esperon, the new Armed Forces chief of staff, on Friday vowed to crush the communist rebellion during his term. Esperon, former Army chief, became the AFP’s 35th chief of staff. He replaced Gen. Generoso Senga, who retired Friday. He said he would lead efforts to foil attempts to vilify the AFP as an institution. The government has a two-year plan to defeat the communist New People’s Army.
‘People’s court’ releases video docu on alleged GMA poll fraud (tags)
In a video documentary shown at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City, the Citizens’ Congress for Truth and Accountability (CCTA) said the evidence it has gathered could be used in the impeachment proceedings against Mrs. Arroyo should Congress allow it.
Philippines: Anti-Arroyo Groups Brace for Bigger Fights Ahead (tags)
In a gathering of around 100 leaders from labor, peasant, urban poor, women and youth groups, the umbrella coalition Laban ng Masa is bracing for bigger fights in its bid to oust the Arroyo regime and initiate reforms under a transitional revolutionary government.