The Dumagats and the Villar Land Grab

28 March 2010

A few weeks ago, a group of mostly Dumagat farmers made allegations that presidential candidate Manny Villar and his wife Cynthia grabbed 480 hectares of their land in Norzagaray, Bulacan. According to the farmers, Villar and his wife Cynthia — through their companies, Capitol Development Bank and Manila Brickworks, Inc. — obtained a loan from the Banko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Central Bank of the Philippines) and secured it with the farmers' land. When the Villars failed to repay the loan, BSP foreclosed the property. In September 2008, the farmers filed a plunder case against the Villars with the Office of the Ombudsman. They also filed criminal charges against them for swindling which is still pending in court.
Capitol Development Bank (now Optimum Development Bank) and Manila Brickworks, Inc. have interlocking directories. Mrs. Villar was the president of Capitol Development Bank at the time the Norzagaray property was mortgaged to BSP.

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C5 at Taga : illustrated explanation of the C5 Project

27 March 2010

C5_at_Taga-sm

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Behold the 9 toadies

26 March 2010

An article from G.Ramos

"Yesterday's ruling completes the razing of the pillars of the temple of republicanism."

THE Supreme Court yesterday ruled that Gloria Arroyo can name a successor to Chief Justice Reynato Puno during the period of prohibited appointments. An exultant Malacañang called on everyone to respect the ruling. Dejected oppositionists, most of them lawyers, said they bow to the judgment of the high tribunal even as they ask Gloria to exercise delicadeza and let her successor name the new chief justice.

We have always stood by the position that Gloria's naming of Puno's successor is a clear violation of Section 15 of Article VII of the Constitution which says: "Two months immediately before the next presidential elections and up to the end of his term, a President or Acting President shall not make appointments, except temporary appointments to executive positions when continued vacancies therein will prejudice public service or endanger public safety."

The Supreme Court, however, said the ban on midnight appointments does not apply to the Judiciary. The Court has spoken, and that's it.

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Letter of Ninoy to Noynoy

14 March 2010

My dearest Son,

One of these days, when you have completed your studies I am sure you will have the opportunity to visit many countries. And in your travels you will witness a bullfight.

In Spanish bullfighting as you — now a man — know, the matador is pitted against an angry bull. The man goads the bull to extreme anger and madness. Then a moment comes when the bull, maddened, bleeding and covered with darts, feeling his last moment has come, stops rushing about and grimly turns his face on the man with the scarlet 'muleta' and sword. The Spaniards call this 'the moment of truth.' This is the climax of the bullfight.

This afternoon, I have arrived at my own moment of truth. After a lengthy conference with my lawyers, Senators Jovito R. Salonga and Lorenzo Tañada, I made a very crucial and vital decision that will surely affect all our lives: Mommy's, your sisters', yours and our entire loved ones as well as mine.

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Noynoy a Thoughtful, Pragmatic Leader

10 March 2010

From The Jakarta Globe, March 04, 2010
Ceritalah by Karim Raslan

Having lived through the interminable Bank Century crisis, Indonesians will know that three weeks is a very long time in politics.

The Philippines is little different. Over the past 21 days I've watched as Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III, the front-running presidential contender, has patiently taken charge of what was initially a ramshackle campaign.

With his running mate Senator Mar Roxas (yet another scion of a political dynasty), he has imposed some order on what had been a disparate if well-meaning collection of NGO activists, academics, Liberal party apparatchiks and President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo "haters."

In so doing, Noynoy has revealed three important character traits: a quiet determination and self-confidence, an inherently rational and deliberate mindset and a determination not to become indebted to entrenched business and political interests.