Convenors of the Abolish Pork Movement urge other groups to join the anti-pork barrel rally set today at the Rizal Park. GMA News

Last fight vs pork barrel, dynasties, PCOS fraud

GOTCHA By Jarius Bondoc (The Philippine Star) | Updated August 25, 2014 - 12:00am

P-Noy is being judged by the worsened unemployment, poverty, hunger, food shortages and price spikes, and slow disaster rehab that his counter-reformation has wrought.

The issues have joined. Organizers of today’s rallies at the Luneta in Manila and other key cities will not be protesting the pork barrel only. They will denounce as well the related evils of political dynasties and election fraud. Together those evils corrupt officialdom and impoverish the people.

Sadly for him, demonstrators’ scorn will rain on President Noynoy Aquino. It’s his fault. Hope of reform that he planted at the start of his term – with “daang matuwid (straight path),” “kayo ang boss ko (the people are my boss),” and “wala nang wang-wang (no more power abusers)” – he himself has uprooted. This he did by declaring a desire for prolonged tenure. His dominant Liberal Party is assembling a vote in Congress to lift his and their constitutional term limits. They also will clip the power of the Supreme Court to check Executive and Legislative misdeeds. All are in retaliation to the SC’s illegalizing of the congressional pork barrel (Priority Development Assistance Fund, PDAF), and the presidential version (Disbursement Acceleration Program, DAP). Fanning the flames of discord is the public hinting by the presidential spokesman of a no-presidential-election scenario in 2016.

Yet the dissenters have a counter-demand from P-Noy: account for his P177-billion DAP in 2011-2013, and prosecute all (not just three) legislators in the P10-billion PDAF plunder of 2007-2009. Such accounting shall be viewed in light of the worsening economy. Joblessness is now at 26 percent, from latest polls; poverty incidence at 27 percent, by official stats; and self-rated hunger at 16 percent. P-Noy is being judged by the crises that sprang in the second half of his term: rice fruit, and onion price spikes; shortages of vegetables, garlic, ginger, and chicken; Manila port congestion; slow government rehab for four million people struck by Super Typhoon Yolanda (Haiyan); and a nationwide crime wave. Nationwide power shortage looms in early 2015; and water scarcity the following year.

Through all this, P-Noy’s LP mates are enriching themselves from crooked multibillion-peso deals in agriculture, natural resources, hospital land, and transportation. Obviously they are preparing to buy votes anew – if elections push through in 2016 – to maintain their political dynasties. Even the election chief is joining in; although scheduled to retire by Feb., six months away, he is angling to purchase this Nov. new untried balloting machines for P18 billion. That same poll chief reportedly is set to trash the six million voters’ signatures that today’s protest organizers will begin to muster, for a people-initiated law forbidding pork barrels and all its twin evils forever. - PHILSTAR

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Bigger than DAP - Editorial from CBCP

Bigger than DAP

From Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP News), July 30, 2014

Disbursing so much amount of money unconstitutionally is bad enough.  But justifying the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) to the point of threatening the independence of a constructional branch of government is worse, because it shakes up a significant nerve of democratic principles.

This was the rub of the address of President Aquino last July 14—two weeks ahead of his schedules State of the Nation Address on July 28.  He berated the Supreme Court for being unmindful of the numerous benefits that the DAP has delivered to the people.  “We ask that you renew your decision, this time taking into consideration the points I have raised,” he said.

This manner of proceeding has a lot of hitches. First, the end does not justify the means.   Besides, is there no legal means to deliver a “stimulus package” that will fast-track public spending and economic growth?  Why resort to something unconstitutional? Second, the “end” is nowhere in sight.  An independent research group, Ibon Foundation, for instance, says that DAP did not stimulate Philippine economy. Ground reality, of course, confirms that.  In the same speech, the President said that the high court presumed bad faith on the part of the administration, when it only acted out of urgency to deliver the goods and services that the people needed.  But how come it’s almost a year now that the evacuees of the Zamboanga siege are still in an evacuation center? Many victims of typhoon Yolanda are still in tents and bunkhouses after eight months now. That “no sense of urgency”  pervades in a bevy of crises that the country is presently shrouded with.

Rule of Law paramount

The rule of law is paramount.  In a press statement issued shortly after the Monday evening address of President Aquino, CBCP President Archbishop Socrates Villegas said, “But it is equally important for our people to hold fast to the basic tenets of the democratic way of life enshrined in our Constitution—it is for the Judiciary to interpret the law with definitiveness in the process of resolving justiciable issues.  We must respect the Supreme Court. Where there was error, there must be humble admission and immediate rectification.”

He called on our national leaders “that they may truly be humble and respectful of our democratic institutions so that our most sacred freedoms and liberties are always upheld.”  At the end of the day, this is bigger than DAP despite the billions of pesos it has wasted to corruption and patronage politics. CBCP News

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Religious leaders to PNoy: Repent or resign

July 28, 2014, GMA Network 

Rallies greet PNoy's SONA. File photo: GMA News

Hours before his fifth State of the Nation Address, President Benigno Aquino III was told on Monday to either "repent or resign," particularly over the controversy involving the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP).

Bishops of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP), which groups together five protestant denominations, said the DAP had become a "path to betrayal of the public’s trust" and had severely damaged Aquino’s reputation, "destroying any semblance of fighting corruption."

In a statement, the UCCP said: "President Aquino’s continuing insistence that he is trustworthy, and thus, somehow immune or justified in breaking the law runs counter to his supposed efforts to stop corruption and misuse of public funds. In a glaring manner, he has become every bit a violator himself."

The bishops added: "If President Aquino cannot bring himself to repent from his wrongdoings, his next best (action) would be to resign from his office as President."

In a text message, Communications Secretary Herminio Coloma Jr. deferred comment on the bishops' call for the President's resignation for the mean time, saying he wants to "read and understand the statement" first
.

Aquino is to deliver his fifth SONA before a joint session of Congress at the Batasan Complex in Quezon City on Monday afternoon.

Earlier this month, the SC announced that it has declared certain acts under the government's DAP as unconstitutional. These include the declaration of unobligated and unprogrammed funds as savings, the transfers of savings from one government branch to another, and the funding of projects not stated in the national budget.

Malacañang has repeatedly said the DAP was undertaken in good faith to boost the country's economic performance. Malacañang has appealed the high court's decision.

Last July 14, the head of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines said that while President Aquino's views on DAP are important and to be respected, it is the judiciary that has the job of interpreting the law and resolving justiciable issues.

CBCP president and Lingayen-Dagupan Archbishop Socrates Villegas said the rule of law is a fundamental requirement that should be safeguarded as a moral concern.

The President is currently facing two impeachment complaints over the DAP.

In his defense of the DAP, Aquino used principles from Filipino hero Apolinario Mabini to justify the controversial program. The President also rebuked the Supreme Court, which he said tried to transfer funds from one government branch to another.

Presidential pork barrel?

But the bishops said that by defending the DAP, Aquino ignored the public outcry to end pork barrel politics, "particularly presidential Pork Barrel."

Aquino was also accused of trying to deflect attention from the DAP towards the alleged P10-billion pork barrel scam, and projecting himself as a leader ferreting out corruption and bad practices.

"As evidence continued to be brought to light and the real score of the DAP was unearthed, President Aquino attempted to defend his misdoings as both correct and in good faith. Even with the unanimous decision of the Supreme Court that the implementation of the DAP violated the Constitution, President Aquino chose shallow defense of his misdeeds and thinly veiled threats towards the Supreme Court," the UCCP bishops said.

The bishops accused Aquino of violating the check-and-balance system of the 1987 Constitution by "deceptively renaming allocated budgets as savings and using them for projects and purposes that had not undergone budget approval by the legislature."

Worse, they said significant DAP funds "appear to have been channeled to favored patrons and cohorts at Aquino’s discretion as well as used for alleged bribes to senators to ensure the votes to impeach former Chief Justice Renato Corona."

"President Aquino has obviously veered off any Daang Matuwid," they added.

Insulting Christian sensibility

The UCCP bishops also branded as an insult to their Christian sensibility the administration's insistence that DAP is a measure “to ensure that funds are properly used so that social services and public goods are delivered to the people—especially the poor—as swiftly as possible.”

"The truth remains that the poor have not experienced significant alleviation of their poverty and suffering; even more, reports inarguably bear out that a lion’s share of DAP spending was not for the poor. It is reprehensible that the poor are abused for such politicking and disinformation," they said. — Joel Locsin with Andreo Calonzo/RSJ, GMA News

Impeachment proponent Cong. Umali defensive for his inclusion in pork barrel scam list

Defensive admin solons question inclusion in Napoles, Luy lists

One lawmaker admits Napoles’ transaction

By Marc Jayson Cayabyab, INQUIRER.net Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – Lawmakers included in the alleged list of pork barrel scam beneficiaries gathered up their defenses Tuesday to show they did not benefit from the billion-pesos racket of pillaging funds meant to ease poverty in the country.

These solons, who are members of the bloc allied to the President, took it to a news briefing on Tuesday to prove they never transacted with Janet Lim-Napoles, the alleged mastermind of the scam. These are Batangas Rep. Sonny Collantes and Isabela Rep. Giorgidi Aggabao.

While the two denied transactions, Oriental Mindoro Rep. Reynaldo Umali* admitted he once coursed his Priority Development Assistance Funds (PDAF) to a Napoles NGO. 

But he claimed he didn’t know it was bogus.

Apparently, Umali coursed P1.5 million in agriculture funds to the Napoles NGO Kaupdanan para sa Mangunguma Foundation Inc.

But the solon, who was included in Napoles’ list of beneficiares, said his pork funds were not diverted to ghost projects, and instead reached the farmer beneficiaries.

“I do not  deny that   there is  a  P1.5 million project not my  PDAF but an organic agriculture fund of the  Department of  Agriculture  that  was  conduited to a  Napoles  NGO  …  kasi hindi ko naman  alam na  Napoles NGO ‘yun,” Umali said.

Umali also defended his brother Oriental Mindoro Governor Alfonso “Boy” Umali, who was included in Napoles’ list of scam beneficiaries as a former representative in the province from the 12th to 14th Congress.

“I also would like to take this opportunity to defend my brother… Wala siyang dealings at  all  with any of the Napoles  NGO,” Umali said, adding that their inclusion may be because they are allied with the president.

“They wanted to bring down the ratings of the President through his friends,” Umali said. Read more: INQUIRER

(*Rep. Reynald Umali had planned to impeach several Supreme Court justices for their recent rulings that took away Congress’ pork barrel by declaring it unconstitutional, and disqualified a Marinduque representative as a candidate in the 2013 election, a move that Speaker Feliciano Belmonte declared he did not support.)

Massive corruption: Senate gets 'NAPOLIST'

 Senate gets 'NAPOLIST'
Journal, Wednesday, May 14, 2014 

Scam ‘brains’ believes transactions legit

FORMER senator now rehabilitation czar Panfilo Lacson yesterday turned over to the Senate the list of politicians and public officials allegedly involved in the P10-billion pork barrel fund scam as well as the affidavit of businesswoman Janet Lim-Napoles detailing the role of the concerned lawmakers in the anomaly.

He did not wait for the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee (BRC) to ask him to “surrender” the list of the lawmakers – former and incumbent – whom Napoles claimed to have benefited from the misuse of the legislators’ Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF).

In his letter dated May 13, 2014 to BRC chairman, Sen.Teofisto “TG” Guingona, Lacson transmitted the following documents: draft affidavit of Napoles dated March 12, 2014; the narration of events; and list of senators, congressmen and other personalities that Napoles allegedly dealt with in connection with the PDAF.

The controversial list included Senators Ramon Revilla Jr., Jinggoy Estrada, Juan Ponce Enrile, Vicente “Tito” Sotto III, Loren Legarda, (Aquilino) Koko Pimentel, Alan Peter Cayetano, (Gregorio) Gringo Honasan, Francis “Chiz” Escudero, former Sen.Manny Villar, and late senator Robert Barbers.

The members of the House of Representatives, former and incumbent, named in the PDAF scam list were: Jesus Judin Romualdo, Florencio Abad (now Budget Secretary), Banzai Nieva, Maite Defensor, Mikey Arroyo, Joel Villanueva (now Tesda director), Isidro Ungab, Reynaldo Umali, Salacnib Baterina, Conrad Estrella, Raymond Estrella, Victor Ortega, Neil Benedict Montejo, Arthur Pinggoy, Samuel Dangwa, Florencio Flores, Erwin Chiongbian, Erico Fabian, Florencio Miraflores, Napoleon Beration, Ricky Sandoval, Max Rodriguez, Rufus Rodriguez, Rizalina Seachon Lanete, JV Ejercito (now senator), Edgar Valdez, Scott Davies Lanete, (late) Rafael Nantes, Sunny Rose Madamba, Ruffy Biazon (former Customs commissioner), Gerald Gullas, Carlos Padilla, Rodolfo Plaza, Arnulfo Fuentebella, Raul del Mar, Rommel Amatong, Marc Douglas Cagas, Digaden Dilangalen, (late) Iggy Arroyo, Rodolfo Valencia, Eduardo Zialcita, Nanette Costalo Daza, Constantino Jaraula, Clavel Martinez, Manuel Ortega, Peter Falcon, Isidro Real, Corazon Malanyaon,

Narciso Monfort, Uliran Joaquin, Juaquin Chipeco, Abdullah Dimaporo, Ernesto Pablo, Marcelino Libanan, Rolex Suplico, Benasing Macarambon Jr., Jesnar Falcon, Nasser Pangandaman, Hussein Pangandaman, Boy Umali, Bagatsing, Malapitan, Ecleo, Olano, Jesli Lapuz, Oca Rodriguez, Alvarado, Tulagan, and (former House Speaker Prospero) Nograles.

On the other hand, the following public officials were also linked in PDAF scandal list: from the Department of Agriculture — Ofelia Agawin, Allan Umali, and (Proceso) Procy Alcala (now Agriculture Secretary); from the Department of Agrarian Reform – Teresita Panlilio and Narciso Nieto; from the National Livelihood Development Corporation (NLDC) – Alexis Sevidal; from the Technology Resource Center (TRC) – Antonio Ortiz and Deniss (or Dennis) Cunanan; from National Agribusiness Corporation  (Nabcor) – Rhodora Mendoza and Antonio Ortiz.

Read full article on JOURNAL

Napolist versions; Aquino has seen them

Napolist by Rene Aranda, Philstar

Ping’s list sanitized, LP biggies now airbrushed 

TRIBUNE. Written by  Ninez Cacho-Olivares,  10 May 2014

PALACE, DOJ LIST SANITATION ONGOING

Unable to get Janet Lim-Napoles to clean up her list without reduced charges and bail guarantees, a highly reliable source who has linked up with someone in the office of former Sen. Panfilo Lacson, now the Rehabilitation czar, told the Tribune late yesterday afternoon that Lacson has caved in to presidential pressure and has sanitized the list he says he has that was given to him by Jimmy Napoles, the husband of the alleged pork barrel scam brains who is now in hospital.

The Lacson sanitized list which was fed to a major yellow broadsheet contains some 18 names, but the names of Budget Chief Florencio Butch Abad, Senate President Franklin Drilon and Agriculture chief Proceso Alcala no longer appear in the Lacson sanitized list. Also no longer appearing in the Lacson sanitized list are at least three to four allies of President Aquino.

The broadsheet is said to be releasing the sanitized and longer list early next week.

“The reason for the office of Ping Lacson to have released the sanitized list to the newspaper,” the Tribune source said is that the initial list publicized in the Tribune, which came from the
Napoles camp and the list that Sandra Cam has which she has vowed to make public should the list be sanitized by De Lima, as well as Napoles’ original list will no longer be seen as credible, as the Lacson-sanitized list that will be published by the major broadsheet will be Lacson’s list, and there may be no need anymore to make a deal with Napoles over her cleansed list and affidavit.

There has also been pressure from the Senate to have the list made public, and with the list of Lacson now sanitized, the Senate blue ribbon panel is now ready to hold a hearing that will highlight the Lacson sanitized list.

The senators, led by Frank Drilon, along with Francis Escudero and Alan Cayetano were already assured by the Palace and De Lima that their names no longer appear in the Lacson list to be presented publicly.

Outside of the cleansing of the names of Abad, Drilon and Alcala, also airbrushed out of the Napoles initial list that was given to Justice chief Leila de Lima, which she had presented to President Aquino, immediately after her having met Napoles in the Makati Hospital before her scheduled hysterectomy and an overian cyst, are Senators Francis “Chiz” Escudero, a valued ally and Alan Peter Cayetano, Manny Villar, among others.

Instead, several other names of former and incumbent senators’ names have been included, namely former Sen. Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel, his son Sen. Koko Pimentel, Sen. Robert Barbers, or his son, as the sanitized Lacson list the source handed Tribune didn’t have a Jr. attached to the Barbers name, Senators Loren Legarda, Miriam Santiago, Tito Sotto, Gregorio Honasan, Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, former Sen. Loi Estrada, her son, Sen. Jinggoy Estrada, Senators Juan Ponce-Enrile, Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla and his father, former Sen. Ramon Revilla, former Senators Rodolfo Biazon and Ramon “Jun” Magsaysay, and Robert Jaworski. Then congressman now Sen. JV Ejercito was also named in the sanitized list. Read full article on TRIBUNE.

AND NOW PNOY SAYS:

Aquino admits seeing 2 Napoles lists

By TJ Burgonio, Philippine Daily Inquirer

Monday, May 12th, 2014

NAYPYITAW, Burma — President Benigno Aquino III has let the cat out of the bag: He has seen two lists of alleged pork barrel scam players from Janet Lim Napoles. 

The President, however, admitted being “taken aback’’ by the fact that the two lists differ on the number of players involved. The second list itself is unsigned. 

“I have seen two, and they don’t agree with each other exactly, and they are supposed to have come from Mrs. Napoles,’’ he told reporters at a hotel here Sunday night before flying back to Manila.
The “fluctuations’’ in the number of players involved were so glaring that he had wondered aloud: “Ano ba talaga, Ate? (Which one is the real thing, Sis?)’’ 

“Will I ask her why she changed? And I don’t want to talk to her. She can talk to the people who will be in a position to evaluate evidence and that means primarily lawyers,’’ he said. 

Mr. Aquino said the list handed by Napoles’ family to rehabilitation czar Secretary Panfilo Lacson was another list, and that even this has a “substantial detail’’ that differs from the two. 

Mr. Aquino indicated that Napoles or her camp transmitted the first list to him at a time when she “didn’t want to talk’’ to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima. He gave this list to De Lima. 

The second list was personally handed by Napoles to De Lima after a five-hour-long talk in April where the alleged scam mastermind vowed to tell all and offered to turn state witness. 

And contrary to the perception of many, Mr. Aquino said this second list was unsigned. 

“Are you saying supposedly signed? My understanding is that it is still a work in progress. The way she was narrating certain things, she will show some alleged evidence to it, then she’d go off on tangents,’’ he said. 

And given the discrepancies, disclosing it in public becomes problematic, he said. 

“Is it safe to reveal? Even that by itself you have to resolve first. Why are there differences from the information you are getting from one witness who is supposed to be narrating facts?’’ he said. 

“So one cannot escape the suspicion that instead of trying to clarify matters, [they] are trying to cloud the whole issue. That makes the process much more difficult at arriving at the truth,’’ he added. Read full article on INQUIRER