The Old Cojuangco Fortune & the First Philippine Republic Funds

The Old Cojuangco Fortune & the First Philippine Republic Funds

Noynoy COJUANGCO Aquino y Hocus Pcos, great grandnephew of Ysidra Cojuangco, is two  year old as Philippine "President" 

Demetria Sumulong & JOSE COJUANGCO (nephew of Ysidra Cojuangco), grandparents of "President" A_NOY Cojuangco Aquino

ON the first anniversary of the installation of "President" A_NOY Cojuangco Aquino y HOCUS PCOS, let me talk of his family from the maternal side, the Cojuangcos. Let me talk of the controversial  history of the where the Cojuangco wealth purportedly came from.

Why the Filipinos should run after the Cojuangco family, the famed family of the late President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino and her only son, the "incumbent" Malacanang occupant, it is not only the land reform issue of Hacienda Luisita but more so, the first Philippine Republic REVOLUTIONARY FUNDS said to amount to several BILLION pesos.

During the Spanish period, Gen. Antonio Luna, then chief of staff of the revolutionary army, turned over revolutionary funds to his paramour Ysidra Cojuangco for safekeeping. When Luna was assassinated [apparently upon orders of the fledgling Philippine Republic President Emilio F. Aguinaldo, the Cojuangcos kept the treasure all to themselves — a tradition of treason and greed that has been kept alive by today's Cojuangcos, as well as, their Aquino branch.

--Herman Tiu-Laurel

http://jesusabernardo.newsvine.com/_news /2010/03/04/3978321-the-history-of-the-cojuangcos-ownership-of-hacienda-luisita

Now, Ysidra Cojuangco y Estrella was the eldest child of the Chinese immigrant great grandfather of current Philippine "President" Noynoy Aquino. Jose Cojuangco (I), the lolo of the late ex-President Corazon Cojuangco-Aquino, was the son of a Chinese immigrant from Fujian. His Chinese name was Co Giok Kuan who received the Christian name "Jose." He worked as a carpenter before becoming a building contractor and marrying Spanish meztisa [Antera Estrella]... His children were Ysidra, born 1867; Melicio, born 1871; and Trinidad, born 1876 (Dobbin, pp. 150, 160-161)."

It's not only columnist Tiu-Laurel who is saying that the funds of the First Republic fell into the hands of the Cojuangcos. This has been discussed in the study of another columnist, Larry Henares. Devoting a series to reveal that Gen. Luna left a lovechild by Ysidra Cojuangco--who he concludes to be Antonio Cojuangco III of PLDT fame--Henares also bares how the Cojuangcos suddenly amassed a big fortune, affording their purchase of large tracts of sugar and rice lands.

Bed-ridden but sound of mind, she was irrepressible, regaling us with stories of Dona Ysidra, her neighbor in Sta. Rosa, Nueva Ecija, whom she met when she was 10 years old, and who was going to be her godmother, ninang sa casal, were it not for the distance and difficulty of travel. We recorded her saying that Ysidra admitted that Luna was indeed her very close friend, and that Luna left her valuables, not once but regularly on many occasions. When asked how much value was involved, Encarnacion replied that while she is not sure of the exact value, it was certainly in huge quantities since several huge caskets were involved. Manapat asked her if she knew that there were more than one shipment. She emphatically said yes, the shipments were a regular thing!! Not only was Encarnacion a friend and confidant of Dona Ysidra, she is also the daughter of Eulalio Saulo who confirmed to her the story as one of the military escorts of the gold shipment to Ysidra. As far as we know this is the first direct evidence of a Cojuangco (and Ysidra at that) admitting what many Luna contemporaries long alleged, that the source of the Cojuangco fortune was the gold commandeered by Luna and regularly turned over to Ysidra. The combined assets controlled by the Cojuangcos total about P200 BILLION." (bold supplied)

XXXX "There was an earlier account recounted by historian Carlos Quirino in an unpublished book commissioned by Danding Cojuangco, about a shipment of gold vessels commandeered by General Antonio Luna from churches in Pampanga, collected for him by Tiburcio Hilario, Pampanga governor, brought to Paniqui and entrusted to Ysidra for safekeeping before Luna left for Cabanatuan to meet Aguinaldo, only to be assassinated there. Aha, so gold was brought by Luna from both the Ilocos (through Saulo) and Central Luzon (through Hilario) to Ysidra! With the First Republic on the run and the Americans inquiring about the gold, Ysidra dumped the gold into a well, retrieved it later and used it to build the Cojuangco fortune."

-- Larry Henares

http://www.philippinefolio.com/contdetail.php?id=8&id_app2=41&id_app3=00366

Another person who attests to how the Cojuangcos got hold of the wealth under the care of Gen. Luna as Chief of the Army of the Philippine Republic is author/historian.ex-Ambassador Rafaelita Hilrio Soriano, granddaughter of Pampanga's Revolutionary Governor, Tiburcio Hilario y Tuason. A cousin of the "Great Propagandist" Marcelo H. del Pilar, Gov. Hilario was elected in absentia as military/revolutionary governor of his Pampanga and known as the 'Brains of the Revolution in Pampanga.

http://philippines-islands-lemuria.blogspot.com/2011/02/18-february.html

Ms. Soriano relates that her grandfather, Gov. Tiburcio, kept the revolutionary treasures in sacks, including gold treasures such as gold plates, chalices, that were commandeered from Bacolor, Guagua, and San Fernando in Pampanga. Jose Cojuangco I received the treasure.

Ms. Soriano : I want to refute the statement that it was believed the money for the revolution did not go to the Cojuangcos. This is a statement of fact. The money, one million silver pesos, was brought by my old grandfather, Tiburcio Hilario, then governor of Pampanga, and given to Antonio Luna. Three days after, Antonio Luna was assassinated. After he was assassinated, where did the money go? The money went to the town where the Cojuangcos lived. Yes, I mean it. It was placed in the package of pacbet on the railroad. Because Luna was already dead, nobody made a claim for the money. They found that the money was with some old clothes. With the baggage and the old clothes, the money was first offered to a Mr. Garcia, Capitan Garcia. He was then the richest man in the town. Knowing where it came from, he refused it. The one who accepted the money was JOSE COJUANGCO [I]. (bold supplied)

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZQ5vAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Dr.+Miranda+Sino+pa+po+ang+gusting+magtanong%3F%22&dq=%22Dr.+Miranda+Sino+pa+po+ang+gusting+magtanong%3F%22&hl=en&ei=J7ZeTbCaIo3PrQeI9OziDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAA

The paramour of Gen. Luna did not lead actually lead a quiet or simple life following Aguinaldo's orders to have Luna assassinated. YSIDRA,Ysidra, or Isidra, was "considered one of the richest women in the Philippines in her time, from 1900-1950", helping found the Philippine Bank of Commerce (PBC) in 1938 (Crisostomo, p. 8).

Ysidra was no ordinary woman for she "was charged with life and commercial drive." She dealt not only with rice and sugar but also with gango or small dried shrimps, money lending and more (Pan, p. 153). She helped established the Paniqui Sugar Mills in 1928, producing sugar for domestic as well as export markets, and likewise, alcoholic drinks. In the early 1930s, she and her brothers also partnered with the Jacinto and Rufino families, venturing into stockbroking to establish the Finance and Mining Investments Corp. Later in the same decade, the three families set up the PBC, which was the first bank in the country to be exclusively owned by Filipinos.

Henares continues:

With the death of the father Don Jose, Ysidra the spinster became the head of the family. The Cojuangco family owned some 12,000 hectares, controlled the rice trade of the province and lent so much money to planters and businessmen of Tarlac, Pangasinan and Nueva Ecija that Justice Antonio G. Lucero, the family lawyer thought she practically owned Central Luzon.

http://www.philippinefolio.com/contdetail.php?id=17&id_app2=203&id_app3=01058

Newsbreak also reports:

Ysidra and the four brothers were determined to make money work for them. They gave out loans to townsfolk for expenses in fiestas, litigation, gambling losses and other reasons, with rice lands as collateral. Many of the borrowers were not able to pay back the loans, so the Cojuangcos’ landholdings expanded by leaps and bounds. By the 1930s, they were considered the biggest land-owning clan in the whole of Central Luzon with tens of thousands of hectares to their name.

http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6815&Itemid=88889066

Note that Gen. Antonio Luna was assassinated in 1899. Ysidra, according to Isabelo Crisostomo's biography of Cory, became rich in "her time" that began in 1900. Now, where did her money come from?

Necessarily woven into this story is the real identity of the child of Ysidra.  Her younger brother, Melicio (or Melencio) Cojuangco, married Tecla Chichioko and fathered four sons: Jose, Juan, Antonio and Eduardo (Pan, p. 154). [The eldest, Jose Cojuangco, Sr., is in turn the father of Cory and Jose "Peping" Cojuangco Jr. The father of Cory and lolo of Noynoy Aquino, Jose Cojuangco Sr., who married Demetria "Metring" Sumulong of Rizal, became a banker, sugar magnate, hacendero and elected Tarlac congressman.

Antonio Cojuangco, whom Milecio and wife professed to be their child, seems to be the real son of Ysidra. Henares cited a host of evidence, including physical and mental resemblance to the Antonios and differences with the Cojuangcos, the "Antonio" name that has been passed on to PLDT's Tonyboy, the "almost conspiratorial" secrecy of Antonio C.'s birthdate, and the issue of an unnamed body being buried with Antonio C. vis-a-vis the disapperance of Hen. Luna's body. Ayon kay Henares:

A walking distance from the Barasoain Church in No. 540 Paseo del Congreso, the town's main street, stands the old mansion of the Cojuangcos... General Antonio Luna used to sleep there. Aha!

XXX  The other candidate Antonio was born according to his Ateneo 1918 Annual in the year 1899. In that entire Annual all graduates listed ONLY the YEAR of their birth, not the month or the date... all previous and subsequent Annuals, especially those listing the other brothers, gave the EXACT date, month and year of the graduates' birth... the entire 1918 Annual, like his tombstone in Manila Memorial, would be changed to accommodate the secrecy wanted by one single man. (bold supplied)

As a matter of fact, if Antonio were born in Malolos instead of Paniqui, we will never know, because the Birth Registries in eight volumes, supposedly covering the period from October 1775 to 1904, stops at February 1899 before Antonio might have been born. What is most suspicious is that a tag that describes the missing volume was left inside the exhibit, suggesting that the missing volume actually exists but was stolen.

http://www.philippinefolio.com/contdetail.php?id=8&id_app2=41&id_app3=00368

No doubt, the Cojuangcos made great use of the wealth that came into their possession. Jose, who was "Left a great deal of money" by Ysidra, was able to enter politics (Pan, p. 154), becoming a Tarlac congressman. His father, Melicio, earlier entered politics, utilizing the family wealth to his political advantage (Yoshihara). And of course, there were the three Benignos who all run for public office, including the present "President" Noynoy C. Aquino.

Arguably, it had been better that the Republic's wealth fell into the Cojuangco's hands instead of the imperialist American's hands. Also, in fairness to Ysidra, she did tried to help the poor by being a philantrophist. As according to Henares, when she died at the age of 93 on July 13, 1960 at the Makati Medical Center, she left IOU's of laborers and the poor that totaled P2 million.

Ysidra used the First Philippine Republic money wisely, letting the treasures earn instead of, well, simply keeping them buried or, worse, spending it. Nevertheless, it's LONG OVERDUE that the nation's money be RETURNED by the COJUANGCOs to where they belong. The Cojuangcos never truly owned the First Republic's treasures and besides, their greed has already borne them much more than they have returned, which brings to mind the rather infamous case of their land-grabbing the Hacienda Luisita way. To return these funds is the moral thing to do. I'm sure that such is what Gen. Luna would have wanted as well, right Tonyboy?

P.S.

If the Cojuangcos ever return the treasures f the First Republic, I'll surely change course and support Noynoy Aquino as "President," no matter his HOCUS PCOS status. Although that seems like wishing for the blue moon further turned yellow....

_____

References:

Dobbin, Christine. Asian entrepreneurial minorities: conjoint communities in the making of the world-economy 1570-1940. Taylor & Francis, 1996http://books.google.com/books?id=kFS0Y54oi_gC&pg=PA161&dq=%22jose+cojuangco%22&hl=en&ei=oophTb7qNIjprQeRkZDGAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=7&ved=0CEYQ6AEwBg#v=onepage&q=%22jose%20cojuangco%22&f=false

Crisostomo, Isabelo. Cory--profile of a president. Brandern Books, 1987.http://books.google.com/books?id=iW_ddLowBYkC&pg=PA9&dq=%22jose+cojuangco%22&hl=en&ei=iIphTfr9Cs2qrAf6jtDrAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=snippet&q=jose%20cojuangco&f=false

Yoshihara, Kunio. Philippine industrialization: foreign and domestic capital. Ateneo de Manila University Press, 1985.http://books.google.com/books?ei=xcVhTcXDHMbVrQetsoSjAg&ct=result&id=sJe0AAAAIAAJ&dq=%22Sugar+Mills+with+its+own%22&q=%22muscovado+sugar+mills%22#search_anchor

Parreno, Earl g. "Where did the Cojuangcos’ wealth really come from?" Thursday, 24 September 2009. http://newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6843&Itemid=88889066

THE FAMILY TREE OF CORAZON COJUANGCO AQUINOhttp://blog.cathcath.com/the-family-tree-of-corazon-cojuangco-aquino-6738.html

Photo credits:

http://filipinoforum.net/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=4852

http://philippine-revolution.110mb.com/luna_a.htm

http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaign/old-skool-gamers-sow-campaign/wikis/treasure-earned

http://books.google.com/books?id=iW_ddLowBYkC&pg=PA9&dq=%22jose+cojuangco%22&hl=en&ei=iIphTfr9Cs2qrAf6jtDrAg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAg#v=snippet&q=jose%20cojuangco&f=false

Robredo as a champion of transparency

ONE JOURNALIST put it succinctly following the death of the Interior Secretary: the late Jesse Robredo was already a champion of Freedom of Information long before it became known as FOI. That’s because Robredo was well known for instituting transparency reforms in Naga City where he served as mayor for almost two decades. These were the same transparency reforms that he sought to implement in the Interior Department, even though he met some resistance from some local government units. What made Robredo’s transparency advocacy all the more remarkable was the fact that he made it clear he was not doing it to score points with the media. No, Robredo believed in transparency because he knew that the real stakeholders and beneficiaries were the people that government was supposed to serve. In fact in an interview with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in 2011, Robredo made his pitch for transparency in government without once even mentioning the media. This was because it was clear to Robredo who this advocacy was really for, and who would benefit the most from it. Here are some excerpts from that 2011 interview with Sec. Jesse Robredo:

Martial Law Vs. People Power: Who Killed Ninoy?

SCTEX is a bigger anomaly compared to C5

SCTEX is a bigger anomaly compared to C5. SCTEX is the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx) that traverses the Cojuangco-owned Hacienda Luisita.

Is much more controversial than the C5 issue hounding Senator Manuel Villar Jr.

In fact,That if Noynoy cannot cannot control his family, how can he control the country?

The access road and the interchange were constructed and paid for by the Bases Conversion and Development Authority, and yet Hacienda Luisita Inc. charges toll fees; the farmers were not given their share of the sale of the right of way, and the Cojuangco family did not pay the government for royalty fees for the quarrying activities.

Even if the president’s uncle, Jose ‘Peping’ Cojuangco Jr. argues that the land is private and they do not need the TRB’s permission, the whole matter should be investigated because it’s quite unclear if the HLI does have the legal authority to collect fees from the public. The Cojuangcos cannot just arbitrarily impose fees and payments at whim.

We received information that even farmers, the legitimate owners of Hacienda Luisita, are prohibited from freely moving within the area without approval from the management , and that they themselves are being forced to pay the P20 toll fee.

Despite motorists and farmers’ collective outrage over the illegal Luisita toll fees, the President himself appears powerless against the abuses of his own relatives,” the peasant leader said. He went on to say that the congressional probe should not be limited to the alleged non-issuance of receipt and tax evasion of the Cojuangcos but must extend to their violation of farmers rights to the land

CORAZON AQUINO

Just another proof what kind of a STUPID PRESIDENT WE HAD after Marcos. She lead our country with HATRED AND VENGEANCE in her heart, much like what her son is now advocating.

From the lips of a dying President

By Salvador H. Laurel

Former Vice President of the Philippines

Chairman, National Centennial Commission

Manila Bulletin

Tues., Oct. 21, 1997

The Senate Blue Ribbon Committee and the House Committee on Good Government are now conducting separate investigations on “Operation Big Bird,” a cloak and dagger operation undertaken eleven years ago to bring back the alleged “hidden wealth” of Ferdinand Marcos. The investigations were called in response to President Ramos’ request for specific congressional authority to settle the Marcos issue once and for all.

Mr. Ramos was quick to add that the hidden wealth issue could have been resolved earlier by the Cory administration.

I can attest to that. Weak and already on his deathbed when I visited him in Hawaii on February 3, 1989, Marcos personally asked me to convey to Cory Aquino his offer to give up 90% of his earthly possessions to the Filipino people, through a Foundation which he had set up, but Cory only would allow him to die in his own country and be buried beside his mother.

I related this incident in a book “Neither Trumpets Nor Drums,” published in 1992 right after I ended my term as Vice President of the Philippines.

Pertinent portions that book I now quote for the benefit of those who have not read it.

“One of the most unforgettable trips I took as Vice President was my visit to Honolulu on February 3 and 4 1989.

“On February 2nd, at about 5 p.m., I received an urgent call from Mrs. Imelda Romualdez Marcos in Honolulu. She was sobbing on the phone. “ Doy, pwede ka bang maka-punta rito? Masama na ang tayo ni Ferdinand. Gusto kang kausapin. Baka hindi na siya magtagal Please, please come,’ she pleaded.

“I’ll have to cancel my appointments. Maybe I can go in few days?” I asked.

“She interrupted me, ‘Baka hindi mo na siya abutin. Please come as soon as possible!”

“I thought about it. The cases filed against the Marcoses had been pending for three years, yet nothing had happened. And the nation remained fragmented. Perhaps, if I tried the Lincolnian approach – ‘With malice toward none, with charity for all’ – we might be able to settle the issue and unite the nation.

“Then I remembered Imelda’s plea: ‘Gusto kang kausapin.’ Maybe there is a chance – maybe he is ready to settle?

“She first briefed me about President Marcos’ condition – that he was very weak. The doctors who were attending to him told me he had a less than 50 percent chance of surviving, that he might not even last three months.

“Then they took me to the Intensive Care Unit.

“I could not recognize Ferdinand Marcos when I saw him. The Marcos I knew was athletic, active, and articulate. The man I saw was skin and bones. About eighty-five pounds. Imelda announced cheerfully: ‘Andy, Andy, narito na ang Batangueño, narito na si Doy.’

“His eyes opened. He recognized me. He tried to talk. But only his lips moved. There was no sound.

“He signaled the nurse to remove the tube imbedded in his throat.

“The Nurse pulled out the long tube and asked me to bend closer so I could hear. Finally I heard his voice, very faint, almost a whisper. “Salamat, brod, nakarating ka. I have something to tell you.’

“I interrupted him: ‘Before you start, Mr. President, may I ask just one question?

“He nodded.

“Why did you call me, Mr. President? Why me of all people? I vehemently oppose you. I was probably one of those responsible for your ouster Why Me?’

“He signaled me to stop.

“Say no more, brod,’ he said. ‘I never held that against you. You did what you had to do as leader of the opposition for many years. You opposed me on principle, never on personality. You were against martial law but you were noble about it, unlike some people. Besides, I cannot forget your father. I owe him my life, not once but thrice. Let me talk now. I have very little time.’

*** “Please tell Mrs. Aquino to stop sending me her relatives. They are proposing and asking so many things. All I want is to die in my country…I will run over 90 percent of all my worldly possessions to our conversation to our people. I ask only 10 percent for my family.’

“Just let me die in my own country. I want to be buried beside my mother.’

“His breathing had become more labored. The nurse stopped our conversation. ‘He has to rest not,’ she said.

“Before leaving I told him: ‘Mr. President, I do now know if Mrs. Aquino will listen to me, but I will try.’

“I hurried back to Manila to transmit Marcos’ message to President Aquino. I asked for an appointment but Cory would not see me. Here I was, her own Vice-President, asking only for three minutes of her time to convey an important message from her predecessor, and she would not see me. I was told by her Executive Secretary (Catalino Macaraig) she was busy. I learned later that she had allocated an hour to Tom Cruise, an American movie star.

“In view of her repeated refusal to see me and hear what I had to say, I wrote her a letter dated February 5, 1989: “Since my arrival yesterday, I have been trying to get an appointment with you…

*** “I hope you will find time to listen to the highly confidential message of Mr. Marcos considering its serious import and far- reaching consequences upon your administration and the nation as a whole.”

The next day, Cory replied:

“As to the highly confidential message from former President Ferdinand E. Marcos, I feel that in the light of your representation of its ‘serious import and far-reaching consequences upon your (my) administration and the nation as a whole,’ such message should be disclosed to the public rather than kept confidential. This is in accordance with my announced policy of utmost transparency in the management of the affairs of the country.”

On the same day I wrote back: “ I am still hoping that you will change your mind and receive the message in a private, non-political, direct, and unfiltered manner, beyond any personal and partisan consideration.

“As to your published suggestion that I share with the public the highly confidential information, I am afraid I am not yet at liberty to do so considering that the message was entrusted to me in confidence to be delivered to you personally. Only you and former President Marcos can declassify or disclose this message.

“Let us give national reconciliation and national stability every chance to succeed for the sake of our fragmented people..” (Neither Trumpets Nor Drums, at pp 104-111, 1986 ed, Second printing)

I never received any further reply from Cory.

Cory’s refusal to receive Marcos’ message was perhaps her biggest mistake. Had she studied it carefully, she could have settled the Marcos wealth issue eight years ago. Perhaps we could have paid off our foreign debt!

=================================

Read and learn how the saint, Cory, absolutely assumed power and how "saintly" she conducted her presidential powers.

(culled from a Palace-insider blogger during Cory's time)

(1) Thus did Madam Corazon Cojuangco Aquino Cory become president by default since according to the US government, Enrile and Ramos, leaders of the putsch cannot become RP’s national leaders, without courting charges of unconstitutional accession to power.

Supposedly, the excesses of the Marcos minions who went wayward and no longer wanted to toe the line of ideology of the New Society: Revolution from the Center, written by Blas F. Ople, Adrian Cristobal, Jose Crisol, then Capt. or Maj. Jose T. Almonte, and many other brainthrusts of Marcos, were to be cured and addressed during the new revolutionary government under the aegis of Enrile, Ramos, Cory and her Vice President, Salvador Laurel.

(2) Cory with her dyslexia, her hungry hangers-on, her rapacious relatives and “classmates” in her frequent mahjong sessions all over town, or in her own house in Times St., or even now in plush settings after becoming president, drove Enrile, Ramos and Laurel away almost with a single sweep of her hand.

She proceeded to undertake the sale of the country’s patrimony, starting with the sale of Fort Bonifacio, to the private sector at the promise of a windfall of skim money for her and her close ones. The sale of many other portions of the country little by little was also made by the Cory regime.

She signed with Swiss authorities the transfer of the Marcos wealth to the Philippines but inserted riders that she herself, her family and her quislings will get fat commissions from the Marcos so-called “stolen, hidden gold.” Madre di Dios!!!

(3) She allowed the destruction of records of millions of chinese nationals opening the country to a literal silent invasion of illegals from China who are now occupying stalls in fast-rising buildings as sellers of dirt cheap items and posh subdivision houses manufacturing shabu. Many or most of them have even mastered some Tagalog words coming from their Filipina wife or set of wives or their own handlers in the country that take care of their billeting and the learning of a few functional terms in Filipino dialects. When they make it big, they transfer to the exclusive villages scattered all over Metro Manila.

Certainly, China is not only Cory’s clientele. Many nationals from other countries benefited from her regime, thanks to the close connections her so-called allies in the vaunted National Union of Christian Democrats (NUCD) had with the European mafia that opened the floodgates for European criminals to launder their money in the Philippines during the Aquino presidency or else ply their illegal / criminal trade in or through the country.

(4) In the time of Cory up to the time of Erap, drug trafficking syndicates started to flood the country with dangerous drugs, beginning with transshipment by the LIM clan that according to a government informant, was using the front of a shipping company or group of companies, that later became share holders of the defunct URBAN BANK -- now renamed to Import and Export Bank.

Not surprisingly, Sergio “Serge” Osmeña and possibly the other Osmeñas are joining the campaign for the son of Cory.

Serge and son, are one of the protectors of local lords of transnational drug trafficking syndicates in the country.

One of Serge’s wards is now in prison but continues to ply his illegal trade with the able runner capabilities of Serge’s son and girl friend, a high society party goer and all time punk girl. You see them trek to their base of operations in the heart of Makati City, just behind the RCBC Plaza, the bailiwick of the Yellow Army commanded by its Lord Mayor, Jesus Jose Maria! Cabauatan Binay popularly known as Jejomar or Jojo, also very, very big in protecting drug trafficking syndicates providing illicit services to the rich in the exclusive enclaves of Makati and the poor in the decrepit areas of his Lordship.

(5) Noynoy

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Cojuangco Aquino III who also fondly known as Noy, the only male child of Sen. Benigno S. Aquino, Jr. Ninoy and Cory some say, is not really all that “well.”

According to the irritated group of the deposed president Joseph Estrada (terribly annoyed because possibly the late FPJ’s supporter Linggoy Alcuaz and his companions in the FPJ movement will now support Noynoy and leave Erap behind), aspirant future President of the Republic of the Philippines Noynoy Aquino was born an autistic child. If this is indeed true, Noynoy must probably have been treated as a special child in his youth by doctors expert in autism. Noynoy, as those in the same age bracket with him in the late 40s and 50s, was observed to be one of the least exposed children of the couple Ninoy and Cory.

(6) (We asked the Erap boys and girls why they say that Noynoy is an autistic. They could not provide proof but in their faces, you could see they were mightily convinced Noynoy is a mongoloid. “It’s in the family, they say.” Is it really true? Who knows, it might just be.)

The son of Ma. Kristine Bernadette “Kris” Cojuangco Aquino with motion pictures actor Phillip Salvador, Joshua fondly known as “Josh,” is a mongoloid or special child and he possibly has the same genes of Noynoy. As the Erap boys and girls are saying.

The mother of Noynoy and Josh’ grandmother, the late Cory, on the other hand, actually was diagnosed and was being treated for a non-contaminable but highly dangerous disease called dyslexia. Cory would suffer bouts of mental paralysis due to the collapse of one or both of her lungs causing the ill stricken subject to lose control while involuntarily able to make extremity motions (hand, feet, minor ear, eye, nose movements, etc.

WORLD REPORT 2012 –AQUINO ADMINISTRATION

It’s just one more promise unfulfilled by President Noynoy Aquino, two years after he assumed office. But Aquino’s failure to arrest and prosecute even one suspected human rights violator for incidents that took place during his term is really getting to be embarrassing.

DO READ PLEASE FOR ADDITIONAL INFO:

WORLD REPORT 2012 –AQUINO ADMINISTRATION

====================================

World Report 2012: Philippines

The Philippines is a multiparty democracy with an elected president and legislature, a thriving civil society sector, and a vibrant media. Several key institutions, including the judiciary and law enforcement agencies, remain WEAK and the military and police STILLcommit human rights violations with impunity. Armed opposition forces, including the communist New People’s Army (NPA) and various Islamist Moro groups, also commit abuses against civilians.

*****A.) Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances

Hundreds of leftist politicians and political activists, journalists, and outspoken clergy have been killed or abducted .The government has largely failed to prosecute military personnel implicated in such killings, even though strong evidence exists in many cases. Only seven cases of extrajudicial killings from the past decade have been successfully prosecuted, none of which were in 2011 or involved active duty military personnel.Politically motivated killings have continued despite President Aquino’s pledges to address the problem. Human Rights Watch has documented at least seven extrajudicial killings and three enforced disappearances for which there is strong evidence of military involvement since Aquino took office in June 2010.

*****B.)Private Armies

Aquino campaigned on promises to dismantle the “private armies” of politicians and wealthy landowners, which have long been responsible for serious abuses. While Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo has claimed the Aquino administration has dismantled almost half of the private armies in the southern island of Mindanao, he has not presented any evidence. Promises to revoke Executive Order 546, which local officials cite to justify the provision of arms to their personal forces, also have not come to fruition. Aquino still defends the use of poorly trained and abusive paramilitary forces to fight NPA insurgents and Islamist armed groups. In October Aquino announced the deployment of additional paramilitary personnel to provide security to mining companies.

The trial of senior members of the Ampatuan family for the November 23, 2009 massacre of 58 political opponents and others, including more than 30 media workers, in Maguindanao in Mindanao, is ongoing.

***** C.)Torture

The police and the military were implicated in numerous incidents of torture in 2011. While several investigations are ongoing, the rigor of investigations varies and at this writing no one had been convicted under the 2009 Anti-Torture Act.

In September the Department of Justice filed charges of torture against a Manila precinct chief, Senior Inspector Joselito Binayug, and six others, including one of his superiors, after a cell phone video was circulated in March 2010 showing Binayug pulling on a rope tied around a criminal suspect’s genitals and beating him during the interrogation. The whereabouts of the victim, Darius Evangelista, remain unknown.

On July 23 in Sumisip, Basilan army scout rangers arrested 39-year-old baker Abdul-Khan Balinting Ajid as an alleged member of the Abu Sayyaf armed group. Soldiers allegedly stripped him naked, sexually assaulted him, and set him on fire. While the military said several soldiers involved had been relocated to Manila, the capital, and restricted to barracks, at this writing no criminal charges had been filed against them.

*****D.)Targeted Killings of Petty Criminals and Street Youths

So-called death squads operating in Davao City, Tagum City, and other cities continue to target alleged petty criminals, drug dealers, gang members, and street children. Aquino’s administration has not acted to dismantle such groups, end local anti-crime campaigns that promote or encourage unlawful use of force, or prosecute government officials complicit in such activities. At this writing the National Commission on Human Rights had still not reported on the outcome of multi-agency task force investigations into summary killings in Davao City in 2009.

*****E.)Conflict in Mindanao

A ceasefire remains in place between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and peace talks are ongoing. The army continues to fight Abu Sayyaf, an armed group implicated in numerous attacks on and abductions of civilians, particularly in Sulu and Basilan.

***** F.)Conflict with the New People’s Army

Military clashes continue between government forces and the NPA, especially in the Eastern Visayas, Negros, and parts of Mindanao.

The NPA has unlawfully killed and detained civilians and extorted “taxes” from individuals and businesses. NPA leaders have often sought to justify targeted killings by noting that “people’s courts” earlier condemned those killed for “crimes against the people.” For instance, the NPA killed Raymundo Agaze in Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental on August 19, and Ramelito Gonzaga in Mindanao on September 2 following “people’s court” rulings. Philip Alston, former United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, concluded that the NPA’s court system “is either deeply flawed or simply a sham.”

The Philippine army fabricated stories that several children taken into military custody were NPA rebels. In several cases investigated by Human Rights Watch, the army paraded the children in front of the media, publicly branding them rebels despite conclusive contrary evidence. In two of the cases, the army detained the children for several days.

The UN Children’s Fund has documented the use of children in armed conflict by the NPA and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, as well as by government forces. The UN has reported a rising trend of government security forces using schools as barracks and bases in contravention of national legislation prohibiting such practice.

 *****G.)Reproductive Rights

Contraceptives, including condoms, are restricted in parts of the Philippines, which prohibits and criminally punishes abortion without exception. The law leaves open the possibility that a serious threat to a pregnant woman's life could be classified as a justifying circumstance barring criminal prosecution. However, the Philippine Supreme Court has yet to adjudicate this possibility, which does little to mitigate the serious consequences of criminalizing abortion for women's health and lives.

Despite vehement opposition from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Aquino has remained publicly committed to a reproductive health bill that aims to provide universal access to contraception and maternal health care. The bill goes some way toward enhancing protection of sexual and reproductive rights and the right to the highest obtainable standard of health, but still makes abortion a criminal offense. At this writing it remained before Congress.

***** H.)Philippine Workers Abroad

Approximately two million Filipinos work abroad, and in the first nine months of 2011 sent home an estimated US$13 billion. Hundreds of thousands of women work in Southeast Asia and the Middle East as domestic workers, where they are typically excluded from labor laws and are often subject to abuses including unpaid wages, food deprivation, forced confinement in the workplace, and physical and sexual abuse. In 2011 the Philippine government either proposed or implemented bans on sending workers to countries with high incidences of abuse. These bans have largely been ineffective, with host countries turning to other labor sources instead. The Philippines has yet to extend labor protections to household workers domestically, but played a key role globally by chairing negotiations for the International Labour Organization Convention on Decent Work for Domestic Workers, adopted on June 16, 2011.

***** I.)Key International Actors

The United States is the Philippines’s most influential ally and, together with Australia and Japan, among the country’s largest bilateral donors. The US military has access to Philippine territory and seas under a Visiting Forces Agreement, and the two militaries hold annual joint exercises. In fiscal year 2011-2012 the US government appropriated $12 million to the Philippines under Foreign Military Financing for procurement of US military equipment, services, and training. Of this sum, $3 million is contingent upon the Philippine government showing progress in addressing human rights violations, including ending extrajudicial killings. US Ambassador Harry Thomas, Jr. has publicly called on the Philippine government to do more to end impunity for extrajudicial killings

*ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RESERVES*

*ADDITIONAL INFO ABOUT INTERNATIONAL RESERVES*

What are “international reserves”, and how did the Philippines end up with $77billion worth of them?

International reserves are external assets that represent the gross claims of the central bank on non-residents of the Philippines. They generally include the country’s gold bullion holdings, foreign currency deposits, securities in which the central bank has invested (such as other countries’ bonds), IMF special drawing rights (SDRs), and its reserve deposits with the IMF. Except for the gold – about 165 tons in all, worth around $8.2 billion at current prices – and a relatively small amount of actual foreign currency deposited at the BSP, most of the reserve assets do not physically exist, and a part, perhaps even most, of the gold reserves are not actually in the Philippines.

The reserves accumulate over time, mostly through foreign currency exchange. When banks trade their foreign currency deposits for pesos at the BSP, a small percentage is retained by the central bank in much the same way the rate you are given for trading your dollars, yen, or euros at the local currency exchange allows the money changer to make a little bit for the trouble. In addition, the foreign currency actually deposited with the BSP by banks as part of their required reserve deposits can be counted as international reserves.

The country has chronic budget deficits and still has a huge foreign debt. Can’t the government use its reserves to make up these shortfalls?

No, because it would create even more disastrous economic problems. The main uses for the reserves are to pay foreign obligations of the government, to back the value of the peso, and to back the reserve deposits of the banks and other government institutions, and all these functions must be carefully balanced. If, for example, the BSP transferred several billion dollars’ worth of the reserves to the Treasury for use in the national budget, the value of the peso would drop sharply, i.e., the number of pesos that could be exchanged for a dollar would increase. Since the country imports significantly more than it exports, inflation would increase; also, the cost of paying the country’s foreign debt would increase dramatically.

What’s an SDR?

An SDR is a sort of voucher used by the IMF and its members (188 countries, including the Philippines, are members of the IMF) as a medium of exchange; it is not exactly a currency, but can be used much like a form of currency in transactions between IMF members. The value of the SDR is calculated from a formula based on the value of the US dollar, the Euro, the Japanese yen, and the Pound sterling, and fluctuates daily; as of June 28, one SDR was worth $1.51.

By the IMF’s own definition, an SDR represents a potential claim against the freely useable currency of a member state. For example, when the Philippines uses an SDR as payment of a foreign debt, it is handing the creditor nation an IOU for an equivalent amount in “freely useable currency,” which usually means dollars, yen, euros, or pounds, unless another agreement between the two countries is made. The $1 billion the government has pledged to “loan” the IMF is denominated in SDRs, and so is worth about 662.3 million SDRs; or if you prefer, 662.3 million IOUs against the country’s foreign currency reserves.

Why does the Philippines have to be part of the IMF? Can’t we do without it?

Realistically, no. The IMF is arguably a deeply-flawed concept and there are good reasons to debate the value of its existence, but at this point bailing out of it would be a very bad idea. The Philippines’ ability to access credit would be severely restricted; even if the country is not borrowing from the IMF, its reserve position in the IMF serves as collateral, or at least a credit reference, for the loans it takes from other countries. Dropping out of the IMF would also complicate transactions with countries whose currencies are not freely-exchangeable with the peso (that is, most of the world).

Well, okay, so we’re stuck with it. Is there any benefit to “loaning” the IMF $1 billion?

In practical terms, virtually none at all. The proposed European bailout package is worth $430 billion, so the Philippines is contributing 0.23% of that. That is not really even worth pogi points, because the Philippines has a 0.43% membership stake in the IMF; from a certain perspective, the country is actually slacking off in doing its fair share. The assertion by the Administration that it will be a positive signal to investors is likewise a weak attempt to blow sunshine up everyone’s skirt. There is nothing about the IMF contribution that indicates positive fundamentals that investors look for: sound business and physical infrastructures, competitive labor availability, and access to markets – the very sorts of things, in other words, that encouraged Ford Motor Company to yank the plug on the Philippines and spend over $1 billion on new factories in Thailand and China.

So what’s the downside?

Again, not much. The drop in international reserves as a result of transferring $1 billion off the books will lower the value of the peso a bit; some analysts have lately said it might reach 45 to $1 by year’s end, and that might be a reasonable estimate. On the other hand, the BSP – which is obsessive about controlling the peso’s value – is probably aware of the implications and will probably do something about them, so I would expect the peso to land somewhere in the mid-43’s. Provided, of course, that any of the other hundreds of sometimes nebulous factors that affect the value of the currency do not happen, which would be a rather unrealistic assumption.

===========================

SO THE BOTTOM LINE IS…?

If you find the $1 billion “loan” to the IMF upsetting, you should build a bridge and get over it. If there’s anything to be upset about, it’s that N/A has, once again, heralded an irrelevant action as doing something progressive. It’s not necessarily a bad move, but it’s not helping to improve this country, either. Waste enough time, and pretty soon there will be no more time left.

$77 BILLION DOLLARS RESERVED FUNDS( PHILIPPINES)

YUNG MGA NATUTULOG AT NABULAGBULGAN SA KATOTOHANAN

DO READ PLEASE!

***** $62.9 B FOREIGN DEBT ng Pilipinas 1st quarter ng 2012, at may 3.3 % pagtaas mula sa dating $60.9 B sa parehong panahon ng 2011, ayon sa BSP, noong katapusan ng September 2011, $62.4 B ito. Batay naman sa tantiya ng NSCB, "every Filipino owed 51,675 pesos (1,200 U.S dollars), to domestic and foreign creditors." UTANG?! NOW , $1 B US dollars nais IPAUTANG NI BS Aquino sa International Monetray Fund o IMF. ANU MASASABI NIYO NIAN! <>...

ASAN ANG SINASABING RESERVED FUNDS! Eh kung meron man at sinasabing for INTERNATIONAL TRADE purposes ang FUNDS na yan hindi pwede gamitin sa development ng BANSA?

ITO ANG MGA KATANUNGAN KO?

Ang $77-bilyong reserve fund daw ng Pamahalaan na nasa Bangko Sentral..

Tandaan ninyo, mga kababayan, ang pinaguusapan natin dito ay $77 bilyon o mahigit sa P3 TRILYONG PISO. IILAN lang ang nakakaalam at may control sa halagang ito.

WALA TAYONG KATIBAYAN na walang NAKAWANG NANGYAYARI sa naturang pondo.

Tanging salita lamang ng IILANG nilalang sa gobyerno ang naririnig natin. Ngunit hindi tayo nakasisiguro kung tutoo lahat ang sinasabi o sasabihin nila.

Apart from these, we practically don’t know the following:

A): Has it been ever used for its purpose? If so, when and for what? Where are the supporting papers for the disbursement?

B): Have the people, especially the poor, directly benefitted in any way from the $77-billion? If yes, when and how? If no, why not?

C): Is that fund audited? If yes, when was it last audited and what are the findings? Has there been any official certification from anyone that no plunder or any other anomaly has been committed so far with the fund?

D): If the fund is not audited, why? What is our guarantee that nothing is being stolen from it?

E): What is the procedure (s) in releasing money from the fund? Are there built-in steps against theft in handling the money?

So here’s hoping that nobody will take the $1-billion lent to the IMF as lightly as any other daily event.

******Foreign debt rises to $62.9 B in 1st quarter

(philstar.com) Updated June 22, 2012 09:05 PM

The Philippines' foreign debt increased by $1.2 billion to $62.9 billion on the back of higher investments in January to March, the country 's central bank said today.

"The increase is due largely to the $2.3 billion net availments (excess of borrowings over repayments) as investment and business activities by both the public and private sector entities escalated due to the upbeat business sentiment," said the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) in a statement.

Despite the increase, the BSP said the country's external debt as of end-March remains manageable.

The Philippine central bank said the external debt ratio which indicates solvency and the country's capacity to repay foreign obligations over the long term improved to 20.7 percent, from 22.2 percent a year ago.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=820043&publicationSubCategoryId=200

Philippine external debt ratio goes down but total foreign debt rises http://www.mysinchew.com/node/74720

Philippine foreign debt rises to $62.4B at end-Sept

Reuters

Posted at 12/29/2011 4:05 PM | Updated as of 12/30/2011 8:23 AM

MANILA, Philippines - The country's outstanding foreign debt climbed 1.6% at the end of September from end-June as a result of the weaker US dollar against the yen, the central bank said on Thursday.

More than four-fifths of the total foreign debt of $62.4 billion carried maturities longer than one year, with the weighted average maturity at 22.4 years. The remainder were debts of one year and below, made up largely of interbank borrowings and trade-related obligations.

Public sector debt comprised more than three-fourths of the total, with more than two-fifths of total debt coming from multilateral institutions and bilateral creditors. More than a third of creditors are foreign holders of Philippine sovereign bonds and the rest are financial institutions and foreign suppliers.

GISING MGA KABABAYAN HUWAG MAG BULAGBULAGAN, HINDI NINYO NAPANSIN GARAPALAN ANG PAMBOBOLA NI BS AQUINO!

NGAYON SABIHIN MAY PERA ANG PILIPINAS! ASAN?

BUTI PA SIGURO ANG SAGOT NG ISANG ESTUDYANTE NA ITO, BAGAMAT ITO ISANG JOKE LAMANG PERO MAY KATOTOHANAN!

tsk>>tsk>>>tskkk

THERESA BONOAN-DAVID

OFWs, family members & migrant workers’ advocates: let us stop this another state money-making scheme! Shame on the law-maker(s) proposing said bill ~ gigisahin na naman ninyo kami sa sarili naming mantika! What happens to our OWWA membership fee amounting to $25 per OFW, and the assistance to nationals (ATN) welfare/legal fund for OFWs in need? What happens to the contractual obligation of employers and accountability of the agencies? Most importantly where's the accountability & responsibility of the Philippine government? What a shame!

"Remittances from overseas-based Filipinos reached $1.7 billion in April, up 5.3 percent from $1.62 billion in the same month last year. This brought the inflows for January to April to $6.5 billion, which was 5.4-percent higher than the $6.2 billion sent in the same period of 2011." MALAKING PERA FROM THE SWEAT & BLOOD OF OFWS.

"In terms of territories from where the funds were sent through banks, the top 10 sources were the United States, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Italy, Germany, and Hong Kong." MEANING THE LABOUR EXPORT POLICY OF PNOY IS UP TOTHE HILT!

PHILHEALTH CIRCULAR NO. 022

OFW- MAGTULUNGAN TAYO!

MAY MGA BENIPISYO NGA ANG PHILHEALTH, PERO HINDI MAKATARUNGAN NA MAGKAKAROON NAMAN NG INCREASE!

MY REACTIONS AFTER I FINISHED REVIEWING THE SAID MANDATORY IMPLEMENTATION OF ANNUAL PHILHEATH CONTRIBUTION FOR OFW:

http://www.philhealth.gov.ph/circulars/2011/circ22_2011.pdf

1,200 pesos increase effective July 01,2012

2,400 pesos increase effective January 01,2013

“Scrap Philippine Health Circular No. 022 – this is about the increase of PhilHealth annual premium contribution from P900 to P2,400 which will effect on January 1, 2013.

PhilHealth Circular No. 022 will Kill OFWs Softly

“The hike in OFWs health insurance premium will not only bleed us(OFWs and dependents) dry, it also sucks out our blood leading ‘to death due to deprivation of free and affordable social services’. The government through various agencies is killing us so softly by imposing additional fees in pretense of better social services."

The said PhilHealth Circular No. 022 is against the REPUBLIC ACT No. 10022 – AN ACT AMENDING REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8042, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE MIGRANT WORKERS AND OVERSEAS FILIPINOS ACT OF 1995, AS AMENDED, FURTHER IMPROVING THE STANDARD OF PROTECTION AND PROMOTION OF THE WELFARE OF MIGRANT WORKERS, THEIR FAMILIES AND OVERSEAS FILIPINOS IN DISTRESS, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES.

Under the RULE XVII: MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS – Section 4. Government Fees, Administrative Costs and Taxes. All fees for services being charged by any government agency on migrant workers prevailing at the time of the effectivity of this Rule shall not be increased. This RA No. 10022 was officially approved and signed by the former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 08, 2010.

I searched out the names of the Board of Directors of PhilHealth to know if the said PhilHealth Circular No. 022 is approved by all the board of directors. Out of 14 members only one has affixed his signature to PhilHealth Circular No. 022 in the named of Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon and the other name who also signed her signature was not in the list or not in the list of Executive Officers. The PhilHealth Board of Directors are as follows:

Board Chair: Hon. Enrique T. Ona, M.D.

CSC Chairman: Hon. Francisco T. Duque III, M.D., MSc

DILG Secretary: Hon. Jesse M. Robredo

DSWD Secretary: Hon. Corazon J. Soliman

DOLE Secretary: Hon. Rosalinda D. Baldoz

Health Care Providers Sector: Hon. Juan M. Flavier, M.D.

Labor Sector: Hon. Alexander A. Ayco, M.D.

Employers Sector/President and Chief Executive Officer: Hon. Dr. Eduardo P. Banzon

Self Employed Sector: Hon. Francisco Vicente F. Lopez M.D.

SSS President & CEO: Hon. Emilio S. De Quiros, Jr.

GSIS President & General Manager: Hon. Robert G. Vergara

NAPC-BS Vice Chairman: Hon. Florencia P. Cabatingan

Filipino Overseas Workers: Hon. Jane M.N. Sta. Ana

Corporate Secretary: Atty. Genesis M. Adarlo

PLEASE SHARE TO ALL OFW, UNTIL IT WILL REACHED OUT TO THEM….

GLORIA MACAPAGAL ARROYO

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Sold Our National Sovereignty To China - China’s Intrusions Are Connected To Gloria Arroyo’s Deals

The current word war between the Philippines and China is another proof of the continuing curse of Gloria Arroyo on the Filipino people.

The latest series of diplomatic protests lodged by the Philippines with China and submitted also to the United Nations have its roots to the controversial Joint Marine Seismic Undertaking entered into by the Arroyo government with China in 2005 which allowed China and later on Vietnam to explore not only the Philippine-occupied islands in the disputed mineral-rich Spratlys but areas that are clearly Philippine territory.

The JMSU was initialed during Gloria Arroyo’s 2004 visit to China which paved the way for the signing of at least two graft-riddled deals : North Rail and national broadband network with ZTE agreements.

Last March, the Philippines filed a diplomatic protest when two Chinese patrol boats intruded into Reed Bank in Western Palawan where a seismic survey is being conducted by the Department of Energy with a private firm. The Philippine Navy in Western Command had to come in and drove away the Chinese ships in what Philippine officials assert as “Philippine territory.”

It was followed by a much-delayed protest last April by the Philippines over China’s nine-dash line map submitted to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. China’s map, submitted to the U.N on May 7, 2009 supports their claim that the whole South China belongs to them including the Spratly islands which are being claimed in part by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan.

This month, the Philippines again protested the discovery on Amy Douglas that the Chinese have erected a number of steel posts and placed a buoy near the breaker of the bank also known as Iroquois reef. The Philippine Navy reported that Chinese ships were seen unloading building materials.

The Philippine Navy had removed the posts and the buoy.

After the Amy Douglas protest, the Philippines again filed another diplomatic protest over a February 2011 incident when two Philippine fishing vessels were fired upon by Chinese warships at Jackson Atoll. The fishermen sought the help of the Philippine Navy which accompanied them back to the area to retrieve their anchors.

The Navy reported seeing Chinese fishermen exploiting the marine resources in the area.

Philippine officials said all the areas that Chinese armed ships intruded lately were within the Philippines 200 nautical miles Exclusive Economic Zone. The Chinese, on the other hand, asserted its ownership over areas covered by the South China Sea.

This prompted the Philippines to adopt the term “West Philippine Sea” referring to the same areas in the same manner that Vietnam refers to the same area as East Asia Sea. (India, by the way, does not claim ownership of the Indian Ocean.)

Foreign Secretary Albert del Rosario and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin are alarmed by the latest pattern of intrusions.

They don’t want another Mischief Reef to happen. In 1995, the Philippines discovered military-type structures on Mischief Reef, 150 nautical miles west of Palawan and 620 nautical miles southeast of China.

Despite Philippine protest, China never left Mischief Reef and has even expanded its fortifications in the island complete with h parabolic antennas and machine guns.

There’s another thing that concerns the Aquino government.

When Del Rosario met with the Chinese Embassy charge d’affaires last May 31 over the Amy Douglas intrusion, he conveyed the Philippine government’s concern over reports in Chinese state media about China’s planned installation of its most advanced oil rig in the South China Sea next month.

Diplomatic sources said China’s planned oil exploration is related to the JMSU which was not continued after the first phase because of questions of legality (the case is still pending with the Philippine Supreme Court) because the project included areas that were not disputed. Under the Constitution, “exploration, development, and utilization of natural resources shall be under the full control and supervision of the State.”

To go around the constitutional prohibition, the government changed the word “exploration” to “seismic survey.”

The initial exploration/ seismic survey to find out how much resources are there in the area. Based on the results, the Philippines, China, and Vietnam are supposed to jointly develop the resources. The Chinese provided the ships, Vietnam the scientists and the Philippines interpreted the data gathered.

With the information gathered from the survey, it was expected that development of the area would proceed. China’s recent moves are seen as moving to the next phase of the project.The Philippines government, on the other hand, is stopped by questions on the legality of the project.

Under the JMSU, Reed Bank, said to contain about 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 440 million barrels of oil, is included. The Philippines now insists it is Philippine territory and not part of the disputed areas.

Oppositors to the JMSU had expressed concern that by entering into the project, the Philippines surrendered sovereignty over the resource-rich area and strengthened China’s claim over it.

There were allegations that the Arroyo government’s sell-out of Philippine sovereignty in West Philippine Sea was connected to a number of multi-million Chinese loans for projects that became riddled with graft and corruption.

That’s one of the crimes of Gloria Arroyo against the Filipino people.

Research:

Delmar Nur Faramarz Ferdowsi Salah Ad-Din Tomasa Gomez de Molina Costa Sanchez de Cassa Fajardo Lopez Roldan Martinez Simarro Mondejar del Castillo Balera Chumilla Portal Ynarejos Ramos de Losa del Pozo Africa Bautista Rubio-Escrivano Bucad Calaycay Alcaraz “RAPASAKDALSAKAY” Topinio Taclibon

JOSEPH ESTRADA

Charges filed

A few months after the January 2001 popular uprising that ousted Estrada, the Philippine Ombudsman filed two charges at the Sandiganbayan on April 4, 2001; one for plunder and the other for perjury. The plunder case consisted of four separate charges: acceptance of 545 million pesos from proceeds of jueteng, an illegal gambling game; misappropriation of 130 million pesos in excise taxes from tobacco; receiving a 189.7-million-peso commission from the sale of the shares of Belle Corporation, a real-estate firm; and owning some 3.2 billion pesos in a bank account under the name Jose Velarde. The minor charge of perjury is for Estrada underreporting his assets in his 1999 statement of assets and liabilities and for the illegal use of an alias, namely for the Jose Velarde bank account.

Estrada's son, Jinggoy Estrada, an incumbent senator, and Edward Serapio, his personal lawyer were his co-accused. Also charged were Charlie Ang, Yolanda Ricaforte, Alma Alfaro, Eleuterio Tan, Delia Rajas, and Jaime Dichaves, who was later added.

[edit]Arraignment and plea

.....

[edit]Prosecution's case

The Philippine government's prosecution team was led by Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio and other government lawyers. Their case against Joseph Estrada was based on the following:

[edit]Defense's case

Former President Joseph Estrada's defense panel, led by Atty. Estelito Mendoza, and composed of former Supreme Court justices and other celebrated Philippine lawyers based their defense on the following points:

President Estrada recalls the Arroyos plotting with the civil society and the military in January 2000, to take over a year later; The House of Representatives impeaching him without debate and voting; The Senate blue-ribbon committee not hearing him out; The Impeachment Court not citing for contempt the losers in a democratic debate and voting; and the Supreme Court conniving with the elite to swear in then-Vice-President Gloria Arroyo at noon of January 20, 2001, -(Manila Times, September 30, 2007)

1. The whole process is against the constitution. a) the legal possibility of removing a sitting president is by impeachment. Paguia, one of Estradas lawyers argues ,Former President Estrada was not convicted and removed by the Senate acting as an Impeachment Court, . Therefore it is unconstitutional to subject him to the jurisdiction of the Sandiganbayan.“ -(Manila Times, September 14, 2007)

b) the Supreme Court relied on a biblical, not constitutional passage, with President Estrada still in the Palace

c) the same Court created a special division for President Estrada (not done in the case of the Marcoses and the cronies and the military).

d)Actually, the plot to oust President Estrada was planned by the then-Vice president Arroyo who met with some political and religious leaders calling for a what she called "Transition Government" under her rule.

2. The Sandiganbayan did not find him guilty of stealing a single centavo of public money. (Manila Times, September 30, 2007)

Lead counsel Estelito Mendoza insisted there is no evidence Estrada received bribe money from jueteng lords. There was also no evidence he received commission money or checks from the Belle transactions. The one who admitted to receiving bribe money from gambling lords was former governor Chavit Singson of Ilocos Sur. But he was not charged as a co-conspirator. He ran for senator in May 2007 but lost.

3. Fabrication of evidence: Manrique, a former action officer of the Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption (VACC) , narrated in his affidavit how he, sometime in the last week of October 2001, was contacted by a lawyer(State Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio) who represented himself as a member of the prosecution team in the Estrada cases.

Manrique said the lawyer convinced him to file another perjury case against the deposed president since the original case filed by the Ombudsman was deemed to be weak and insufficient in evidence. The lawyer added Manrique’s complaint against Estrada had to be antedated to make it appear that even before the Ombudsman had filed his own case,

4. Saguisag, one of Estrada‘s lawyers said the defense will base its legal argument on the prosecution’s failure to indicate in the information that Estrada had received jueteng money “by reason of his public office,” “There was no allegation that it was received by reason of his public office. That’s one of the elements of plunder,” (inquirer, September 2007)

5. The Sandigan special graft court has an image problem. It is not perceived as being impartial or independent or even fair. Reynato Puno has one of the worst trust ratings for a public figure. (Manila Times September 12, 2007)

BENIGNO S .AQUINO III

The supposed continued popularity of Noynoy Aquino is HIGHLY DOUBTFUL. Even if the country’s leading survey firms, the Social Weather Stations (SWS) and Pulse Asia say so.

Consider these, among others, people:

1. For the past several months, NOT EVEN ONE big and NEUTRAL group from any sector has declared continued support for Noynoy despite his Administration’s blunders. The only exception I know of is the Black and White Movement, of which Presidential Spokesman Edwin Lacierda is one of the top officials.

2. The youth sector has been protesting and openly expressing disappointment over the budget cuts for education.

3. Judges have openly protested cuts in the Judiciary budget and the impeachment of Chief Justice Renato Corona.

4. The business sector has been repeatedly complaining about sky-high electricity rates. Several weeks ago, I came across a news item saying that the biggest organization of exporters in the country has warned that a lot of its members will close shop if the cost of electricity won’t go down.

5. The public as a whole has been tirelessly denouncing uncontrollable increases in the prices of food and basic commodities.

6. Some of the top officials of Pulse Asia are relatives of Noynoy.

7. Surveys on Noynoy’s supposed popularity come out, curiously, right after a major blunder by his Administration and public outrage.

8. Never has Pulse Asia or SWS come out with a detailed explanation on how can the supposed 1,000 plus respondents to their surveys represent the sentiments of us 80 million plus Filipinos.

Anybody can correct me if I’m wrong on anything.

If anybody can justify the supposedly continued overwhelming popularity of Noynoy despite these observations. I assure you I’ll come out with it right away. Just be sure you’ll have supporting details.

I am citing Noynoy’s questionable popularity, people, because it aims to condition our minds into BLIND ACCEPTANCE of his actions and performance.

It’s a way of telling us “Noynoy’s popular because he’s doing well as President,” even if signs to the contrary are all over.

For example, can anyone honestly say that the quality of life has improved, or has been much better, since Noynoy became President?

I’m not demanding for perfection or overnight results, people. All I’m looking for is TANGIBLE PROOF of improvement, and accomplishments.

Eighteen months in power isn’t so short a period to come up with even one achievement.

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The Presidency of Benigno S. Aquino III began at noon on June 30, 2010, when he became the fifteenth President of the Philippines, succeeding Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. Aquino is the third-youngest person to be elected president, and the fourth-youngest president after Emilio Aguinaldo, Ramon Magsaysay and Ferdinand Marcos.Aquino is the first president to be a bachelor, being unmarried and having no children.Aquino is the second president not to drink alcoholic beverages; the first president not to drink alcohol was Emilio Aguinaldo. Aquino is the eighth president to be a smoker.Aquino is the first graduate of Ateneo de Manila University to become president.Aquino is the third president who will only hold office in Malacañang Palace, but not be a resident, following Corazon Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos.Aquino is the first president to make Bahay Pangarap his official residence.Aquino is the third president to use his second given name, Simeon, as his middle initial, as Manuel L. Quezon and José P. Laurel did (like his grand father and father used his second name as well).Aquino is the second president to be a child of a former president, his mother was former President Corazon Aquino; the first president to be a child of a former president was President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who is the daughter of former President Diosdado Macapagal.