RATED PG-13 (MP3) LISTEN to what Senator Joker Arroyo thinks of the conspiracy alleged by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (no relation) to justify Proclamation 1017 in response to a reporter's question during a Press Conference today following the Senate's second day of hearings, which focused on the alleged violations of Press Freedom directed at media outlets deemed critical of the present regime, such as the Daily Tribune, the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism and ABSCBN News. An erstwhile ally of the President, but now a severe and exasperated critic, Senator Joker Arroyo minces no words in describing the present situation as an approximation to Marcos' Martial Law. In fact, Senator Arroyo makes the same case that Senator Dick Gordon made at yesterday's hearing. The President has arrogated martial law powers unto herself while avoiding the carefully built Congressional and Judicial safeguards against the very excesses now being exposed in the Senate hearings. Here are Senator Joker Arroyo's further scathing remarks specifically on EO 464, which gag order was used by top government officials as their excuse for not attending the Senate hearings, namely National Telecommunications Commission head Ronald Solis, and Police Director General Arturo N. Lomibao, both accused of carrying out the worst of Proclamation 1017's repressive mandates. But Sheila Coronel of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) and Daily Tribune Publisher Ninez Cacho Olivarez were there to testify to the ongoing pogrom against Media. and Press Freedom in the Philippines. 
GOVERNMENT WITNESS APPEARS HOODED AND IN BULLET PROOF VEST: It has suddenly become very important that the Government of President Arroyo convincingly prove the factual bases for the premises (the whereas clauses) in Proclamation 1017. Based on testimony before the Philippine Senate yesterday by former Supreme Court Justice Vicente Mendoza and legal luminaries from the University of the Philippines Law School, and the Commission on Human Rights, certain top government officials can evidently be charged criminally, administratively and civilly for carrying out actions imbued with martial law powers that were not granted to them by Proclamation 1017. For example, there are the warrantless arrests undertaken by the Philippine National Police in the cases of Congressmen Crispin Beltran and Riza Hontiveros Baraquel, and of Prof. Randy David. There is also the warrantless raid on the Daily Tribune newspaper on the day after Proclamation 1017 was promulgated and just yesterday, threats to slap broadsheet Philippine Daily Inquirer with inciting to sedition charges for reporting various aspects of the Proclamation 1017 story.PROCLAMATION 1017 in Whereas Clause Number One describes what President Arroyo called a "clear and present danger" in her broadcast message on 24 February 2006--
WHEREAS, over these past months, elements in the political opposition have conspired with authoritarians of the extreme Left represented by the NDF-CPP-NPA and the extreme Right, represented by military adventurists – the historical enemies of the democratic Philippine State -- who are now in a tactical alliance and engaged in a concerted and systematic conspiracy, over a broad front, to bring down the duly-constituted Government elected in May 2004;
But did such a "tactical alliance" and "systematic conspiracy" really exist? Yesterday, the Philippine National Police presented to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez a very special witness, a certain JAIME BELTRAN FUENTES, who is said to confirm a very important factual basis for Proclamation 1017. (Philippine Daily Inquirer reports). In the photograph at right, that all-important witness is shown being sworn in at the Department of Justice, with his head hooded and covered to hide his face and true identity, as well as wearing a bullet proof vest. This photo was taken from television coverage of the hearing IN the Department of Justice during the submission of Mr. Fuentes's signed affidavits. I certainly hope that the government has more solid evidence than this that a Leftist Rightist tactical alliance coup d'etat represented "a clear and present danger" that necessitated the declaration of a state of a national emergency on the 20th anniversary of the Edsa People Power Revolution against dictator Ferdinand Marcos last February 24.
After Armed Forces Chief of Staff cited as proof of "clear and present danger," that article by Time Magazine with Nelly Sindayen's yarn about the coup plot being hatched at Peping Cojuanco's house with Pastor Boy Saycon and General Danilo Lim on the speaker phone, I didn't expect they would pull this hooded bunny rabbit out of the hat and avoid the now growing impression that Proclamation 1017 may have been declared upon false premises.
Now, just a minor point: look at the expressions of everyone in the photo except for the Star Witness. All are employees of the Dept. of Justice or his police escort. What do they seem to think of the melodramatic attire and hence the overall veracity and credibility of the Star Witness?
20 comments:
Come to think of it….
That hooded star witness who happens to be unknown to the wife of the one he was supposedly guarding and vice versa
Is the lowest despearte act the government has pulled to…
It is very likely that a spouse or even the one who is guarded not to know their body guard,but having it the other way around is just plain STUPID!
Remember Garci and the Muslim head-gear. At least that was "ethnic" What does this witness use? Is that a Mao jacket? hehe
Ah Dean,
At last someone is questioning the basis of the proclamation of Emergency rule to wit: Coup D'etat Conspiracy by a Tactical Alliance CPP/NPA & AFP military component. heheheh!
You will be glad to know that I have brought NATO's level of awareness of the Philippines (and the European Defence's too) to an all time high; it (this coup d'état conspiracy crap) has become quite a talking point among my military friends and I (1 is a 4-star general).
Last Saturday, after the rugby match between the all navy teams of France and the UK, we had a some kind of celebration drink and spoke about the coup d'état conspiracy, attempted, foiled, etc. again. One of the UK naval officers who was there (and who is a friend) is a military tribunal prosecutor. I had sent him the powerpoint presentation crap earlier - it was he who said that the AFP presentation seemed more of a "political gobbledygook" rather than a coup d'état conspiracy presentation, etc. Another one who had sat in as member of the military tribunal jury was quicker to the chase - he said, the whole thing was more of an apprentice police work and nothing to do with military job (they're not impressed at all).
They may not be impressed now, but they will first be bemused, then ah-ha-ha-mused by the fairy tale nature of the "factual bases" in testimony and evidence that the govt has...it's lower than what Joker called it..."Apprentice police work"...that comment was being kind.
Thansk Hillblogger for the message
in the previous blog..
ngayun ko lang nabasa due to slow internet connectivity
which is one reason kaya di ko ma download mp3s
Hi Karl,
If you are having troubles playing/downloading MP3s, get LATEST free version of QUICKTIME/I-tunes.
i'll be using them a lot on this site i think.
Dean,
Did you see the Inquirer's front page pic?
The pic shows Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the inveterate and pathological liar and creeping fascist handing over a 1-million peso check
(as “balato” or alms) to Army chief Esperon, one of the Gloria generals involved in the 2004 election campaign for Gloria, for a housing project in Fort Magsaysay.
Nothing wrong with making “balato” but it is all morally wrong to make a “balato” as a form of charity or alms to Army troops as if they were beggars and scavengers.
Although we all know that the ordinary troops are impoverished, Gloria’s act is despicable - she treats Army soldiers as mere beggars to be given “balato” and alms. That’s how the Liberian president would treat his Army.
A nation’s army must be treated with RESPECT - Esperon’s Army doesn’t want or need a “balato” or alms. What the Army wants and needs is for the law to provide for automatic troop housing and health care.
Gloria continues to bring the level of Philippine governance to the level of the despicable.
This is the first time I have ever heard of hooded witnesses in this day and age. This is a cruel joke against the Filipinos. When I saw this in the papers this moring I couldn't stop laughing. And then I realized the joke is on us.
DJB,
Just listened to Joker Arroyo's spill in the Senate.
He spoke of Gloria's government's de-facto stand: executive branch's non-accountability to anybody.
With Gloria's EOs in abundance, Joker is right - the executive has clipped the wings of the Senate in their role as "checkers and balancers."
Perhaps, they in the Senate should all finetune this mode of attack and find a tiny, tiny loophole in the law to force the executive branch to submit to a check and balance.
There must be a crack somewhere to take advantage of...
Since Congress can no longer summon any member of Gloria's cabinet and personal entourage - Senate must do a tit for tat - Senate summons other high-level civil servants to answer ANY SORT (even DUMB) inquiry just to jar Malacanang (somekind of "sabotage" tactic).
I don't know - for instance, check the civil service status of all government public civil servants. Those that are titular holders of a bona-fide civil service certificate can be summoned.
Come on members of the Senate, un peu de couille s'il vous plait! (loose translated: show you got ém balls)
HB, been trying to post for you the speech accompanying that P1M check. The President was "getting rowdy" in a Marcosian way. maybe tmw, problems at the archive...
Marv, before too long, it'll hurt even to laugh...looks like even the blogs will come under some kind of attack...us too.
Nah Atty at Work, not quite...of course he wanted respect but he should have shot FOIC Mayuga to obtain that respect coz it was Mayuga who relieved his direct boss and not go around saying "we"re going to Edsa" if you want to be technical about it!
True, Querubin was prevailed upon by MajGen Miranda (this guy is a good marine perhaps but 2 stars was a bit too much I know him personally!) not to mutiny so it should've stopped there but Querubin's sense of Marine pride got the better of him (besides he had a date with Lim at Edsa).
From what I gathered, Querubin decided obey but stupid Mayuga (Angie Reyes boy through and through and a Gloria general, remember his predecesor was forced to retire 1 year early to give Temmy a crack at the Navy FOICship - coz he'll be hitting 56 years of mandatory retirement age in Dec) heckled Miranda so poor grunt, grunt guys decided to leave barracks - that's what we call MUTINY but since he went back to barracks after 6 hours and didn't go to Edsa at all, the charge might be lowered to ACT or ACTS of INSUBORDINATION.
In military Law, Atty at work, Mutiny is punishable with DEATH!
Inquirer banner: We hold nation together – military spokesman
According to the Inqurer report, THE ARMED Forces of the Philippines through its spokesman, Col Kison, yesterday "acknowledged its crucial role in keeping President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in power, warning that the nation would fall apart if it gave in to pressure from various power blocs seeking the President's ouster."
We agree that in a democracy, the military is the guarantor of a Republic's independence, the protector of its citizens and the guardian of its Constitution but Kison's statement will reverberate down the line to the younger officers. Kison has just issued an implicit threat to Gloria!
In spite of the many coup attempts against Cory Aquino, she was able to DEFEAT the military because she was coming from a higher moral ground. During the time of FVR, the military went back to its institutional role, fighting rebels and the enemies of the Republic instead of fighting the ordinary citizens of the nation. But Gloria has none of that moral high ground.
Our military is far from being perfect - it is highly politicized, many of its elements are corrupt, it has no real esprit de corps. Like it's civilian counterpart, the military is disunited and dispirited.
Having said that, the military had hopes of becoming professional but Gloria single-handedly destroyed the last fiber of professionalism in the military institution.
Not content with having urged and organized a mutiny after which she led a coup d'état in 2001 to topple a duly Constitutional government, she decided to further corrupt the military - am not speaking of money here - to the bone by treating it like a band of merceneries.
Because of this, Gloria will find that she has created a monster which she will not be able to control pretty soon; that in order for her to curb some ambitious folks in the military, she will have to corrupt the rest some more.
But sooner or later, she will lose because a president must remember that she cannot continue play or toy with the military and wield it like the sword of damocles over the nation's 80 million heads if she CANNOT DISCIPLINE them. To discipline them, she must be prepared to SHOOT. She must be prepared to take on the military and SHOOT those that err but if she does'nt want to shoot them, she's got to bribe the others who know she WILL NOT SHOOT. So the cycle goes - it really is going to be a catch 22 issue.
Unless she shows force and proves that she can deal with erring military in fire for fire fashion, Gloria is a goner. The rest of the military will have her head sooner or later!
Our only hope is to have a snap election and re-establish a Constitutional government through a valid democratic exercise. If that happens, the military will go back to barracks and assume their proper role.
A truly democratic government with a valid unquestionable mandate is our only defence against military adventurism.
In a true democracy, the military is the last component of a Republic to go wayward when everything else seems to be lost. But when that democracy is wobbly, the military is the first to break from the Republic.
Beware Gloria, you shall reap what you sow!
Will do DJB
re:quicktime
If my connections won't keep on dropping..disconnecting
Thanks for the instruction...(and suggestion)
what's next on the menu ....
Ano na namang kalokohan ang maiisip ng admin...
you are right DJB...re:ETERNAL VIGILANCE!
Hillblogger, here finally is the audio that comes with that P1M check -- it's why the check was given!
GMA Tough Talking
hmm..reminds me of how the Bush administrations "played up" the threats of Sadams WMD's to justify their invasion of Iraq. They went in, they won and found nothing. So much for that slick and impressive presentation by Colin Powell at the UN.
Just like the creator of the AFP presentations, they should also recieve an Oscar for Best Screenplay or story.
Jhay,
A movie reviewer like Jessica Zafra hasn't done it? I guess she likes to play it safe.
Thanks, DJB!
Just listened to Gloria's determination, etc. crap!
You know, if she ain't careful, her midget excellency will be used as a cannon ball by an honorable major service commander sometime in the future...to clean out residual threats of Gloria's destatbilization and dismantling of the military institution.
So much for her heaviest arsenal of constitutional measures...that's what em guys will think when they eventually topple her.
Gloria is caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.
What she is doing today is militicking (military politicking), really nothing more nothing less.
Her words and deeds are hollow and they don't fool em real military guys.
She's dividing the military in the same manner that she's been dividing the nation.
That's very very bad business. Terribly dangerous tack. It will backfire.
A commander in chief cannot divide the nation's military because the military is the backbone of a democratic republic and when you break that backbone, it causes them good guys GREAT PAIN.
That great pain will translate into rebellion.
You will find that history has shown us that whenever a national leader, a commander in chief "toyed" with military tenet of armed strength and wielded it like a sword of Damocles against the citizenry, the act provoked cracks in the armed forces ranks. The cracks swelled into divisions and the divisions created a revolution.
Amazing really that Gloria has not learned anything from history...
While history shouldn't always repeat itself, Gloria is hell bent on history repeating itself.
It's so uncanny but Gloria's model of governance and rule is French Revolution's reign under Robespierre. The 4 years of Robespierre reign was total corruption of the military and civilian components of the French Republic.
Robespierre used and wielded the military like his own sword of Damocles. He used the Republic's coffers as his personal piggy bank. He dismantled the Republican institutions that the Council of the French Revolution had tried to set up. He fought with and antagonized the People's Assembly (parliament), threatened them with anything he could think of. He even had Danton, one of the major heroes of the Revolution and a firm Republican in Parliament assasinated for speaking up against him. He used his friends, members of his family to do his bidding (like Pidal and Fatman, Lulli, Mikey, etc.)
That chapter of French Revolution history under Robespierre's reign was known historically as the Reign of Terror.
When Robespierre started to feel the pinch of the people's Assembly and the mutiny of the Republican Guards (military), he sent Napoleon to quell that mutiny in one of the bloodiest military to military fightings.
Napoleon won the day for him but in the end, Robespierre he lost his head in Place de la Concorde - guillotined. Napoleon started his climb to becoming the leader of a military-civilian junta. Later on, Napoleon just evicted all of them and MARTIAL RULE took over.
That's what happens when a leader plays with the military and uses it against its own brothers in arms and against the honorable citizens of the Republic.
Voltaire, one of the greatest philosophers, writers, satirists and political lampoonists of the last 3 centuries was a proponent of FREE SPEECH.
Because of this, he suffered imprisonment, exile and deprived of his liberty to live in the country that he dearly loved.
His treatises on free speech and the tenets of a real democracy were one of the backbones of the French Revolution of 1789.
When the Louis the 16th’s Ministers gagged Voltaire depriving him of his freedom of speech, they simply created a more formidable foe, one that helped ignite their overthrow.
Gloria is being stupid and absolutely dumb. Human nature has never changed over the centuries, they fight for their freedom all the more strongly when their freedom is threatened…
I doubt Gloria ever read history outside of the history of Cebu and Lapulapu.
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