Archive for February 26th, 2008
Text on withdrawal of support ‘disinformation’–AFP
MANILA, Philippines — The military dismissed as “disinformation” a text message saying troops will withdraw support from government if “one million warm bodies” take to the streets on Friday.
The text message was traced to two mobile phone numbers, indicating that “a small group is simply broadcast texting for the purpose of disinformation,” said Lieutenant Colonel Bartolome Bacarro, spokesman for the Armed Forces of the Philippines.
The text message, typed using shortcuts, read: “The Army, Navy, Air Force are asking us to produce one million warm bodies by February 29 and they will withdraw support from this mafia government. Let us join hands to achieve this goal.”
“We shall remain true to our pronouncements that we will not be swayed into extralegal actions. We shall remain constitutional soldiers. We will abide by and follow the chain of command and support and obey the duly constituted authorities,” Bacarro said.
Philippine Army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Ernesto Torres Jr. issued a similar statement, saying the leadership trusts soldiers “not to waver” in their professionalism.
“We will strictly adhere to the chain of command and we will continue to support the constitutional processes. We will not succumb to any pressure from anti-government groups out only to destabilize the government,” Torres said.
In 2001, the military’s withdrawal of support from then president Joseph Estrada was credited for the success of the popular uprising that swept then vice president Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to power.
Arroyo is fighting off fresh calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos, a close ally, sought millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the $329-million contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp. for the national broadband network (NBN) project.
The country has seen several coup attempts by factions in the military ever since a failed putsch against the dictator Ferdinand Marcos in 1986 and triggered the People Power uprising that ended strongman rule.
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Palace belittles testimony of new witness in NBN probe
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang has belittled the “hearsay” testimony of a new witness who claimed that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her husband were part of a “greedy group” that received $41 million in advances from a Chinese telecommunications firm that had bagged the national broadband network project.
Dante Madriaga, who claims to be a consultant of ZTE Corp., told the Senate hearing on the tainted NBN contract Tuesday that the “greedy group” was composed of the President, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos, retired general Quirino dela Torre, and a certain Ruben Reyes and Leo San Miguel.
“It appears that this alleged new witness has nothing but hearsay testimony. Even the senators seem unimpressed by his testimony,” deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo said in a statement.
Madriaga claimed that ZTE’s Fan Yang, and San Miguel, told him of the alleged cash advances.
In a separate statement, deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said Madriaga’s statement was “no different” from that made by Rodolfo Lozada Jr., which the Palace official branded as “purely allegation.”
“These allegations by installment, unless proven through the processes dictated by our laws would only remain as allegations,” Golez said.
“We also find it difficult to believe for a mere technician-consultant of a company would know so much about the President or her family,” he added.
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US keeping close eye on political crisis–Kenney
MANILA, Philippines — The United States is “watching with great interest” the unfolding political crisis in the country triggered by the allegedly graft-tainted national broadband network (NBN) contract, American Ambassador Kristie Kenney said Tuesday.
“I think from the US perspective, we’re watching as we always do. It’s a lively and energetic Philippine democracy. Lots of citizens with lots of views. We regard it as healthy,” Kenney told reporters in Maragondon town, Cavite province, where she inspected a civic project under the Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) joint exercises of Filipino and American soldiers.
Kenney was replying to a question on whether the US would reprise its role during the People Power uprising in 1986, when it asked the late strongman Ferdinand Marcos to “cut cleanly” and go into exile.
Asked if the US was concerned with the situation, Kenney said: “I’m saying we’re watching with great interest, as we always do, watch our Filipino friends exercise their democratic rights.”
Kenney said recent “peaceful” protest actions are part of democracy.
“Our only wish and hope for our Filipino friends is that the expression, of course, honors the rule of law, remains peaceful and within the bounds of the Constitution,” she said.
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is fighting off fresh calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., a close ally, sought millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the $329-million contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp. for the NBN project.
She ordered the contract cancelled after the Senate opened its inquiry into the controversial deal.
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US studying grant of $10M reward for Dulmatin–envoy
MANILA, Philippines — The United States is studying whether to grant a $10-million bounty for Indonesian terror suspect Dulmatin, tagged as one of the brains of the 2002 Bali bombings, to the informant who led Philippine troops to a body believed to be that of the Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) operative.
“Usually, in these cases, a lot of brave citizens have contributed information for the Armed Forces of the Philippines [AFP]…So we’ll look to find out who’s responsible and make sure they get the money,” US Ambassador Kristie Kenney told reporters.
“It [reward] goes to brave civilians, because the men in uniform are doing their duty and we’re proud that they are doing so. It goes to civilians who have stepped forward to the service of the country, and out their lives at risk in doing so,” Kenney said in an interview in Maragondon town, Cavite province, where she inspected a civic project under this year’s Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) exercises between Filipino and American troops.
Last February 18, a body, believed to be that of Dulmatin was exhumed in Balimbing village, Panglima Sugala town, Tawi-Tawi with the help of an unidentified informant.
Dulmatin is believed to have been wounded in an encounter in the same town last January 21 and died later of his injuries.
The remains will undergo DNA [deoxyribonucleic acid] testing by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
In June last year, the US awarded $10 million to four Filipino informants who led authorities to the neutralization of Abu Sayyaf chieftain Khadaffy Janjalani and his second-in-command, Jainal Sali alias (Abu Solaiman).
In a separate interview, AFP chief of staff General Hermogenes Esperon Jr. said the military was verifying if another suspect in the Bali attacks, JI member Umar Patek, was wounded in the January 31 firefight. Patek carries a $5-million bounty for his capture.
Dulmatin and Patek have sought refuge in the southern Philippines with the Abu Sayyaff. The JI and Abu Sayyaf have alleged links to the Al Qaeda.
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Retired generals warn vs military intervention in crisis
But back ‘search for truth’ in scandals
MANILA, Philippines — A group of retired generals warned those in the active service against stepping in to resolve the current political crisis, even as they supported the search for “truth” behind the many controversies hounding the government.
“If our soldiers will get carried away and forget their mission, that is dangerous,” said retired brigadier general Jaime Echeverria, president of the Association of Generals and Flag Officers (AGFO).
“I don’t think soldiers should intervene in partisan politics,” Echeverria said, after presiding over a meeting of the AGFO at their office in Camp Aguinaldo.
The AGFO has roughly 750 members from the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and the Philippine National Police (PNP). The incumbent AFP chief of staff and PNP chief are considered members of the group.
During the meeting, AGFO arrived at a consensus expressing “grave concern” over the political situation, Echeverria said.
“We support the search for truth and justice at the height of this people’s cry against grand corruption, summary execution, and cover-ups,” he said.
“AGFO is four-square behind the search for the truth and we ask for transparency to give way for the truth to come out but we in the process,” he said.
But Echeverria said they did not discuss calls for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign amid accusations of corruption in her administration.
“We don’t go for personalities here, we stick to issues,” he said.
Arroyo is fighting off fresh calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos sought millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the $329-million contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp. for the botched National Broadband Network (NBN) project.
A witness in the Senate investigation on the controversy, ex-government consultant Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr., bolstered the overpricing allegations.
Asked about Lozada, Echeverria said: “I’ll not rate him 100 percent.”
“Sometimes, [Lozada] goes beyond what he is supposed to say and I’m afraid that might self-destruct…Credibility is primordial, very important. Now, if a witness starts talking even on matters that [are] out of context, I think it will affect [his] credibility,” Echeverria said, but stressed that this was his “personal impression.”
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Palace rejects Aquino call on Arroyo to ‘resign’
MANILA, Philippines — Malacañang on Tuesday rejected the call of former president Corazon Aquino for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign, saying the incumbent’s resignation is not the solution to the political crisis triggered by the allegedly graft-tainted national broadband network (NBN) deal.
“The search for truth and justice must not be coupled with a political advocacy of resignation, lest other selfish motivations are imprinted to the call,” deputy presidential spokesman Anthony Golez said in a statement.
“Former president Aquino is credited for the very Constitution we as a nation is following, and this same Constitution has given us the solution for searching for the truth through our justice system, not through a resignation call or trial by publicity,” he added.
Aquino first called on Arroyo’s resignation in mid-2005, when purported wiretaps of what appeared to be phone conversations between the President and an election official in which they allegedly discuss plans to rig the 2004 elections in her favor.
In a separate statement, deputy presidential spokesperson Lorelei Fajardo reminded the former president that like Arroyo, she too fought off ouster attempts that stemmed from allegations of corruption leveled against her government.
“With due respect to the former president, she herself was many times called on to resign during her term. In fact, there were nine coup attempts to remove her, all borne of alleged corruption,” Fajardo said.
“We trust that she would have the understanding of the need to go by evidence and not by innuendos and simple ‘chismis’ [rumors]. We have to respect our institutions and the rule of law provided for by the Constitution,” he said.
Arroyo is fighting off fresh calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos pocketed millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the $329-million contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp. for the NBN project.
She ordered the contract cancelled after the Senate opened its inquiry into the NBN deal.
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‘Majority’ of governors back Arroyo ‘all the way’–exec
MANILA, Philippines — A “majority” of the 81-member League of Provinces, an organization of provincial governors, has pledged to support embattled President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo “all the way,” as she reels from the national broadband network controversy.
The governors issued the statement on Tuesday, after at least 52 of their members attended a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang.
“We are here to express our full support for the President,” said the league’s president, Misamis Occidental Governor Leo Campos.
Asked until when the governors would support the President, Campos, flanked by some 20 other governors, told reporters: “All the way. We have seen the performance of the President. We will ride on this economic momentum all the way until 2010.”
Campos said “majority” of the league’s members shared his view. He said the held consultations in their respective provinces last Friday, and their constituents supported their stand.
“It is not surprising at all to me [that] from the barangay [village], to the municipal, to the provincial [level], no one counters the sentiment supporting the President,” said Aurora Governor Bellaflor Angara Castillo.
“We want the rule of law to prevail and we don’t want any extra-constitutional and extra-legal [means] to remove the President,” said Bataan Governor Enrique Garcia.
Alluding to street protests in the capital aimed at pressuring Arroyo to resign, Antique Governor Salvacion Zaldivar-Perez said: We want to tell Manila [that] we make a lot of noise for the President.”
Campos said the governors staged their own version of the “unity walk” at the Palace Tuesday morning.
On Monday, the military and police top brass staged a “unity walk” from the People Power monument on EDSA to Camp Aguinaldo to reaffirm their loyalty to the chain of command.
Last week, Arroyo’s Cabinet walked with her, in a show of support.
The President is fighting off fresh calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel “Mike” Arroyo, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos pocketed millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the $329-million contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp. for the botched NBN project.
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Arroyo on ‘flawed’ NBN deal ‘lost in translation’–Palace
MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s statement about knowing that the national broadband network contract was “flawed” had been “lost in translation” when it was reported in media, her spokesman said Tuesday.
“The President categorically denies that she said that the deal, or the contract, is flawed. It was misinterpreted. It was lost in translation,” Anthony Golez, deputy presidential spokesman, told reporters at the Palace.
Golez issued the clarification three days after Arroyo’s interview with radio station dzRH, and two days after Senate President Manuel Villar said that the President’s admission could be grounds for her impeachment.
At the same time, Golez reiterated that the President had moved to cancel the project after she was informed of alleged anomalies surrounding it.
He said the President had tasked Trade Secretary Peter Favila to talk to his Chinese counterparts.
“They were going towards the cancellation of the contract. Now, the question is, why five months after?… There is a process. Remember, we are talking about two different economies, two different friendly neighbors that concerns two governments, you can’t just withdraw it,” he said.
According to a transcript of the radio interview that was released by the Office of the Press Secretary, the program host asked the President about the status of the $329-million contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp.
The President’s reply: “Una sa lahat, hindi ko gusto ng katiwalian. Ang taumabayn ay galit sa katiwalian, ganun din ako, galit din ako sa
katiwalian. Kaya itong proyektong ito, oras na may pag-uusap na may anomalya, ay agad kong kinansela — agad-agad na gumawa ako ng hakbang para kanselahin.”
“Kanselado na iyon, matagal na. Oras na may sumbong sa akin, tiningnan ko na iyong paraan kung papaano kanselahin. Nagsumbong sa akin the night before the signing of the supply contract pero hindi pa naman kasi — that was only one of many signings,” the President said based on the transcript.
Asked what “anomalies” the President was referring to, Golez said: “I will just stick to what the President would say, na merong nagsumbong
sa kanya na may problema [that someone told her that there was a problem].”
The President has not identified who told her about the alleged “anomaly.”
A former government consultant, Rodolfo Lozada Jr., told a Senate investigation that the President’s husband, Jose Miguel Arroyo, and former Commission on Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos benefited from the alleged overpricing of the ZTE contract.
Former socio-economic planning secretary Romulo Neri also accused Abalos of allegedly trying to bribe him to favor the ZTE bid, and that he told the President about the alleged offer.
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Chinese don’t understand NBN row–Trade secretary
MANILA, Philippines — The Chinese government is asking the Philippines why the national broadband network (NBN) contract with ZTE Corp. continues to generate controversy months after it was scrapped.
Trade Secretary Peter Favila said a “high ranking [Chinese] official” made the statement to him recently, around the same time ex-government consultant Rodolfo Noel Lozada Jr. testified before the Senate inquiry into the alleged corruption surrounding the contract.
“In fact ngayon tinatanong nila sa akin, Secretary, sinuportahan namin kayo sa inyong panawagan na kanselahin [ang kontrata], kinansela na. Bakit hindi pa kayo matapos-tapos diyan [now they are asking me, Secretary, we supported you when you asked that the contract be cancelled, and it has been cancelled. Why aren’t you through with it]?” Favila told reporters at the Palace.
“E hindi ko na masagot yun. Siguro ang mananagot na niyan lahat ng nagiimbestiga nyan [I can no longer answer that. Maybe the ones who should answer are those investigating it],” he added.
Favila was tasked by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to negotiate with Chinese officials on the suspension and eventual cancellation of the NBN contract.
Arroyo ordered the contract cancelled after the Senate opened its inquiry into the allegations that the deal was tainted by overpricing and kickbacks to which the President’s husband, Jose Miguel, and close ally, resigned Commission on Elections chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr., have been linked.
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Arroyo calls for ‘new people power’
MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo has called for a “new people power,” wherein the public would keep a close watch on legal processes to ensure that the truth would come out.
Speaking at the start of a Cabinet meeting in Malacañang Tuesday, the President also asked the Department of Justice and the Ombudsman to be “fair and truthful” in its investigations.
The DoJ and the Ombudsman are investigating allegations of corruption surrounding the $329 million national broadband network contract between the government and China’s ZTE Corp.
“Dapat pagtulungan natin lahat, gobyerno, simbahan, mamamayan at media, upang mapatunayan ng mamamayan ang katotohanan at katarungan sa ating mga institusyon ng demokrasya at hustisya. [The government, the
Church, the people, and the media should help each other, to prove to the public that there is truth and justice in our democratic and legal institutions],” she said.
“Ito ang bagong people power, nagbabantay sa mga proseso ng batas upang lumabas ang buong katotohanan [This is the new people power,
watchful of legal processes to ensure that the truth will come out],” the President added.
Provincial governors were present during the Cabinet meeting.
Local officials from Benguet province pledged their support for the President in a video conference during the first part of the meeting, which tackled the government’s Food Summit, set on April 4.
The President is fighting off fresh calls for her resignation amid allegations that her husband, Jose Miguel, and former Commission on
Elections (Comelec) chairman Benjamin Abalos pocketed millions of dollars in kickbacks from the alleged overpricing of the NBN project.
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Deadline all the time 