It has been almost three weeks since alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet Lim Napoles handed over a written affidavit to Justice Secretary Leila de Lima and despite persistent calls for her to make public the Napoles disclosures, De Lima has refused to do so, claiming that she still had to vet the allegations on the affidavit. … Read More »
Please say it ain’t so, Secretary De Lima. If the Aquino administration is really serious in going after the corrupt in Philippine society and in eliminating graft and corruption in the country, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima has to assure the Filipino people that the government would prosecute all those who were involved in the greatest public… Read More »
Here we go again. After Budget Secretary Florencio Abad was tagged as the alleged mentor of businesswoman Janet Napoles in designing the P10-billion pork barrel scam, Malacanang spokespersons were quick to point out that Abad still enjoys the trust and confidence of President Aquino. Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma said Aquino would not be affected by the… Read More »
Now I can understand why Communications Secretary Sonny Coloma has become Malacanang’s preferred spokesperson. Presidential Spokesperson Edwin Lacierda is too confrontational and his biases and prejudices are just too obvious for a person speaking on behalf of the President. In contrast, Coloma is cool, cautious and diplomatic. Take the case of the allegations of Czech Ambassador Josef… Read More »
With its access to Philippine military bases a foregone conclusion, the United States has recently been very aggressive in its stance against China’s aggression in Asia and the Pacific. News reports have been coming out the past few days from Washington of State Department, Defense Department and Congress officials, saying in explicit terms that the United States… Read More »
The signing of the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro (CAB) between the Philippine government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front expectedly drew mixed reactions from various sectors. While foreign governments and local business leaders welcomed the peace agreement, in the words of Vice President Jojo Binay, as “the first step in the long journey to peace and… Read More »
Two feisty woman officials reminded us last week why campaigns against corruption in the Philippines never succeed. They don’t succeed because after the corrupt acts are exposed and publicized, there is no follow-up, much less prosecution of the accused. Chairman Grace Pulido-Tan of the Commission on Audit (COA) has ordered the agency’s officials to monitor compliance with… Read More »
In my previous column, I said the Philippines should expect more aggressive bullying by China in the disputed seas in the coming weeks because the Crimea crisis has divided the focus and forces of the United States between that part of Europe and Asia. Indeed, on March 9, just a few days after Russian troops seized Crimea,… Read More »
When Russia sent its troops to Ukraine’s Crimea province purportedly to protect the Russian-speaking population in the region, the action reignited the second Cold War between Russia and the United States that actually began more than five years ago but eased in the last couple of years with the seeming cooperation between the two countries in negotiations with… Read More »
The murder of Zamboanga Judge Reynerio Estacio Sr. of the Zamboanga Regional Trial Court last Friday by two motorcycle-riding men brought to focus once more the culture of impunity that has pervaded Philippine society for decades. The ambush also brought to fore the worsening peace and order condition in the country and the incompetence of the country’s law… Read More »