“Kahindik-hindik” (horrifying). That was how Commission on Audit Chairman Ma. Gracia Pulido-Tan described the anomalies involving the misuse of billions of pesos in funds coming from the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or simply the pork barrel. Perhaps a better word would be “nakakasuka” (makes one vomit). The COA special audit report all but confirmed the series of… Read More »
Every time we turn on the television or glance at the newspapers, there has seemed to be a report of an act of violence; gunshots killing teenagers, a son stabbing his own mother to death, drive -by shootings, and mass killings in malls, theaters, schools and other places where people normally gather. The headline or breaking news for… Read More »
~ Philippine Independence Day Council’s Mabuhay Philippine Festival last weekend lived up to its billing as a showcase of the best in Philippine arts, culture, food and music. With the full support of Luminus Financial – the presenting sponsor known for its “remit now, pay later” remittance service to the Philippines – the three-day festivity at Toronto’s Harbourfront… Read More »
Sammy Yatim and Jeffrey Reodica are now statistics. They are among those killed at the hands of Toronto’s finest. “To Serve and Protect”, as a motto it seems is a just slogan emblazoned in bold to decorate police cars that patrol our streets. Both boys, police claim, were shot in self defence. Sammy was shot nine times while… Read More »
CHICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) – The pork barrel, which started as an appropriation by either a Senator or Congressman for certain projects to prop up their standing among their local constituents, might have developed into Frankenstein over time without members of Philippine Congress realizing it that it is fraught with risks. After two People Power Revolutions that toppled Presidents Marcos… Read More »
I thought President Aquino was done blaming all the country’s troubles on the previous administration. But obviously, the blame game continues, and will probably go on for the duration of his term. After a laudable State-of-the-Nation Address in July in which he did not blame the Arroyo administration for the country’s ills for the first time and instead… Read More »
~ A body of work usually speaks eloquently of the person making claims of being such and such an achiever. In the case of a Voltaire de Leon, the self-professed tarsier, he name-calls and badmouths others to lift himself. He mentions a “whorenalist” without knowing it fits him to a T. He claims having written for Balita only… Read More »
Just as the Aquino administration had expressed optimism for lasting peace in Mindanao following an agreement with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) on the establishment of a Bangsamoro entity, the Nur Misuari-led Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) raised the specter of war in the region. Misuari criticized the government’s failure to comply with the provisions of the… Read More »
CHICAGO (FAXX/jGLi) – In the late 1980’s, Eminiano “Jun” A. Riodica, Jr. fled from Los Angeles, California and returned to the Philippines to escape the wrath of hundreds of Filipino Americans he defrauded of millions of dollars in his Ponzi scheme, using his car dealership as his front. Almost at the same time of the Cory Aquino Presidency,… Read More »
I am not a superstition person. I do not believe in all those tales about black cats. How can you avoid a black cat traversing your path if you own the animal? I avoid going under ladders not because of bad luck but it is common sense to avoid an accident. Ladders are not very stable structures Have… Read More »