JAIL THE MARCOSES
ACTIVIST GROUPS WANT MARCOS FAMILY IN JAIL
Rhodina Villanueva (The Philippine Star) - August 29, 2018 - 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Activist groups insisted yesterday they want the
Marcos family in jail and that Filipinos across generations do not want another
dictatorship.
Earlier, Ilocos Norte Gov. Imee Marcos was criticized for her “move on”
remark addressed to her generation, noting the millennials have already put the
martial law issue behind them.
Coming immediately to his sister’s defense, former senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’
Marcos Jr. said he understands his sister’s sentiment about “something that
happened 32 years ago,” referring to the 1986 EDSA revolution that ousted the
Marcos dictatorship.
“We can never sit still knowing that money stolen from the country’s coffers
is still being used to fatten up the pockets of the Marcoses,” Marie Hilao-Enriquez, co-convenor of
the Campaign Against the Return of
Marcoses in Malacañang (CARMMA), said.
“Nobody from that family is in jail for their crimes against the
Filipino people. Worse, they are inches from gaining key national positions
that (may) propel them closer to the country’s top post,” she added.
Enriquez said Imee will be running for senator this coming elections
while her brother is still eyeing the presidency.
Moreover, the group noted that in an interview last week, Bongbong said
he is “ready for the presidency,” following President Duterte’s pronouncement
that he is willing to step down so long as the former senator and losing vice
presidential candidate replaces him.
Bongbong has a pending electoral protest against Vice President Leni
Robredo before the Presidential Electoral Tribunal.
“Duterte has, no doubt, played a big role in the political
rehabilitation of the Marcoses. Despite all the President’s bravado on ending
corruption, he has enabled one of the most corrupt and opportunistic families in
the country,” Enriquez said.
“Indeed, birds of the same feather flock together. Marcos needs
Duterte’s popularity while Duterte needs Marcos to absolve him of his crimes
once he steps down. This is an ideal partnership for rights violators who have
perfected the art of evading justice and accountability,” Enriquez pointed out.
Enriquez said CARMMA was established to expose the lies of the Marcoses
and enjoin the Filipino people to prevent their return to power.
She said an alliance of different groups, sectors and individuals is
currently being strengthened to fight and end the tyranny of Duterte.
“It is incumbent upon the Filipino people to resist and bring down
another dictatorship,” Enriquez said.
Aside from the murders,
disappearances and lack of freedoms during martial law, the Marcoses are
also being taken to task for their unexplained
wealth, as people pointed out that their family could not have possibly amassed what they have without robbing
the country while they were in power.
COA FINDS ILOCOS NORTE HAS MILLIONS WORTH OF DOUBTFUL PURCHASES,
FABRICATED DOCUMENTS
By Regine Cabato, and Ver Marcelo, CNN Philippines
Updated 18:27 PM PHT Tue, July 17, 2018
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 4) — The Ilocos Norte provincial government has millions in questionable
transactions and fabricated bid documents, according to the Commission on Audit
(COA).
The discrepancies were detailed in an annual audit report. They include
the supposed fabrication of bid
documents worth ₱21 million and doubtful
purchases and deliveries worth ₱154 million.
The COA asked Governor Imee
Marcos to address their concerns within 60 days from receipt of its letter,
dated June 21.
CNN Philippines has reached out to Marcos for comment.
Marcos, whose brother Bongbong is pushing his bid for the vice
presidency, was also previously under scrutiny for the alleged misuse of ₱66.45
million in tobacco funds to purchase 40 minicabs and 70 mini trucks.
PLUNDER RAPS FILED VS. BONGBONG MARCOS OVER ‘P205-M PORK BARREL SCAM’
By ELIZABETH MARCELO, GMA News
Published April 6, 2016 2:23pm
Updated April 6, 2016 5:15pm
A group calling itself iBalik ang Bilyones ng Mamamayan (iBBM) on
Wednesday filed a complaint for plunder
against Senator Ferdinand “Bongbong”
Marcos Jr. for his alleged involvement
in the multi-billion-peso pork barrel scam.
In an 18-page complaint filed before the Office of the Ombudsman, iBBM,
led by its spokesperson Rafaela David, said Marcos, his former consultant
Catherine Mae “Maya” Santos and the alleged pork barrel scam mastermind Janet
Lim-Napoles must be investigated for violation of Republic Act 7080 or the
Anti-Plunder Law.
The complaint stemmed from Marcos’ alleged allocation of P205-million
worth of his Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel to the
six of the alleged fake non-government organizations (NGOs) allegedly owned by
Napoles.
The complaint was filed two years after Marcos' fellow senators, Juan
Ponce Enrile, Ramon Revilla Jr., and Jinggoy Estrada, were charged before the
Sandiganbayan for plunder in connection with their own alleged involvement in
Napoles' scam.
It came a little more than a month before the national elections, in
which Marcos is running for vice president.
WHY DOESN’T IT IMPROVE?
By: Peter Wallace - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:24 AM August 30, 2018
Corruption—it’s still alive and well. Transparency International (a
recognized, independent expert on the subject) ranked the Philippines 111th out
of 176 countries in 2017, down 10 spots from 101st in 2016. But the
Philippines’ actual score of 34 was almost unchanged from 35 in 2016.
…No big-time official has gone to jail through a final court decision.
In fact, there’s almost nobody of wealth or influence who’s in jail. And until
there is corruption, the big stuff—which is what matters—will flourish. Forget
the small stuff, that’s simply annoying and would be nice if it were gone. But
it’s the hundreds of millions and the billions of pesos that get stolen with
impunity that is dragging the country down, and that remains unresolved.
The message is clear: If you’re going to steal, steal big. That has to
be changed. But it won’t happen, until some really big fish are clapped in a
crowded jail for life.
In his last State of the Nation Address, Mr. Duterte stressed that he
would not tolerate corruption, and blamed it for the slow construction of
public projects and ineffective implementation of social service programs. He has
fired friends and political supporters linked to corruption, and vowed he would
continue to. But his message would have been stronger if those terminated were
taken to court, charged and convicted.
If he pushed harder for the approval of the Freedom of Information
(FOI) Act, it could help, too. The law could play a central role in his
anticorruption drive. But, instead, it’s gathering dust in both chambers of
Congress. There is an executive order directing government agencies to be more
transparent, but it needs a law to be more effective.
The approval of the FOI law, and actually putting people in jail, could
provide a major boost to the country’s global anticorruption ranking. An
effective anticorruption drive is among the key prerequisites in attracting
more foreign direct investments, which will then help make economic growth more
inclusive. But the Department of Justice and the Office of the Ombudsman have
to be more ruthlessly effective than they are.
Empowering the press and convincing the public to report corruption
could also help. But no one is going to report wrongdoing when impunity
dominates, and when those who do are threatened with retribution by powerful
people. Also, it’s not in Philippine culture to report wrongs, anyway. So, even
though we’re convinced the President himself is not corrupt (despite the
absurdities of Senator Trillanes) and has fired some officials for suspected
corruption, any serious reduction has not been achieved.
And there won’t be, until some
major corrupt officials are found guilty and put in an ordinary, overcrowded jail (400 prisoners in a cell designed
for 100 people) with all the small, forgotten souls. Not in a special,
well-supplied and ventilated room, because they end up corrupting as well the
poorly paid jail officials. Fear of a
life of hell in jail has to dominate
the minds of the crooks in public office.
Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/115717/why-doesnt-it-improve#ixzz5PnW5QwSE
The Marcoses should get out of politics. They will be unable to erase their destructive legacy and are in fact poised to recapitulate and propagate it.
The Marcoses should get out of politics. They will be unable to erase their destructive legacy and are in fact poised to recapitulate and propagate it.
Photo courtesy of Ilocos Norte
ReplyDeletePhoto link: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ilocosnorte/14376485117
Gonzalinho
It is always worth noting who gets to escape justice, and who never gets a second chance.
ReplyDeletePhil Dy @philbertdy
Philippine Daily Inquirer (August 28, 2019)
Gonzalinho
“When do we stop hating the descendants of Marcos?” When they return all our money.
ReplyDeleteKip Oebanda, @kipoebanda
Philippine Daily Inquirer (April 18, 2019)
Gonzalinho
POLITICAL MORALITY
ReplyDeleteThe moral dimension of politics is poorly addressed in our education system, yet political actions have the capacity to inflict grave and far-reaching moral evil affecting millions and millions. Morality that is taught in our private Roman Catholic schools in particular focuses on the moral actions of the individual and generally neglects to take up the morality of political actions that affect many millions. Politics has far-reaching, dramatic, life-altering effects on masses of people so that political morality demonstrates a structural character. Politics is the enabler and perpetrator of social sin. It is according to this aspect that politics strikes at the very core of our moral life, competing directly with individual allegiance to God's law.
Link:
https://oddsandendsgonzalinhodacosta.blogspot.com/2019/06/placeholder-2-of-4.html
Gonzalinho
Marcos did not eradicate corruption, contrary to what Duterte implied. Marcos centralized it: he decided who can steal with impunity among his officials and cronies, but he made sure he got the lion’s share. He stole enough to make it to the Guinness Book of World Records.
ReplyDeleteLuis V. Teodoro, @luisteodoro
Philippine Daily Inquirer (June 19, 2019)
Gonzalinho
Let us now pass on to the consideration of the third great gate of hell by which so large a portion of the damned enter; I mean THEFT. Some, so to speak, adore money as their God, and look upon it as the object of all their desires. The idols of the Gentiles are silver and gold (Ps. ciii. 12). …It is true that theft is not the most enormous of sins, but St. Antoninus says that it very much endangers salvation.
ReplyDeleteThe reason is because for the remission of other sins true repentance only is required; but repentance is not enough for the remission of theft: there must be restitution, and this is made with difficulty.
…My brethren, see that you take not the property of your neighbor, and if during the past you have ever failed in this respect, make restitution as soon as possible. If you cannot at once make full restitution, do it by degrees. Know that the property of another in your possession will not only be the means of bringing you to hell, but will make you miserable even in this life.
…Some persons take the property of their neighbor, and then are fain to quiet their consciences by alms-deeds. Christ, says St. John Chrysostom, will not be fed with the plunder of others. …These are descriptions of theft which require perfect restitution, and a restitution most difficult of all to make, and most likely to be the cause of one's damnation.
—Saint Alphonsus Liguori (1696-1787), The Four Principal Gates of Hell
Gonzalinho
House Bill 7137 declaring Sept 11 as Marcos holiday is a gross disrespect to all victims of the dictator’s atrocities, including the rape survivors under his regime. This legislature (save for the 9 who voted against) will go down in history as traitors to the Filipino people.
ReplyDelete@jeanenriquez
Philippine Daily Inquirer (September 4, 2020)
AN INSULT TO ILOCANOS
By: Solita Callas-Monsod - @inquirerdotnet
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 05:06 AM September 05, 2020
Our Congress is passing a bill declaring Sept. 11 as President Ferdinand Edralin Marcos Day in Ilocos Norte. And with no debate whatsoever. Words fail me. Do the Germans/Austrians celebrate an Adolf Hitler Day anywhere in Germany, or in Braunau am Inn in Austria? Do the Italians celebrate a Benito Mussolini in Predappio, Italy?
We not only will be the LAUGHINGSTOCK OF THE WORLD, [all capitals mine] which held us in the highest respect when we overthrew the dictator peacefully and became a role model for all other similar movements to follow, including the fall of the Berlin Wall, but we will also have pissed on the face of Ninoy Aquino and all the victims of martial law, as well as on our faces—the victims of Marcos’ plunder—for which we had to suffer for almost 16 years before we could regain our former per capita income.
…Now, about this “he is a hero to Ilocos Norte and to most Ilocanos all over the world”: What is the basis of that statement of Senator Sotto? It actually is an insult to Ilocanos. Are they not Filipinos first? Did they not see the devastation that Marcos brought on the Philippines? Did they not witness how he tried to keep himself in power even after 20 years?
So, the dictator Marcos did a lot for Ilocos while he was president. Does that more than compensate for what evil he wreaked on the Filipino people? The Ilocanos are not dumb. And I am sure they are Filipinos first.
My father was an Ilocano (born in Abra, raised in Sta. Maria, Ilocos Sur) who thought the world of Ferdinand Marcos. He was a journalist with the Philippines Free Press and wrote articles defending the young Marcos who was accused of killing his father’s opponent (Julio Nalundasan). He was struck by Marcos’ brilliance and his potential, and was his personal friend. He chose then Senate President Marcos to be a principal sponsor at my wedding (he came, and charmed me, too).
But when President Marcos declared martial law, my father brought me every day to the Supreme Court to hear the martial law case against Marcos. And I remember him sighing, and saying, “if I knew then that he would do this to the Filipino people, I would never have defended him.”
That’s the kind of Ilocano I know. A Filipino first. And someone who would evaluate Marcos not just on the basis of a few, or even many, scraps thrown his way. And I am half-Ilocano. And proud of it. But I am a Filipino first. As I said, Senator Sotto insults the Ilocanos.
Read more: https://opinion.inquirer.net/133322/an-insult-to-ilocanos#ixzz6teyuHYuR
When I was 18, I was tortured and imprisoned by Marcos for 4 years because I criticized him for banning student councils. Many Ilocanos were also imprisoned then. We cannot celebrate the birth of a man who imprisoned and tortured Filipinos. This is adding injustice to our pain.
Neri Colmenares,
@ColmenaresPH
Philippine Daily Inquirer (September 7, 2020)
Gonzalinho
Imelda Marcos was sentenced to serve decades in prison. But the justice system said she was “too old” to go to jail. This is the same justice system that didn’t allow a mother to see her sick 3-month old. #FreeInaNasino
ReplyDelete@misskarmasulu
Philippine Daily Inquirer (October 12, 2020)
Gonzalinho
Just a reminder that Zaldy Ampatuan, mastermind of the Ampatuan massacre that killed 58 people of which 32 were journalists, was granted furlough TO ATTEND A WEDDING back in 2018. Was he cuffed and heavily guarded by a company of police like 23-year-old Reina Nasino? No.
DeleteAdrian P., @AltMAdrianPuse
Philippine Daily Inquirer (October 16, 2020)
Gonzalinho
Humanitarian considerations for plunderers, pardon for a foreigner convicted of murder…but no mercy for activists even if it means mother and child never get to be with each other. Justice in the Philippines.
DeleteBarnaby Lo, @barnabychuck
Philippine Daily Inquirer (October 12, 2020)
Gonzalinho
The Marcoses and the Philippine people are in a dilemma
ReplyDeleteThe Marcoses stole all that money and won’t give it back
They want to remain in politics
You can’t remain in politics with any kind of integrity if you don’t make amends
Either make amends and stay in politics
Or get out of politics
Neither option is feasible, apparently
So we are stuck with a festering social cancer spanning generations
Gonzalinho