HIGHWAY ROBBERY

HIGHWAY ROBBERY, PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

That’s how I describe the 250 percent increase in the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) toll from Alabang, Muntinlupa to Calamba, Laguna beginning today.

The increase is supposedly for the recovery of investments on improvements in that portion of the SLEX.

But I and my friends from Laguna and Batangas have noticed that:

The expressway IS NOT 100 PERCENT EVEN. May mga lugar na LUBAK-LUBAK or ALON-ALON pa rin, like the approach to the first overpass after Alabang.

Except for those in gasoline stations, THERE IS HARDLY ANY (a lot even told me NONE) emergency toilet or phone on the roadside. Lights are installed only near exits to some towns and not on the entire Alabang to Calamba stretch.

There are no water stations for overheating vehicles, or waiting sheds to hide from the sun during summer. As if, guys. NILAKIHAN LANG NG KONTI YUNG APARTMENT MO, DALAWA’T-KALAHATING DOBLE na agad ang upang gusto ng may-ari.

If this isn’t VULGAR, SHAMELESS HIGHWAY ROBBERY, we need another dictionary.

I am all-out for the recovery of any investment by any investor on any project.

But the question is, will us customers, or end-users GET OUR MONEY’S WORTH? Does the improvement JUSTIFY THE PRICE INCREASE?

To affected motorists and commuters, here’s what you can do:

Join forces and immediately DEMAND for an independent COSTING AND AUDIT of the actual worth and expenses for the improvements being charged by the SLEX operator.

Ask for a detailed accounting and computation on WHY an immediate 250 percent increase in the toll is justified. If necessary, ask your senators, congressmen and governors for help.

Do this PUBLICLY. Let everybody know you’re not carrying the CROSS you have just received without justification. Kung mayroong hindi tutulong, IYON ANG HINDI NINYO DAPAT IBOTO sa 2013 elections.

To the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB), I sincerely hope you have contingency plans on HOW TO DEAL with the INCREASES in transport fare and cost of goods that will be definitely be triggered by the toll hike.

To our senators and congressmen: a protesting lawyer has claimed before the Supreme Court that the tollway contracts did not undergo public bidding nor direct negotiation and the investors did not undergo pre-qualification by the TRB.

Wouldn’t it be interesting for you to clarify these points? TENS OF MILLIONS of commuters and motorists will carry this 250-percent CROSS.

***

Congratulations to the Senate for passing on third and final reading the Batas Kasambahay Bill authored by Sen. Jinggoy Estrada.

Finally, here’s a measure that would give our maids, or kasambahay, the benefits and protection they so rightfully deserve.

There are two very vital and timely provisions of the bill.

One is salary increases for the kasambahay – from P800 to P3,000 in Metro Manila, P650 to P2,500 in key cities and first-class municipalities and from P550 to P2,000 in other areas.

This will end the seemingly UNSTOPPABLE line of UNPAID or UNDERPAID kasambahays by abusive employers.

The other is a prohibition on employers from forcing or compelling the kasambahay to buy goods or avail of services from them or their friends and in their stores or businesses.

TAPOS ang maliligayang araw ng mga MAGUGULANG NA AMO.

I’m not a kasambahay but thanks a lot, dear senators, for passing this bill and not being ningas-kugon towards it. You have given hope for a better life for the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of our often-neglected kasambahays and their loved ones.

The House of Representatives must also pass its own version before final processes begin for the bill to be signed into law by President Aquino.

To our distinguished congressmen: please include the kasambahay bill in your TOP PRIORITIES when you resume sessions this month. Please join the Senate in ending as soon as possible the sufferings and exploitation of our kasambahays.

***

Now just a minute, presidential spokesman Edwin Lacierda.

If a survey says 93 percent of the people are welcoming 2011 with high hopes, IT DOESN’T FOLLOW that it’s because of your Administration.

Published results of the survey DID NOT SHOW any specific attribution by the respondents to the Aquino Government as the reason for their high optimism. That’s why it was TRAGIC AND PATHETIC for you to still publicly thank the people since the results were a sign of continued trust on your Administration.

The Aquino Administration, Mr. Lacierda, is not the ONE AND ONLY REASON, the BE ALL l AND END-ALL, for anyone to have high hopes for 2011.

A fresh college diploma, a new job or scheduled promotion at work, recently-concluded deals between businessmen and their clients, newly-approved loans for businesses – these are just some reasons for anyone to be optimistic about 2011.

Reasons DEFINITELY NOT because of the Aquino Government. I would readily stand corrected, sir, if you or anyone else can prove that I’m wrong.

***

Attention, Bataan residents: PLUNDER and other criminal raps against your former Gov. Ding Roman have been GATHERING DUST at the Office of the Ombudsman for some five years now.

You had better JOIN FORCES and rock the Ombudsman into resolving the case before it’s too late.

Roman can already ask for a dismissal of the charges if no ruling will be made since failure to prosecute a case is prohibited under the law.

You guys lost some P200 million of your taxes to the principal and interest on a loan obtained by the Roman Administration for a housing project which was never completed.

Baka MATALO kayo ng WALANG KALABAN-LABAN.

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This is OUR CORNER. Your views and reactions, for or against mine, will be most welcome everyday of the week. Just be sure to include your complete name and email address, and contact number if possible. “The Truth is…” will be online by 6 a.m. . May God bless us all and a most prosperous 2011 to everyone. 30

What is Noynoy talking about?

To anti-graft bodies and organizations: If you want to get deeper into the Ombudsman-Carlos Garcia plea bargain ‘MIIRACLE’, consider this:

Keep a close eye on those who were involved in the deal. And I mean ALL, including the approving authorities.

Watch out for whoever will SUDDENLY GO ON VACATION, ESPECIALLY ABROAD. Take note of who suddenly has a NEW CAR, HOME, or EXPENSIVE JEWELRY.

Or those who will suddenly treat their colleagues to an expensive lunch or dinner, especially for days without end.

Once you find one, ZERO IN on him or her.

Ten is to one, that person gained MATERIALLY from the Garcia plea bargain and knows the true story behind the ‘miracle.’

Why do I dare say so?

As former Ombudsman Sonny Marcelo points out, Garcia’s wife had ADMITTED that the family’s wealth had come from BRIBES and funds from military contracts.

Garcia had also failed to present a legitimate source of his massive riches, a crystal-clear proof that his wealth was DIRTY.

But miracle of miracles, Ombudsman prosecutors SPARED Garcia from plunder and allowed him to plead guilty to the lighter offense of bribery and money laundering.

Only the INSANE or the IDIOTS AMONG THE IDIOTS would believe that this ‘miracle’ came for free, or out of compassion for a CORRUPT, ageing general.

It would be very interesting to CHECK ON THE BANK ACCOUNTS of those involved in the Garcia ‘miracle.’

Remember guys, under the ‘miracle’, ONLY P130 million of the P303 million he was accused of illegally amassing as chief military comptroller, must be returned by Garcia.

That means a cool P173 million is still UP FOR GRABS.

***

President Noynoy Aquino declared at Rizal Park yesterday that the people can already feel the gains of his administration’s management of the economy.

WHAT’S HE TALKING ABOUT?

Among others, PRICES of FOOD and other BASIC COMMODITIES remain SKY HIGH. Same thing with oil prices. LRT and MRT FARES are set to INCREASE for MILLIONS of commuters.

South Luzon Expressway tolls will go up by some 250 percent starting Saturday. Public transport fare increases will definitely follow.

BUDGET CUTS for services for the poor in government hospitals are set, as well as in the education sector.

LAHAT NG ITO, PAHIRAP SA MAHIHIRAP. And there’s NO SUBSIDY or any program from where the poor can earn extra income for these burdens.

WHERE ARE THE GAINS, MR . PRESIDENT?

Mr. Aquino claimed the employment situation is improving. He cited the addition by the business process outsourcing firm Convergys of two more floors at its San Lazaro branch.

Convergys IS NOT the only one in its industry. Neither is business process outsourcing the only job sector in the country. Therefore, Convergys DOES NOT REPRESENT the jobs sector alone. To use it as a measure of progress is DECEIVING, to say the least.

Tell me, guys: Is life GETTING BETTER for you or your loved ones? Can you buy more goods and services now than before? DO YOU FEEL any of the gains being claimed by Noynoy?

***

The discovery of P64.33 billion in unaccounted government funds in the Bureau of Treasury calls for at least two immediate, iron-fist actions.

SUSPENSIONS, MASS SUSPENSIONS, if necessary and COURT INTERVENTION.

Whoever is, or are, involved in the handling and custody of these funds and its records must be pulled out of their posts at once to prevent them from influencing any audit or investigation.

And I don’t mean just the rank-and-file who had immediate or direct access to these records.

Their BOSSES, even the NATIONAL TREASURER and the FINANCE SECRETARY, should not be spared for FAILING, IF NOT ALLOWIING, this mess to happen, and grow to monstrous proportions.

As Sen. Ralph Recto puts it, the Department of Finance, which oversees the treasury, has no idea how much idle cash it has with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and accredited banks.

No one must be given any more chances to HIDE OR DESTROY, or ALTER AND MANIPULATE records or evidence. to clear themselves of any liability under any probe.

The Commission on Audit (COA) reported that the treasury failed to provide its investigators with documents on the discrepancies between cash in its books and those under cash in bank, receivables and sinking funds.

So where the hell are the documents? HOW MUCH MISSING BILLIONS, or UNLIQUIDATED BILLIONS IN CASH ADVANCES, are some treasury people trying to hide?

Documents DISAPPEAR only if it’s PROOF of a fraud. If there’s nothing wrong with it, there’s NO REASON for it to vanish. But remember guys, the issue here is P64.33 BILLION in unaccounted funds and records DISCREPANCIES.

Have the documents been BURNED? SHREDDED? Tossed to the garbage collector?

Legal processes must be undertaken, PRONTO, to obtain SUBPOENAS for the documents. SEARCH WARRANTS for the homes of the documents’ custodians, or even those of their friends and relatives, must be considered.

WHOEVER DELAYS moves to produce the documents is as GUILTY as those behind this mess. May they BURN IN HELL even while they’re still alive.

How many millions of starving urban poor could have been fed with the P64.33 billion? How many millions of homes or school buildings, could have been built? Or books for poor students bought, or livelihood projects launched and jobs or income-earning opportunities generated?

To our honorable senators and congressmen, here are 64. 33 billion reasons for you to conduct an IMMEDIATE inquiry.

***

This is OUR CORNER. Not just mine, OURS. Your views and reactions, will be most welcome everyday of the week. Just be sure to include your complete name and email address, and contact number if possible. I will be online starting at 6 a.m. May God bless us all and a most prosperous 2011 to everyone. 30

i'm back

Hi, guys, I'm back. Join me as I look again at the issues behind the headlines. Once more, allow me to enlighten you on what the truth really is.

***

The stomach of Noynoy Aquino and his boys to continuously attack the Supreme Court (SC) is nothing short of AMAZING, and DESPICABLE.

From being an Arroyo court, Noynoy now laments, like a grade one kid deprived of his milk, that the SC is singling him out.

This despite the following FACTS, or TRUTHS:

The SC also turned down SEVERAL, not just one but several, legal moves of the Arroyo Administration. Anybody can check this in the records of the court.

With this alone, how can Noynoy still have the NERVE to say that the SC is singling him out?

The SC gave all interested parties all the time and opportunity to argue their case for or against the Commission..

It’s not the justice’s fault if Noynoy’s boys DID NOT HAVE THE COMPETENCE to prepare a LEGALLY CONVINCING order and argument for the ratification of the Commission.

From the start, Noynoy CATEGORICALLY declared that the Commission was SOLELY for going after the Arroyo Administration, the main ground cited by the SC in deciding that it violates the equal protection clause of the law and is thus unconstitutional.

Only much later did Aquino’s boys add that the Commission can also go after previous administrations.

Four of the five dissenters for the nullification of the Commission are also appointees of the former president.

And like any other court, the SC decides on what is presented before it, NOT HOW THE PRESIDENT of the country wants it I’m not a lawyer but I dare anybody to show me any law that says courts must rule based on the President’s wishes or on public sentiment, perceived or otherwise.

If I see one, I will readily run it. If not, I appeal to everyone not to join NOYNOY and his tribe in their continued BASELESS DISRESPECT of and ARROGANCE toward the SC.

Unless you can prove that in doing so, we won’t be FURTHER DIVIDED as a people, as a nation.

***

Lauro Vizconde and Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) chief Persida Rueda-Acosta can do one very simple thing to solidify their petition for the reversal of the Supreme Court decision acquitting Hubert Webb and company of the massacre of his family.

PRESENT PROOF, IN PUBLIC, of what they describe as questionable documentary evidence of Hubert being in the US at the time of the crime.

Vizconde and Acosta claim that Hubert’s airline ticket and passport were inadmissible as evidence because these were only photocopies and the originals were never presented, as required under the rules.

There should be no problem for the airline company and the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to CONFIRM the authenticity or forgery of these documents.

Acosta also said the passport appeared tampered due to some soiled pages, non-alignment of the perforated passport number, Webb’s different signatures and collarless shirt in the photo which is prohibited by the DFA.

Surely, the DFA would not find it difficult to explain this.

The BOTTOM LINE should be EVIDENCE, INDISPUTABLE EVIDENCE. The raging media war between all parties involved in the case WILL NOT do any good to anybody. The only winners will be those STARVING FOR PUBLICITY

Consider this, Mang Lauro: NOTHING is proven by WORDS ALONE.

**

I see four possible reasons for the continued refusal of Sen. Ping Lacson to surrender and face murder charges over the Dacer-Corbito killings.

First—he is indeed GUILTY and just could not stand going to jail.

Second -- he is simply DICTATORSHIP and ARROGANCE personified that for him, justice is HOW HE WANTS IT and not how the LAW says it should be. His mental stability should also be checked by now.

Third – He is innocent but afraid that MUCH MORE SERIOUS secrets of his might be uncovered in the course of a probe or a court trial.

Fourth – His life, and probably even those of his family, would be in danger if he comes out and is questioned on the Dacer-Corbito murders, regardless of what he says.

A Philippine Military Academy graduate and a senator, Lacson is smart enough to realize that he CANNOT DICTATE the rules of the justice system.

He definitely knows that his being a senator does not exempt him from the charges he is facing. And that once he proves his innocence in court, he can file counter-charges against those who besmirched his honor.

But still, it’s either his terms and conditions or he doesn’t come out. What could be Lacson’s HEAVIER THAN THE WORLD reason for this continued WANTON DISREGARD of the law and DICTATORIAL CONDUCT?

I won’t speculate, for now, on what’s actually running in Lacson’s mind. Just take note guys, he’s the only key personality in hiding because of the crime.

Former President Erap Estrada, who had been once linked as the brains behind the slays, and ex-Lacson man Cesar Mancao are out in the open.

***

This is OUR CORNER. Not just mine, OURS. Your views and reactions, for or against mine, will be most welcome everyday of the week. Just be sure to include your complete name and email address, and contact number if possible. I will be online starting at 6 a.m. May God bless us all and a most prosperous 2011 to everyone. 30