Ang Magdalo

Lumang balita na pero ngayon ko lang nakita.

Sa isang artikulo ni Howie Severino, tinanong niya kung bakit ba Magdalo ang itinawag nina Senador Trillanes sa kanilang grupo?

Ayon sa campaign materials ni Senador Trillanes, ang pangalan ay isang pagpupugay sa grupo nina General E.A. Aguinaldo na siyang namuno sa rebolusyon ng mga Pilipino laban sa mga Kastila at giyera laban sa mga Amerikano.

"The name “Magdalo” is homage to Emilio Aguinaldo’s faction of the Katipunan Chapter in Cavite that supported and pushed for a revolutionary government as a replacement for the Katipunan."

Gusto ni Senador Trillanes na maiugnay ang kanyang pangalan sa mga adhikain ng magdalo at ni General Aguinaldo.

"Is Trillanes, then, the Aguinaldo of this time?

He could very well be. Coming from a military family, where his father is a graduate of the Philippine Military Academy, it is not difficult to deduce the path he’d take, even if he has an Electronics and Communications Engineering degree from De La Salle University"

Ang nakaligtaan lang ni Senador Trillanes, o baka naman hindi niya talaga alam, ay mas kilala ang grupong Magdalo sa pagpatay kay Gat. Andres Bonifacio. Ayon nga kay Howie Severino

"Magdalo was one of the quarreling factions in Cavite that Andres Bonifacio tried to reconcile. But in leaving his bailiwick in the hills around Montalban, the Katipunan's Supremo eventually lost his life. Some history buffs believe that enticing Bonifacio to unfamiliar territory was a Caviteno plot to grab power. "

Ang nakakatawa, at ang hindi ko maubos maisip, ay ang pagsuporta ng ilang kaliwete, na ang inspirasyon ay ang rebolusyon ng maralitang Pilipino sa pamumuno ni Gat Andres, sa isang organisasyon na ipinangalan sa grupo na kumitil sa buhay ni Gat Andres na siyang naging hudyat sa pagkuha ng mga ilustrado ng pamumuno sa rebolusyon.

Rally sa Manila Pen

Ayon sa abugado ni Senador Trillanes, hindi daw rebelyon ang ginawa nina Senador Trillanes sa pag-okupa ng Manila Peninsula, eto daw ay isa lamang rally. Kung sa isang rally ay tipikal na nagdadala ng baril ang mga sumasama at nakikipagbarilan sa mga pulis.

Di ba? Kala ko matapang si Senador Trillanes, hindi pala niya kayang pangatawanan ang kanyang mga aksyon. Kala ko galit sila sa mga legal maneuverings ng mga politiko at mayayaman na may mga kaso, ganun din pala ang gagawin niya.

Hipokrito.

Trillanes the Trapo

Newsbreak reports that when Sen. Trillanes was campaigning, he promised not to avail of pork barrel funds and has just broken that campaign pledge.

"Just more than a month ago, Senator Trillanes broke that campaign pledge.

He asked for the release of P100 million of his pork barrel, citing projects that included help for poor patients and infrastructure. His lawyer and chief of staff Reynaldo Robles confirmed that Trillanes indeed made that request despite a previous declaration that he would not touch his pork. He changed his mind, Robles said, upon the advice of “people from the Senate, his consultants, and myself.” If he didn’t use it, Robles reasoned out, somebody would.

Surely Trillanes knew that long before he was elected senator, that if he didn’t use his pork somebody would? What was he thinking when he made that campaign pledge, that he could justify breaking it as long as the situation called for it? For that seems to be his emerging track record now, justifying everything—including a sloppy tactical plan at The Pen—as long as he felt that the situation called for it."

Note: I am not saying that pork barrel allocations or using pork barrel funds is bad. I think there are valid arguments for allowing pork barrel allocations. I'm just sick of people basically using pork barrel allocations as the symbol of all that is wrong in Philippine politics, yet use them when they are elected into office. If they are wrong per se, then, even if you are doing good projects, then you are contributing to a higher evil.

Nakuha sa E-mail

TOP TEN REASONS WHY TRILLANES AND COMPANY SHOULD HAVE GONE TO VICTORIA COURT INSTEAD

1. They were only gonna stay for a 'short time' anyway
2. Bishop Labayen and Fr. Robert Reyes could have heard **confessions
3. They could have wet the towels in the jacuzzi to combat tear gas
4. There are no wedding receptions in Victoria Court. Only honeymoons.
5. It always has more people than Manila Pen
6. The APC won't know which garage to park
7. The ceiling mirrors would have thrown off the raiding party.
8. ABS-CBN could have done an episode of XXX and The Buzz while covering the coup
9. 'What happens in Victoria Court stays in Victoria court

Overkill

This is the latest meme that seem to be spreading regarding the police strategy that made Sen. Trillanes and Gen. Lim surrender and weep without bloodshed.

Can the police have used lesser force? Probably, but why should they? You have Sen. Trillanes and his lawyers saying on television that they are prepared to die for their cause, you prepare for the worst. You try to overpower them, anything less and you endanger the civilians and the policemen trying to suppress the coup plotters.

But those criticizing the strategy seem to criticize the strategy of storming the plotters themselves, they seem to prefer the Oakwood strategy of wooing the plotters out of the building with another agreement between them.

That is bullshit, Sen. Trillanes does not deserve to be treated in a special way, this is the second time he tried this, why should he be treated with kid gloves again. Wooing them out of the building is giving them another forum to air their demands and inflates their egos. They should be treated like the coup plotters they are.

Common Criminal

Just heard Atty. Bautista in ANC complaining that the police treated Sen. Trillanes and Gen. Lim as common criminals. It seems that he wants the two coup plotters given special treatment. I thought that they were doing what they did for the common tao, but they do not want to be treated like the common tao.

Hypocrisy anyone?

A Special Thank You to the Police

The Trillanes fiasco, ended with no one injured. It could easily have been a tragedy, but the police and military succeeded in flushing out Sen. Trillanes and his supporters with teargas. The story however was not on how great the police were in defusing the situation but on how totalitarian they are for arresting whiny reporters who if the police and military did their job less professionally could have been dead or injured.

So I am thanking the policy and military for the very professional and competent way they handled the situation.

Special Privilege

The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility issued a statement on the detention of the media people who covered Trillanes' fiasco.

"Never in the turbulent recent history of the Philippines has any government, including that of Ferdinand Marcos, ever taken into custody members of the media who were on the scene to do their jobs.

But the arrest of the media people who were covering the take-over of the Peninsula Hotel by Senator Antonio Trillanes’ Magdalo group is not only unprecedented. It is also an outrage, and a telling indication of the authoritarian depths into which the Arroyo regime has fallen in its obsession with political dominance. The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility condemns this latest attack on the Philippine press as an assault not only on its Constitutionally-protected freedom, but also on democracy itself.

The arrests took place when the crisis was over, and Trillanes and company were already in police custody. The arrests can only be interpreted as one more attempt, together with libel suits and other harassments, to intimidate the Philippine press into either minimal or less aggressive reporting of political events. Media practitioners will remember this incident well, and some are likely to be affected enough to soften future coverage.

The Defense Secretary’s excuse that the police had to verify the identities of the media people covering the Peninsula Hotel crisis because there could be Magdalo members and sympathizers among them is totally unacceptable. Their identities were verifiable on-site, with some them being TV anchors well-known to millions of television viewers.

That members of the media, among them technical personnel and camerapersons as well as radio broadcasters and TV anchors, were being arrested at the very moment that Mrs. Arroyo was on the air describing her commitment to democracy was especially ironic. But it was also typical of the Arroyo regime’s rhetorical and contrived adherence to democracy and the rule of law.

The regime’s continuing assault on press freedom, free expression and freedom of assembly, of which this incident is only the latest, deserves condemnation. CMFR calls on all media, free expression and journalists’ groups in this country as well as abroad to denounce this atrocity as a willful act to inflict collateral damage on the Philippine press for doing its mandated responsibility of providing the sovereign public the information it needs."

The first paragraph is the "it was not done before so it must be wrong defense". Much like Sen. Saguisag's defense of President Estrada, no Philippine President was charged with corruption before so charging President Estrada must be wrong. Just because it was not done before does not mean it is not a good idea, and if you think about it for a minute, it is a good idea to get the statements of all people involved in a crime scene whether they are guilty or not. In fact, this should be the standard operating procedure of the police.

Then they go to the "it is an attack on media freedom" argument. How can getting statements from reporters who witnessed a crime be an attack on media freedom? And even as the reporters were being herded into the buses, ABS-CBN and GMA 7 were televising the whole event. All of their guests were unanimous in saying that they will only be detained until their identity is established. Where is the attack in that? Are reporters so privileged that they cannot now be questioned by the police regarding a crime they witnessed?

In fact this is argument the CMFR makes when it argues that the reporters should not have been brought to Camp Crame Bagong Diwa because "Their identities were verifiable on-site, with some them being TV anchors well-known to millions of television viewers." So because they are reporters and they are known by millions of people, they should be exempted? Will they argue the same for rich famous guys found in other crime scenes?

The life of a journalist in the Philippines is hard and dangerous enough, and they will encounter a lot of problems. But this is not one of them.

It was not done before...

so it must be wrong defense. I heard several ABS-CBN reporters using this defense to criticize the PNP in bringing their reporters to Camp Crame Bagong Diwa to establish their identity and maybe question them on the details of the Trillanes fiasco.

But the fact that it was not done before does not necessarily mean that it is wrong to do so. Is it wrong to try and identify who the real reporters are? Is it wrong to ask the reporters what they saw to establish evidence against the coup plotters?

Curfew

A curfew was imposed in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog from 12 midnight to 5 AM. I just heard Korina Sanchez opining that this has not happened since Martial Law, as if nothing out of the ordinary has happened.

Conspiracy Theory: Maybe Sen. Trillanes is actually in cahoots with the President so they can impose their creeping Martial Law.

Update:

Sabi ni Gen. Razon, exempted yung public transport sa curfew, exempted din yung mga magta-trabaho sa call center, pati yung mga mag-biyahe galing sa probinsiya, at yung kailangang humabol sa eroplano. Pero sarado yung mga bars sa Malate. :)

Update 2:

Here is the official guidelines for the curfew. I was also watching Atty. Lambino being interviewed in ANC and it is her opinion that the announced curfew is void because there is no applicable law allowing it. Here is the PCIJ story on the curfew

Alternative?

The Trillanes show called on President Arroyo to resign and the formation of a caretaker government headed by the Chief Justice of the Supreme court.

I would have been more sympathetic to their cause if I can get myself to trust Sen. Trillanes. But I can't, he has tried to overthrow a government that he does not approve off twice, how can we be sure that he will not do so again, even if it was a government that he helped form?

Another thing, they say that the Chief Justice will lead the caretaker government, but we don't know who will rule. Who will govern, how can we be sure that an un-elected government that has just demonstrated that they are willing to circumvent the democratic process to get what they want will actually follow the democratic process.

Dictatorship is not an alternative to democracy.

Tapos na

Nagbibgay na ng statement si dating Bise Presidente Guingona. Lalalabas na daw sila sa Manila Peninsula. May video na ulit ang ABS-CBN na nakatutok sa labas ng Manila Peninsula kung saan mukhang nag hihintay na lang yung mga pulis.

Pinaparatangan nila ngayon ang gobyerno na may sala dahil ni-teargas nila ang mga tao na nasa loob ng Manila Peninsula. Sabi niTrillanes napaka ruthless daw ng gobyerno na ni-teargas sila para matapos na ang kanilang coup o baka mas hysterics ang tamang kataga.

Kaya daw sila lalabas ay dahil sa mga sibilyan para hindi sila masaktan. Hindi nila naisip na kung hindi sila nag walk out sa kanilang hearing at ni-occupy ang Manila Peninsula hindi malalagay sa panganib ang mga sinasabi nilang sibilyan.

Obligatory Marx quote again

“Hegel remarks somewhere that all great, world-historical facts and personages occur, as it were, twice. He has forgotten to add: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce.”

Actually tragi-comic na nga yung Oakwood, ngayon nakakatawa na lang sila.

Hihintayin daw nila na mag disperse ang teargas bago sila lumabas.

Nagsasalita na lang si Trillanes at mga kasama niya ng propaganda. Nasa diyaryo na naman si Trillanes bukas.

Disagreeing with AKBAYAN

I've always voted AKBAYAN and will continue to do so. I believe that the party genuinely represents the interests of Filipinos. I agree with the AKBAYAN statement that a peaceful resolution is the best solution. On the other hand...

Yes, the incident in Makati should not be surprising, but not because of the "abuses committed by the GMA administration", but because coup plotters in the Philippines have always got away with it. From former Senator Tolentino, to Sen. Honasan to Sen. Trillanes, Filipino's have awarded them with high public office.

The fact that Sen. Trillanes was not allowed to serve as a Senator is a should not be an issue. He was charged with a crime and it was ruled that he cannot be allowed to leave his confinement. And apparently, if we go be todays events, the court was correct to rule that way. Not being allowed to serve was always a possibility since Sen. Trillanes already had charges against him while he ran for office, 11 million Filipinos rolled the dice and still voted for him. They lost the bet.

This is a patent grab for political power, they called for the President and Vice-President to resign and called for people to go to Makati and support them. This should be treated a a coup plot and should be resolved as a coup plot. With Sen. Trillanes again thrown in jail and additional cases brought against him.

The Manila Peninsula should also give Sen. Trillanes the bill for his occupation of the hotel and the lost revenues from the departure of the hotel guests.

AKBAYAN Execom Statement

A crisis of institutions

The incident unfolding in Makati City today is not surprising. It is a logical conclusion to the abuses committed by the GMA administration, from the dismissal of the impeachment complaint to the clamp down of democratic and constitutional processes.

The situation is a result of the refusal of the government to address allegations of fraud and corruption squarely. The administration has evaded and manipulated constitutional processes to hold GMA accountable for allegations of monumental fraud. It compromised attempts to investigate with impartiality allegations of corruption involving the NBN deal; what we have witnessed instead is the brazen giving of pay-offs to legislators and local government officials. It manipulated the military and used coercion to persecute the opposition, as evidenced by the spate of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances..

Sen. Trillanes is an elected public official, and his mandate to serve is clear and not clouded by cheating and electoral fraud. He was elected with 11 million votes, and even the Senate, through a resolution, affirmed his right to represent his constituency and voted in favor of his serving as Senator. His election reflected the predominantly anti-administration sentiment of the people, and yet the GMA government continued persecuting him and the Magdalo soldiers, with their politically-motivated trial dragging for four years and Sen. Trillanes himself blocked from serving in the Senate.

The nation must root out the problems that have led to this incident. The ‘Hello Garci’ controversy, the onerous NBN deal, the alleged bribery of legislators and governors, the sham impeachment complaint filed against GMA, and the politically-motivated trial of soldiers involved in the Oakwood mutiny fueled this confrontation, and the crisis would continue to fester as long as the corruption charges and legitimacy questions leveled against the GMA administration are not resolved with credibility.

AKBAYAN urges all forces to seek a peaceful and civilian solution to this incident. We must avoid bloodshed at all cost, and democratic solutions to this problem are only possible through non-violent means. No deadline should be imposed on the Magdalo soldiers since it would only create a climate conducive to a bloody confrontation between the soldiers. A deadline should be imposed for the realization of democratic, peaceful, and credible resolutions to political crisis, and not on a crisis situation that could potentially be violent.

We warn the administration against the use of force to end the situation. The withdrawal of support has so far been peaceful, and the AFP and PNP must not initiate a violent response to the crisis. We warn the government against using the situation to enforce authoritarian measures against the opposition and the public in general.

We support efforts for negotiation to avoid bloodshed. However, negotiations must be founded on a more lasting resolution to the conflict: a credible closure to the allegations of fraud and corruption against the GMA administration, an end to extrajudicial killings, and the strengthening of our democracy.

Akbayan Execom

People Power ni Trillanes

Mas marami pa yung reporters kaysa sa mga People Power supporters ni Trillanes. Sana naman matuto na siya na mas gusto ng mga Pilipino na binoboto ang mga namumuno sa kanila.

Trillanes tries another coup

"A group of soldiers led by Senator Antonio Trillanes and Brigadier General Danilo Lim has called on the security forces to withdraw support from the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo."

After this, the senate should just expel the bum. Anybody who would try to subvert the will of the people after being elected by the same people should be thrown out of his elected position.

Sources:

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=103777
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=103779
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=103784
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/metro/view_article.php?article_id=103788
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view_article.php?article_id=103794
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/topstories/topstories/view_article.php?article_id=103771
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=103805
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/infotech/view_article.php?article_id=103810
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/nation/view_article.php?article_id=103812

Witness 2

We already know that Mr. Hermann Tiu Laurel believes that the US and Philippine governments are bloodthirsty enough to kill their own citizens.

Adding to Mr. Laurel's paranoia is Sen. Trillanes' witness Abdul Rahman aka Ronald Ramos who we last heard claiming that he "cased" Glorietta for a special operations group of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales. Which convinced him that "the surveillance job is linked to the Glorietta blast". No matter that no bomb materials were found in the scene.

Now, Mr. Abdul Rahman has expanded on his story. He now claims that along with 7 other people

"He ... had specific orders to case certain places for possible bombing targets even as he said he had reported to his bosses that the House of Representatives has a lax security and that the best place to lodge a bomb in Congress was at the parking lot and at the Speaker’s podium at the plenary hall."

He further claims that they had

"instruction from their superiors was to “case” certain buildings for possible bombing targets to create a scene of unrest and to blame the incident on the RSM."

and that Secretary Gonzales himself told him to “Do your job properly.”

So let me get this straight. Secretary Gonzales, is ruthless enough to kill his own countrymen, including members of Congress. Intelligent and wily enough to blame the Ayala group for the explosion in Glorietta and cover-up the presence of the bomb conspiring with or befuddling the PNP, the Australian Forensic Police and the FBI. Possibly blame political enemies of the Akbars for the Congressional bombing and cover up the truth again with the PNP and possibly other foreign investigators but he will be dumb enough to tell 8 people that he wants them to "case" several buildings so that he may bomb them.

Somehow that doesn't seem realistic to me. And anybody who believes such a story is a moron.

Mag Isip naman kayo

Nadiyaryo na naman si Senator Lacson dahil sa pagbunyag niya ng katibayan na magkakilala nga si Judge Macarambon at si dating Comelec Commissioner Garcilliano. Ang kanyang katibayan? Magkasama sa isang Fraternity yung dalawa.

Ha? Sumakit tuloy ang ulo ko. Ibig bang sabihin ni Senador Lacson lahat ng kasapi at naging kasapi ng isang fraternity ay magkakakilala? Anong klaseng logic yan? Nag-iisip ba itong mga Senador natin? Simpleng logic naman, it does not follow, sa latin, non sequitur.

Kahapon lang sumakit din ang ulo ko kay Senador Trillanes, at sa kanyang witness, minanmanan niya ang Glorietta samakatwid ang Gobyerno ang nagpasabog dito. Diba, logical.

Diyos ko. At bakit pinapabayaan ng mga diyaryo na magbigay ng mga ganitong klaseng pahayag ang mga senador na ito. Dapat pinagtatawanan lang itong mga ganitong klaseng pahayag para matuto sila at sa susunod ay magdala ng mas matibay na katibayan.

Witness

The witness of Senator Trillanes has come forward.

"The witness told ABS-CBN News correspondent Jay Ruiz that he surrendered to the government and worked for a special operations group of National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales along with members of the Armed Forces of the Philippines-National Capital Region Command (AFP-NCRCom) from 2004-2006.

He claimed that his job was to monitor a number of malls in Metro Manila, including the Glorietta shopping complex.

"Tinitignan ko ang security sa Glorietta, sabi ko sa report pinaka-mahina ang security sa Glorietta (I monitored the security of Glorietta and reported that it had the weakest)," Ramos said.

While admitting he has no solid-proof evidence, Ramos is convinced the surveillance job is linked to the Glorietta blast."

And Senator Trillanes believed this story? This guy, by his own admission only monitored the security of different Malls, and reported his findings to his superiors. And from there, he comes to the conclusion that his superiors ordered the bombing of the Mall with the least security. Yes, that would be my conclusion too, if I were a nut.

Maybe we should be more generous with Ronald Ramos alias Abdul Rackham, after all, he was a member of the Raja Solaiman Movement. The previous times he monitored buildings was probably with the intention of bombing them. He probably does not understand the concept of monitoring various buildings with the idea of protecting them.

But in his statement, Senator Trillanes says that he has

"information obtained from my own network of informants in the AFP and the intelligence community.”

Is this person his network? If not, is he the best proof his network of informants in the AFP intelligence community can produce? After weeks of posturing? This is his proof?

I will make a deal with Senator Trillanes however, I will believe him if he can produce the bomb materials that the PNP, the Australians et al. were unable to find. With his retinue of AFP informants, that should be easy.

Trillanes, liar or just gulllible?

When the Glorietta blast happened, Senator elect Trillanes immediately put out a press release accusing National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon as the people behind the act.

On another press release the next day he writes

“As a person, and now as an elected lawmaker, I do not just make statements out of pique, or without anything to stand on, or to grandstand. I have information obtained from my own network of informants in the AFP and the intelligence community.”

When the Philippine National Police (PNP) presented their findings that the blast was actually an accident and not deliberate he still insisted that his version of the story is the true one

"Insisting that he knows certain information that would point to National Security adviser Norberto Gonzales and AFP chief of staff Hermogenes Esperon as possible authors of the Glorietta 2 blast, and brushing aside criticisms of his accusation as being irresponsible and without basis, opposition senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV today said he will prove his accusations in a Senate investigation."

They even wrote to the Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) protesting an editorial cartoon

"The Inquirer editorial cartoon showing Sen. Antonio F. Trillanes IV thinking aloud that he needs to “rework” his “strategy of speaking without thinking” (Inquirer, 10/24/07) may be an expression of opinion, but it is also a presumption of the senator’s frame of mind toward his work. It has completely no basis.

It is flatly false because Trillanes did not whip out of thin air his charge that Norberto Gonzales and Hermogenes Esperon have something to do with the Glorietta 2 explosion. He has received credible and reliable information about this and is prepared to tell all that he knows and is ready to present his witnesses in an investigation to be conducted by an independent, impartial and credible body. He has, in fact, made a step further. He will present his witnesses in a Senate probe and has filed a resolution to this effect."

To be fair, not a lot of Filipinos immediately believed the PNP report that the blast was an accident. Filipinos are a cynical bunch when it comes to their government. The PDI itself urged the PNP not to rush to any conclusion. A corroborating agency was required to support the PNP.

Today, the PDI itself obtained a copy of the report of the Australian Forensic Police (AFP), that concluded that

“there was no evidence to suggest that the explosion had been caused and/or initiated by an improvised explosive device.”

I think, that settles the question. The Australian Forensic Police has backed up the conclusion of the Philippine National Police.

Where then did Senator Trillanes find his witnesses against National Security Adviser Norberto Gonzales and AFP Chief of Staff Hermogenes Esperon? Did he make them up to get himself in the front pages of the papers or were they real and he was just a dupe for people who wanted to destabilize the Philippine government and replace the sitting President? Are there other explanations that does not make him look crazy or stupid?

Whatever the truth is, this proves that he should not have been elected Senator of the Philippines. It proves that he's almost as out of control as Senator Santiago.

Update:

I just saw the poll that they are running on the blog asking their readers

"What do you think caused the Glorietta 4 explosion?"

88% believes that "A bomb planted by State Sponsored Operatives" was the cause of the explosion.

I am not sure if any corroborating evidence, even by the FBI will convince these people that the explosion was an accident. I may be witnessing my first ever Philippine conspiracy theory akin to the 9/11 truthers in the United States.