Here's a copy of the 2006 impeachment complaint against Gloria Arroyo. It was trashed by the GMA-loyal congressmen even before the content was heared and deliberated upon. Many of us know that more impeachable offenses has been committed after this complaint.
Click here to download
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Monday, March 17, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Statement of the Ateneo Debate Society
Statement of the Ateneo Debate Society
Why We Should Call for Arroyo's Resignation
We have achieved moral certainty that there is enough
basis to call for resignation.
NBN-ZTE deal
There is an obvious, deliberate attempt to hide truth from the public about the anomalous circumstances surrounding the ZTE contract. Despite testimonies by Jun Lozada and Joey de Venecia pertaining to direct involvement of the President and by FG, Malacanang's only response was to invoke EO 464 and refuse to disclose records of the ZTE deal.
Hello Garci
Comelec officials have not been punished for glaring anomalies in the last presidential elections. Despite evidence showing Arroyo intervening by talking to a Comelec Commissioner, and an admission from Arroyo herself of doing so, justice still has not been served.
Extrajudicial killings
The administration has not answered for its involvement and continues to coddle implicated personalities like Gen. Palparan. International institutions, such as Amnesty International, have condemned the administration for, at the least, gross negligence resulting to the deaths of hundreds.
Other unanswered anomalies
The Fertilizer Fund scam exposed by Jocjoc Bolante, who explained how funds were diverted to Arroyo's 2004 campaign. The North Rail project, wherein the Philippine government purportedly lost hundreds of millions of pesos on an overpriced contract. The Telecoms Franchise Bill, where FG allegedly asked for a 50-million peso bribe for the President to lift her
veto.
Moral certainty is different from legal certainty.
Demanding evidence to meet legal certainty falls prey to the rhetoric of the Arroyo administration. Clearly, the law was framed to enable trust in the government by its people. In this situation, that trust has been breached. Legal certainty is not the absolute barometer for deciding when people should engage in protest action against a specific regime. Moral repugnance justifies a call for new, more credible leadership.
Meaningful reform is impossible under the Arroyo administration.
Efforts to institute reform have been co-opted. The Ombudsman is appointed by the administration and is perceived to be largely pandering to Arroyo's interest. The DOJ is run by Raul Gonzalez, who has proven to be extremely loyal to Arroyo. Laws like the anti-plunder law and institutions like the PAGC have been unable to hold the administration and its officials to task.
The current corruption problem is not a problem of legislation. While the existing laws are essential, and proposed ones like the Access to Information Bill can empower the citizenry in their desire to improve government accountability, they need to be accompanied by public confidence in the government's commitment and willingness to implement them. Corruption is an issue of leadership. Massive distrust in the highest official signifies that government is no longer perceived as effective in discharging its duties. This negativity only harms the nation in the long-run.
The logic that we should wait for other people to make up their minds or come out with more evidence is erroneous.
This is a chicken and egg argument. If we all take a lead, it becomes easier for institutions, like the CBCP, to heed our call. It also becomes easier for people with pertinent information to come out.
The potential ineptitude of the succeeding administration is not an excuse to allow an illegitimate regime to stay in power.
Should Noli de Castro become the President, the challenge is for the citizenry not to disengage simply because they achieved the goal of Arroyo's resignation, which was civil society's folly post-EDSA 2.
A military takeover will not necessarily follow from a call for resignation.
There was no military takeover when calls were made for Estrada to resign. Military adventurism has never worked without popular support, as evidenced by Oakwood and Manila Peninsula.
We believe that the removal of the Arroyo administration presents a crucial opportunity to institute reforms and changes to which this current administration has been deaf. A call for resignation is not only constitutional, but more importantly, moral.
Statement from Ateneo Debate Society
Joseph James E. Alcantara
IV AB Social Science, Ateneo de Manila University
Varsity Debater & Adjudicator, Ateneo Debate Society
Vice-President for PR & Comm., Ateneo Debate Society
Team Manager, Ateneo de Manila Track and Field Team
President, Social Science Circle
Moderator, Grade School Debate Club
Why We Should Call for Arroyo's Resignation
We have achieved moral certainty that there is enough
basis to call for resignation.
NBN-ZTE deal
There is an obvious, deliberate attempt to hide truth from the public about the anomalous circumstances surrounding the ZTE contract. Despite testimonies by Jun Lozada and Joey de Venecia pertaining to direct involvement of the President and by FG, Malacanang's only response was to invoke EO 464 and refuse to disclose records of the ZTE deal.
Hello Garci
Comelec officials have not been punished for glaring anomalies in the last presidential elections. Despite evidence showing Arroyo intervening by talking to a Comelec Commissioner, and an admission from Arroyo herself of doing so, justice still has not been served.
Extrajudicial killings
The administration has not answered for its involvement and continues to coddle implicated personalities like Gen. Palparan. International institutions, such as Amnesty International, have condemned the administration for, at the least, gross negligence resulting to the deaths of hundreds.
Other unanswered anomalies
The Fertilizer Fund scam exposed by Jocjoc Bolante, who explained how funds were diverted to Arroyo's 2004 campaign. The North Rail project, wherein the Philippine government purportedly lost hundreds of millions of pesos on an overpriced contract. The Telecoms Franchise Bill, where FG allegedly asked for a 50-million peso bribe for the President to lift her
veto.
Moral certainty is different from legal certainty.
Demanding evidence to meet legal certainty falls prey to the rhetoric of the Arroyo administration. Clearly, the law was framed to enable trust in the government by its people. In this situation, that trust has been breached. Legal certainty is not the absolute barometer for deciding when people should engage in protest action against a specific regime. Moral repugnance justifies a call for new, more credible leadership.
Meaningful reform is impossible under the Arroyo administration.
Efforts to institute reform have been co-opted. The Ombudsman is appointed by the administration and is perceived to be largely pandering to Arroyo's interest. The DOJ is run by Raul Gonzalez, who has proven to be extremely loyal to Arroyo. Laws like the anti-plunder law and institutions like the PAGC have been unable to hold the administration and its officials to task.
The current corruption problem is not a problem of legislation. While the existing laws are essential, and proposed ones like the Access to Information Bill can empower the citizenry in their desire to improve government accountability, they need to be accompanied by public confidence in the government's commitment and willingness to implement them. Corruption is an issue of leadership. Massive distrust in the highest official signifies that government is no longer perceived as effective in discharging its duties. This negativity only harms the nation in the long-run.
The logic that we should wait for other people to make up their minds or come out with more evidence is erroneous.
This is a chicken and egg argument. If we all take a lead, it becomes easier for institutions, like the CBCP, to heed our call. It also becomes easier for people with pertinent information to come out.
The potential ineptitude of the succeeding administration is not an excuse to allow an illegitimate regime to stay in power.
Should Noli de Castro become the President, the challenge is for the citizenry not to disengage simply because they achieved the goal of Arroyo's resignation, which was civil society's folly post-EDSA 2.
A military takeover will not necessarily follow from a call for resignation.
There was no military takeover when calls were made for Estrada to resign. Military adventurism has never worked without popular support, as evidenced by Oakwood and Manila Peninsula.
We believe that the removal of the Arroyo administration presents a crucial opportunity to institute reforms and changes to which this current administration has been deaf. A call for resignation is not only constitutional, but more importantly, moral.
Statement from Ateneo Debate Society
Joseph James E. Alcantara
IV AB Social Science, Ateneo de Manila University
Varsity Debater & Adjudicator, Ateneo Debate Society
Vice-President for PR & Comm., Ateneo Debate Society
Team Manager, Ateneo de Manila Track and Field Team
President, Social Science Circle
Moderator, Grade School Debate Club
Friday, March 7, 2008
Joke making the rounds: Magnanakaw
A thief broke into the Palace kitchen,
bumped into Evil Bitch and her husband.
They froze, thief flees screaming
"DIOS KO, MAGNANAKAW!"
bumped into Evil Bitch and her husband.
They froze, thief flees screaming
"DIOS KO, MAGNANAKAW!"
Monday, March 3, 2008
Friday, February 29, 2008
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has no basis to continue in office
The following statement was unanimously approved by the UP Diliman University Council, the highest academic body in UP Diliman composed of senior faculty members.
27 February 2008
GMA MUST GO!
A Statement of the University Council of the University of the Philippines Diliman
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has no basis to continue in office.
On 13 July 2005, at the height of the Garci Scandal, the University Council (UC) of the University of the Philippines Diliman—called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign immediately. She did not resign.
The UC observed that all her acts are "a direct assault on nearly all the values we hold sacred in the academe."
Since then, there has been an unprecedented number of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances – which includes two U.P. students, Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.
Corruption in the highest places continues unabated and remains unaddressed. Institutions which were created by the Constitution or the law to safeguard accountability have either been ineffective or rendered ineffective. Official government response to requests for information on matters of public concern has been to thwart the truth either by the invocation of Executive Privilege or by threats issued to the working media. The exercise of basic freedoms has been met with repressive measures such the Calibrated Pre-emptive Response (CPR) and Presidential Proclamation 1017. This criminal regime resorts to kidnapping and massive bribery to prevent the truth from coming out.
Despite GMA's insistence that she does not tolerate corruption, she has been forced by public pressure to admit that she knew about the kickbacks long before the Senate investigations on the NBN-ZTE deal. As a result, she has entrapped herself in a web of lies.
When GMA is caught lying, she either stonewalls or orders an investigation which churns out prefabricated results. These actions are in stark contrast with two objectives which are cherished by the University – getting at the truth and forging a democratic society. Both of these are obviously anathema to GMA. Public Office is a public trust. All public officials are accountable to the people at all times. This is one of the core principles enshrined in our Constitution. The President's previous silence on the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal and her belated admission of prior knowledge violate this core principle. This is only the latest of her violations.
As an academic community we know that the truth cannot be found in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In UP's Centennial year, the faculty continues to uphold its tradition of being one with our people. We commit ourselves to the struggle to build a progressive society and a responsible and accountable government which subscribes to the principle that sovereignty resides in the people and all governmental authority emanates from them.
But first, GMA must go!
27 February 2008
GMA MUST GO!
A Statement of the University Council of the University of the Philippines Diliman
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has no basis to continue in office.
On 13 July 2005, at the height of the Garci Scandal, the University Council (UC) of the University of the Philippines Diliman—called on President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to resign immediately. She did not resign.
The UC observed that all her acts are "a direct assault on nearly all the values we hold sacred in the academe."
Since then, there has been an unprecedented number of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances – which includes two U.P. students, Karen Empeno and Sherlyn Cadapan.
Corruption in the highest places continues unabated and remains unaddressed. Institutions which were created by the Constitution or the law to safeguard accountability have either been ineffective or rendered ineffective. Official government response to requests for information on matters of public concern has been to thwart the truth either by the invocation of Executive Privilege or by threats issued to the working media. The exercise of basic freedoms has been met with repressive measures such the Calibrated Pre-emptive Response (CPR) and Presidential Proclamation 1017. This criminal regime resorts to kidnapping and massive bribery to prevent the truth from coming out.
Despite GMA's insistence that she does not tolerate corruption, she has been forced by public pressure to admit that she knew about the kickbacks long before the Senate investigations on the NBN-ZTE deal. As a result, she has entrapped herself in a web of lies.
When GMA is caught lying, she either stonewalls or orders an investigation which churns out prefabricated results. These actions are in stark contrast with two objectives which are cherished by the University – getting at the truth and forging a democratic society. Both of these are obviously anathema to GMA. Public Office is a public trust. All public officials are accountable to the people at all times. This is one of the core principles enshrined in our Constitution. The President's previous silence on the anomalous NBN-ZTE deal and her belated admission of prior knowledge violate this core principle. This is only the latest of her violations.
As an academic community we know that the truth cannot be found in Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
In UP's Centennial year, the faculty continues to uphold its tradition of being one with our people. We commit ourselves to the struggle to build a progressive society and a responsible and accountable government which subscribes to the principle that sovereignty resides in the people and all governmental authority emanates from them.
But first, GMA must go!
Monday, February 25, 2008
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 +1 ...
NEWS RELEASE
25 February 2008
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 +1 ...
Scientists tabulate: Corruption, cover ups, and lies keep adding up under GMA's rule
Taking off their lab coats and glasswares, activist scientists are today joining the mobilizations calling for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Scientists and engineers from AGHAM or the Samahan ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Sambayanan and the broad coalition Scientists for Truth, Scientists for Change (STSC) will be bringing protest flasks to the mobilization commemorating the People Power revolts today in Manila.
Corruption keeps on piling up
Government corruption scandals, AGHAM observed, have been exponentially increasing while President Arroyo remains in power.
"It is like tabulating a non-terminating list of corruption cases, cover ups and lies. For the past few weeks, the public has witnessedthe revelations made by Engineer Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr.
who provided credible testimony on the multi-million dollar overpricing of the ZTE National Broadband Network deal," said AGHAM Chairperson Dr. Giovanni Tapang.
"Then add the unresolved scandals of this administration that it similarly tried to quell down: the massive fraud in the elections of 2004, the Hello Garci scandal, extrajudicial killings, Proclamation 1017, charter change and widespread graft and corruption," Dr. Tapang
said.
"This administration has gone to great lengths in violating our rights, undermining our institutions and promoting a climate of impunity just to stay in power. The Arroyo administration will go to brazen lengths to silence the whistleblowers who tryto expose
corruption. Arroyo's allies, for instance, kidnapped Lozada and are now engaged in legal pressure as well as dirty smear tactics against Lozada," Dr. Tapang said.
"The Arroyo administration's latest effort to keep hereself in power now involves putting up surveillance cameras to monitor the opposition and militants who are calling for her removal in office. We Filipinos are now at greater risk of intrusion and surveillance from their very own government with the Human Security Act also known as the Anti-Terrorism Act. With the use of computers and other technologies, we are now subjected to an almost constant surveillance system that enables the government to eavesdrop on phone calls, listen for certain keywords and track your location and activities," Dr. Tapang said.
Gloria doesn't know good solutions
Beyond the corruption scandals, the AGHAM Chairperson said, the Arroyo administration has so far failed to nurture and provide for the needs of the struggling science and technology (SnT) sector in the Philippines.
"Gloria will not make a good chemist since she doesn't know any good solutions for genuine development. Her deliberate moves to sell our national patrimony and her refusal to build our own domestic industries has contributed to and aggravated the exodus of talented scientists and engineers from our country," Dr. Tapang said.
Tapang said that while Arroyo aims to build a strong economy, she is selling all our mineral and energy resources to foreign investors without due regard to its impact on our industrialization and the plunder of our environment. Scientists and engineers are dangled funding support without resolving the reasons that drive many of us to go abroad or change careers, added Dr. Tapang.
"To be first world, the government has to develop local industries and wean itself from dependence on foreign investments. Even if you increase the DOST budget or provide scholarships and funding, if the only companies that will be able to use them are foreign-owned and controlled, how can there be direct benefit for the Filipino people from our scientists' discoveries?" asked Tapang.
"Even in information technology, Gloria's promises will not bring us development. From the National broadband network with the Chinese that is tainted with graft and corruption to the opening of more call centers and data processing operations, these are geared towards providing services to other countries even if there are no local industry and services that are built here in our own," he said.
Scientists want integrity, truth, and change
AGHAM will be mobilizing more of its members and networks from the scientific community in the coming days in protest against President Arroyo's continuing stay in power, Dr. Tapang said.
"We, engineers, scientists and technologists can no longer ignore the corruption of this government. We condemn its utter disregard of our rights and institutions, engendering a climate of impunity and revealing the unwillingness of Arroyo to heed the strong clamor for her to resign despite the stack of evidence against her. This government commits crimes with impunity because it seriously believes it can get away with anything. It abuses its power to cover up its tracks, thinking the we the people are stupid enough to believe anything," Dr. Tapang stressed.
"We seek the truth. We support Engr. Lozada, who finished electronics and communications engineering at UST in 1984, in standing for truth and exposing the details that confirms the extent of corruption within this government," Dr. Tapang said.
"We join the people's call to exercise their sovereign right to bring about a government that is independent, moral, and pro-people in the face of Arroyo administration continued efforts to usurp it. We call Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to account for these scandals and for her policies that allow the plunder of our economy and natural resources. We add our voices to calls for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down or be ousted and join hands with the rest of the Filipinos who are disgusted with corruption, cheating and cover-ups," Dr. Tapang concluded. ###
Reference: DR. GIOVANNI TAPANG, National Chairperson, 09286974804,
gtapang@ gmail.com
25 February 2008
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 +1 ...
Scientists tabulate: Corruption, cover ups, and lies keep adding up under GMA's rule
Taking off their lab coats and glasswares, activist scientists are today joining the mobilizations calling for the ouster of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
Scientists and engineers from AGHAM or the Samahan ng Nagtataguyod ng Agham at Teknolohiya para sa Sambayanan and the broad coalition Scientists for Truth, Scientists for Change (STSC) will be bringing protest flasks to the mobilization commemorating the People Power revolts today in Manila.
Corruption keeps on piling up
Government corruption scandals, AGHAM observed, have been exponentially increasing while President Arroyo remains in power.
"It is like tabulating a non-terminating list of corruption cases, cover ups and lies. For the past few weeks, the public has witnessedthe revelations made by Engineer Rodolfo "Jun" Lozada, Jr.
who provided credible testimony on the multi-million dollar overpricing of the ZTE National Broadband Network deal," said AGHAM Chairperson Dr. Giovanni Tapang.
"Then add the unresolved scandals of this administration that it similarly tried to quell down: the massive fraud in the elections of 2004, the Hello Garci scandal, extrajudicial killings, Proclamation 1017, charter change and widespread graft and corruption," Dr. Tapang
said.
"This administration has gone to great lengths in violating our rights, undermining our institutions and promoting a climate of impunity just to stay in power. The Arroyo administration will go to brazen lengths to silence the whistleblowers who tryto expose
corruption. Arroyo's allies, for instance, kidnapped Lozada and are now engaged in legal pressure as well as dirty smear tactics against Lozada," Dr. Tapang said.
"The Arroyo administration's latest effort to keep hereself in power now involves putting up surveillance cameras to monitor the opposition and militants who are calling for her removal in office. We Filipinos are now at greater risk of intrusion and surveillance from their very own government with the Human Security Act also known as the Anti-Terrorism Act. With the use of computers and other technologies, we are now subjected to an almost constant surveillance system that enables the government to eavesdrop on phone calls, listen for certain keywords and track your location and activities," Dr. Tapang said.
Gloria doesn't know good solutions
Beyond the corruption scandals, the AGHAM Chairperson said, the Arroyo administration has so far failed to nurture and provide for the needs of the struggling science and technology (SnT) sector in the Philippines.
"Gloria will not make a good chemist since she doesn't know any good solutions for genuine development. Her deliberate moves to sell our national patrimony and her refusal to build our own domestic industries has contributed to and aggravated the exodus of talented scientists and engineers from our country," Dr. Tapang said.
Tapang said that while Arroyo aims to build a strong economy, she is selling all our mineral and energy resources to foreign investors without due regard to its impact on our industrialization and the plunder of our environment. Scientists and engineers are dangled funding support without resolving the reasons that drive many of us to go abroad or change careers, added Dr. Tapang.
"To be first world, the government has to develop local industries and wean itself from dependence on foreign investments. Even if you increase the DOST budget or provide scholarships and funding, if the only companies that will be able to use them are foreign-owned and controlled, how can there be direct benefit for the Filipino people from our scientists' discoveries?" asked Tapang.
"Even in information technology, Gloria's promises will not bring us development. From the National broadband network with the Chinese that is tainted with graft and corruption to the opening of more call centers and data processing operations, these are geared towards providing services to other countries even if there are no local industry and services that are built here in our own," he said.
Scientists want integrity, truth, and change
AGHAM will be mobilizing more of its members and networks from the scientific community in the coming days in protest against President Arroyo's continuing stay in power, Dr. Tapang said.
"We, engineers, scientists and technologists can no longer ignore the corruption of this government. We condemn its utter disregard of our rights and institutions, engendering a climate of impunity and revealing the unwillingness of Arroyo to heed the strong clamor for her to resign despite the stack of evidence against her. This government commits crimes with impunity because it seriously believes it can get away with anything. It abuses its power to cover up its tracks, thinking the we the people are stupid enough to believe anything," Dr. Tapang stressed.
"We seek the truth. We support Engr. Lozada, who finished electronics and communications engineering at UST in 1984, in standing for truth and exposing the details that confirms the extent of corruption within this government," Dr. Tapang said.
"We join the people's call to exercise their sovereign right to bring about a government that is independent, moral, and pro-people in the face of Arroyo administration continued efforts to usurp it. We call Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to account for these scandals and for her policies that allow the plunder of our economy and natural resources. We add our voices to calls for Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down or be ousted and join hands with the rest of the Filipinos who are disgusted with corruption, cheating and cover-ups," Dr. Tapang concluded. ###
Reference: DR. GIOVANNI TAPANG, National Chairperson, 09286974804,
gtapang@ gmail.com
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