Saturday, September 03, 2005
Who took the flowers?
Where have all the flowers gone?They've been replaced by movements. Alliances. Coalitions. Created by people like Cory Aquino, Corason Soliman, Horacio Morales, Panfilo Lacson, Jejomar Binay, and their ilk to destabilize the Philippine Islands. Now, movie stars are even being used (exploited?) anew by these persons who are terribly sick in spirit to topple down the government. How far can they go? How far are they willing to go just to achieve their aims? Only the people can tell.
Marichu and Common Sense
COMMONSENSE
By Marichu A. VillanuevaThe Philippine Star
09/02/2005
I almost puked when I saw and heard again two former Cabinet officials of President Arroyo making public testimonies to their purported personal knowledge of more cases of her alleged indiscretions to save herself from ouster by impeachment.
The two, Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, former secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Florencio Abad, ex-Department of Education (Dep-Ed) secretary, made the latest accusations against Mrs. Arroyo in a press conference in Makati City
The two ex-Cabinet officials are members of the so-called "Hyatt 10" who resigned from their respective posts and joined the calls for the resignation of President Arroyo from office after she apologized for a "lapse in judgment" during last year’s May elections.
Soliman, with her signature brightly colored hair streak, dished out with a cracked voice near tears, her "true confession" about a supposed conversation she allegedly overheard between President Arroyo and presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio.
What was disgusting was the fact that while Soliman could indeed be telling the truth, she could not possibly have had this opportunity to be within hearing distance of such conversation of Mrs. Arroyo and Claudio at the Palace had she not been a member of the official family of the President.
In the case of Abad, the former Dep-Ed secretary revealed official discussions that they, as former Cabinet members, had with the President on why she should not heed demands for the removal of some of her administration officials associated with her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
As alter-egos of the President, these "kiss-and-tell" antics of Dinky and Abad spoke ill of the quality of the Cabinet that Mrs. Arroyo has for her official family.
Let’s compare them to Cabinet officials of two former Presidents of the Republic who were ousted from office after losing popular support, specifically, the late Ferdinand Marcos and deposed President Joseph Estrada.
The two former Presidents were both thrown out of office. Marcos was kicked out during the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution while Estrada was herded out during the so-called EDSA-2 in January 2001. Mrs. Arroyo’s former Cabinet officials wanted her ousted.
Except former Defense Minister Juan Ponce-Enrile who led the military mutineers in 1986, no bitter words were ever spoken by the Marcos Cabinet members against their former leader if only to save their own skin when the administration of former President Corazon Aquino took over the government.
Former Prime Minister and at the same time Finance Minister Ceasar E.A. Virata and former Central Bank Governor and later Education Minister Jaime Laya are still around but they never spoke ill of the late leader who until now has never been convicted of the alleged crimes imputed to him.
Not one of Estrada’s Cabinet members, not even former Trade and Industry Secretary and now Senator Mar Roxas III bad-mouthed the deposed President when he left his Cabinet at the height of the impeachment in Congress in 2000.
It was only Roxas and former Science and Technology Secretary Felimon Uriarte who resigned from the Estrada Cabinet when he was impeached. In the case of Uriarte, the former DOST secretary was pressured by his Couples for Christ colleagues to resign.
A tearful Uriarte even asked permission from and apologized to Estrada before he made public his curt resignation without any drama nor theatrics as to why he did so. He has kept his peace since then.
They stuck it out through thick and thin with their maligned Chief Executive true to their sworn oaths of office and will take to their graves the dark secrets of their tenure.
Estrada’s former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu and former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado cannot be considered in this category because the two left the previous administration in totally different circumstances.
Estrada gave Espiritu a graceful exit in 1999 and did not publicly fire his former Finance Secretary for the latter’s conflict of interests while in office.
Espiritu testified against Estrada at the impeachment trial in the Senate and subsequently at the Sandiganbayan. Lest I be cited for covering matters sub judice, I cannot go into the details of their testimonies at the Sandiganbayan where Estrada has been undergoing trial for plunder the past four years and three months now.
Mercado, on the other hand, joined EDSA-2 when the military top brass supported the groups behind Mrs. Arroyo, then Vice President and DSWD Secretary, in the ouster plot against Estrada.
Was Mrs. Arroyo the role model followed by the "Hyatt 10" men and women who professed their love for country and presented themselves as patriots when they betrayed the trust and confidence of their former Chief Executive?It is a pitiful sight for these former Arroyo Cabinet officials who tried in vain to appear like martyrs and heroes for the cause of the people when they have been equally guilty of the acts of betrayal of public trust they allege.
Let me share with them these wise counsel from an unknown author: "The measure of a person is not how well he prepares for everything to go right but how gracefully he stands up and moves on after everything goes wrong."
The press conference of Dinky and Abad with some members of the so-called "Hyatt 10" was organized by the newly-formed Black and White Movement (BWM) which is composed of about 20 pro-impeachment groups, including tele-evangelist and defeated presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva.
The BWM press conference preceded the tumultuous tantrum-throwing and walkout by the pro-impeachment House solons to the delight of the people in the gallery who included actress Susan Roces, widow of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.
It is repulsive enough for politicians to resort to dramatic antics but it’s much more revulsive when we see them resorting to theatrics as lawmakers.
Former President Aquino, who earlier added her voice to the resignation calls against President Arroyo, will join Roces at the 6 p.m. Mass hosted by BMW today at the La Salle Greenhills, San Juan. Draw your own conclusions.
mailto:marichu@philstar.net.ph
By Marichu A. VillanuevaThe Philippine Star
09/02/2005
I almost puked when I saw and heard again two former Cabinet officials of President Arroyo making public testimonies to their purported personal knowledge of more cases of her alleged indiscretions to save herself from ouster by impeachment.
The two, Corazon "Dinky" Soliman, former secretary of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Florencio Abad, ex-Department of Education (Dep-Ed) secretary, made the latest accusations against Mrs. Arroyo in a press conference in Makati City
The two ex-Cabinet officials are members of the so-called "Hyatt 10" who resigned from their respective posts and joined the calls for the resignation of President Arroyo from office after she apologized for a "lapse in judgment" during last year’s May elections.
Soliman, with her signature brightly colored hair streak, dished out with a cracked voice near tears, her "true confession" about a supposed conversation she allegedly overheard between President Arroyo and presidential adviser on political affairs Gabriel Claudio.
What was disgusting was the fact that while Soliman could indeed be telling the truth, she could not possibly have had this opportunity to be within hearing distance of such conversation of Mrs. Arroyo and Claudio at the Palace had she not been a member of the official family of the President.
In the case of Abad, the former Dep-Ed secretary revealed official discussions that they, as former Cabinet members, had with the President on why she should not heed demands for the removal of some of her administration officials associated with her husband, First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo.
As alter-egos of the President, these "kiss-and-tell" antics of Dinky and Abad spoke ill of the quality of the Cabinet that Mrs. Arroyo has for her official family.
Let’s compare them to Cabinet officials of two former Presidents of the Republic who were ousted from office after losing popular support, specifically, the late Ferdinand Marcos and deposed President Joseph Estrada.
The two former Presidents were both thrown out of office. Marcos was kicked out during the February 1986 EDSA People Power Revolution while Estrada was herded out during the so-called EDSA-2 in January 2001. Mrs. Arroyo’s former Cabinet officials wanted her ousted.
Except former Defense Minister Juan Ponce-Enrile who led the military mutineers in 1986, no bitter words were ever spoken by the Marcos Cabinet members against their former leader if only to save their own skin when the administration of former President Corazon Aquino took over the government.
Former Prime Minister and at the same time Finance Minister Ceasar E.A. Virata and former Central Bank Governor and later Education Minister Jaime Laya are still around but they never spoke ill of the late leader who until now has never been convicted of the alleged crimes imputed to him.
Not one of Estrada’s Cabinet members, not even former Trade and Industry Secretary and now Senator Mar Roxas III bad-mouthed the deposed President when he left his Cabinet at the height of the impeachment in Congress in 2000.
It was only Roxas and former Science and Technology Secretary Felimon Uriarte who resigned from the Estrada Cabinet when he was impeached. In the case of Uriarte, the former DOST secretary was pressured by his Couples for Christ colleagues to resign.
A tearful Uriarte even asked permission from and apologized to Estrada before he made public his curt resignation without any drama nor theatrics as to why he did so. He has kept his peace since then.
They stuck it out through thick and thin with their maligned Chief Executive true to their sworn oaths of office and will take to their graves the dark secrets of their tenure.
Estrada’s former Finance Secretary Edgardo Espiritu and former Defense Secretary Orlando Mercado cannot be considered in this category because the two left the previous administration in totally different circumstances.
Estrada gave Espiritu a graceful exit in 1999 and did not publicly fire his former Finance Secretary for the latter’s conflict of interests while in office.
Espiritu testified against Estrada at the impeachment trial in the Senate and subsequently at the Sandiganbayan. Lest I be cited for covering matters sub judice, I cannot go into the details of their testimonies at the Sandiganbayan where Estrada has been undergoing trial for plunder the past four years and three months now.
Mercado, on the other hand, joined EDSA-2 when the military top brass supported the groups behind Mrs. Arroyo, then Vice President and DSWD Secretary, in the ouster plot against Estrada.
Was Mrs. Arroyo the role model followed by the "Hyatt 10" men and women who professed their love for country and presented themselves as patriots when they betrayed the trust and confidence of their former Chief Executive?It is a pitiful sight for these former Arroyo Cabinet officials who tried in vain to appear like martyrs and heroes for the cause of the people when they have been equally guilty of the acts of betrayal of public trust they allege.
Let me share with them these wise counsel from an unknown author: "The measure of a person is not how well he prepares for everything to go right but how gracefully he stands up and moves on after everything goes wrong."
The press conference of Dinky and Abad with some members of the so-called "Hyatt 10" was organized by the newly-formed Black and White Movement (BWM) which is composed of about 20 pro-impeachment groups, including tele-evangelist and defeated presidential candidate Bro. Eddie Villanueva.
The BWM press conference preceded the tumultuous tantrum-throwing and walkout by the pro-impeachment House solons to the delight of the people in the gallery who included actress Susan Roces, widow of the late presidential candidate Fernando Poe Jr.
It is repulsive enough for politicians to resort to dramatic antics but it’s much more revulsive when we see them resorting to theatrics as lawmakers.
Former President Aquino, who earlier added her voice to the resignation calls against President Arroyo, will join Roces at the 6 p.m. Mass hosted by BMW today at the La Salle Greenhills, San Juan. Draw your own conclusions.
mailto:marichu@philstar.net.ph
