The way the Macapagal-Arroyo administration disposed of an ally former House Speaker Jose De Venecia, and kidnapped a government official Rodolfo Jun Lozada reek of impunity. And impunity, if left unchecked, would usher in a full-blown dictatorship. BY BENJIE OLIVEROS ANALYSIS Bulatlat Vol VIII, No. 2, February 10-16, 2008 When President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her…
Tags: Jose de Venecia
Governance by Arrogance
Next to the Marcos dictatorship, the Arroyo presidency will likely go down in history as the government most vilified apparently due to its use of coercion and intimidation to silence its critics and its presumed enemies. BY THE CENTER FOR PEOPLE EMPOWERMENT IN GOVERNANCE Posted by Bulatlat ANALYSIS Vol. VIII, No. 2, February 10-16, 2008…
The Breaking Point
The highhandedness, the arrogance, the repeated episodes of flagrant abuse of power are all calculated to intimidate, coerce and deter would-be whistleblowers, investigations, and mass protest. What they miscalculate is that strong-arm, illegal and criminal tactics cannot always deter whistleblowers and will even inevitably spur more damaging investigations. BY CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO Streetwise / Business World…
Son of Arrested KMP Leader Seeks Villar, JDV Help to Free Father
The son of Randall Echanis, deputy secretary general of the militant peasant group Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP orPeasant Movement of the Philippines), has sought the help of Senate President Manuel Villar and House Speaker Jose de Venecia to facilitate the immediate and unconditional release of his father. BY GERRY ALBERT CORPUZ Contributed to Bulatlat…
Railroading Charter Change
BY CAROL PAGADUAN-ARAULLO BusinessWorld Posted by Bulatlat.com There are clumsy attempts to create a bandwagon effect by mobilizing the pro-GMA local government officials to manufacture millions of bogus voters’ signatures; by creating media hype through paid hacks and public relations operators; and by utilizing a discredited Commission on Elections (Comelec) to supposedly verify the signatures…
People’s Governance, Not Arroyo’s Charter Change
By Antonio Tujan Jr. Ibon Features Posted by Bulatlat.com The current people’s initiative for charter change is itself a mockery of genuine people’s governance because it reportedly involves bribing voters and local government officials—a classic example of graft and corruption. The shift to a parliamentary system under the proposed charter change (Cha-cha) would “significantly reduce”…