Philippines: Two Former Presidents, Catholic Bishops Join "Inter-Faith Rally for Truth"

This is from the Pacific News Center. Church groups are often at the helm of demonstrations against Arroyo. This demonstration attracted two former presidents including Estrada who was ousted by People Power but who now is more popular than Arroyo who took over from him.

Philippines: Two Former Presidents, Catholic Bishops Join 'Inter-Faith Rally For Truth'
Jennifer A. Ng, Pacific News Center Correspondent 01.MAR.08
11:20 a.m. Manila, Philippines - Two former Philippine presidents, Catholic bishops and other religious groups, civil society groups, students, and members of the opposition joined the "inter-faith rally for truth" Friday.

Initial estimates by local media placed the crowd in Ayala Avenue in Makati, the site of the rally, at around 15,000. A stage was set in the area where political and civil society leaders stood and spoke to the crowd.

Former Presidents Joseph Estrada and Corazon Aquino took turns to address the rallyists, whose number, according to some observers, swelled to 80,000 at the height of the rally.

Engr. Rodolfo Lozada Jr., the "star witness" who alleged that First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo and former Commission on Elections chair Benjamin Abalos accepted kickbacks from the Chinese telecommunications firm ZTE to approve the national broadband network deal, also attended the rally.

Local news reports disclose that Jesus is Lord (JIL) movement leader Bro. Eddie Villanueva, who ran for president in the 2004 elections, offered prayers to "enlighten" the President, the military, and for the leaders of the Catholic Church to stand as "the salt and light of the world."

The inter-faith rally was staged to "search for truth" in the botched NBN project and other controversial government projects.

The NBN deal and other infrastructure projects like the Northrail project have been alleged as "overpriced" due to kickbacks given to government officials.

- Pacific News Center International

Philippines: What haunts Gloria?

It is rather ironic that Gloria fears people power even though she herself was originally placed into power to a considerable extent by people power. The editorialist it seems to me is looking at the events through the lens of the present rather than how it was seen at the time. Certainly masses of people were involved as well as many clerics and left wing organisations. Now Gloria fears that the people may throw her out using people power again so the hatches are battened down on the anniversary of Edsa II when Joseph Estrada was overthrown. A further irony is that the deposed but pardoned Estrada is more popular than Arroyo!


What haunts Gloria?


EDITORIAL
01/21/2008

The so-called Edsa II revolt, proved to be a historical misnomer because it was actually a coup d’etat led by certain elitist groups and then Vice President Gloria Arroyo, remains in the calendar of Malacañang and yesterday, Jan. 20, should have been a day of celebration and thanksgiving for Gloria.

The day, however, is marked by Gloria with fear and apprehension. For such symbolic occasion for Gloria, the celebration of the event was not even mentioned by Malacañang at all.

Instead of the people that supposedly thronged around the Edsa Shrine seven years ago to witness Gloria’s swearing in by an accomplice in the coup, then Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., now richly rewarded with an ambassadorial post at the United Nations, what is found around Malacañang on the day were police units on red alert and barricades against people entering the President’s compound.

For a President who flaunts to the world that she was installed to power through a popular people’s uprising, the isolation of Malacañang on Edsa II day was the height of irony. In fact, it could be attributed to Divine Justice and a revelation of the truth, for it was not a popular revolt that had the concurrence of the Filipino people, whom the elite coup plotters can hardly speak for.

Another complete twist of Edsa II was that former President Joseph Estrada, whom she threw out in the coup masquerading as a revolt, is now trusted immensely more than Gloria as borne out in independent confidence surveys.

Gloria’s Edsa II, thus, has lost its meaning in relation to Edsa I, when people power threw out a 21-year-old regime of then President Ferdinand Marcos which was best remembered for the installation of martial law and the shift to the parliamentary form of government that Gloria is now pushing to revive.

The fear that infests Malacañang now is that the people have awakened to the fact that Edsa II was a ruse and that Gloria remains scrambling for a seven-year raison d’etre of her power-grab. For certainly, there is nothing democratic about grabbing power through a coup d’etat.

The show of complete public distrust in Gloria is the result of the questionable way that she remains in power.

It all started with that event at Edsa in 2001 when a popularly elected president was unseated in the guise of restoring decency in government. In a rather grudging fashion, the so-called graft court convicted President Joseph Estrada on the charges of plunder based on the use of jueteng money and insider trading at the stock market, which conviction was utterly unconvincing for the public as a reason for Gloria to take over power, especially as a constitutional process of impeachment was then ongoing.

Add to that the general perception that Gloria had to steal the vote in the 2004 elections from Estrada’s bosom buddy Fernando Poe Jr. to buy a mandate for another six-year term and there is no mystery in her current negative trust rating.

Edsa II, in fact, has been lost in the consciousness of the people, and sad to say, so with it go the other symbolic events that would have instilled the value of the democratic tradition in the country such as the people power revolt, truly a people’s revolt, and even Independence Day.

More than the aberration in the historical calendar, Edsa II trivialized the footsteps to democracy in the country for the simple fact that, like Gloria, it was a bogus people power and the world saw it as such.

Edsa II is all about Gloria and her naked power-grab. It is is about the destruction of democracy and its institutions; the prostitution of military and police and the elite’s robbing of the sovereign will of the people, which grievous theft was upheld by the highly politicized Supreme Court.

Edsa II is Gloria and nothing else.

Philippines: Gloria to block ex-president's attempt to run for presidency!

This is from the Daily Tribune.
ERAP is the popular name for the ex-president Joseph Estrada. Estrada's popularity rating is far above that of Arroyo. Estrada was pardoned by Arroyo after being found guilty of corruption. However, he agreed not to run for president in 2010.
However, he must be having second thoughts.
Philippine politicians don't seem to retire even after being found guilty of various charges. Even coup leaders seem to return again and again to fail once more. It seems unlikely that Estrada will be able to run because of legal barriers against his candidacy.


Gloria to block Erap’s 2010 run



01/03/2008

Seeing a landslide victory in 2010 with former President Joseph Estrada as standard-bearer in an opposition ticket, President Arroyo, through her spokesman, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, yesterday warned the former leader against making a run for the presidency in 2010 and vowed to file a disqualification case against Estrada if he insists on running for the top political post.

This will be done once he files his certificate of candidacy.

Bunye, at a press briefing, pointed out that prior to Mrs. Arroyo’s decision to grant Estrada an unconditional pardon late last year, he had agreed that he would no longer seek the presidency in the 2010 national elections.

Bunye stated that the records are very clear and that any person with an average intelligence would know that Estrada is no longer eligible to seek the presidency.

“We can look at the records and they are very clear. They have been disseminated and I recall the former President even signed a copy of that pardon,” Bunye said.

But when the spokesman was asked why this particular proviso was included in the pardon of Estrada, who earlier was convicted by the Sandiganbayan Special Division of plunder, Bunye claimed: “I can’t go back to the whys and wherefores. The fact is there was





a pardon that was extended. There were conditions that were set in the pardon itself and the pardon was supposed to have been accepted and was in fact accepted. And that was the basis for the release of the former president. If you read it, any person of average intelligence would know what the document stipulated, “adding that “(Executive Secretary Eduardo) Ermita says the thing speaks for itself so the document is the best evidence on what the terms set forth on the pardon are.”

Asked if it is binding, Bunye replied in the positive. “He (Estrada) affixed his signature on the document. Now if Erap decides to run despite conditions...” he trailed off, then said: “At this point that is very speculative. That’s two years from now, so let’s see.”

For his part, Chief Presidential Legal Counsel Sergio Apostol said the Palace will file a disqualification case against Estrada before the Supreme Court if he insists on running for president again.

“Yes he (Estrada) could oppose the (whereas clause in the) pardon, but that would be a ground for us to file a disqualification case against him before the court,” he said.

Apostol stressed it is clear in the 1987 Constitution that a president who has been elected to the same post before cannot assume the same, whether his six year term in office was cut off by three and a half years, brought about by his ouster in January 2001.

“Erap cannot run for a reelection — whether he finished it (his term) or not. It is stated in our constitutional provision that a former president cannot run again for the same post. It is also part of the presidential pardon that was given to him by President Arroyo,” he insisted.

The Justice chief, Raul Gonzales, had a different take, saying that Estrada can run, but not for the presidency.

A constitutional prohibition against presidents seeking reelection stands in the way of any term sharing agreement involving the former president, Gonzalez claimed.

The Justice chief pointed out that a literal interpretation of Section 4, Article 7 of the 1987 Constitution disallows Estrada from seeking the presidency,even if his civil rights, such as the right to vote and be voted upon, have been restored after Mrs. Arroyo pardoned him.

The relevant provision reads that “The President shall not be eligible for any reelection. No person who has succeeded as President and has served as such for more than four years shall be qualified for election to the same office at any time.”

Estrada allies who are also lawyers have also pointed to the fact that Estrada, should he run for the top post, will not be in the category of a reelectionist president, since he is not the incumbent president and that a full six year presidential term would have passed by 2010.

They pointed out that this proviso applied to Mrs. Arroyo, not to Estrada.

Others took the view that Estrada had served for less than three years, the same number of years that allowed Mrs. Arroyo to seek the presidency in 2004.

Gonzalez also downplayed opposition personalities who have signified their intentions to run for the presidency. “From presidential timbers (down) to presidential toothpicks, all these people want to run,” the Justice chief claimed.

The Estrada camp has been quoted as saying that that he may seek the presidency anew and share the position’s term of office to either administration or opposition candidates.

“He cannot seek any reelection. This is already moot and academic,” the DoJ chief said.

Gonzales stressed that “being illegally removed as president” does not qualify the popular and charismatic Estrada as one of the candidates in 2010 presidential elections but he added that Estrada can still run for other elective posts, except for president. He can run for vice president and other elective positions, but not for president.”

The DoJ chief said Estrada was deemed to have completed his term because if he did not, he would not have been succeeded by Mrs. Arroyo.

The Justice chief pointed out that Estrada by all legal technicalities had satisfied his term because he had already reached his first three years in office before he was ousted in 2001.

“The fact is that he had accepted President Arroyo’s absolute pardon, he already recognized the present government’s legitimacy,” Gonzalez stressed.

The Estrada camp is said to be preparing a grueling “month-long sortie” in Visayas and Mindanao to usher in the New Year, giving the deposed president the time to extend his gratitude to the people of the south whom he says, have supported him all the way.

This was confirmed to the Tribune by Rep. Rufus Rodriguez who said that Estrada himself said he wanted to visit the Visayas and Mindanao so he could personally feel the pulse of the people there aside from expressing his appreciation to vote-rich islands who have supported him even in the darkest days of his political career.

“President Estrada says he wants to visit Visayas and Mindanao early this year, probably within the month so he could personally thank the people there for their unwavering support for him even at the time he was incarcerated,” Rodriguez told the Tribune in a telephone interview.

Aside from that, he wants to personally feel the pulse of the masses there as to who could possibly be the strongest presidential contender in 2010,” the former Immigration Commissioner during Estrada’s term added.

Rodriguez said Estrada is personally disturbed over the fact that the opposition has failed to come to terms for a unified presidential candidate in 2010. To date, five opposition stalwarts, namely Senators Mar Roxas, Manny Villar, Loren Legarda, Ping Lacson and Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, have signified their intentions of running.

“President Estrada doesn’t want a repeat of the 2004 elections when a fragmented opposition contested the presidency against incumbent President Arroyo where the late actor Fernando Poe, Jr. lost by a million votes,” said Rodriguez. “It would be easier to cheat a fragmented opposition than a unified one.”

Thus, Rodriguez added, he had come up with a compromise solution wherein Estrada would seek the presidency once more in 2010 to serve his remaining three years in office and relinquish it to his vice president in 2013. “The President (Estrada) is amenable to that,” Rodriguez said.

“If Estrada runs and wins again, that will be a vindication for him as it would be the people themselves who would be deciding on his fate and not just any court,” Rodriguez said obviously referring Estrada’s plunder conviction.

“There is no other person who can unite the opposition and he has a proven mass base. He is very charismatic and enjoys the sympathy of the people.”

“The question now is: would the five opposition presidentiables agree to step down to vice president?” Rodriguez asked. “And if they would all be willing to step down, who among the five would be chosen as Erap’s vice president?”

But if ever the opposition presidentiables agree to his compromise solution, Rodriguez said whoever gets chosen to run for vice president would get the chance to serve for three years from 2013 to 2016 as Estrada vows to serve only for three years.

“Then, whoever that person would be could still run for president,” he stressed. “That person would make a good president because of the benefit of experience.”

Rodriguez however refused to disclose what process they would undertake in choosing the vice president should his compromise solution would be adopted.

The Cagayan de Oro solon however stressed that Estrada is more than willing to give way to all five opposition presidentiables provided they unite for a common candidate and prove that he or she is capable of winning.

“2010 is still a long way to go,” said Rodriguez. “All the opposition presidentiables could still unite for a common ticket or adopt this compromise solution.”

But a ranking House member dismissed the possibility of Estrada running again in 2010.

In a text message, Rep. Prospero Nograles told the Tribune that legal impediments may prevent the deposed president from again seeking the presidency.

“In my legal opinion, Erap can’t run anymore,” the head of the House contingent to the Commission on Appointment said. “As of now, (Senator) Jinggoy is his only logical choice,” Nograles said.

But, while, the Davao City solon also admitted a united opposition in 2010 would be hard to beat, he said he is pessimistic it would be able to come up with a unified ticket..

“If the opposition could unite, it would be formidable,” said Nograles. “But in my personal opinion, the chances of a united opposition at this point is slim and dim because they now have their own political parties building up and recruiting members nationwide in stiff competition with each other.” Sherwin C. Olaes, Benjamin B. Pulta and Charlie V. Manalo

Former Philippine President Pardoned

THis is from the Manila Tribune.
Erap is the nickname for former president Joseph Estrada--his movie nickname. I can see why there would be a clause in which Estrada is supposed to agree not to run for office. The deposed president is far more popular than Gloria Arroyo the present president! Estrada was deposed by People Power which eventually brought Arroyo to power although she has been elected since. Arroyo constantly worries about People Power now and does all she can to repress it!


Erap now free, all rights restored


By Sherwin C. Olaes

10/26/2007



Deposed President Joseph Estrada is now a free man, following President Arroyo’s grant of his full pardon yesterday, restoring his full civil and political rights.

Estrada is expected to leave his detention today, no longer accompanied by his police guards.

Following the grant of executive clemency, Mrs. Arroyo ordered Department of Interior and Local Government Secretary Ronaldo Puno to personally relay the order to Estrada at 9 a.m. today which will formalize his release from detention.

The order of Mrs. Arroyo which was read to the media by Acting Executive Secretary and concurrent Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye, used as basis the age of Estrada, who is now 70 years old and his six-and-a-half years in detention.

The order said all the political and civil rights of Estrada are now restored but the forfeitures imposed by the Sandiganbayan on his questioned properties “remain in full force and in full,” except for the bank account(s) he owned before his tenure as president.

Bunye read the statement of Mrs. Arroyo on the Estrada pardon.

“Whereas, this administration has a policy of releasing inmates who have reached the age of 70. Whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has been under detention for six-and-a-half years; whereas, Joseph Ejercito Estrada has publicly committed to no longer seek any elective position or office; in view hereof, and pursuant to the authority conferred upon me by the Constitution, I hereby grant executive clemency to Joseph Ejercito Estrada, convicted by the Sandiganbayan of plunder and imposed a penalty of reclusion perpetua. He is hereby restored to his civil and political rights,” part of Mrs. Arroyo’s order said.

“Upon acceptance of this pardon by Joseph Ejercito Estrada, this pardon shall take effect,” the order added.

Bunye said they did not wait for the




written recommendation of the Department of Justice (DoJ) because its Acting Secretary Agnes Devanadera already verbally participated in the crafting of the order.

Bunye said the President merely exercised her presidential prerogative mandated by the Constitution.

A reliable Palace insider told the Tribune yesterday that Mrs. Arroyo added the “unenforceable” conditions, such as his not running for the presidency again as well as the bank accounts while he was president, were a “face-saving” act for Mrs. Arroyo, and meant also to “appease” some of her allies and anti-Estrada forces, who have been vocal against an Estrada pardon.

Contacted by the Tribune, sources from the Estrada camp said there was never any commitment made by Estrada of his not seeking the presidency, pointing out that when one’s political rights are restored, one can again vote and be voted upon.

They added that even that forfeiture proviso was questionable, since the Sandiganbayan decision was clear that only the so-called Boracay Mansion, along with the Erap Muslim Youth Foundation funds in the bank account were subject to forfeiture.

Estrada has consistently stated that neither properties are his and that the court could have them forfeited.

“Even the legitimacy of (Mrs. Arroyo) has not been established through that pardon,” they pointed out, saying that as she is sitting in Malacañang exercising the power and authority of a president, the grant of executive clemency must come from her. But this does not mean Erap’s recognition of her legitimacy. A de facto President can also grant such pardons.”

Senate President Manuel Villar, in a statement, welcomed the executive clemency extended to the Estrada by the Arroyo government. Despite the Sandiganbayan conviction, saying that “President Estrada remains in the heart of the masses.”

“The executive clemency extended to former President Joseph Estrada is a great step towards reconciliation, which is vital to our country’s unhindered passage to progress. This act emphasizes the value of humane consideration and compassionate justice,” the statement read.

Estrada’s son, Senate President Pro-Tempore, also welcomed the news of his father’s release, but also stressed that like his mother, former First Lady and Sen. Loi Estrada, he remains in the opposition.

Earlier, national leaders threw their support behind the move to grant executive pardon to the former leader in an effort to unite the country and help the government in realizing its dream for economic recovery.

In a letter dated Sept.16 - four days after the Sandiganbayan convicted Estrada of plunder – they pointed out to Mrs. Arroyo how the grant of absolute pardon to Estrada will heal the deep divisions in the country and help the government focus its efforts on pressing national problems.

The letter to Mrs. Arroyo was signed by Ricardo Cardinal Vidal, Villar and Speaker Jose de Venecia Jr.

The letter states in part: “For too long, since Edsa II which resulted in the relinquishment of the Presidency by former President Estrada, his indictment before the Sandiganbayan, detention without bail, have diverted the attention and efforts of our country from critical problems of poverty, development, terrorism, peace and order, and social tensions.

“The Sandiganbayan decision convicting former President Estrada, and sentencing him to “reclusion perpetua,” could lead to the deepening division among our people, and most disturbing perhaps, between those in the upper echelons of society and those beneath, among the masses of our people.

In their letter, Vidal, Villar and De Venecia noted that despite the humiliation Estrada suffered after his downfall and arrest, he remains as popular as ever.

“What is astounding, and which compounds the problem, is that he continues to enjoy the affection of a great number of people. Strange as it may seem, their belief in his innocence of the offenses he is accused of does not appear to have been diminished by the Sandganbayan’s decision. To add to his tragedy, his mother is critically ill.”

They added: “With the multitude of others of like minds, we appeal and ask the President to extend full, free and absolute pardon to former President Joseph Estrada and that he unconditionally accept this act of clemency from the President.”

There were others who disagreed with the pardon given Estrada.

Not surprisingly, former President Fidel Ramos, prior to the announced grant of pardon, warned Mrs. Arroyo not to be “hasty” with her pending decision to grant Estrada full pardon.

“I warn the president not to be hasty,” Ramos said, adding that Mrs. Arroyo should consider the sacrifices made by many people in pursuing the plunder charge against Estrada. He said this pardon could be her downfall since Estrada can call on his supporters and stage a people power revolt against her, the way they did in 2001.

“This thing is bigger than GMA (Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo) or Erap. We are stakeholders here, the people of the Philippines,” Ramos said.

Estrada’s defense lawyer, Rene Saguisag, in a television interview, slammed Ramos’ sanctimonious position, bringing up the issue of the many scams under his regime, for which Ramos avoided trial and conviction by plotting, along with then Vice President Arroyo a year before the actual ouster of Estrada.

Saguisag said: “On Mr. Ramos statement that if Malacañang gives Estrada a pardon it would be a terrible calamity, we all have to look and start to investigate all the numerous scandals and corruption that had happened under his (Ramos) administration. Let’s start with Amari, the Centennial scam where billions of government funds were pocketed by corrupt government officials under his (Ramos) term. Let’s look at the corruption under this Arroyo regime, we have the $14 million bribery scandal that Mrs. Arroyo’s justice secretary Hernando “Nani” Perez was linked to (the approval of power contract of an Argentine Impsa), we have the P3 billion fertilizer funds scam of (Mrs. Arroyo’s) campaign fund raiser and former Agriculture undersecretary Jocelyn Jocjoc Bolante. It’s all graft and corruption in huge magnitude. Why do we always pin all on Erap, why it is always Erap? He had been detained for so many years and on charges of jueteng kickbacks (illegal number games) which do not even involve government funds,” he said.

Puno said the decision of Mrs. Arroyo to issue the pardon to Estrada underwent a grueling two months study.

Once freed from detention, Estrada plans on visiting his ailing 102-year-old mother at a hospital in San Juan Medical Center, with Ramos saying that Estrada had kept quiet about any political plans.

Estrada has said he is innocent of the corruption charges brought against him and that his prosecution was a conspiracy by the powerful elite, the church and President Arroyo.

With AFP and Tribune wires

Former Philippine President much more popular than incumbent (Arroyo)

Erap is the nickname of the deposed former president Joseph Estrada. He was overthrown by Arroyo through the use of people power, the sort of demonstrations that Arroyo now dreads and regularly derides. Arroyo's rating makes president Bush look popular. However, to give her her due her policies are not nearly as bad as Bush's and the economy is not doing too badly. Inequality in the Philippines is the third worst in Asia but it has not increased during her term.
The ABCDE categories relate to income percentiles. As I understand it A would be the top 20 percent down to E which would be the bottom tweny percent. THe former president is much more trusted by the lowest income levels. He is being tried for corruption. The trial has been going on for years and the judgment will be coming out next month.


Erap gets 64% trust
rating; Gloria, 18%




BY ASHZEL HACHERO

DEPOSED President Joseph Estrada has a trust rating of 64 percent compared to President Arroyo’s 18 percent, according to a Social Weather Stations survey commissioned by the United Opposition.

The survey was conducted July 18-20 in the National Capital Region, Bulacan, Rizal, Cavite and Laguna. It had 600 respondents.

Estrada had a 66 percent approval rating from Class D and 68 percent approval rating from Class E. He, however, obtained a low 10 percent approval rating from Classes ABC.

Nineteen percent said they had "little trust" on the former president. Sixteen percent were undecided.

The survey was conducted as the P4 billion plunder case against Estrada is nearing a decision expected before Sept. 15.

Sixty-two percent said they had "little trust" in Arroyo. Nineteen percent were undecided.

Arroyo got a 28 percent approval rating from Classes ABC while 19 and 10 percent of those belonging to Class D and E said they had "much trust" on her.

Seventy-one percent of the respondents had "little trust" on Jose Miguel Arroyo while only 8 percent said they had "much trust" in him. The remaining 18 percent were undecided.

The First Gentleman got an approval rating (much trust) of 7 percent from Class ABC and 9 and 6 percent from Class D and E.

Asked if their welfare had improved under the present administration, 64 percent responded negatively. In the ABC bracket, 65 percent said "no" while only 25 percent responded positively and the remaining 10 percent were undecided.