We beg to differ.
The Philippines’ dynamic duo, President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III and Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas are at it again. This time the scene of the most recent “national crisis” is a heist allegedly perpetrated by the notorious “Martilyo Gang” at the SM North Mall Sunday night. According to SM…
Funny how Oriental Mindoro Rep. Rey Umali is now reportedly leading a House bid to raise an impeachment complaint against the Philippine Supreme Court (SC). According to Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (BAYAN) Secretary-General Renato Reyes, this impeachment bid “could be an attempt to stop the High Court from declaring the Disbursement Acceleration Program (DAP) as unconstitutional.”…
Read More “Is Oriental Mindoro Representative Rey Umali desperate for pork?” »
Accounts of how the Philippines’ renowned brand of feudal politics came into play in the virtual paralysis of relief efforts in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan (a.k.a. Yolanda) are emerging. Tacloban City mayor Alfred Romualdez testifying before Congress reported how red tape and stonewalling from Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Mar Roxas…
Gonna get inside you Gonna get inside your bitter mind – Pete Townshend Rough Boys. Montreal is a beautiful city. Canada’s second largest city is known for hosting the 1976 Summer Olympics. The Olympics that made Bruce Jenner Kardashian and Comaneci household names. It just dawned on me that the significance of those…
Ironic that Philippine President Benigno Simeon “BS” Aquino III would warn boxing champ Manny Pacquiao about using the media to gain public sympathy for his tax woes. “If [Pacquiao] did right, then I’m sure he will be able to prove that he did right, and therefore there is no issue,” Aquino said. “So the way…
On one hand, the issue surrounding the tax evasion case the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) is raising against boxing champ Manny Pacquiao is pretty straightforward. The BIR had given Pacquiao two years to submit the documents required of him specific among them are original tax returns from the United States’s Internal Revenue Service…
Read More “Why Lucio Tan gets to keep his loot while Manny Pacquiao’s all remain frozen” »
Now that the Priority Development Assistance Fund (PDAF) or pork barrel funds has been declared illegal or unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, we are seeing a lot of politicians who are doing an about-face. Some members of Congress are now saying that they are happy with the decision because they have been for its abolition…
Read More “President Noynoy Aquino cannot take credit for the abolition of pork barrel funds” »
Noted constitutionalist and former president of the Ateneo de Manila University Fr Joaquin Bernas lauded the Supreme Court decision to ban pork which, he wrote, “restores the normal constitutional order of handling public money”. He cited the specific clause in the Constitution that clearly defines the limits of the power of any one government official…