Vol. I No. 45 • ISSN 2094-4098 April 19-25, 2010

‘MAGICIANS’ARE BACK!

JOIN CRUSADE TO CHANGEJUSTICE SYSTEM IN RPWE seek to establish a

justice system whereby it is the people themselves who exercise the power to say who must be arrested and brought to trial and who exercise the power to judge if those brought to trial are guilty or not.

The power to say who should be tried in court is now exercised by the prose-cutors in the Philippines. So that if the one being accused of rape, murder or corrup-tion is influential, which is most likely, the prosecutors can easily be intimidated or bought. BUT if we put this power in the hands of a Grand Jury, usually com-posing 23 persons selected by raffle from a voters’ list and whose names and faces are kept secret, we are fore-closing any opportunity for the influential crime doer to use his power, money and influence. The role of the fiscal shall be limited to the

presentation of evidence in court. The Grand Jury is vested with the power to compel intimidated or bought witnesses to speak up or he will be jailed until they agree to speak up by the power of contempt; law en-forcers will be compelled to gather evidence or they will be held in jail in contempt until they agree to work as detectives.

Now, the power to say whether an accused is guilty or not is exercised by one judge in the Philippines; may be of a regional trial court or a municipal trial court. As we know or hear, the powerful and rich ac-cused can easily influence or buy decisions. BUT if we place this power in the hands of a Trial Jury, a group of 12 ordinary persons chosen at random from the voters’ list and whose faces and names are kept secret, we are also

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Erap’s best hope of redemption

IS Jinggoy better than Bong, Lapid & Miriam?For all his worth as a son of a disgraced president trying

to fulfill a professed dream for the poor masses, reelection-ist Senator Jinggoy Estrada appears headed to fare better than reelectionists Senators Bong Revilla, Miriam Defen-

sor Santiago and Lito Lapid.Does Jinggoy really deserve it?The answer is “yes” for the masses who will vote for him,

consisting of his bailiwick why surveys of SWS, TNS and Pulse Asia have placed him running for the top three positions along with Revilla and Defensor Santiago. Lapid has been placed near the tail although still within the magic 12.

The answer, however, raises an eye brow for those who call themselves “intellectuals.”

Whatsoever is the answer, the only definite answer for now is: Jinggoy is better that reelectionist Senators Revilla and Lapid in terms of noise made in the Senate; and far better that reelectionist Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago in terms of loyalty to a political party and in standing up against Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the woman accused of stealing the presidency “not once but twice.”

Survey Results

Recent surveys from the Social Weather Stations (SWS), Pulse Asia and TNS show that reelectionist Senator Jinggoy Es-trada is leading the senatorial race.

According to 2,100 respondents of SWS conducted on Feb-

What magic Jinggoy has?ruary 24 to 28, 54% said they would vote for him and Revilla. But individual ranking shows 51% said they would vote for Revilla, 47% would vote for Jinggoy and 46% would vote for Santiago.

Pulse Asia, which took the opinion of 1,800 respondents on February 21 to 25, also placed Senator Bong Revilla in first place with 53.6%, followed by a 52.6% votes for Senator Jing-goy Estrada, and Santiago got 49.4%.

TNS Trend Survey conducted on January 28 to February 3, on the other hand, saw Senators Revilla, Defensor-Santiago and Jinggoy Estrada heading in the senatorial race.

Relevant Achievements

Senator Jinggoy Estrada, who is the current Senate Pro Tempore, has actively participated in deliberations on various hearings and plenary sessions. He also actively participated in different Senate investigations especially in connection with the committee he handled.

He has also delivered 29 privilege speeches on varied is-sues such as the constitutionally-guaranteed rights on freedom of speech, expression and right to public assembly, anomalous transactions and operations of Philippine Amusement and Gam-ing Corp. (PAGCOR), wiretapping scandal, and abuses of pow-er by the current administration.

Jinggoy filed a total of 442 bills and resolutions.

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THE virtual acquittal of two major suspects in the Novem-ber 23, 2009 massacre that killed 57, including 32 jour-nalists, in Maguindanao has given flesh to the months of speculations of whitewash—and increased the fears of

no-proclamation or no-count plot and military junta being floated.

The speculations and fears are that the powerful men of the Ampatuan clan would eventually be set free through schemes by the “Goddess of Greed, Envy and Deceit.”

The flesh found its meaning when suspended Autono-mous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Gov. Zaldy and his cousin, Mamapasano town Mayor Akmad Ampatu-an, were ordered by Acting Justice Secretary Alberto Agra to be dropped from the multiple murder case filed by the government prosecutors in relation to the said massacre.

It is recalled that all the top honchos of the Ampatuan clan—including former Maguindanao Gov. Datu Andal Sr., Zaldy, Ak-mad and Andal Jr.—were among the 197 charged with multiple murder.

But the order of Agra may virtually allow Zaldy to resume in his powerful position as the governor of the Muslim Region and Akmad as mayor of Mamasapano town in Maguindanao, considering the deafening silence of the Office of the President on the order of Agra that has caused outrage among the people and the inherent weakness of the present justice system.

Adding meat to the flesh is Agra’s arrogance to stick to his decision to free the two Ampatuans even if the bases are ali-bis that even if doctrinally deemed the weakest defense against positive identification yet substantiated by weak evidence.

While it is true that the order of Agra may still be challenged by means of a motion for reconsideration by the private lawyers of the families of the victims and while the said order is yet subject to the wisdom of the court because the latter already has acquired jurisdiction over the case, this act of Agra only betrayed that there is that ugly intention to free some leaders of the Ampatuans, particularly Zaldy and Akmad.

In this case, Agra saw an opportunity that among the Am-patuans only Zaldy and Akmad stand the best chance of getting freed because there were circumstances that show they were not in the scene of the massacre.

While the justifications used by Agra to free Zaldy are too difficult to understand, the intentions are easy to see: to use them to operate the vote-manufacturing machines in their na-tive province of Maguindanao.

To make those vote-rigging machines operate, it is a neces-sity that any Ampatuan leader must be released for they are the only ones who can make those devices work magic.

It is safe to assume that without any Ampatuan actually pres-

By TONY FIGUEROA

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Gen. Pureza hope of CaviteBy RONALDO B. HERICO

THE storied Cavite is a land where some of the country’s heroes were born. Can it now live up to its past by politi-cians who would be lucky to get its people’s mandate.

It is doubted so. But there is hope.

One who is being said by many Caviteños as a hope for Cavite to shine once more as the leading sanctuary of he-

roes is retired General Roger Pureza, running under Lakas-Kampi.

That is although there are gubernatorial candidates to speak of.

The candidates for Gov-ernor of Cavite are: (1) Boni-facio Balberan “Ber” Ber Ado (Independent); (2) Den-cito Presa “Osboy” Campaña (Liberal Party); (3) Melencio Jr. Loyola “Jun” De Sagun (Partido ng Masang Pilipino);

(4) Ma. Gloria Mahilum “Glo-ria” Lebato (Independent); (5) Juanito Victor Jr. Catibayan “Jonvic” Remulla (Naciona-lista Party); (6) Angelita Mon-zon “Lita” Tagle (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan).

On the other hand, the oth-er vice-gubernatorial candi-dates are: (1) Domingo Buen “Kim” Alegre (Independent); (2) Bernard Michael Ignacio “Bimbo” Bautista (Naciona-

ent in Maguindanao on the day of election

April 19-25, 2010

2

Publisher:RONALDO E. RENTA

Editorial:TOTO CAUSING RONALD B. HERICO

Editor-In-Chief Associate Editor

Disclaimer: All news articles and opinions expressed by the writers are entirely their own and do not reflect the opinion of the publisher, the manage-ment or the editor of this publication.All Rights Reserved: No part of this publication may be copied or reproduced nor trans-lated in any language or form for commercial purposes without prior written permission from the publisher and its writers or columnists.

MAGDIWANGPUBLICATIONS

He was the principal spon-sor in Republic Act 9347, strengthening and increasing the number of commissioners of National Labor and Rela-tions Commission (NLRC) to speed up resolution of labor cases; RA 9422, giving more power and strength to the Philippine Overseas Employ-ment Administration (POEA) to give more protection to worker’s right to organize unions; RA 9547, strengthen-ing and expanding the pro-gram for employing students; and RA 10022, increasing the standard of protection and welfare for migrant workers and their families, and for OFWs in distress.

He caused the approval, in

third and final reading, of the proposal to increase the ben-efits and protection to house maids.

He principally authored RA 9507 giving houses loan-ers the right to restructure loans and condonation for those who filed to pay hous-ing loans due to poverty.

On the other hand, Re-villa’s accomplishments as senator are not clearly visible compared to the movies and television shows produced at the time he is a senator.

As to official Senate func-tion, Bong was only seen par-ticipating in the memorable investigation into the sex scandal involving Dr. Hayden Kho and Katrina Halili. Bong’s best participation here

is the privileged speech he de-livered condemning Kho.

Nevertheless, records show that Bong filed a total of 42 bills and resolutions and all of these were still pending before Senate committees as of writing.

Senator Miriam, for her part, has the most number of privilege speeches made, be-ing an orator and a debater. She filed a total 704 bills and co-authored 25 others.

Lapid, for his part, has been rumored to be infrequent in the Senate deliberations and debates. This author has yet to hear him deliver a sear-ing privilege speech.

Surprisingly, however, a reading on his website shows that Lapid authored and co-

authored 398 bills and resolu-tions, 47 of them have already been adopted by the Senate and 28 were passed into law.

Loyalty to Parties

In terms of being a loyal

to parties, Senator Jinggoy Estrada has remained loyal to Partido ng Masang Pilipino, founded by his father. Jinggoy consistently opposed the Glo-ria Arroyo Administration.

Revilla, for his part, is con-sistent as an ally of the current administration.

Lapid is as loyal to Arroyo being his fellow native of Pampanga.

Defensor Santiago, for her part, has been flip-flopping. First, she was in the block of the opposition. When the late Fernando Poe Jr. dropped her in favor of Loren Legarda to be his running mate, Defensor Santiago swung to Arroyo.

Educational Attainment

In terms of educational

background, nothing can beat Defensor Santiago among the senatorial candidates.

She graduated with a de-gree of Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Bachelor of Laws (cum laude) from the University of the Philippines-Diliman.

She finished her Master of Law course at the University of Michigan, USA in 1975 and doctor of law from the same university.

In terms of noise

In terms of who are the most actively seen by the public to be performing their

What magic Jinggoy has?

LOOKING FOR VICTIMS? -- This backhoe did not bury victims but was a part of the equipments tasked to finish the Northrail portion linking Sangandaan in Caloocan and Bulacan. PHOTO BY NICK GALINO

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there would be no operators who can operate the fraud machines that caused the late Fernando Poe Jr. to get zero votes in several towns there and caused the Gloria candi-dates in the 2007 elections to win 12-0 in the said province.

The fraud machines’ works were also clearly seen from the fact that Chavit Sing-son landed in the lower top 12 of the senatorial votes in his home province of Ilocos Sur, was declared the topnotcher in Maguindanao and a loser in all other Ilocano provinces and all other areas.

Of course, nothing is big-ger than the fears of eventual whitewash of the massacre case on the part of the families of the 57 victims. Lucky yet, they still fight and hope for justice even as the country’s justice system is actually on trial in the eyes of the public.

In any case, it is almost through that the fears and speculations now have fears and faces.

There could have been no worry if the Jury System were in place

If only the Jury System of

justice were in place today, the trial of the Ampatuans could have already been completed by now.

‘MAGICIANS’ ARE BACK

foreclosing any opportunity for the decision to be bought or influenced. Here, ordinary persons are tasked only to know what is true and what is false; the application of laws shall be the duty of the judge who is learned in law.

The fact that we are fore-closing opportunities for tam-pering with justice, we are sure that the abusive and cor-rupt shall learn to toe the line and observe the rule of law.

The vision here iswe see everybody to be

“PATAS SA BATAS.”With jury, all laws can now

be implemented. If we have laws against discrimination by one tribe against another,

or by Christians against Mus-lims, or by the rich against the poor, we can say that re-bellions (by NPA and MILF) will die because the root that is discrimination is being at-tacked by the Jury System.

With all corruption laws assured of implementation, the usually corrupt officials will be compelled to stop stealing people’s money. The swindlers will stop because they know the long arm of the law will surely reach them.

Businessmen will deal fairly with the consumers be-cause the assurance of imple-mentation of the laws keeps them at bay.

Sign up at http://philjury.ning.com.

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JOIN CRUSADE TO CHANGEJUSTICE SYSTEM IN RP

From page 1

The beleaguered Justice Secretary Alberto Agra

In the history of the jury trial, simple cases last for one week and a little bit more for complicated cases. In the case of OJ Simpson on the murder of his wife, the trial lasted for five (5) weeks.

The USA started its Jury System in Philadelphia about 222 years ago when they were confronted with the extreme problem caused by discrimi-nation between the Whites and the Blacks.

Discrimination alone caused the extremist Whites to be arrogant to respect the human rights of the Blacks that crimes of inhuman kill-ings occurred every now and then. But the consistency of the Jury System to be quick in giving justice and rigid in being not influenced by any powers that be has diminished for 200 years or so, leading the USA to elect its first Black President in the person of Bar-rack Hussein Obama. As such, crimes of inhumanity quickly became a thing of the past in civilized societies where the justice system is jury.

Obscene and political

For pundits, the return of

the “magicians,” in reference to the electoral manipulations the Ampatuans did in 2004 which led to the landslide

victory of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her slate, translates to fraudulent elections.

The dropping of the charges have been blamed by anti-Palace detractors and the opposition to the interference of Justice Secretary Agra “for bypassing state prosecutors and derailing the prosecution process in his unilateral deci-sion to drop murder charges against two members of the Ampatuan clan.”

But the government pros-ecutors, in a statement, urged the justice secretary to revisit his resolution absolving the two Ampatuans, saying they “earnestly and respectfully request Acting Secretary Agra to revisit his resolution. Other-wise, we dishonor the primary reason for which our institu-tion exists and its very name: the Department of Justice.”

But Agra is unmoved. In reply, he said: “I stand by my decision. I stand by my ap-preciation of the records of the case…It also pains me to come out with a contrary po-sition but as an officer of the Court I have to be objective in appreciating the evidence.”

The Justice department is under the Executive Branch. Under the qualified political agency theory, all the actions of the Justice Secretary are

deemed acts of the President unless the latter revokes the former’s actions.

The suspicion that the Ar-royo dispensation has a hand in the exoneration has angered the civil society sectors. Those who are most outraged are the Mangudadatus and the mem-bers of the press that the latter staged a protest rally in front

of the Justice department.The Palace, though, re-

acted aggressively by calling the protests as “obscene” and “campaign politics.”

“No less than the sensitiv-ities of the victims’ bereaved families,” deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar said, “should not be raked up in this traffic affair.”

Although the duo has been dropped from the murder case, their actual release re-

mains un-acted upon pending the resolution of the motion for reconsideration being filed by various sectors.

‘Magicians are back’

But what worries political

parties not allied with the ad-ministration is the possibility that the Ampatuan clout, al-though clipped on account of the detention of the clan mem-

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April 19-25, 2010

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TOTO C. CAUSINGAuditor, NPC

Dear NPC member,

Our strength is heart,Our language is truth,Our soul is liberty,Our treasure is honor.

For emphasis, this statement is reiterated in Tagalog, as fol-lows:

Ang aming lakas ay puso,Ang aming salita ay katotohanan,Ang aming kaluluwa ay kalayaan,Ang aming kayamanan ay dangal.

Thus we in KONSENSYA NG MEDIA speak as we come to you, member of National Press Club, to present the candidates of KONSENSYA NG MEDIA for the May 2, 2010 election of our organization.

THE THINGS WE INTEND TO DO CAN ONLY BE DONE IF YOU VOTE US STRAIGHT!

What we will do:

1. To establish NPC Institute of Journalism where journalists who are undergraduates and children of members can study for free, better than giving P5,000 per semester to a few scholars the NPC can afford;

2. To work for the delisting of members who have no compe-tence to be a journalist, photo-journalist, columnist and broad-cast reporter and commentator;

3. To activate the ethics committee to try all those suspected of having violated the Journalist’s Code of Ethics adopted by the NPC as its bible of journalism;

4. To give special privileges to all LIFETIME MEMBERS

and SENIOR JOURNALISTS;

5. To work for welfare benefits for all members of the Club;

6. To continue to fight for justice for all journalists slain in the line of duty, es-pecially the 32 who were brutally killed in the Ampatuan mas-sacre;

7. To continue the fight to decriminalize libel;

8. To stop at all cost the RIGHT OF REPLY BILL being pro-posed in the Congress;

9. To conduct more journalism seminars to journalists in Metro Manila and provinces, as well as students in high school and colleges;

10. To conduct regular roundtable discussions where all jour-nalists share their experiences and knowledge with each other and to publish the outputs of these endeavors; and

11. To continue to defend the NPC Building and Land from the cases filed by the GSIS to grab them from the journalists;

12. To give assistance to journalists facing libel cases and make representations for them;

13. To outreach to and forge bond with all community jour-nalists across the country, NUJP, PPI, PAPI and othe press or-ganizations; and

14. To continue international ties and exchange programs with Asean, Asian and other international journalists’ organi-zations, including Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontiers).

SUPPORT YOUR CONSCIENCE, SUPPORT THE NPC.

CANDIDATES of KONSENSYA NG MEDIAJERRY S. YAP -- President

(Hataw publisher, columnist)

TOTO CAUSING – Vice-President(Dyaryo Magdalo editor-in-chief, Hataw & Police Files

columnist, responsible in defending NPC against battery of lawyers of GSIS, filed petition for NPC that led the Supreme

Court issue Circular 08-2008 ordering all courts NOT TO JAIL journalists convicted of libel, won the case of NPC in CHR on

handcuffing of 50 media men in Manila Pen siege)

LOUIE T. LOGARTA -- Secretary(The Daily Tribune, Police Files columnist)

AMOR VIRATA -- Treasurer(People’s Lider publisher, Remate reporter)

BENJIE HODREAL – Auditor(Kritiko and Airport Star publisher-columnist

and United Broadcasting Network)

WILMA YAMZON(Star Group, formerly Bulletin senior editor)

DENNIS IÑIGO(Bulletin-Balita Sports Editor)

PERCY LAPID(Hataw, Police Files, DWIZ commentator)

JOEY G. VENANCIO(Police Files, X-Files publisher, columnist)

AYA YUPANGCO(DWIZ reporter and commentator)

MINA NAVARRO(Balita reporter)

JERRY CARUAL(Chief of Malacanang Press Photographers)

BOYET MUNAR(People’s Tonight, Unang Hirit, Remate, X-Files)

THONY ARCENAL(Police Files provincial reporter,

representing Central and Northern Luzon)

JOEL SY EGCO(Remate, Hataw and Police Files columnist,

incumbent Quezon City Press Corps president)

DIRECTORS

KUNSENSYA NG MEDIA(A letter from TOTO CAUSING)

April 19-25, 2010

4

By MARDE INDELIBLE INFANTE

Indeliblelink

PrivilegedSpits

By TOTO CAUSING

WE in the Hukuman ng Mamamayang Movement Inc. (HMMI) urge Noynoy Aquino, being the leading and most-likely winner in the 2010 Presidential Election, and also other well-meaning presidential candidates, to support our lifetime cause for the es-tablishment of the ultimate justice system.

This ultimate justice system is based on the right to be tried first by fellowmen before punish-ment so that the king can-not trample human rights. This traces its beginning from Latif Trial in pre-Mohammad Arabs and the Magna Carta signed on June 15, 1215 that ended the reign of corruption and despotism in England by the Bad King John.

Barons and nobles re-belled against King John, the villain in legendary Robinhood story, because he killed perceived ene-mies ruthlessly, compelled them at the pain of guillo-tine to pay more taxes, and beheaded all those who criticized him.

When they won by the help of Prince Louis of France, the renegades did not dethrone John but only asked him to sign the Magna Carta that stripped the King of the power to judge and compelled him to surrender that power to

Reform is not enough,change the justice system

the people that any freeman can be deprived of life, lib-erty and property only upon judgment of his peers or fel-lowmen.

Since then, peace, rule of law and justness reigned in England for centuries; eco-nomic progress and power came as a natural conse-quence.

During the British colo-nization of America, invoca-tion by Peter Zenger of the jury trial saved him from the ruthless governor-general for charges of libel. Zenger’s lawyer admitted all the ac-cusations but the jury found him innocent and declared that criticisms founded on truth is a right of every free-man against public officials. Thus, Zenger and the jurors who adjudged him came to be known hundreds of years later as

THE FATHERS OF PRESS FREEDOM

When Britons who chose to live in America gained independence from England and established the Union in Philadelphia, the first order of

the day for the founding fathers that included George Washington and Thomas Jef-ferson immediately installed the Grand Jury and the Trial Jury, considering the famous Zenger case with the view that all citizens must be pro-tected from despotic politi-

cal leaders at all times.This justice system en-

sured that all acts done in violation of discrimination laws are complied with be-cause of the fear of the rul-ing Whites that they cannot escape the kind of justice dispensed by the Grand Jury and the Trial Jury.

The Grand Jury acts as the one that has the power to investigate secretly or other-wise, compel unwilling wit-nesses, and decide who shall be charged in court. They cannot be bought or intimi-dated unlike the prosecutors in the Philippines. This is because the Grand Jury is composed of people cho-sen by raffle from the list of voters and their names and faces are hidden from the public. Under this setup, the fiscals or prosecutors act as the attorneys to pres-ent the evidence against the accused; they are called dis-trict attorneys in the USA.

The Trial Jury acts as the one that has the power to de-cide the facts, or determine which evidence are true and which are not, and the judge shall advise them on legal

issues, preside over the tri-al, and apply the law based on the facts established by the jurors selected at ran-dom from the community. Depending on the danger posed by the case, the jury members are kept in a secret place to avoid retaliation or influence from the accused.

Looking at all countries that use Jury System, al-though existing in varied forms, we see not one of them is poor or third world.

If the USA succeeded in eradicating discrimina-tion by the Whites against the Blacks and other people of color, how much more it would work in the Philip-pines where the color of the skin is only one: BROWN.

The USA produced Black stars in sports and entertain-ment. By the Grand Jury, even their presidents cannot just commit sin without get-ting punished. Bill Clinton and Richard Nixon were investigated due to oral sex scandal and Watergate Ho-tel scam, respectfully. To-day in politics, it elected its First Black President in the person of Barrack Hussein

Obama.We therefore urge

Noynoy Aquino to help us campaign for the signing of the petition to amend the Constitution for the single purpose of enshrining in our Bill of Rights the right to be tried by fellowmen before deprivation of life, liberty and property. In your six-year as president if ever elected, the Filipinos may be assured of equal justice. But when you are gone, we risk our lives, property and secu-rity again in another presi-dent who might be Marcos or Gloria.

This is the only jus-tice system we need—not just reforming the present fiscal-judge system whose efficiency depends only on the will of the President or the ability of the fiscals and judges to confront the pow-erful and the arrogant.

Gloria demonstrated how the will alone of the Presi-dent can crush the most pow-erful warlord in the family of Ampatuan accused in the massacre of 57. But what is saddening is she did it only now because of the outpour-ing of outrage from all parts of the world over the fact that among those murdered in the most brutal manner were 32 journalists.

Jury System is the only justice system that can erad-icate corruption.

This is the only justice

system that can give mean-ing to the maxim that says, “JUSTICE DELAYED, JUSTICE DENIED,” be-cause trial lasts only a week in the average and five months or so in com-plicated cases as the trial of OJ Simpson.

While not any kind of justice system can be fool proof or can give perfect judgment, the statistics shows that Jury Judgment is 95% far more perfect than the judge. Most im-portantly, the rigidity of the Jury System is the most significant because it forecloses any chance for any powerful clan to buy decisions or threaten the wheel of justice from turning.

If we can install justice system, only then we can achieve a genuine rule of law.

But our country has gone to an irreversible moral decadence. The degreeand the display of corruption in every office are blatant, dis-gusting and despicable. As such, the time to es-tablish the Jury System is NOW!

WHERE THERE IS JURY, EVEN THE LOWLY PEOPLE

HAVE NO WORRY.

Caloocan: A city you can’t be proud ofLET us gauge Caloocan as against Marikina, Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasig and other cities in Metro Ma-nila. Has it improved? Ob-serve Monumento, LRT and Sangandaan and I am sure your answer is a big NO!

I am 100 percent sure that I would not be libeled by “Atty. Na Mayor Pa” Enrico “Recom” Echiverri if I say something bad against his administration because all illegal activi-ties within the city proper, really exist.

Echiverri cannot claim that there is improvement just because of tremendous banks and business estab-lishments, and that big rev-enues are being generated.

A businessman engaged in machine shop confirmed that numerous investors are reluctant to put up their business because of the at-titude of Recom. I suspect, it is because of what they call “SOP,” or what is com-mon that if a businessman can give grease money to the officials he can put up his business.

This means that Recom cannot expect votes from the businessmen. This is

the reason he is concentrat-ing his political campaign on depressed areas like Bagong Silang, Camarin, Bagong Barrio and Dagat-Dagatan.

This is what you can ex-pect among those in legal businesses.

What about the illegal ones?

Look at the illegal side-walk vendors in Monumento, especially in front of Ever Gotesco Grand Central and the Victory Mall. Obstruc-tionist vendors dominate these areas.

You cannot compare Grand Central and Victory Mall to Trinoma, SM North and Walter Mart in Quezon City. Where in the world can you find a mall dominated by sidewalk vendors and prosti-tutes? It’s only in Caloocan!

Because of the obstruc-tions, the flow of traffic has been affected, made more severe by pedestrians who are compelled to use the road because the sidewalks are already impassable due to sidewalk vendors.

Even a Grade 1 pupil will understand why they are not told to get away from the sidewalk for an obvious rea-son.

Rampant illegal terminals in Monumento, Sangandaan, 10th Avenue are another fact that cause bumper-to-bumper traffic. PUJ drivers just park their vehicles while picking up passenger in the presence of traffic enforcers.

If Mayor Echiverri wants to know these personally, I will volunteer to be his “tourist” guide.

Prostitutes called “jokards” lord over during the night along 2nd, 3rd and 4th Avenues, and in front of shopping malls. These occur despite the fact that mobile police patrols are visible. The policemen concerned do not exert effort to stop flesh trade occurring under their noses. I know why.

If there is money in the garbage, there is also money in the sidewalks and illegal terminals, which are also a cause of corruption among Caloocan traffic enforcers

under the Department Public Safety and Traffic Manage-ment (DPSTM), an agency that has done nothing but prejudice to the public.

Recom’s slogans are “Pray Hard it Works” and “Responsible Community,” to represent his name RE-COM.

Indeed, Caloocan has lived up to these slogans. The abusive drivers, sidewalk vendors and prostitutes are praying hard so that they can earn a living and, of course, some amount for their pro-tection from those who are “untouchables.”

If these illegal activities are allowed then somebody is protecting.

And if somebody is pro-tecting, how much money is involved?

Now, Recom is appealing to his constituents to vote for him, again?

Given these few bad

deeds under Recom’s watch, will Caloocan voters still vote for him?

And they are not voting Recom, their only alternative is either to vote no one or vote for the only opponent: Baby Asistio.

Now, can we expect good governance from former Congressman Baby Asistio?

If Baby Asistio wins, I expect him to be no differ-ent, knowing him as a casi-no habitué and knowing his son Peting has been arrested by law enforcers for illegal drugs.

And if Asistio would do as I expect him to do, he would have no problem be-cause all he would have to do is continue all the systems put in place by Echiverri: the systems I narrated above.

In the same manner that sex maniacs could still ex-pect heaven by strolling 2nd to 4th Avenue up to Monu-mento. They need not walk long to find one hot babe for the night.

A former operator of a beer house employing young and old women is looking for an apartment along Rizal Av-enue that can be converted into a videoke bar and prosti-

tution at the second floor. This guy is a close rela-

tive of one Doña Metring would also have no prob-lem of finding one place.

I also expect under Asistio leadership that every corner would have joints for mini-casino, sak-la, “hi-lo,” “cara cruz” and jueteng. It is a common knowledge of the people of Caloocan that Baby Asistio really loves gambling.

What about drug traf-ficking and carnapping ac-tivities? Can they happen if Asistio wins?

Can Asistio tell his son Peting to stop or be jailed?

I also expect that under Asistio, car owners would not feel comfortable leav-ing their cars at parking lots for fear of thievery.

So that it looks like that Caloocan residents have no option.

Senator Nene Pimen-tel once said of Caloocan: “Pinakamaruming syudad sa buong Metro Manila.”

This is part of his speech delivered during indepen-dence day where former Mayor Rey Malonzo was yet the chief executive of said city.

APPEAL TO NOYNOY AQUINO:

April 19-25, 2010

5

AS I run for vice-president of National Press Club for the term 2010 to 2012, I am happy and fulfilled that I have contributed a legacy for the cause of press freedom in the Philippines.

I authored a petition signed by then NPC President Roy Carag Mabasa that came to become a historic moment for the liberty of the press.

Dated January 2, 2008, we filed the said petition with the Supreme Court on January 3. On January 22, 2008, the Highest Court granted one of the two prayers and this is contained in Circular 08-2008 which advises all courts to im-pose a fine of P6,000 instead of jail term for every count in case of conviction for libel.

It was such an extraordi-nary quickness on the part of the Highest Tribunal for a very long-lasting goodness for the exercise of press freedom, freedom of expression and of speech by all the people, not only the journalists. Compare it to the years an ordinary case can take for the SC to resolve.

I thought of writing this petition when I was meditat-ing during Christmas time as to what to do with the cases of two newsmen from Davao City whose conviction for libel had just been affirmed with finality by the Supreme Court.

Upon returning from a va-cation from Koronadal City, I convinced the president of NPC (Mabasa) to file the peti-tion, hoping it would help the two mediamen and all the rest who would be convicted later.

True enough, the first to benefit from Circular 08-2008 is Cristy Fermin, whose imprisonment sentence was set aside in favor of a fine of P6,000.00.

The second beneficiary

is Raffy Tulfo and company, whose jail sentence was also set aside in favor of fines.

For the benefit of those who are curious, let me quote here, in toto, the said petition:

“Dear Chief Justice:“The Highest Tribunal

under your stewardship has proven time and again as the staunchest defender of liberty of the people.

“Your Court’s promulga-tion of the Writ of Amparo has saved lives and won freedom for persons who disappeared. It is no doubt that the Supreme Court is at the peak in terms of the people’s trust. It has shown its sincerest concern to liberties, of course including the liberty of the press.

“We know the Court re-gards freedom of expres-sion, of speech, and of the press as the highest over all other rights in the hierarchy of rights, consistent with the constitutional prohibition against their abridgment.

“We also know that the Court recognizes the invalu-able existence of journalists toward building and preserv-ing the nation, on the theories that they bring to the public the goings on in the affairs of the government so that the au-thorities are checked whether they perform their mandate and an informed citizenry makes them decide intelli-gently. In so doing their job, the mediamen give avenues to the grieving sectors as the bet-ter alternative than expressing disgust against the govern-ment through the barrel of the gun.

“Accordingly, the National Press Club of the Philippines, on behalf of all media practi-tioners all over the country, is earnestly requesting that the Supreme Court promulgates a new rule dispensing with the issuance of warrants of arrest

in libel cases where the de-fendants are newsmen unless they failed to appear when required.

“At the same time, we are also requesting that the High Court promulgates a rule of preference similar to BP 22 violations concerning the im-position of penalties on con-victed journalists, whereby a penalty of fine shall be im-posed unless warranted by circumstances of habitual de-linquency, recidivism, proof of actual malice and analo-gous situations.

“We stand firm that a grant of this request is more equita-ble and a happier compromise between the right of the State to punish and the prohibition by Section 4, Article 3 of the Constitution against laws abridging liberty of the press.

“This will also serve as an immediate remedy to journal-ists who are often convicted because the lowly people they helped who are at the same time their source of in-formation abandoned them in the thick of the trial. This is what happened in the cases of Davao City journalists Roger Flaviano and Tony Figueroa, whose convictions were af-firmed by Your Court in G.R No. 159813; Alexander Adon-is, who did not appeal from libel conviction by Davao City RTC for lack of money to get a lawyer to elevate his case to the higher court; and Nannet Valle of Balita (GR No. 177455) who was con-victed because her sub-editor did not testify that it was the latter who replaced a correct choice of word with one that is reputation-damaging.

“We have no doubt that a warrant of arrest abridges the freedom of the press because concerned journalists who are usually poor would choose to hide, thereby preventing him

or her from accomplishing the work he or she has committed to do to keep the citizenry in-formed.

“We have also no doubt that imprisonment is unjus-tified for a libel conviction which, to our mind, is not a crime of moral turpitude.

“We have also no doubt that all libel charges filed against the journalists arise from their actual performance of work, for no libel would be had to begin with if his story or broadcast was not pub-lished.

“We are also not in doubt that the crime of libel is a matter of personal dispute between the libeler and the libeled, so that resolution is best left to them alone.

“We also believe that the purpose of criminal libel in punishing a libeler is served by a civil case for libel.

“The journalists nowadays fear to write real stories about malfeasance, misfeasance and nonfeasance in the govern-ment because criminal libel hangs over their heads like a sword of Damocles.

“We also believe that a finding of probable cause does not necessarily require issuance of warrant of arrest for the State, through the Judi-ciary’s constitutional power to promulgate rules, may waive it.

“Our country has been dubbed as one of the most corrupt in the world. We are not in doubt that one of the best weapons against thiever-ies of government property is only through the effective use of the so-called power of the pen.

“We submit to the wisdom of the Court. Happy New Year!”

To this, the Supreme Court came out with this circular, and the dispositive portion

thereof states:“The foregoing cases in-

dicate an emergent rule of preference for the imposition of fine only rather than im-prisonment in libel cases un-der the circumstances therein specified.

“All courts and judges con-cerned should henceforth take note of the foregoing rule of preference set by the Supreme Court on the matter of the im-position of penalties for the crime of libel bearing in mind the following principles:

“1. This Administrative Circular does not remove im-prisonment as an alternative penalty for the crime of libel under Article 355 of the Re-vised Penal Code;

“2. The Judges concerned may, in the exercise of sound discretion, and taking into consideration the peculiar circumstances of each case, determine whether the impo-sition of a fine alone would best serve the interests of jus-tice or whether forbearing to impose imprisonment would depreciate the seriousness of the offense, work violence on the social order, or otherwise be contrary to the imperatives of justice;

“3. Should only a fine be imposed and the accused be unable to pay the fine, there is no legal obstacle to the ap-plication of the Revised Penal Code provisions on subsidiary imprisonment.

“The Court Administra-tor shall cause the immediate dissemination of this Admin-istrative Circular to all courts and judges concerned.

“This Administrative Cir-cular, approved by the Su-preme Court En Banc in A.M. No. 08-1-17-SC at its session of 22 January 2008 shall take effect upon its issuance.”

This is my legacy.

My legacy for the Philippine press:

No more jail for libelBy TOTO CAUSING

April 19-25, 2010

6

Derma MedicaRolando M. Baltazar, M.D.

Phil. Academy of Clinical & Cosmetic Dermatology

Dermatology, Cosmetic Surgery & Vein Clinic

Clinic Address:S006 2nd Floor, CENTER MALL 2TUTUBAN CENTER, C.M. Recto, Mla.(Atop Dickies, Beside LTO)

Tel. No. 251-6656CP No. (0921) 547.6889

Empress Schuck:By OMAY RENTA

THE decision of ABS-CBN in choosing Em-press Schuck to play the main

role in a new drama series is another success of the said network in terms of beating the rival networks.

The young and angelic face Empress is consid-ered as the new weapon of the Kapamilya Network in their preparations for the feared tri-network’s rating games between Kapuso Network and the newborn Kapatid Network (former-ly TV5).

Said decision is made after her colleague in ABS-CBNs Star Magic Erich Gonzales crashed the rival show of GMA Kapuso Network when Katorse slaughtered Ikaw Sana in rating games and the only Kapamilya show that entered in AGB Niels-en Metro Manila television ratings.

Empress’s Rosalka is the newest drama series that soon to be aired in Ka-pamilya Network. This is her first appearance as the lead star in Philippine tele-vision and the first time to be paired with Felix Rocco, one of Bembol’s twins.

Being the niece of a former actress and beauty queen Lorraine Schuck is an advantage for her to enter the entertain-ment industry. However, the achievements she had

TheImpressing Empress

made during her child-hood are another justifica-tion that indeed she has the showbiz blood.

Empress was awarded as Best Child Actress in 2003 from the movie 9 Mornings, and on the same year, has been awarded as Most Popular Actress by the Guillermo Mendoza Memorial Scholarship Foundation, Inc. In 2007, she was nominated best supporting actress in Met-ro Manila Film Festival in the movie Resiklo.

Recently, Empress ap-peared as guest role in Jolo Revilla’s Agimat: Ang Mga Alamat ni Ramon Re-villa: Pepeng Agimat. And the big break that Kapami-lya Network she has to receive is her inclusion in the remake of Underage in the Season 9 of Your Song where she plays the role of Maricel Soriano.

Empress Karen Schuck as her real name was dis-covered by ABS-CBN when she was eight years old.

She appeared mostly during her early age in showbiz in GMA Network. She played the young Cla-rissa (Sunshine Dizon) in the defunct TV series Ikaw Lang Ang Mamahalin in 2001. She has played the roles of young Elmina Sandoval (Karen Delos Santos) in the first “cine novela” in Philippine Tele-vision entitled Ang Iibigin

Ay Ikaw in 2002 and as young Cassiopeia (Cindy Kurleto) in a Filipino fan-tasy TV series entitled Etheria: Ang Ikalimang Kaharian ng Encantadia in 2005.

Her first appearance in Kapamilya Network was in 2004 when she appeared in a Family Comedy show Bida Si Mister, Bida Si Mi-sis starred by Cesar Mon-tano and Maricel Soriano.

According to Wiki-pedia, shows and roles she has done with ABS-CBN were: Super Inggo as Ava Avanico; ASAP as performer and as herself; Star Magic Presents: Abt Ur Lub as Hillary Smith; Your Song: Episode: Let it Snow all in 2006; Love Spell Presents: Barbie Cute (2007); Star Magic Presents Abt Ur Luv Ur Lyf 2 (2007); Mars Rav-elo’s Lastikman as Ma-donna Puntawe (2007); Your Song Episode: Santa Clause as Carol (2007); Star Magic Presents: Astigs in Haay...School Life as April (2008); Star Magic Presents: Astigs in Luvin’ Lyf as Reema (2008); Your Song Presents: Imposible as Melai (2008); Maalaala Mo Kaya, Episode: “Sa-lamin” (2008); Pare Koy as Dally (2009); Maalaala Mo KayaEpisodes: “Bang-ka” and “Isda” as Coring/Corita (2009) and May Bu-kas Pa Chapter 32 entitled “Trust” as Danica.

Empress Schuck also included in ten (10) mov-ies and one of this is the 9 Mornings where she was awarded as Best Child Ac-tress.

Her first movie with Star Cinema was Pac-quiao: The Movie (2009) where she played the young Isidra. Other mov-ies she appeared in were Angels and Resiklo both in 2007; Shake Rattle and Roll 8 and Magkaibigan both in 2008; Pasang Krus (2009); Ang Darling Kong Aswang (2009); BFF (Best Friends Forever) in 2009 and her second movie with Star Cinema.

She also starred in a pro-life production digi-tal movie entitled Hilot where she played the role as the daughter of Melissa Mendez, the co-producer of the said film, who played the role of “Manghihilot” (Abortion-ist). Said digital movie was filmed in different schools as endorsed by the Department of Edu-cation, Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philip-pines (CBCP) and Pro-Life Philippines to fight abortion activities in the Philippines. Some parts of the said digital movie were shot at St. Clare Col-

lege of Caloocan where the author had the chance to see the angelic face of Empress in personal.

The 17-year-old Em-press is now moving to-wards limelight. She was introduced recently to the Philippine local television in local press by Angel Locsin’s former manager Becky Aguila.

Empress was born on February 19, 1993 to a German father and a Fil-ipina mother. She is cur-rently member of ABS-CBN’s elite circle of home grown talents known as Star Magic.

She started as a com-mercial model whose looks have been compared with Ms. Gretchen Barreto and Valerie Concepcion.

She has a sister named Princess Ann Schuck who is also an actress.

According to Wiki-pedia, Empress loves to sing and dance, surf the net and hang out with her friends especially with her best friend Hannah Marie Bagu.

The beautiful actress who is 5’5’’ in tall is also a musician who can play the guitar and piano. Empress studied at Espiritu Santo Parochial School until grade 5 and transferred to

another school when she was in grade 6.

If her aunt’s influ-ence made her push to try showbiz, the flood brought by Typhoon Ondoy on the other hand made her push to become a volunteer in a relief operations personnel in Ortigas Center during the calamity.

She helped her sister who lives in Villarica Vil-lage in Ortigas Center who was, unfortunately, not spared from the flood brought by Ondoy. She evacuated her sister to a friend’s house in Anti-polo and after that, she immediately went to the Mega Tent in Ortigas to help other victims by un-packing boxes, arraigning juice tetra-packs and help in distributing the relief goods to the victims of the typhoon.

Empress was also seen impressing the other vol-unteers as she carried plastic bags to be deliv-ered to different areas af-fected by Ondoy and af-ter volunteering in Mega Tent, she also volunteered in Red Cross and to her mother network’s Sagip Kapamilya by ABS CBN who also extended help to the many victims of the calamity.

April 19-25, 2010

7

ERNESTO “Ray” Adalem of Partido ng Masang Pili-pino (PMP) showed the way in a survey conducted by a non-government organiza-tion over Oca Malapitan, the incumbent first district con-gressman of Caloocan City, done last April 19, 2010.

Dr. Adalem, vice presi-dent for finance of Saint Clare College of Caloocan, garnered 33% followed by incumbent Congressman Oscar Malapitan with 31% and Luis “Tito” Varela, a three-term Vice Mayor (LP) took third place with 13%.

Councilor Gualberto Bacolod got 11%; followed by former congressman and broadcaster Bobby Guanzon

who landed in fifth place with 7% and Jaime Regalario was in sixth place with 5%.

In the Mayoralty race, in-cumbent Mayor Echiverri has the lead with 53% followed by former second district con-gressman Luis “Baby” Asistio with 47% and in third was Robert Cordero with 1%.

In the Vice Mayoralty race, former mayor Boy Asistio leads with 37%, followed by former Mayor Rey Malonzo 26%, Erice with 24%; Vallega with 12% and Yu with 1%.

Prado, Along Malapitan, Mabagos, Punzalan, Asistio and Cenon Mayor completed the roll as City Councilors, according to the survey.

The survey was the mani-

festation of voters’ prefer-ence from the Bukid Area as they believed in Dr. Adalem’s platform of gov-ernment especially in the education aspect. Omay Renta

Adalem leads Caloocancongressional race

work as a senator, nothing can beat Mirriam Defensor.

Her mouth fires like a machine gun when she talks. And when she talks, she does it without regard to the reputation of the subjects of her ire. Her favorite targets are former President Fidel Valdez Ramos and Interior and Local Government Sec-retary Ronaldo Puno.

When she intentionally shot at her target, she shot with precision at Dodie Puno, brother of Ronaldo Puno, as the author of bil-lions of pesos of anomalies in the use of the Road User’s Tax paid by vehicle owners.

Miriam also takes snipes at corruption issues in the government although she in-tentionally missed targeting her ally, Arroyo.

And if it is obvious that Gloria Macapagal Arroyo or her husband or son were to be involved, Miriam would play the role of a spoiler of Senate investigations. This happened to the fertilizer fund scandal led by Joc-joc Bolante; the jueteng payola involvement of the First Gentleman, his sons Mikey and Dato, and his brother

Iggy Arroyo; and the NBN-ZTE broadband contract worth $329 million.

But without Miriam, Jinggoy is far, far better than Bong Revilla and Lito Lapid combined.

Bong’s memorable privi-leged speech and investiga-tion attendance were only about one issue: the sex video scandal involving Ka-trina Halili and Dr. Hayden Kho.

Lapid has not been seen in his six (6) years as a senator to have delivered a privileged speech or asked a question at any Senate in-vestigation.

Jinggoy, in contrast, has been active in Senate in-vestigations and has deliv-ered substantial number of privileged speeches and hot questions.

Jinggoy’s last privileged speech was when he defend-ed his father Erap against the accusations of Senator Panfilo Lacson that it was Erap who was involved in the controversial Dacer-Corbito case.

Corruption issue On issues of corruption

raised before the public, nothing has been brought for-ward against Bong Revilla, although this does not mean he is clean.

Miriam was charged with several corruption ac-cusations when she was the Commissioner of the Bureau of Immigration, particularly those acts where she dis-missed a record number of government employees and approved aliens’ visas in a special program questioned as illegal.

All these charges were dismissed by the Sandigan-bayan or terminated with her acquittal.

Lapid, for his part, were charged with corruption re-garding cheating in quarry permits and licenses when he was the governor of Pampanga. It is not known whether these charges were terminated or suspended.

On the part of Jinggoy, he was charged and tried for involvement in jueteng pro-tection money along with his father.

But Jinggoy was acquit-ted by the Sandiganbayan for insufficiency of evidence that he collected jueteng money from Bulacan.

From page 2

lista Party); (3) Recto Me-nez “Recto” Cantimbuhan (Liberal Party); (4) Cesario Jr. Ramos “Jun” Del Rosario (Independent); (5) Carlito Fe-lizardo “Bong” Garcia (Inde-pendent); and (6) Narciso Di-onido “Sonny” Peji (Kilusang Bagong Lipunan).

His backers may have reasons to belived in him because his service and aca-demic records speak so good of Pureza, who is being en-dorsed by incumbent Das-mariñas Congressman Pidi Barzaga and Senator Bong Revilla Jr., both of Lakas-Kampi-CMD.

Among his backers are claimed to be fishermen, farmers, agrarian reform beneficiaries, and members of Federation of Cavite Se-nior Citizens.

Pureza promise to do his governance if elected on the

following platforms: (1) to win back trust of the people in the local government; (2) to correct the distribution of government funds; (3) to organize more cooperatives among farmers, fishermen, and business with the ob-jective of improving their living; (4) to establish vo-cational, skills and training schools; (5) to establish a center for agriculture, ani-mal breeding, and modern techniques for guarding the seas; (6) to strengthen day care centers; (7) to establish health and welfare projects for the senior citizens; (8) to promote obedience to laws to achieve discipline, prog-ress and justice.

Can Pureza do these?Well, that remains to be

seen although he has the re-quired knowledge, trainings and skills, particularly his being a tactician, a higher

professional skill acquired from being a topnotcher graduate of Master in Na-tional Security Administra-tion (MNSA) from the Na-tional Defense College of the Philippines.

In graduating with the degree of MNSA, Pureza established the still-unbro-ken record of obtaining the highest-ever rating of 1.4 ( 99.86%) for academic excel-lence.

Born in Rosario, Cav-ite, Pureza retired from the Philippine National Police after a sterling service of 40 years, marked, among oth-ers, by his being the young-est chief of police at the age of 23 in Cavite.

A professor in journalism, Pureza finished A.B. and B.B.A degrees as a scholar at the University of the East. He also underwent special studies for Police Manage-

Dr. Ernesto “Ray” Adalem

Redeemer of Erap’s honor

Even pro-Erap voters would disagree, Dyaryo Magdalo posits the view that the former president has not fully recovered his honor tar-nished by his conviction by the Sandiganbayan for plun-der, which involved billions of pesos of Social Security System (SSS) money used to buy Bell Corporation’s shares and jueteng payola.

For having a decent per-formance in the Senate de-spite being regarded then as a plain actor, who knows nothing in governance and lawmaking, Jinggoy remains consistently very strong in the surveys.

If Jinggoy wins again and perform extraordinarily by topping the senatorial elec-tions, Jinggoy will make the “masa na mahirap” feel hap-py with the Estradas again.

In the past six years as a senator, Jinggoy quietly worked for the welfare of an important sector of the masses, the labor force, and produced substantive number of laws for them. That is al-though the implementation of laws is another perennial problem.

What magic Jinggoy has?

bers, will again re-surface and instill fear among Maguin-danao residents.

In the 2004 elections, President Arroyo won by overwhelming margin in Maguindanao Province, so were the senators in her slate.

The tampering of the elec-toral results surfaced only the following year when the “Hello Garci” scandal be-came a public controversy that forced the President to apologize on national televi-sion without directly admit-ting to any knowledge or involvement in the rigged polls.

But when the Maguin-danao massacre took place in November 2009, the au-thorities did not just discover a well-prepared plan that led to the execution of the blood-bath, but also discovered election paraphernalia that included the most recent poll identification cards.

The Ampatuans, who are both warlords and kingmak-ers, have been unmasked as result of the massacre as a private group with enough capability to arm a battalion or two and unfettered access to public funds through un-audited disbursements of tax-payer’s money.

Although largely un-employed, without highly-productive lands and only minimal education, the Am-patuans have enough cash to shame a rural bank, keeping in their homes vaults that se-cure their money, jewelry and other expensive assets.

No justice under Arroyo The Liberal Party, run-

ning a heated political tussle against the incumbent dis-pensation, has viewed the exculpation of two major protagonists in the massacre as another confirmation of the LP warning of a Malaca-ñang-hatched grand scheme to perpetrate massive cheat-ing operations in Mindanao.

Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III and Sen. Mar Roxas, candidates for presi-dent and vice-president re-spectively of the LP, vowed that under their administra-tion there would be swift jus-tice “that is not selective” in the prosecution of suspects, including those already ex-cluded by Sec. Agra, in the massacre of innocent civil-ians in Maguindanao last No-vember 2009.

They vowed legal rem-edies would be exhausted to ensure that justice is obtained for the families and relatives of the victims of the grue-some murder.

The Ampatuan clan is widely linked to “dagdag-bawas” (vote-shaving) op-erations during elections in Maguindanao, particularly in the past nine years in alliance with the administration of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“There is no justice under this administration,” an exas-perated Roxas said.

Justice for countrymen

“We are very disappoint-

ed with the resolution of the DOJ,” Aquino told the me-dia. “It seems that the very little justice that the families of the victims were hoping for has been set aside with this resolution.”

Aquino recalled that as early as the joint session of the Congress on the declara-tion of martial law, he and several lawmakers had al-ready questioned the wisdom behind the filing of rebellion charges against Ampatuan patriarch Andal Sr. and other members of the Ampatuan clan.

The rebellion charges were later dismissed by Que-zon City Regional Trial Court Judge Jocelyn Solis-Reyes.

The dismissal of the charges and the order of Agra to release ARMM Gov. Ampatuan and Mamasapano Mayor Ampatuan, an LP statement said, are very “con-

‘MAGICIANS’ARE BACK

From page 2

Gen. Pureza hope of Cavite?From page 1 ment at Ateneo University

and transport management at the University of the Philip-pines.

He also attended 35 more trainings and schoolings, including those he attended at University of Illinois in Chicago, USA and United Nations in Vienna, Austria, where he mastered in Inter-national Criminal Justice System and International Terrorism as a lone Philip-pine delegate.

Pureza’s battlecry is: “KA-LABAN NG MASASAMA, KAKAMPI NG MABUBU-TI…MAY GITING AT MAY DANGAL ANG NAG-KAKAISANG CAVITE!”

Can Pureza convince Caviteños to vote for him? And if he wins this election, can he live up to these ex-pectations?

The only one who can predict is time.

File photo of Zaldy Ampatuan, governor of the auton-omous region in Muslim Mindanao, while being led to the police headquarters for questioning on the grue-some killing of 57 people, including 32 journalists, in Ampatuan, Maguindanao.

venient” for these allow the two Ampatuans to go back to Maguindanao, where mas-sive electoral fraud has been known to be orchestrated to favor chosen allies of the Ampatuans.

“Of all the cases pending before the DOJ, why rush the resolution of this particu-lar one?” said the LP camp, referring to the haste with which the resolution was made. This concern was also echoed by several groups who protested the DOJ reso-lution.

Aquino said: “Let’s not forget that one of those dropped from the murder charge is the governor of ARMM, who was suspended because of the case.

If his suspension is lifted, then we are back to the issue of the conduct of elections in the ARMM,” adding that despite this development “we still not stop until we achieve justice for our countrymen.”

April 19-25, 2010

8

WHO R U PICKING?By RONALDO B. HERICO

IN less than two weeks, two of the biggest names in boxing will face each other atop the squared circle.

Floyd Mayweather, Jr. (40-0, 25 KOs) will meet the current WBA welterweight champ Sugar Shane Mosley (46-5, 39 KOs) in MGM Grand in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 2 (Manila time).

“It's a fight the world wants to see,” Mosley said during a teleconference with reporters.

After Mayweather de-feated Juan Manuel Marquez last September, and Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines defeated WBO welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, it seemed certain that May-weather and Pacquiao would clash this year.

But negotiations collapsed over Mayweather's demands for random drug testing, and Mosley stepped in to take the Filipino’s place.

“I have to be honest, I thought they were going to be able to avoid me,” Mosley admitted..

“I thought they would be able to fight each other and retire. But this is the fight that had to happen. This is a fight of destiny.”

Mosley, a former IBF light-weight champion, has fought at welterweight or higher ex-clusively since relinquishing his lightweight belt in 1999, including seven bouts at light middleweight.

Conversely, Mayweather has fought at welterweight only five times, and his last two contests -- the victory over lightweight champion Marquez and a December 2007 stoppage of Britain's Ricky Hatton -- came against opponents who were moving up in weight.

Mosley believes his greater experience at higher weights

will be to his advantage.“As a welterweight, he

hasn’t fought any of the top welterweights,” he said. “I'll be the first one.”

At the same time, he is not ready to concede that May-weather, who is renowned for his quickness, will be the faster man in the ring in Las Vegas.

“I think I’m as fast as any fighter out there,” he said. “I’ve always been one of the fastest. I’ve never been in the ring with Floyd, so I’m just going to do what I do best, be Sugar Shane Mosley.

“He has good hand speed, but I think my hand speed is good too.”

Although Mosley’s WBA title will not be on the line, the California native believes inflicting Mayweather's first defeat will be a large enough notch in his belt.

“This is a competitive sport,” he said. “This is our legacy. It’s a challenge that I’m ready to take. I’m ready to go into the history books as the guy who beat Floyd May-weather, the guy who beat everybody out there, the last man standing.”

Dyaryo Magdalo was sad-dened by the death of one of Venezuela’s boxing star Ed-win Valero.

Valero was arrested ear-ly Sunday morning for the murder of his wife, Jennifer Carolina. He took his own life Monday morning in a jail cell in Carabobo. He hanged himself using his pants, police said.

Valero’s wife was found dead in their hotel room with three stab wounds and he made a confession to the mur-der shortly after it happened to the hotel security.

Valero wrote his name to the roster of “elite fighters” when he stopped Antonio DeMarco and proved he was more than a knockout artist. A

THREE-TIME Palarong Pam-bansa champion IM Oliver Barbosa pulled off an inspiring upset win over GM Abhijeet Gupta of India to vault into a tie for the lead with compatriot GM Wesley So and seven other players after the second round of the 2010 Asian Individual Chess Championships at the Subic Exhibition and Conven-tion Center here Thursday.

Barbosa, one of the bright-est young players in the 32-man Filipino delegation, pulled the rug from under the 16th-seeded Gupta to keep a share of the lead with two wins in as many matches in this nine-round tournament or-ganized by the National Chess Federation of the Philippines (NCFP) and sponsored by the Philippine Sports Commission (PSC).

A former mainstay of San Sebastian College, Barbosa also hurdled his first-round match against compatriot Luke Matthew de Leon last Wednes-day.

The win lined up Bar-bosa for Friday’s third-round showdown against So, who hammered out a decisive vic-tory with the black pieces over fellow young sensation GM Saleh Salem of the United Arab Emirates.

The 16-year old Filipino champion made the most of his newly-acquired knowledge of the Gruenfeld, a line of de-fense noted for its highly-com-plicated and tactical approach, to force the highly-rated UAE

horrific gash on his forehead was enough to rouse the in-ner fire within him. He pulled his acts together, exhibited breathtaking speed and blaz-ing combinations to register

RP chessers in blazing start

his 27th knockout in as many fights.

It was the most complete performance in his boxing career. Some even com-pared the high-octane Vale-

ro to pound-for-pound king Manny Pacquiao. When he announced that he will be moving up to 140 light-weight class, fans salivated at the prospect of future

matches against the big guns in the weight class.

There was so much prom-ise to the 28-year-old rock-fisted Venezuelan but now both he and it are gone.

GM Wesley So with NCFP president Prospero “Butch” Pichay.

player to resign in 37 moves.So and Barbosa are tied

for the with GM Krishnan Sasikiran of India, GM Su-santo Megaranto of Indonesia, GM Yu Yangyi of China, GM Ding Liren of China, IM S.P. Sethuraman of India, Yu Rui-yuan of China and Filipino Al-lan Macala.

Sasikiran, one of 12 In-dian players in the field, over-whelmed IM Homayoon Tou-fighi of Iran in their top board encounter.

Megaranto humbled FM

Randy Segarra, Yung out-classed IM Kiril Kuderinov of Kazakhstan; Liren trounced compatriot Yiping Lou, Set-huraman bested FM Rout Padmini and Macala won by default over GM Mohammed Al-Sayed of Qatar.

Sharing the limelight was Ateneo standout Jan Emman-uel Garcia, who shocked GM Zhang Zhong of Singapore in another major reversal.

Garcia, a mainstay of their V. Luna Chess Club, drew with Asia’s first GM Eugene Torre in the first round.

World Cup veteran GM Rogelio Antonio, Jr. settled for a draw with IM Rui Gao of China by repetition of posi-tions in 26 moves of the Caro-Kahn to remain in the hunt for the top prize of US$6,000 out of the total prize fund of US$50,000.

Antonio defeated Kaiqi Yang of China in the first round late Wednesday.

Torre settled for his second straight draw, this time against

IM Barlo Nadera.Torre, one of the most suc-

cessful Asian players in histo-ry, also drew his match against Garcia in the first round.

Also drawing their matches were GM Darwin Laylo against GM Dashzegve Sharavdorj of Mongolia; GM Li Chao of China against IM Nguyen Huynh Huy of Vietnam; GM Ehsan Ghaemmaghami of Iran against GM Nguyen Anh Dung of Vietnam; and IM Dro-navali Jarika of India against Julius Joseph de Ramos.

In the women’s division, WIM Beverly Mendoza out-played WFM Essa Al-Zarouni of UAE to barge into the win column.

Dresden Olympiad vetran Christy Lamiel Bernales dew with WFM Naifisa Muminova of Uzbekistan.

Two other Filipinas, Akiko Suede and Aices Salvador, both lost their matches against Xu Huanhua of China and IM Sachdev Tania of India, respec-tively. EA