The rice problem (video)

From a New Zealand news program….

Executive clemency

We have this very important order signed by the President a few minutes ago. Let me read.

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;

The forfeitures imposed by the Sandiganbayan remain in force and in full including all writs and processes issued by the Sandiganbayan in pursuant hereof except for the bank accounts he owned before his tenure as president;

Upon acceptance of this pardon by Joseph Ejercito Estrada, this pardon shall take effect given under my hand at the City of Manila this 25th day of October in the year of our Lord 2007.

Signed,

Gloria M. Arroyo

Attested

Ignacio R. Bunye

Acting Executive Secretary

Senator Manny Villar said that the pardon is “a great step toward reconciliation which emphasizes the value of humane consideration and compassionate justice.”

Former President Fidel V. Ramos called the pardon “a terrible calamity to the great, great, great majority of the Filipino people who have suffered from the plunder.”

Hmm…

Eh, make it 9/12 - he’s guilty

Just heard over Philippine radio (and from this Inquirer article) that former Philippine President Joseph “Erap” Estrada has been found guilty of plunder by the Sandiganbayan and has been sentenced to life in prison.

For up to the minute news on big RP events like this, listen to either DZRH through www.eradioportal.com (if you can understand Tagalog) or go to any of the linked Philippine news sites on this page.

Let’s see what the fallout of this will turn out to be….

9/13

Special Prosecutor Dennis Villa-Ignacio was recently quoted in Philippine news that the number 13 is former Philippine President Joseph “Erap” Estrada’s favorite number. After all, he was the 13th President of the Philippines. He was impeached by the House of Representatives on November 13, 2001.

The number 13 is also the date in September in which his fate will be decided.

The Sandiganbayan, the anti-graft/corruption court of the Philippines, has until 9/13/07 to deliver its verdict in the Estrada plunder trial. Estrada is accused of pocketing $82 million in kickbacks and payoffs during his term as President (1999-2001 - 31 months). It took 6 years and 155 witnesses, but the moment is finally here. And some folks are getting a bit jittery as for what’s to come.

A 9/4 Forbes article noted that shares on the Philippine Stock Exchange fell 1.7% on Tuesday partly because of “domestic political jitters”. A 9/5 Inquirer article stated that “the Armed Forces of the Philippines brought out its combat troops, armored carriers and cannons to show its readiness to meet contingencies in Metro Manila, amid rumors of fresh destabilization plots and possible violence if Estrada was found guilty.” Malacañang said that these are “normal security measures” and that “the public has nothing to worry about.”

Or should they?

There is the possibility of something going down regardless of the outcome. Should the verdict read guilty, there will inevitably be protests from Estrada supporters, which, according to University of Santo Tomas poly-sci professor Rey Trillana, would be hazardous to current President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, for “the reaction of his supporters is something even Estrada cannot control.”

Should the verdict read not guilty, Estrada would be cleared of any wrongdoing and would be in a position to challenge Arroyo’s legitimacy once again by posing himself as a victim when he was overthrown in 2001.

There have also been rumors that Arroyo will pardon Estrada if he is found guilty towards a “greater national reconciliation” according to Interior Secretary Ronaldo Puno.

We’ll have to wait and see what happens. Looks like the wild animal that is Philippine politics is primed to receive plenty of attention in the coming days. That’s not always a good thing.

Other sources:

1 2 3

—

Author’s note

Hello to the new and returning members of Troy Philippines. My time as a student @ SC is done, so I won’t be able to see you as much as before. But I’ll be there at the 1st meeting, albeit late. Depends on how nice the 60 will be to me that day.

Let this year be the best that TP’s ever seen….

– Raymond

STATE OF CALAMITY DECLARED

A state of national calamity has been declared by Philippines’ president, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The archipelago has been hit hard with 4 typhoons the past 4 months. However, Typhoon Durian (Typhoon Reming, in the Philippines), has been the most devastating; its devastating winds and rains have struck the recently erupted Mayon volcano. Through massive flooding and volcanic mudslides, the typhoon and volcano combination has left thousands injured, missing, or dead, and has displaced tens of thousands more, and affected hundreds of thousands throughout the Philippines.

• 1,000 Feared Dead From Typhoon - NYTimes
• Typhoon Reming –Philippine Inquirer.
• Typhoon death toll may be ‘thousands’ - CNN

the mayon evacuation

It looks like the famed “perfect cone” Mayon Volcano in the Philippines is about to have a major eruption again, threatening many surrounding villages. The government has ordered the evacuation of up to 50,000 people who live within an 8-km radius of the volcano.

An excerpt from the Inq7 article, found here:

–

LEGAZPI CITY — Bundled in Army trucks, jeepneys and private cars and hugging their dearest possessions, thousands of villagers fled their homes yesterday after one of the Philippines’ deadliest volcanoes blasted out clouds of ash, indicating a major eruption was imminent.

The government ordered the forced evacuation of anywhere from 35,000 to 50,000 villagers after declaring an 8-km zone on the southeast sector of Mount Mayon a “no man’s land.”

Waiting for a truck on a roadside in Barangay Mabinit, one of the most threatened villages, an elderly woman nervously clutched her rosary beads and made the sign of the cross.

Nearby, a half-naked man carried bundles of newly cut firewood on his shoulder. Other men had toddlers in their arms.

“It could just be hours or a matter of two days before a major eruption will occur,” resident volcanologist Eduardo Laguerta told an emergency meeting of the Provincial Disaster Coordinating Council.

Whole families clutching sleeping mats, pillows, frying pans, radios, plastic food and water containers and sackfuls of clothes joined the massive flight.

Behind them, mushroom-shaped ash clouds towered overhead.

Megaphone in hand, Mayor Noel Rosal roamed Mabinit, appealing to residents to leave.

One of the country’s 22 active volcanoes, Mayon has had a violent history of 47 eruptions since 1616. Its worst eruption buried Cagsawa town and killed 1,200 people in 1814. A 1993 eruption killed 77 farmers.

‘Hazardous and explosive’

Laguerta gave the grim forecast after Mayon belched ash columns towering from 300 to 800 meters on the 23rd day of its restiveness. More ash ejections were expected during the day.

This prompted the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology (Phivolcs) to raise the alert one notch higher to level 4, which meant that a “hazardous, explosive eruption” was imminent….

–

an update on the s.o.e.

a couple of updates on the situation:

• the state of emergency (proclamation 1017), as of today, has not been lifted yet. pres. arroyo is planning to meet with her economic and security advisors to decide whether or not to lift it.
• several petitions have been made to the supreme court of the philippines to strike down proclamation 1017; these petitions are questioning the legality of the proclamation (whether the whole thing is constitutional or not). in the meantime, a request for a temporary restraining order against the state of emergency has been denied.
• during the state of emergency, police raided an anti-administration newspaper, the daily tribune. this is a newspaper that is obviously against pres. arroyo and has been for a long time. (and it isn’t just the opinion section — look at the stories they run.) an online version of the newspaper is here. because of this and other incidents, a lot of people (in the philippines and abroad) are condemning the state of emergency because it is attacking freedom of the press.
• there was also a brief standoff involving several marines against the arroyo administration in fort bonifacio. the colonel that led this was protesting the sacking of his commanding general, and he was calling on civilians to gather around this area in protest. not a lot of people showed up, so these marines backed down.
• several civilians, congressmen, and military personnel have been charged with rebellion and conspiracy to overthrow the government. these include gregorio “gringo” honasan (who has been implicated in many coup attempts going back to the aquino administration), reps. satur ocampo , teodoro casino, and joel virador of bayan muna, rep. liza maza of gabriela, and jose ma. sison, the self-exiled leader of the communist party of the philippines (who have an armed wing, the new people’s army).

more to come as it develops….

breaking news: president arroyo declares state of emergency

yeah, this one’s the kicker.

from inq7.net:

—
(3rd UPDATE) PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared a state of emergency Friday and warned those planning to grab power that their betrayal will be dealt with under the full force of the law.

Arroyo’s declaration is contained in Proclamation 1017, which she signed after a lengthy meeting with Cabinet members and police and military officials in Malacañang, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said.

“Ito naman ang babala ko sa mga nagbabalak laban sa bayan, babagsak sa inyong pagtataksil ang buong bigat ng batas [This is my warning to those who plan to grab power, your betrayal will be dealt with under the full force of the law],” Arroyo said in her statement aired live on radio and television.

Arroyo declared a state of emergency hours after the military thwarted a plot to oust her.

Arroyo said she had ordered the arrest of personalities involved in the plot, including their financiers…..

….In the declaration released to media at 11:20 a.m., Arroyo invoked Section 18, Article 7 of the Constitution that allowed the President to call on the armed forces to prevent or suppress rebellion.

The proclamation will also pave the way for warrantless arrests, government takeover of utilities, including media, and a ban on rallies, Presidential Chief of Staff Michael Defensor said…..
—

the rest of the article is here.
another article from cnn is here.

the following is the complete text of proclamation 1017 (from the pcij blog):

—
MALACAÑANG PALACE
MANILA

PROCLAMATION NO. 1017

PROCLAMATION DECLARING A STATE OF NATIONAL EMERGENCY

WHEREAS, over these past months, elements in the political opposition have conspired with authoritarians of the extreme Left represented by the NDF-CPP-NPA and the extreme Right, represented by military adventurists — the historical enemies of the democratic Philippine State — who are now in tactical alliance and engaged in a concerted and systematic conspiracy, over a broad front, to bring down the duly constituted Government elected in May 2004.

WHEREAS, these conspirators have repeatedly tried to bring down the President;

WHEREAS, the claims of these elements have been recklessly magnified by certain segments of the national media;

WHEREAS, this series of actions is hurting the Philippine State — by obstructing governance including hindering the growth of the economy and sabotaging the people’s confidence in government and their faith in the future of this country;

WHEREAS, these actions are adversely affecting the economy;

WHEREAS, these activities give totalitarian forces of both the extreme Left and extreme Right the opening to intensity their avowed aims to bring down the democratic Philippine State;

WHEREAS, Article 2, Section 4 of our Constitution makes the defense and preservation of the democratic institutions and the State the primary duty of Government;

WHEREAS, the activities above-described, their consequences, ramifications and collateral effects constitute a clear and present danger to the safety and the integrity of the Philippine State and of the Filipino people;

NOW, THEREFORE, I Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, President of the Republic of the Philippines and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested upon me by Section 18, Article 7 of the Philippine Constitution which states that: “ The President…whenever it becomes necessary,…may call out (the) armed forces to prevent or suppress…rebellion…, “ and in my capacity as their Commander-in-Chief, do hereby command the Armed Forces of the Philippines, to maintain law and order throughout the Philippines, prevent or suppress all forms of lawless violence as well any act of insurrection or rebellion and to enforce obedience to all the laws and to all decrees, orders and regulations promulgated by me personally or upon my direction; and as provided in Section 17, Article 12 of the Constitution do hereby declare a State of National Emergency.

IN WITNESS HEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

Done in the City of Manila, this 24th day of February, in the year of Our Lord, two thousand and six.

GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President
Republic of the Philippines
—

this is going to unleash a lot of political chaos in the philippines and could blow up to something big.

expect a lot of rallies against this move (those against this think that this move is a precursor to martial law).

during these times the news radio stations over at www.eradioportal.com really come in handy if you want up-to-the-minute information.

(or look at this inq7 running account of this crisis here.)

one thing to note: saturday (the 25th) is the 20th anniversary of the first people power revolution that brought down marcos.

breaking news: hundreds feared dead in philippine mudslide

i hate to keep putting up bad news here but…

from cnn…

—
(CNN) — A mudslide buried hundreds of houses and an elementary school in an eastern Philippine village Friday, killing an estimated 300 people and leaving another 1,500 missing, a Red Cross official said.

“It sounded like the mountain exploded, and the whole thing crumbled,” survivor Dario Libatan told Manila radio DZMM, according to The Associated Press.

“I could not see any house standing anymore.”

The initial confirmed death toll was 18, with 53 survivors found, including a child, said Rosette Lerias, the governor of Southern Leyte province. But she and Richard Gordon, head of the Philippine Red Cross, said the number of dead was likely to rise into the hundreds.

The mudslide swept through the farming village of Guinsahugon in the municipality of St. Bernard town on Leyte Island, about 670 kilometers (420 miles) southeast of Manila.

The region has been drenched in recent days by heavy rains and flash flooding….

—

the rest of the article is here.
the article page should also have 2 videos. you’ll realize after watching this the magnitude of this disaster.

please pray for the dead and missing.

tragedy at the philsports arena

really sad news from manila today.

“OVER 70 people were killed and as many as 201 others were injured Saturday when a stampede broke out at a stadium in Pasig City…”

the rest of the story can be found here.

stampede riots/tragedies have occurred around the world before, and in the past, this sort of tragedy usually occured during major sporting events such as big soccer matches. the heysel and hillsborough stadium tragedies of 1985 & 1989 respectively come to mind. (both involved the english soccer club liverpool fc.)

but this wasn’t the case here. this tragedy didn’t occur during a major sporting event, even though it was in a sports stadium.

people were stampeding into the stadium to attend a live broadcast of the variety show “wowowee”, which was celebrating it’s 1st anniversary.

they were going to give away big prizes, such as a million pesos, a house/lot, and a car. and to the poor that comprised the majority of those attending the show, that is a fortune.

obviously the show was cancelled for the day.