SC acquits the Marcoses and their cronies

First of all, a belated 90th birthday to Ms. Martina “Beling” Go Ching Hai who held a smashing birthday dinner celebration with her family and friends at the Grand Convention Center, after all, few people have reached the age of 90 and still look very healthy and alert. During the many dance presentations given by her children, perhaps the most important impact Beling did for the Cebu community was when she founded the Federated Organization of Women Active & Responsive to Development (FORWARD) that she and Mila Espina founded in 1991.

That glamorous evening, FORWARD gave all those who joined her birthday a book entitled “Moving Ahead with FORWARD,” which was a series of colored photos of people and organizations that supported FORWARD in its 27-year history. Few people in Cebu have done what Beling has done and has kept on doing with her children by planting more trees, helping out people in need, and giving educational support where it is needed. This is why the Lord gave Beling Go Ching Hai 90 years and more to enjoy this life with a great appreciation of humanity where it is much in need. Once more, a very happy birthday to Ms. Beling Go Ching Hai and May God bless you with more health!

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The Philippine Accessible Disability Services (PADS) which quietly won the Adaptive Dragon Boat Racing Teams in its first international race last June 5, 2017 has left for Hong Kong yesterday in order to defend their title in the Victoria Harbor despite their physical disabilities. Each team is composed of 14 males and four females plus the drummer and steersman for a total of 20 members who are either blind, deaf, or have amputations, among other disabilities.

The PADS Team is currently the only Philippine team racing in the International Dragon Boat Race and despite their physical disabilities they have even won boat races against teams whose members had no physical disabilities. They are sponsored by IMG, Kaiser Health Group, MB Life and MyTV. Yes we have a cameraman in Hong Kong to video their race and hopefully they will once more win their race and best of all, we have it covered by MyTV so we can watch this dragon boat race on Channel 30 here.

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If there’s any big breaking news this year or should I say in the last 10 years, it is that the Supreme Court a couple of days ago, junked the government’s bid to collect damages against the estate of former president Ferdinand Marcos and his cronies for lack of documentary evidence on how their supposed ill-gotten wealth was amassed. This is what the Presidential Commission on Good Government has done for the nation since it was created by former president Corazon C. Aquino.

The SC decision was penned by SC Associate Justice Noel Tijam, the high court’s First Division affirmed a 2010 Sandiganbayan ruling dismissing the complaint filed by the PCGG for reconveyance, reversion, restitution, and damages. What can I say, but the SC has affirmed this 2010 Sandiganbayan ruling. Of course, knowing how the yellowtards think, they are going to pin the blame on President Rodrigo Duterte. Poor Digong, he will be blamed even if this fiasco cannot be blamed on him at all!

For the record, the PCGG filed the complaint against the Marcoses on July 24, 1987, accusing Marcos and his cronies of taking part in “schemes, devices and stratagems” to acquire wealth through behest loans. If my recollection is correct, this even included the Bataan Nuclear Power Plant (BNPP). But in the subsequent years, they found nothing irregular with the BNPP, but then it was already shut down for many years.

Among the respondents of this case are former first lady Imelda Marcos, construction magnate Rodolfo M. Cuenca and his son Roberto Cuenca, former Philippine National Bank president Panfilo Domingo, former trade minister Roberto Ongpin, former Development Bank of the Philippines officer Don Ferry, and 11 others. So in the end, this is a clear Marcos victory and perhaps the question we would like to pose to the Aquino family and friends, those reports you gave to have Marcos removed were probably fake news that would not stand up in a court of law!

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For email responses to this article, write to vsbobita@gmail. com. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.