Gazminõs bravado
In search for truth
Sec. Voltaire Gazmin declared that the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) is ready to Þght China to defend its territory and sovereignty to ÒThe Last Man.Ó
Gazmin conÞrmed reports that a Chinese warship, 2 maritime surveillance vessels, and a dozen fishing vessels were illegally Þshing on Ayungin Reef which is only 105 miles from Palawan.
With what will Gazmin Þght China? The AFP cannot even win the Þght against the NPA and the Abu Sayyaf.
Eight Marines including 2nd Lt. Alfredo Lorin were killed in an ambush by the Abu Sayyaf in Patikul Sulu. It has happened several times before.
Nine SAF, PNP men were killed in a landmine ambush by the NPA in Allacapan, Cagayan led by Ka Celia, an NPA Amazon.
Team Patay wins The Catholic Bishops campaign against Team Patay failed. Senators Loren Legarda, Francis Escudero, Alan Peter Cayetano, Rep. Sonny Angara easily won their senatorial bids. Risa Hontiveros lost.
Several white vote endorsed candidates lost. Among them are Mitos Magsaysay, Migs Zubiri, Dick Gordon, and Jun Magsaysay. It is not clear that there is a ÒCatholic Vote.Ó
Movie starsÕ performance Annabelle Rama lost her bid to be congresswoman of Cebu City. Christopher ÒBoyetÓ de Leon lost his congressional bid in Batangas. Aga Muhlach lost to Wimpy Fuentebella in Camarines Sur. Rez Cortez lost his congressional bid in Camarines Sur. Richard Gomez lost in his bid to be Mayor of Ormoc City. Joey Marquez lost his congressional bid to Vice Mayor Gus Tambunting in Paraaque.
President Erap won as Mayor of Manila together with Isko Moreno as Vice Mayor. Mayor Herbert Bautista of Quezon City, Gov. Vilma Santos of Batangas, and Gov. ER Ejercito of Laguna were reelected. Alfred Vargas won as Congressman of Quezon City.
Jolo Revilla is the new Vice Governor of Cavite. Lani Mercado Revilla was reelected Congresswoman of Bacoor City. TV Host Lucy Torres was reelected Congresswoman of the 4th district of Leyte. Rep. Dan Fernandez was reelected in the 1st district of Laguna. TV reporter Sol Aragones won the 3rd congressional seat of Laguna beating incumbent Rep. Ivy Arago.
Abuse of intelligence fund Last year, there was a big uproar about the huge allowances and bonuses of ofÞcials of GOCCs and GFIs, including the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas and PCSO. President Aquino ordered a reduction of the allowances. Some made token reductions but the allowances and bonuses were retained.
Now comes the revelation by former Comelec Commissioner Gus Lagman that the Comelec Chairman and 6 Commissioners were receiving millions in intelligence funds. Malacaang conÞrmed that it approved the release of P30 million intelligence funds to the COMELEC.
The use of intelligence funds has been abused by the OfÞce of the President, AFP, PNP, Department of Justice, Bureau of Customs, BIR, PDEA, and several DOTC and DILG Bureaus.
The continued tolerance of the abuse of intelligence funds must be checked by the Commission on Audit (COA). The liquidation documents are falsiÞed.
Vote buying galore The 2013 elections showed that President Aquino will not hesitate to use all government resources including the P45 billion CCT Fund to support LP candidates.
The administration with its big war chest was guilty of vote buying with P100,000- P500,000 released to barangay chairmen and as much as P100 million for congressional candidates.
In Manila, candidates for councilor paid as much as P4,000 per voter. The gimmick was to appoint as many as 50 watchers per precinct. One ofÞcial watcher and several alternates.
PLM Law Top 4 The College of Law of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila held a testimonial dinner last Saturday for their new bar passers with the ceremonial signing of the PLM Roll of Attorneys. The faculty was proud to note that PLM placed 4th among Metro Manila Schools in passing percentage. Only traditional topnotchers UP, Ateneo and San Beda performed better. Last yearÕs national passing average of 17.76% was the lowest in recent history. Despite its local base, the PLM College of Law is known to be one of the leading law schools in the country. Congratulations to PLMÕs underserved but deserving Manila students, their underpaid but willing faculty and to their hardworking Dean.
Tidbits: Baby Arenas is now a Congresswoman representing the 3rd district of Pangasinan. Gina de Venecia won reelection by a landslide.
Dick Gordon and Jack Enrile lost despite INC support. Rep. Karlo Nograles beat the Duterte machine by 100,000 votes and was reelected in the 1st district of Davao City.
Councilor Maca Asistio, son of Baby Asistio, won as Vice Mayor of Caloocan. Veteran Rep. Magi Gunigundo beat Shalani Soledad Romulo in Valenzuela. Gov. Dodo Cagas and Rep. Mark Cagas both lost in Davao del Sur. Claude Bautista is the new Governor.
Partylist Rep. Ted Haresco won the congressional seat in Aklan. Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza lost to comebacking Rep. Harlin Abayon. His son Gov. Paul Daza also lost to Jose Ong.
After two defeats, Cely Wong Þnally won as Governor of Catanduanes.
Antonio F. Lagdameo was reelected Congressman of the 2nd district of Davao del Norte. Vice Gov. Gerry Noveras beat the Angara dynasty of Aurora Province and won as Governor.
Gov. Josephine Ramirez- Sato of Occidental Mindoro won a congressional seat. Congresswoman Isabelle Climaco won as City Mayor of Zamboanga. Congresswoman Sandy Ocampo won reelection in the 6th District of Manila against former Rep. Benny Abante.
Rep. Manny Pacquiao was reelected while his wife Jinkee won as Vice Governor of Sarangani. His brother lost as Congressman of South Cotabato. Congresswoman Daisy Fuentes unseated Gov. Arthur Pingoy of South Cotabato.
Abstain As a candidate in the last election, I will abstain from making any comments on the conduct of the elections and the delayed transmission of results.
Suffice it to say that the automated process must be reviewed and perfected if it is to be used again in 2016.