what Neri is afraid to say and why

a co-worker emailed me a statement explaining what Neri is afraid to say and why regarding the zte-nbn scandal. of course i can't verify the correctness of these statements, but with the kind of governance our president has shown, i can't say i'm surpised.

i've read so many hasty, self-righteous and irresponsible anti-administration-but-not-necessarily-pro-opposition opinions on several national issues. but regardless of the truth in the allegations, this statement gives a considerably justified take on the issue and raises valid concerns on the fate of the filipino people as it questions the sincerity and patriotism of both the administration and the opposition.

read on...
(all emphases are mine)

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Here's the secret testimony of Jun Lozada on what Neri is afraid to tell the public. Lozada wrote this in Oct. 2007 and gave a co-IT Engr. Vicente Romano III leaving it to Romano when to divulge as he deems right.

For Immediate Release
Contact: Vicente R. Romano III, 0920.9615610
Leah Navarro, 0917.898.1957


Dear Friends,

Here's a short write-up that Jun Lozada wrote sometime in October. He wanted me to disseminate it without attribution. I believe he was motivated both by his genuine concern for a beleaguered friend who was being maligned no end, and his desire, even then, for the truth to somehow surface. He left it up to me as to how and when to disseminate it.

I did not find any compelling reason to get it out then. But now that Jun has told it all, and Neri is being invited back to testify, I believe the public deserves to know what was (and maybe still is) in the mind of Neri –- at least from the point of view of a friend. I'm sure Jun will not mind.

Let's get this out in the open.

God bless,
Enteng



What Is Neri Afraid to Say and Why

Many speculations have been made as to what Neri knows about the ZTE-NBN most particularly the direct involvement of Pres. Gloria Arroyo in this abominable affair. After his damaging "Sec. May 200 ka dito" demolition of Abalos, the discredited former Comelec Chairman, many were left disappointed when Neri suddenly clamped up when the Senators started asking him about the nature of his conversation with Arroyo, no amount of coaxing, cajoling and threats was enough to break his Code of Omerta. The question on many people's mind was, What was Neri trying to protect when he repeatedly invoked "Executive Priviledge" during that gruelling 12 hour Senate Blue Ribbon Committee hearing on live television?

We have known the Truth all along as one of the few people that Neri confided his predicament during those fateful days of April 2006, and how he wanted to resign his post of NEDA Director General and Secretary for Socio-Economic Planning over this incident where he lost all his moral respect for Pres. Gloria Arroyo.

We are doing this document to give the public an understanding of this predicament.

What is Neri afraid to tell the public? He is afraid to tell the public that after he reported the Abalos P200 million peso bribe offer, Arroyo casually told him to ignore it and work for its recommendation for approval anyway. That when he protested that it is too controversial and may attract the wrong kind of attention from media, Arroyo retorted back "Pakulo lang ni Joey yan and his father". When he tried to reason that it may not be accommodated in the Chinese ODA package because it has been filled up with a list of projects already, Arroyo again ordered him to remove the low cost housing project and some water project to accommodate the ZTE-NBN deal in the ODA loan. That when he attempted to reason that it may not be approved in time for the Boao Forum which was only two days to go from that fateful April day, Arroyo with raised voice told him to include the ZTE-NBN project in the agenda of the following day's meeting of a combined NEDA Board and Cabinet Committee, who as expected promptly approved the project paving the way for the contract signing between ZTE and DOTC in China the next day. Neri is afraid to tell the public that this conversation took place between him and Arroyo because it might spark another impeachment complaint against Arroyo.

Why is Neri afraid to tell the public about this conversation with Arroyo? He is afraid that another impeachment will simply result to more expenses of public funds similar to the Hyatt 10 impeachment crisis, because as DBM Secretary who replaced Boncodin, he was entrusted with the large scale DBM payola operation of Arroyo to Congressmen, Senators and Governors not quite similar to the crude Panlilio incident that the public is witnessing now. He is afraid with a more partisan Andaya at the helm of DBM, more public funds will be spent to buy the silence and favour of these greedy legislators and local executives.

He is afraid that with Arroyo's firm control of public funds she can buy all the necessary support from most sectors of society to keep her in power.

He is afraid that even if the opposition knows about this conversation with Arroyo, he is afraid that the opposition will not pursue a serious impeachment proceedings against Arroyo, because it is not to their political interest that Noli de Castro becomes President in case Arroyo is impeached and becomes a more formidable political opponent in 2010. This insincere and unpatriotic goal of the opposition is already being manifested by the malicious speed that the Erap pardon is being cooked by Ronnie Puno together with the Erap camp to hastily put a united front of "Birds of the same corrupt feather" coalition against the emerging JDV led political opposition.

He is afraid that even if the Church knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal, the Church will still not call for her resignation due to the closeness of Arroyo's trusted lady liason to the Cardinal of Manila who was very effective during the "Hello Garci" crisis. That Arroyo's Religious Affairs Operators have the Bishops firmly in their "donation" graces, as again manifested by the quick rebuttal of the Mindanao Bishops' of the call of their fellow bishops in Luzon who where calling for the resignation of Arroyo just after Arroyo gave them a visit in Mindanao.

He is afraid that even if the military knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the fraudulent ZTE-NBN deal, the AFP brass is much too indebted to Arroyo for their position and the perks that goes with their position, that they have demonstrated this twisted loyalty with their willingness to detain, remove from the service and even shoot their own men for voicing out their legitimate concerns regarding the corruption and moral authority of their Commander in Chief. It is a sad spectacle to see the respected warriors of the Marines & Special Forces rot in jail with their ideals, while their men are dying even without receiving the measly P150 per day combat pay that was promised to them by Arroyo due to lack of funds & generals get a gift bag similar to those given to the governors and congressmen just for having dinner with Arroyo the day after that infamous breakfast & lunch meeting where bribe money flowed scandalously free.

He is afraid that even if the Media knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN scam, Media will simply wither in the torrents of cash and favors similar to how the Hyatt 10, Hello Garci crisis were killed in the media headlines and Radio& TV coverages. Although he believes in the integrity of a handful of Journalist, he believes that a handful of these mavericks cannot withstand the hordes of paid lackeys of Malacanang. Especially that the Arroyo crisis team is now being handled by the best mercenary money can buy, from Ramos Sulo Operation, Erap's DILG and now Arroyo's troubleshooter, Ronnie Puno. Ably supported by the Media and PR money from PAGCOR being handled by Cerge Remonte to buy positive airtime, headlines and editorials.

He is afraid that even if the Business Sector knows about the truth of Arroyo's direct involvement to defraud the coffers of the taxes they are paying, the businessmen will be reluctant to rock the boat of the current economic uptrend, especially with the very close personal and business relationship of the so called leaders of the big business like Ricky Razon of ICTSI, Donald Dee of PCCI and Francis Chua of the Filipino-Chinese Federation to Arroyo herself. He is afraid that the hard earned remittances of Filipino OFWs that is keeping the economy booming and that can keep the economy afloat even under any administration is being wasted under this unholy alliance of Arroyo and her favoured businessmen.

He is afraid that even if the Civil Society knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal, that the Civil Society is now tired of mass actions after witnessing two failed EDSA revolutions, that Civil Society is now afflicted with a "Rally Fatigue" and cannot muster enough public outrage to denounce Arroyo's "corruption with impunity". He is afraid that the middle class is now indifferent to the corruption that goes around them, not realising that the middle class are the ones mainly carrying the burden of the loan payments for these corrupt deals. He is afraid that the middle class are more interested to become an OFW & to leave this country leaving their family and children behind, and may not care anymore about the crimes being committed against their country by its own President.

He is afraid that even if the Masa, the students, the workers knows the truth about Arroyo's direct involvement in the ZTE-NBN deal to steal precious resources from public funds, that they are now too poor and impoverished to be able to afford the time to join mass actions against the abuses of the Arroyo administration, that these former vanguards of mass actions in the country are now completely dependent on financial resources of professional organizers and have turned themselves into a "Rally for hire" groups rather than a true and genuine political gathering shouting for reforms.

He is afraid that the public may not know the extent of corruption in this country and may wrongly believe that they can cure corruption by simply replacing Arroyo with another person. He is afraid that the public may overlook the systemic and institutionalized nature of the source of corruption in this country, he is afraid that the people will again opt for a regime change without concern or a plan to correct the root causes of corruption in the country. He is afraid that people may not realize that it is not bringing Arroyo down that is difficult, it is establishing a new order that is the difficult task.

This is the predicament of Neri which I want people to realize especially to those who are asking Neri to tell the truth.


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cross-posted at ynseng.multiply.com

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Close Encounter with the Tamaraw

I’m posting here an article by a co-worker and friend. She had the rare opportunity to see tamaraws in the wild... and she’s even more fortunate she came back in good shape after a very close encounter with the wild animal.

I’ll hopefully write more about the tamaraw, especially since very few people seem to really understand what they’re all about. (And I promise to give interesting and informative trivia since my hubby himself is considered an expert, having worked with the DENR Tamaraw Conservation Program for over five years.) For now, I’m glad Danee had the chance (not to mention the courage and the strength!) to battle Mts. Iglit-Baco in Occidental Mindoro and meet the fierce national animal of the Philippines.

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Close encounter with the tamaraw
By Daneelyn A. Querijero

Our team had a unique mission. That is to see the famous tamaraw up close. The mission theater of operation: a 16,000-hectare expanse within the 75, 445-ha Mt. Iglit National Park in Occidental Mindoro.

But before we could fulfill our mission, we have to figure out an equally formidable problem: how to dig deep into the wilds of Mindoro for the encounter……

All four of us from the Public Affairs Office of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) took the bold step of hooking up with a team of tamaraw “crusaders” from the Tamaraw Conservation Program (TCP) of the DENR to witness how they take on the task of accurately counting the number of the elusive mammal within the expanse of that jungle.

That this was my first time to join the “hunt” only heightened my excitement even more and hardly gave a thought to what lay ahead of me in the four days that would follow. Little did I imagine that those four days at Mts. Iglit-Baco will give me more than what I bargained for……

Tourists, media people, and even students have trekked every summer to Mt. Iglit to be ``up close and personal’’ with an animal considered by the World Conservation Union as critically endangered since 2002. It normally takes an average of seven hours to get to tamaraw territory. It took us 10 hours – but only because we had to take a break during the journey and fell asleep in the process!

Our trek to Mt. Iglit started on a trail in a village named (or nicknamed) Poypoy in the town of Calintaan. From there we were to go to the top of Mt. Magawang, said to be the ``core habitat’’ of the tamaraw. As we started, the weather turned from refreshingly cool to periods of unbearable heat that we could feel intensely in our faces and back. We soldiered on.

As I walked, I felt pleased as it never crossed my mind that I could one day come face to face with a tamaraw --- in its own turf, no less. As I’ve heard, these are not exactly gregarious fellas -- even the mountain dwellers fear the tamaraw’s deadly horns and catlike speed. No doubt, they say, tamaraws are fierce, especially when cornered or threatened. Gifted with an acute sense of smell, the tamaraws use it to alert each other to the arrival of nosey human beings, whom they try to avoid as much as possible.

We were about halfway to our destination when someone exclaimed – “There they are!” Indeed, less than a kilometer away, an animal that looked like a cross between a cow and a carabao walked into an open clearing. Behind the beast walked three smaller ones, apparently wards.

Our guide silently ordered us to crouch behind the tall grasses as low as possible and not to move or make any noise. He didn’t have to say it twice -- we were so awestruck we dropped down on all fours for fear of spoiling the moment.

Our caution might have been a little late though. The mother bull started behaving less like the gentle carabao and more like an awakening bull. She struck a pose which told me she was definitely prepared for war – head lowered, horns shifted into a vertical position, head shaking. She appeared ready to charge. Our bodies frozen with fright, we looked at the hostile creature – but it just looked right back at us, for what seemed an eternity! I could swear all four of us were squarely placed in the angry tamaraw’s eyeball. Then, the unbelievable happened. Mother tamaraw started to look like a gentle carabao once more. The fighter-like look in its eyes and stance disappeared. She turned to her youngsters and seemed to tell them (maybe) that we were not worth a fight at after all. She started to lead the young ones further up the mountain. Whew! Good thing the tamaraw is not known to eat humans!

Tamaraws, how do I count thee?

After breathlessly exchanging our impressions on the surprise encounter, we decided to continue on with our climb, craving to see more tamaraw. We climbed, and crawled sometimes, but no longer saw any roaming tamaraw. We finally found ourselves at the TCP’s Magawang station. This was to be our home for another day or two. Inside was a man ---a member of the Bantay Tamaraw team – excitedly and animatedly talking about something to another guy, who turned out to be Rodel Boyles, coordinator of the TCP. It turned out that the Bantay Tamaraw team had just concluded the afternoon count of the tamaraw for that day – and that they had spotted 34 heads in all, an ``encouraging’’ number, as they told us later.

According to Boyles, the TCP uses the Intensive Concentration Count (ICC) method to tally the tamaraws. Eighteen pre-selected observation sites have been established within the 16,000-hectare section of the park where tamaraws are known to exist. Magawang is the major observation point. Armed with their binoculars and spotting scopes, two to three man-teams are then assigned at each site to conduct and record observations for five consecutive days from April 22-26 (the preset study period for the annual count).

A fixed observation time, from 5:30-7:00 AM and from 5:00-6:30 PM, is strictly followed by the tamaraw teams. “We use a pre-structured matrix or data form where we record the number of tamaraws sighted, the exact time of sighting, activity when seen including the direction they are heading when seen running or walking,” Boyles explained. Based on compass readings, the location of the tamaraw that was sighted is then plotted on a map.

Other important features which could help in determining the exact location of the animals were also noted as reference points. These include wallowing areas, rivers, hills, big rock, established trails and bunkhouses, he said.

Mission impossible accomplished

For the next three days, we had a taste of what it was like to be a Bantay Tamaraw volunteer as we enthusiastically participated in the counting activity. After all, it’s not everyday that I get to see these unique creations traveling in herds or grazing in their natural habitat. It amazed me how its small size and great strength enables it to push through dense jungle and climb steep mountains.

We went down the mountain exhilarated from the experience. We knew that only a few have had our experience of watching a beautiful creature roam freely amid man-made dangers like slash and burn farming, hunting through traditional means or the use of home-made shotguns, cattle ranching, timber poaching, among others, all major concerns for the Protected Areas authorities.

Unlike the Philippine eagle, whose beautiful head and figure frequently appeared in books, newspapers and television, the tamaraw has been absent from the limelight for many years, its survival uncertain. Then, in 2002, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared October as Tamaraw Conservation Month in Occidental Mindoro, as embodied in Proclamation No. 273 dated October 14, 2002. Although the Tamaraw Conservation Program has been going on since the 80’s, the proclamation highlighted the earnest effort to protect surviving tamaraws so that they could multiply even more.

To date, a total of 239 tamaraws are still left in the wilds. With a little help from DENR’s conservation program and various pro-environment groups, the tamaraw could still make an amazing comeback in our hearts and eyes – just like the Philippine Eagle.

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This article is a soon-to-be-published feature story of the DENR Public Affairs Office. Check the DENR Website for other related articles. Photos of the tamaraw courtesy of Jaime Lumanglas and the DENR Tamaraw Conservation Program.

State of the Nation 2006

The Future Is So Bright


I listened to GMA’s SONA without expectations and much interest. I barely remember her previous SONAs, except for the fabulous gowns, the defensive demeanor, and her charms wearing thin. This time, however, I had to smile.

In a trainer’s perspective, the President did rather well. She kept the speech interesting, using clear and comprehensible language and effective visuals. Her gown, again, looked fantastic. Her confident smile reached from ear to ear.

And why not? She claims to have the resources to implement the projects she enumerated in her speech. She had the firm support of the military and local government officials so crucial to her success.

When she began her speech with a roll call of thank yous, she exhibited the grace of a powerful woman who understands the true meaning of teamwork. She is willing to credit the elected and the appointed, not only for their efficient cooperation but also for their effective initiatives.

When she emphasized the need to focus the country’s resources on regional development by building up SUPER-REGIONS, I almost gave her a standing ovation myself. She laid out plans for long-term success through ecotourism, agri-business, infrastructure and vast improvements in transportation and ICT.

I was all smiles after GMA’s speech. I was looking forward to doing what I can to support her.


I Gotta Wear Shades

I couldn’t help, though, but listen to commentaries about her speech. Some critics sounded like sore losers, while some expressed valid concerns.

Some politicians immediately criticized her roll call of who’s who in pinoy politics, her crash course on Philippine geography, and her use of human props in the person of the everest climbers, the miss world beauty titlist and the ultimate pinoy champion, many pacquiao. They sounded to me like trapos who had such sour (or should I say bitter?) tastes in their mouths.

The concern that I did find real and valid came from Atty. Dong Puno when he expressed his pessimism with the success of her mega-projects as far as funding is concerned. The President could simply insist that “we now have the funds” but, likewise, she could easily enumerate excuses at the end of the day. Yes, she seems sincere enough and determined enough to work hard and do her best. But is that enough? Can she be trusted?


The End Does Not Justify the Means

Later that week, I was in a heated battle with an officemate who said her praises to GMA. When another officemate insisted that a cheating president is not a president worthy of any trust, the GMA fan replied that it shouldn’t matter anymore that she cheated considering her job-well-done.

Of course, I had to join that debate. Disclaiming that I likewise admired her speech, I also explained that I am not for a leader who justifies a successful job only by its final merits. GMA’s overall success is yet to be seen, considering that this SONA consisted mostly of promises begging to be officially funded. For now, we can only judge her by her means to that success.

When the GMA fan compared the “great” president to our “unfair” boss, I enumerated to her the similarities in their Machiavellian leadership. They both take pride in successful endings, without much care how they got there. They took pride in their efforts to work terribly hard but displayed fake attempts to build relationships. They’re also both, uhm, vertically challenged women who held their husbands by the neck. The GMA fan was stunned. Perhaps she had something to think about now.

What I failed to mention to her, however, was that I understand the need to at least support GMA because, indeed, she had great plans for the country. And if I may say so, I have the opportunity to do my part in my office’s efforts to contribute to the business of tourism by conducting ecotourism trainings for DENR staff supervising protected areas in the country.

There is hope for the Filipino people -- at least for now. GMA still has much to prove and there is much work to be done. Hopefully, those who watch her with critical eyes would also do their part.



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Links:
Complete SONA Technical Report and Executive Summary
Sen. Edgardo Angara's opinion on GMA's 2006 SONA at Manila Bulletin Online
A rare criticism from administration Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago