Arroyo could use MILF peace talks to pursue changes in Constitution

Moro Islamic Liberation Front soldiers clean their weapons at a rebel base in the southern Philippines. The MILF, the country's largest Muslim rebel group, says any peace deal with the Arroyo government is unlikely. Arroyo is to step down on June 30, 2010. (Mindanao Examiner Photo)

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 30, 2010) – Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo may use the peace talks with Muslim rebels to amend the Constitution when she steps down and sits as member of the House of Representatives which is dominated by her political allies.

Arroyo is to step down in June 30 after ruling the country for nine years to yield the presidency to opposition senator, Benigno Aquino 3^rd and take her new role as congresswoman of Pampanga province where she ran and won in the May 10 national elections.

Arroyo opened peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, the country’s largest Muslim rebel group, but failed to sign a political deal that would end decades of bloody fighting in the restive region of Mindanao.

The MILF has been fighting for the establishment of a separate Muslim state in Mindanao, once ruled by the Sultanate of Sulu and North Borneo.

Manila said a peace deal with the MILF is unlikely before Arroyo steps down, but Arroyo insists she would pursue the peace process in Congress by introducing bills that could lead to the signing of a political accord with the rebel group.

But a rebel commander, Ibrahim, said Arroyo could use the MILF or the peace talks as a reason to amend the Constitution and change the government to parliamentary or introduce federalism similar to Malaysia. And eventually for Arroyo’s allies in Congress to elect her as prime minister and again rule the country to avoid or evade corruption charges anti-Arroyo politicians may file against her.

Arroyo, whose administration was rocked with corruption scandals, among others, was also accused of poll fraud by the opposition in the 2004 elections.

“The MILF signed no concrete agreements with Arroyo and even the MOA-AD (Memorandum of Agreement on Ancestral Domain), which is the future of the Bangsamoro people (Muslims), had failed despite draft agreements signed by the MILF and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines,” Ibrahim said.

“We fear that Arroyo and her allies in Congress will use the MILF and the peace process to amend the Constitution and eventually elect her to become Prime Minister and continue her reign of power and that of her political allies to evade possible corruption charges against them by the new administration of (Benigno) Aquino,” he said.

Ibrahim said the new president should pursue the peace process with the MILF to end the fighting in Mindanao. “Aquino should make the peace process in Mindanao his top priority. We will be waiting for his move to pursue the peace talks with the MILF. We are for peace,” he said.

He also expressed fear that Arroyo could order a military offensive against the MILF in Mindanao before she steps down to give her and her allies in Congress more reasons to amend the Constitution and change the form of government when the House of Representatives resumes its session.

“There are many scenarios waiting to happen and one of them is the military offensive versus the MILF in Mindanao and this will give Arroyo more reason to pursue changes in the Constitution in the guise of preserving the gains of the peace talks,” Ibrahim said.

Arroyo had openly campaign in the past to change the Constitution. And her allies in Congress were also proposing a shift to parliamentary government where Arroyo could be elected as Prime Minister. (Mindanao Examiner)

Exiting Philippine leader to visit Sulu

President Gloria Arroyo, who is stepping down on June 30, is proclaimed in Pampanga province where she wins a seat in Congress. Arroyo is to visit Sulu province on Friday, May 14, 2010 to inspect government projects with re-elected Sulu governor Sakur Tan.

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 13, 2010) – Philippine soldiers have tightened security in the southern province of Sulu where President Gloria Arroyo is expected to visit Friday.

Arroyo, who won a Congressional seat in Monday’s general elections, is to step down on June 30, but still would visit the town of Maimbung to see development projects in the area.

The re-elected governor of Sulu, Sakur Tan, is set to welcome the President and led the tour in Maimbung where he is proposing to build a school of fisheries and agriculture and offer free education.

Tan already developed the wharf in Maimbung and introduced fish cages and marine culture to provide livelihood to thousands of Muslim fishermen during his first term.

Arroyo is also expected to unveil fresh package of aid and development projects to the impoverished province before she steps down. Arroyo, who has majority members of Congress behind here, is said to be aspiring to become the House Speaker.

Opposition senator Benigno Simeon Cojuangco Aquino III is leading in the presidential race against former President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, who was ousted and convicted of plunder in 2001. (Mindanao Examiner)

GMA names manicurist to Pag-IBIG, gardener to Luneta Park

MANILA, Philippines - Malacanang confirmed that President Gloria Arroyo has appointed her manicurist as a trustee of the Pag-IBIG Fund and her gardener as deputy of the Luneta Park Administration.

Deputy presidential spokesman Gary Olivar confirmed reports that Arroyo appointed Anita Capron, her manicurist, as a Pag-IBIG trustee with a fixed two-year term and a monthly allowance of P130,000, among other perks.

The Pag-IBIG Fund, also known as Home Development Mutual Fund, is a nationwide savings fund was established in December 14, 1980, through Presidential Decree No. 1752.

Olivar also confirmed that the President appointed her gardener Armando Macapagal as deputy of the Luneta Park Administration. He said Macapagal is not related to the President.

The appointment of the two household helpers to government offices has raised questions of credentials and capability to handle subordinates and multi-billion peso funds.

Capron, as board of trustee member, will be joining several Cabinet rank officials led by Vice President Noli de Castro who is board chairman, and Finance Undersecretary Roberto Tan, vice chairman.

The other trustees are Budget Undersecretary Mario Relampagos; Jaime Fabiaña, chief executive officer of the Home Development Mutual Fund; Trade Undersecretary Zenaida Maglaya; Labor Secretary Marianito Roque; Francisco Duque, chair of the Civil Service Commission; Ruben Arcay of the Office of the Corporate Secretary; and Jose Luis Vera, Rowena de Rosario, Teresita Alegre, and Edgardo Lacson who are representing private employees.

Olivar said Arroyo gave them government positions because she wanted to have "ordinary people represented in government offices and agencies whose activities impinge on the lives of ordinary people."

He said Pag-IBIG Fund, for instance, impacts on the daily lives of many ordinary Filipinos. He said the two are regular members of Malacañang’s staff and have regular appointments.

The appointment was supposed to be within the March 10 deadline for appointments to executive positions. (Regina Bengco)

Arroyo under fire over Maguindanao massacre case

MANILA, Philippines - Outraged relatives of the 57 people killed in the Philippines' worst political massacre said Wednesday they feared the government was protecting a powerful Muslim clan accused of the murders.

The relatives and their lawyers hit out at President Gloria Arroyo's team after it dropped murder charges against two clan members and allowed the main suspect to protest his innocence in a rare jailhouse press conference.

"We went back into our depression and all the families were enraged," Myrna Reblando, widow of one of the victims, said when asked about the decision to drop the charges against Zaldy and Akmad Ampatuan.

Justice Secretary Alberto Agra said on the weekend he had decided to drop the charges against the pair -- barely two months after charging them -- but Reblando and others said they were convinced the decision came from higher up.

"Something like this couldn't happen without her (Arroyo) knowing about it," Reblando told reporters outside a Manila court that was hearing initial proceedings against 15 policemen also charged over the slaughter.

The Ampatuans are a powerful clan that ruled the southern province of Maguindanao for a decade thanks in part to a close alliance with Arroyo and her ruling coalition, which allowed them to run their own private army.

However she was forced to publicly end the alliance after top clan members were accused of orchestrating the massacre of 57 people on November 23 last year in Maguindanao to allegedly eliminate the challenge of a political rival.

Andal Ampatuan Jnr, then a local mayor, is alleged to have led 100 gunmen in abducting a convoy of the rivals' relatives, plus accompanying journalists and lawyers.

His father, then the governor of Maguindanao and a member of Arroyo's coalition party, is among 194 other people also charged with murder.

Lawyer Harry Roque, representing some of the victims' families, told reporters Wednesday he had applied for court proceedings to be postponed until July, when Arroyo will have stepped down a new justice secretary appointed.

"Does this mean we don't believe we can get justice under Arroyo? The answer is yes," Roque said.

Roque and government prosecutors also questioned why Ampatuan Jnr was allowed to hold a press conference on Tuesday in a Manila prison where he was being detained.

"I'm surprised, why in a high-security facility, one of the accused was able to conduct a full-blown press conference," Roque said.

Government prosecutor Richard Fadullon said he had also filed an application to the court asking that the jail warden be made to explain why the press conference was allowed.

Arroyo's spokesman, Gary Olivar, insisted Wednesday that the president was not giving the Ampatuans any favours.

"It should be clear to everyone of good faith that the president shares the desire of the victims for quick and comprehensive justice in this matter," Olivar told AFP.

He also denied that Arroyo was involved in the decision to allow Ampatuan Jnr to hold a press conference.

"Jailhouse interviews with suspects... I don't think that rises to the level of president," he said. (Agence France-Presse)

Blast hits Zamboanga ahead of Arroyo's arrival

President Gloria Arroyo during a visit Wednesday, March 24, 2010 to Basilan Island, just several nautical miles south of Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines, where she inspected government infrastructure projects in Tipo-Tipo town. (Photo by Rey Baniquet).

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 24, 2010) – An improvised bomb exploded in Zamboanga City ahead of President Gloria Arroyo’s visit Wednesday to nearby Basilan province in the southern Philippines.

The explosion near the Zamboanga City Hall occurred late Tuesday, but police and military said no one was hurt or killed in the blast. It was unknown whether the explosion was connected to Arroyo’s visit. The blast hit an area where Muslim traders had previously occupied.

The army said the blast was probably pulled off by pranksters, although authorities were still investigating the explosion which damaged a concrete wall.

“That’s nothing serious. It was probably carried out by pranksters,” said Army Colonel Santiago Baluyot, commander of a local anti-terror task force.
The explosion coincided with police announcements that the Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels were planning to sow terror.

Arroyo arrived at a military base in Zamboanga City on Wednesday and flew by a helicopter to Basilan, a stronghold of Abu Sayyaf and Moro rebels, to inaugurate several government infrastructure projects.

Zamboanga had been previously bombed by Abu Sayyaf militants and Moro rebels who are actively operating in the restive region.

While in Basilan, Arroyo met with her political allies, but details of the meeting were unknown. Sources close to local politicians said Arroyo told her allies to campaign hard and ensure the victory of former Defense chief Gilberto Teodoro who is running for President in the May 10 elections.

Teodoro is running under the government coalition Lakas-Kampi parties and popular among many people in Mindanao.

Senior Superintendent Antonio Mendoza, Basilan police chief, said Arroyo also spoke with villagers and assured them of continued government infrastructure projects.

Arroyo’s chopper landed in the town of Ungkaya Pukan and then she motored to Tipo-Tipo town where she inspected the projects.

“The President’s visit is a big success. Basilan officials and villagers welcomed the President and they were all happy that she visited Basilan and inspected various government projects,” Mendoza said. (Mindanao Examiner)

Distrust high for Philippine president Arroyo: survey

MANILA, Philippines — Nearly seven in 10 Filipinos continue to distrust President Gloria Arroyo despite her efforts at a charm offensive before she steps down this year, according to a survey released Wednesday.

The figure of 68 percent of respondents who said they distrusted Arroyo is the highest since she took over from deposed president Joseph Estrada in 2001, Pulse Asia said in releasing the results of its survey.

The results came a day after the Supreme Court cleared Arroyo to run for a seat in parliament in the May national elections, in a move many believe is aimed at trying to remain in power.

Arroyo is required by the constitution to step down as president this year.

But critics believe Arroyo intends to become a congresswoman as a step towards having the constitution rewritten to shift the nation's form of government from presidential to parliamentary.

She would then seek to become the nation's first prime minister, her critics allege.

A popular revolt backed by the military installed Arroyo as president in January 2001, replacing the graft-tainted Estrada.

She won a hotly contested second term in 2004, but her nine years in office have been marked by allegations of massive corruption and three failed military coup attempts.

Arroyo's popularity took a further beating when members of a Muslim clan she had supported in the restive south were accused of masterminding the massacre of 57 people in November to eliminate a rival's political challenge.

In recent weeks, Arroyo has embarked on a charm offensive, visiting influential media establishments and inviting foreign journalists to dinner at the presidential palace after snubbing them at official functions for three years.

She has also had advertisements placed in the press promoting her economic achievements and other legacies. (AFP)


Link: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5iZU_5PxoPBfGqMNpsOdOox49ULJA

President Arroyo inaugurates Sulu airport runway

Photos released by the Sulu provincial government show the Jolo airport runway before and after improvement. Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo on Monday inaugurated the airport runway in the southern Philippine province of Sulu. US Ambassador Kristie Kenney joined Arroyo and Sulu provincial governor Dr Sakur Tan in the inauguration of the P251-million Jolo airport improvement project. (Airport photos by the Sulu provincial government and President Gloria Arroyo's photo by Jerry Carual)

SULU, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 14, 2009) – Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo on Monday inaugurated the airport runway in the southern Philippine province of Sulu.

US Ambassador Kristie Kenney joined Arroyo and Sulu provincial governor Dr Sakur Tan and Jolo mayor Hussin Amin and local officials in the inauguration of the P251-million Jolo airport improvement project.

The United States Agency for International Development’s Growth with Equity in Mindanao (GEM) granted most of the funding with Manila pouring in some P90 million for the development of domestic airport.

Tan said the project started in October last year. He said the runway was extended from 1,200 meters to 1,845 meters and widened from 18 meters to 30 meters.

“We appreciate the support of the US government and we would like to thank the American people for supporting peace and development efforts in Sulu. The appreciation also goes to President Gloria Arroyo and Ambassador Kristie Kenney who made this project possible,” he told reporters.

Tan said the airport can now accommodate large aircrafts and will hasten trade between Sulu and Mindanao, and even Malaysia and neighboring countries as well.

“We hope to attract investors with out new Jolo airport,” he said, adding, the facility can now accommodate aircrafts such as A-320s and B-373s.

He said they also handed over the upgraded water system to the Jolo Mainland Water District.

The project, carried out in partnership between the US government, the Jolo Mainland Water District (JMWD) and the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA), is worth P73.1 million. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine leader visits funeral of slain journalists

President Gloria Arroyo visits the wake Thursday, December 3, 2009 of slain journalists in General Santos City in the southern Philippines. (Photo by Rey Baniquet)

GENERAL SANTOS CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / December 3, 2009) – Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo visited Thursday the funeral of journalists who were among 57 people brutally killed in the southern Maguindanao province.

Arroyo, dressed in black, condoled with the grieving families of the journalists at a funeral house in General Santos City. She spoke with the widows and assured them of the government’s action against the perpetrators of the massacre blamed by the police and military to a powerful political clan allied with her administration.

Government have filed 25 counts of murder against Andal Ampatuan Jnr, the mayor of Maguindanao’s Datu Unsay town whose namesake if the governor of the province, one of five under the Muslim autonomous region to which his elder brother, Zaldy Ampatuan, is also the governor.

The mayor surrendered three days after the massacre and denied all accusations against him. His father and brother also denied involvement in the massacre.

Ampatuan’s father and several more clan members were also implicated in the November 23 attack that left at least 30 journalists and 27 political supporters of rival Esmael Mangudadatu, the deputy mayor of Buluan town in Maguindanao.

The mayor accused in the massacre is being groomed by his father to succeed him as provincial governor, a position also being contested by Mangudadatu.

Among those killed were Mangudadatu’s wife and two sisters, accompanied by their supporters, who were abducted and herded into a remote village where they were shot and hacked. The journalists were only covering the filing of the nomination for governor of Mangudadatu, but they too mercilessly killed.

Arroyo promised to help the families of slain journalists and offered them education for their children.

More than 3,000 policemen and soldiers were deployed since last week in Maguindanao and took over the provincial capitol building and two other town halls controlled by the Ampatuan patriarch.

Two United Nations independent experts said the massacre should be seen as a watershed moment for reform in the Philippines.

Philip Alston, an expert on extrajudicial executions and Frank La Rue, who deals with freedom of opinion and expression, said in a statement the response to the brutal killings should go beyond standard murder investigations.

The massacre also demands a more extensive reflection on the elite family-dominated manipulation of the political processes and the need to eliminate such practices in order to assure the future of democracy in the Philippines.

They also noted that elections in the Philippines have traditionally become occasions for widespread extrajudicial executions of political opponents and stress the need for the authorities to take measures to prevent killings in the run-up to the May elections. (With a report from Mark Navales and Geo Solmerano)

Philippine leader graces oath taking of new press fotogs in Mindanao

Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo graces the oath taking ceremony of new members of the Press Photographers of the Philippines in Cotabato City and General Santos City Chapters held at the Isla Parilla resort in Sarangani’s Alabel town recently. The ceremony was witnessed by PPP National President Jerry Carual, left, and Press Secretary Cerge Remonde. Mindanao Examiner bureau chief for the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao Mark Navales is elected Cotabato City PPP Chapter President while Paul Bernaldez is the PPP’s General Santos City Chapter President. (Photo by Joe Harris Tanodra)

President Arroyo inspects Zamboanga reclamation project

President Gloria Arroyo in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines. (Photo by Jerry Carual)

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / May 29, 2009) – Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo inspected a government project in Zamboanga City in the southern Philippines.

Arroyo inspected a 1.8-ha. reclamation project at the port of Zamboanga. The project is worth more than P700 million. If completed, the port would be able to receive more ships plying Mindanao. Arroyo later spoke with reporters. She also met with three kidnapped local teachers recently freed in Basilan province.

Presidential Assistant for Mindanao Affairs Crisanto dela Cruz and Zamboanga City Rep. Maria Isabelle Salazar were among those who welcomed Arroyo at the Philippine Air Force base.

While in Zamboanga, Arroyo spoke about her childhood memory of the city and saw how it transformed to what it is now – a highly urbanized city.

She pledged to provide more development projects. Security was tight during Arroyo’s brief visit.

Arroyo is to step down next year when her term ends, but her allies in Congress, led by House Speaker Prospero Nograles, are campaigning to amend the Constitution and at one point proposed to turn the lower house into a constituent assembly that would tackle changes in the fundamental laws on the land.

Militant groups and political activists said amending the Constitution would eventually prolong Arroyo's stay in power.

Arroyo's allies said the change in the Constitution is needed to introduce reforms in the economy, among others.

Under the presidential form of government, Arroyo is allowed only one six-year term. In the charter change proposal suggested by her political allies who dominate Congress, she can be elected as prime minister should Congress dissolve the Senate and change the system of government to parliamentary and eventually prolong her into power beyond 2010.

Arroyo’s political party Kampi on Thursday merged with the country’s two major parties - Lakas and CMD – and declared that the merger is a strong assurance of to administration's resolve and determination to push through with the national and local elections in 2010.

Arroyo deposed President Joseph Estrada in a people power revolution in 2001, but corruption scandals in her government and allegations of poll fraud has made her extremely unpopular among Filipinos. (Mindanao Examiner)

Arroyo visits ARMM, pledges more support; praises Ampatuan leadership

MAGUINDANAO, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Mar. 31, 2009) - President Gloria Arroyo visited the province of Maguindanao recently for a briefing on the status and efforts of the local Solid Waste Management Program.

Arroyo said that climate change is the greatest threat the world faces today and this prompted her to reorganize the Presidential Task Force on Climate Change (PTFCC) to augment efforts to curb global warming.

The president also proposed the province to adopt a Bioreactor and a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) for each of its municipalities. The machine sorts, and segregates biodegradable and non-biodegradable wastes and processes them into organic fertilizer and converting non-biodegradable wastes into recyclable bricks.

“These waste management facilities are more acceptable than the proposed landfill because they are environment-friendly and helps in addressing the problem on Global Warming,” she said. “This will also give additional income for the local government units because of the organic fertilizer it produces which will also help our farmers.”

Along with Arroyo during the meeting on Solid Waste Management Program were key officials of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), who were also members of the PTFCC, their counterparts in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and ARMM Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan, Maguindanao Governor Datu Sajid Ampatuan and former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan, Sr.

Her visit in the capital town of Shariff Aguak was appreciated by high-ranking officials from the ARMM and the province of Maguindanao. Arroyo pledged more support to the ARMM and praised Ampatuan's leadership.

“This only shows the commitment and full support of the President to the people of Maguindanao and the whole ARMM,” Ampatuan said.

Arroyo also inaugurated the P218-million Provincial Capitol Complex, which includes the P136- million Provincial Capitol building and the P82-million, 3,500-seat capacity Datu Saudi Uy Ampatuan Sports and Social Center which was funded from the Regional Impact Project Fund of the ARMM government, including P25 million from the President’s Social Fund.

Engr. Norie Unas, Maguindanao Provincial Administrator, said the visit was a very significant event to the residents of the locals as it showed Arroyo's concern to peace, progress and development efforts of her government in the ARMM.

“This is a very special day for us here in Maguindanao because no less than the President of the Republic of the Philippines will inaugurate two of the grandest landmarks in the province,” Unas said. (With a report from the ARMM-Bureau of Public Information)

President Gloria Arroyo Visits Maguindanao Province In Mindanao

ilipino leader Gloria Arroyo with Regional Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan during the Regional Solid Waste Management Program in Maguindanao Provincial Complex. March 27, 2009. Mrs. Arroyo also receives a Galang from Bai Reshal Ampatuan, wife of Mayor Datu Andal Uy Ampatuan, Jr. during her visit in Municipality of Datu Unsay in Maguindanao. She also led the ribbon cutting of the Maguindanao Provincial Capitol Complex. With the president are (from left to right) Agrarian Reform Secretary Nasser Pangandaman, former Maguindanao Governor Datu Andal Ampatuan Sr., OIC Governor of Maguindanao, Datu Sajid Islam Uy Ampatuan, Datu Unsay Mayor Datu Andal Uy Ampatuan, Jr., Mayor Datu Saudi Ampatuan and Shariff Aguak Mayor Datu Anwar Ampatuan. (Mindanao Examiner / Contributed by Rey Baniquet / Best Available Photo)

RP leader graces PMA graduation

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo walks as she inspected this year's graduating class of the Philippine Military Academy (Masiglahi Class) on Monday, March 16,2009 in Fort Del Pilar in Baguio City in northern Philippines. (Photo by Reny Pampolina)

Militant groups accuse Filipino leader of rights violations, etc.

Twenty-three years after President Ferdinand Marcos was deposed by the Filipino people, militant groups led by Bayan are again clamoring for the ouster of President Gloria Arroyo. Bayan accused Arroyo of failing to improve the standards of living of Filipinos and the government rampant violations of human rights that it said even surpassed the 20-year Marcos regime's record of human rights violations.

(Contributed by davaotoday.com / Photo by Jonald Mahinay)

IBON Survey: 7 Out Of 10 Filipinos Want Arroyo Removed As President

Anti-Arroyo protesters. (AKP Images)

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Feb. 24, 2009) - Majority of Filipinos do not want President Gloria Arroyo to remain as the country's chief executive, according to the latest results of the IBON nationwide survey.

Even as Arroyo announced Tuesday that the "world would not forgive another People Power", 66.7% of respondents believe that she should be removed as president, while 19% said she should stay.


Arroyo made the statement during a ceremony commemorating the People Power Revolution that deposed President Ferdinand Marcos in 1986.

The IBON January 2009 Survey was conducted on January 7-16 among 1,500 respondents across various sectors nationwide and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent. Below is the tabulation of results of the respondents' perception on whether Arroyo should remain as the country's president.

In your opinion, should President Gloria Arroyo be removed as the country's president?
And the answers were: Yes - 66.67; No - 19.07; Don't Know - 13.40; No Answer - 0.87.

People Power Revolution: Arroyo leads wreath-laying ceremony in Manila

Philippine President Gloria Arroyo with Armed Forces’ Chief of Staff Alexander Yano, Executive Secretary Eduardo Ermita and Department of National Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr during the wreath-laying ceremony of the 23rd Anniversary of the 1986 People Power revolution on Sunday, February 22, 2009. (Photo by Charlie Olila)

Photo: Philippine President Gloria Arroyo in South Cotabato province

Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo with children during a food feeding program on Wednesday, January 28, 2009 at the Saint Anthony Parish Covered Court in Koronadal City in South Cotabato province. (Photo by Merlyn Acosta)

Dipolog Holds Anti-Chacha Rally

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Jan. 28, 2008) – Residents held a rally on Wednesday in Zamboanga del Norte's Dipolog City protesting a government proposal to change to Constitution.

Dipolog Archbishop Jose Manguiran led the rally. President Gloria Arroyo is to step down in 2010 when her term ends, but her allies in Congress, led by House Speaker Prospero Nograles, are campaigning to amend the Constitution and at one point proposed to turn the lower house into a constituent assembly that would tackle changes in the fundamental laws on the land.

Militant groups and political activists said amending the Constitution would eventually prolong Arroyo's stay in power. Arroyo's allies said the change in the Constitution is needed to introduce reforms in the economy, among others.

Under the presidential form of government, Arroyo is allowed only one six-year term. In the charter change proposal suggested by her political allies who dominate Congress, she can be elected as prime minister should Congress dissolve the Senate and change the system of government to parliamentary and eventually prolong her into power beyond 2010.

Arroyo deposed President Joseph Estrada in a people power revolution in 2001, but corruption scandals in her government and allegations of poll fraud has made her extremely unpopular among Filipinos. (Mindanao Examiner)

President Arroyo's order for prosecutors to go on leave undermines its independence

When the five senior public prosecutors, including the chief of the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor (OCSP), were placed on an indefinite leave on 11 January 2009 to comply with orders from President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, it rather exposed the frailties and confirmed the widely acknowledged lack of independence of the country’s prosecution system.

President Arroyo’s order forcing Jovencito Zuño, chief prosecutor; Phillip Kimpo, senior state prosecutor; Misael Ladaga, state prosecutor and John Resado, investigating prosecutor, to go on an indefinite leave while investigations take place into allegations of their alleged wrongdoings, which include an attempt to exonerate three wealthy young men from charges of illegal drugs in exchange for a bribe. 

It was Raul Gonzalez, secretary of the Department of Justice (DoJ), who had President Arroyo’s order implemented. Gonzalez’s undersecretary, Ricardo Blancaflor, who is also the head of Task Force 211, a Presidential body tasked to investigate and prosecute cases involving political killings, was also ordered to go on leave. 

While it is reasonable that the prosecutors involved should go on leave to ensure that an investigation into allegations of their wrongdoing be conducted, for this order to come from the President, is completely unacceptable. The DoJ and the National Prosecution Service (NPS), to which these prosecutors are attached, certainly have their internal disciplining mechanism to deal with public officials committing any wrongdoing. 

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has since been expressing serious concern about the government’s actions, in particular the executive, of either subverting or undermining the independence of the country’s prosecution service. The very existence of the NSP, whose head and prosecutors are accountable to the DoJ secretary, who is a presidential appointee, has already had its independence undermined. 

What was shocking is that there were neither pretexts nor pretension at all that the order forcing these five prosecutors to take indefinite leave had indeed comes from President herself. It therefore illustrates and confirms the control of the executive branch over the country’s prosecution service through her appointee. In this case, even before a conclusion of the investigating body as to whether or not the prosecutors committed wrongdoings, the President had already acted on her own effectively ignoring any internal procedures and due process that already existed. 

In the normal course of procedure, prior to the imposition of punishments or sanctions to public prosecutors committing wrongdoing, the DoJ secretary has to notify the President after reaching a findings and deciding whether or not to have these decisions implemented. However, when President Arroyo ordered these five prosecutors to go on leave, none of these procedures were observed at all. 

The President’s action therefore had already effectively undermined and attacked the independence of the prosecution service, to which the DoJ is complicit. 

The AHRC once again renews its calls, and supports the long overdue demands of the lawyers and legal fraternity, that the NSP should be separated from the DoJ. The pending proposal which aims towards making the prosecution service completely independent from executive and political control, should be acted upon without further delay. 

The AHRC is deeply concerned by the implications of the President’s actions. It calls for the order to be withdrawn and for the executive to refrain from any further actions that effectively undermines the prosecution service. The prosecutors within the country, public or private, should express concern over the politicization of the prosecution service. The success of prosecuting the public officials, security forces and the head of state, which are facing serious allegations of either tolerating or committing human rights violations, heavily depends on the independence of its prosecution service. 

If the President’s action is allowed to continue, the victims of human rights violation would lose their trust and confidence upon the prosecution service. These victims includes the families of hundreds of victims of extrajudicial killings in recent years, most of whom have yet to obtain legal redress for the violations committed upon them. 

What is of serious concern, too, is the apparent resignation on part of prosecutors involved by simply accepting the order and challenging the President’s order legally. They should have insisted that the independence of the prosecution service be upheld. They themselves have apparently accepted their plight without putting up a fight at all. 

The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

(Prosecution in the Philippines 

http://www.article2.org/mainfile.php/0701/307/)

Moro rebels reject offer by communist insurgents to jointly fight Arroyo government

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