MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / November 30, 2009) – Filipino leader Gloria Arroyo announced Monday that she will run for Congress in the May 2010 national elections.
Arroyo, who was accused of fraud in previous elections, said she would like to continue to work in public service despite massive opposition from different civil society groups and the Catholic Church.
Arroyo's supporters from her hometown in Pampanga, where his son is also a congressman, assured her victory in next year's polls.
She said the people wanted her to continue serving in Congress, but opposition politicians claimed if Arroyo wins, she and her allies in the House of Representatives would pursue in changing the Constitution with her ending up elected as Prime Minister and avoid possible prosecution for graft and corruption.
Many Filipinos do not want Arroyo to continue because of corruption scandals in her government involving her husband and two sons and a brother-in-law in Congress. Arroyo denied all accusations against her. (Mindanao Examiner)
Monday, November 30, 2009
Philippine leader to seek seat in Congress
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Gloria’s mysterious millions: Stacks of stocks, sparse data
The lawyers and spokesperson of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo have spoken, in many words saying that the 114-percent surge in her declared net worth from 2000 to 2008 could be explained.
At a press conference Monday, her lawyer Romulo Macalintal said the ongoing PCIJ report – whose part 1 was released earlier that day -- was “speculative and judgmental." He added that PCIJ must come up with proof to support its “most unfair and uncalled for" findings on Arroyo’s wealth.
Lawyer Ruy Rondain, who also serves as counsel to First Gentleman Jose Miguel Arroyo, seconded: “My feeling is that if the PCIJ has any evidence, it would be better if they bring it out because the report is just full of insinuations."
Indeed, there are more details that the PCIJ has uncovered, and which Arroyo’s lawyers themselves may well want to look at. Contained in various documents obtained from the Office of the Ombudsman, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Register of Deeds of local government units, and other relevant public agencies, these details raise more questions that even Makalintal and Rondain may not be able to answer.
For instance, in the Statement of Assets and Liabilities and Net Worth (SALNs) she filed in 2008, President Arroyo had declared ownership of only six real estate properties, with total book or acquisition value of a measly P5.7 million.
These include a “gift purchased" residential lot in Antipolo, Rizal; a house and lot in Baguio City; raw land in Coron, Palawan; a fishpond in Malolos, Bulacan; an agricultural lot in Nasugbu, Batangas; and a commercial lot in Tayabas, Quezon.
Until recently, the First Couple had owned a three-hectare agricultural lot in San Rafael, Bulacan that, according to then Senator Arroyo’s 1995 SALN, they acquired for P1.2 million. They sold it for P42 million on Dec. 23, 2008.
It was to be the only real estate property that the Arroyos liquidated to account for a significant cash inflow. Cash might have come in from the sale of three other real properties they owned -- a residential lot in Las Pinas, an island in Cagayan, and a condominium in Makati City – but these were sold in 1994 and 1999, or before Arroyo became president.
No La Vista, no Forbes
Curiously, over the last 17 years or from 1992 when she first served as senator, Arroyo had not once declared two prime real estate properties that her own Cabinet officials believe she owns or has interests in: her house on No. 14 Badjao Street in posh La Vista Subdivision in Quezon City, and her parents’ house on No. 92 Cambridge Circle, North Forbes Park in Makati City.
By August 8, 2008, official records show that ownership of 10 house-and-lot properties of the Arroyo clan in La Vista had been transferred in the name of La Vista Holdings and Investments, Inc., from another company whose registration the SEC had revoked in August 2003.
La Vista Investments and Holdings is the only company that Arroyo listed in her 2008 SALN in which she and her husband have “business interest and/or financial connections." The First Gentleman, President Arroyo said, is a shareholder of La Vista Investments.
Raul Gonzalez, chief legal counsel today and for five years justice secretary of Arroyo, recalls attending meetings at the North Forbes house until two years ago.
Karina Constantino David, Civil Service Commission chairperson until 2007, says she knows that the house on Badjao Street is clustered among several houses that all belong to the Arroyos and their children and immediate relatives.
In their separate SALNs, Arroyo’s sons Juan Miguel and Diosdado, both members of the House of Representatives, as well as the First Gentleman’s brother, Ignacio Jr., and sister, Maria Lourdes, now a party-list representative, have all declared owning houses worth multimillions of pesos in the Arroyo enclave on Badjao and Kalinga streets in La Vista.
An elephant’s mind
That Arroyo seems to have forgotten about these houses and other assets surprises Gonzalez, who swears that the Philippines’ 14th president has the memory of an elephant.
Arroyo, he says, remembers the minutest details, facts, figures, faces, numbers, and names from even years back. He says it is unthinkable for Arroyo to forget what she and her husband own.
“What is obvious, how can you forget what is obvious? How can I forget my wife has a chicken farm? How can I forget my wife is engaged in looking for properties which are foreclosed and sold in public auction and she tries to buy them those things she can afford," Gonzalez says.
“She is very meticulous, she is very retentive," he says of the president. “My God, she has the memory of an elephant, and things you discussed six months ago she can tell you."
Macalintal and Rondain meanwhile say that Arroyo’s wealth could be explained not just by her real estate properties, but also by her shareholdings in companies that she and her husband own.
In truth, in her 2008 SALN, Arroyo had declared that stocks already made up 70 percent, or P110 million, of her declared net worth of P144.5 million. Her SALNs, however, do not say in which companies she has acquired capital shares, and whether these are listed in the stock market.
The PCIJ obtained all documents available at the SEC on the business entities in which the president and the First Gentleman, their sons, and other relatives in public office have interest in a diligent effort to find out whether these could account for the surge in Arroyo’s stocks portfolio.
Stocks, also called capital shares or equity, represent claims of ownership in a corporation – whether or not publicly listed in the stock market.
Few profitable firms
The president, according to SEC records updated as of October 2008, still has business and financial connections in at least five entities: Optima Research & Consultancy Agency, Inc., incorporator as of Sept 15, 1980; L.T.A. Realty Corp., incorporator, as of Sept. 28, 1992; EVA Development Corp., incorporator/board member, as of May 18, 1993; Circulo Pampangueno of Guam, Inc., board member, as of Sept. 29, 1997; and Centrist Democrat International Asia-Pacific, Inc., stockholder, incorporator, board member, as of July 24, 2005.
The First Gentleman, by the SEC’s records, still has business interests and financial connections in at least nine entities: Trans Realty Co., Inc., incorporator, as of Oct. 8, 1980; Raco-Trading Philippines, Inc., incorporator, as of Oct. 9, 1980; L.T.A. Realty Corp., incorporator, as of June 28, 1982; Aviatica Travel & Management Corp., incorporator, as of July 22, 1987; Eva Development Corp., incorporator, board member, as of May 18, 1993; Philippine Blooming Trade and Development Corp., incorporator, as of Sept. 5, 1995; and Pacific Mint International Corp., incorporator, board member, as of May 15, 1997.
The First Gentleman is also connected with three foundations: Ateneo Law Class ’72 Foundation, Inc., board member, as of March 14, 1996; Kaibigan ni Gloria Macapagal Arroyo Foundation, board member, as of May 17, 1999; and First Gentleman Foundation, Inc., incorporator, as of May 28, 2002.
All these firms are not listed in the SALNs that Arroyo filed from 2001 to 2008. But since most are not particularly big or profitable, they could not have served as sources of the First Couple’s additional cash or equity shares.(Malou Mangahas, PCIJ)
(Last of three parts)
Link: http://www.pcij.org/stories/2009/arroyo-wealth4.html
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Anti-Arroyo Protesters Hold Rally In Kidapawan City
Tuesday, June 09, 2009
GMA most distrusted public official; Palace blames critics
A political activist during an anti-Arroyo rally in Mindanao. “Filipinos are most appreciative of the performance of Vice President de Castro and most critical of the work done by President Arroyo,” Pulse Asia reported Monday.
In its May 2009 survey, de Castro attained the highest approval rating at 53 percent, while President Arroyo had the highest disapproval rating at 46 percent.
“De Castro enjoys the highest approval ratings [ranging from 41 percent to 63 percent], while President Arroyo posts the highest disapproval ratings [from 43 percent to 60 percent] in all geographic areas and socioeconomic classes,” Pulse Asia reported.
Mrs. Arroyo’s low approval rating of 26 percent has been almost the same for most of the past four years, according to the survey firm.
But House Speaker Prospero Nograles attained the lowest approval rating among the top government officials, with 20 percent.
After the Vice President, Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno received the second-highest approval rating with 34 percent, followed by Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile with 32 percent.
After the President, Nograles posted the second-highest disapproval rating with 34 percent, followed by Enrile (26 percent), Puno (25 percent) and de Castro (21 percent).
Pulse Asia reported that between February and May 2009, there were no significant changes in the overall performance ratings of these top government officials.
The survey added that “public trust is the predominant sentiment only in the case of Vice President de Castro, while public distrust is most pronounced in the case of President Arroyo.”
For trust ratings, Enrile and Puno were tied at second (28 percent). Mrs. Arroyo had a 25-percent trust rating, while Nograles was the least trusted by respondents, with 17 percent. As for distrust ratings, second to President Arroyo was Nograles with 37 percent. They were followed by Enrile (29 percent) and Puno (28 percent).
De Castro was the least distrusted with 22 percent.
Pulse Asia’s latest survey on approval and trust ratings of top government officials was conducted from May 4 to 17, using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 representative adults age 18 years old and older.
The survey has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent at the national level, and plus or minus 6 percent in the area level.
Pulse Asia said it conducted the survey “on its own without any party singularly commissioning the research effort,” and that “no religious, political, economic, or partisan group influenced” its undertaking.
Constant attacks and criticisms from the opposition makes President Arroyo even more unpopular to the people, Malacañang said also on Monday.
“I think the opposition is just talking about all the negatives about the things that the government is doing,” Deputy Presidential Spokesman Lorelei Fajardo said in a press conference. “They are highlighting the negative side of the leadership of the President, rather than dwelling more on the positive sides and accomplishments of the administration.”
The spokesman added that the President’s unpopularity could also be blamed on her focus to do the right things, rather than the popular things. “The President has decisions in the past that were not popular to the public, like in tax [hikes]. But she knows [that] in the end people, will understand it.”
Fajardo added that the survey result was merely a manifestation of public perception and could not be the representation of reality. “I want to make it clear that it is the perception of the people based on the surveys, but this is not necessarily the truth. It’s not necessarily the real feeling of our people. This is just based on 1,200 people surveyed.” (Rommel C. Lontayao And Angelo S. Samonte / Manila Times)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
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.
Friday, November 28, 2008
2 bishops open to 'extra-legal' means to bring down Arroyo - GMANews.TV
Bishops Antonio Tobias and Deogracias Iñiguez expressed their disgust during a press conference in Quezon City a day after administration members of the House of Representatives’ Committee on Justice voted to kill an impeachment complaint filed against President Arroyo.
“If we can no longer go through the legal means of seeking the truth, we will be forced to use extra-constitutional or extra-legal means," Iňiguez said.
"Ipakita natin na ayaw na natin ang nangyayari (Let us show that we are sick and tired of what’s going on)," added Tobias, who argued that such action should not be misconstrued as “destabilization."
The two outspoken bishops said they were hoping that a protest action planned on Nov. 30 at the Balintawak Monument would spark a bigger uprising like the previous “people power revolutions."
In a phone interview, Iñiguez told GMANews.TV that their move would focus on denouncing fresh attempts by Arroyo allies to tinker with the Philippine Constitution.
Tobias also read to journalists a statement made by detained Brigadier General Danilo Lim, former commander of the Army’s Scout Ranger Regiment.
“The Filipino people should act now to reclaim their dignity, remove the pretender from power and steer this nation on the path to greatness," Tobias read from Lim’s statement
Iñiguez said Lim’s letter was given to them through the Kilusang Makabansang Ekonomista (KME). He said the letter was sent to them as a means of support for their upcoming protest action.
“Siguro nabalitaan niya yung affair namin sa Nov. 30 na against cha-cha tapos sumulat siya parang pakikiisa on the part of the military (Maybe he’s heard of the anti- Charter change rally that we would hold on Nov. 30. So, he wrote a letter expressing his support on the part of the military)," Iñiguez said.
Lim is facing court-martial for his involvement in an alleged plot to seize power on Feb. 24, 2006. He was charged with the violation of Articles of War 67 (inciting to sedition).
Iñiguez also said that they were very happy to have received Lim’s support. “We are very happy, siya naman kasi nakakulong siya so he is against the government, we are happy na sa military na meron may ganoong sentiment (We are very happy that at least someone in the military has the same kind of sentiment.)," he said.
In Malacañang, Deputy Presidential Spokesperson Anthony Golez, denounced the two prelates for encouraging mass uprising instead of just clamoring for truth.
“I think everybody should be clamoring for peace and the leaders of the Church should be clamoring for peace as well," Golez said.(Aie Balagtas See, GMANews.TV)
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Lawyer calls for mass action vs poll postponement bid - GMANews.TV
Law professor Harry Roque Jr said the resolution by Batangas Representative Hermilando Mandanas is by far the clearest proof that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her allies want to stay beyond 2010.
"Klarong klaro na ang paninindigan ng mga aktor sa ating larangan ng pulitika. Kinakailangan na ang sambayanan ang manindigan, at ang ating paninindigan at alam kong maraming sumasangayon sa atin, No to Cha-cha, No to Gloria (Recent actions of actors in the political scene have made the Arroyo government's intentions very clear. Now it is time for the people to unite and make their voices heard - No to Cha-Cha, no to Gloria)," Roque said in an interview on dwIZ radio.
He also said the resolution belies all the denials made by Palace spokesmen that Mrs Arroyo is not interested in staying on after her term ends on June 30, 2010.
Roque, one of the complainants in the latest impeachment complaint against President Arroyo, said the Mandanas resolution is meant to complement Congress' plan to kill the impeachment bid.
"Papatayin ang impeachment dahil ayaw matanggal ang presidente sa pwesto ngayon at ang talagang plano ng administrasyon, manatili beyond 2010. Kahit anong pagsisinungaling nila na wala silang intention at walang proposal na i-extend ang termino ni presidente ang katotohananlalabas at lalabas (They will kill the impeachment bid because the president does not want to leave power. Now, all their lies of being disinterested in term extension will go down the drain because the truth has come out)," he said.
House Resolution 550 seeks to postpone the 2010 presidential elections and extend the terms of office for all elective officials.
It is currently pending before the House committee on constitutional amendments.
House constitutional amendments panel chairman La Union Rep. Victor Ortega initially denied the term-extension provision but backtracked when lawyer Neri Colmenares confronted him with a copy of the resolution.
Colmenares added HR 550 has already undergone "initial deliberations" on August 12, 2008, adding that this was based on a report he secured from the committee secretariat.
"It is already in the agenda. That means they can already vote on it, even today or perhaps tomorrow. This proves that all previous assurances that there are no proposals for term extension being considered were misleading," he said.
The Mandanas resolution proposed that the presidential elections scheduled for May 10, 2010 be reset instead to May 9, 2011.(GMANews.TV - http://www.gmanews.tv/story/135732/Lawyer-calls-for-mass-action-vs-poll-postponement-bid)
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Controversy, suspicions surround proposed change in Philippine Constitution
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.
Rep. Liza Maza said moves to amend the Constitution being pursued in the lower house reek of evil motives and should immediately be blocked. Political activists continue to hold sporadic rallies in front of Nograles’ congressional office in Davao City to condemn the proposed charter change.
Maza, who belongs to the militant party-list group called Gabriela, said President Arroyo and her allies have not been cleared of allegations of kickbacks and corruption in any of the impeachment hearings and committee investigations in both Congress and the Senate since 2001.
Rep. Jose de Venecia, a former House Speaker and a one time ally of President Arroyo, has accused her of bribery, saying, she tried to bribe him to put off support for the impeachment complaint against her.
De Venecia has testified Monday against the President in congressional hearings on another impeachment complaint. Other lawmakers also accused the President of bribery, corruption, violation of the constitution and betrayal of public trust.
President Arroyo’s spokesmen strongly denied all the accusations against the embattled leader, who was also accused of poll fraud in the 2004 national elections against her closest rival, Fernando Poe Jr.
Maza said: “President Arroyo cannot just simply escape the charges against her. She should be held accountable for the strings of cases which include betrayal of public trust, culpable violations of the Philippine Constitution, bribery and graft and corruption, all of which glaringly constitute grounds for her impeachment.”
She said other lawmakers from the progressive party-list bloc are poised to frustrate all moves to amend the Constitution.
”The move to change the charter will only serve the vested interests of the Arroyo administration. The urgent clamor for Charter change exists only in Malacañang and its allies. The latest IBON nationwide survey showed that 77% of Filipino people reject such scheme to amend the Constitution. It is the last thing that the people need,” Maza said.
She was referring to a nationwide survey conducted this October by the independent IBON Foundation which showed that majority of Filipinos continue to reject moves to amend the Constitution.
The IBON survey was conducted nationwide from October 1 to 10 with 1,494 respondents from various sectors. The survey used a multi-stage probability sampling scheme with a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
President Gloria Arroyo's allies in Congress have proposed to change the system of government from presidential to parliamentary or federalism.
Militant groups and political activists have previously accused Arroyo of using the peace talks with the Moro Islamic Liberation Front to amend the Constitution and eventually prolong her to stay into power. But since the peace talks had collapsed, Arroyo’s allies are now saying that 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.
Many Filipinos said they would oppose any term extension of Arroyo 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.
Recent corruption scandals besetting the Arroyo administration have led most Filipinos to call for the President to step down, according to another IBON survey.
Asked if they were aware of calls made recently by members of the Church and other sectoral groups for President Arroyo to resign from office and face corruption charges leveled against her, 75% of the total 1,503 survey respondents said yes.
Of these, 77.4% said they agreed with such call to step down.
Various interfaith and sectoral groups such as Solidarity Philippines, Concerned Citizens Group, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others, have called for a rejection of what they called as Arroyo’s morally bankrupt government. (Mindanao Examiner)
Saturday, November 22, 2008
GMA Is Still Extending Her Term: The Clues
2. GMA Allies in the lower house files for charter change.
3. Change of the leadership in the Senate, putting an ally of the administration.
5. Failure to appropriate enough budget for computerization of the next Presidential election.
6. Creating problems in the agreement between MILF and the government ( although they failed on this area when the Supreme Court declares it unconstitutional).
7. Recent personal campaign of the President's son in the lower house.gathering signatures to open the issue on charter change.
8. Prayer of her Press Secretary that her term should be extended.
9. Classmates of the President are campaigning for charter change.
10. Putting of allies in the Supreme Court when most of the Justices retire this year.
11. Maintaning close ties with the Generals in the armed forces and extending their term or appointing them to new positions.
12. Change from Prsidential to Parliamentary and Federal form of government.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
IBON Survey: Most Filipinos Want Arroyo To Step Down Due To Corruption Charges
Asked if they were aware of calls made recently by members of the Church and other sectoral groups for Pres. Arroyo to resign from office and face corruption charges levelled against her, 75% of the total 1,503 survey respondents said yes.
Of these, 77.4% said they agreed with such call to step down.
Various interfaith and sectoral groups such as Solidarity Philippines, Concerned Citizens Group, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, among others, have called for a rejection of what they called as Arroyo’s morally bankrupt government.
The IBON nationwide survey was conducted from January 7 to 14, 2008, with 1,503 respondents. It has a margin of error of plus or minus three percent.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Another Scandal Rocks Arroyo Govt
The Commission on Audit has uncovered alleged fake signatures on the list of beneficiaries of the Ginintuang Masaganang Ani (GMA) program of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo.
It said more than 100 recipients of the P218 million expenditure of the Department of Agriculture said they received little or not farm subsidies at all for hybrid rice, farm inputs, fertilizers and seeds in Luzon and Visayas.
Several lawmakers have already called for an investigation of the GMA program.
The Department of Agriculture in the past had been dragged into the controversial fertilizer program after one of its deputy secretaries Jocelyn Bolante allegedly diverted more than P700 million to Arroyo's election campaign.
Bolante escaped the Philippines and fled to the United States after the opposition uncovered the anomaly. He was arrested in the US after the Philippine Senate canceled his visa. Arroyo, who was implicated also by the opposition to poll fraud in 2004, denied any involvement in the scandals.
Last week, noted lawyer Harry Roque Roque said he uncovered a controversial $1-billion mining deal between the Arroyo government and China’s ZTE Corporation in Mt. Diwalwal. Government spokesmen insisted the deal did not push through.
Monday, May 28, 2007
COMELEC's Rene Sarmiento, Magbibitiw Na!
Sa Maguindanao nagwagi ng landslide ang TEAM Unity sa 12-0 swift na umano’y balot sa karahasan at pananakot.
Hindi pa malinaw ang dahilan ng pagreresign ni Sarmiento, ngunit ayon sa ibang mga impormasyon ay kalusugan ang idinadahilan nito. Biglaan ang naging desisyon ni Sarmiento at ibat-ibang haka-haka ang kumakalat sa Mindanao.
Magbibitiw diumano ito dahil sa hindi masikmura ang matinding dayaan sa Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao at posibleng pinagreresign rin dahil hindi umano nagawan ng paraan na maitago ang mga kalokohan sa Maguindanao, Lanao, Basilan at Sulu na kung saan ay namayagpag ang TEAM Unity kontra sa Genuine Opposition senatorial candidates.
Hindi naman makumpirma ang mga balitang ito, ngunit lumutang na ang pangalan ni Elections Commissioner Nicodemo Ferrer na posibleng pumalit kay Sarmiento.
Pumutok rin ang balita kasabay ng paglabas ngayon araw sa ABS-CBN ng video footage na nakunan ng grupo ni reporter Ricky Carandang na kung saan ay nahuling bitbit ng mga COMELEC officials ang ilang bundles ng blankong election returns mula Marawi City patungo sa isang hotel sa Iligan City.
Nauna umanong itinanggi ito ni Sarmiento, ngunit dakong huli ay inamin rin matapos na makita ang video footage. Sinabi nitong “safekeeping” lamang ang dahil kung bakit inilipat ang mga ERs.
Nagkaroon pa ng sagutan ang grupo ni Carandang sa isang sigang kasamahan ni Sarmiento ng sila’y komprontahin ng media ukol sa ERs.Halos mabulol naman ang lalaki sa kapapaliwanag at pinag-diskitahan pa ang camera man ni Carandang.
Inulat rin kanina ng ABS-CBN na matapos na mailabas ang nasabing video footage ay pinaghahanap na umano ng mga armadong grupo sina Carandang.
Hindi naman agad makunan ng pahayag si Sarmiento sa Lanao at lumipad na umano ito patungong Maynila kahapon sa kalagitnaan ng eskandalo at dayaan na ibinibintang ng oposisyon sa Malakanyang upang papanaluhin ang ilang mga TEAM Unity bets, partikular ang ika-11 at ika-12 puwesto sa Magic 12.
Itinanggi ng Malakanyang at TEAM Unity ang akusasyon.
Sina failed coup leader Antonio Trillanes at Aquilino “Coco” Pimentel Jr na parehong oposisyon ang nasa dalawang puwesto at kulelat naman sina Jose Miguel Zubiri, Mike Defensor at Ralph Recto ng TEAM Unity. (May ulat sina Mark Navales, Merlyn Manos, Juan Magtanggol at Becky de Asis)