Arroyo entourage also had $15,000 meal in D.C. - Report

MANILA - Three days before allegedly spending $20,000 for a dinner in a Manhattan restaurant, President Arroyo and her entourage also reportedly spent another $15,000 for dinner at Bobby Van's Steakhouse on 15th Street, Washington DC, a major US daily reported Wednesday.

A report titled "Heartburn Over Two Big Meals" in the Washington Post's Reliable Source column said Mrs. Arroyo and an entourage of about 65 people, including security and food tasters, had dinner at Bobby Van's Steakhouse on 15th Street NW hours after her July 30 meeting with US President Barack Obama.

"The group took over one of the restaurant's private rooms and dined on lobster, steak and fine wines; at the conclusion of the meal, an unidentified woman opened a handbag stuffed with cash, counted out bills and paid the $15,000 tab -- which included a generous tip," the column read.

"The Philippine Embassy did not return calls for comment Tuesday," it added.

The bill of $15,000 roughly translates to about P720,899,000 based on latest foreign exchange rates.

Steaks at the popular restaurant are priced anywhere from $38 (P1,830) to $42 (P2,023), according to the Bobby Van's Steakhouse website. Half bottles of red and white wine at the restaurant are priced between $18 (P867) to $60 (P2,890) while the most expensive bottle on the winelist, a Louis Roederer Cristal Reims, is priced at $575 (P27,697).

Arroyo's expensive dinner in Washington is the second to be reported by the US media recently. Last week, the New York Post reported that Arroyo and her entourage dined at Manhattan's Le Cirque on August 2, with the dinner bill amounting to $20,000 or almost P1 million.

Malacañang spokesmen have denied that public funds were used to pay for the dinner. They said it was Leyte Rep. Ferdinand Martin Romualdez who paid the bill. Romualdez is the nephew of former First Lady Imelda Marcos.

Akbayan party-list Rep. Walden Bello on Wednesday urged the Office of the Ombudsman to investigate President Arroyo for violating Republic Act 6713 or the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

Bello cited Section 4(h) of the law which states that “public officials shall lead modest lives appropriate to their positions and income,” and that “they shall not engage in extravagant or ostentatious displays of wealth."

He added that if Romualdez paid for the dinner, then both Arroyo and Romualdez could be charged with bribery.(Link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/08/12/09/report-arroyo-entourage-also-had-15000-meal-dc)



Heartburn Over Two Big Meals: The Washington Post

Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's visit to the White House on July 30 didn't draw much attention, and her dinner in Washington that night got nary a mention. And that's how it might have stayed -- if not for a controversial meal in New York City.

Arroyo is under fire in her native country for a $20,000 meal at Manhattan's Le Cirque on Aug. 2, which included caviar and several bottles of champagne. The dinner, first reported in the New York Post, has Arroyo's critics comparing her to the extravagant Imelda Marcos.

The Reliable Source has learned that three days earlier, Arroyo and an entourage of about 65 people (including security and food tasters) had dinner at Bobby Van's Steakhouse on 15th Street NW hours after she met with President Obama. The group took over one of the restaurant's private rooms and dined on lobster, steak and fine wines; at the conclusion of the meal, an unidentified woman opened a handbag stuffed with cash, counted out bills and paid the $15,000 tab -- which included a generous tip.

The Philippine Embassy did not return calls for comment Tuesday.


Link: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/reliable-source/2009/08/rs-dinner12.html

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

Arroyo dined for P1M in New York - Report

MANILA, Philippines — President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and her party racked up a dinner bill of close to P1 million at a ritzy New York restaurant during her recent trip to the United States, according to an online news report.

And the militant Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan), which referred to the story of the New York Post that was posted August 7 on its website, is demanding an explanation.

Richard Johnson wrote the brief report in the Page Six “Eat and Drink” section of the NY Post online edition.

It read: “The economic downturn hasn’t persuaded everyone to pinch pennies. Philippines President Maria Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was at Le Cirque the other night with a large entourage enjoying the good life, even though the former comptroller of her country’s armed services, Carlos Garcia, was found guilty earlier this year of perjury and two of his sons were arrested in the US on bulk cash-smuggling charges. Macapagal-Arroyo ordered several bottles of very expensive wine, pushing the dinner tab up to $20,000.”

“Malacañang has a lot of explaining to do about this latest allegation which came out in an American paper. Who spent for the lavish dinner?” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes Jr. said in a statement.

In a statement issued Saturday, Makati Mayor and United Opposition president Jejomar Binay said: “How Mrs. Arroyo and her administration can justify blowing P960,000 for dinner and expensive wine at a time of economic difficulty is beyond me.”

Just dinner

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde, who was with the President’s entourage, did not respond to calls on Saturday.

But he sent a text message explaining that it was Leyte Representative Martin Romualdez who hosted the August 2 dinner for the President and her husband Jose Miguel Arroyo.

“It was Congressman Martin Romualdez who invited the First Couple to dinner at Le Cirque in New York. As to how much the dinner costs, Malacañang does not know as it was the host who chose the menu and picked up the tab,” Remonde said.

“There was no partying. Just dinner pure and simple,” he said.

The Philippine Daily Inquirer managed to reach Romualdez Saturday afternoon by phone. He said he was busy at the moment because there were people with him, and that he would call back.

He never did. The Inquirer tried to reach him again several times later in the day but he did not pick up.

Arroyo and her entourage flew to the United States for a working visit on July 29.

She met with President Barack Obama at the White House on the night of July 30 – the high point of her visit – and from Washington flew to New York for a series of meetings with multinational companies.

The President was billeted at the Waldorf Astoria, several blocks away from Le Cirque, when she was in New York.

Caviar and champagne

Arroyo arrived back in Manila early on August 5, and went straight to Manila Cathedral where the remains of former President Corazon Aquino lay in state, to pay her last respects.

The purported menu included caviar; such appetizers as lobster salad, wild burgundy escargot and soft shell crab tempura; main courses of black cod, halibut, Dover sole, saddle of lamb and prime dry-aged strip steak; and Krug champagne at $510 a bottle.

Bayan’s Reyes wondered if it was “appropriate for a head of state of a Third World country like Mrs. Arroyo to wine and dine in such a manner, given that we’re in the midst of a crisis.”

“This is one dinner that certainly leaves a bad taste in the mouth, at least for the rest of the Filipino people,” he said.

Reyes said that even if someone else had picked up the tab, it still did not look “appropriate.”
Embarrassing

“It’s embarrassing for the Philippines to have such writeups appear in a foreign paper. It begs the question, what is Mrs. Arroyo really doing during her trips? Are taxpayers being made to shoulder the lavish lifestyles of the so-called rich and famous?” he said.

Reyes also said the mention of Garcia in the report was a sad commentary on Philippine officials’ reputation as corrupt.

“This ostentatious display of affluence reminiscent of [strongman Ferdinand Marcos’ widow] Imelda Marcos reinforces the perception that Philippine officials are corrupt and are living it up while others wallow in crisis. It is truly disappointing and disgusting,” he said.

He pointed out that in a November 2008 study that was part of Gallup’s World Food Day survey, 40 percent of Filipinos reported having experienced hunger “often or sometimes” in the last 12 months.

Food not bad

Sought for comment, some of the lawmakers who were among the President’s entourage did not want to make much of the affair.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez said he remembered dining with the President in a New York restaurant but added that the place did not seem “fashionable.”

Suarez said there were probably more expensive restaurants in New York’s five-star hotels.
“I don’t find it fashionable. The food is not bad. As for the place, the surroundings were not pretty,” he told the Inquirer.

Deputy Speaker Amelita Villarosa said she doubted that a dinner bill during the trip could reach $20,000.

Villarosa said she remembered dining at Le Cirque but not the details because she had several lunches and dinners during the trip.

She said she did not think that the bill could run that high because servings were big in US restaurants and members of Ms Arroyo’s party usually shared their orders.

Bacolod Rep. Monico Puentevella said he missed the dinner because he came down with a cold and a cough in New York.

Hypocrisy

“The extravagance showed the Arroyo administration’s insensitivity and hypocrisy,” Binay said, adding that the dinner was held hours before Ms Arroyo and her party flew back to Manila ostensibly to catch former President Aquino’s wake.

Binay said spending a huge amount of money equivalent to three square meals for almost 3,000 poor families appeared to be Ms Arroyo’s idea of honoring and respecting Aquino.

“What they did was deplorable, especially if taxpayers’ money was spent. If they spent private money, what they did was in bad taste and again showed insensitivity to the millions of Filipinos who face hunger daily,” he said. (With reports from Leila Salaverria and Niña Catherine Calleja)


Link: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view/20090809-219377/Arroyo-dined-for-P1M-in-New-Yorkreport

The Media Under Arroyo: A Legacy of Bloodshed and Repression

President Gloria Arroyo during a meeting Sunday, July 26, 2009 with the Education Task Force at Malakanyan.(Val Escalera)

MANILA, Philippines - On July 27, when President Gloria Arroyo delivers what is supposed to be her final state of the nation address before the constitutionally mandated end of her term in June next year, we expect her, of course, to give a glowing account of her nine years in power.

We have no intention of disputing her claims. But for the Philippine media, the Arroyo administration will be remembered for a legacy of bloodshed and repression, its acts of omission and commission nurturing the impunity with which the enemies of press freedom have operated.

By the time she steps down, Arroyo’s watch will have seen a death toll accounting for more than 60 percent of the journalists murdered since the supposed democratic restoration of 1986 and almost twice that under the 14-year Marcos dictatorship.

Only in three cases have we seen convictions under her term, but only of the gunmen, none of the masterminds.

As for repression, it can be argued that no administration has shown such open contempt and hostility toward media or been so cavalier with the constitutionally guaranteed rights to freedom of the press and of expression than this one.

How else would one interpret then Justice secretary Raul Gonzalez’s quip that most of the slain journalists were either womanizers or involved in drunken revelry, or First Gentleman Mike Arroyo’s making the then dying Dipolog broadcaster Klein Cantoneros an example of what befalls supposedly irresponsible media practitioners during a speech before the Negros Press Club a few years back?

No government since the dictatorship has attempted a wholesale clampdown on the media as Arroyo’s did during the short-lived state of national emergency she declared in 2006.

Not only did her storm troopers raid the Tribune and tramp threateningly through the parking lots of the two major broadcast networks, Cabinet Secretary Ricardo Saludo even had the temerity to threaten the takeover of a network that was interviewing live because it had allowed a military mutineer to say his piece.

And who can forget the sight of some 50 journalists marched off to a police camp in the aftermath of the Manila Peninsula takeover, their sole crime the performance of their duties; or the brief detention of as many journalists covering the humanitarian crisis in central Mindanao by Army soldiers in Maguindanao province?

It has also been under this administration that security forces have openly branded media organizations as “enemies of the state,” as the Intelligence Service of the Armed Forces of the Philippines did in its infamous “Knowing the Enemy” PowerPoint presentation in 2005, and the Army’s 10th Infantry Division with its recently discovered order of battle.

We would like to stress here that we have received reliable reports that, notwithstanding the military’s promise that it would pull the “Knowing the Enemy” presentation, it has continued to be shown in schools and urban poor communities in Metro Manila.

Neither did Arroyo lift a hand when her husband wielded the antiquated libel law like a bludgeon, filing multiple suits against 46 journalists in what was a clear abuse of his powers and privileges.

Nor did Arroyo rein in House Speaker Prospero Nograles from using the same law to torment broadcaster Alex Adonis.

Neither has she shown any inclination to exercise her influence over her congressional allies to stop them from further pushing the right of reply bill, which would place control of media content in the hands of politicians hungry for power and fame.

This administration’s animosity toward freedom of the press and of free expression takes other forms as well, such as the censorship and prior restraint exercised by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board in requiring public affairs programs to submit their tapes for review before these can be aired, or slapping “X” ratings on films critical of government.

It should also be stressed that under the nearly nine years of the Arroyo administration, no measure has been passed to improve the living and working conditions of journalists and media workers. Most of them suffer low wages and lack of job security and benefits amid the growing risks of attacks and killings, especially in the provinces.

If the Philippine media remain free, it is no thanks to this administration’s lip service professions of respect for the freedoms of the press and free expression but rather to the tenacity with which Filipino journalists have resisted all attempts to cow them into submission and silence.

It is a tenacity that will see the independent Philippine media remain so on the very day Arroyo steps down from power and beyond.


Signed by the NUJP National Directorate, 2008-2010:

Nestor Burgos (Philippine Daily Inquirer), chairperson
Nonoy Espina (freelance), vice chairperson
Sonny Fernandez (ABS-CBN), secretary-general
Alwyn Alburo (GMA7), deputy secretary-general
Rowena Paraan (PCIJ), treasurer
Marlon Ramos (Philippine Daily Inquirer), auditor
Julie Alipala (Philippine Daily Inquirer), director
Day Caluza (Philippine Daily Inquirer), director
Cheryl Fiel (davaotoday.com), director
Jun Godoy (dxOC), director
John Heredia (Abri Gana Productions, Capiz), director
Danny Lucas (ABS-CBN), director
Ilang-Ilang Quijano (Pinoy Weekly), director
Arnell Ozaeta (dzMM), director
May Rodriguez (freelance), director

Anti-Arroyo Protesters Hold Rally In Kidapawan City

Anti-Arroyo protesters hold a rally Thursday, June 11, 2009 in Kidapawan City in Mindanao to denounce the proposed Charter change being pushed by members of the House of Representatives who are allied of the President. Arroyo is to step down next year, but her allies in Congress pass HR 1109 and are pushing to amend the Constitution unilaterally which the oppositions say is meant to prolong the stay in power of the President.

(Mindanao Examiner Photo / Geo Solmerano)

Gonzalez: 'I think Arroyo will run again'

MANILA - President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo will run again in May 2010 if efforts to change the form of government from presidential to parliamentary through a constituent assembly succeed, according to newly appointed Presidential Legal Counsel Raul Gonzalez.

In an exclusive interview with ABS-CBN News, the former justice secretary said he believes that Arroyo will run for a parliamentary seat in Pampanga so she could be elected as Prime Minister in 2010 in case the current efforts to change the charter through a Senate-less constituent assembly materialize.

"I will not be surprised if the President will run as Member of Parliament," Gonzalez said.

He said threats by opposition presidential aspirants that they will support efforts to file graft and corruption raps against Arroyo after she loses her presidential immunity on June 30, 2010 are helping encourage Mrs. Arroyo's desire to stay in office.

"[I think she will run] lalo na there are so many threats against her naman. Every announced candidate said he will prosecute her. Aba'y 'di... that's a factor, of course," Gonzalez said.

He admitted to having pushed President Arroyo to run for the presidency in 2004 despite having previously announced that she had "decided not to run" so she can help unite a divided nation.

"I was the one who asked her to run again," Gonzalez said. As a result, Mrs. Arroyo received a lot of flak for not keeping her promise.

Gonzalez said that this Arroyo as prime minister scenario will only happen if the 1987 Constitution is changed, and the form of government becomes parliamentary.

He said this is why he is supporting House Resolution 1109 calling on Congress to convene as a constituent assembly in order to amend the 1987 Constitution even without the Senate.
Gonzalez said the Constitution is vague on whether a constituent assembly without the Senate is allowed.

Thus, he said it is necessary for the Supreme Court to settle this ambiguity as soon as possible.
Gonzalez said prospects for a successful charter change via a constituent assembly are declining the longer the process takes. (With a report from Julius Babao, ABS-CBN News)

abs-cbnNEWS.com 06/10/2009 7:22 PM

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Link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/06/10/09/gonzalez-i-think-arroyo-will-run-again

GMA most distrusted public official; Palace blames critics

A political activist during an anti-Arroyo rally in Mindanao.

MANILA, Philippines - President Gloria Arroyo posted the highest disapproval rating and was the most distrusted public official, according to the latest Pulse Asia survey, which also found Vice President Noli de Castro to be most liked.

“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.

Ratings on trust

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.”

“As in the case of public approval, Vice President de Castro gains the highest overall trust rating [48 percent] among the country’s top government officials. In contrast, it is President Arroyo who scores the highest disapproval and distrust ratings [48 percent and 46 percent, respectively],” Pulse Asia said.

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.

According to Pulse Asia, the overall trust ratings of these top government officials mostly remained constant between February and May 2009.

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.

Critics to blame

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)

Link: http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2009/june/09/yehey/top_stories/20090609top6.html

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.

Arroyo still unpopular among Filipinos - pollster

MANILA (Reuters) - Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo's rating remained poor in the latest opinion survey, but her fourth quarter standing improved slightly from the previous three months, the country's leading pollster said on Monday.

In Social Weather Stations' (SWS) fourth quarter survey, 29 percent were satisfied with Arroyo's performance and 53 percent were dissatisfied, showing a net rating of negative 24 percent.

That was a slight improvement from a net rating of negative 27 percent in the third quarter survey in October. The latest survey, conducted from Nov. 28 to Dec. 1, had 1,200 respondents.

The president's rating fell to a record low of negative 38 in the second quarter this year, which made her the most unpopular president since the late dictator Ferdinand Marcos.

Arroyo was not affected by her low performance rating, her deputy spokesman Anthony Golez said, adding the president was focused on building the country's defences against the global financial crisis.

"Our focus is on the economy, not on surveys," Golez told reporters.

The SWS survey ratings were released weeks after Arroyo survived a fourth impeachment attempt in as many years on complaints of corruption and rights abuse.

It also came three days after Arroyo's political enemies held a street protest against moves by her allies in the lower house of Congress to extend her stay in power. Her term expires in 2010 and she is not eligible to seek re-election.

Despite her poor ratings in opinion surveys, the daughter of a former president is strongly supported by the military and by many in the powerful Catholic church.

2 bishops open to 'extra-legal' means to bring down Arroyo - GMANews.TV

MANILA, Philippines — Two senior Roman Catholic bishops on Thursday said they were open to “extra-legal" means in forcing President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo out of office if the search for truth continues to be suppressed.

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)

Controversy, suspicions surround proposed change in Philippine Constitution

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Nov. 25, 2008) – A Filipino lawmaker on Tuesday accused the Arroyo government of pushing for amendments in the Constitution to prolong the President into power.

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.

”It is greed and guilt that is behind the moves to amend the Constitution as well as desperate attempts to extend their terms beyond 2010,” Maza, who is also Assistant Minority Leader in the House of Representatives, said.

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)

GMA Is Still Extending Her Term: The Clues

Anti-Arroyo rally in Manila. (http://www.reytrillana.files.wordpress.com/

1. Ouster of Speaker Jose de Venecia as Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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.

http://phil-election.blogspot.com/

IBON Survey: Most Filipinos Want Arroyo To Step Down Due To Corruption Charges

MANILA, Philippines - Recent corruption scandals besetting the Arroyo administration have led most Filipinos to call for President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to step down, according to the results of the latest IBON survey.

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.

US deports controversial ex-Arroyo official in fertilizer scam allegations

MANILA, Philippines (Mindanao Examiner / Oct. 29, 2008) – Former Philippine Agriculture deputy chief Jocelyn Bolante, who was jailed for almost two years in the United States for immigration violations, arrived in Manila and was rushed to hospital after complaining of chest pains.

Bolante, who arrived late Tuesday onboard the Northwest Airlines Flight 71, is being guarded at the St. Luke’s Medical Center in Quezon City. Bolante is being accused of channeling more than P728 million in fertilizer fund to the President Gloria Arroyo’s election campaign in 2004.

He fled to the US before the Philippine Senate could begin to investigate the allegations, one of many corruption scandals that rocked the Arroyo administration. The Senate ordered his arrest in 2005.

The US immigration authorities did not report any medical conditions about Bolante before he was deported, but critics of the former government official accused him of trying to “buy time” to evade the Senate investigation.

Bolante, who previously claimed his life was under threat in the Philippines, had sought political asylum in the US, but this was rejected. Bolante denied all the charges against him.

Previous government officials involved in corruption scandals had also in the past suddenly fell sick, especially each time they face Senate investigations and would spend weeks in hospital to avoid the probe. Some ignored the Senate investigations by invoking a Presidential order banning them to speak about corruption allegations involving Arroyo.

Many Filipinos looked at Arroyo, herself accused of many corruption scandals by the opposition, as the worst president after the dictator Ferdinand Marcos. Arroyo, who grabbed power in 2001 in a bloodless coup that toppled President Joseph Estrada, denied all accusations against her. (Mindanao Examiner)

Philippine bishops slam government corruption

MANILA, Philippines - Influential Roman Catholic bishops in the Philippines slammed massive government corruption and urged the public to help overhaul President Gloria Arroyo's graft-ridden administration.

The criticism aired on Tuesday by the leaders of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines was one of their strongest yet against Arroyo's administration, but it stopped short of urging her to step down, according to a report by the Associated Press.

The bishops' group has played a key role in nonviolent "people power" revolts that previously ousted two leaders, including late dictator Ferdinand Marcos, in the last two decades. But efforts by opposition groups to stir such massive protests to oust Arroyo so far have failed to draw considerable crowds.

Archbishop Angel Lagdameo, president of the 100-strong bishops' group, said it was up to the public to decide whether to seek a new leader through nonviolent and constitutional means.

Despite several warnings from the Catholic Church about endemic government corruption, the problem has continued in alarming proportions under Arroyo's leadership, Lagdameo said, citing a series of corruption allegations against her administration.

"In the past few years up to today, we have watched how corruption has become endemic, massive, systemic and rampant in our politics," Lagdameo said in a statement read at a news conference.

"In response to the global economic crisis and the pitiful state of our country, the time to rebuild our country economically, socially, politically is now," said Lagdameo, who appeared with four other bishops.

Arroyo, who has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing and vowed to eliminate corruption, has survived three impeachment bids over allegations of corruption. She also has survived at least four coup plots in her tumultuous years in office.

Presidential spokesman Jesus Dureza said Arroyo will focus on ways to brace the country from the possible impact of the global financial turbulence rather than answer the bishops' criticisms.
"We will continue to focus on our work for the poor and address a bigger issue ... this global crisis," Dureza said.

President Gloria Arroyo's Rating Falls To Record Low

An anti-Arroyo protester shouts during a rally in the southern Philippines. A latest survey by the independent Social Weather Station says President Gloria Arroyo's rating falls to record Low at -38. The Philippines under Arroyo's rule has been tagged as one of the most corrupt in the world.

Second Quarter 2008 Social Weather Survey: PGMA's net rating falls to record low at -38.
Social Weather Stations

The Social Weather Survey of June 27-30, 2008 found 22% satisfied and 60% dissatisfied with the performance of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, giving her a Net Satisfaction rating of -38 (% satisfied minus % dissatisfied), which is a new record-low for Presidents since 1986, surpassing the previous record of -33 in May 2005.

The new net rating is a 12-point drop from net -26 (27% satisfied, 54% dissatisfied) in the First Quarter 2008 Survey of March 28-31 [Chart 1, Table 1]. It is the fourth consecutive quarterly drop in her net rating since June 2007, when it was a neutral -3.

In all areas, majorities are dissatisfied

For the first time, gross dissatisfaction is at majority levels in all study areas: 63% in Metro Manila, 60% in the Balance of Luzon, 56% in the Visayas, and 62% in Mindanao.

The President's net satisfaction rating in the Visayas, where she customarily draws her strongest support, fell by 18 points from -15 in March (36% satisfied, 51% dissatisfied) to a record-low -33 in June (23% satisfied, 56% dissatisfied) [Table 2, also Chart 2, Table 3].

In Mindanao, it fell by 8 points in Mindanao, from -33 (26% satisfied, 59% dissatisfied) to -41 (21% satisfied, 62% dissatisfied), also a new record-low for the area.

Her net satisfaction ratings fell by 13 points in Balance Luzon, from -25 (26% satisfied, 51% dissatisfied) to -38 (22% satisfied, 60% dissatisfied), and by 3 points in Metro Manila, from -37 (23% satisfied, 60% dissatisfied) to -40 (23% satisfied, 63% dissatisfied). The existing record-lows in those areas are -47 (May 2005) in Balance Luzon and -48 (June 2006) in Metro Manila.

Between March 2008 and June 2008, President Arroyo's net rating fell by 11 points in both urban and rural areas: the former from -27 to -38, the latter from -26 to -37.

Ratings hit record-lows in all socio-economic classes

The June 2008 survey found dissatisfaction worsening in all socio-economic classes, with the middle-to-upper classes or ABCs just as dissatisfied now as the masa or class D.

The net satisfaction rating of Pres. Arroyo fell the most among the middle-to-upper classes or ABCs. It fell by 23 points, from -14 (34% satisfied, 48% dissatisfied) last March to -37 (22% satisfied, 59% dissatisfied) in June [Chart 3, Table 4]. The previous record-low for ABCs was -34 in May 2005. It had been positive in February, June and September 2007, when the ratings for the lower D and E classes were negative or zero.

Her net rating fell by 11 points among the class D or masa, from net -24 in March (28% satisfied, 52% dissatisfied) to net -35 in June (23% satisfied, 58% dissatisfied). The previous record-low for Class D was -34, also in May 2005.

The President's net rating fell by 8 points in Class E, from net -37 in March (23% satisfied, 60% dissatisfied) to -45 in June (20% satisfied, 65% dissatisfied). The previous record-low for Class E was -37 in March 2008.

Survey Background

The Second Quarter of 2008 Social Weather Survey was conducted over June 27-30, 2008 using face-to-face interviews of 1,200 adults divided into random samples of 300 each in Metro Manila, the Balance of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao (sampling error margins of ±3% for national percentages and ±6% for area percentages). The area estimates were weighted by National Statistics Office medium-population projections for 2008 to obtain the national estimates.

(The quarterly Social Weather Survey on public satisfaction with the President is a non-commissioned item, and is included on SWS's own initiative and released as a public service, with first printing rights assigned to BusinessWorld.)