WEDNESDAY |FEBRUARY 20, 2008| PHILIPPINES

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‘Will the President just cancel any project that is above board and will benefit our country every time there is “political noise”?’

Letters


Here are some readers’ letters to me. I left out a lot of letters that only wanted to cuss me and insult my person. I am all for freedom of expression. You can cuss me all you want but I won’t let you do it in my space.

Here are some letters:

"I certainly agree with you that the Senate is too gung-ho on this ZTE-NBN deal. And you did mention about the credibility of the mere say-so of JDVIII and J. Lo. I respect your opinion but here’s my take:

"Is it not Neri who told us that Abalos tried to bribed him ‘200’ just to approve the deal? Is it not Neri who told us that he informed the President and was advised to refuse it?

"If you are the president of the country and one of your main objectives is to battle corruption in the government, is it not just appropriate for the president to have Abalos investigated, if not set a trap for him?

"DOJ is now investigating this and the Ombudsman too. Why DOJ, who serves under the President whose husband is being implicated? Why submit this to Ombudsman only now when Neri already told the President months ago about Abalos’ bribe try? Why not start with these people: Neri, Abalos, and the President?

"If this ZTE-NBN deal is a government-to-government contract, does this mean it is already binding, final and executory when the President signed it in China?

"If this is already a contract, why did the President cancel it? You did say that it is a mutually agreed by both governments to cancel it because of the ‘political noise’ that the project was being subjected to. Why bother with political noise if the contract is above board and will benefit the country? Will the President just cancel any project that is above board and will benefit our country every time there is ‘political noise’? When she will put first the welfare of the Filipino before anything else, including the ‘political noise’?" – Mario Garong

***

You ask good questions. Sadly, one cannot act on mere logic and deduction. One still needs proof. But I agree with the way you think.

***

"I am not being funny but people lie and will lie more only to protect their interest. Lots of them ‘liars’ really abound specially in the highest level in the present government. Shame on them!"– Lynn Agamata

***

"You need to talk about the contract, not bid documents. Was the contract ever shown officially for review/appraisal by disinterested third parties?

"Instead of cover-ups, how about bringing out all pertinent documents/info and let insiders who were identified as knowledgeable to the perfection of the agreement talk. You believe in transparency don’t you? If not then you’ve lost any credibility. – Jun Fabros

***

The Senate has a copy of the contract, which was delivered by the ZTE’s lawyers in a strongbox. The Senate forced open that strongbox when the lawyers did not attend a hearing. No senator has yet told us what was in the contract but, certainly, the Senate has a copy of that contract.

***

"I don’t always agree with your opinion, but it does not mean that I hate you. I think the way you present your opinions is actually quite enlightening. You never let emotions cloud the facts.

"Let’s take for example this ZTE-NBN fiasco. From what I’ve read so far, you’re only presenting the facts. Although I think the Arroyo admin is corrupt, I cannot in good conscience pass judgment on something without concrete evidence. This is not religion wherein faith alone is enough. And although Joey and Jun don’t have evidence to show, I’m also not ready to call them liars. But they have to understand that the burden of proof lies in their hands.

"Keep up the good work. Not being emotional is one of your great assets as a journalist. I also appreciate that you don’t use foul language in your column.

"And finally, although I’m a LaSallite, I actually like your work!" – Lawrence Rama

***

I thought you guys from the best school on Taft Avenue started calling yourselves LaSallians. That is what I am looking for – proof of the chicanery. Stories are easy to fabricate. What we need is evidence not another wild and interesting story. We have had too much of those,

***

"Will Mindanao secede? Never mind the fact that they are only 20 percent Muslim, all Mindanaoans hate all of us up north because we only grant them 17 percent of the national budget. And they produce up to 50 percent of our GNP?

"I’d love to have someone check on those numbers, but wouldn’t it be wild to have to use your passport to enter Davao, the capital of the Republic of Mindanao?

"Warm regards, – Henry Adapon"

***

As an adopted Mindanaoan from being married to someone born in Camiguin who now runs the family farm in Misamis Oriental, I will take up arms if Mindanao is ever given to the Muslims. I have no quarrel with Muslims and consider all of them as brothers but Mindanao belongs to the Philippines. Just as the Philippines may not survive without Mindanao so too would Mindanao not survive as an independent country. We would end up shooting each other in Mindanao.

***

Readers who missed a column can access www.duckyparedes.com/blogs. This is updated daily. Your reactions are welcome at duckyparedes@yahoo.com

 

 




















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