Now, that is less than honest. The "remarkable progress" referred to is obviously the foiled MOA on the creation of a Bangsamoro Juridical Entity. That rogue elements of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front "decided to take the law into their own hands" was because Arroyo failed to deliver on that MOA. The Supreme Court, thank heavens, issued a temporary restraining order in the nick of time.

There are other excerpts in the praise release that are less than honest, but I guess that’s to be expected from someone who, to say the least, is not exactly known for honesty.

***

Many people think that the 2010 presidential election will not take place at all because Ms. Arroyo may either impose martial law or emergency rule before then, or that she will push for amendments to the Constitution that will allow her to hold on to power beyond 2010.

I hold a different view. She may try either one or both, but try as she might she won’t succeed. In fact, I believe either one of the two moves could precipitate her downfall even before 2010. The people will not stand for it. She has tempted the Fates often enough. She would be well advised not to push her luck.

A big mistake that Arroyo and her cabal are making right now is misinterpreting the people’s seeming tolerance of her misrule. It’s giving them the mistaken notion that the people have become so apathetic and submissive that they can merrily carry on with their unbridled arrogance and lust for power.

The Filipino people are a patient lot but their patience is not infinite. When push comes to shove, they will react, sometimes violently. It took 14 years of Marcos’ extended rule before they decided it was time for him to go. And they made him go. He didn’t even know what hit him.

***

There is one avenue Arroyo can take (she may, in fact, be already taking it) and that is to exploit the dissension within the ranks of the so-called United Opposition (what a misnomer!), pick one of them (Senate President Villar?) and help make him win. That way, she and her family will have someone in Malacañang who could protect them from parties certain to seek retribution for her abuses while in power.

Whether the people will allow it or not is, of course, another story.

***

Presidential Anti-Graft Commission Chair Constancia de Guzman said that corruption in the Philippines is a "perception" based on "what one hears on the radio, reads in the newspapers and sees on television and the Internet."

Pray tell if any of the following is as described by De Guzman: the IMPSA deal, the Piatco fiasco, the "Hello Garci" caper, the fertilizer scam, the Venable contract, the Comelec computerization scandal, the ZTE-NBN deal, the swine, rice and vegetable scams, etc., etc., ad nauseam.

De Guzman was reacting to the latest survey of Transparency International placing the Philippines in the Corruption Perceptions Index at No. 141 position among l80 countries. On a scale of 1 to 10, 10 being the highest, we scored 2.3, lower than Vietnam and Indonesia and only a little higher than Cambodia and Myanmar.

You’ve done your job defending your boss, Ma’am. Now please go back to catching more and bigger fish who are up to no good in the government hierarchy.

***

Chief Justice Reynato Puno is right. The Supreme Court has nothing to do with the ratification of the UN-initiated 1998 Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). It is the legislative branch of the government that has to ratify it, upon recommendation of the executive branch.

The only plausible explanation for the Arroyo regime’s failure to send the Statute to the Senate for ratification until now is because Washington will not be happy if she did. To date, 120 countries have ratified the Statute. But the United States is very open about rejection of the ICC. For a country that has always fancied itself as the world’s champion of human rights, that may seem strange. Not so, if you consider the alleged atrocities committed by its soldiers during the invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq, not to mention the reported inhumane treatment of Afghan and other prisoners incarcerated at the US base in Guantanamo, Cuba.

***

Quote of the Week: "Our entire economy is in danger." – US President George W. Bush.

Who put it there, Mister? When you spend a reported $1 billion a day on your misadventure in Iraq over the last six years, where did you expect the US economy to end up?

Let us not even talk about the 5,000 American lives lost, hundreds of thousands Iraqis killed and billions upon billions worth of properties and infrastructure destroyed. It looks to me that the only gainers in the destruction of Iraq are Bush’ neo-conservative pals who have cornered most of the contracts for the reconstruction of that ill-fated country.

***

Last Friday, Edilberto Adan, head of the Presidential Commission on the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA), said that convicted rapist US Marine Lance Corporal Daniel Smith is still held within the confines of the American Embassy.

The next day, a local daily carried the story and even printed what appeared to be a picture of Smith holding a copy of the said daily.

Convincing, but not to hardened cynics.

It would have been better if Adan were accompanied by the media and video footage of Smith with him and the American ambassador taken. Better still, the American ambassador could allow Smith to attend the court hearings on the constitutionality of the Visiting Forces Agreement. If for nothing else, that would earn the Americans some goodwill.

***

The poor and oppressed GSIS members, both active and retired, may finally get their day in court.

The Nagkakaisang Biktima ng GSIS (NABIGKIS) was set to meet with Senators Noynoy Aquino and Jamby Madrigal last week. Hopefully, the two senators will table a resolution better than the one filed by Senate President Villar earlier which was confined to a probe on death notices sent out by GSIS to living pensioners.

The non-posting of premium payments, deducting from members’ benefits due to non-payment of respective government agencies, cross-default policy, onerous housing loan policy, premium-based policy, reduction of survivorship benefits and non-payment of pension are among the complaints lodged against GSIS by members, including some 1,500 Senate employees whose plaints Villar chose to ignore in his resolution.

Should the Senate find its way into conducting an investigation of GSIS, it should also look into the status of its investments, particularly abroad.

Winston Garcia’s subalterns are saying that GSIS is willing to face any congressional inquiry. I say, stop talking about it. Just do it. That way, everybody will be happy including GSIS, that is, if it’s telling the truth.

***

Joselito Blas (joel_blas1963@yahoo.com), GSIS member with ID No. 63062000947, checked and found out he had a cash advance of P10,000 which he never made. A loan of P5,000 he got in 1994 which he had fully paid (with some overpayment in fact) also had a balance with interest as of May 2008. When he finally redeemed his policy in April 2008, he received only P16,000, ostensibly because his purported outstanding loan balances and interests thereon were deducted from the policy proceeds.

***

Following is a letter of Bienvenido C. Aldonza (BCAldonza@neda.gov.ph) of NCO/NEDA in reply to one of Gladys Alma Clemente’s (afclemente@gsis.gov.ph), former GSIS Manager of Internal Reconciliation Department 1. Aldonza’s letter fully reveals the status of late postings by GSIS of all kinds of payments made by its members:

"Ang ibig mong sabihin ngayon lang kayo mag-update from 2004 to 2007 ng mga payments sa Premium and Loan repayment para tapusin itong buwan ng Oct. 2008? At pagkatapos saka kayo mag-umpisa sa 2003 down to 1997? Oh my God, kaya pala maraming GSIS members ang nadamay sa mabagal na ginagawa o maling sistema pati tuloy ang kawawang GSIS na inyong tanggapan ay nadadamay. Ano ba naman yan? Alam mo, hindi lang kami dito sa NEDA ang nagkaroon ng problema sa inyo, maraming ahensiya ng gobyerno tulad halimbawa ng DILG, Regional Offices, etc.

"Ano ba ang ginawa ng dating Manager ng Internal Reconciliation Department 1? Bakit meron pang from 2003 down to 1997 at napakarami nang taon ang hindi pag-update ng mga premiums at loan repayments ng mga GSIS members?

"Kung talagang napakahirap para sa inyo, ok, lang. Maghihintay na lang kami hanggang matapos itong October 2008. Pero sana kapag natapos na yang sinasabi ninyong Massive Posting Project, huwag naman sanang maulit na ma-delay ng maraming taon ang mga payments ng mga GSIS Members."

***

Joker Arroyo, metamorphosed from human rights lawyer and defender of the oppressed during the Marcos regime, to cabinet member in the Aquino government, to congressman-critic of then fellow congressman Manny Villar and finally, to senator-defender of now Senate President Villar and shameless apologist of a militarized regime tagged as most corrupt. (Come to think of it, Marcos never had an ex-military or police figure in his cabinet.)

What a metamorphosis!

***

Today is the 157th day of the second year of Jonas Burgos’ disappearance.

Last Friday, Jonas’ mother, Edita, received from the Department of Science and Technology a posthumous award to her late husband, press icon and founder of Malaya Joe Burgos, for his advocacy of farmers’ rights.

Edita observed: "For the same advocacy, father is awarded, son is abducted."

Ironic.