Content about President

MANILA, Philippines (June 27, 2011) - Time and again, sky-high expectation generated by euphoria and unquenchable thirst for change is proving to be the vulnerability of popularly chosen leaders.

MINALABAC, CAMARINES SUR (Mar 16 2012) — Twenty-four mayors supported by their barangay leaders are expected to stage a show of force at the scheduled first public hearing of the bill proposing to divide Camarines Sur and create the new Nueva Camarines province at the Senate Committee on Local Government on March 22 this year.

Minalabac town Mayor and newly installed president of the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Camarines Sur chapter, Gil Busmayor, confirmed this week that 24 member mayors of the league have signed a resolution in support the division bill and shall appear at the hearing of the Senate Committee on Local Government, chaired by Senator Bongbong Marcos, to show that majority of the 35 mayors of Camarines Sur favor the proposal.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”

This was a line from Lord Acton that I used to hear as a child from my father during the dark days of Martial Law. That Marcos, who brazenly padlocked Congress and pulled in a subservient Supreme Court, had by then arrogated unto himself alone all the powers of government. Hence, the Marcos Dictatorship that lasted from 1972 to 1986 and together with it the destruction of our democratic institutions, silencing of the press, and the rape and plunder of the Nation’s wealth.

President Benigno S. Aquino III’s much-vaunted anti-corruption program barely scratches the surface of the problem and gives no hint on how he will grapple with its systemic roots. Failing to address or worse abetting the fundamental roots that sustain corruption makes his administration’s anti-corruption drive superficial if not a complete sham.

President Benigno S. Aquino III’s much-vaunted anti-corruption program barely scratches the surface of the problem and gives no hint on how he will grapple with its systemic roots. Failing to address or worse abetting the fundamental roots that sustain corruption makes his administration’s anti-corruption drive superficial if not a complete sham.

MANILA, Philippines - Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte elaborated yesterday what her boss, President Aquino, has been sayimg on various occasions: there's no way impeached Chief Justice Renato Corona could get acquitted by the Senate impeachment court.

“Given the weight of the evidence that has been presented, President Aquino said he really does not see (an acquittal). It will eventually lead to a conviction,” Valte said over radio station dzRB.

MANILA, Philippines (Mar 10, 2012) - After issuing a warning that the Philippines can get blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for being a haven for dirty money, President Aquino now hopes Congress would pass a stronger Anti-Money Laundering Act (AMLA) without him calling for a special session.

The ball is now in the hands of the Senate who may opt to act before the Lenten break on a bill seeking to amend the AMLA to strengthen the government’s campaign against dirty funds that the House of Representative earlier approved.

FORT BONIFACIO, Taguig City (Mar 06 2012) - The existence of distinguished female soldiers in the male-dominated ranks of the Philippine Army is a testament that women can also shine.

Brigadier General Ramona Go and Captain Concepcion Reaño are among the thousands of female soldiers in the Army who made their mark in a male-dominated organization. Both women have interesting tales about their experiences in the Army.

MANILA, March 6, 2012—The Pambansang Lakas ng Kilusang Mamamalakaya ng Pilipinas (Pamalakaya) urged the Ombudsman not to allow the plunder case against former president and currently Pampanga (2nd District) Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, get “frozen”.

In a statement, Pamalakaya national chair Fernando “Ka Pando” Hicap said, Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales should make Arroyo and her former Agriculture Secretary, now Bohol Rep. Arthur Yap, accountable for the overpriced ice-making machines, amounting to P455 million (US$10,584,960.61).

CAMP SIMEON OLA, LEGAZPI CITY (Mar 4, 2012) – THE Philippine National Police (PNP) Regional office has ordered the deployment of an estimated 100 police personnel in the coastal town of Siruma, Camarines Sur to secure the special election for the town's mayoralty post.

Earlier last month in a Memorandum Order Number 32 addressed to PNP and the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), signed by Executive Secretary Paquito N. Ochoa Jr. on February 16, President Aquino directed the law enforcement agencies and instrumentalities of the government to be on watch and perform their duties during the political exercise to elect a new local chief executive for Siruma, Camarines Sur.

MANILA, Philippines (Feb 28, 2012) - The prosecution presented a video of the Supreme Court (SC) spokesman's press conference, the Chief Jusctice's old service records and testimony of a doctor of former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo were presented yesterday at the resumption of the impeachment trial of Chief Justice Renato C. Corona - all aiming to support allegation of the latter's partiality towards the former President.

SC spokesman Midas Marquez violated the internal rules of the High Tribunal for hastily announcing the Nov. 15, 2011 temporary restraining order (TRO) on the travel ban on former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, claimed Bayan Muna Rep. Neri Colmenares yesterday as the prosecution panel presented video footage taken by television network ABS-CBN Channel 2 showing Marquez’s press conference that afternoon.

MANILA, Philippines (Feb 24, 2012) - The portion of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's testimony that are narrations of facts contained in a published dissenting opinion of Supreme Court justice shall remain in the records of the impeachment court, but her statements alleging irregularities and acts of partiality shall be considered hearsay.

This was Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile’s ruling yesterday on the statements of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima pertaining to the alleged partiality of Chief Justice Renato Corona in exercising his authority over other justices that led to the issuance of a temporary restraining order (TRO) on the travel ban against former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo last year.

GMA News TV commemorates the Edsa Anniversary this year by airing two powerful documentaries on former Philippine Presidents: " Marcos: The Fall of a Dictator " and " Cory Aquino: The Housewife Who Led a Revolution " . Commissioned by and first aired on History Channel Asia, the documentaries include valuable archival video of the Marcos era and Martial Law years as well as of the Edsa Revolution and Aquino ' s first years in office -- footage few of today's youth have ever seen.