Nov 022013
 
Malacañang on Saturday downplayed a so-called Dec. 6 deadline for President Benigno Aquino to get rid of discretionary or “pork” funds, saying he and his administration will push the proper things at the “correct time.”

Deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte also said the Palace will continue answering questions on the controversial Disbursement Acceleration Program, which Palace critics had dubbed as another form of pork barrel funds.

“The president and the administration will push for the correct things at the correct time,” she said on government-run dzRB radio.

She was referring to the Dec. 6 deadline by the #ScrapPork Network for Aquino to “destroy the barrier” that blocks his supposed “straight path.”

The Dec. 6 date comes 100 days after a massive anti-pork gathering at the Luneta in Manila last Aug. 26. Organizers hinted at gatherings by anti-pork advocates on that day.

Valte said the Department of Justice already filed plunder cases against personalities linked to the multibillion-peso pork barrel scam involving the use of fake non-government organizations to siphon funds from lawmakers’ Priority Development Assistance Fund allocations.

She said the DOJ is set to file charges against another batch of personalities linked to the mess.

“The instructions of the president would be to make sure (the cases) will stand scrutiny and (lead to) a conviction,” she added.

Meanwhile, Valte said the government will continue “answering” questions on the controversial DAP, which some had branded as another form of pork barrel as it gives lawmakers leeway to identify what projects to fund.

“Confident tayo mararating natin ang mas maraming kababayan, at alam nila ang pagkakaiba na for propaganda lang at tunay na nagbibigay ng information,” she said. — LBG, GMA News

Oct 312013
 
If only Aquino had said this …

It could perhaps be described as President Aquino’s Nixon moment. Did President Benigno Aquino III’s communications team not realize that? “I’m not a crook,” Richard Nixon declared in the ’70s as he rejected allegations related to the Watergate scandal. President Benigno Aquino III delivers his speech on national television at Malacanang on Wednesday Oct. 30, 2013. Aquino said officials implicated in a corruption scandal involving the pocketing of huge development funds were muddling the issue to confuse the public instead of addressing the allegations against them. AP PHOTO Now comes Aquino proclaiming: “I am not a thief.” As I’ve noted in the past, many Filipinos still believe he is sincere in his desire to eradicate corruption in government. Until recently, they had reason to be hopeful. But the Napoles fiasco and the other scandals that followed have simply overwhelmed Team PNoy (Aquino). They were silent, then they became defensive. Then they started throwing a fit. PNoy’s speech underscored this. “The issue here is theft. I am not a thief,” he said. But it isn’t just about theft. It’s about a system that has made theft by trapos, by the country’s elites, so easy to pull off. So easy. But PNoy unfortunately gives the impression that he doesn’t get it — that he only recently discovered the brazen corruption that’s been part of the Philippine politics for generations. “We were stolen from, we were deceived—and now we are the ones being asked to explain?” he said. “I have pursued truth and Read More …