A mockery of the glory of 1986 People Power

(This is a continuation of a letter to President Aquino from a group of political, business, educational and religious leaders opposing the reappointment of Gov. Amando Tetangco of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas [BSP] whose term expires in July)

“6. UNDER THE watch of Governor Tetangco,government incurred, through mismanagement of foreign exchange transactions, massive losses in defending the swings of the peso against the weakening dollar. By propping up the value of the US currency to prevent the sharp rise of the peso from increased dollar remittances, the BSP lost billions in the first six months of 2010, in the year 2009 and 2008 and a staggering higher amount in billions of losses in 2007. This deprived our already exploited OFWs and their families of the benefits of an improved purchasing power of the peso. Such hefty amounts could have been used to reduce our foreign debt, or for vitalinfrastructure projects that would encourage investment flows, create jobs and entrepreneurialopportunities and cultivate domestic demand for local commodities.

“Interventionist policies work only as palliativeremedies in stabilizing currency values in a vibrant and robust economy, but are ineffective under a precarious and fragile economic environment like the Philippines. In fact, these kinds of foreign exchange losses were instrumental in getting the predecessor of the BSP insolvent.

“Notwithstanding the express provision of Section 45 of the New Central Bank Act that the revaluation of net assets and losses in gold or foreign currencies cannot be included in the computation of its annual profits and losses, the BSP has propounded the grossly misleading argument that it is entitled to provide reserves for foreign exchange fluctuations and thereby reduce by billions of pesos its net profits, resulting in the further depletion of its dividend obligations to the Government, also in the billions of pesos.

“The alleged ‘abilities’ of Governor Tetangco are not crucial in achieving stability and continuity in our monetary system. On the contrary, he has failed to deal with the most basic and alarming root of our nation’s instability—the widening gap between the rich and the poor. We need a transformative BSP leadership who will liberate the country from the economic stagnation that has intolerably held our people captive of poverty for too long.”

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As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the 1986People Power Revolution, that crowning glory of the Philippines that is currently being replicated in Middle Eastern countries ruled by dictators and monarchs, paradoxically, there are now efforts by his wife and her allies to have the remains of Ferdinand Marcos, the dictator who was deposed by that revolution, to be buried at the Libingan ng mga Bayani, that hallowed ground reserved for heroes. This is an apostasy, a mortal sin that would not only make the heroes buried in the Libingan rise in protest, but also make the glory of People Power a mockery. After such a glorious feat, are we ourselves belittling such an achievement and telling the world that we made a mistake?

How quickly people forget.

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Here is the latest in the court fight between ABS-CBN and Willie Revillame over the television show “Willing Willie.” The Court of Appeals justice who penned the temporary restraining order (TRO) against ABS-CBN has disqualified himself from the case for conflict of interest.

ABS-CBN has accused Revillame of being a copycat. His show “Willing Willie” now airing on Channel 5 is a copy of ABS-CBN’s highly successful show “Wowowee,” it said.

In leveling this accusation, ABS-CBN must have been ready to back it with solid evidence. In fact, it has begun doing so.

But last year, Revillame obtained a 60-day TRO from the CA to stop the reception of evidence by the Makati Regional Trial Court hearing the copyright infringement case.

Why did Willie stop the presentation of evidence? This defies logic. If Revillame is not worried about the originality of “Willing Willie,” why is he stopping ABS-CBN from presenting its evidence? An innocent man will want the evidence to be immediately brought to light to clear his name of the accusation. Only the guilty are scared of the truth. Is Revillame scared that the evidence will prove that he is indeed a copycat?

The members of the CA panel that issued the TRO have all since given up on the controversial case. The TRO has since lapsed. A new panel composed of CA Presiding Justice Andres Reyes Jr., Justice Japar Dimaampao and Justice Jane Lantion is now hearing the case.

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Why does P-Noy want to postpone the elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao? Interior Secretary Jesse Robredo said the postponement proposal came from ARMM officials themselves. The motive for the postponement is instantly obvious: theincumbent officials want to extend their terms of office by staying as holdover officials.

Why did P-Noy immediately accede to the proposal? Many of the officials in ARMM, especially Maguindanao, belong to the Ampatuan clan, now being tried for the Maguindanao massacre. Does P-Noy want them to remain in office without elections for at least another two years?

Those against the postponement claim the President has no authority to postpone the elections. Neither is he authorized to appoint officers in charge to replace the outgoing officials.

Former Sen. Aquilino Pimentel Jr., Rep. Simeon Datumanong and election lawyer Romulo Macalintal told the Kapihan sa Manila last Monday that a law sets a definite date for the ARMM elections. So the House is considering a bill setting a new date for the elections. Those opposed said the majority is railroading the bill and walked out of the House session.