President Aquino is now indefensible

What a week this has been… because so many breaking laws…err, news are happening on top of one another, I just don’t know where to begin! Let’s start with the Social Weather Station (SWS) Surveys where the ratings or the popularity of Pres. Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III has nearly hit rock bottom to 38 percent from a high of 75 percent at the height of his popularity. Surely this should be seen by Malacañang sycophants that to prop up the sagging image of P-Noy is no longer working.

Then there’s the call by actress Nora Aunor last Tuesday where she joined a protest rally on the 20th anniversary of the hanging of Filipina domestic helper Flor Contemplacion where Nora starred in the movie of the same title. Nora wore a black shirt with a statement that said, “Proud to be Filipino, ashamed of my government.” I fully concur with what is written in her T-shirt, this is why we demand for a system change!

For sure her statement “He should not have been elected” struck a sour note for the Yellow supporters of P-Noy. Nora Aunor also said, ”What is important for me is to recognize that he made blatant mistakes in his decision that’s why I would really like for him to step down.” Of course, we don’t expect the President to step down… even when the evidence against him is overwhelming. The President is now indefensible!

Then Sen. Grace Poe of the Senate committee on public order came up with the draft report of her committee saying, “As for the President, he is ultimately responsible for the Mamasapano mission.” I’m sure that you have read her report in the front pages of this newspaper. Earlier in the week, the Board of Inquiry (BOI) report was revealed to the public and pointed to P-Noy for breaking the chain of command.

These are two official, but separate reports… one from the Senate that looked at the role of the officials from the highest official, while the BOI looked into the role of the SAF officials running Oplan Exodus. Also part of the BOI report was the official admission that at least six US officers were seen at the headquarters of the SAF in Maguindanao.

Again let me point out that a few days after the Jan. 25 massacre, we already wrote columns asking what was the role of the US government in Oplan Exodus.  What we got were official denials by Malacañang sycophants. Until nearly a month later when sacked SAF head Getulio Napeñas admitted that at least six Americans were in their headquarters. What these two reports tell the Filipino people is… finally someone is telling the truth about what the Filipino people should have heard after the Jan. 25 Mamasapano massacre. Now will the US Ambassador tell us the truth about this?

At this point, we’d like to know if we should wait for the report coming from Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, who went to Maguindanao but could not even get her hands on the so-called report of the Mamasapano incident by the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF). Remember De Lima insisted that there is no “chain of command” with the Philippine National Police (PNP) because they are civilian in character. Come on now… even the Boy and Girls Scouts have a chain of command.

But then De Lima is a desperate woman who wants to exonerate her boss. She has conveniently forgotten that when she took her oath of office, she swore to uphold the Constitution for the Filipino people… not for the President of the land. Because De Lima was ordered by P-Noy to do an investigation of the Mamasapano massacre and since it is more than obvious that the DOJ Secretary wants to clear the name of P-Noy, then I’d advise her to tell the truth to the Filipino people and stop selling the unsellable “No Chain of Command” because no one is buying her yarn!

Then there was that report that MILF chief negotiator Mohagher Iqbal signed the Comprehensive Agreement on the Bangsamoro with a fake name and Facebook came up with a photo of his Malaysia passport. Wow! Unbelievable! The Philippine negotiators were negotiating with foreigners in a peace agreement? Surely there were laws that were broken here and when we find out what they are…we’ll be writing it here.

Finally let’s talk about that political circus in Makati. So at last, the Office of the Ombudsman ordered the suspension of Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay Jr. which Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Manuel “Mar” Roxas was just too eager to serve and immediately demanded that Mayor Binay follow the rule of law.

However When Mayor Binay secured a temporary restraining order (TRO) from the Court of Appeals, the same DILG Sec. Mar Roxas somehow forgot that he too must follow the rule of law. Now Makati has two Mayors, thanks to this student government whom after five years in Malacañang hasn’t learned anything on what good governance is all about. This student government should not be allowed to graduate…but expelled from school!

*      *      *

Email: [email protected] or [email protected]