Pala-isip

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . ==================== MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Foreign Affairs is keeping quiet on the diplomatic blunder that President Benigno Aquino III may have made for being inaccessible to Hong Kong officials at the height of and immediately after the hostage crisis Monday. DFA spokesman Ed Malaya only referred to the DFA statement expressing the country’s and the President’s “deepest condolences to the government and people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the People’s Republic of China, especially the families and relatives of the eight Hong Kong Chinese nationals who perished during a hostage-taking incident” in Manila. In a press conference Monday night, Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang expressed disappointment over the aftermath of the crisis. He also said he had been unable to reach Aquino. Under such circumstances and as part of protocol, the chief executive of the host country takes the initiative to get in touch w...

Well this is a first. The SUV bearing President Benigno Aquino III, along with the PSG vehicles, stops on a red light at the intersection of Quezon Boulevard and Araneta Avenue in Quezon City on its way to Malacañang on Tuesday. If President Noynoy Aquino has no other achievement other than stopping at red lights and now abusing his authority for the rest of his term. Then he's got my respect. Yes, I'm easy to please considering how every government official no matter how lowly they are abuses their authority. Meanwhile... MANILA, Philippines—All eyes seemed to be on the country’s No. 2 man ever since President Benigno Aquino III, as part of his inaugural pledge to lead by example, ordered his escorts to strictly obey traffic rules. And so Vice President Jejomar Binay apologized to the public Tuesday after a TV footage showed his security convoy beating the red light in Quezon City the previous day. “The Vice President apologized to all motorists who may have been inconvenien...

Here's a video of the inaugural speech of President Benigno C. Aquino III.

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . ====================== His Excellency Jose Ramos Horta, Former President Fidel V. Ramos, Former President Joseph Estrada, Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and members of the Senate, House Speaker Prospero Nograles and members of the House, justices of the Supreme Court, members of the foreign delegations,Your Excellencies of the diplomatic corps, fellow colleagues in government, aking mga kababayan. Ang pagtayo ko dito ngayon ay patunay na kayo ang aking tunay na lakas. Hindi ko inakala na darating tayo sa puntong ito, na ako’y manunumpa sa harap ninyo bilang inyong Pangulo. Hindi ko pinangarap maging tagapagtaguyod ng pag-asa at tagapagmana ng mga suliranin ng ating bayan. Ang layunin ko sa buhay ay simple lang: maging tapat sa aking mga magulang at sa bayan bilang isang marangal na anak, mabait na kuya, at mabuting mamamayan. Nilabanan ng aking ama ang diktaturya at ibinuwis niya ang kanyang buhay para tubusin ang ating demokrasya. Inalay ng aki...

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . MANILA, Philippines—It’s official. It’s final. As widely expected, Sen. Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III of the Liberal Party won the presidential election by a landslide, results of the final tabulation by Congress show. (See tally) Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay of PDP-Laban defeated Sen. Manuel Roxas II, ending the cliffhanger in the vice presidential race. Aquino and Binay are scheduled to be proclaimed Wednesday at the Batasang Pambansa complex in Quezon City. A 50-year-old bachelor and economics graduate, Aquino will officially become the country’s 15th president on June 30. He will replace President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who ran and won a House seat after a turbulent nine-year rule. Aquino’s victory reflected the public’s longing to fill a moral vacuum in a country plagued by corruption, poverty and violence. For many voters, it’s been nearly a quarter century of disappointment since his mother President Cory Aquino helped restore democracy in the ...

So yesterday we got news that Justice Secretary Alberto Agra has cleared Gov. Zaldy Ampatuan of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao and his uncle, Maguindanao Vice Gov. Akmad Ampatuan Sr., of the massacre of the 57 people in Maguindanao. Justice Secretary Alberto Agra photo from The Philippine Daily Inquirer . The justice secretary said that their alibi that there were not in Maguindanao at the time of the murder was good enough to drop charges on them. Kind of like saying that GMA did not cheat in the elections because she didn't stuff the ballot herself. Yeah right. When the decision was made, state prosecutors led by Chief State Prosecutor Claro Arellano Monday protested the resolution that Agra issued on the night of April 16 absolving the two Ampatuans and walked out . The decision also led to protests and The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) urged the public to wear black to express “rage and disappointment” over the decision of Justice Secret...

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer . ====================== LAOAG CITY, Philippines—No, controversial TV host Kris Aquino is not leaving her Sunday gossip show "The Buzz" on ABS-CBN, saying the network needs her for the ratings. Aquino made the statement in an interview with some reporters here on Thursday. "No. No, no," she said when asked if she would leave the program after she complained last week that she was being used to attack her brother, Senator Benigno "Noynoy" Aquino III. "Actually, if you review carefully what I said, sinabi ko sinabihan ako ng sisters ko na walang quitter sa pamilya. So klaro naman ‘yon. So I will be there on Sunday," she said. Asked if she would take a leave from her other television shows aside from her late night show "SNN" also on ABS-CBN, Kris answered in the negative. "Alam mo masyado ka namang excited na mawala ako. Kawawa naman ang ABS-CBN, kailangan pa rin naman ako for the ratings," she...

Kris Aquino cries on TV on her show The Buzz. I guess this is regarding her issue with Ruffa Guttierez or something and something about Noynoy with matching background music. The drama of Philippine politics.

From the Philippine Daily Inquirer. =================== MANILA, Philippines—Sen. Benigno Aquino III on Friday gave a preview of what Malacañang would be like if he became president—a Palace where his running mate Sen. Manuel Roxas would be an active partner in running the government and “pork barrel” would be shared with friend and foe alike, including President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, who’s running for a seat in Congress. To jump-start his antigraft drive, he would pursue a "personal ambition" to catch a smuggler or a corrupt official responsible for a substandard infrastructure project within the first two weeks of his presidency. Interviewed on dzBB radio by news anchor Mike Enriquez, the Liberal Party standard-bearer said his personal goal would be to kick his smoking habit. He also said he had not decided on an altar date with his girlfriend, Valenzuela City Councilor Shalani Soledad. (See related story on Page A6.) To his big business supporters, Aquino’s mess...