What can be more callous than this?
This was sent to me…
WHAT CAN BE MORE CALLOUS THAN THIS?
While Typhoon Frank devastated the country and claimed more than 650 lives, including the poor victims of the MV Princess of the Stars sea tragedy, illegitimate President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and her 74 junketeers mindlessly spend billions of taxpayers’ money to visit Bush and watch Pacquiao fight in the US.
MONEY SPENT MINDLESSLY
USD 1.5 M JUNKET!
300-5000 – Willard Hotel rate
30 rooms booked
400-500 – Dinner per plate
207++ – Airline rate per person
800-1000 – Rental per car
30 cars rented
250 consulate officials mobilized
THE PERKS
P100,000 – each congressman gets monthly travel allowance
P1,620 – travel tax exemption when traveling with the President
WHO ARE THE 74 JUNKETEERS?
Representative Province
Rep. Narciso Santiago III, Alliance for Rural Concerns Party List Group
Rep. Monico Puentevella, Bacolod
Rep. Albert Garcia, Bataan
Rep. Mark Llandro L. Mendoza, Batangas
Rep. Hermilando Mandanas, Batangas
Rep. William Irwin Tieng, Buhay Party List Group
Rep. Jose Zubiri III, Bukidnon
Rep. Lorna Silverio, Bulacan
Rep. Mitzi Cajayon, Caloocan
Rep. Diosdado “Dato” Macapagal Arroyo, Camarines Sur
Rep. Joseph Santiago, Catanduanes
Rep. Elpidio Barzaga Jr., Cavite
Rep. Antonio Cuenco, Cebu
Rep. Eduardo Gullas, Cebu
Deputy Speaker Raul Del Mar, Cebu City
Rep. Rommel Amatong, Compostela Valley
Speaker Prospero Nograles, Davao City
Rep. Antonio Lagdameo, Davao Del Norte
Rep. Marc Cagas, Davao Del Sur
Rep. Nelson Dayanghirang, Davao Oriental
Rep. Teodolo Coquilla, Eastern Samar
Rep. Andres Salvacion, Leyte
Rep. Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez, Leyte
Rep. Trinidad Apostol, Leyte
Rep. Ma. Zenaida Angping, Manila
Rep. Amado S. Bagatsing, Manila
Rep. Bienvenido Abante Jr., Manila
Rep. Rizalina Seachon-Lanete, Masbate
Rep. Herminia Ramiro, Misamis Occidental
Rep. Yevgeny Emano, Misamis Oriental
Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon, Muntinlupa
Rep. Joseph Gilbert Violago, Nueva Ecija
Deputy Speaker Ma. Amelita C. Villarosa, Occidental Mindoro
Rep. Anna York Bondoc, Pampanga
Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr., Pampanga
Rep. Juan Miguel Macapagal Arroyo, Pampanga
Rep. Conrado Estrella III, Pangasinan
Rep. Ma. Rachel Arenas, Pangasinan
Rep. Eduardo C. Zialcita, Parañaque
Rep. Roman Romulo, Pasig City
Rep. Mary Ann Susano, Quezon City
Rep. Nanette C. Castelo-Daza, Quezon City
Rep. Danilo Suarez, Quezon Province
Rep. Junie Cua, Quirino
Rep. Arturo B. Robes, San Jose Del Monte
Rep. Roger Mercado, Southern Leyte
Rep. Munir Arbison, Sulu
Rep. Rex Gatchalian, Valenzuela City
Rep. Antonio Diaz, Zambales
Senate
Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago
Sen. Richard Gordon (Sen. Gordon did not go and did his job as Red Cross Chairman)
Cabinet
Sec. Arthur Yap, Agriculture
Sec. Rolando Andaya, Budget
Sec. Gov. Amando Tetangco, Central Bank
Sec. Gilbert Teodoro, Defense
Sec. Ronaldo Puno, DILG
Sec. Jesli Lapus, Education
Sec. Lito Atienza, Environment
Sec. Margarito Teves, Finance
Sec. Alberto Romulo, Foreign Affairs
Acting Sec. Marianito Roque, Labor
Sec. Ignacio Bunye, Presidential Spokesman
Sec. Jesus Dureza, Press
Sec. Peter Favila, Trade
Shall we leave our country in the hands of such uncaring people?
It’s time to take back our country!
Shameful and shameless!
Maurese Owens
What a pantheon of rogues, thieves and criminals! Where did they get, and how did they develop, this welfare mentality, feasting on the carcass of the starving Filipino people! If the people tolerate them, whom are we to blame? They must throw out these rascals, even if they have to shed blood in the process. This is the last remedy left before the Philippines goes under. There is no gain if there is no pain. The people have suffered long enough. Vietnam and Cambodia have just overtaken RP because they do not tolerate corruption. One Vietnamese female banker was recently put to death for investing the bank’s money in something that went south. She didn’t take it for personal enrichment. But these politicians do it with impunity! Their Catholic education did them no good. The greed for undeserved and stolen wealth is too strong for these weaklings and scums to resist.
Rawley Soberano
Germantown, MD
Hi Perrry ,
It is very sad indeed for the Filipino people to know that most of the people they allow to govern the country , from Malacanang down to the Barangay level , are found later on as crooks of the shameless kind , like this girl Gloria Arroyo — who is clearly in possession of the deadliest of all personality combinations :
That of being very intelligent and very dishonest .
The country , for quite sometime now , has been experiencing what is clearly a vicious cycle of crooks taking over crooks , with nobody to stop them , because the people who are supposed to stop them , are also crooks.
And these crooks protect each other at the expense of the Filipino people.
As previously mentioned by this writer , WHAT ARE THESE CROOKS IN POWER FOR ?
– Juan de la Cruz
Perry,
Dick Gordon stayed in the Philippines to take care of the typhoon victims in the Visayas. He did a tremendous service to the victims along with the US Ambassador.
Rene B. Alvir M.D.
Hi Perry,
I was just so devastated by your commentary entitled “What can be more callous than this?”..I felt so mad by your act of brutally calling Mrs. Arroyo an illegitimate president and her company in the US Visit as uncaring people..you even called their travel as a way of mindlessly spending money of the taxpayer’s money..
HOW DARE YOU call her Illegitimate? Bakit ba ha?..kung is arroyo ay illegitimate, sino pala ang legitimate na pangulo ng pilipinas? si Erap?..my GOSH!.You cannot put the verdict to her unless she was proven guilty of manipulating the elections by the PROPER FORUM AND BY THE LAWFULLY DESIGNATED AUTHORITY
…seems that you also MINDLESSLY composed such commentary…I am not a Presidential crony nor an Arroyo supporter BUT I am after fair and objective judgement for our officials..HAVE YOU EVER MADE AN INQUIRY OR INVESTIGATION IF WHAT WERE THE BENEFITS AND “BLESSINGS” GAINED BY THEIR TRAVEL TO US?..
.Ang hirap kasi as inyo ang nakikita nyo lang ay ang negatibong bahagi ng bawat gawain ng pangulo or ng gobyerno..sana nman tingnan nyo rin ang mabuting idinulot ng bawat desisyon at gawaing isinakatuparan…ang inyong pambabatikos at Hindi patas na pamamahayag ay WALANG MAGANDANG maidudulot sa ekonomiya ng Pilipinas…Bagkus ay mas lalo pang nagpapaGULO sa sitwasyon..nagiging mas kumplikado ang bawat detalye dahil as mga pangGugulo nyo he..
Can’t you be supportive to the Government even just for ONCE..sana nman Hindi dahil Hindi ang gusto nyong Personalidad ang NASA Malakanyang kaya kayo ganyan…
Jabby Toldanes
Hi Jabby,
Gloria Arroyo grabbed power from Erap with the military’s support. Erap was forced to take a “leave of absence.” Recently, the bishops admitted that they made a mistake in supporting EDSA II. When she ran for election in 2004, she cheated to win. The “Hello Garci” tapes tell it all. That’s what made her an illegitimate president.
As to being “uncaring,” she went on an expensive 10-day junket to the U.S. while people were drowning at sea and the Visayas were devastated by typhoon “Frank.” She could have cut her 10-day junket to four days and went home. She stayed out of the country at a time when she was needed most.
Nothing was gained by her trip to the U.S. Her meeting with Pres. Bush was nothing more than a courtesy call. She had a phone call with Barack Obama and a photo op with McCain. Do you call these gains for the Philippines? She was politicking with the American presidential candidates. No foreign leader would do what she did.
All that for $1.5 million (63 million pesos). For what? Nothing.
You asked why can’t I support Gloria? I used to support her until 2005. After “Hello Garci” I realized that what we have is an evil president. She lies all the time while plundering the land. I cannot in good consience support a corrupt president.
Best,
Perry
— In bibaknets@yahoogroups.com, Jocelyn Noe wrote:
I noticed, there’s no one from the Cordillera. What happened to
their allotment? This won’t be fair then if those people in the list
are the only ones spending tax payer’s money.
Jocelyn
(The congressmen on the list were those who supported the
ouster of Joe de Venecia as Speaker of the House. The junket was
Gloria’s payback to them. — Perry)
– In Fil-Soldier@yahoogroups.com, Eterio Herrera wrote:
The bottom line question is, whats the benefit for this President Mini me Marcos GMA and his 74 junketeers in helping the really needy poor people of the Philippines? The answer would be nada just added the erosion of public funds for allocation of the real pilipino people who are struggling to cope up with the real pressure in life which is Poverty and Corruption. Ang Bayan kong pilipinas nasudlak sa hirap na walang katapusan dahil sa isang unanong mastermind just like in hollywood, strange but true.
I DISAGREE WITH YOUR COMMENTS. THESE CONGRESSMEN , SENATOR AND CABINET PERSONALITIES MUST KNOW WHAT IS HAPPENING FIRST HAND IN THE USA. THE FILIPINO AMERICANS SPEND THE MOST ON A PER CAPITA BASIS AMONG ALL OTHER IMMIGRANTS IN THE USA .
SIGNED
GABY BAUTISTA
PRESIDENT AND CEO DB SERVICES USA .
(Americans are not their constituents in their congressional districts. Their constituents are the Filipino people ONLY. What business do they have to “know what is happening first hand in the USA? What did they do in the U.S. other than watch the Pacquiao-Diaz match? A junket by any other name is still a junket. — Perry)
Perry,
This is a reply to that Guy Jabby.
Mr Jabby Toldanes, Did you ever read the names of the people that went with your good President? How many are they? Did they each have a specific job to be done when they came here at the people’s expense that will help the people? Tell me one good reason why their coming to the USA was for the good of the Filipino people.
I will give you a good comparison as to what the past and present presidents have done to our beloved country.
1. President Marcos stole money while he was the President but where did he get it. He got it from the money that the US government give to the Philippines and that it was not directly take from the people. The Filipinos do not have to them from their taxes.
2. Erap got some money too, but where did he got them. He got it from the people who are doing the gambling business. And who pays for it? Only the people who are gambling.
3. Aroyo, She gets the money from the companies that does contract with the Philippine government. And where does the contractors get the money? They include it in the contract amount and who pays for it. The Filipino people. That makes Aroyo the worst president. During the time of President Quirino, he was questioned about a bed that cost I think P4,000.00.
I rest my case.
MF Musico
Hi Perry,
Here is my 5 cents worth(inflation-adjusted) to this.
” Thoughtless extravagance in expenses for pleasure or display during a period of acute public want or emergency may be stopped by order of the courts at the instance of any government or private charitable institution”. (Art. 25, Civil Code of the Philippines)
There are many other provisions in the same Code which may also serve as basis for action to whosoever might have the guts or resources:
“Any person suffering material or moral loss because a public swervant or employee refuses or neglects, without just cause, to perform his official duty may file an action for damages and other relief against the latter, without prejudice to any disciplinary administrative action that may be taken”. (Art. 27)
“When a member of a city or municipal police force refuses or fails to render aid or protection to any person in case of danger to life or properoty, such peace officer shall be primarily liable for damages, and the city or municipality shall be subsidiarily responsible therefor. The civil actnio herein recognized shall be independent of any criminal proceedings, and a preponderance of evidence shall suffice to support such action” (Art. 34)
These were part of the laws we were taught back in law school circa 1966 to 1970, and unless these have been amended, they should still be part of the law of the land, although having a cause of action and enforcement are totally another matter. These and many other provisions in the early part of the civil Code, appear in Chapter II entitled human relations, which implies the basis is in morality and human conduct(“Do unto others….”). Even if these would disappear from our books, as it practically had after years of martial law and subsequent replications thereof, and especially up to the present, thoughtless extravagance,dereliction of duty and other similar behavior, are morally reprehensible and have been known to have triggered upheavals in the course of human history. It is also part of history that humans never learn.
My 10 cents worth(again adjusted since price indexes have already risen in the 10 minutes I was typing this)
Best,
Ding Bagasao
We are like dogs barking against the other dogs with a big bone in there mouth. The infections is too much to heal. If at the legs cutting is the best to save lives. We are powerless just keep on screaming at the top of our lungs.
Roy Querol
Hi, Perry,
I sincerely would like very much to add my sentiments indeed in regard to your clear characterization of Gloria’s malfeasance in office, i.e., greed, corruption, abuse of power, and total disregard of the welfare of the people to whom she owes her ill-gotten power. She’s totally shameless and mindless , although others may call her smart.
I hope you continue to exert your leadership in advocating for the improvement of the welfare of the poor, and in stimulating the action towards throwing her out of office sooner.
Gloria and her like-minded cohorts must no longer be allowed to continue their plunder with impunity of the Philippines. Furhermore, they deserve to reside out side the kingdom of heaven, and that’s in the heart of hell.
May her actions of greed and gluttonies, along with her comrades , result in karma.
Jesss H. Reyes
Perry,
It is really difficult to assess the benefits arising from this costly junket. The timing was poor because of the calamity. The generous response is a no-brainer. The US and the international community usually support and extend humanitarian assistance after a calamity, and a junket is superfluous at a cost to the Philippine treasury when the country is having a bad time.
Ben Oteyza