by Perry Diaz

A battle royal is looming in the land of Cong Dadong Macapagal between his daughter, President — and anti-drug “Czarina” — Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and Gov. Fr. Ed Panlilio of Pampanga. With all the government and political resources at her disposal, the Czarina has come down furiously at the priest-turned-governor through a series of Machiavellian strategies. But the priest is fighting back like David did to the mighty Goliath.
It all started when Panlilio and other governors were invited to a breakfast meeting at the Malacanang Palace in October …

“If 11 million Filipinos abroad will create nine homes each, there will be no poor in the Philippines.”
 
by Alex P. Vidal 
TORONTO, Canada — Ilonggos in the Philippines thought they have lost a worthy business leader when low-key enterpreneur Alfredo “Pidoy” Pacis and his family migrated here 12 years ago.
They did not. In fact, Pidoy’s legacy will stay and live forever in Pototan, Iloilo where he, together with Couples For Christ, town officials, and Saladmasters International recently awarded in a ceremony 10 of the expected 100 beneficiaries of the Gawad Kalinga …

by Perry Diaz
Last February 13, 2009, the think tank IBON Foundation posted on its website an article titled “Gov’t ’Stimulus Plan’ A Mere Spin.” IBON implied that the much ballyhooed stimulus plan of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is a “mere public relations gimmickry to create the impression that something is being done to address the crisis.” According to IBON, “part of the reported P330-billion stimulus plan includes the P160-billion increase in the 2009 national budget, the P100-billion off-budget infrastructure fund, the P40-billion corporate/individual tax breaks, so-called alternative livelihood programs, etc.”
Sonny …

by LITO BANAYO
from MALAYA

Last Friday, we described in this space what to our mind are the parameters of informed choice, for the kind of president we should elect in 2010. We have described ten presidential wannabe’s in previous columns. In the order of our articles, they have been former president Joseph Estrada, Sen. Dick Gordon, Sen. Loren Legarda, MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando, Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay, then Sen. Francis Escudero, Vice-President Noli de Castro, Sen. Manuel Villar, Sen. Manuel A. Roxas, and Sen. Panfilo M. Lacson. Ten in all. These …

February 16, 2009
By Ellen Tordesillas
The people’s fury
Never mind Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Sen. Miriam Santiago. We know them to be allies of Gloria Arroyo (or whoever will serve their interest).
But it was painful to see Sen. Aquilino Pimentel, who fought the Marcos tyranny and was a victim of electoral cheating, spouting the same line as Enrile and Santiago putting the pressure on the World Bank, which exposed the rigging of bids in the public works it finances, instead of Finance Secretary Gary Teves and Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez who, …

Has The U.S Bases Really Left R.P.?
by Erick San Juan
                                                   
My associate, Mar Tecson, a fellow book author has sent an email which is very timely to what I’m writing. Who said that there’s no more U.S. bases in the Philippines? The essay of Tom Engelhardt, co-founder of the American Empire Project and author of The End of Victory Culture entitled “The U.S. Has 761 Military Bases Across The Planet, and We Simply Never Talk About It,” is very revealing.
                                          
            The usual reliable information that I’ve been getting from concerned citizens …

The unloved
By Randy David
Philippine Daily Inquirer
02/14/2009
Among the many presidents we have had, Ramon Magsaysay is consistently singled out as the most loved. For a long time, Ferdinand Marcos held the dubious distinction of being the most despised. Magsaysay continues to be remembered as the most beloved of all our presidents, but Marcos has been dislodged from his ignoble perch by Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo (GMA). Marcos was despised and feared, yet he had many admirers. GMA now outranks every president as an object of public contempt. The public sentiment about her is …

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       Contact:
February 13, 2009                                          Ben de Guzman 202.422.4909
www.nafve.org (Web site)                          nafve2007@gmail.com (E-mail)
U.S. Congress Passes Filipino WWII Veterans Legislation In Economic Stimulus Package
President Obama expected to sign historic bill days before 63rdanniversary of Rescission Act that first revoked U.S. veteran status for Filipino WWII veterans.
Washington, DC- The U.S. Congress today approved HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the economic stimulus bill, which includes legislation regarding Filipino World War II veterans. With this vote, the bill is expected to be signed by President Obama on February …

COMMENTARY BY PERRY DIAZ
             If there’s anything that President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo would pay for $1 billion, it would be a photo opportunity with President Barack Obama.   Just imagine a picture of the two presidents side by side with the flags of their respective countries in the background.  That would be awesome!  It would be worth billions of dollars in extreme makeover for Gloria.  
           It could change her image from an international pariah to a “partner” in the war against global recession and terror.  And perhaps — cross your fingers – it could even …

Controversial healing priest to visit Butuan City; conducts open healing session
By Ben Serrano
 
           BUTUAN CITY- Controversial healing priest Rev Fr Fernando Suarez will arrive here in Butuan City on February 17 and will conduct an open public healing session on February 18 afternoon at the Roman Catholic owned Fr. Saturnino Urios University’s Gymnasium.
 
            It can be recalled that Diocese of Lingayen in Pangasinan Bishop Oscar Cruz criticized the construction of the P1-B Healing Palace of Fr. Suarez in Laguna overlooking the sea saying the lavish spending worth a billion of peso …