'Di na balita yan: Palace boys admit funding Sigaw’s Cha-cha

Hindi na balita yan! Maliwanag pa sa sikat ng araw na hindi taumbayan, hindi PIPOL at lalong hindi kagustuhan ni Mang Juan ang Cha Cha at Pipol Inisyatib, ito'y kagagawan, pasimuno ng mga pulitiko at palasyo, meaning PALACE INITIATIVE o Pipol Inisyatib ito ni Gloria (PIG)!

Alam ng Malakanyang na tapos na ang boxing, tapos na ang kwento, tapos na ang maliligayang araw ng Cha Cha. Alam rin ng Malakanyang na mananatili ang sistemang presidential at tuloy na tuloy na't dapat paghandaan na ang estratehiya't taktika sa 2007 election.

Sa katunayan, ayon kay Comelec Chairman Abalos, hindi na sila umaasang magagamit pa sa 2007 ang inaamag, ang pinagdududahan Automated Counting Machine ng Mega Pacific. So, imbis na computerization, MANU-MANONG PAGBIBILANG ang mangyayari sa 2007 election. Dagdag pa ni Abalos, "kasalukuyang nag-iimprenta na sila ng mga electoral parapenalya para sa 2007 election. Paano ngayon 'yan mga trapito sa ULAP, Liga ng mga lokal na erehekutibo at Tongresman? Ihanda n'yo na ang mga ninakaw n'yong milyon-milyon piso para sa electoral machinery at pamimili ng boto, tuloy na tuloy na ang 2007 election!!

Kaya Sen. Drilon, matagal ng alam ng country na ang PI o PIG (People's Initiatives ni Gloria) ay walang kaduda-dudang PALACE INITIATIVES at isang ILIGAL na ehersisyo!! Ngayon, paano mare-recover ang Daan-daang milyong pisong nawaldas sa kampanyang PI? Anong say rito ng Ombudsman, sino ang mananagot at masasampahan ng kaso?

Kawawa naman ang Sigaw ng Bayan, ULAP at Liga ng mga Lokal na Ehekutibo, matapos paasahing mananatili sa poder (No-El), matapos suhulan at paamuyin ng TUYO, pinangbala sa kanyon ng Malakanyang. Hindi oposisyon ang umupak, ang trumaydor sa ULAP at Sigaw ng Bayan, bagkus ang mga galamay mismo ni Ate Glo sa partido, ang KAMPI at mga asungot sa Malakanyang. Tulad ni Mike Defensor, lumalabas na hindi pala seryosong-seryoso ang KAMPI sa planong Cha CHa. Parang inuto't pinaniwalang LANGIT, PARAISO ang sistema ng Parliamentaryo pero HINDI NAMAN TOTOO !

Political survival para kay Ate Glo ang pakay ng Cha Cha, hindi economic and political reform, hindi rin ito survival ng mamamayang Pilipino o pipol sa tulad ng ipinopropaganda ng Malakanyang. Konsolidasyon ito ng mga dambuhalang pulitikong elitista't oligarkiya. Iwas Thaksin ito ng Thailand.

Layunin nitong durugin, tirisin, i-all out war, i-marginalized ang political opposition sa 2007 at 2010. Disenyo ito upang hadlangan at all cost ang posibleng landslide victory ng opposition sa 2007 election at makontrol muli ang Tongreso.

- Doy Cinco / IPD
Oct 7, 2006

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Senators: Confession is proof PI is gov’t move
Palace boys admit funding Sigaw’s Cha-cha

By Angie M. Rosales
http://www.tribune.net.ph/headlines/20061007hed1.html
10/07/2006

It never was a people’s initiative, only an Arroyo government initiative, to ram through Charter change (Cha-cha) for a shift to the parliamentary system and the proof of this was the admission elicited from Malacañang media officers on the government funding by the senators during a budget hearing yesterday.

And the figure could go as high as P150 million for the propaganda and the printed materials and even more, if the budget hearings are to reveal more.

Senators yesterday succeeded in blowing Malacañang’s cover, which was its “indirect” financing of the needed funds to the Sigaw ng Bayan group of Palace frontman, lawyer Raul Lambino for their controversial and questionable signature drive on a “People’s Initiative (PI).

During yesterday’s budget hearing focused on the budget of the Press Secretary, senators succeeded in extracting from government media officers a confession that close to P10 million had been poured in from government funds for this year’s Cha-cha advocacy while new allocations to boost their propaganda have been included in the P1.13 trillion proposed 2007 national appropriations.

Obviously prepared for the scenario that took place during the budget hearing of the Office of the Press Secretary presided over by Sen. Franklin Drilon, Palace officials who attended the proceedings came prepared, armed with a ready answer: That the funds were properly used and could be accounted for.

In further justifying the funding for the people’s initiative, despite the lawmakers objections in their use of public funds for such a project is unauthorized under the law, Palace officials maintained they can do so because “this is an advocacy of President Arroyo.”

Palace Spokesman and Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye who was at the forefront in defending the Executive over the issue of financing the Cha-cha campaign, was on the defensive, saying he and concerned officials had managed to explain fully the programs of the government related to this move.

“We’re not saying that the expenses cannot be properly accounted for. That’s not the point. The point is that, in fact, government funds are being spent for this. That this is legitimate. We are not saying here that the funds are improperly spent. We are saying that government funds are being used for the Cha-cha campaign because it is an advocacy of the President, as simple as that?”Drilon retorted.

Bunye countered by saying: “That is correct but we have to qualify the circumstances under which the funds were used,” Bunye said.

“And right now, we have identified already nearly P10 million of government funds being used,” the senator immediately noted, enough to silence the Palace official.
Alongside this development uncovered by the Drilon-led finance committee, was uncollected receivables of the National Printing Office (NPO) amounting to almost P124 million.

The NPO figure is more than enough to fund the agency’s operations next year, even exceeding by P2 million the budget it is seeking before Congress for 2007.
NPO, it can be recalled, has been enmeshed as well in the Cha-cha controversy, having been reported several months ago that this agency was allegedly involved in the printing of some of the campaign paraphernalia of Sigaw and Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines (ULAP).

NPO chief Felipe Evardone happens to be the brother of ULAP leader Eastern Samar Gov. Ben Evardone.

Drilon pried into the OPS items in its budget related to Cha-cha, in an attempt to scrutinize the legitimacy of the use of funds and in the process, managed to entrap the government media officials into the situation that these efforts were disguises in assisting Sigaw and ULAP’s moves to push the Arroyo’s people’s initiative.

“It is not a secret that the President is in favor of political reforms through Charter change….Not specifically Cha-cha, but we can promote programs that will explain the Charter change. For example, in the case of the national government television, there are specific programs that deal with the discussions on the Charter,” Bunye explained.

“Are you saying that devoting government funds to push Cha-cha which the President herself has openly declared as a policy would be improper? I don’t think so. So the President can, through the OPS, include for example the CoA (Commission on Audit) audit expenses incurred for Cha-cha, because this is an open policy,” said Drilon.
“That is line with the thinking of the President,” replied Bunye.

When asked to detail the expenses devoted in this year’s budget on Cha-cha, Bunye passed the buck to government media executives who all admitted being engaged in promoting Mrs. Arroyo’s advocacy.

Based on the officials’ explanations, close to P10 million has already been spent for this and P4.5 million had been allotted by the government television station NBN-4 in terms of production cost for Cha-cha-themed programs.

NBN general manager Joey Isabelo told Drilon that they plan to spend another P2 million pesos next year while the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) meanwhile has spent P3 million pesos.

Isabelo gave the impression that the government intends to go full-blast in the remaining months, appropriating P4.5 million for their TV program aired every Wednesday night, that has a projected income of P500,000 for every season or 13 episodes.

“For this (second) season (now ongoing), we will bring this program to the provinces, so we will be needing more and we’re allotting P4.5M for the program up to December this year,” he said.

“But you’re asking for a subsidy of a P50M…the people have the right to know how this budget will be utilized as every office in this government would make public in these public hearings how they propose to spend government money,” Drilon said in grilling Isabelo.

The NBN executive said the P50 million will cover the station for capital outlay and program development. “And program development could include Cha-cha?” Drilon asked to which he received an affirmative reply.

When asked for proposed funding for programs intended to promote Cha-cha, Isabelo estimated some P2 million in expenses. “If you already spent P4.5M for less than one year, why should I believe you when you say P2M only?” asked Drilon.

“For this (second) season, we’ll be on remote mode but for next year, since we have finished visiting all the provinces, we can do it in the studio,” Isabelo said, explaining that the high cost would also cover broadcast and transmission expenses.
The PIA claimed it had no role in the advertising placement of ULAP and Sigaw ng Bayan, but media and advertising sources said it was the PIA that they dealt with.

Drilon was quick in pointing out to them that a Palace-created commission which reviewed the feasibility of undertaking Cha-cha, happens to include among its panel members, Sigaw’s Lambino and Romela Bengzon.

The said body crafted the proposed Cha-cha advocated by Mrs. Arroyo, the senator said, adding that Lambino is also a petitioner before the SC on the matter of people’s initiative.

“That is on record. Lambino is espousing the Cha-cha as advocated by the President and for which government’s funds are being spent, would you agree with that?…I hear a deafening silence….according to Sen. (Juan Ponce) Enrile, the deafening silence comes because the question is unanswerable,” he remarked.

It can easily be deduced from the facts presented by them, Drilon said to reporters in an interview, that the OPS’ budget clearly funds the activities of Sigaw ng Bayan.
“At least to the extent of P10 million as admitted by the OPS through various expenses for the advocacy of the Cha-cha…In the forefront of which is the Sigaw ng Bayan. It is quite obvious that the Sigaw ng Bayan is funded, insofar as its information drive is concerned, as admitted by the OPS and its attached agencies, to the extent of about P10 million,” he said.

The senator emphasized what he insinuated as the illegality on the acts of Malacanang saying that “when the framers of the Constitution included the people’s initiative as a means of proposing amendments to the Constitution, it was contemplated that it will be a people’s initiative not a government initiative.

“We are withholding approval of the budget of the National Printing Office because of the cavalier attitude of the head of that office. There are receivables amounting to P124 million and the budget for this office for 2007 is P122 million. In other words, if he just exerts effort to recover these receivables, this could fund his budget for next year. But the cavalier attitude that he has shown would prompt this committee to withhold approval of this budget until he could submit a program for the collection of this P124 million in receivables for his office.

“I am prepared to do that if I do not see any serious effort to collect these receivables and liquidate these advances. We are not saying that we will withhold approval if they cannot liquidate or collect. What we are just looking for is a serious effort to collect receivables and liquidate these advances,” Drilon said.