174 congressmen voted to depose Speaker Jose de Venecia, only 35 voted against his ouster while 16 abstained.
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As voting was to commence, Speaker de Venecia warned the camp of Davao Congressman Prospero Nograles, his nemesis, against bribing congressmen to vote for his ouster.
But Palawan Congressman Abraham Mitra, son of the late Speaker Ramon Mitra, who moved to declare the position of Speaker vacant twitted him: “Mr. Speaker on the moral recovery program and bribery charge, I say ‘look who’s talking’”.
He said it was a big joke that de Venecia was warning about using money to oust him when he is the “father and root of all corruption in Congress.”
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For allegedly giving undue favor to a mining firm, Palawan Gov. Joel Reyes has been indicted by the Ombudsman for violation of the Philippine Mining Act of 1995 and Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.
This should serve as warning to other governors who think and act as if they can do anything with the mineral resources of their respective provinces for the benefit of a few but to the detriment of the populace.
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Camarines Sur has a new provincial auditor in the person of Atty. Eleanor Velasco-Echano, who according to a letter furnished the PENINSULA MONITOR and presumably other local newspapers is “scrupulous, dedicated, and has the courage to defy powerful politicians who abuse their financial discretion.”
We wish her good luck. Obviously, she has a lot of work to do.
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Existing city governments are up in arms against House Bill No. 24 filed by Zamboanga Sibugay Rep. Dulce Ana K. Hofer which would exempt capital towns from income requirement of cityhood such that capital towns even with annual income of just P20 million may become cities.
The reason for their objection is that their IRA shares are reduced everytime a new city emerges. Translation: greed.
This is indeed the Year of the Rat, the creature known for greed.
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Said Education Sec. Jesli Lapus in the January 29, 2008 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer: “School children used to interacting with women teachers should also be exposed to masculine authority figures so they could learn values unique to men.”
At Bigaas Elementary School in Calabanga and at the Guijalo High School in Caramoan, both in Camarines Sur three pupils and students, all minors, were impregnated last year by their teachers.
They had not learned values, instead they were victimized by monsters posing as male teachers. Yet, DepEd officials in the province have not done anything at all to curb this aberration or punish the culprits.
Is this the kind of values you want children in school to learn, Secretary Lapus?
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Sandiganbayan, has ruled that assets of deposed President Estrada not derived or traceable to ill-gotten wealth should not be seized or forfeited because it would result in the deprivation of property without due process of law.
What about Marcos assets that were seized by the PCGG without due process of law – including the ancestral homes of the Marcoses and the Romualdezes? Some of the assets, including jewelries, were said to be traced to some government offi cials including PCGG people.
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Who is the Third District Mayor who spent more than P250,000.00 for his travel alone from July to December, 2007?
Since he stays five of seven days a week in Manila on the pretext that he is following up projects the sum could even be small. Abuse of financial discretion is the common disease among local executives.
