P-Noy

[carpediem]

GMA must stay; Noy needs her as distraction
POSTSCRIPT By Federico D. Pascual Jr.  (The Philippine Star)

DISTRACTION: President Noynoy Aquino and his Yellow legions must be rejoicing after they succeeded in blocking the departure Friday of Rep. Gloria Arroyo despite a Supreme Court order restraining the enforcing of what operates as a justice department hold order.

President Aquino needs Ms Arroyo's visible presence. She has been a convenient excuse and distraction for his continuing failure to meet the rising expectations of the masses who had swallowed his promise of change, especially in improving the quality of their lives.

If suddenly the former president were gone, Mr. Aquino and his propagandists would no longer have a high-profile figure to blame for everything that goes wrong. And many things seem to be going wrong nowadays.

*      *      *

VACUUM: If only for that, aside from making her pay very dearly for her and her husband's alleged involvement in big-time corruption, Ms Arroyo should stay.

Without her as a hate-object set up in the background, the vacuum of accomplishments of the Aquino administration would suddenly appear more pronounced in the gathering darkness.

With the distraction removed, the people will see and feel more clearly their deprivation: the scarcity of jobs and the basic amenities of decent life, the widespread hunger, the rising prices of essential goods, the feeling of not being safe in the street and even right in one's home.

Gloria Arroyo and her husband Mike Arroyo - for whom the Yellow propagandists have succeeded in fomenting loathing - must stay. P-Noy needs them around.

*      *      *

RUSH POLL RAPS: But Ms Arroyo's staying has nothing to do with the Supreme Court's Temporary Restraining Order suspending the effect of the Watch List Order of the Department of Justice that is routinely misused as a Hold Departure Order.

In fact, if that TRO were followed, as it is an order from the highest court in the land, Ms Arroyo would be somewhere over the rainbow by this time.

Her failure to depart last Friday stemmed from the arrest warrant issued by a Pasay judge after he found probable cause in the election sabotage complaint that the Commission on Elections rushed against her and two other minor officials.

The unresolved question over the validity of Justice Secretary Leila de Lima's issuing a Watch List Order is different and separate from the election sabotage case.

*      *      *

LAME EXCUSE: De Lima may not use the Comelec complaint, which came three days after the TRO, to rationalize her contemptuous defiance of the SC.

At the time De Lima junked the TRO, she was saying all over the place that she could not enforce the SC order because they (the Aquino camp) still had to file a motion for reconsideration (MR), but that they could not file an MR because they had not received the TRO.

The absence of an MR at that point merely confirms that her excuse (that their projected MR had to be resolved first) did not hold water. Yet she was already invoking a hypothetical MR on a TRO that she had not received because she left the office early. She wanted the SC to wait till she had the time to read the TRO and file an MR?

*      *      *

POINTS TO NOY: But the lawyer in De Lima has been smart enough to always make a public display of first consulting President Aquino before she announces a potentially problematic decision.

Since her experience with the administration's gross mishandling of the Luneta 2010 hostage-taking fiasco, she has been careful to announce that she had consulted the President and that he said okay, go ahead.

If she has to, she can always point to the President. She could be disbarred, cited for contempt and ambushed in the Commission on Appointments, but she would get a Gold Medal and her boss' grateful support when it is time to fill the Liberal Party senatorial ticket in 2013.

*      *      *

TRIO CHARGED: Would you believe that the election fraud that made some losers win and some winners lose in 2007 was committed by only three conspirators: then President Arroyo, Gov. Andal Ampatuan Sr. and Comelec regional official Lintang Bedol?

Only those three individuals stand accused in the Comelec complaint as having plotted and carried out the alleged massive and complicated operations.

A conspiracy of just three individuals may look incredible to some people, including those who see electoral fraud as endemic, yet the Comelec rushed the complaint and the Pasay judge found probable cause after leafing through the voluminous documents.

*      *      *

COMPUTERIZED CHEATING: Now that the Comelec has followed the coach's order for a last two-minute dash, let us open the Pandora's box and look into a bigger and better documented fraud — the alleged electronic manipulation of the 2010 elections where Mr. Aquino won as president.

If his administration is indeed for transparency, good government and justice, as it often claims, let the ax fall wherever it must.

For starters, let an independent commission look into the documented complaints, including that of the Tanggulang Demokrasya (TanDem), that the Comelec turned over its exclusive powers and duty to manage elections to a foreign entity that made possible electronic cheating.

*      *      *

SAFEGUARDS DROPPED: TanDem, an independent, non-partisan civic group, said, "While we hail the move to revisit the 2004 and 2007 elections, the review process should go beyond. The 2010 elections should also be scrutinized."

The group said the safeguards in the automated system in the 2010 polls were illegally disregarded. It said that election returns were deliberately passed without signatures, opening the process and results to fraud that undermined the legitimacy of the results.

Some anomalies exposed were: the suspension of the digital signature of the Board of Elections Inspectors, the non-use of the required ultraviolet scanners designed to authenticate the ballots being fed into counting machine, the suspension of the machine's function to display the ballot instead of merely the word "CONGRATULATIONS," the disregard of the law's provision on data retention when the Comelec destroyed memory cards and compact flash cards as early as May 15, 2010.

TanDem also questioned the uncompleted source code review and pre-testing of the counting machines as required by law, the grossly defective implementation of the Random Manual Count in violation of the law in terms of accuracy, and the disenfranchisement of two to eight million voters in the presidential, vice presidential and senatorial elections.

http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?publicationSubCategoryId=64&articleId=749969



(Emphasis mine.)

[judE_Law]

^^SUPER LIKE!

thanks for Sharing Carpediem!

[judE_Law]

Enrile questions President Aquino's P101-B pork in '12 budget

By Christian V. Esguerra
Philippine Daily Inquirer


Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile on Wednesday questioned what he called was President Benigno Aquino III's "pork barrel" amounting to P101.5 billion which is included in the proposed national budget for next year.
The budget allocation, labeled as "miscellaneous personnel benefits fund" (MPBF), lumps together the unspent appropriations for unfilled positions in all three branches of government.
Both Enrile and Sen. Joker Arroyo find this move questionable.
Representatives of the judiciary also opposed the inclusion of P1.98 billion of their budget in the MPBF, whose distribution would be controlled by the executive branch, through the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).
"This is going to be a huge pork barrel and I think I will support Malacañang on various issues, but I think Congress will have to put its foot down on the impoundment of these funds," Enrile said during the Senate hearing on the judiciary's proposed P13.4 billion budget for 2012.
Congress decides
"It is the Congress that decides on the allocation of funds. The executive proposes, but Congress will dispose it," he said.
Enrile added: "The way I see it, it's a system of control. It's unwarranted and I think as far as I am concerned, I will resist this. Nothing personal, but it's my duty as head of the Senate, to resist this system. And I don't care if I would be kicked out of my position."
Arroyo agreed with Enrile, saying Malacañang was "hijacking the judiciary funds."
"The executive is testing the waters, probing how deep it can control the Supreme Court and Congress and constitutional agencies," he told the Inquirer in an interview.
Arroyo noted that under the MPFB, Malacañang would control part of the budgets for career positions of Congress (P281.6 million), judiciary (P1.9 billion), Civil Service Commission (122.8 million), Commission on Audit (P1.8 billion), Commission on Elections (P162.3 million), and the Office of the Ombudsman (P567.7 million).
In all, Malacañang would have control over a total of P4.97 billion representing combined funds for unfilled positions of all "constitutional commissions and offices enjoying fiscal autonomy," according to Arroyo.
"We should avoid a confrontation between the executive and the judiciary that could result in a case between the two," he said.
"Because the Constitution is on its side, that it enjoys fiscal autonomy, the Supreme Court may, if a case is filed, may just render a decision nullifying the impounding of judiciary funds that the DBM transferred to the executive, for it to spend."



http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/59049/enrile-questions-president-aquino%E2%80%99s-p101-b-pork-in-%E2%80%9912-budget

[judE_Law]

2011: A wasted year

WEDNESDAY, 23 NOVEMBER 2011 20:29    JOHN MANGUN / OUTSIDE THE BOX


ONCE again the Philippines is locked in political drama while economic issues are placed far on the back burner of government priorities.

The Aquino administration inherited an economy that survived well the first wave of the global meltdown. Given the public support during and after the last elections and a continued high approval rating, it was an opportunity to make some far-reaching proposals and create programs that would have had a very favorable impact both in the short and long term.

In the business community, while always skeptical of government, the Public-Private Partnership Program was greeted with optimism and even enthusiasm. This was to be the center point of the new government. Unfortunately, the PPP seems stillborn at best and aborted at worst.

There is a sharp contrast between what you can see economically at ground level and what the economic experts see while sitting on top of the mountain.

Business activity continues to be good. Go to the malls in Makati, for example, and you will find evidence of business being brisk. Travel to Davao City and see the huge revenues that the Shoemart group is generating for the local economy with their new mall.

Yet the World Bank has again lowered the economic growth forecast for the country. The World Bank at one time expected a near 5-percent growth. Now its projection is down to 4.2 percent.

The Philippines needs 4-percent gross domestic product growth just to stay where it is, to break even so to speak. Five-percent growth is acceptable as it keeps the economy a little ahead of the game. But 4.2 percent basically says that the nation, after some 18 months of the Aquino presidency, is no farther along, no better than when the President took office. This is not good at all.

While the Malacañang press releases harp about all the foreign investment that the President's foreign trips have generated, the real numbers are dismal. The newspaper headlines say that foreign direct investment jumped 32 percent in the third quarter. The truth is that during January through September, a grand total of $2 billion had been invested in the Philippines. That is the equivalent of giving each man, woman and child in the country P1,000. It's nothing near what the economy needs.

More could and would come if positive action on the economy was not just one of the priorities but the top priority of the government.

Several foreign chambers of commerce joined Philippine business groups to create a long wish list of things that the government must do both for local and foreign businesses. It is ridiculously long. However, the specifics are critically important. The government has yet to formulate a clear and concise policy on mining. There has been no movement on rationalizing the fiscal incentives for new investment. Nothing has been done to improve the build-operate-transfer law.

The key is that this list shows that in the last 18 months, economic policy decisions and laws dealing with the economy have been placed on hold.

A new and comprehensive framework for both local and foreign investment does not exist on paper, only in the mouths of the political leaders.

The current administration has done a good job of building on the government's fiscal foundation laid by the last administration. The budget deficit is in good control. The amount of foreign-currency reserves actually makes the Philippines a creditor nation rather than a net borrower. It is very likely that the country will soon receive a credit-rating upgrade. But at what future cost?

Government spending primarily on infrastructure is down 12 percent since last year. That is a huge amount and would have made the difference between current expectations and a 5-percent growth rate.

The difference between the economy growing at 4.2 percent and 5.2 percent is enormous in terms of private wealth creation, taxes and investment for the future.

Because the government has not done an adequate job in 2011, 2012 growth will also be lower than an acceptable 5 percent.

The government has failed in its responsibility in 2011 to maximize economic growth. While it speaks of preparing and planning for any major global economic problems, at this point, it is all words.

It looks like 2012 may be a very difficult year for the global economy. The government may be forced to come in with more handouts, which would not be the case if had spent taxpayers' money on projects in 2011 to create wealth. It's like giving fuel subsidies to jeepney drivers, when government should be working instead on policies to ensure cheaper and adequate fuel supply.

And by some miracle if the world can come out of economic stagnation next year, once again the Philippines will be behind all the rest.


http://www.businessmirror.com.ph/home/opinion/19729-2011-a-wasted-year

[judE_Law]

Oh... masyado ng na-divert ni PNOY ang atensiyon niyo kay Gloria... magbasa-basa kayo! lol!
sayang mga pinaghirapan ni Gloria!, the government should know that economy and security are the most important thing they should focus...


to PNOY.... your administration is wasting too much time and effort how to cruxify gloria and her allies.... sad.


----------------------------------------------------


Economy slows down
By EDU LOPEZ, CHINO S. LEYCO, and GENALYN D. KABILING
November 28, 2011, 2:27pm


MANILA, Philippines — The growth of the Philippine economy slowed down to 3.2 percent in the third quarter of this year compared with 7.3 percent in the same period last year.

The debt crisis that hounds the country's trading partners, the uninvigorating government spending, and the decline in fishing due to unfavorable weather and the high cost of fuel contributed to the lethargic growth in the third quarter, says Romulo Virola, secretary-general of the National Statistics Coordination Board (NSCB).

But Malacañang was quick to blame economic slowdown on the United States and Europe for the slow growth.

"On the gross domestic product (GDP) numbers for the third quarter, of course we would all want to see higher numbers there. But our economy does not exist in a vacuum. It doesn't stand alone. It takes into consideration external factors. The problems in the US and Europe have apparently had spillover effects in our economy," Deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte said.

Virola noted that the services sector saved the domestic economy from posting an even lower growth. With the downwardly revised second quarter GDP estimate, this puts the growth for the first nine months of 2011 at 3.6 percent, lower than the whole year target of 4.5 percent.

On the demand side, consumer spending bolstered growth but the construction sector continued to suffer from the much delayed implementation of the public-private partnership program while exports got hit by the global crisis, posting a double digit decline for the first time since the second quarter of 2009.

With the global economy facing grim and gloom, net primary income declined by 3.4 percent cutting the growth of gross national income (GNI) from 6.9 percent to 1.6 percent.

GDP grew by 0.3%

On a seasonally adjusted basis, GDP grew by 0.3 percent while GNI grew at a faster pace of 0.4 percent in the third quarter from 0.1 percent in the second quarter of 2011.

The agriculture, forestry and fishery sector declined by 3.9 percent while industry sector rebounded to 0.3 percent from a decline of 4.2 percent in the previous quarter.

The modest performance of manufacturing weakly supported by mining and quarrying was negated by the contraction of construction sector and the decline of electricity, gas and water.

On the other hand, the services sector recorded a 1.2 percent growth for the third quarter of 2011 from 2.8 percent in the previous quarter, as all subsectors recorded positive growth.

With the projected population growing by 1.9 percent to 96.0 million, per capita GDP grew by 1.2 percent and per capita GNI declined by 0.3 percent.

"It's really disappointing. Government should have no more reason to triple its effort in regaining our lost economic momentum. They should be brave enough to pump prime the economy through spending," Astro del Castillo, managing director at First Grade Holdings said.

http://www.mb.com.ph/articles/342885/malaca-ang-dismayed-economys-slow-growth


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------




According to the CIA:

Economic growth has averaged 5% since President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo took office in 2001. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo averted a fiscal crisis by pushing for new revenue measures and, until recently, tightening expenditures.

Declining fiscal deficits, tapering debt and debt service ratios, and increased spending on infrastructure and social services bolstered optimism over Philippine economic prospects.

The Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in three decades in 2007 with real GDP growth exceeding 7%.

High government spending, a relatively small trade sector, a resilient service sector, and large remittances from the four- to five-million Filipinos who work abroad have helped cushion the economy from the current financial crisis.

http://jayseeblabs.blogspot.com/2009/06/gloria-arroyo-being-greatest-president.html


Gloria Arroyo being the greatest president in strengthening economy | Opposition, suck this

Which of the Philippines' most recent presidents succeeded in strengthening the economy and has the chance of having his or her economic legacy appreciated by future generations?

It's not the lawyer.

Not the housewife.

Nor the general.

Definitely not the actor.

But the cute economist.

President Gloria Arroyo, the cute economist, is the winner according to economists from the University of Asia and the Pacific. They had a briefing held in Baguio City last May 14.



nflation Rate - The annual rate of change or year-on-year change in the Consumer Price Index. (National Statistics Office) or in other words:

The inflation rate is the increase in prices for a basket of goods and services expressed on a yearly basis. Put simply, if the basket costs $100 in year 1 and $104 in year 2, the inflation rate is 4%.



Buying power - Purchasing power is the amount of value of a good/services compared to the amount paid with a currency.

The value of money, as measured by the quantity and quality of products and services it can buy. [5]

How did she do it?
The figures from Marcos-to-Estrada years compelled Ms. Arroyo to apply a tight watch on spending that allowed country to earn three month's worth of cash reserves this year, UA&P professor, Emilio Antonio Jr. said.

Press Secretary Cerge Remonde  added that the study reinforces the Palace position that real leadership is "not about what is popular but doing what is right no matter how unpopular it is because it is good for the country and the people."[2]

According to the CIA:

Economic growth has averaged 5% since President MACAPAGAL-ARROYO took office in 2001. MACAPAGAL-ARROYO averted a fiscal crisis by pushing for new revenue measures and, until recently, tightening expenditures.

Declining fiscal deficits, tapering debt and debt service ratios, and increased spending on infrastructure and social services bolstered optimism over Philippine economic prospects.

The Philippine economy grew at its fastest pace in three decades in 2007 with real GDP growth exceeding 7%.

High government spending, a relatively small trade sector, a resilient service sector, and large remittances from the four- to five-million Filipinos who work abroad have helped cushion the economy from the current financial crisis. [3]

The Conclusion
As she had said in her Independence Day speech:

No nation is immune from the impact of the global crisis. A few are faring relatively better than the others. The Philippines fortunately belongs to those few, not because of luck, but because we chose years ago to prepare for an emergency like this by taking the bitter pill of fiscal and economic reforms.

On those reforms we built our growth, the fruits of which we invested in turn in long overdue physical and human infrastructure. We worked hard to bring increasing balance to our national economy.

Pumping more money into infrastructure and welfare, we expanded our domestic demand, which decreased our reliance on exports. Our export to GDP ratio now is only 28.5%, compared to 49% in 2000.

[pong]

agree ako diyan. nagko-contract ang economy sa sobrang pagtitipid ni Abnoy sa social services.

[vir]

eh kelan ba ngboom ang economy natin?..sabihin na natin na mejo umangat,pero not enough para maramdaman ng bawat Pilipino..mahirap pa rin kami..dami pa rin snatcher at hold-upper..

kala ko nga si PNoy na ang pagasa natin kaso sa nakikita ko parang wala pa rin patutunguhan.. 

[ctan]

sa palagay ko naman kasi, hindi naman instantaneous ang pag-unlad.... kaya ito tinawag na progress dahil "progressive" ang succession of events... kung ang lahat ng presidente natin iisa ang layunin para sa ekonomiya sa bansa at hindi sila pabago bago ng istilo sa pag-ayos nito, eh di sana may continuity of plans na naganap. kaso, pa-iba-iba sila. bawat presidente, iba atake, ibang priority.

[vir]

oo nga eh..c GMA, infrastractures ang pinriority, cguro para makahabol man lng sa singapore,china,malaysia,japan at iba pang bansa sa asya..dinedma ang kahirapan ng masa..yan tuloy di sya naapreciate..ano nga naman pakialam ng tindera ng candy at yosi sa sctex?..ni wala nga sila pamasahe sa bus..

c PNoy naman pagpapakulong kay GMA ang priority..hahaha..tuloy pa ba yung mga plano sa lrt?

[judE_Law]

oo nga eh..c GMA, infrastractures ang pinriority, cguro para makahabol man lng sa singapore,china,malaysia,japan at iba pang bansa sa asya..dinedma ang kahirapan ng masa..yan tuloy di sya naapreciate..ano nga naman pakialam ng tindera ng candy at yosi sa sctex?..ni wala nga sila pamasahe sa bus..

c PNoy naman pagpapakulong kay GMA ang priority..hahaha..tuloy pa ba yung mga plano sa lrt?

actually... nasa paligid natin, nakikita at nararamdam yung mga pagbabago sa nakaraang administrasyon... ang NLEX dati 2 hours ang biyahe ko diyan paluwas ng manila.. ngayon less than an hour na lang.. ang mga Roro, mas mabilis na rin ang pag-transport ng iba't ibang kalakal.. ang MRT, LRT konektado na lahat, mas madaling libutin ang metro manila...

ang problema kasi sa mga tinatawag nating "masa", gaya ng sabi ko dati.. lahat inaasa sa pamahalaan.. nag-anak kayo ng sandamukal, gusto niyo papakainin lahat iyon ng gobyerno? hindi niyo pinag-igihan ang pag-aaral noong bata pa kayo.. gusto niyo mabigyan kayo ng mataas na posisyon sa trabaho na kumikita ng malaking sweldo? bakit ba mas reklamador ang mga tambay at chismosa sa kanto? 
ang daming magagandang programa ng nakaraang administrasyon.. yung iba nga kinuha pa rin ng kasalukuyang admin.. like yung pantawid pamilyang pilipino program... madaling sabihin na malayo sa bituka ang mga nagawang programa ng nakaraang administrasyon.. pero hindi rin ganun kadali ang pagpapatupad o pagsasagawa ng mga ito... PINAG-IISIPAN!

[vir]

tama! eksakto!..jan talaga nagfocus si Gloria..

marami sya nagawa,totoo yan..mga bagay na hindi nakikita at naaapreciate ng ordinaryong masang Pilipino..

mga infrastractures,power plants at kung anu ano pa..magtanong nlng kau sa mga architect at engineers,cla talaga ang nakakaalam ng mga yan..

sa ngayon cguro wala pa masyadong impact para sa mga Pilipino pero time will come pasasalamatan din natn xa sa mga pinaggagawa nya..

but then again..syempre malaking budget talaga nilaan sa lahat ng yan..kung may napunta sa bulsa nya, di ko na alam..kayo nlng humusga.. 

[pong]

macroeconomics ang naging target ni GMA, yeah, i agree.
but of course, as ordinary citizens, we always tend to focus on microeconomics. pag ni-discuss ko baka walang magbasa LOL

[judE_Law]

Ilang buwan pa bibilangin? its going down.....

[judE_Law]

Sa daang matuwid
TO THE QUICK By Jerry Tundag (The Freeman) Updated December 05, 2011 12:00

Sa daang matuwid, it is wrong for Maria Elena Bautista Horn, spokesperson of former president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, to go public about an alleged threat on the life of Arroyo based on a source she refuses to identify.

But in the same daang matuwid, it is all right for Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to go public about a supposed bid for political asylum by Arroyo based on nothing more substantial than an anonymous text message.

Sa daang matuwid, it is a crying shame for Arroyo to spend $20,000 dollars, or roughly a million pesos, on dinner for her delegation at the posh Le Cirque restaurant in Manhattan during an official trip to the United States while she was president.

The same daang matuwid makes it heroic for President Aquino, the commander in chief, to give a cash gift of P5 million pesos during a secret meeting with the enemy (the MILF) in Tokyo even if this enemy is killing and mutilating his own soldiers.

Sa daang matuwid, it was obscene for Arroyo to pack the Supreme Court with her appointees despite the fact that it was necessary and obligatory on her part to do so, the vacancies having occurred as a matter of course during her nine-year watch.

The same daang matuwid finds nothing wrong in Aquino naming family friends and drinking and shooting buddies to sensitive government positions solely on those bases, and never mind if they shame the country in the process or jeopardize its interests.

Sa daang matuwid, there are no qualms in casting aspersions on the professionalism and integrity of top caliber doctors at a top caliber hospital simply because they happen to be the physicians of choice of Arroyo.

In the same daang matuwid, you are supposed to believe without question the Department of Health's anti-smoking campaign, simply because its campaign poster boy happens to be no other than Aquino himself, the heaviest smoker of all presidents on the planet.

Sa daang matuwid, it is the height of arrogance of power for Arroyo, when she was still the president, to pour tens of millions of pesos for the development of her district in her home province of Pampanga.

Yet in the same daang matuwid, allocating hundreds of millions of pesos for Batanes, the home province of Aquino's campaign manager who now occupies a high position in government along with his wife and daughter, is seen as the height of conscientious fiscal management.

Sa daang matuwid, the constant travels of Arroyo, both within the country and abroad, are viewed with scorn and disdain. They are labeled as wasteful and expensive, never mind if these are all working trips by a president who simply happens to be a workaholic.

In the same daang matuwid, frequent nights out of boozing by Aquino and his constant tardiness in coming to work betray a twisted work ethic that his supporters just gloss over. He refuses to meet even his own Cabinet as a whole. But that is a topic no one talks about.

Sa daang matuwid, all opposition is stifled. Those who happen to take a different opinion are called all sorts of names. The son of democracy icons and his supporters brand them as paid hacks and liars, for no other reason than that they happen to take a contrary view.

Yet in the same daang matuwid, Aquino henchmen are the all-knowing keepers of truth, as if they are the only ones God singled out from among 100 million Filipinos. Many were embedded in media as early as the elections to peddle bias. One anchor got repaid with a Cabinet position.




http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=755245&publicationSubCategoryId=109

[judE_Law]

PNoy called a bully, 'bastos' for hitting SC

abs-cbnNEWS.com
Posted at 12/06/2011 12:45 PM | Updated as of 12/06/2011 12:45 PM

MANILA, Philippines - A day after panning the Supreme Court during a justice summit at Manila Hotel, President Benigno Aquino III is now on the receiving end of criticisms for allegedly insulting the highest court of the land.

In a statement, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption chairman Dante Jimenez said Aquino's statements against Chief Justice Renato Corona "is extremely rude and smacks of blatant arrogance and utter disrespect for the High Court."

"This is disgusting. P-Noy should apologize to the people for his ill mannered unpresidential behavior," he said in a statement.

He added: "Mr. President, you seem to have gone overboard. Bastosan na ba ito? It's indeed disturbing."

Separately, Zambales Rep. Mitos Magsaysay chided Aquino for bullying the SC and singling out Corona.

She said that while Aquino has the right to express his opinions, he should still respect the role of the judiciary in the check and balance of society.

"He should be more mature and be more diplomatic. Being President does not give him to belittle anyone because it so happened that court decisions did not go in his favor. It's time we put civility and order in this country. We should ensure that the Constitution prevails, even if others are trying to destroy it," she said.

Both personalities praised Corona for not engaging in a word war against the President.

Jimenez said he gave due respect to the Supreme Court despite being penalized for insulting the Court's decision on the Vizconde massacre case.

He also warned that Aquino's "habitual pontificating, this self-righteous open tirade against the Supreme Court is not serving well the ends of justice."

"It is sending the wrong message that is all right to defy the courts of law. And why not? Binabastos nga mismo ito ng Presidente! Is this the kind of message the President wants to project? Then, let's disregard the courts, go out into the streets and kill each other. PNoy must show a good example as leader of a democratic country," he said.


http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/12/06/11/pnoy-called-bully-bastos-hitting-sc