There is certainly nothing wrong with the country's plan to lend $1 Billion to the IMF, if indeed we can afford it. So doing, the Philippines will be supporting the global efforts to stabilize the world economy and help maintain it on a growth path, which in turn will also eventually benefit us and the region to which we belong.
BSP Governor Armando M. Tetangco says that today our economic fundamentals are sound and our banks are able to meet their credit needs. Well, on the latter, I have a little comment: - haven't we just closed Export Bank? At any rate, the IMF has been called "lender of last resort" after it helped many countries address their internal financial difficulties in the past, including the Philippines which had wallowed in IMF debts for close to four decades.
PNoy will thus go down in history as the only president who is able to lend at least a billion dollars to the IMF. The timing of the loan, whether intended or unintended, is truly great. Come his SONA, he will surely be shouting to the four winds about this magnificent administration of his administration.
I hope he would not boast of it so much as he surely would the billions of dollar commitments and new business assurances he brought along to the Philippines following his recent trip to Europe and the US. Such business commitments have come and gone every time returns from a foreign trip, yet such promised foreign investments, let's get real, have never truly materialized. Perhaps, it's high time we stop counting the chicks before the eggs are hatched.
As things are, whoever among his advisers has thought of the loan to the IMF, just in time for his SONA, must now be earning tremendous pogi points from the President. But wait a minute! That is only up until one realizes that this particular achievement of being able to lend money to the IMF is a bit hollow. Why? Because had it not been for Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, who had succeeded in 2006 -- remember, no other past president of this country has ever done that -- in settling all of our debts to the IMF. In other words, without such equally unprecedented achievement of GMA, whom PNoy continues to persecute up to now and charge as a good-for-nothng president -- this country would never be able to do that which PNoy will be particularly shouting about in his forthcoming SONA.
Sabado, Hunyo 23, 2012
Miyerkules, Hunyo 13, 2012
AREN'T WE DEMEANING THE CHOICE OF THE NEXT CJ?
I do not know if others have noticed it the way I do, but it seems to me the search for a new Chief Justice has become a highly cheapened exercise now than what it used to be before. I cannot imagine that some candidates are either advertising themselves or are being advertised by their respective proponents in the media.
Kim Henares is one example; she says she has a better edge than other candidates, even as she keeps saying she has not decided whether to accept the nomination or not. Same with DOJ Leila de Lima. Aba eh sa tingin ko'y nagpapataasan sila ng ihi before the eyes of Pinoy. Noong araw, tahimik lang ang JBC in selecting nominees, at least three of which will be in the list that the President will choose from. Hindi masyadong nagkakaroon ng wide media coverage before the list is completed. Malalaman na lang natin na a list has been made and sent to the President. Now, I cannot help but think that whoever the President will tend to choose is already being made gradually known to the JBC, so that the JBC will surely include him in the list of three to be sent to PNoy. Noong araw, kung walang mapili agad ang Presidente sa original list, the JBC will make a new list, but never can the president suggest a name to be put in the list. Ngayon, parang sinasabi na agad ng Pangulo na Henares and de Lima should be in the list. I hope I an not wrong in my impressions.
At any rate, if I were the President, I will choose somebody already in the Judiciary as the next Chief Justice, such as Carpio, who, anyway, the President is known to be leaning to from the very outset. If Pnoy really wants to increase the number of Justices that he nominated -- there are three at the moment -- then I would choose one of the Justices. With that, he would be creating an additional vacancy, another Justice, that he can appoint, in turn making five the eventual Aquino Justices in the high court. If he appoints somebody from outside as CJ, like Henares or de Lima, then there will be only four eventual Justices in the high tribunal appointed by PNoy. Hindi nga ba't Pnoy used to complain, then, that napakarami ng Arroyo Justices in the court. This is now his chance to maximize his own-appointed Justices by getting the next CJ from inside, not outside. Make them five, not only four.
Having said the above, the final say is of course upon the President. He should be the best to know what is the best for his administration. Personally, I only hope that at the end of the day, this country, this republic, could still maintain the necessary balance of power among the three branches of the government -- indeed, a truly balanced one..
Kim Henares is one example; she says she has a better edge than other candidates, even as she keeps saying she has not decided whether to accept the nomination or not. Same with DOJ Leila de Lima. Aba eh sa tingin ko'y nagpapataasan sila ng ihi before the eyes of Pinoy. Noong araw, tahimik lang ang JBC in selecting nominees, at least three of which will be in the list that the President will choose from. Hindi masyadong nagkakaroon ng wide media coverage before the list is completed. Malalaman na lang natin na a list has been made and sent to the President. Now, I cannot help but think that whoever the President will tend to choose is already being made gradually known to the JBC, so that the JBC will surely include him in the list of three to be sent to PNoy. Noong araw, kung walang mapili agad ang Presidente sa original list, the JBC will make a new list, but never can the president suggest a name to be put in the list. Ngayon, parang sinasabi na agad ng Pangulo na Henares and de Lima should be in the list. I hope I an not wrong in my impressions.
At any rate, if I were the President, I will choose somebody already in the Judiciary as the next Chief Justice, such as Carpio, who, anyway, the President is known to be leaning to from the very outset. If Pnoy really wants to increase the number of Justices that he nominated -- there are three at the moment -- then I would choose one of the Justices. With that, he would be creating an additional vacancy, another Justice, that he can appoint, in turn making five the eventual Aquino Justices in the high court. If he appoints somebody from outside as CJ, like Henares or de Lima, then there will be only four eventual Justices in the high tribunal appointed by PNoy. Hindi nga ba't Pnoy used to complain, then, that napakarami ng Arroyo Justices in the court. This is now his chance to maximize his own-appointed Justices by getting the next CJ from inside, not outside. Make them five, not only four.
Having said the above, the final say is of course upon the President. He should be the best to know what is the best for his administration. Personally, I only hope that at the end of the day, this country, this republic, could still maintain the necessary balance of power among the three branches of the government -- indeed, a truly balanced one..
Biyernes, Hunyo 8, 2012
IS HENARES FIT TO BE CJ?
Under Section 7 of the Constitution, a member of the Supreme Court must have been for fifteen years or more a judge of a lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.
I am quoting this provision in connection with the apparent nomination of BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I know she is a CPA-Lawyer. I researched further into her other qualifications as mandated by the above provision, but I failed to get any information on the Lady BIR Chief's biography. As far as I know, most CPA lawyers are generally engaged more in the practice of accountancy than as a lawyer. But I do not wish the prejudge Henares unfairly.
Maybe -- just maybe -- she is really qualified to be Chief Justice on the basis of the above-quoted qualifications. Otherwise, she would have simply declined the nomination from the very outset.
On the other hand, if she has not been a judge or has not practiced law for fifteen years, then she grossly fails in another vital qualification that a SC Justice -- more so a Chief Justice -- must possess: integrity.
At any rate, I must ask the forgiveness of all concerned, particularly the BIR Chief, if my foregoing impressions are not correct.
I am quoting this provision in connection with the apparent nomination of BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares as the next Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. I know she is a CPA-Lawyer. I researched further into her other qualifications as mandated by the above provision, but I failed to get any information on the Lady BIR Chief's biography. As far as I know, most CPA lawyers are generally engaged more in the practice of accountancy than as a lawyer. But I do not wish the prejudge Henares unfairly.
Maybe -- just maybe -- she is really qualified to be Chief Justice on the basis of the above-quoted qualifications. Otherwise, she would have simply declined the nomination from the very outset.
On the other hand, if she has not been a judge or has not practiced law for fifteen years, then she grossly fails in another vital qualification that a SC Justice -- more so a Chief Justice -- must possess: integrity.
At any rate, I must ask the forgiveness of all concerned, particularly the BIR Chief, if my foregoing impressions are not correct.
Miyerkules, Hunyo 6, 2012
WOULD THE CARP LAW BE EXTENDED?
One hopes in earnest that the President's recently widely vocalized vows towards the full implementation of the CARP will find true realization before the CARP Law ceased to be enforceable, and failed to be renewed by Congress by 2014. The principal acid test of this presidential promise will be THE case of the Hacienta Luisita Inc.
Even as the CARP people have been previously reported as leaving no stones upturned towards the ultimate distribution of the Hacienda to the farmers, there still subsists serious doubts that, faced by the numerous number of farmer-beneficiaries that must yet be first identified, the distribution process might be overtaken by the scheduled expiration of the CARP Law some two years from now. The other problem might be the pricing of the farms which the Hacienda owners had wanted to be P1 million per hectare as against the P40 thousand already awarded by the Supreme Court. Moreover, how would the court now resolve this pricing issue following the dismissal of Renato Corona as Chief Justice.
Whether or not the CARP Law needs to be extended principally depends upon Congress. Even so, given the President's continually very high acceptance rating and strong hold of both houses, he only needs to certify the extension of that law as urgent, and our lawmakers, I am sure, would willingly way. The little problem is the President keep saying as early as now that given several extensions already, another extension in 2014 may not be categorically assured. I am afraid then that when that time comes, the President may simply say: "I'm sorry; as you see, I have done everything I can to fulfill my vow on the full implementation of the CARP, but I am simply overtaken by expiration of the prevailing law." I hope these impressions of mine would end up wrong.
Even as the CARP people have been previously reported as leaving no stones upturned towards the ultimate distribution of the Hacienda to the farmers, there still subsists serious doubts that, faced by the numerous number of farmer-beneficiaries that must yet be first identified, the distribution process might be overtaken by the scheduled expiration of the CARP Law some two years from now. The other problem might be the pricing of the farms which the Hacienda owners had wanted to be P1 million per hectare as against the P40 thousand already awarded by the Supreme Court. Moreover, how would the court now resolve this pricing issue following the dismissal of Renato Corona as Chief Justice.
Whether or not the CARP Law needs to be extended principally depends upon Congress. Even so, given the President's continually very high acceptance rating and strong hold of both houses, he only needs to certify the extension of that law as urgent, and our lawmakers, I am sure, would willingly way. The little problem is the President keep saying as early as now that given several extensions already, another extension in 2014 may not be categorically assured. I am afraid then that when that time comes, the President may simply say: "I'm sorry; as you see, I have done everything I can to fulfill my vow on the full implementation of the CARP, but I am simply overtaken by expiration of the prevailing law." I hope these impressions of mine would end up wrong.
Lunes, Hunyo 4, 2012
HO-HUM HOMILIES
It is good that a popular and highly respected bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop Teodoro Bacani, has himself realized and admitted that "when we priests are giving long homilies the people are asleep." As a matter of fact, this has long been the principal reason why so many members of the flock are known to go out of the church during the mass and prefer to while away the time "making tsimis" among themselves as soon as the priest begins his homily.
Reading the news item in today's (June 5) issue of the Inquirer, "Ho-hum homilies disappoint Bishop Bacani," has indeed made me laugh very early this morning. It suddenly calls to my mind a sonnet in Filipino which I wrote in my younger days. The truth is I almost forgot that poem and had to dig it up from my old files only when I read the above referenced news report. My hopes run high the readers of my blog won't mind if I now share that poem with them.
SERMON
Linggo at may misa sa kapilyang nayon
Kung saan ang bagong katotokang Among
Ay bantog sa ligoy at haba ng sermon.
Nguni, tila walang may nasang mabusong
Kung kaya't ang lahat ay todo atensyon.,
May isang sa inip, sa takot maghilik,
Ay biglang lumabas nang di makatiis;
Misa'y nagtatapos nang ito'y magbalik
Namukhaan pala ng paring nainis
'Yong pobre kung kaya't sa patyo'y kinulit:
"Saan ka nanggaling at biglang lumigpit?"
Sa plasa po padre't ako'y nagpagupit!"
"Aba'y bakit hindi no'ng bago nagmisa?"
"Padre, ang buhok ko noo'y maiksi pa!"
WHO'LL BE THE NEXT CJ?
Under the Constitution, the President has until August 20 to appoint a new Chief Justice, or 90 days after May 22, the date former Justice Renato Corona is considered as dismissed. The Judicial and Bar Council, to be chaired by Justice Antonio Carpio in lieu of Coronal, will convene in due course to prepare a list of at least three (3) nominees for the President to choose from. The President cannot appoint anybody outside of the list but can ask for additional nominees.
As things are, several names have already been mentioned in the news. Foremost amongst them is of course Justice Carptio who, as everybody knows, has been the President's favorite. DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima, Sen. Franklin Drilon and BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares have also been mentioned. One wonders if Carpio and De Lima would not find it outside of delicadeza to include their own names among the nominees, since they are both members of Judicial and Bar Council. On the other hand, several senators have expressed their vocal objection against the appointment as next Chief Justice of people who are either known political allies of the President or who participated during the impeachment trials of Corona. Drilon and Henares belong to this group.
Even as everything will solely depend on the President's final choice, he also need not simply disregard the above considerations for the sake of good government. Some says nothing can prevent him from appointing somebody who is totally an outsider, such as Jose Yulo who used to be Speaker of the House when he replaced Abad Santos as CJ during the Japanese occupation. I would like to think, however, that there are several equally qualified present Justices to choose from, if only to forestall any demoralization in the ranks.
The President may not admit it but the plain truth is he personally worked for the impeachment of Corona because he really wanted Carpio who, anyway, was more senior than Corona, to be the successor of former CJ Reynato Puno. Should Carpio again be bypassed, methinks the President would be creating another Corona in the Supreme Court. I wish the President all the good luck there is in planet Earth when he appoints a new Chief Justice.
As things are, several names have already been mentioned in the news. Foremost amongst them is of course Justice Carptio who, as everybody knows, has been the President's favorite. DOJ Secretary Leila de Lima, Sen. Franklin Drilon and BIR Commissioner Kim Jacinto-Henares have also been mentioned. One wonders if Carpio and De Lima would not find it outside of delicadeza to include their own names among the nominees, since they are both members of Judicial and Bar Council. On the other hand, several senators have expressed their vocal objection against the appointment as next Chief Justice of people who are either known political allies of the President or who participated during the impeachment trials of Corona. Drilon and Henares belong to this group.
Even as everything will solely depend on the President's final choice, he also need not simply disregard the above considerations for the sake of good government. Some says nothing can prevent him from appointing somebody who is totally an outsider, such as Jose Yulo who used to be Speaker of the House when he replaced Abad Santos as CJ during the Japanese occupation. I would like to think, however, that there are several equally qualified present Justices to choose from, if only to forestall any demoralization in the ranks.
The President may not admit it but the plain truth is he personally worked for the impeachment of Corona because he really wanted Carpio who, anyway, was more senior than Corona, to be the successor of former CJ Reynato Puno. Should Carpio again be bypassed, methinks the President would be creating another Corona in the Supreme Court. I wish the President all the good luck there is in planet Earth when he appoints a new Chief Justice.
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