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Thursday, October 06, 2005
Ledesma: Where there is smoke
By Jun Ledesma
Sunbursts
SENATOR Franklin Drilon can swear to high heavens it is not part of his contemplation to plot the assassination of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo if the attempt to oust her from office fails. However, when such a serious indictment comes from a senator of stature with serious mien as Lady Miriam Defensor Santiago, one cannot just ignore the import of her statement.
Whether or not the information is heresy, the fact that the lady senator heard it from what looks like a verifiable source, it still merits investigation.
Let's face it. For the past several months there had been overt effort to topple the President. It started with the jueteng investigation by the Senate, which was a smear campaign against the President's family but dubbed as an act in aid of legislation. This was followed by resignations of some of cabinet members who thought the wiretapped conversation of the President with an official of the Comelec (Garci) would force GMA from office. Like Dingky Soliman (who felt really bad being replaced by VP Noli de Castro from the DSWD post) and Teresita Quintos Deles who both shed crocodile tears as they sang "dreams see us through to forever..." Drilon promised security for the President only to push her later in an abysmal pit dug by her detractors, which included communist plotters and the otherwise fragmented political opposition.
Drilon complained that he is being stabbed in the back by Toting Bunye, the president's spokesman who finally got his bearing and is now in the fighting mode. The senate president should be the last person to say that. Actually it was he who delivered the sneaky and most fatal blow on the unsuspecting Arroyo. But he failed to snuff the will of the President to survive the onslaught of the grand deceptions. She survived too the impeachment proceedings which could have subjected her to the grand inquisition in the senate whose leaders had plotted covertly and then overtly to oust her of office.
Failing in all these furtive attempts and the opposition and communists' call to remove her from office by people power, one cannot just dismiss the possibility that a more radical measure might be resorted to. History of nations is replete with such dire forces that connive to eliminate those who are difficult to be persuaded to resign by those who treacherously claim avuncular attachment to the prey of their dubious scheme or removed by coups and other plots.
Drilon may indeed be innocent but his deep and unrelenting involvement in all the conspiracies aimed at ousting Arroyo makes him a veritable fall guy for those who are really out to physically eliminate the President. Any which way, Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales is right when he ordered a formal and thorough probe into the information provided by Senator Santiago. Drilon and his oust-Arroyo co-plotters may cry foul, but as it is advised before and until this day, "an ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure."
HODGEPODGE: Philippine Airlines will formally open its ticketing agency in Tagum City on October 10. The agency, ran by Mindanao Telecom Village, Inc. travel and tours operations, is strategically located along Rizal St., beside The Archdiocese of Tagum. PAL VP for Mindanao, Doming Duerme, said the agency would cater to the flag carrier's clients in Davao del Norte. MTV travels and tours is directly linked broadband technology with the worldwide reservation network of ABACUS
Philamlife, the country's No. 1 insurance firm, has started releasing the second trance of educational benefits for Philamlife scholars in all its branches nationwide. About 30,000 scholars will be receiving P180-million in benefits intended for tuition and other enrollment expenses of the beneficiaries covered by Philamlife's various educational insurance products.
An ugly Australian has been coming in and out of San Pedro Police detention center for allegedly gypping hotel, restaurants and even telecom establishments. This unwanted foreigner goes by the name of William "Bill" Arundel. Looks like this character is an inveterate drunkard who is a serious case of hallucinating hobo. He moves around town in his unwashed shorts claiming to be an American when his accent is distinctly Aussie. A pitiable sight, I must say. While he goes around harassing and cheating, I think he is in dire need of help. Australian embassy officials ought to help this bum, bring him back home, assuming he has one. On the other hand, I keep wondering why our Bureau of Immigration has not lifted a finger to deport this Australian. We have enough inmates in the cramped San Pedro jail to accommodate one more intoxicated stinking hulk.
For Bisaya stories from Davao. Click here. (October 6, 2005 issue)
Write letter to the editor.Click here.
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