FPGMA out of the country?

The rumor mongering mill went on high gear after last Friday’s resignation of Ombudsman Merceditas Gutierrez with insinuations that former President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (FPGMA) fled the country mid last week. Former Philippine STAR columnist Nelson Navarro reported to us that he was at the airport the other day wherein several witnesses told him that FPGMA hastily left the country with her grandchildren last Wednesday.

Spy Bits checked with some close associates of the Arroyo family and we were told that the Pampanga representative has indeed left but for no other reason than she had to fulfill several speaking engagements in the United States, where according to a San Francisco resident, she will also spend some downtime with friends and family before Congress opens again.

 A lawyer friend of Mrs. Arroyo added that she is “not stupid” to be running away from any legal suits that are expected to crop up – knowing fully well she has nowhere to hide. 

Former SolGen Chavez reacts

Former Solicitor General Frank Chavez wrote The STAR in connection with an April 28 banner story titled “GMA camp: Plunder case full of holes” wherein Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez was quoted as saying he saw no plunder in the distribution of PhilHealth cards, and that Chavez filed the complaint because he was eyeing the Department of Justice (DOJ) post. In his letter, Chavez said he initially wanted to disregard the statements of Suarez since they came from the perspective of a non-lawyer but Chavez did not want his silence to be misconstrued as acceptance of the congressman’s “clearly erroneous assessment of the plunder charge against GMA,” maintaining that the distribution of PhilHealth cards becomes plunder because the money belonging to the OFWs was used for political campaigning.

In his characteristic feisty manner, the former SolGen blasts at the Quezon representative for saying there is no connection from public to private funds in the charge. “Suarez has not even read the Affidavit Complaint, yet armed with nothing but the courage of stupidity, he ventures to denigrate the seriousness of the plunder charge,” Chavez wrote, and enumerates specific instances when the use of OFW funds (such as the purchase of new vehicles for the diplomatic corps. or the refurbishment of diplomatic offices abroad, etc.) can be considered as plunder.

As for insinuations that he was eyeing the DOJ post, Chavez said that is hearsay information and that there is no record showing he ever applied for any appointive public office. He ends his letter with an advice for Suarez to request a lawyer friend to look into all the cases that he has filed as taxpayer/citizen, most of which were sustained by the Supreme Court.

Canadian frontier

At the annual general membership meeting of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce at the Shangri-La Makati last Thursday, Canadian Ambassador to the Philippines Chris Thornley was the guest speaker. He told the audience that the Philippines has recently become the number one source of immigrants to Canada. There are currently over half a million Filipinos all over Canada, and they have overtaken other foreign nationals. The number is expected to double, making Canada the number one country of choice for most Pinoys – surpassing the United States. Today, Canada is considered as the “new frontier” with the rich promise it has in store especially for the quality of life it offers. As a matter of fact, Nova Scotia just released a new immigration strategy that would fulfill the province’s aim to double the number of new immigrants arriving every year until 2020.

A lot of Canada-based companies are also getting on the radar with more airlines acquiring Canadian aircraft, like the $129-million deal (for three CRJ900 NextGen regional jets) between Bombardier and Pluna, a Uruguay airline, which will definitely expand the Canadian aircraft manufacturer’s presence in South America. Not many are also aware that Canada, specifically Northern Alberta, has one of the largest petroleum reserves in the world next to Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, with Canadian oil reserves estimated between 175-179 billion barrels. Mining is also one of the biggest contributors to Canada’s economy, and the Canadian government recently allocated over $1.8 million in federal funding for new technology called Advanced Applied Physics Solutions expected to uncover dense mineral ore deposits while reducing exploration drilling costs. Officials say the investment is also expected to provide more jobs for highly skilled workers, and will enable the country to do its part in helping build a more globally competitive and productive mining sector.

Spy tidbits

– A number of distinguished Filipinos attended the beatification of Pope John Paul II, among them prominent lawyer Pancho Villaraza and his wife Sally who were seen at the St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican.

– Plans are already being made to make a blockbuster movie out of Osama bin Laden’s death in the hands of the American military special forces that hunted down the elusive al-Qaeda leader to a plush compound in Pakistan. Aside from showing how bin Laden was killed, the documentary film will also detail the massive intelligence operations conducted by the CIA, FBI and the US military intelligence operatives covering almost 10 years of intelligence gathering work right after 9-11.

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