Even the Marines they politicize?

The Anti-Money Laundering Council might not know what a gold mine of info it is holding. The freeze order it got from the Court of Appeals last July on bank accounts of or linked to Jocjoc Bolante happen to include those of an infamous couple. Frozen were the 70 accounts under 37 names in 22 banks. Twenty-three of the accounts, in five banks, were in Bolante’s name. The AMLA would do well to trace the Bolante accounts to Malaysia.

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One sunny day in Aug. 2010 an old man approached the Malacañang gate. “I’d like to go in and meet with President GMA,” he told the Marine sentry.

The Marine looked at the man and said, “Sir, GMA is no longer President, and no longer resides here.”

“Okay,” the old man said and walked away.

The following day the old man returned to the Malacañang gate and said to the same marine standing guard, “I’d like to go in and see President GMA.”

The Marine again retorted, “Sir, as I said yesterday, GMA is no longer President and so no longer lives here.”

The man thanked the soldier and left.

The third day the man walked up to the Palace gate, telling the same Marine, “I would like to go in and talk to President GMA.”

Quite impatiently the Marine glared at the man: Sir, this is the third day in a row that that you’re asking to speak to GMA. I’ve told you already that GMA is no longer President and so does not stay here anymore. Don’t you understand?”

“The old man looked sheepishly at the soldier and said, “Oh, I do understand. I just love hearing it.”

The Marine snapped to attention, saluted and said, “See you again tomorrow, sir.”

Restive Marines reportedly attempted to send a protest message the other week but were talked out of it. Malacañang mechanically denied there was a coup in the offing, because there really was none. The elite troops were just disgusted. Murmurs are rife that someone very close to the President is lobbying for a less senior but loyalist officer to replace their outgoing Commandant Ben Dolorfino. “Do they have to politicize even the Marines?” two colonels whispered to The STAR. To be bypassed by the Malacañang biggie’s lobbying is the seasoned combat officer who is next in line in seniority and rank. The sources requested anonymity for fear of reprisal.

Why are they breaking the Marine tradition of promotion based on time and grade? Is it to repay the less senior officer’s fealty? Or is it part of the admin plot to stay in power beyond 2010 by Charter change or martial law?

Incidentally, it is the Palace itself that’s spreading the coup d’etat rumors. Note: the Marines never planned to stage one, only to let their sentiments be known against the lobbying by the usual interloper in the admin. They know they could get into serious trouble if they do anything political. Some of their senior officers, including two Medalists of Valor and a general, are still in the brig for their mass action in Feb. 2006. Thus, the coup talk could be part of a plot to condition the public mind for martial law part 2.

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Nasser Marohom-Salic denies that he is among the nine petitioners to intervene in the latest Arroyo impeachment rap. He claims he is for that unconstitutional grant of territory to Moro separatists, and thus will not take Arroyo to task for it.

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Christian-Muslim couple Armand and Annora Nocum report on their books-for-arms project for Muslim youths in Zamboanga City:

“Assalamu Alaykum, Peace Be With You.

“We did it. We turned ‘trash’ of unused, discarded books into a treasure trove of goodwill and knowledge for hundreds of poor, war-shocked Muslim kids. And we owe it all you, dear friends, for donating to the A-Book-Saya Group (ASG).

“Some 400 students of the all-Muslim Manicahan Poblacion Elementary School received last Oct. 28 a total of 593 books, magazines and a set of encyclopedia from Metro Manilans and Zamboangans. Apart from enlightening their minds, our gift of books touched their hearts. As Muslim teacher Masabiha Jumaani said, our project showed them that Christians in Metro Manila care for them after all. That positive feeling can prevent them from picking up the gun and opting instead for education to open opportunities. That’s the reason we chose to distribute books to Manicahan, believed to be where the Abu Sayyaf Group keeps kidnap victims. Twenty-four kilometers from the city proper, the barrio is the ASG’s jump-off to their Sacol island lair.

Much remains to be done. The Muslim kids are clamoring for more books. Let’s also give them discarded toys, clothing, school supplies, musical instruments and such. Let’s share Christmas with them. Donors may bring their stuff to the Satti Grill House outlets at SM-Fairview Food Court, Quezon City, and at M.H. del Pilar corner Padre Faura Sts., Manila. Contact numbers: (+632) 3393732, 7992745, 0919-5897879 and 0917-5208013, or log on to www.sattisfaction.blogspot.com.

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E-mail: [email protected]