A killer endorsement

Sorry for the pun but Andal Ampatuan’s front- page endorsement for a Presidential candidate is nothing short of a killer endorsement!

Literally and figuratively speaking, his endorsement can kill anybody. But it is also an apparent distraction.

Given the fact that Andal Ampatuan is charged with Mass murder, the last thing you would want is to be called his friend or playmate. The question is; who is Ampatuan’s Puppet-Master?

Judging from his shifting endorsement for the two leading Presidential candidates, one would suspect that the plan is to embarrass Aquino and Villar. But on the other hand, this style is so obvious that even GIBO would not welcome the favor and GIBO is certainly on the list of “Unfriend” of the Ampatuan clan!

Any lawyer for such a high-profile case would be against any undue publicity especially any action that would reinforce the client’s already “Evil” public persona. But why is Andal going out of his way to attract attention and piss off the candidates?

In the same breath we have to wonder why the acting Secretary of Justice Agra even bothers to rake coals concerning the release and clearing of the elder Ampatuans?

Are Palace operatives once again trying to distract public attention from something or someone, the same way they used Hayden Kho as a lightning arrestor? Are they serving up the Ampatuans so people won’t talk about failed elections, the dismal ratings of the President or is it something more sinister as the on-going “lets make an OIL deal” in Mindanao.

Because so many reporters and news directors are imbedded and “in-bed” with presidential candidates, media has not paid serious attention to the on-going attempts to give “effective autonomy” to Mindanao so that the parties involved can all share the revenues of the oil fields of Mindanao!

Yes there is more than “reason to believe”, there is proof and actual discovery that we may have a mother lode of oil off the shores of Mindanao particularly way down south. So in case you wondered why a former US Ambassador was present at the failed MOA signing between the MILF and the Philippines, just check what American Oil Company has been busy exploring off shore but within Philippine territorial waters. 

On the other hand, if the whole thing is purely political, then the Press Conference was clearly meant to embarrass the Noynoy camp or was it? It may also be possible that it was a form of “reverse psychology” where the embarrassment is designed to harvest disbelief and sympathy for the yellow-backs.

As a reader, don’t go with the obvious but instead go back in history and remember all the psy-war tactics used by the Yellow Army, the FVR operators, the EDSA II plotters and finally the Anti-Gloria coalition.

They say that: “Birds of a feather flock together” in the case of all these people they all belonged to the same flock, same political parties, same families and practiced the same tricks!

What worries me is the possibility that while the Arroyo Administration and PGMA are focusing their energies on the elections, is it possible that some officials are now scurrying about like rats on a “sinking ship”? Are they now making deals and hatching plots to gain favor and job-security with campaign strategists and operators of other parties?

 Was the “Andal press conference” part of the deal for the release of the elder Ampatuans who are now free to regroup and reorganize their forces for the prizefight- gunfight for Maguindanao?

I guess that’s the reason why so many people are so busy raising hell against the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) for allowing such a “historical press conference”.

According to an official of the BJMP, it’s the first time they have ever allowed such a press conference since Andal Ampatuan remains to be a detainee and not a convicted prisoner.

It’s interesting how rules can be changed based on public perception. Suddenly, any media publicity of the sort is prohibited or is not suppose to happen. Go tell that to the millions of You-tube viewers who repeatedly watched the synchronized dancers inside the Cebu Provincial jail! They were such a hit that they came up with version 2.0 when Michael Jackson did his Gone too soon exit!

Whether it’s a press conference, candid camera interviews or synchronized dancing, the fact is there is a long list of “Unauthorized media exposure” or lapses in operational guidelines. The reason why it won’t stop is because those who are responsible never go to jail or are not permanently removed from the service.

The PNP, the BJMP and to a lesser degree the AFP have long been guilty of an evil kind of compassion. They transfer, ship out or reassign their comrades who have sinned. So when given the possibility of a promotion, spot cash motivation and a crooked form of job security, crooks and criminals will stay in the system.

Until we kick them out, you can look forward to the next episode of “dancing for the warden” or killer endorsements!

Actually, a BJMP official defined the situation very precisely when he referred to Andal Ampatuan as a “DETAINEE” and not a prisoner. We don’t have jails just detention facilities for skilled criminals on-call.

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I’m finishing up this column at the Silay-Bacolod Airport which I wrote about being “closed” until counters open. Fair is Fair and I must say that things have apparently improved thanks to initiatives taken by DOTC and Aviation authorities.

The place is packed with security personnel and the place is a buzz. It’s nice to see that the airport authorities quickly remedied the situation. Now if they can only penalize the supplier of the Xray machines that are always “out of order”….