There was a full-page ad that came out last Tuesday in The Philippine STAR from a never heard group who are obviously very sipsip to President Benigno “P-Noy” Aquino III that they want him to extend his term of office…by changing the 1987 Constitution. Of course, Sec. Sonny Coloma officially denied that they had a hand in that newspaper advertisement…but alas for Sec. Coloma, his credibility is in tatters just like the rest of the Palace Rasputins in Malacañang. As the old saying goes, “Tell that to the Marines!” We just don’t believe any reports that come out of Malacañang.
Now we know that this idea of having the President’s term extended is not dead in the water. Too many people including many of his political allies are against P-Noy changing the Charter just to extend his term of office because it would mean that he would be no different from the late President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Marcos’ term was already ending so he declared Martial Law and threw out the 1935 Constitution, then he hijacked the then ongoing 1971 Constitutional Convention (con-con) and turned it into the 1973 Marcos Constitution and extended his term.
At the height of that con-con, a 72-year-old delegate by the name of Eduardo Quintero from Leyte exposed the lobby money that Marcos prepared for the con-con delegates. Quintero waved 18 envelopes containing more than P10,000 in cash so that Marcos could influence the con-con. In the end when the EDSA Revolt removed the conjugal Marcos dictatorship, then President Cory Aquino removed the 1973 Marcos Constitution and replaced it with her own 1987 Cory Constitution hammered by 49 pro Cory people.
During his past four years in office, P-Noy always vehemently refused to have any changes in the 1987 Constitution. But just a month ago, he suddenly changed his mind and hinted about Charter changes (cha-cha) to clip the powers of the Supreme Court and extend his term of office. This brought a howl throughout the nation that we would have a Cha-cha for those obviously very personal reasons. In my book, the Constitution should be changed to benefit the nation and not one-man’s political ambitions!
I guess it is time to remind our readers that the only time we had a Constitution that was hammered by real statesmen and true patriots was the 1935 Constitution. This is why the time for another con-con is already ripe. But with P-Noy’s more than obvious ulterior motives, we should do a con-con after P-Noy leaves Malacañang. In the meantime, we should oppose all moves to change the Constitution at this time and if we have to do it on the streets…then so be it!
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Last Tuesday, Philippine National Police (PNP) Chief Alan Purisima finally admitted before the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, that he really owned that 4-hectare property with a huge mansion in San Leonardo, which was subject of a TV investigation by Ted Failon last Sunday. In an earlier TV interview, Police Chief Purisima lied when he was asked whether he had a house in San Leonardo and he denied this before the TV cameras.
In that Senate hearing, Sen. Grace Poe asked the PNP Chief if he had a luxury 2013 Toyota Land Cruiser (SUV) that he only bought for P1.5 million, and he admitted this as fact, over which Sen. Grace Poe further questioned him that many people would be very interested to purchase a Land Cruiser that only cost P1.5 million. What a lucky guy! There must be a quid pro quo!
This admission only proves that the PNP Chief is hiding a lot of things before the Senate and is obviously under the take. The fact that he already lied when asked about his house in San Leonardo is proof that he is not telling us the whole truth about his net worth. Our police chief is for all intents and purposes the chief scalawag! He should be fired!
Sen. Serge Osmeña III also questioned the PNP Chief about his White House residence in Camp Crame, which the PNP Chief said was constructed through donations by friends. Sen. Serge bluntly told the PNP Chief, “I don’t believe you!” Of course, the cocky PNP Chief is over confident that he still has the trust of his master Pres. PNoy Aquino. But for as long as he keeps his highly-questionable men, like DBM Sec. Florencio Abad and the PNP Chief… all the more Pres. PNoy loses the trust of the Filipino people.
To sum up what’s been happening in this country, I believe that those blind Yellow supporters of P-Noy are behind the move to extend his term because they know that when P-Noy is out of power, they could all be facing lawsuits and end up in jail. This is why life for them would be better if P-Noy had his term extended. As for PNP Chief Alan Purisima, in my book, if Pres. Ferdinand Marcos had a Fabian Ver, Pres. P-Noy has his Purisima, who would jump into an empty swimming pool if P-Noy orders him to do so. If he won’t fire Purisima, then we should fire P-Noy!
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Email: vsbobita@mozcom.com or vsbobita@gmail.com