Philippine police authorities reportedly have already identified the suspects behind the Makati Bus Explosion that happened on January 25. The bombing killed five passengers of the bus.

Several Philippine news sites said that authorities are pointing their fingers to the Abu Sayaff as the masterminds behind the deadly bus blast. [Read more →]

President Aquino announced today that he had signed the amnesty to all mutineers that had participated in a coup against the administration of Gloria Arroyo in a move to usher in unity and reconciliation.   This amnesty will include Sen. Trillanes who is detained and had not since performed his official duty in the Senate.

The said amnesty was forwarded to the Congress and very much welcomed by the lawmakers.

Below is the full text of the amnesty signed by Pres. Aquino.

MALACAÑAN PALACE

MANILA

BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES

PROCLAMATION NO. 50

GRANTING AMNESTY TO ACTIVE AND FORMER PERSONNEL OF THE ARMED FORCES OF THE PHILIPPINES AND THEIR SUPPORTERS WHO MAY HAVE COMMITTED ACTS OR OMISSIONS PUNISHABLE UNDER THE REVISED PENAL CODE, THE ARTICLES OF WAR OR OTHER SPECIAL LAWS COMMITTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE OAKWOOD MUTINY, THE MARINES STAND-OFF AND THE MANILA PEN INCIDENT AND RELATED INCIDENTS

WHEREAS, it is recognized that certain active and former personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) and their supporters have or may have committed acts or omissions which may be punishable under the Revised Penal Code, the Articles of War and other laws in connection with July 27, 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, the February 2006 Marines Stand-Off and the November 29, 2007 Manila Pen Incident and related incidents;

WHEREAS, there is a clamor from certain sectors of society urging the President to extend amnesty to said AFP personnel;

WHEREAS, Section 19, Article VII of the Constitution expressly vests the power to grant amnesty upon the President;

WHEREAS, in order to promote an atmosphere conducive to the attainment of a just, comprehensive and enduring peace and in line with the Government’s peace and reconciliation initiatives, there is a need to declare amnesty in favor of the said active and former personnel of the AFP and their supporters;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BENIGNO S. AQUINO III, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by Section 19, Article VII of the Philippine Constitution, do hereby DECLARE and PROCLAIM:

SECTION 1. Grant of Amnesty. – Amnesty is hereby granted to all active and former personnel of the AFP as well as their supporters who shall apply therefor and who have or may have committed acts or omissions punishable under the Revised Penal Code, the Articles of War or other special laws in connection with, in relation or incident to the July 27, 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, the February 2006 Marines Stand-Off and/or the November 29, 2007 Manila Pen Incident and related incidents; Provided that amnesty shall not cover crimes against chastity and other crimes committed for personal ends.

SECTION 2. Where to Apply. – The concerned AFP personnel and their supporters may apply for amnesty under this Proclamation with the Department of National Defense (DND). The DND is hereby tasked with the functions and duties of receiving and processing applications for amnesty under this proclamation and determining whether the applicants are covered by amnesty under this Proclamation. The final decisions or determination of the DND shall be appealable to the Office of the President.

SECTION 3. Period of Application. – Applications for the grant of amnesty under this Proclamation shall be filed under oath with the DND within a period of ninety (90) days following the date of the publication of this Proclamation in two (2) newspapers of general circulation. The DND shall forthwith act on the same with dispatch.

SECTION 4. Effects. –

(a) Amnesty under this proclamation shall extinguish any criminal liability for acts committed in relation to, in connection with or incident to the July 27, 2003 Oakwood Mutiny, the February 2006 Marines Stand-Off and the November 29, 2007 Manila Pen Incident without prejudice to the grantee’s civil liability for injuries or damages caused to private persons.

(b) The grant of amnesty shall also effect the restoration of civil and political rights or entitlement that may have been suspended, lost or adversely affected by virtue of ant executive action and/or administrative criminal action or proceedings lodged against the grantee in connection with the subject incidents, including criminal conviction or any form, if any.

(c) All enlisted personnel of the Armed Forces of the Philippines whose applications for amnesty would be approved shall be entitled to reintegration or reinstatement, subject to existing laws and regulations. Officers of the AFP on the other hand shall not be entitled to reintegration or reinstatement into the service.

(d) The amnesty shall reinstate the right of AFP personnel to retirement and separation benefits, if so qualified under existing laws and regulations at the same time of the commission of the acts for which the amnesty is extended.

SECTION 5. Effectivity. – This Proclamation shall take effect immediately upon the signing thereof.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the Republic of the Philippines to be affixed.

DONE in the City of Manila, 11th day of October in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Ten.

(Sgd.) BENIGNO S. AQUINO III

By the President:

(Sgd.) PAQUITO N. OCHOA, JR.

Executive Secretary

With the rest of the Filipino people, I wish to offer our deepest condolences to the families of the victims whose lives were lost in the hostage situation at the Quirino Grandstand. The Secretary of Foreign Affairs has conveyed our deep feelings of sorrow to the Foreign Minister of the People’s Republic of China and the people of Hong Kong through Hong Kong Chief Executive Donald Tsang. I have tasked Secretaries Soliman and Lim to provide everything necessary for the recovery and return home of the survivors. I have directed the fullest cooperation with the Hong Kong authorities on the part of our officials.

From the onset of this incident, the hostage-taker seemed to not be belligerent, as shown by the release of hostages. These were encouraging signs.

We were going to wait him out. The idea was to let the ground commanders who are the experts in this field handle the operation with minimal interference from people who are less expert.

But the situation deteriorated rapidly when, during the course of the negotiations, he was given the letter of the Ombudsman in which she promised to personally review his case. As he was reading the contents of the letter, while talking to an unknown individual on the phone, he became increasingly agitated.

The presence of his brother also added to the tension.

At this point, he threatened to kill a hostage. The police decided to remove the brother from the scene. As the negotiators were departing, the negotiators were shot at.

Media coverage of his brother being taken into custody further agitated the hostage-taker.

Shots were fired. They seemed to be warning shots, as there was no audible indication of tumult or chaos to show that the hostages were in immediate danger.

Nonetheless, the negotiators tried to reestablish contact with the hostage-taker but they were unsuccessful as the cellphone of the hostage-taker was continuously busy. He also refused to answer the throw-phone provided for him by the authorities.

The escape of the driver, combined with his reports that the hostages were being harmed, forced the assault to happen. When the vehicle began to move, and with reports that he had hand grenades, a decision was made to immobilize the vehicle as it would have made the situation even more dangerous.

As we know, the incident tragically ended in the deaths of eight innocent civilians.

We expect more of the facts to come to light and I have ordered Interior and Local Government Secretary Jesse Robredo and Justice Secretary Leila de Lima to thoroughly lead this review.

President Noynoy “P-Noy” Aquino has launched his own website as President of the Republic of the Philippines today as announced by Presidential Communications Office for Operations Secretary Herminio Coloma.  The website will feature all the events and announcements about President Noy Aquino: speeches, photos, videos, and whereabouts.

It is also connected to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Friendster and Multiply.

This website of Pres. Aquino said Secretary Coloma serves as a feedback mechanism of the government that will allow people to interact with the administration.  A special page on this website is that people can actually post their comments, suggestions or reactions to different issues that they may want the President to address.

The website url is @ www.president.gov.ph.

Check out the screenshot of the website:

What do you think of this website of the President?  Do you think that the feedback mechanism on this site will be effective?

A comprehensive agreement between the Hacienda Luisita management and farmers has been reached said the representatives of both camps and the spokesperson of the Palace despite the petition of farmers still hanging on a balance at the Supreme Court.

The controversial agreement to settle the decades-old dispute on one of the largest agricultural estate in the Philippines included on the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program (CARP) is being assailed by other farmers and beneficiaries saying that it pre-empts the Supreme Court into resolving the issue of the stock distribution that the Hacienda Luisita management gave to farmers instead of giving the lands.  More so, the present machinations of the management is seen as deceptive as they only opt to give more than 1,000 hectares of land plus cash instead of distributing to farmers the more than 4,000 hectares already designated by the Department of Agrarian Reform for distribution to farmer-beneficiaries.

In all these, Pres. Noynoy Aquino who owns more than 1% shares to the company owned by his relatives has been aversive into dealing the cause of the farmers head-on.  His spokesperson Atty. Edwin Lacierda said that the President is not keen on involving himself to the issue in order not to be accused of using his power especially that the issue right now is already in the Supreme Court for resolution, but is happy that an agreement is reached and is underway between the two parties.

The issue of agrarian reform is one of strongest issues hurled against him during the campaign and promised that Hacienda Luisita will be distributed to beneficiaries in five years during his term if elected.  That promise sounded lame and hallow yet people gave him the vote of confidence.  Now that he is already the President, Noynoy Aquino is still washing his hands on the issue that should have been resolved decades ago during his mother’s term.  Noynoy Aquino is surely playing the role of Pontius Pilate on this.

While he is resolved and uses all his powers as President of the country on his fight for graft and corruption and stopping the financial leakages in the government, he is on the one hand seen as very lame on advancing the welfare of the farmers that had basically fattened the pockets of his family.

It is unfortunate that Noynoy Aquino is hiding under the skirt of fear so as not to be accused of peddling his power as President into a case that from the very beginning has undermined the welfare of the farmers toiling Hacienda Luisita.  I wonder why should the President be afraid of being accused of using the powers of his office on advancing the welfare and giving justice to the very people he should defend?  Isn’t it primarily his work as President to use everything at his disposal to advance the welfare of the marginalized, particularly the farmers on the issue of Hacienda Luisita?

Noynoy Aquino is just washing his hands while his family is crucifying the farmers for decades now.  The management of Hacienda Luisita trades Barabas with cash and 1,000-plus hectares on the agreement over the rights of farmers of owning the more than 4,000 hectares of the estate.  Noynoy Aquino and his advisers know very well that the farmers do not deserve this ploy to short change the beneficiaries yet he opts to play the Pontius Pilate for his family.

Bishop Pabillo of the Archdiocese of Manila is right when he said that Pres. Aquino was voted on the platform and now is working of leading the country to the straight and right path.  Such platform raises then the issue of Hacienda as his ultimate test:  to choose the country and the people over his family’s welfare and influence.

Pres. Aquino still has the time choose:  be the Pontius Pilate or the Simon of Cyrene of the farmers.

Image from Hambule

This photo is circulating in the web as after a month in office, President Noynoy Aquino happily received his first paycheck with the amount of P63,002.17 after tax.  For a big amount was deducted from him as he is a bachelor.

Paburjer ka naman P-Noy!  LOL!

What do you think would P-Noy do with his first paycheck?

Photo posted by @willardcheng