http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/ editor-in-chief Sun, 10 Jul 2005 06:10:11 PDT http://www.blogdrive.com Copyright 2005. Writing Entertainment http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/81.html Sun, 10 Jul 2005 14:07:34 GMT MANILA – The highly influential Catholic Bishops Conference of the Phils., which had been widely expected to join the growing calls for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign, unexpectedly issued a statement yesterday (July 10) saying they were not joining the clamor. Analysts had predicted that had the CBCP demanded the President’s resignation, the Arroyo administration would have been done for. The bishops’ statement instead said there were many options that Mrs. Arroyo could take. The President apparently knew the unexpected direction the CBCP would take. She took a stroll with her... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=81 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/80.html Sat, 09 Jul 2005 13:48:25 GMT MANILA –Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s presidency, which received a series of crippling blows from former close allies the other day, did not get the expected coup de grace from the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines yesterday (July 9). That final blow, reportedly also a call for President Arroyo to resign, did not come as the powerful assembly of the country’s bishops could not agree on the wordings of the statement. And while no statement came from Mrs. Arroyo, she did receive support from various quarters that indicated that her forced removal from office would be met with... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=80 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/79.html Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:58:03 GMT A group of city and municipal mayors aired their support for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo yesterday (July 6), denouncing moves to unseat her through extra-legal means. In a statement, the mayors said: “We as mayors oppose any move to unseat the President by any means violative of the Constitution.” The group included Lito Atienza of Manila, Feliciano Belmonte Jr. of Quezon City, Rodrigo Duterte of Davao and Edward Hagedorn of Puerto Princesa. Hagedorn was the surprise backer of the President, as he is known to be a close friend of deposed President Joseph Estrada, as well as the... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=79 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/77.html Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:40:40 GMT MANILA – He is muddling the issue. This was the opposition’s stand on the statements of former Commission on Elections commissioner Virgilio Garcillano, who claimed that the conversation he had with President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo were not unique or unusual. Garcillano said he had similar conversations with many oppositionists, including senators Juan Ponce Enrile and Jamby Madrigal, and even House Minority Leader Francis Escudero, who denied the claim. Escudero accused the Arroyo administration of deflecting public attention from the President’s alleged cheating by aiming its guns at the... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=77 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/78.html Wed, 06 Jul 2005 02:33:05 GMT Supporters of jailed Moro leader Nur Misuari are openly supporting Zaldy Ampatuan, mayor of Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao, who is running in the Aug. 8 gubernatorial elections in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Ampatuan is the official candidate of the Lakas Christian Muslim Democrats, the umbrella party of which the president is a leader. The Misuari faction of the Moro National Liberation Front decided to back a candidate even after the MNLF had called for a boycott of the elections in protest over President Arroyo’s declaration of a free zone in the ARMM. Misuari was the founder... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=78 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/76.html Tue, 05 Jul 2005 13:22:55 GMT MANILA – The government’s bid to lift the temporary restraining order issued by the Supreme Court against the expanded value added tax law was denied yesterday (July 5), but the high tribunal moved to expedite the resolution of the case. In view of revenue loses estimated at P130 million a day, the SC reset the oral arguments on the case from July 26 to July 14. The SC did not comment on the motion for reconsideration filed by the finance department the other day. The EVAT law was supposed to take effect July 1 but the minority lawmakers from the Senate and the House of Representatives in... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=76 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/75.html Tue, 05 Jul 2005 13:22:02 GMT MANILA – Former Armed Forces chief of staff and now Senator Rodolfo Biazon said military officers and servicemen were ready to resign en masse over reports that some generals had been involved in rigging the presidential elections last year. Worst of all, the generals whose names were mentioned in the “Gloriagate tapes” were promoted instead of punished for their involvement, Biazon said yesterday (July 5). “When they hear that some senior officers had been used as political tools…they are mad,” Biazon said. Unlike in the past when the military became restive and resorted to coups, the... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=75 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/74.html Tue, 05 Jul 2005 13:21:01 GMT MANILA – Former president Joseph Estrada, allowed to leave his detention facility for a medical check up, the other day said he would support whoever replaced President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. He called actress Susan Roces “the new symbol and inspiration of the Filipino masses.” Roces is the widow of Estrada’s best friend, the late Fernando Poe, Jr, the King of Philippine Movies, who ran but lost to President Arroyo in last year’s elections. Poe never conceded defeat and his widow is demanding that Mrs. Arroyo resign because she rigged the elections with the help of a Commission on... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=74 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/73.html Mon, 04 Jul 2005 14:01:27 GMT MANILA – Armed Forces of the Philippines chief Efren Abu has ordered the monitoring of the officers and men of the AFP in case any of them are enticed to join the mounting calls for President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to resign. A military spokesman yesterday (July 4) said the Intelligence Service of the AFP was monitoring the troops to prevent them from “going astray.” Lt. Col. Buenaventura Pascual, AFP public information chief, added that Army Col. Gregorio Catapang who had been linked to a reported plot to oust the president, had reported to Abu to clear his name. Catapang was supposedly... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=73 http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/archive/72.html Mon, 04 Jul 2005 14:00:37 GMT MANILA – The government rejected all bids for treasury bills yesterday (July 4) because the Supreme Court’s suspension of the expanded value added tax law coupled with the troubled political situation prevailing in the country had pushed banks to seek high risk premiums. “The market is trying to digest all of these developments,” said National Treasurer Omar Cruz. The rate for the 91-day T-bills issued by the government had gone beyond acceptable limits and accepting the bids would have had a serious effect on the government’s ability to honor the bills. Last Friday, the SC issued a... (more) http://editor-in-chief.blogdrive.com/comments?id=72