Ricky Carandang Reporting
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Ricky Carandang Reporting » Fools on the Hill
We all knew the fourth attempt to impeach President Arroyo would not prosper regardless of what kind of arguments or facts the minority congressmen presented at the Justice Committee hearings. Its never been a question of evidence or eloquence but where your bread is buttered. And for most congressmen, the butter comes from the general direction of the Pasig river. … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Gloria Forever, part 2
Sources within the House majority tell me that Rep. Luis Villafuerte has circulated a resolution in the Lower House to convene Congress into a constituent assembly to revise the 1987 Constitution. One source says as of Thursday night (20 November) more than 170 congressmen have signed the resolution. I spoke to a majority congressman who admits he signed it. My … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Anatomy of a Senate Coup
I’ve quickly pieced together an account of the senate coup, based on conversations with different sources. Allow me a disclaimer. This was done quickly, and while I believe that this narrative is generally accurate, I’m sure that some of the details will be disputed by some of the parties. This is not meant to portray anyone in a bad or … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Is Obama The Democratic Party’s Reagan?
People (especially Democrats) like to compare president-elect Barack Obama to John Kennedy, another Democratic Party icon, but I think its more compelling to compare him to Ronald Reagan. I know that will make many Democrats and Republicans choke, but hear me out. Reagan came to office by running a well disciplined campaign that tried as much as possible to stay … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Dear JocJoc
Jun Lozada e-mailed this to me. Its an open letter to JocJoc Bolante. October 24, 2008 Dear Joc-Joc, Allow me to call you Joc-Joc as you have been known in the media and by many Filipinos too. As of this morning of the 24th of October, 2008, news about your lawyer petitioning the Supreme Court to issue a Temporary Restraining … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Joe the Plumber is Mang Pandoy
Joe the Plumber, the real life working guy cited over and over by McCain and Obama during their last debate, has become the living symbol of the American everyman suffering from the vagaries of the global financial meltdown and the US recession. He’s the American version of Mang Pandoy, the Filipino everyman trotted out by the organizers of the 1992 … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Bangkok Dangerous, part 2
The People’s Alliance for Democracy, the group spearheading the protests against the Somchai government, and have managed to oust two prime mineters, has gained the support of the Thai Royal Family. Queen Sirikit attended the funeral of a slain protestor and even donated a million baht to the families of the protestors. Filipinos everywhere should share the concerns of the … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Bangkok Dangerous
Watching the recent protests in Bangkok brought an eerie sense of familiarity to me. For weeks in 2006, thousands of well-to-do urban residents massed in the streets demanding –and eventually getting—through the intervention of the military– the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. The PM had been accused of corruption and faced the equivalent of a plunder trial. Unfortunately for … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Red Meat
If John McCain was having a hard time connecting with the Republican base, his choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate just closed the deal. In an electrifing speech before the Republican convention, Palin hit all the right notes. The not-so-subtle digs at Barack Obama and the esposual of old fashoined small town family values, creationism, and unconditional support … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » The Other Side of the Story
A colleague e-mailed me this article from the MILF website which she believes articulates their sentiment with regard to reactions to the Bangsamoro homeland deal. In the interest of fostering greater understanding I’m reposting it here. By the way, don’t google “MILF” you’ll get something else. The URL is posted below. (From luwaran.com, the MILF website) Reality Check By Ibrahim … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » A State Within A State
I just had a look at the Memorandum of Understanding between the Arroyo Regime and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front and here are my INITIAL IMPRESSIONS: It looks like genuine autonomy for the so called “Bangsamoro” people. The proposed Bangsamoro Juridical Entity (BJE) will have control over and claims to the resources of the ancestral homeland. If any oil, or … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Gloria Forever
The Cha-Cha train has left the station. As we inch closer to 2010, the it looks as if the Palace is making one last attempt to extend the term of Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, and this time they’ve learned from their mistakes. You see, unlike last time when the attempt to shift to a parliamentary form of government was clearly nothing more … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Team Player
By all accounts, Cora dela Paz did an oustanding job at the SSS. She told me early in her term that if contributions did not increase, the SSS would be in serious trouble by 2015. She lobbied, pressured, and cajoled President Arroyo and the other decision makers in Malacanang to do the politically unpopular thing and raise contributions. Eventually, they … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » How Insensitive
Maybe its just me, or maybe its because I happen to know someone who’s brother is still listed among the missing from the sunken MV Princess of the Stars but I find the management of Sulpicio Lines to have been pretty insensitive to the families of the victims. During the press conference held by the company, the vice president Sally … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » A Ray of Hope?
The recent appointments of General Alexander Yano to AFP Chief of Staff and Lila de Lima to the Commission on Human Rights bode well for an improvement in the Arroyo regime’s human rights record. Yano’s remarks at his appointment that he would tolerate neither military adventurism or extrajudicial killings shows an intention to adhere more evenly to the rule of … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Where Is Jonas Burgos?
One year ago, activist Jonas Burgos was having a late lunch at a restaurant at the Ever Gotesco Shopping Mall in Quezon City when he was kidnapped by four armed men and a woman. Witnesses say the kidnappers dragged Burgos into maroon Toyota Revo with plate number TAB 194. The Revo, along with two other vehicles used by the kidnapperS—a … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Why Rice is So Expensive
At the risk of oversimplifying things, here’s an explanation of why rice prices are skyrocketing. In a recent interview, Albay Governor and former stock market analyst Joey Salceda put the different pieces of the global economic puzzle together to explain why food prices are so high. Taking the core of his analysis, adding bits and pieces from other experts like … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » China Admits Spratly Deal was for “Exploration”
Acknowledging Article 12 Section 2 of the Constitution, the Arroyo regime has defined the debate over the legality of the Spratly deal in the follwing terms. The president is empowered to enter into exploration and development agreements with foreign entities PROVIDED that she notify Congress within 30 days of the execution of the agreement. She did not notify Congress and … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » First the Spratlys, Next Palawan?
I have written that according to my sources, the China-Philippines Spratly deal was an explicit precondition to the $2 billion a year in loans that the Chinese government committed to the Philippines. This item from no less than the Office of the Press Secretary shows that the Northrail loan was granted at the same time that the Spratly deal was … [Link]
Ricky Carandang Reporting » Treason
Allow me to expound a little on a story I did for The Correspondents on February 19th. Seven countries claim ownership of the disputed Spratly Islands, just off of Palawan. China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malsysia, Indonesia, Brunei, and the Philippines all claim to own part or all of the Spratlys. These overlapping claims have been a source of tension over the … [Link]
