Category: mar Roxas

Ano ang nangyari kay Mar Roxas?

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DILG Secretary Mar Roxas accepts from PNP Board of Inquiry Chairman PDir Benjamin Magalong the copies of the report on the Mamasapano clash during the official turnover on Friday, March 13, 2015. PNP-PIO photo.

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas accepts from PNP Board of Inquiry Chairman PDir Benjamin Magalong the copies of the report on the Mamasapano clash during the official turnover on Friday, March 13, 2015. PNP-PIO photo.

Sinabi ng Board of Marine Inquiry ng Philippine National Police na siyang nag-imbestiga sa trahedya sa Mamasapano, Maguindanao noong Enero 25 na nilabag ni Pangulong Aquino ang chain of command.

Dahil doon nagkandaloko-loko ang operasyon. Umabot 68 na buhay ang nalagas kasama na doon ang 44 na miyembro ng SAF, 18 na miyembro ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front at 6 na sibilyan.

Sa halip na purihin ang BOI sa pamumuno ni Police Director Benjamin Magalong, hepe ng Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, inabswelto pa rin ni Interior Secretary Mar Roxas si Pangulong Aquino.

Ito ang sabi ni Roxas: “Based on what I read, he (Aquino) as the commander in chief correctly and rightly authorized that (Zulkifli bin Hir) Marwan is a target. There is no liability with that. He gave the order to apprehend or to serve the warrant on Marwan and (Basit) Usman. Nothing wrong with that. Trabaho niya ‘yan. In fact, kung hindi niya ginawa ‘yan, may pananagutan ang Pangulo no’n.

“Since Purisima was coordinating directly with relieved Special Action Force commander Police Director Getulio Napeñas, Roxas said “it was up to them to do their jobs well.”

“The President recognized that Director General Purisima was suspended at wala nang kapangyarihan, alam ng Pangulo ‘yan. Kaya nga niya inutos, sabihin mo kay OIC Espina ito, precisely to correct the anomaly that there was somebody suspended in the middle. Eh hindi sinunod utos ng Pangulo eh.”

Tanga. Nag-aral ka pa sa Wharton, tapos hindi ka pala marunong umintindi ng report. English naman yun a.

Hindi madali ang ginawa nina Magalong. Ang kanilang ini-imbestiga ay mga taong may kapangyarihan sa kanilang posisyun. Ngunit nanindigan sila para sa katotohanan.

Tinumbok ng report ang may malaking panangutan sa trahedya: Si Pangulong Aquino, ang dating hepe ng PNP na si Alan Purisima, at si Napeñas.

Sabi ng BOI, binigay ni Aquino ang go signal ng Oplan Exodus sa pagtugis sa dalawang terorista na kanilang nalaman na doon nakatira sa Mamasapano, Maguindanao na teritoryo ng MILF at ang sumipak na Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Nilabag ni Aquino ang regulasyon ng chain- of- command sa kanyang pakikipag-usap deretso kay Napeñas at initsa-pwera si PNP Acting Chief Leonardo Espina.

Nilabag din Purisima ang suspensyun sa kanya ng Ombudsman sa pagsali sa isang opisyal na operasyon.
Mali din ang pakipag-usap ni Aquino kay Purisima tungkol sa pagpapatupad ng Oplan Exodus dahil suspendido na ang kanyang paboritong hepe ng PNP.

Ito ang iilan lang sa report ng BOI. Pasalamat tayo kay Magalong na talagang nanindigan at nilabas kung anong totoo kahit na taliwas ang kanilang report sa palusot ng Malacañang.

Sa halip na suportahan ni Roxas, na siyang nagsu-supervise ng PNP bilang pinuno ng National Police Commission, pilit pa niyang pinapaikot ang pag-intindi ng report pabor kay Aquino

Kahit ano pang palusot ni Aquino at depensa ni Roxas, panagutan ito ng Pangulo. Siguro hindi ngayon habang sa Malacanang siya dahil hawak niya ang Kongreso. Kapag wala na siya sa Malacanang, malaki ang problema ni Aquino.

Kaya siguro todo depensa si Roxas akala niya mananalo siya kapag dikit siya kay Aquino sa 2016.

Hindi tanga ang taumbayan.

Ano ang nangyari kay Mar Roxas?

Ellen Leave a comment

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas accepts from PNP Board of Inquiry Chairman PDir Benjamin Magalong the copies of the report on the Mamasapano clash during the official turnover on Friday, March 13, 2015. PNP-PIO photo.

DILG Secretary Mar Roxas accepts from PNP Board of Inquiry Chairman PDir Benjamin Magalong the copies of the report on the Mamasapano clash during the official turnover on Friday, March 13, 2015. PNP-PIO photo.

Sinabi ng Board of Marine Inquiry ng Philippine National Police na siyang nag-imbestiga sa trahedya sa Mamasapano, Maguindanao noong Enero 25 na nilabag ni Pangulong Aquino ang chain of command.

Dahil doon nagkandaloko-loko ang operasyon. Umabot 68 na buhay ang nalagas kasama na doon ang 44 na miyembro ng SAF, 18 na miyembro ng Moro Islamic Liberation Front at 6 na sibilyan.

Sa halip na purihin ang BOI sa pamumuno ni Police Director Benjamin Magalong, hepe ng Criminal Investigation and Detection Group, inabswelto pa rin ni Interior Secretary Mar Roxas si Pangulong Aquino.

Ito ang sabi ni Roxas: “Based on what I read, he (Aquino) as the commander in chief correctly and rightly authorized that (Zulkifli bin Hir) Marwan is a target. There is no liability with that. He gave the order to apprehend or to serve the warrant on Marwan and (Basit) Usman. Nothing wrong with that. Trabaho niya ‘yan. In fact, kung hindi niya ginawa ‘yan, may pananagutan ang Pangulo no’n.

“Since Purisima was coordinating directly with relieved Special Action Force commander Police Director Getulio Napeñas, Roxas said “it was up to them to do their jobs well.”

“The President recognized that Director General Purisima was suspended at wala nang kapangyarihan, alam ng Pangulo ‘yan. Kaya nga niya inutos, sabihin mo kay OIC Espina ito, precisely to correct the anomaly that there was somebody suspended in the middle. Eh hindi sinunod utos ng Pangulo eh.”

Tanga. Nag-aral ka pa sa Wharton, tapos hindi ka pala marunong umintindi ng report. English naman yun a.

Hindi madali ang ginawa nina Magalong. Ang kanilang ini-imbestiga ay mga taong may kapangyarihan sa kanilang posisyun. Ngunit nanindigan sila para sa katotohanan.

Tinumbok ng report ang may malaking panangutan sa trahedya: Si Pangulong Aquino, ang dating hepe ng PNP na si Alan Purisima, at si Napeñas.

Sabi ng BOI, binigay ni Aquino ang go signal ng Oplan Exodus sa pagtugis sa dalawang terorista na kanilang nalaman na doon nakatira sa Mamasapano, Maguindanao na teritoryo ng MILF at ang sumipak na Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters.

Nilabag ni Aquino ang regulasyon ng chain- of- command sa kanyang pakikipag-usap deretso kay Napeñas at initsa-pwera si PNP Acting Chief Leonardo Espina.

Nilabag din Purisima ang suspensyun sa kanya ng Ombudsman sa pagsali sa isang opisyal na operasyon.
Mali din ang pakipag-usap ni Aquino kay Purisima tungkol sa pagpapatupad ng Oplan Exodus dahil suspendido na ang kanyang paboritong hepe ng PNP.

Ito ang iilan lang sa report ng BOI. Pasalamat tayo kay Magalong na talagang nanindigan at nilabas kung anong totoo kahit na taliwas ang kanilang report sa palusot ng Malacañang.

Sa halip na suportahan ni Roxas, na siyang nagsu-supervise ng PNP bilang pinuno ng National Police Commission, pilit pa niyang pinapaikot ang pag-intindi ng report pabor kay Aquino

Kahit ano pang palusot ni Aquino at depensa ni Roxas, panagutan ito ng Pangulo. Siguro hindi ngayon habang sa Malacanang siya dahil hawak niya ang Kongreso. Kapag wala na siya sa Malacanang, malaki ang problema ni Aquino.

Kaya siguro todo depensa si Roxas akala niya mananalo siya kapag dikit siya kay Aquino sa 2016.

Hindi tanga ang taumbayan.

Puzzling numbers in Pulse Asia’s latest survey

Ellen Leave a comment
Sept 2014 Pulse Asia survey.

Sept 2014 Pulse Asia survey.

At last, Interior Secretary Mar Roxas numbers moved up.

In a survey conducted by Pulse Asia, Roxas numbers almost doubled in a matter of two months. From seven percent last week of June, it jumped to 13 percent second week of September.

What could be the factors that contributed to respondents finally discovering Roxas after years of ignoring him when asked who they would vote if elections were held at the time the survey was conducted?

A quick scan of media headlines yielded only two issues where Roxas was featured in a prominent role: the announcement of the identification of police officers involved in the brazen EDSA daytime hulidap and his suggestion that President Aquino extends his stay in Malacañang beyond 2016.

Could that have gained for him enormous credit worth six percentage points jump in ratings?

It should be noted that on several occasions when President Aquino stressed the importance that his successor would be the one that would continue his “tuwid na daan” policy Roxas was beside him. Could Aquino’s popularity have rubbed off on him? But then Aquino’s satisfaction rating has been on the decline these past months.

Vice President Jejomar Binay and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas in a public meeting.

Vice President Jejomar Binay and Interior Secretary Mar Roxas in a public meeting.


It’s possible that the increase of Roxas’s numbers was due to the demolition of Binay.

Since they were adversaries in the 2010 vice presidential elections and are expected to again be against each other in the 2016 presidential elections, Roxas is being presented as the opposite of Binay. The scenario being painted is frontrunner Binay is corrupt and Roxas is Mr. Clean.

Binay, as the survey showed, was clearly hurt by the expose on the alleged overpriced Makati City Hall Building 2 and other stories about institutionalized corruption when he was mayor and being continued by his son, Junjun.

A ten percentage point decline in Binay’s rating – from 41 percent last June down to 31 percent second week of September- is a huge drop. Binay should be worried considering that his opponents have said they are not through with him yet.

But I find the survey numbers puzzling.

Why did the rating of Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, who, together with Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV, led the attack on Binay, also drop? From five per cent last June, Cayetano’s rating dipped to one.

Puzzling also is the decline in Sen. Grace Poe’s rating from 12 percent to 10 percent.Yet, the rating of former President Joseph Estrada increased by one percentage point -from nine to 10.

It’s still one year and eight months to the May 2016 elections. There are a lot of factors that will come into play.

But what is becoming clear is that the strategy of pulling down Binay to “level the playing field” is working in Roxas’s favor.

What’s wrong with the picture?

Ellen Leave a comment

Philstar photo by Boy Santos.

Philstar photo by Boy Santos.


The picture we are referring to is that of Interior Secretary Mar Roxas hoisting a sack of NFA rice residue during an inspection of a rice warehouse in Muntinlupa.

Some say that picture, which has gone viral, is photoshopped. We had the photo analyzed by professional photographers and they said it’s genuine, not digitally tampered with.

They explained that the reason Roxas hoisting of the sack looked effortless was because the content as indicated in the sack was not regular rice but “broken rice residue” or darak used for animal feed.

A Philstar report said, “in a surprise move, Roxas before leaving Purefeeds warehouse in Malolos pulled a bag of rice from a pile and carried it on his shoulder for a photo opportunity.”

It was a desperate act, presumably aimed to boost his 2016 presidential bid which cannot seem to take off. He looked ridiculous.

The warehouse inspection pictures are by themselves politically loaded.

Security expert Ace Esmeralda posted this comment in Facebook: “I must be out of the currents events. I didn’t know that Mar Roxas is now the Dept of Agriculture Secretary. Or, was he helping NFA and CIDG in enforcing the law? But NFA said they are not raiding. They were just visiting warehouses, with bolt cutters.”

Oh well, the CIDG (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group) is an office of the Philippine National Police which is under the supervision of the secretary of the Department of Interior and Local Government, which is headed by Roxas.

The inspection was done to bolster the line of Malacañang that the increase of prices of rice is a conspiracy of unscrupulous persons . A friend who does her own marketing, said the price of rice she buys has gone up by 20 percent the past weeks. “What I used to buy for P38, P40 pesos is now P50, even more. And that is not the premium rice, the jasmine rice that is mabango,” she said.

Last June 27 in Iloilo City, President Aquino insisted there was enough supply of rice (and also garlic). He said agriculture officials suspect a conspiracy among dealers of garlic and rice to create a shortage in the market and drive up prices. “Now, nagkulang ba ang supply? Pinipilit sa atin na marami ang supply pero tila merong suspicion, uulit-ulitin ko lang, suspicion, merong mga nagkunstambahan para i-maintain ‘yung presyong mataas, lalo na diyan sa bawang,” he said.

Roxas was accompanied in the inspection by former senator Francis Pangilinan, who has been appointed Presidential Assistant for Food Security and Agricultural Modernization. Four agencies, including the National Food Authority, were taken out of the Department of Agriculture and transferred to the Office of the President and put under the supervision of Pangilinan.

Political observers, seeing photos of Roxas and Pangilinan inspecting the rice warehouses commented, “Are we seeing the 2016 Liberal Party team?”

Putting aside political speculations, the more serious message of the rice warehouse inspection photos is that the President’s promise of rice self-sufficiency which he wanted to be one of his legacies has become doubtful.

In a July 5, 2012 speech at the Agri Machinery Roadshow at the World Trade Center, the President boasted of the country becoming not only rice self-sufficient by 2013, but also possibly a rice exporter.

He said “Sa katunayan, ayon kay Kalihim Procy Alcala, sa susunod daw pong taon, hindi na po tayo mag-aangkat ng bigas dahil rice self-sufficient na tayo. Kaya naman po pakitulungan niyo si Secretary Alcala sa kanyang pangako sa taumbayan. Kung papalarin at hindi tayo masyadong babayuhin ng mga bagyo, mukhang pagdating ng 2013, hindi lang po tayo self-sufficient: tayo na po mismo ang mag-eexport ng bigas.”

Sources said the reason for the government’s delayed reaction to the problem of increased prices of rice was Aquino’s obsession with rice self- sufficiency, cultivated by fawning officials.

Last week, Aquino approved the importation of additional 200,000 tons of rice from Vietnam to stabilize stabilize retail prices.

Mar-Chiz, Binay-Meloto, Cayetano-Trillanes

Ellen Leave a comment

Those are the political alliances shaping up for the 2016 presidential elections.

The President's dream team:Roxas-Escudero

The President’s dream team:Roxas-Escudero

President Aquino’s dream team for 2016.[/caption]Interior Secretary Mar Roxas for president and Sen. Chiz Escudero for vice president for the Liberal Party; Vice President Jejomar Binay and Gawad Kalinga founder and chairman Tony Meloto for the United Nationalist Alliance; and Senators Alan Cayetano and Antonio Trillanes IV for the Nacionalista Party.

Sources said Roxas and Binay both wanted Sen. Grace Poe as running mate but the lady senator feels she is not ready yet to run for a higher position in 2016.

The Mar Roxas and Chiz Escudero ticket is the handiwork of President Aquino, several sources said.
Both Roxas and Escudero, gave up their long-harbored presidential ambitions in 2010, to give way to Aquino, whose candidacy came after the death of his mother August 2009.

Sources said Roxas is reluctant about teaming up with Escudero, who endorsed Binay for president in the 2010 elections. But he has no choice given his low popularity rating.

Although there are some members of the Liberal Party, who do not give Roxas a good chance of winning in the 2016 elections, his supporters resort to mathematics to show otherwise.

Binay - Meloto

Binay – Meloto

A presidential candidate has to get 40 percent of the votes of the total registered voters to win the election. Administration political analysts say Aquino’s endorsement will bring in 20 percent of the total of the voters which Presidential Spokerperson Edwin Lacierda bragged, is “lethal.”

“Whoever the President will endorse, the power of the President’s endorsement is lethal. It is effective and that’s the reason why the—whoever the President would anoint, would certainly have an advantage, “ Lacierda said last January.

The source said Roxas believes, his campaign organization will be able to get the remaining 20 percent of the votes needed to win the presidency.

Sources said Escudero, who has not returned to NPC, after he left the Eduardo Cojuangco, Jr.-controlled party in 2010, has no qualms about being the running mate of Roxas even if he endorsed Binay in 2010.

It is often said that there are no permanent friends in politics. A Roxas-Escudero team will show that there are no permanent enemies either in politics.

Cayetano-Trillanes

Cayetano-Trillanes

Binay told Philippine Star’s Marichu Villanueva that he wants an economist for a running mate in 2016. Meloto fits the bill.

The intriguing thing about this Binay-Meloto team up is that it is brokered by a presidential relative.

Earlier Binay had earlier considered Darlene Marie Berberabe, the young and pretty president and chief executive officer of Pag-ibig Fund, for running mate but that team-up didn’t materialize.

Binay is confident that with his formidable national machinery, he can afford a non-politician running mate.

At the Nacionalista Party, party members think the possibility of Sen. Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos, Jr. getting embroiled in the Janet Napoles pork barrel cases, won’t make him a viable standard bearer.

They are working on a Cayetano-Trillanes ticket.