Dispatches

Security forces in Burma (Myanmar) fired on thousands of protesters and monks in Yangon to end the biggest anti-government demonstration in 20 years.

Reports from wire agencies gave different number of casualties. Associated Press said at least one was killed while British news agency Reuters reported that three died. Meanwhile Agence France Presse, quoting an official who requested anonymity said three monks were killed, two of which were beaten to death.

The crackdown was criticized by Western nations. The United States and the European Union urged military officilas to stop the violence and to talk with pro-democracy activists. UN secretary-general Ban Ki Moon has dispatched a special envoy to the region.

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Photo Credit: Flickr

MANILA–Philippine senator Miriam Defensor Santiago walked out yesterday from the Senate investigation of the controversial National Broadband Network deal with Chinese company ZTE. She went ballistic and accused China of “inventing corruption.”

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Incidentally, Santiago is the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Video source: www.gmanews.tv

Manila(Sept.12,2007)-Former Philippine president Estrada was found guilty of plunder Wednesday and was sentenced to life imprisonment by an anti-graft court. He was acquitted of perjury.

Here’s the video from ABS-CBN posted at Youtube:

The verdict on the plunder case of Philippine former president Joseph Estrada will come out tomorrow.

The trial of Joseph Estrada came to a close last July 15 when the prosecution and the defense wrapped up their arguments.The prosecution, which presented 626 pages of summaries of the case, argued that they have presented enough evidence to prove that Estrada is guilty of accepting bribes from jueteng, kickbacks from tobacco excise taxes and illegal commissions from the sale of the shares of a company and of by depositing huge amount of money in a bank account under an alias.

Meanwhile, the defense submitted 276 pages of summaries of the rebuttals said that the prosecution presented “uncorroborated testimonies” and that it failed to prove the charges against Estrada.

The anti-graft court Sandiganbayan is expected to come out with a decision to this long-running trial on or before September 15.

Click here to see summary of charge no. 1. Download it here.
Click here to see summary of charge no. 2. Download it here.
Click here to see summary of charge no. 3. Download it here.
Click here to see summary of charge no. 4. Download it here.

Four billion-plunder case

Estrada’s P 4.097 billion plunder case is composed of four charges: acceptance o P545 million protection money from illegal gambling jueteng , misappropriation of f P130 million tobacco excise tax, collection of P 189.7 million commission the sale of the shares of Belle Corp., and amassing and depositing P3, 233, 104, 173.17 in a bank account under the name of Jose Velarde.

He is also facing minor charges of perjury for allegedly underreporting his assets in 1999.

Estrada denied the charges and accused that his successor, Gloria Arroyo conspired with the high-ranking military officials and the Roman Catholic Church to oust him in January 2001.

Too Many Judges

The case was first tried in the Third Division of the anti-graft court Sandiganbayan. The division was then composed of Justices Anacleto Badoy, Ricardo Ilarde and Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.

On January 2002, the Supreme Court ordered to create a Special Division that would hear all the cases against Estrada. The Special Division was composed of Minita Chico-Nazario as presiding judge and Justices Edilberto G. Sandoval and Teresita Leonardo-de Castro.

Sandoval became the acting presiding judge when Nazario was appointed as justice of the Supreme Court on August 2004. Meanwhile, Justice Francisco Villaruz, Jr. became the newest member of the Special Division.

After De Castro was appointed as the presiding judge, Sandoval resigned from the Special Division. The Supreme Court then designated Justice Diosdado Peralta on Feb. 8, 2005 as the new member of the Special Division.

As a result of these changes, De Castro is the only justice who was able to hear the testimonies of the witnesses of the prosecution and the defense.

High-profile witnesses

The prosecution presented 76 witnesses and more than 1,500 evidences. Its key witness is Luis Singson, former Ilocos Sur governor and a senatorial candidate from Team Unity. Singson testified that Estrada received kickbacks from jueteng and diverted funds intended for tobacco farmers.

Prosecution witnesses also included former of the Social Security System (SSS) president Carlos Arellano former Government Services Insurance System (GSIS) president Federico Pascual and Willie Ng Ocier, former vice chair of Belle Corp., a company in the property development business and with investments in gaming-related companies.

Pascual’s and Arellano’s testimonies were used by the prosecution to prove that Estrada instructed the two officials to buy shares of the Belle Corporation.

Other witnesses of the prosecution included officials of Equitable-PCI Bank like Atty. Manuel Curato and Clarissa Ocampo, who testified that she was “one foot away” from Estrada when he signed the bank documents using the name “Jose Velarde.”

Rebuttals

Meanwhile, the defense presented 79 witnesses to rebut the testimonies of the prosecution, including the accused Estrada who denied all the allegations against him.

Estrada testified from March to June 2006. and even celebrated his 69th birthday on the witness stand on April 19. He said that the allegations of Singson were politically motivated because the latter failed to get the license to operate Bingo-2 balls in Ilocos Sur to his political rivals.

The defense also presented employees of Equitable-PCI Bank to prove that Jaime Dichaves owned the Jose Velarde account. Moreover, it also claimed that none of the prosecution witnesses presented were involved in the opening and closing of the Velarde account.

Co-accused

Co-accused in the plunder charges includes Estrada’s son and incumbent senator Jinggoy, lawyer Edward Serapio, Yolanda Ricaforte, Delia Rajas, Eleuterio Tan, Jaime Dichaves, Alma Alfaro and Charlie “Atong” Ang.
Serapio and Estrada were allowed by the Sandiganbayan to post P500, 000 bail each in 2003.

Meanwhile, Ang had pleaded guilty to corruption of public official and paid P25 million, an amount he allegedly pocketed from the 130 million tobacco excise taxes intended for the Ilocos Sur government, as part of a plea bargain agreement. Other co-accused are still at large.

Photo Credit: news.bbc.co.uk

At the Asia-Pacific Economic Conference, US president George Bush referred to the meeting as OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. He referred to Australia as Austria, mispronounced the Australian and Malaysian capitals and took the wrong exit.

Video Credit: Reuters posted at Youtube

By Jesus Llanto

Loren Legarda, the topnotcher in the senatorial race, received the greatest amount

I took the front seat beside the driver, who was listening to a radio evangelist. I am not really fond of listening to those gospel preachers on the radio but I had no choice.The preacher was telling a story about a rich businessman in Europe. He said that this businessman was very healthy, had a big company and had millions of dinars.

“Wait a minute,” I told myself. “As far as I know,only Middle Eastern countries use dinar as their monetary unit.” I stopped listening to the preacher, looked outside to conceal a mischievous smile.

“Do you listen to these programs?”, asked driver. I answered “no” but I did not bother to look at him.

“I also used to laugh at these radio shows but when I discovered God everything changes,” he continued. “Do you attend Bible studies?”

“No.”

“Why don’t try attending one?”, he said. At this point, I felt annoyed. (I don’t like talking about one’s religious practices and beliefs)

The driver then started to do a monologue for about ten minutes. He narrated his transformation and even cited the story of a his friend.

“I have a friend who was very busy that he did not have to do his religious obligations….”"I go to church every Sunday and pray everyday. Are these not enough?”, I said in a louder voice. (My plan was to prevent him from finishing his story because I had a feeling that he would used the story to invite me to attend Bible study sessions.)

The driver did not answer my question and instead he said: “You are the only person that can answer that question.”

“If you think you are already happy with your spiritual life, I am happy for you brother. But if not, just don’t forget that there are ways to improve your spirituality. You have a lot of options.”
At last, the driver stopped stalking. He was silent during the rest of the trip. When I was already one block away from my destination, I alighted the vehicle. But before I closed the door, the driver said : “God bless, brother”

I tried to get the plate number of the FX taxi but it was too dark.

“It was a weird experience”, I said to myself. “What’s the significance of that event?Is this just a result of my addiction to the TV series Joan of Arcadia? Did I sound rude when I answered the driver’s questions? Why did it happen? Is there something wrong with me or with my religious beliefs?What if the driver was actually God?” The incident reminded me of Joan Osbourne’s song.

I have so many questions but I have not found the answers so far. I did not expect that a short talk with a stranger could elicit so many questions.