LIFE’S INSPIRATIONS: “…We will seize all kinds of precious wealth; we will fill our houses with plunder…” (Proverbs 1:13, the Holy Bible).
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CAN OMBUDSMAN TELL POE, “NABUBUWISIT AKO SA IYO”? I am very excited to see how Ombudsman Conchita Carpio Morales will react to the stinging rebuke which came from Sen. Grace Poe about the failure of the Ombudsman to include Transportation and Communications Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya as among those she sued for graft in connection with the maintenance contract for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3).
This excitement is due largely to Morales’ very public outburst last week, in which she said “nabubuwisit na ako” (or, “I am miffed”) against people accusing her of double standard of justice in her work as an Ombudsman, principally because she had been suing only the political enemies of her patron, President Aquino, while leaving out his allies.
Now, it is Poe (the front-running presidential candidate for 2016 whose patron is also President Aquino) who is making the accusations against Morales. Will Morales display a similar childish, immature, and largely arrogant retort against Poe, or will she be swallowing her pride this time, remaining silent and not answering Poe’s questions? And does Morales have the guts to tell Poe, “nabubuwisit ako sa iyo”?
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WHY DID OMBUDSMAN FILE ONLY GRAFT CASES FOR MRT 3 MESS? Accompanying Poe’s questions are similar concerns on why Morales chose to file only charges for graft and corruption, which will allow those she sued to post bail and thereby be spared from the detention which opposition Senators Juan Ponce Enrile, Jinggoy Estrada, and Bong Revilla are being subjected to now.
Indeed, the anomaly concerning the maintenance contract for MRT 3 involves hundreds of millions of pesos, so that the proper charges that Morales should have filed would be for plunder. Now, Morales has to explain: why did she choose to sue MRT 3 officials with an offense lesser than plunder? Is it because they are also allies of the President?
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FINAL LIST OF DFA OFFICIALS IN PLUNDER RAPS: This is the final list of officials of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) who were sued for graft before the Ombudsman by Reynaldo Joson, a former DFA official himself, in connection with his accusation that the officials conspired to misuse the P5 billion annual budget for DFA repairs and maintenance. Read on:
“Dir. Rodelio Catalan- the former property director of the Property Maintenance and Transportation Division (PMTD); Kerwin C. Tate---currently the Director of the PMTD; A/Sec. Melita Santa Maria-Thomeczek---the Assistant Secretary of OPAS; Exec. Dir. Alfonso Ver---the Executive Director of Office of Personnel and Administrative Services (OPAS); U/Sec Rafael Seguis---he replaced U/Sec. Frank Ebdalin; Engr. Michael Salazar---former engineering head.
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CONTRACTORS NAMED IN THE DFA FUND ROW: On the other hand, Joson named three private contractors in his complaint: Jesusito D. Legaspi, President of JD Legaspi Construction Corporation, with office address at 202 A.Luna Street Mandaluyong City, Metro Manila.
“Gertrudes P. Bongar, General Manager of I. M. Bongar & Company with office address at 310 Pilar Road. Almanza I Las Pinas City; and Mario N. Chan, General Manager, MCCD Engineering Services & Trading with office address at U-11 Arcadia Square Bldg. J. P. Rizal Ext. Makati City.”
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PLEASE LISTEN: “Ang Tanging Daan” (The Sole Way), a Bible study and prayer session on radio, airs Mondays to Fridays, 6:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at DWAD 1098 kHz on the AM band. For replays, go to www.facebook.com/angtangingdaan or www.facebook.com/ANDKNK and scroll for “Ang Tanging Daan” broadcasts. Phone: 0922 833 43 96, 0918 574 0193, 0917 984 24 68. Email: batasmauricio@yahoo.com.
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